The Bulletin for Passion Sunday
29th March 2020
Notices
Thank
you to those who have been in contact by phone and email during the
week. Please continue to do so, even if just for a chat. I remain of
course anxious
to help anyone during these difficult days. My thought and prayer for
you all.
The
extended virus regulations issued earlier this week now prohibit anyone
save the incumbent entering his or her place of worship.
The
Scottish Episcopal Church will this Sunday broadcasting video coverage
of its Eucharistic service via its website, social media channels and
YouTube channel.
The web page for the broadcast is located at www.scotland.anglican.org/broadcast-sunday-worship
The website will also contain a downloadable video and audio format of the service.
For those who prefer devotion in another form, the following is a complete service for Passion Sunday
SERVICE FOR TODAY
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
The Collect for the day
Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Gospel.
John 11.1-45
11 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When
Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
9 Jesus
answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the
day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
11 These
things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus
sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
28 And
when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister
secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
31 The
Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when
they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her,
saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
32 Then
when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his
feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not
died.
33 When
Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came
with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.
34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37 And
some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the
blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39 Jesus
said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead,
saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead
four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then
they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And
Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast
heard me.
42 And
I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which
stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And
he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and
his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose
him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
The Nicene Creed.
I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God; Begotten of
His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of
very God; Begotten, not made; Being of one substance with the Father; By
whom all things were made: Who for us men
and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the
Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man: And was crucified also
for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered was buried: And the third day
He rose again according to the Scriptures:
And ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of the Father:
And he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the
dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord, and Giver of Life, Who
proceedeth from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father and the Son
together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by the Prophets: And I
believe one Catholic and Apostolic Church: I acknowledge
one Baptism for the remission of sins: And I look for the Resurrection
of the dead: And the Life of the world to come. Amen.
The sermon
Today,
Passion Sunday marks the beginning in the Christian calendar of a
two-week period in the Christian calendar during which the sequence of
events leading to the crucifixion of Christ on Good
Friday are recalled.
Passion
is a richly suggestive word. In its human context, it describes a state
of deep emotional feeling and attachment. In the context of the divine,
it conveys the most powerful longing by Almighty
God to redeem humanity by allowing his only son to suffer death for the
sake of the world.
Exhibiting
passion requires self-giving, that in turn may necessitate personal
suffering. Christ’s sufferings in the cause of passionate love for the
world are well documented in the Gospels. During
his anguished visit to the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ confessed to
his disciples that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow. As he prayed,
sweat like drops of blood fell to the ground. The next day, Good Friday,
his accusers spat on him and mocked him. They
struck his head repeatedly before attaching him to a cross with nails.
Later, Christ called from the cross in words of deepest distress.,
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?”
That Christ willing suffered this and much besides
explains the divine context of passion, a holy outpouring of love
demonstrated by the crucified Christ.
However, before showing this love for the world, Christ was to outpour his love for one particular family.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus who lived at Bethany were amongst Jesus’
closest friends. Lazarus became ill to the point of death and, in
desperation, Mary and Martha sent for Christ, pleading with him to come
immediately and heal their brother.
But
Christ didn’t respond as the sisters had wished. Rather he postponed
the journey for nearly three days. By that time, Lazarus had died. The
explanation for the delay will in time became apparent.
Martha and Mary though were unaware of the cause and consequently made
no effort to hide their disappointment. “Lord, if you would have been
here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
At
Christ’s bidding, the sisters took him to Lazarus’s tomb and Jesus shook
with emotion from the depth of his soul in his concern for the grieving
sisters. Christ then was able to show more than
mere sympathy for Martha and Mary’ plight.
St
John carefully notes in his gospel account no less than seven occasions
when Christ exhibited the miraculous. He turned water into wine and
cured the hunger of five thousand people with five loaves
and two fish. He healed a paralytic at Bethsaida, a royal official’s
son at Capernaum, and gave sight to a blind man. He walked over the Sea
of Galilee to rescue the disciples from a storm. These account for six
miraculous acts. Now Jesus would perform his
last and greatest miracle in the presence of Martha and Mary at their
brother’s tomb.
Upon
their arrival, Jesus asked that the entrance stone be removed. Martha
though demurred. “Lord, he has been dead four days.” The stone was
nevertheless rolled away. Jesus prayed and then called
out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”. He appeared; his body was
still wrapped in burial cloths. Jesus said, “Free him, and let him
go.” The previous six miraculous acts had given Jesus an opportunity to
demonstrate the power of God in varying ways.
Now in this the seventh at Lazarus’s tomb Jesus proved the power of God
to raise the dead to new life.
The
reason for Christ’s delay in answering the sister’s plea for help now
becomes apparent. The performance of this last and greatest miracle
could only be possible after Lazarus had died.
No
act of compassion can be made without cost. According to St John, those
who witnessed the miracle went back and told the temple leaders what
happened. John then wrote:
“The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered
and from that day forward they took counsel
that they might put him to death.”
Through
this outpouring of compassion for Martha and Mary, Christ had thereby
sealed his own fate. And of no less importance, the miracle foreshadowed
Christ’s own rising from a tomb.
Amen
The Prayers
Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time of uncertainty and distress.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you taught us to love our neighbour,
and to care for those in need
as if we were caring for you.
In this time of anxiety, give us strength
to comfort the fearful, to tend the sick,
and to assure the isolated
of our love, and your love,
for your name’s sake.
Amen.
God of compassion,
be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.
In their loneliness, be their consolation;
in their anxiety, be their hope;
in their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross,
but reigns with you in glory,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
For those who are ill
Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
For hospital staff and medical researchers
Gracious God,
give skill, sympathy and resilience
to all who are caring for the sick,
and your wisdom to those searching for a cure.
Strengthen them with your Spirit,
that through their work many will be restored to health;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Confession
Almighty
God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all
men; We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which
we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, By thought,
word, and deed, Against Thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly Thy
wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are
heartily sorry for these our misdoings: The remembrance
of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable. Have
mercy upon us, Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; For Thy Son our
Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, Forgive us all that is past; And grant that
we may ever hereafter Serve and please Thee
In newness of life, To the honour and glory of Thy Name; Through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Absolution
The Almighty and merciful Lord, grant me pardon and absolution of all my sins. Amen.
The Comfortable Words, Preface. and Sanctus.
Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all who truly turn to Him.
Come unto Me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. St. Matt. xi. 28.
So God loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, to the end
that all that believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. St. John iii. 16.
Hear also what Saint Paul saith.
This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, That Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. i. 15.
Hear also what Saint John saith.
If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
Righteous; and He is the Propitiation for our sins. 1 St. John ii. 1, 2.
Therefore
with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud
and magnify Thy glorious Name; evermore praising Thee, and saying,
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory: Glory be to Thee, O Lord Most High. Amen.
In
union, O Lord with the faithful, I desire to offer Thee praise and
thanksgiving. I present to Thee my soul and body with the earnest wish
that may always
be united to Thee. And since I can not now receive Thee sacramentally, I
beseech Thee to come spiritually into my heart. I unite myself to Thee,
and embrace Thee with all the affections of my soul. Let nothing ever
separate Thee from me. May I live and die
in Thy love. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
The Grace
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with me always. Amen.
