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SUMMARY:6th Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday) - Year A
DESCRIPTION:Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary\, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them\, plus prayers and sermons based on them. \n\n\n\nBible Readings (paraphrased)\n\n\n\nLections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003\, Room 381\, Nashville\, TN 37203-0003\, USA. Used with Permission. \n\n\n	\n\n		\n			\n				  Matthew 21: 1-11 (Gospel for the Liturgy of the Palms)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Jesus and his followers were getting close Jerusalem. Their last stop was just outside the twin townships of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount Of Olives. Jesus sent two of his followers into the township\, saying\, “As soon as you get into the main street you’ll see two donkeys tied up to a fence; a female and her awkward looking colt that has not yet even been ridden. Collect them and bring them to me. If anyone questions you\, just tell them that the boss needs them\, and they will let you take them.” \nThese events again shed new light on what the prophet had said: \n“Broadcast this to the people of Jerusalem.\nLook\, here comes your king!\nHe doesn’t big-note himself\,\nbut comes riding a simple donkey\,\nand a baby one at that!” \nSo they did as Jesus had told them and brought the donkeys to him. They made improvised saddles from items of spare clothing and got Jesus seated. As Jesus began riding slowly up the road\, the crowd began giving him the red-carpet treatment. Some were spreading their coats on the road before him while others were cutting down branches of leaves and flowers and spreading them along the road. Both in front of him and behind him\, the cheering crowd began to chant: \nHooray for the new King David!\nGod’s blessing is on the one\nwho comes in the name of the Lord!\nHooray for God\, the greatest of all! \nAs he arrived in Jerusalem\, it was absolute mayhem. The question on everyone’s lips was “Who on earth is this?” \nThe answer coming from the crowd was\, “This is Jesus the prophet\, from Nazareth in Galilee.” \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 118: 1-2\, 19-29 (Psalm for the Liturgy of the Palms)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Thank you\, LORD\, thank you!\nThank you for your goodness!\nThank you for your love —\nrock solid and timeless!\nMay all your people recognise\nthat your love and loyalty last forever. \nThe minute they open the city gates\n— the gates of justice —\nwe’ll be the first through\, LORD;\neager to tell you how thankful we are. \nThese gates belong to you\, LORD\,\nthose you have put right can come on through. \nThank you for answering our prayers\, LORD;\nfor coming to our rescue and putting us right. \nFrom a rejected stone found in a rubbish pile\nyou cut and polished a priceless jewel.\nThis is obviously your work\, LORD\,\nand we can hardly believe our eyes! \nToday is your day\, LORD\, a day to honour you;\nwe will celebrate with joy and laughter. \nGet us through safely\, LORD!\nIn the tasks ahead\, give us success! \nThe one who comes in your name\, LORD\,\nis the one who is truly blessed.\nGathered here in your house\,\nwe praise you for sending him. \nYou\, LORD\, are our only God\,\nand you light up our lives.\nIn a great procession\,\nwe march to the sacred place\,\nwaving branches and banners;\ntossing flowers in the air. \nYou are our God\nand we give you thanks.\nYou are our God\nand we give you our highest acclaim. \nThank you\, LORD\, thank you!\nThank you for your goodness!\nThank you for your love —\nrock solid and timeless! \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Isaiah 50: 4-9a			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	The LORD God has given me the gift of the gab\nso that my words can teach others\nand put a spring in the step of the weary. \nAs I wake up each new day\,\nGod makes me hungry for learning.\nThe LORD cleaned out my ears\nso that I could hear every word.\nI learned eagerly;\nI never rebelled or quit. \nI was opposed by others\,\nbut I gritted my teeth and stood my ground.\nI looked them in the eye\nwhen they insulted me and spat in my face.\nI took it on the chin and did not fight back\,\nwhen they gave me a belting and tore out my hair. \nThe Lord GOD is always there for me\,\nso no disgrace ever gets to me.\nI have steeled my jaw and dug in my heels\,\nand I’m sure I’ll never be ashamed of my stand\nbecause I can trust God to back me up. \nSo\, who thinks they can take me on?\nLet them stand up and face me!\nWho are my opponents?\nLet’s see what they’re made of! \nThe Lord GOD is backing me;\nso who is going to accuse me of doing wrong? \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 31: 9-16			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Be kind to me\, LORD\,\nI’m a mess.\nMy eyes are bloodshot from crying;\nMy heart is breaking\nand my whole body aches. \nGrief gnaws away at my life\,\nsorrows piles up\, year after year.\nMisery is draining my strength\nand destroying my health. \nI get no respect from my opponents;\nnothing but ridicule.\nThose who know me can’t bear to look at me;\neven strangers cross the street to avoid me. \nEveryone wants to purge me from their thoughts;\nthey’ve given me up for dead;\nabandoned me like a burned out car. \nEveryone is out to get me;\nthey’re whispering behind my back.\nThey’ve portrayed me as a monster\nand put a price on my head. \nBut I still put my trust in you\, LORD;\nyou are my God and you’re all I’ve got left.\nMy future is in your hands;\nsnatch me from the grasp\nof those who are hunting me down. \nI’m working for you; look on me with love.\nStand by me and save me. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Philippians 2: 5-11			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Model your attitude on the attitude of the Messiah\, Jesus. \nAlthough Jesus was the same as God in every way\,\nhe did not think of his God-like privileges\nas something to be milked for all they were worth. \nInstead\, he laid it all aside\nand\, with no more privileges than a slave\,\nwas born as a human being. \nHaving become a human being\,\nhe was the model of humility.\nHe didn’t demand his own way\nbut let God set the agenda;\neven when it included his own death\,\nand a gruesome public death at that. \nBecause of all this\,\nGod has raised him to the status of number one\nand honoured him more highly\nthan anyone else in the universe. \nSo now\, just the mention of the name ‘Jesus’\nshould bring everyone to their knees;\neveryone who has ever lived or ever will. \nEveryone\, everywhere will honour God\nby openly acknowledging\nthat Jesus the Messiah is Lord of all! \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Matthew 26:14 - 27:66			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	One of Jesus’s twelve closest followers\, a man named Judas Iscariot\, met with the High Priests in secret\, and asked them\, “What would you pay me for the information that you need to arrest him.” \nThey agreed on a price of thirty pieces of silver\, and from then on\, Judas was looking for the right moment to double cross Jesus. \nOn the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread\, Jesus’s closest followers asked him where he wanted them to book a room for their celebration of the Passover Meal. He sent them to see a certain man in the city with instructions to say to him\, “The Teacher says\, My time is due. I want to celebrate the Passover with my followers in your house.” So they did as he asked\, and got everything ready for the Passover Meal in the man’s house. \nWhen the evening came\, Jesus sat down to share the meal with the twelve. While they were eating\, he said\, “I kid you not; one of you will double cross me.” \nThey were all quite shaken by this\, and began asking him in turn\, “Surely\, Lord\, it is not me\, is it?” \nHe answered\, “I will be betrayed by one who has been sharing meals with me; one who passes me the sauce and tops up my glass. And while the fate of the New Human is well known to scripture\, the writing is on the wall for the one who stabs him in the back. That one is going to wish he had never been born.” \nJudas\, who had already taken the blood money\, said\, “Surely you don’t mean me\, do you\, Rabbi?” \nJesus replied\, “Take a good hard look at yourself\, Judas!” \nLater during the meal\, Jesus took a loaf of bread in his hands and praised God. He broke the loaf\, and gave it to his followers\, saying: “Take some of this and eat it. This is my body.”  \nThen he picked up a glass of wine\, gave thanks to God\, and gave it to them\, saying: “Drink this; all of you. This is my blood which seals God’s new alliance and is spilled for countless people in the forgiving of their toxic ways. I’ll tell you now; not another drop will pass my lips until the day when we drink together in celebration of the culture of my Father.” \nThen\, after singing the hymn that concludes the meal\, they went out to the Mount Of Olives. As they went\, Jesus said to them\, “You lot will all drop your bundle and turn your backs on me tonight. It will be just like the old saying in Scripture\, \n‘Knock off the shepherd\,\nand the sheep will run in all directions.’ \nBut when I have been raised\, I will go on up to Galilee ahead of you.” \nPeter protested\, saying\, “Everyone else might lose their nerve and shoot through\, but not me. I will stick with you\, no matter what.” \nJesus said to him\, “Don’t bet on it. Even before the rooster crows tonight\, you will have sworn three times that you don’t even know me.” \n“Over my dead body!” said Peter. “I’d die before I would deny you.” \nAnd all the others swore the same. \nSoon Jesus and his followers arrived at the Gethsemene Gardens. He asked most of them to wait for him while he found a place to pray\, and took only Peter and the brothers\, James and John\, with him. As they went\, he became increasingly disturbed and distraught. He said to the three\, “I feel totally gutted. It feels like it’s killing me. Wait here and hang in there with me while I pray.” \nHe went ahead a little and threw himself down on the ground and prayed\, “My Father\, if there is any way out of this\, I want out. But still\, the bottom line is whatever you want.” \nWhen he got up\, he found that his companions had fallen asleep. He woke Peter\, saying\, “Couldn’t you hang in there with me for even one hour? Stay on the watch\, and pray that you will not have to face anything that’s too tough for you to handle. Your spirit is raring to go\, but your body can’t hack the pace.” \nThen he moved off for a second time and prayed\, “My Father\, if there is no other way to get rid of this bitter cup than for me to drink it dry\, I’m ready to do whatever you want.” \nWhen he came back\, he found them all asleep again\, simply unable to keep their eyes open. So he just left them and went off to pray for a third time\, praying in the same way as he had before. Then he returned to his followers and said\, “Are you lot planning to sleep right through? Come on. The time is up. A traitor has dealt the New Human into the hands of the corrupt. On your feet\, and get moving! Look\, here comes the one who has done the dirty on me!” \nEven before he finished getting the words out\, Judas\, one of the twelve\, arrived on the scene with a heavily armed mob. They had been dispatched by the chief priests and political authorities. The traitor had given them their cue: “The one I greet with a kiss is the target. Bust him.” \nSo he went straight up to Jesus and said\, “How are you\, Rabbi?” and gave him a kiss. \nJesus said to him\, “Mate\, get it over with.” \nImmediately the mob surrounded Jesus\, grabbed him roughly and began to drag him off. In a flash\, one of Jesus’s followers pulled a knife and began lashing out\, slashing a personal attendant of the High Priest and cutting off his ear. But Jesus said\, “Put that knife away\, back where it belongs. All who live violent lives will die violent deaths. What were you thinking? You must realise that one word from me and God would send a dozen elite fighting units of angels. But if I did that\, what would be left of the agenda outlined in scripture that took all this into account?” \nAt the same time he addressed the mob\, saying\, “Do you think I am some kind of dangerous thug\, that you need your weapons drawn and your batons ready when you come out here to take me in? I have been sitting in the temple nearly every day\, teaching the people\, and you could have easily busted me if you had wanted to. But it had to happen this way didn’t it\, just as the prophets in scripture described.” \nBy this time\, his followers had all turned tail and run for their lives. \nThe mob who had seized Jesus dragged him off to the home of Caiaphas the High Priest\, where all the religious lawyers and political heavy-weights were waiting for him. Peter followed at a safe distance\, trying to keep track of what was going on. He got as far as the security guards stationed in the High Priest’s entrance courtyard\, but no further. \nThe chief priests and the ruling council were doing their best to frame Jesus on charges that would lead to a summary execution. Although a procession of witnesses brought false allegations against him\, they couldn’t get anything to stick. Eventually though\, two separate witnesses testified that Jesus had claimed to be able to completely demolish the Temple of God and rebuild it in just three days. The High Priest put Jesus back on the stand and said\, “You have heard the allegations that you claimed to have powers which only God could possess. What do you have to say in your own defence?” \nBut Jesus remained silent. Then the High Priest said to him\, “I remind you that you are under oath before the living God to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Tell us then: are you the Messiah\, the Son of God?” \nJesus replied\, “You said it! And what’s more\, from now on you will see the New Human seated as God’s right hand man and riding in on the clouds of heaven.” \nAt that\, the High Priest feigned utter dismay and turned to the council saying\, “It’s blasphemy! This man is claiming to be on a par with God. Why should we bother with further witnesses? You have all heard him for yourselves. What is your verdict?” \nThe verdict was unanimous: “He must die for this.” \nThere was a near riot as they all began to stick the boots in\, spitting in his face and roughing him up. Some of them were even hitting him from behind and then saying\, “Come on\, Mr Messiah. Show us how good a prophet you really are. Name the person who hit you.” \nPeter was still keeping a low profile out the front courtyard. A girl who worked there recognised him and said\, “You were with that Galilean bloke\, Jesus\, weren’t you?” \nBut in front of everyone\, he denied it\, saying\, “I’ve got no idea what you are talking about.” \nA short time later he was walking along the front porch when another staff member piped up and said\, “Look\, that bloke there was with Jesus the Nazarene.” \nOnce again Peter denied it adamantly: “I swear I don’t even know the man. I give you my word on it.” \nLater still\, some of the bystanders became more insistent\, closing in on Peter and saying\, “You’ve got to be one of them. Your accent gives you away for sure.” \nPeter began foul-mouthing them and yelling\, “I’ve never even set eyes on the bloke. I swear it on a stack of bibles!” \nBut the moment the denial was out of his mouth\, a rooster began to crow\, and as the words of Jesus came flooding back – “Before the rooster crows\, you will have sworn three times that you don’t even know me” – Peter ran off down the street bawling his eyes out; a broken man. \nThe next morning\, the chief priests and the ruling council met to work out what steps they needed to take in order to get Jesus executed. Setting the wheels in motion\, they handcuffed him\, marched him off\, and transferred him into the custody of Pilate\, the Roman governor. \nWhen Judas\, the traitor\, saw that Jesus was now on death row\, he couldn’t live with what he had done. He took the thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and the ruling council and said\, “I am guilty of a terrible thing. I have betrayed an innocent man to death.” \nBut they said\, “What has that got to do with us? You made your own bed; go lie in it!” \nJudas threw the money back at them\, stormed out\, and went off and hanged himself. Gathering up the money\, the chief priests said\, “We can hardly put this into the Temple offerings; it has got blood all over it.” \nSo they put their heads together and decided to use the money to buy a property that a nearby potter had put up for sale\, and redevelop it as a cemetery for foreigners. That is why the place came to be known as “the Killing Field” – a name that has stuck. It shed new light on the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: \n“They took the thirty pieces of silver\,\nthe price set on the head of a man by his own people\,\nand they spent it on a potter’s field\,\njust as the Lord had told me.” \nJesus was brought before Pilate for further interrogation. The governor got straight to the point: “Are you the King of the Jews?” \n“They are your words\,” said Jesus. \nThe delegation from the chief priests and the ruling council began outlining all the allegations against him\, but Jesus made no attempt to defend himself. Pilate turned to him and said\, “Do you realise the seriousness of all these crimes they are accusing you of?” \nBut\, much to the governor’s amazement\, Jesus continued to remain silent\, not even replying to a single charge. \nNow a custom had developed that the Roman governor would release a political prisoner – any prisoner nominated by the people – during the annual celebration of the Passover festival. One of the most notorious prisoners held at the time was a man named Jesus Barabbas. Pilate realised that Jesus of Nazareth had only been charged to get him out of the way of his religious rivals\, and he saw the annual custom as an opportunity to solve two problems at once. So when the crowd had gathered he addressed them\, saying\, “Which prisoner would you like me to release for you this year\, Jesus Barabbas or the Jesus they call the Messiah?” \nWhile Pilate was still presiding over the court\, his wife sent him a message saying\, “Don’t get yourself caught up in the conspiracy against that innocent man\, for I have had a long and disturbing dream about him.” \nThe chief priests and the council members began putting the word around among the crowd that they should call for the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor asked them again which of the two they wanted him to release\, they all began to shout\, “Barabbas.” \n“Then what am I supposed to do with the Jesus they call the Messiah?” Pilate asked the crowd. \nThe shout came back\, “Execute him!” \n“Why? What evil has he done to deserve death?” asked Pilate. \nBut the crowd just kept chanting\, “String him up! String him up!” \nWhen Pilate saw that it was useless to go on\, and that further argument would only spark a riot\, he called for a basin of water and made a show of washing his hands as he said to the crowd\, “This man’s blood is not on my hands. Have it your own way and be it on your own heads.” \nThe crowd responded\, roaring as one\, “It is on our heads. We and our children accept full responsibility!” \nSo Pilate gave orders for the release of Barabbas\, and after having Jesus flogged for good measure\, he handed him over to the executioners. \nThe governor’s security guards kept Jesus detained for a while in the Roman headquarters while the whole battalion gathered round and entertained themselves at his expense. They stripped him naked and then dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted some barbed wire into a crown and jammed it on his head. They put a flag in his hand and made a big joke of coming up and saluting him and saying\, “Heil\, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on him and gave him a serious bashing with their batons. When they’d finished their brutal sport\, they stripped the robe back off him\, put him back in his own clothes\, and marched him off to be executed. \nAs they hit the main street\, they pulled a Cyrenian man named Simon out of the crowd\, and forced him to carry the large wooden cross on which Jesus was to be strung up. The place where the executions were carried out was called Skull Hill\, or in Hebrew\, Golgotha. When they got there\, they offered Jesus a strong drink – wine spiked with a common drug – but when he tasted what it was\, he refused it. They strung Jesus up on the cross by driving nails through his flesh. Then they tossed coins for his clothes\, and sat down to wait for him to die. The sign hung on his cross to inform onlookers of the offence for which he was dying\, read\, “This is Jesus\, the King of the Jews.” \nA couple of convicted thugs were executed at the same time. The three crosses were erected in a row with Jesus on the middle one. People passing by hurled insults and ridicule at him. They shook their heads and said\, “What happened to the big man who reckoned he could demolish the Temple and rebuild it in three days? Show us what you’re made of and save yourself now! Getting yourself off the cross should be a piece of cake if you’re the Son of God!” \nThe chief priests\, the religious lawyers and the members of the ruling council were all there sticking the boots in with the best of them. “He reckoned he could save everyone else\, but he can’t even save himself!” they said. “He is supposed to be the King of Israel\, so let’s see him prove himself by getting himself down off the cross. He made a big noise about trusting God\, let’s see whether God is interested in getting him out of this one. After all\, he did claim to be God’s Son!” \nEven the two thugs being executed alongside him joined in and hurled more abuse at him. \nAt midday\, the sky went black for three hours and it was dark everywhere. At about three o’clock Jesus screamed out in agony\, “Eli\, Eli\, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God\, my God\, why have you turned your back on me?” \nWhen the people standing around heard this\, some of them thought he was calling for help from Elijah. Someone poured some wine that had turned to vinegar into a sponge and held it up to his mouth with a stick\, but the others said\, “Hold your horses. Let’s see whether Elijah will turn up to rescue him first.” \nThen Jesus let out another loud cry\, and breathed his dying breath. At that very moment\, the curtain that closed off the most holy place in the Temple tore open\, all the way from the top to the bottom. There was a violent earthquake\, that split rocks and broke open the tombs. The bodies of many of God’s people who had been laid to rest in peace were raised\, and after Jesus had been raised they came out of their tombs and went into Jerusalem where many people saw them. \nWhen the commanding officer and the security guards on duty with him saw the earthquake and everything else that happened\, they were scared spitless\, and said\, “Fair dinkum\, this bloke must have been God’s Son!” \nThere were a number of women there too\, watching it all from a distance. They had been among Jesus’s followers since the days in Galilee and had provided most of the resources needed by his group. Among them were Mary Magdalene\, another Mary who was the mother of James and Joseph\, and the mother of James and John\, Zebedee’s wife. \nThat evening\, a wealthy man from Arimethea went to Pilate and asked permission to take the body of Jesus for burial. The man’s name was Joseph\, and he was a follower of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be released into his care. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linen cloth. He buried Jesus in a new tomb which he had had cut into the rock for his own eventual use. He rolled a boulder over the entrance to the tomb to seal it\, and then went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting opposite the tomb watching all this. \nThe next day was still part of the sacred festival\, and a deputation of the chief priests and members of the Pharisee party held an early meeting with Pilate. They said\, “Sir\, we have remembered that while that con man was still alive\, he claimed that he would rise again three days after his death. So please give orders to have guards secure the tomb for the next three days so that his fan club can’t steal his body and start telling everyone that he has been raised from the dead. A fraud like that would be even more dangerous than the pack of lies he was pushing before.” \nPilate said to them\, “Fair enough. There are security guards at your disposal. Go and do whatever you think is necessary to prevent anyone tampering with the tomb.” \nSo they took the security guards\, taped off the area around the tomb\, sealed the stone\, and kept it under constant surveillance. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Matthew 27: 11-54 (Alternative shorter gospel reading)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Jesus was brought before Pilate for further interrogation. The governor got straight to the point: “Are you the King of the Jews?” \n“They are your words\,” said Jesus. \nThe delegation from the chief priests and the ruling council began outlining all the allegations against him\, but Jesus made no attempt to defend himself. Pilate turned to him and said\, “Do you realise the seriousness of all these crimes they are accusing you of?” \nBut\, much to the governor’s amazement\, Jesus continued to remain silent\, not even replying to a single charge. \nNow a custom had developed that the Roman governor would release a political prisoner – any prisoner nominated by the people – during the annual celebration of the Passover festival. One of the most notorious prisoners held at the time was a man named Jesus Barabbas. Pilate realised that Jesus of Nazareth had only been charged to get him out of the way of his religious rivals\, and he saw the annual custom as an opportunity to solve two problems at once. So when the crowd had gathered he addressed them\, saying\, “Which prisoner would you like me to release for you this year\, Jesus Barabbas or the Jesus they call the Messiah?” \nWhile Pilate was still presiding over the court\, his wife sent him a message saying\, “Don’t get yourself caught up in the conspiracy against that innocent man\, for I have had a long and disturbing dream about him.” \nThe chief priests and the council members began putting the word around among the crowd that they should call for the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor asked them again which of the two they wanted him to release\, they all began to shout\, “Barabbas.” \n“Then what am I supposed to do with the Jesus they call the Messiah?” Pilate asked the crowd. \nThe shout came back\, “Execute him!” \n“Why? What evil has he done to deserve death?” asked Pilate. \nBut the crowd just kept chanting\, “String him up! String him up!” \nWhen Pilate saw that it was useless to go on\, and that further argument would only spark a riot\, he called for a basin of water and made a show of washing his hands as he said to the crowd\, “This man’s blood is not on my hands. Have it your own way and be it on your own heads.” \nThe crowd responded\, roaring as one\, “It is on our heads. We and our children accept full responsibility!” \nSo Pilate gave orders for the release of Barabbas\, and after having Jesus flogged for good measure\, he handed him over to the executioners. \nThe governor’s security guards kept Jesus detained for a while in the Roman headquarters while the whole battalion gathered round and entertained themselves at his expense. They stripped him naked and then dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted some barbed wire into a crown and jammed it on his head. They put a flag in his hand and made a big joke of coming up and saluting him and saying\, “Heil\, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on him and gave him a serious bashing with their batons. When they’d finished their brutal sport\, they stripped the robe back off him\, put him back in his own clothes\, and marched him off to be executed. \nAs they hit the main street\, they pulled a Cyrenian man named Simon out of the crowd\, and forced him to carry the large wooden cross on which Jesus was to be strung up. The place where the executions were carried out was called Skull Hill\, or in Hebrew\, Golgotha. When they got there\, they offered Jesus a strong drink – wine spiked with a common drug – but when he tasted what it was\, he refused it. They strung Jesus up on the cross by driving nails through his flesh. Then they tossed coins for his clothes\, and sat down to wait for him to die. The sign hung on his cross to inform onlookers of the offence for which he was dying\, read\, “This is Jesus\, the King of the Jews.” \nA couple of convicted thugs were executed at the same time. The three crosses were erected in a row with Jesus on the middle one. People passing by hurled insults and ridicule at him. They shook their heads and said\, “What happened to the big man who reckoned he could demolish the Temple and rebuild it in three days? Show us what you’re made of and save yourself now! Getting yourself off the cross should be a piece of cake if you’re the Son of God!” \nThe chief priests\, the religious lawyers and the members of the ruling council were all there sticking the boots in with the best of them. “He reckoned he could save everyone else\, but he can’t even save himself!” they said. “He is supposed to be the King of Israel\, so let’s see him prove himself by getting himself down off the cross. He made a big noise about trusting God\, let’s see whether God is interested in getting him out of this one. After all\, he did claim to be God’s Son!” \nEven the two thugs being executed alongside him joined in and hurled more abuse at him. \nAt midday\, the sky went black for three hours and it was dark everywhere. At about three o’clock Jesus screamed out in agony\, “Eli\, Eli\, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God\, my God\, why have you turned your back on me?” \nWhen the people standing around heard this\, some of them thought he was calling for help from Elijah. Someone poured some wine that had turned to vinegar into a sponge and held it up to his mouth with a stick\, but the others said\, “Hold your horses. Let’s see whether Elijah will turn up to rescue him first.” \nThen Jesus let out another loud cry\, and breathed his dying breath. At that very moment\, the curtain that closed off the most holy place in the Temple tore open\, all the way from the top to the bottom. There was a violent earthquake\, that split rocks and broke open the tombs. The bodies of many of God’s people who had been laid to rest in peace were raised\, and after Jesus had been raised they came out of their tombs and went into Jerusalem where many people saw them. \nWhen the commanding officer and the security guards on duty with him saw the earthquake and everything else that happened\, they were scared spitless\, and said\, “Fair dinkum\, this bloke must have been God’s Son!” \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n	\n\n\n\nPrayers\n\n\n	\n\n		\n			\n				  Eucharistic Preface			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Let us lift up our hearts.\nWe lift them to the Lord.\nLet us give thanks to the Lord our God.\nIt is right to give our thanks and praise. \nIt is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise\, O God\,\nfor you alone are good and your steadfast love is forever. \nThe creation of the world was your doing\nand is a marvel to our eyes.\nYour prophets told of the coming one\nwho would teach your ways\nand sustain us with your word. \nYour son\, Jesus\, though one with you\ngave up all he had\,\ntaking on human flesh\,\nand walking the path of obedience\nall the way to insult\, betrayal and death\,\ntrusting only in your vindication.\nThough he was rejected by those who had cheered him\,\nyou made him the cornerstone of new life\nand raised him to the highest place of honour.\nHe has opened the gates of justice\nand become our salvation\,\nso with shouts of joy we greet his appearing\,\nand proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord\nto your glory forever. \nTherefore with ..... \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	We thank you for your son\, Jesus Christ\,\nwho\, giving up all he had\nand walking the path of obedience\nall the way to insult\, betrayal and death\,\nopened the gates of justice\nand become our salvation. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  General Prayer of Thanksgiving			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)\n\nWe give you all thanks and praise\, O God\,\nfor you alone are good and your steadfast love is forever. \nThe creation of the world was your doing\nand is a marvel to our eyes.\nYour prophets told of the coming one\nwho would teach your ways\nand sustain us with your word. \nYour son\, Jesus\, though one with you\ngave up all he had\,\ntaking on human flesh\,\nand walking the path of obedience\nall the way to insult\, betrayal and death\,\ntrusting only in your vindication.\nThough he was rejected by those who had cheered him\,\nyou made him the cornerstone of new life\nand raised him to the highest place of honour.\nHe has opened the gates of justice\nand become our salvation\,\nso with shouts of joy we greet his appearing\,\nand proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord\nto your glory forever. \nTherefore\, with our hearts lifted high\,\nwe offer you thanks and praise at all times\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord\,\nwho lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit\,\none God\, for ever and ever.\nAmen. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Declaration of Grace / Absolution			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	The Lord who vindicates you is near.\nGod has heard your confessions\nand you will not be put to shame.\nWith the Lord God as your help\nno one can declare you guilty. \nSisters and Brothers\,\nyour sins are forgiven;\nRise from the dead\, and Christ will shine on you. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Commission & Benediction			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Go now and follow Christ in obedience.\nHave the same mind as was in Christ Jesus;\nKeep your ears open to God’s teaching;\nBe humble\, even in the face of hostility\nand do not turn back. \nAnd may God help you and keep you from disgrace;\nMay Christ Jesus lead you through the gates of justice;\nAnd may the Holy Spirit keep you in God’s steadfast love\nand fill your mouths with praise to the glory of God. \nWe go in peace to love and serve the Lord\,\n   In the name of Christ. Amen. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n	\n\n\n\nSermons\n\n\n\nSermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website\, but our church no longer includes a sermon in the Palm Sunday liturgy\, so there is not much here. \n\n\n\n\nJesus and the Opinion PollsA sermon for Palm Sunday by Nathan Nettleton
URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/a23/2029-03-25/
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