...I will make a new covenant...I will put my law within them, and I
will write it on their hearts...I will forgive their iniquity, and remember
their sin no more. [Jeremiah 31:31, 33b, 34b]
Have mercy
on me, O God...in your great compassion...Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me...Give me the joy of your saving help and
sustain me with your bountiful spirit. [Psalm 51:1,11, 13]
Although
he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered...he became the
source of eternal salvation for all who obey him... [Hebrews
5:8a, 9b]
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears
much fruit. [John 12:24]
From the
beginnings of formal Christian/Church Liturgy until the late 1950s, the 5th
Sunday in Lent was known across many liturgical denominations as Passion
Sunday, and it marked the beginning of a two-week Passiontide. The 6th Sunday
was Palm Sunday with the Passion cycle culminating on Good Friday, as we are
to then solemnly await the news of the Resurrection on Easter Day. There are a
few traditionalists that still follow that liturgical line but these days
in our corner of Episcopal/Anglican Land, the official two weeks
of Passiontide is no longer observed in that way. The 6th Sunday in
Lent is the combined Sunday of the Passion: Palm
Sunday.
The readings for this 5th Sunday and for
all of Lent have been preparing us for what lies ahead for Jesus, as he was
preparing those who were following him in that time. Of course, we know the
rest of the story, and his real-time followers did not at this point. But what
does it all mean to me now, in my daily life?
In this second year of virtual liturgy
per pandemic, in this 5th week in Lent, I find myself, as much as possible,
wanting to suspend my "knowledge" of the biblical events to come and
letting the Scripture and Liturgy carry me as if I were going through them for
the first time. I will strive to pay attention to each reading, each moment of
the Liturgy, and think about what is being said to me, and what
it is teaching me. What will I experience? What will I learn? How might living
into the spirit of these readings change the direction of my life? Will I let them?
Jeremiah is teaching us of a New Covenant,
not in content so much as in form, that is, God has written on, inscribed upon,
fully internalized The Law in our hearts; we know it; it is ours. The
Psalmist brings us the beauty and poignancy of David’s remorseful and repentant
voice after his unlawful taking of Bathsheba and the killing of Uriah. And Paul
heightens our awareness of Jesus as our Great High Priest [see Hebrews 7:1-22
for more about Melchizedek].
This
week, Jesus tells his disciples about the grain of wheat that must
die in order to bear fruit. The cycle of this grain’s death begets new life
that bears fruit, is harvested, planted, and dies, to beget new life as this cycle repeats.
As we move through these remaining two weeks of Lent, we are to begin to crack open the grains of Christ’s truth and God’s Law within us, to
die to the unnecessary of this Life, that we may blossom into the fulness of Christ,
and live on to harvest the fruit of our souls in the bounty of eternal life. Now is the time
to crank up the Life-Cycle and peddle toward the best of forever.
LET US,
GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~
O God of Loving Kindness, You have written on our
hearts, granted us unlimited pardon, and still we look away toward earthly
wants. Let us see and hear again, through the faith we have and the faith we
want, that we will blossom into the full fruits of eternal life in Christ.
O Lord,
our God
RESPONSE: Your Saving Help is our Joy
~ O God of Loving Kindness, create clean hearts, renew
right spirits, and awaken Your written Law within the hearts of all political leaders
on this Planet, so that their actions will restore all people to their
rightful justice, mercy, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord, our God
Your
Saving Help is our Joy
~ O God of Loving Kindness, calm the fears and pain of
all who are afflicted by illness, turmoil, or doubt, and refresh the
energy of all who give them care. We now join our hearts together
to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
O
Lord, our God
Your
Saving Help is our Joy
~ O God of Loving Kindness, we offer our praise and
unending gratitude for the joy and gladness of those we love, now alive again
forever in Your glorious and bountiful Spirit. We pray especially
for… add your own petitions
O
Lord, our God
Your
Saving Help is our Joy
~ O God of Loving Kindness, we pause in this moment to offer You our
other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
O
Lord, our God
Your
Saving Help is our Joy
~ O God of Loving Kindness, grant special grace and
blessings to all who are anointed to bring us Your Word and Sacraments, that we
all may know and live in the reconciling love of Christ. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord, our God
Your
Saving Help is our Joy
The Celebrant adds: Almighty and Eternal God, break us out of our
self-protecting shells to die to temporal distractions, that, rooted in the
holy ground of Christ, our spiritual fruitfulness may nourish our souls as You
guide us all into eternal life. We ask through Jesus, our great High Priest;
and the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier; who together with You, live, love, and
reign as One God, now and forever. Amen.
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