Category Archives: Lent – Holy Week

Lent - Holy Week

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday

Liturgy of the Palms

Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29 . . . praise of the Lord’s salvation
Matthew 21:1-11 . . .  Jesus comes to the holy city of Jerusalem and is hailed as the promised Sone of David
Sermon # 1

Most of us like the comfortable and the familiar. Jesus, however, sometimes sends us ahead of him to places we have never been before. MaryAnn McKibben Dana, popular speaker, preacher, conference leader, and writer, preaches from Matthew 21:1-11. In today’s Palm/Passion Sunday passage, Jesus sends the disciples to the village ahead instead of the one they had already visited. Dana says, “It takes faith to follow Jesus. It takes blind faith to go ahead of Jesus into the unknown. It takes irrepressible faith to walk down a road your feet have never walked before. It takes intrepid faith to look back over your shoulder and see Jesus…” urging you ahead. Dana reminds us that it is not the crowd that followed Jesus, but the crowd that “prepared the way of the Lord” that made a difference. Are you a follower or are you preparing the way of the Lord?

Liturgy of Passion

Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility:  Mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen

Isaiah 50:4-9 . . . the servant who speaks for the Lord and suffers persecution, but still trust in God’s help and vindication
Psalm 31:9-16. . .  trusting in the Lord’s mercy and protection
Philippians 2:5-11 . . . From one of the earliest Christian hymns we hear how Christ Jesus accepted the condition of a servant, was obedient even to the point of death, and was then given the name above every name.
Matthew 27: 11-54 . . . the story of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, his final sufferings and death.
 Sermon

Richard W. Voelz is an Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA. His sermon for this week draws on the eyewitness account of Egeria, an early pilgrim to Jerusalem, who marveled at the devotion of the all-day Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. What can we learn from those pilgrims?

Lent - Holy Week

The Sunday of the Passion: Psalm Sunday

Aside
The passion of Jesus.

Collect: Palm Sunday

Almighty and living God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your son our savior Jesus Christ to take upon our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

Isaiah 50: 4-9a . . . The prophet Isaiah introduces us to God’s servant, who does not shrink from torture but places his confidence in God.

Psalm 31:9-16 . . . The hidden face of love: outer abandonment is accompanied by an inner sense of divine Presence.

Philippians 2:5-11 . . . Paul tells us that Jesus let’s go of everything but his desire to obey God, an obedience that leads to death

Mark 14: 1-15:47 . . . Jesus, abandoned to cruelty and hatred, loses his life on the cross.

Palm Sunday video  Gospel:  Mark 14:1-15: 47,

Lent - Holy Week

Holy Week

Aside

Collect: Holy Saturday

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that a the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath,  so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and raise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

JOB 14:1-14 . . . a reflection on the brevity of human life.

or

LAMENTATIONS 3:1-9; 19-24. . . a poem of lamentation and complaint.

PSALM 31: 1-9; 19-24 . . . The Hidden Face of Love.

1 PETER 4:1-8 . . . Believers are encouraged to live devoted to the will of God, steering clear of all forms of dissipation.

JOHN 19:  38-42 . . . Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea  prepare  Jesus burial according to custom.

HOLY SATURDAY VIDEO SERIES

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Collect: Good Friday

Almighty God, We pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

ISAIAH 52:13-53:12 . . . the poem of the Lord’s servant who suffers and bears the sins of many.

PSALM 22 . . . a song of lamentation and a plea for deliverance by one who feels deserted and pressed in on every side, expressing final confidence in God and God’s goodness.

HEBREWS 10:16-25 . . . God has established the promised new covenant through which our sins are forgiven and God’s laws are written on our hearts.

Or

HEBREWS 4:14-16; 5:7-9 . . . we are encouraged to have full confidence in drawing near to God because Jesus, our great high priest, knows our every weakness and temptation and makes intercessions for us.

JOHN 18:1-19:42 . . . the story of Jesus’ trails before the Jewish council and Plate, followed by his final suffering and death.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

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Collect: Maundy Thursday

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted  the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in those holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life;  and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

EXODUS 12:1-14 . . . The meaning to the Passover Meal: a remembrance and reenactment of Israel’s beginnings as a people when they were saved our of slavery in Egypt.

PSALM 116: 1-2, 12-19 . . . an example of personal self-talk which allows one to move through the difficulty and maintain a balance.

  1. I love you Lord, you heard my cry because you listened closly on the day I called you.
  2. Death itself surrounded me, and trapped me in its tomb called anguish and despair. (and to continue with verses 12 thru 19)

1 CORINTHIANS 11: 23-26 . . . Paul recalls the tradition he received concerning the supper of the Lord on he night he was betrayed.

John 13: 1-17, 31-35. . . Jesus washes hi disciples feet during his last meal with them.
A Maundy Thursday presentation film for your viewing
A sermon on the Eucharist . . .  about your hands

 

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Collect: Wednesday in Holy Week

Lord God, whose blessed  our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face  to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the suffering of the present time,  confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

ISAIAH 50:4-9 . . .the servant who speaks for the Lord and suffers persecution, but still trust in God’s help and vindication.

PSALM 70 . . . a prayer for help and vindication

HEBREWS 12: 1-3 . . . persevere in the face of adversity.

JOHN 13: 21-32 . . . At the final supper with his disciples Jesus is troubled by knowledge of Juda’s impending betrayal but tells his disciples that God is at work in the glorification of the Son of Man.

Ms. Brit Bjurstrom, postulant for Holy Orders, delivers the sermon at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church in Hollywood, CA.

Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir: ‘The Passion of St John’ (2016)

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Collect: Tuesday in Holy Week

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

ISAIAH 49: 1-7 . . . The servant of the Lord reflects movingly on his mission — it sorrows and frustrations — and God’s high calling and promise to be with him.

PSALM 71: 1-14 . . . Wisdom’s Aged Song: that Good will be our refuge and stronghold.

1 CORINTHIANS 1: 18-31 . . . Paul directs the attention of the Corinthians to God’s way of using what is weak and lowly — even what the world regards as foolish — to accomplish the divine purposes.

JOHN 12: 20-36 . . . Jesus presents teaching concerning the meaning of his death.  After his prayer to God a voice from heaven is heard.

A Sermon for Tuesday: “Thinking about Holy Week, on this Holy Tuesday, I offer this sermon from John 12:20-36 on the Greeks who ask to speak with Jesus. I hope it will encourage you as we draw closer to Easter Sunday!”
— Andrew

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Collect: Monday in Holy Week

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way  of the cross may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever. Amen

ISAIAH  42:1-9 . . . the mission of the Lord’s servant, the one whom God has chosen to bring forth justice.

PSALM 36:5-11

HEBREWS 9:11-15 . . . Christ has inaugurated a new covenant, accomplishing all that was anticipated by the rites and rituals of the first covenant.

JOHN 12:1-11 . . . Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anoints Jesus feet with costly perfume.

Monday in Holy Week sermon delivered by Fr. Ian Elliott Davies, Rector, St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood