Sunday
29 March 2020: Fifth Sunday of Lent,
Passiontide
begins
Today,
we meet from our own homes, at 10.30 a.m. via Zoom meeting ID: 664-485-330. Don’t
forget that the clocks sprung forward an hour to British Summer Time during the
night.
As
we come to worship at a familiar time, if not a familiar building, you might
like to light a candle, a reminder that Christ the light of the world is with
us. Take a moment to still yourself. We then begin with the Prayer of Preparation,
which reminds us that God knows our desires—to join with others today, if we
could; to receive bread and wine, which, physically, we cannot; to be of
service to our neighbour…
Prayer
of Preparation
Almighty
God,
to
whom all hearts are open,
all
desires known,
and
from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse
the thoughts of our hearts
by
the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that
we may perfectly love you,
and
worthily magnify your holy name;
through
Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Now
we come to Confession, confessing our need for God. We confess for ourselves,
and on behalf of our neighbours; and receive God’s mercy. Doing so is the
antidote to judging others in anger.
‘Kyrie’
Confession
God
be gracious to us and bless us,
and
make your face shine upon us:
Lord,
have mercy.
May
your ways be known on the earth,
your
saving power among the nations:
Christ,
have mercy.
You,
Lord, have made known your salvation,
and
reveal your justice in the sight of the nations:
Lord,
have mercy.
Absolution
The
Lord enrich us with his grace, and nourish us with his
blessing;
the
Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the
Lord accept our prayers, and
absolve us from our offences,
for
the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
Amen.
Now
we pray the Collect, the prayer for this Sunday.
Collect
prayer for today
Gracious
Father,
you
gave up your Son out of love for the world:
Lead
us to ponder the mysteries of his passion,
that
we may know eternal peace
through
the shedding of our Saviour’s blood,
Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Having
prepared ourselves, we listen to God’s word to us. You’ll find both readings in
full below, along with a pastoral letter from the Bishop of Durham, and some
questions to reflect on together.
Reading Romans 8:6-11
To
set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life
and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God;
it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the
flesh cannot please God.
But
you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells
in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But
if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal
bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Gospel
reading John
11:1-45
Now
a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister
Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet
with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to
Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This
illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son
of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and
her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two
days longer in the place where he was.
Then
after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples
said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you
going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight?
Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of
this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in
them.’ After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,
but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has
fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about
his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus
told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there,
so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the
Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
When
Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four
days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews
had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha
heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha
said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But
even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to
her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will
rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the
resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will
live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe
this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son
of God, the one coming into the world.’
When
she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her
privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it,
she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village,
but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her
in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed
her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When
Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him,
‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw
her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly
disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They
said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See
how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of
the blind man have kept this man from dying?’
Then
Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone
was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of
the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been
dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you
believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And
Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew
that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd
standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said
this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out,
his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’
Many
of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did,
believed in him.
A
pastoral letter from the Bishop of Durham
‘Dear Sisters & Brothers,
‘Today is Passion Sunday, the gateway to Passiontide where our focus turns towards the suffering of our Lord Jesus as we journey with him towards Holy Week and the cross and, in time, to the Resurrection. In all honesty, something of the rhythm of Lent has been lost for me over the past two weeks. So much has happened in our nation, and we as the Church of England have had to play our full part in helping others as much as we can to respond wisely to the very hard situation that we all face. We are in this together, as a nation and around the globe. So there has been much work taking place, locally and nationally, happening at a fast rate and changing by the day.
‘There is a lot of emotion surfacing at the moment and I feel it too. The first is fear; that natural fear of what is happening and lies ahead; fear for our own families and friends; fear for ourselves. Then there is sadness; sadness for those whose loved one’s funerals and their own grieving have been disrupted; sadness for those who have had to postpone weddings and baptisms; sadness that our schools have had to close; sadness at not being able to visit people as we long to do. For many of us, there has also been the more uncomfortable sense of anger; anger at the virus; anger at those ignoring guidance and stripping shelves bare needlessly. There is also pity; pity for those who are suffering badly; pity for those who are dying and those bereaved. Finally, there is pride; pride in our NHS and the amazing staff; pride in our Emergency Services and Armed Services; pride in all those working in Government and the civil service to handle this at breakneck speed. I am immensely proud of the clergy, lay leaders and others who have responded so amazingly quickly and adapted in a whole host of ways to keep the church worshipping and praying in our homes. I am proud of the way you are praying, caring, supporting, volunteering and seeking to be the body of Christ in ways we have never experienced before so broadly.
‘Thank you for all you have done, are doing and will continue to do.
‘I recognise that the coming weeks will be very difficult indeed. There is much more sadness ahead before we begin to come through the other side of this pandemic. So pray honestly; lament, rage, cry out, thank, intercede and keep looking to our Lord who will keep saying to us, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’ (Isaiah 43v1)
‘The gospel reading for today from John 11 begins with the reality of death. It includes the fear of death. It has Thomas rather bravely, and yet grimly, committing to die with Jesus if that is what following him means. It then goes into the extraordinary story of how Jesus responds to both Mary and Martha’s grief at the loss of their beloved brother Lazarus. Jesus then raises Lazarus from the dead. In the midst of this we have Jesus declaration, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’, that hope that lies at the heart of our faith’. In the weeks ahead there will be sadness at loss. There will be a need to be like Thomas, sticking with Jesus even though the outlook looks grim. There will be a need to comfort those who have lost loved ones. There will be suffering and pain. Most who catch the virus (and it is likely to be most of us at some point in the coming months) will recover; we might not even be that ill ourselves. But we already know that it will be a very tough battle for a significant number, and it will end in death for some. So just as Passiontide begins with this story of Jesus bringing hope so too we will need to travel this road knowing that God travels it with us. We will need to hold onto our Easter hope and the truth of the resurrection. There will be much Good Friday and Holy Saturday but Easter is coming and beyond the great day of resurrection that is yet to be.
‘My sisters and brothers you are in Bishop Sarah and my prayers. Thank you for being faithful to Jesus. Hold fast to God. Fear not. Trust in the one who is the resurrection and the life.’
+Paul
‘Today is Passion Sunday, the gateway to Passiontide where our focus turns towards the suffering of our Lord Jesus as we journey with him towards Holy Week and the cross and, in time, to the Resurrection. In all honesty, something of the rhythm of Lent has been lost for me over the past two weeks. So much has happened in our nation, and we as the Church of England have had to play our full part in helping others as much as we can to respond wisely to the very hard situation that we all face. We are in this together, as a nation and around the globe. So there has been much work taking place, locally and nationally, happening at a fast rate and changing by the day.
‘There is a lot of emotion surfacing at the moment and I feel it too. The first is fear; that natural fear of what is happening and lies ahead; fear for our own families and friends; fear for ourselves. Then there is sadness; sadness for those whose loved one’s funerals and their own grieving have been disrupted; sadness for those who have had to postpone weddings and baptisms; sadness that our schools have had to close; sadness at not being able to visit people as we long to do. For many of us, there has also been the more uncomfortable sense of anger; anger at the virus; anger at those ignoring guidance and stripping shelves bare needlessly. There is also pity; pity for those who are suffering badly; pity for those who are dying and those bereaved. Finally, there is pride; pride in our NHS and the amazing staff; pride in our Emergency Services and Armed Services; pride in all those working in Government and the civil service to handle this at breakneck speed. I am immensely proud of the clergy, lay leaders and others who have responded so amazingly quickly and adapted in a whole host of ways to keep the church worshipping and praying in our homes. I am proud of the way you are praying, caring, supporting, volunteering and seeking to be the body of Christ in ways we have never experienced before so broadly.
‘Thank you for all you have done, are doing and will continue to do.
‘I recognise that the coming weeks will be very difficult indeed. There is much more sadness ahead before we begin to come through the other side of this pandemic. So pray honestly; lament, rage, cry out, thank, intercede and keep looking to our Lord who will keep saying to us, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’ (Isaiah 43v1)
‘The gospel reading for today from John 11 begins with the reality of death. It includes the fear of death. It has Thomas rather bravely, and yet grimly, committing to die with Jesus if that is what following him means. It then goes into the extraordinary story of how Jesus responds to both Mary and Martha’s grief at the loss of their beloved brother Lazarus. Jesus then raises Lazarus from the dead. In the midst of this we have Jesus declaration, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’, that hope that lies at the heart of our faith’. In the weeks ahead there will be sadness at loss. There will be a need to be like Thomas, sticking with Jesus even though the outlook looks grim. There will be a need to comfort those who have lost loved ones. There will be suffering and pain. Most who catch the virus (and it is likely to be most of us at some point in the coming months) will recover; we might not even be that ill ourselves. But we already know that it will be a very tough battle for a significant number, and it will end in death for some. So just as Passiontide begins with this story of Jesus bringing hope so too we will need to travel this road knowing that God travels it with us. We will need to hold onto our Easter hope and the truth of the resurrection. There will be much Good Friday and Holy Saturday but Easter is coming and beyond the great day of resurrection that is yet to be.
‘My sisters and brothers you are in Bishop Sarah and my prayers. Thank you for being faithful to Jesus. Hold fast to God. Fear not. Trust in the one who is the resurrection and the life.’
+Paul
‘I
am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they
die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’
Are
you anxious about the virus, and its potential impact—physical, emotional,
financial—on you or on those you love?
What
might it mean, to set the mind on the Spirit?
How
might we share the peace of Christ with those who are anxious?
Having
heard and received God’s word to us, we join in affirming our shared faith.
Affirmation
of Faith
Let
us declare our faith in God.
We
believe in God the Father,
from
whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
We
believe in God the Son,
who
lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love.
We
believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who
strengthens us with power from on high.
We
believe in one God;
Father,
Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Prayers
of Intercession
We
take time to pray for the needs of the world, the life of the Church, our
community, and all those on our hearts this day.
Today,
we are not able to receive bread and wine physically, but we receive them
spiritually, if we desire to do so (remember the Prayer of Preparation). And so
we take a moment to do so, saying the Post Communion Prayer.
Post
Communion Prayer
Lord
Jesus Christ,
you
have taught us that what we do for the least of
our
brothers and sisters
we
do also for you:
give
us the will to be the servant of others
as
you were the servant of all,
and
gave up your life and died for us,
but
are alive and reign, now and for ever.
As
we conclude, receive this blessing:
Christ
crucified draw you to himself,
to
find in him a sure ground for faith,
a
firm support for hope,
and
the assurance of sins forgiven;
and
the blessing of God almighty,
the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be
among you and remain with you always.
Go
in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In
the name of Christ. Amen.
Common
Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England,
material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The
Archbishops’ Council 2000.
Common
Worship: Times and Seasons, material from which is included
in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2006.
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