This is the first of two resources we will be sharing this week. Click on the link below for the details. The link is a home based devotional adapted from the Saltproject.org that we purchased for our community. The second will be our regular Sunday Worship Resource. Look for that soon.
https://mailchi.mp/afbcd1ac5001/moving-to-easter-palm-sunday-and-holy-week
Welcome: We now enter our third week of this new reality we call “physical distancing.” As the CoVid-19 pandemic continues to grow in Canada and globally we know that this will be our reality for an unknown number of weeks to come. Yes, we are physically distant from one another but as social creatures we are finding more and more ways to stay connected online and by phone and other electronic means. I’m grateful that technology makes it possible to create and share resources that connect us, and ground us in the Sacred Love that surrounds us all. With our United Church Creed we say with hope and confidence: we are not alone. We live in God’s world. Thanks be to God.
As you prepare: Find a comfortable place on your own or with a few others in your household (and have a candle and something to light it with)
The Land upon which we stand
Take a moment now to think about where you are. Think about the land beneath your feet, the closest river and lake to where you are and how the water brings life and connection to human and non-human communities. For more than 10,000 years people have lived on this land and been nourished by these life-giving waters. We acknowledge this land and its waters and the first peoples who have lived here, continue to live here and will live here in the future. We acknowledge their stories and culture and spirituality so that those of us who are newcomers or descendants of newcomers will remember our responsibility to join with the first peoples of this land to do what we can to make right with all our relations.
Opening
I invite you to take a moment now
And centre yourself deeply in the love of the Sacred.
(Some people like to plant their feet firmly on the ground; others like to open their hands. Find the position that is best for you.)
Breathe into your core the life-giving Sprit of our Eternal Source;
Breathe in goodness, compassion and truth;
Breathe out fearfulness and worry.
(Repeat these breaths a few more times – breathing in goodness and letting go of your worries)
(Pause)
Allow yourself to open up to the deep Love and Wisdom that is here for you.
Lighting a Christ Candle
Why do we light a Christ Candle?
We light this candle to represent Christ Jesus’ light among us. We light this candle to remind us that even in times of challenge and trial there is a light that lights the way.
OPENING PRAYER (now speak or breathe a prayer for what you desire from this time in worship/silence/contemplation)
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
This is the 5th Sunday of Lent in the Christian tradition. Whether we wanted to or not, the time of the global pandemic has brought many of us to a new place of self and societal reflection and our hearts cry out to God for help:
Psalm 130 from the ancient prayer book of the Hebrew people provides us with words for our cry for help:
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Holy One.
2 God, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice, my cries for mercy!
3 If you kept track of our sins,
who could stand before you?
4 But with you is forgiveness,
and for this we revere you.
5 I wait for you, O Holy One, my soul waits,
and in your word I place my trust;
6 my soul longs for you.
more than sentinels long for the dawn,
more than sentinels long for the dawn.
ASSURANCE
7 O sons and daughters of the Light, Welcome the Heart of your heart!
Then you will climb the Sacred Mountain of Truth; You will know mercy and love in abundance. Then will your transgressions be forgiven; and you will know the Oneness of All. (translation a combination of the Inclusive version and Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill)
In contemporary music, Sinead O’Connor’s song is based on Psalm 130 – consider listening to this now.
LISTENING FOR A WORD OF WISDOM
Read the following passage two or three or four times. Listen with the ear of your heart or inner wisdom.In between each reading you might consider these questions.
SACRED READING
11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” …
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Unbind him and let him go.”
Reflection (from Marilyn)
I offer here something to hold alongside your own reflections.
In the words of both Martha and Mary this week. “Jesus, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”
Or in my own words, Jesus, if you were here, so many would not be dying of CoVid-19
These are words of grief.
It’s a grief that contains, anger, frustration, sadness.
Where is God now when so many have already died and so many more will?
If you know someone who is already ill my heart goes out to you and them.
If you worry that someone you love might become ill because they are on the frontlines caring for the sick or keeping food in our grocery stories. My heart goes out to you and them.
This is the grief I’m feeling along with so many others this week. It is collective grief and all the Elizabeth Kubler Ross stages of grieving apply in whatever order you experience them.
Denial – oh it’s not going to be as bad as they say, right?
Anger – I have to self-isolate, really? For how long?
Bargaining – okay, I’ll do what I have to do and then it will all go away, right?
Sadness – including tears sometimes.
And acceptance that this is simply our collective reality for now.
Some of our grief is even anticipatory grief because we don’t yet know so much of what will unfold.
Some of the anger of our grief might also be directed at God. Why do you let this happen and where are you now?
All of that is normal and can feel like physical pain in our bodies.
This story of Martha and Mary and Lazarus reminds me that Jesus was not at all immune from the physical pain odef grief. When he stood among his friends who were grieving, he too was moved to tears.
He wept.
For their loss? for his?
Even if he didn’t come right away, Jesus was eventually among his friends, feeling their pain with them even as their grief fueled anger accused him of not coming soon enough.
And Jesus’ friend Lazarus, does not remain in the tomb.
Jesus calls him out.
He comes out
Wrapped in grave cloths
And Jesus’ final words here are “unbind him and set him free.”
Where is Jesus in our story?
He is here with us too in the physical pain of our grief. He weeps with us. And for now, that is a comfort.
We are not alone.
And we need a resurrection. We need unbinding to set us free, but we hardly know what that looks like now or yet. We are still in the dark of our grief. And we are not alone. That is all I can say so far. And it is all I can repeat over and over again to myself and to you.
We are not alone.
We are in this together.
We are in this with God.
God is in this with us.
The life of resurrection might be a glimmer in the distance and it might seem a long way off yet. But this we know. Life always follows death as surely as light follows the darkness. And so with the psalmist in our grief and pain let us cry out with the longing of our souls for the light and Life beyond this current darkness.
Holy One we long for you
as much as watchmen long for the dawn,
as much as watchmen long for the dawn. Amen.
Our Response
Song: When Jesus Wept
When Jesus wept, the falling tear
in mercy flowed beyond all bound.
When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
seized all the guilty world around.
PRAYER
Words from a song
Grant us God, the Grace of Giving, with a spirit large and free, That ourselves and all our living we may offer faithfully.
Pause and think for a moment of how you can respond concretely.
For example: Do you need to give someone a call or text or email? Can you help a neighbour with appropriate physical distancing measures? Or, if you have your offering for the church, or money for a charity that you support – consider setting that aside now – to give as you are able, online or by mail)
Continue to pray
For all those on our church prayer list. You may have a list from a previous bulletin when we were meeting regularly. You may use that now.
Pray also
for our world and for our world’s leaders
for those who are ill and those who care for them
especially for healthcare workers who feel overwhelmed with the enormity of their responsibility and the risks involved.
for our community and neighbours who may feel more isolated than ever
for ourselves and our loved ones
and as you wish pray to the one who as a loving parent is like
CLOSING HYMN VU #670 Precious Lord, Take My Hand
A familiar favourite
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me Home
When my way grows drear precious Lord linger near
When my light is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me Home
When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me Home
Prayer and Sending
Go now to will and to work for God’s purposes.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Be filled with the same love
and look to the interests of others.
And may the God of Life be with you;
May Christ Jesus stand with you and encourage you;
And may the Holy Spirit guide you into life.
We go in peace to love and serve God,
……..In the name of Christ. Amen.
Prepared by The Rev. Marilyn Zehr
Welcome: We are so fortunate to be able to connect with each other in ways that were unheard of even a generation ago. I’m grateful that technology makes it possible to create and share resources that connect us, and ground us in the Sacred Love that surrounds us all.
As you prepare: Find a comfortable place on your own or with a few others (and have a candle and some matches and a journal or a piece of paper and something to write or draw with)
Opening I invite you to take a moment now and centre yourself deeply in the Love of the Sacred.
(Some people like to plant their feet firmly on the ground; others like to open their hands. Find the position that is best for you.)
Breathe into your core the life-giving Sprit of our Eternal Source;
Breathe in goodness, compassion and truth;
Breathe out fearfulness and worry.
(Repeat these breaths a few more times – breathing in goodness and letting go of your worries)
(Pause)
Allow yourself to open up to the Wisdom that is here for you.
Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom listen here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBYOaKRB35Y
Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom she who danced when earth was new. Follow closely what she teaches, for her words are right and true. Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do. Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do.
Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do. Listen to the voice of Wisdom, crying in the marketplace. Hear the Word made flesh among us, full of glory, truth, and grace. When the word takes root and ripens, peace and righteousness embrace.
Sister Wisdom, come, assist us; nurture all who seek rebirth. Spirit-guide and close companion, bring to light our sacred worth. Free us to become your people, holy friends of God and earth.
Lighting a Christ Candle
Why do we light a Christ Candle?
We light this candle to represent Christ Jesus’ light among us. We light this candle to remind us that even in times of challenge and trial there is a light that lights the way.
OPENING PRAYER (now speak or breathe a prayer for what you desire from this time in worship/silence/contemplation)
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
We continue this Sunday with Lent in the Christian church. At the beginning of Lent this year we asked ourselves if we have ever experienced scarcity real or imagined. Pause for a moment to write down (or draw if you’d rather) any fear you may have about scarcity during this time of social distancing.
Now fold your paper in half and on the other side write any longing for abundance that might address that fear.
We placed our acknowledgements of a sense of scarcity and our longings for abundance in the shape of a cross on the bare branches of a Lent tree. I invite you to place your writing/drawing next to your candle (or later on a bare branch too if you wish).
ASSURANCE
Hear these words of assurance:
Know that Jesus told his followers that he came to offer all people life and offer it abundantly. That life and love and peace is available to us all.
LISTENING FOR A WORD OF WISDOM
Read the following passage two or three or four times. Listen with the ear of your heart or inner wisdom.
Reflection (from Marilyn)
I offer here something to hold alongside your own reflections.
Have any of you felt a bit weary this week?
Has anxiety about unknowns crept into your hearts?
I admit, that I have experienced both weariness and anxiety this week. And I know I’m not alone. Unknowns commonly create anxiety for most people. And there are a lot of unknowns right now. Like how long will the pandemic last? How long will our lives be altered in the ways that they are? Are my loved ones going to be okay? How will I manage if this new way to live stretches into weeks or longer? These kinds of worries and anxieties are both common and unfortunately contagious.
The contagion of worry can be seen most clearly in herd animals. One member of the herd, say a sheep, senses danger, signals that danger to the others and the whole flock begins to run away from the danger – even if they don’t all know what the danger is. We humans may be a bit more evolved than sheep, but we are not immune to picking up on the anxiety vibes that are circulating around us.
Like those sheep from time to time we need a shepherd or shepherds to mitigate the dangers and the anxiety they create for us.
That’s why Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known and well-loved Psalms. The Good Shepherd/The Divine Shepherd, leads the sheep to places where they can rest, where they can drink from calm waters and along good paths. Even in the darkest valley, there is protection from danger. Whenever I read this psalm when I am anxious, my heart rate eases, I remember I am not alone no matter what comes along and that at this table, I am nurtured with a cup that overflows. I am nurtured with a cup of abundance and that here I am loved and I am at home. It’s profoundly comforting.
When I am thus comforted then I do not need to remain like a sheep, I can then step into the role of shepherd as well. In fact, we can all be shepherds. Years ago, I joked with the congregation that I was leading, that it was like pastoring a flock of shepherds instead of sheep. And this was a good joke. Then, as now, I was pastoring a group of leaders who had strong ideas and capacities for taking care of each other. We needed to be able to be shepherds to one another. We need that now too.
But we need both. We need a place with our Divine Shepherd where our anxieties can be calmed, our needs met, our divine belovedness assured. Then we will have the capacity to reach out with our calm and good humour and compassion to others who need that calm as well.
At the risk of mixing metaphors, it’s like putting on your own oxygen mask first so that you can then be effective for others.
Take the time you need to hang out with the Good Shepherd. Rest, refresh, be protected, be nurtured, be at home. Know deeply the restoration of your soul that the Holy One provides. Then stand up from that table and allow the calm and the quiet and renewed strength of your own heart infect the world with goodness and mercy. Amen
Our Response
PRAYER. Words from a song
Grant us God, the Grace of Giving, with a spirit large and free, that ourselves and all our living we may offer faithfully.
Pause and think for a moment of how you can respond concretely.
For example: Do you need to give someone a call or text or email? Can you help a neighbour? Or, if you have your offering for the church, or money for a charity that you support – consider setting that aside now – to give as you are able, online or by mail)
Continue to pray
for our world and for our world’s leaders
for those who are ill and those who care for them
for our community and neighbours
for ourselves and our loved ones
and as you wish pray to the one who as a loving parent is like
CLOSING HYMN VU #642 Be Thou My Wisdom to the tune of Be Thou my Vision with words by Jann Aldredge-Clanton
The Images in the following YouTube video are international, beautiful and deeply moving – for such a time as this.
Come now, O Wisdom, we need your clear voice. Speak and awaken our hearts to rejoice Gracious Creator of more than we know, in your own image may we ever grow.
Come now, O Wisdom, abide in our souls. Stir in us visions of life free and whole. Stir in us visions of life free and whole. Wisdom, our pathway to justice and peace, with you our dreams find their fullest release.
Wisdom, more precious than rubies or gold, with you our graces forever unfold. No fame or fortune with you can compare; Pour out your blessings so rich and so rare.
Wisdom, your grace joins all heaven and earth, with you we labour new life to give birth. with you we labour new life to give birth. Come now, O Wisdom our midwife and friend, Open our hearts to your world without end.
Prayer and Sending
Go now to will and to work for God’s purposes.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Be filled with the same love
and look to the interests of others.
And may your cup overflow with the goodness and mercy of God;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you and encourage you;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on right paths and make your joy complete.
We go in peace to love and serve God,
……..In the name of Christ. Amen.
Worship on your own or with your family or with one or two others with the following resource prepared by Rev. Marilyn Zehr
Find a comfortable place on your own or with a few others (and have a candle and some matches)
I invite you to take a moment now
And centre yourself deeply in the love of the Sacred.
(Some people like to plant their feet firmly on the ground; others like to open their hands. Find the position that is best for you.)
Breathe into your core the life-giving Sprit of our Eternal Source;
Breathe in goodness and truth;
Breathe out fearfulness and worry.
(Pause)
Allow your being to open up to the Wisdom that is here for you.
Lighting a Christ Candle
Why do we light a Christ Candle?
We light this candle to represent Christ Jesus’ light among us. We light this candle to remind us that even in times of challenge and trial there is a light that lights the way.
OPENING PRAYER (now speak or breathe a prayer for what you desire from this time in worship/silence/contemplation)
INVITATION TO CONFESSION
Is there anything that hasn’t felt right to you about
how you spoke this week?
how you behaved?
Your attitudes?
Consider these words from this song MV # 76 If I Have Been the Source of Pain
If I have been the source of pain, O God;
if to the weak I have refused my strength;
if, in rebellion, I have strayed away, forgive me God.
If I have spoken words of cruelty;
if I have left some suffering unrelieved;
condemn not my insensitivity; forgive me God.
If I’ve insisted on a peaceful life,
far from the struggles that the gospel brings,
when you prefer to guide me to the strife, forgive me, God.
Receive O God, this ardent word of prayer,
and free me from temptations subtle snare,
with tender patience, lead me to your care. Amen Amen
ASSURANCE
Hear these words of assurance: Know that God loves us more
than we can imagine – and in that love, we find peace.
LISTENING FOR A WORD OF WISDOM
Read the following passage two or three or four times.
Listen with the ear of your heart or inner wisdom.
In between each reading you might consider these questions.
SACRED READING
Exodus 17:1-7 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
17 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah[a] and Meribah,[b] because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Reflection (from Marilyn)
I offer here something to hold alongside your own reflections.
Is God among us or not?
Like the “congregation of Israelites” who just left slavery in Egypt and are wandering in the wilderness, unsure of where they are going, how they are going to get there, and most pressing at the moment, whether they will have enough water to drink – this sure feels a bit like where we are now in the face of society’s attempts to contain the Covid 19 virus.
We have left the security of an “economy” that for its health requires that we spend/spend/spend and move/move/move.
What happens when we stay home, don’t spend and don’t move around as much?
Many ask legitimate questions like – how’s this all going to unfold? What wilderness are we in now anyway?
Am I going to have enough money to pay the rent/mortgage or buy groceries? Apparently, there’s some unusual concern about toilet paper??? Joking aside, there are deeply legitimate questions about ‘survival’ in the way we have come to know it.
And alongside the basic question of survival is a deeper existential one. Is God alongside us or not?
Not everyone believes in God anymore. The God question floats in and out of our consciousness with varying answers.
Some say, I know that God exists, because I have experienced the peace and love and beauty and security of God in my life over and over again. Every time, I’ve been in need, God is there and God guides my actions towards others.
Others say, “I believe, help my unbelief” – because they hold their belief about God and doubts about God side by side.
And others say, I don’t believe in God, I believe in people.
And when we can’t believe in people anymore…hmmm.
Is God alongside us or not?
There are many names for God and understandings of how God is present in the world and how God acts in the world.
I see and experience God (or Eternal source of life)
in people who look after each other.
in people who check in on each other.
especially in people who love people who don’t necessarily love them back.
And I see God active in this global crisis when we can’t rely on things being the way they were, things that we might have been slaves to without really knowing it. This crisis shakes everything up and, in our uncertainties, asking, “Is God alongside us or not?” is a really legitimate question.
In this story God provides for a people who thirst – for water and the security of knowing that God is there with them and for them in their wilderness.
I suspect that God will provide for us too during this wilderness of uncertainty. Let’s look for and document all the places water flows from rock (where the impossible becomes possible) in the days ahead as people reach out and care for each other in ways we haven’t really had to for a long time. The God I believe in will be in those places.
OUR RESPONSE
PRAYER
Words from a song
Grant us God, the Grace of Giving, with a spirit large and free,
That ourselves and all our living we may offer faithfully.
Continue to pray
for our world
for those who are ill and those who care for them
for our world’s leaders
for our community and neighbours
for ourselves and our loved ones
and as you wish pray to the one who as a loving parent is like
Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed, be thy 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 those who trespass
Against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver
Us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory amen
OR A prayer by Miriam Therese Winter
Our Mother who is within us;
we celebrate your many names
Your wisdom come,
Your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need
You remind us of our limits and we let go
You support us in our power and we act with courage
For you are the
dwelling place within us
the empower around us
and the celebration among us
now and forever amen.
CLOSING Prayer and Sending
Go now to will and to work for God’s purposes.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Be filled with the same love
and look to the interests of others.
And may God quench your thirst with love and consolation;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you and encourage you;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on and make your joy complete.
We go in peace to love and serve God,
……..In the name of Christ. Amen.
A Gardener’s Guide to Lent
9:30 am: St Andrew’s Bethel United Church in Maynooth
11:30 am: St Paul and St James United Church in Madawaska
Worship Leader: The Rev. Marilyn Zehr
Musicians: Valerie Kelly, Carol Peterson
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