Palm/Passion Sunday

PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Worship via Blog                          Palm/Passion Sunday                                        April 5, 2020           

           

PROCESSIONAL HYMN (Use your imagination) All Glory Laud & Honor

This is the day the Lord has made! (Let us rejoice and be glad in it.)

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome to Pioneer’s blog worship service. Though we are accessing this remotely and unable to look each other in the eye, we are still the Pioneer faith community, gathered as children of God to worship, to be spiritually fed, and to be equipped to serve in Christ’s name—from home and safely. We rejoice in this day even in the midst of the crisis of this virus because we know we are not alone. God’s grace will see us through.

Announcements:

Continue to watch the blog for new postings including a Maundy Thursday abbreviated service (without communion). The Soup Supper Devotionals and prior worship services with sermons will remain on-line. Watch, too, for other communications. The blog continues to be a work in progress and will change over time. If you have difficulty using the site, please contact Jean or Jon for assistance.

Demolition work for replacement of the sidewalks on the north and east sides of the church and replacement of the asphalt parking with concrete is underway. If you come to the church, please use the back parking lot and come in those doors. This will take several weeks and while the church services and activities are on hold is a good time to get it done. Thanks to Ron and Rex for their labors!!!!

One Great Hour of Sharing is a special offering we receive each Easter. It generally encompasses three categories: disaster assistance, hunger relief, and helping people build new lives. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance works alongside communities as they recover and find hope after the devastation of natural or human-caused disasters. Presbyterian Hunger Program takes action to alleviate hunger and the systemic causes of poverty so all may be fed. Self-Development of People invests in communities responding to their experiences of racism, oppression, poverty and injustice, and educates Presbyterians about the impact of these society ills. Our generosity makes a difference in the lives of those Jesus called ‘the least of these’. Jesus said doing for them is like doing for Jesus himself.

Our collection of food for the Food Bank is suspended for the time being. I talked with the Senior Center and they feel they have sufficient food for now as they have reduced hours for distribution. If they run short, Angie will let me know and I will put the word out to you for financial donations for them to replenish stock.

Now allow yourself a brief time of silence as you open your hearts and feel God’s presence with you, right where you are.

BAPTISMAL WATER:   Friends, remember your baptism … and be thankful.

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                                

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Merciful God, we enter Holy Week and though we gather in our homes, rather than in your house of prayer, grant that this place would be a sanctuary for us in your presence. Grant that this, our home, would become a house of prayer in your name. As the end of this journey to the cross draws near, keep our hearts on Jesus—his mission and purpose, his life, death, and resurrection. Help us remain faithful to Jesus to the end—through the praise and hallelujahs and through his agony and death, trusting that love will ultimately triumph over the betrayals. Amen.

1^ST SCRIPTURE READING:    Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately. "  This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

HYMN:       “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”

CALL TO CONFESSION

This is the proof of God’s great love: that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Are you thirsty for grace? Are you hungry for mercy? God is calling. Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sin.*

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of mercy, you sent Jesus to seek and save the lost. We confess that we have strayed from you and turned aside from your way. We are misled by pride, for we see ourselves pure when we are stained, and great when we are small. We have failed in love, neglected justice, and ignored your truth. Have mercy, O God, and forgive our sin. Return us to paths of righteousness through Jesus Christ, our Savior.* (personal confessions …) Amen.

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.

          The old life has gone; the new life has begun.

Friends, believe the Good News!

          In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and restored to new life!

PASSING THE PEACE

          May the peace of Christ be with you.

                    And also with you.

Let us extend the peace of Christ in heart and prayer and action to our families, our neighbors, our enemies for they are all kin and beloved children of God.

GLORY BE TO THE FATHER

         

TIME WITH CHILDREN

Hi Fiona! Hi Zoey! Will you spend some time with me? You can’t see me but I am thinking about you and praying for you. I hope you are well and keeping busy. I miss you and look forward to when we can all come back to the church and talk to you in person. Until then, we will talk through the computer. Did you get the pages I mailed to you to color? They have pictures that are about today’s Bible story.

Today is called Palm Sunday. If we had been at the church, you would have helped carry palm branches up the aisle and put them in a vase at the front. Does that sound like a funny thing to do? We do that to praise Jesus and remember the time Jesus came into Jerusalem. He was riding on a donkey. There were lots and lots of people who were shouting out praises to Jesus and waving palm branches. They laid many of the branches in front of him so that his donkey walked on them. Some even took off their coats and laid them down, too. Do you think you would lay your coat on the ground for a donkey to walk on? It does sound like a silly thing to do, doesn’t it? The people wanted to show they respected Jesus and that they loved him. We can show Jesus we love him without putting our coats on the ground. We can do that by following what he taught—being kind to people and helping them, praying and learning about God, by loving our families and neighbors and even loving people we don’t like as much. Let’s pray right now:

Jesus, thank you for loving us. We love you, too. Help us to show that we love you by being kind to other people and loving others even when they are hard to love. Even though we can’t go to church, remind us to keep praying and being nice to other people and to tell them that you love them, too. Amen.

         

HYMN:       “Jesus Loves Me”

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so

Little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.

Recollect how, following each children’s time, they return to their pews or class as the congregation links hands in an arch over the aisle and over their heads. They go down the aisle knowing that they are part of our worship, that they count, that they are important. As we sing, we remember that this song is for us as well. Jesus loves us. The Bible tells us this truth over and over again. We tell each other. Our hearts tell us as well.

2^ND SCRIPTURE READING:   Matthew 26:14 through 26:66

Matthew 26:14-16           Judas Negotiates Betrayal for 30 Pieces of Silver

Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. 

Matthew 26:17-25           Passover with Jesus and His Disciples

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.' “So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.  And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?" Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.  But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."  Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."

Matthew 26:26-30                     The Last Supper

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."  When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Matthew 26:31-35          Foretelling Abandonment and Denial

Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."  "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same. 

Matthew 26:36-46           Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."  He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

Matthew 26:47-56           Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Matthew 26:57-68                     Jesus on trial before the Religious Leaders

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.  The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.' “Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.  Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?"

Matthew 26:69-75           Peter Denies Jesus … and the Rooster Crows

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said. But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"  After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away." Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.  Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Matthew 27:1-2               Jesus Taken to the Roman Authorities

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Matthew 26:3-10             Judas Feels Remorse

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money."  So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners.  That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

Matthew 27:11-26           Jesus before Pilate: Jesus or Barabbas?

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge--to the great amazement of the governor. Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.  At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."  But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered.  "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!"  "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"  When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. 

Matthew 27:27-31           Jesus Scourged and Mocked

Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:32-44           Jesus Crucified

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' “In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah." Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

Matthew 27:45-56           Jesus Dies on the Cross

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

Matthew 27:56-66           Jesus Is Buried and the Tomb Is Guarded

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how."  So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

         

SERMON:   “Hope Is Just a Story”                                                      Rev. Jean Hurst

          How bad is it? Perhaps a better question is ‘how bad will it get?’  The first question is about what you are facing right now. And that question is less about the lack of toilet paper and the activities you’re missing than it is about your emotional or spiritual state. Because, if you think about it, you’re making it through right now. You are here. You are coping. You are dealing with it. You are adjusting to a temporary new reality. So far so good … said the guy at the tenth floor who is falling from a twenty story building. It’s the same humor that goes with my sweatshirt that says, “I plan to live forever … so far so good.

          The coronavirus is not humor (though one of our survival techniques is to turn to dark humor) though it invites maintaining an appropriate perspective. The corona virus is real. The social isolation is real. The loss of life is trajic and real. The impact to individual businesses and to the economy as a whole is real and to many, devastating. The lost opportunities, the lost celebratory occasions, the lost last days with a dying loved one are all a very sad part of our current situations. I would never, in any way, want to minimize the impacts of this painful time in our lives.

          And we are dealing with it. Proof is that we are here right now, still living our lives as normally as we can under the restrictions we face. And we’re finding some bonuses in the social distancing. We’re spending more literal facetime with family. We are noticing and appreciating more God-moments or blessings that we can now take the time to notice. We are slowing down what has been an unhealthy frenzied lifestyle. If we can take a step back from it, we can also recognize that this is a piece of history in the making.

Most of us have lived through other history-making tragedies and many through stories handed down by friends and relatives who lived through prior hard times. There are the obvious wars, prior pandemics and health crises, natural disasters, economic collapses, shortages, and for Harney in the relatively near past, the closing of the Hines Lumber mill.

For the duration of those crises, it changed people’s lives and also shaped their values. Granted, for some of those events, there’s a big difference between seeing it on TV and living it. Each way of experiencing these events shapes us in a different way and the impact of the tragedies are felt more accutely by those closest to it. Yet people made it through those struggles. The country made it through. The world made it through. It usually took some time for recovery, but we recovered.

Let’s look at the text for today. It’s the two-fold palm/passion narrative. You start with a scenario of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to the accolades of the crowds who have heard of his miraculous healings and the incredible good news of his teachings. They break off palm branches and wave them in the air and lay them beneath the feet of the donkey Jesus rides. Some even take off their coats and lay them down to be walked on by the animal because this man, in their eyes, is a savior and king. This is how they honor him, along with their shouts of praises.

Think how the disciples must have felt as the crowds grow and the clamor increases. And just think, they’re part of it. They’re with this man on the donkey. That excitement and glory reflects on them. They are part of something that is life changing. These are the high times, captured in this moment. They are part of something good. Life is good. And in their confident joyfulness there is the risk of delusion—that this means that life will always be this good.        

And then it all comes crashing down. It starts with warnings. Jesus says one of them will betray. He says Peter, the most fiercely loyal will deny knowing him. He tells them they will abandon him. He says he will suffer and die. The warning signs are all there and still they refuse to believe it.

Until it becomes their reality. Judas betrays. The disciples run. Peter denies. Jesus is arrested. The religious authorities hold a kangaroo court and condemn him to death. Soldiers mock and beat him. Pilate interogates him and Jesus refuses to defend himself. The crowds, probably many of those same people who a short time before wanted to make him king now cry for his crucifixion. Pilate gives the order. He is nailed to a cross. After hours of agony, Jesus dies. He is placed in a borrowed tomb and the door is sealed. And the world waits.

Waiting is hard. Waiting is always hard. What do we do with the waiting time? Do we see it as a transition time, an anticipation of better things to come or do we see it as a permanent reality? What did the disciples do? In a sense, they were also in social isolation—albeit most of them together as a group.  They were scared. They were heartbroken. They were in despair. They were lost.

They were in that period of their current reality. Obviously they were surviving it. They were still alive. They hadn’t been arrested and executed. Life was different for them, but they were making it through in the face of the worst tragedy they’d ever experienced. But the physical survival wasn’t the real issue for them. It was their emotional and spiritual survival that was at risk. They had lost hope.

Jesus had told them. He had warned that all this would happen, even their lostness in the aftermath. They hadn’t listened. And they hadn’t listened when Jesus told them it would be a temporary reality. He told them multiple times that even though he would suffer and die that he would rise again on the third day. That was their hope. But they forgot. Hope is such a simple word. And so much hangs on it. Like our survival.

Charles Pinches, a professor of theology and religious studies at the University of Scranton, wrote an article about hope for the July 2017 edition of Christianity Today. He began the article telling about Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation who related a tragedy the tribe experienced, “When the buffalo went away the hearts of my people fell to the ground, and they could not lift them up again. After this nothing happened.”

Pinches says the Crow people’s lives had lost connection with their own history. This, he says, is a life without hope. Too often, we think of hope as an emotion, something in our hearts. We use the term glibly. We hope that it snows. We hope that it doesn’t. We hope our team wins. We hope we get a raise or that the stock market won’t fall further (which, granted, is less glib). Optomism can be just as bad. Optomism puts a positive spin on whatever situation we face. In itself, optomism isn’t a bad thing and can help us have a more positive attitude through hard times.

But hope isn’t about glib wishes and it isn’t about optomism and putting a positive spin on things. It is about connecting our past with our future. It’s our anchor, what we hold onto. Life without hope is called despair. Aquinas wrote about despair being the greatest sin. He said that while hatred and unbelief oppose God directly, despair reflects a person’s ceasing to hope for a share in God’s goodness. It detaches us from God’s story. As Pinches states it, “Despair does not so much deny or oppose God’s truth or story directly, but rather says: whatever the truth is, or whatever the story may be, there is nothing in it for me.”

Hope isn’t about dismissing the current trouble, it is about the struggle. Hope does not divide one part of our lives from another. It connects them. For the disciples to feel hope in the aftermath of Jesus’ death they needed to connect that current reality with God’s story and believe that they had a part in God’s goodness.

We, just as they, have the proof of God’s goodness in the entire biblical history. We have the proof in the myriad ways God has been present in our lives, has blessed us, has held us in grace despite our not deserving it, has forgiven and accepted and loved and healed us and given us new beginnings … again and again.

We have proof in every baby that draws its first breath. We have proof in sharing the sacred moment of a loved one releasing their last breath. We have proof of God’s goodness in the rain that waters the earth, the flowers that pushes up from the cold ground, the rainbow following the storm, the bird on wing.

We have proof in our past of how God has brought us through life’s tragedies and sorrows and losses. We have proof of God’s goodness now as we look at how people are reaching out to each other to help in the midst of this crisis. We see it in the acts of kindness that caring hearts extend to another.

Love and kindness are signs of hope. They connect us to who God is, for God is love. They connect us to God’s story, which is our story. And sometimes we have to wait to see the full truth of it. This is a time of waiting—waiting for Jesus in the tomb, waiting to see God’s miraculous and loving redemption and healing of the world, waiting to see how the next steps of our lives connect us to God’s story.

Jesus is in the tomb. The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the world and impacts each of us individually. What do we do with that? It is a waiting time. What will you do in the waiting? How will you make hope part of how your story connects with God’s story?

Birthdays!!

Happy Birthday wishes to Dorothy Dulaney (March 12), Bob Smyth (March 15) Sheila Angell (March 31), and Alex Sell (April 8).

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday Dorothy and Bob and Sheila and Alex.

Happy birthday to you!

HYMN:                 “He Never Said a Mumblin’ Word”

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

          Lord God, during this day, especially, we are reminded of just how grim life can be as we remember how praises for Jesus turned into calls for his crucifixion. It felt like such a hopeless time as Jesus was beaten and ridiculed and nailed to a cross to die an agonizing death. It was a time that even Jesus felt desolate, felt like you had abandoned him. Holy God, we have had those times as well. Even now, during the coronavirus, our lives, our world, can feel so empty. We see all that is wrong in the world and we risk losing hope. But as followers of Jesus, we know how the story ends.  The cross is empty and soon the tomb will be as well. In you, there is always hope. Remind us of that now, in our time of need. Open our eyes to what you are doing in the world, how you are working through people who have hearts of love and hands of hope. Help us to project hope to all those with whom we have contact, to be instruments of healing to a hurting world.

          Tender God, we lift up to you our community, those who are frail, those for whom the burdens and struggles of life are becoming more than they can shoulder, those who are recovering from surgeries or who struggle with medical problems. Lord, keep them safe during this pandemic. We lift up to you the family of Bob Wark as they grieve his passing, for Sandy Cargill and Linda Kaesemeyer as they recover from surgery, for Sandi Posz as she continues her cancer treatment. We pray for Paul M. … Trisha … Dave … Jacob … Linda … Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney … Bob … Ethel … Helen.

          We pray for those who are impacted by the coronavirus—for those who grieve, for the ill, for families and friends separated and isolated, for businesses and their survival, for employees who don’t know how they will make it through this crisis, for those who live in fear of what might be coming next, for those who are most vulnerable, for the homeless community. We pray for medical providers and social service providers as they try to respond with inadequate resources under impossible conditions, stem the spread of this virus, we pray. Help our leaders to make wise decisions for the good of the people. We pray that the stimulus package will be effective as our economy struggles to survive this pandemic. And thank you for all those people who are doing what they can to help. Thank you for walking with us through these crazy times.

          And God of our lives, we pray for ourselves. We worry about many things and in trust we turn to you and lay those worries before you, trusting in you, in your love, in your care, in your action and guidance in our lives. Heal the hurts of our lives. Guide our decisions. Help us through our doubts and struggles. We entrust ourselves and our world to your care, praying in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray:

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 debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

OFFERING

We bring before God the gifts of our hearts and labors. (Those gifts of our labors can be mailed to the church.) As we approach Easter, we also consider our gifts for One Great Hour of Sharing. This is an offering of compassion providing relief from natural disasters, food for the hungry, and support for the poor and oppressed. Your generosity provides help and hope to change the lives of God’s children. Your offering for One Great Hour of Sharing can be sent to the church. Make the check out to Pioneer and on the memo line write OGHS.

The gifts of our hearts, of our time, our energy, our talents is something we commit to God, then live out each day in our interactions with one another. Take a moment to make those heart offerings to the Lord.

“Doxology”

Prayer:  Generous and compassionate God, we bring these gifts before you, the gifts of our money for your kingdom work and the gifts of our hearts and lives … also for your kingdom work. Grant that we might be as generous as you. Bless these gifts we pray. Amen.

CLOSING HYMN:         “Were You There?”

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

Your charge for the week is to wait ... even as you live in hope. Though the lesson today has been grim as we faced the crucifixion of Jesus, as Christians we know the resurrection is coming. Our hope in the resurrection connects us to God's story.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

CHORAL RESPONSE

May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever. Grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor. Lift up your eyes and see his face and his grace forever. May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever.

Birthdays!!

Happy Birthday wishes to Dorothy Dulaney (March 12), Bob Smyth (March 15) Sheila Angell (March 31), and Alex Sell (April 8).

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday Dorothy and Bob and Sheila and Alex.

Happy birthday to you!

*Reprinted by permission from Book of Common Worship, 1993, Westminster/John Knox Press.

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LOOKING AHEAD

Worship and church activities are suspended until this pandemic is contained and it is safe for us to once more gather in Christ’s name. Use the church blog to access worship and spiritual support articles and to keep up with what’s going on.

Pastor Jean is now in the office Monday through Friday. You may stop in for short visits (six feet apart) or call for a phone chat.

Once we are well established on our blog, we’ll be testing out Zoom—in addition to, not instead of, the blog.

PRAYER CARE: PLEASE KEEP THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE IN YOUR PRAYERS:

Sandy Cargill (aortic valve replacement), Sandi Posz (lymphoma), Sandi’s friend Paul M, Trisha Cagley (health problems), Dave Clark (kidney cancer), Jacob Cunningham, Linda Kaesemeyer (knee surgery), Joyce Sahlberg (health issues), Jennifer Schirm (Parkinson’s), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), and Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s).

LECTIONARY FOR 4/5/20

                                    Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24;

                              1 Corinthians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18

                              or Matthew 28:1-10

Easter Evening:      Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 114; 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; Luke 24:13-49