Passion Sunday
Opening Prayer Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Readings: Isaiah 43v16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3v4b-14; John 12v1-8.
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
A Word: In our readings today we hear about the way we fall short of what God expects of us. In Isaiah we hear about the time when God rescued his people from the Land of Egypt, at the time known as the Exodus. It recalls that after God opened the sea to let his people through that he permitted it to close again over the Egyptians who were pursuing his people, even though they had said they would let them leave. In John we hear that Judas has fallen away from his trust in Jesus because he was stealing, complaining about the anointing with precious oils and his readiness to betray Jesus. This is in the last week of Jesus’ life when Jesus was being fed and anointed by his friends in readiness for his death. In Philippians, we hear Paul sharing his background that even though he was a learned Israelite, he was also a persecutor of the Church. I believe that these readings remind us that we are a fallen people, a people so limited and weak and frail that we sin all too easily.
However, this is not all that we hear for in Isaiah we hear about all the new things that God is doing as he cares for his chosen people in the wilderness of their lives. In the psalm, we hear a prayer that is asking for God to restore the fortunes of his people, just as he did in earlier times, a time that made them so glad that they rejoiced. In Philippians, Paul explains that because of Jesus he has gained so much because he is now counted as righteous by God. For Paul, this is a journey, the journey God is calling him onwards to, to join him in heaven because through the suffering he experiences for his faith, Paul feels as though he is sharing in the suffering of Christ. I believe that these readings are words of encouragement that none of us is lost to God, if we turn back to him.
Let us Pray: Loving God, you are like a mother to us, helping to grow in the goodness and grace. We thank you that Jesus your son grew up in a human home before dying on the cross to draw all people to you. We ask you to be with us in times of happiness and to fortify us in times of despair. We ask you to give us the ability to sense your presence in good and bad times and to shower us with the power that repairs and rebuilds us. Amen
The Lord's Prayer Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be they name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. Deliver us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
Prayer of blessing: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen.
Thanks for joining us today.