Monday, March 31, 2014

An Ordo for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (6 April 2014)

The Fifth Sunday in Lent
6 April 2014

The Gathering of the Community

Gathering Music

Opening Litany

At the door to the Nave, the Presider, assisted by other Ministers, begins the Litany.

Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God,
the fountain of living water,
the rock who gave us birth,
our light and our salvation.
Amen.[i]

God of our ancestors, you raise the dead to life in the Spirit:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

You bring pardon and peace to the broken in heart:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

You make one by your Spirit the torn and divided:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.[ii]

God of the prophets, may your loving mercy come to us
and your salvation according to your word:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your word is a lantern to our feet and a light to our path:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Let your mercy come to us so that we may life,
for your ways are our delight:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.[iii]

Lenten Hymn of Praise

‘Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery’  Common Praise #179 vv. 5, 6f

Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

God of all consolation and compassion,
whose Son comforted Martha and Mary:
pour out your Spirit upon us
so that we may face despair and death
with the hope of resurrection and faith in Christ
who called Lazarus from the grave.  Amen.[iv]

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

A Reading from the prophet Ezekiel (37.1-14).

            The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.  He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?”  I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them:  O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God to these bones:  I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

            So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:  Thus says the Lord God:  Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”  I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

            Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel.  They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’  Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:  I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.  I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.

The Psalm

Psalm 130 with the refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung twice):  We hope in God with all our heart.

1 Out of the depths *
            have I called you, O Lord;
2 Lord, hear my voice; *
            let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

Refrain:  We hope in God with all our heart.

3 If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, *
            O Lord, who could stand?
4 For there is forgiveness with you; *
            therefore you shall be feared.

Refrain:  We hope in God with all our heart.

5 I wait for you, O Lord; my soul waits for you; *
            in your word is my hope.
6 My soul waits for you, O Lord, *
more than those who watch for the morning,
            more than those who watch for the morning.

Refrain:  We hope in God with all our heart.

7 O Israel, wait for the Lord, *
            for with the Lord there is mercy;
8 with whom there is plenteous redemption, *
            and who shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Refrain:  We hope in God with all our heart.

The Second Reading

A Reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans (8.6-11).

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law — indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

            But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.

Gradual Hymn

‘O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing’  Common Praise #306 vv. 1, 3, 5

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (11.1-45).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

            [Jesus] went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there.  Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”  And many believed in him there.

            Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.  So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”  But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

            Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”  The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the [Jewish authorities] were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”  Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight?  Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.  But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.”  After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.”  The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.”  Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.  Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.  For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.  But let us go to him.”  Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

            When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home.  Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”  Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

            When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”  And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him.  Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.  The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out.  They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there.  When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.  He said, “Where have you laid him?”  They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”  Jesus began to weep.  So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”  But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

            Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”  Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.”  Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”  So they took away the stone.  And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”  When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth.  Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

            Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”

The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sermon

A Lenten Affirmation of Faith

The Deacon invites the Community to affirm its faith.

Let us affirm our faith.

Sisters and brothers, let us love one another,
because love is from God;
everyone who loves is born of God
and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God,
for God is love.

God’s love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent the Word, the Belovèd, into the world
so that we might live through Christ.

Sisters and brothers, since God loved us so much,
we also ought to love one another.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God.
So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. [v]

The Prayers of the Community

Intercessions, Thanksgivings and Petitions

The Exchange of the Peace

May the peace of Christ be always with you.
And also with you.

The Holy Communion

The Offertory Hymn

‘Revive Thy Work, O Lord’  Common Praise #454

Lenten Prayer over the Gifts

The Deacon leads the Community in the Prayer over the Gifts.

God our provider,
you have fed us not with bread alone,
but with words of grace and life.
Bless us and these your gifts,
which we receive from your bounty,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [vi]

The Thanksgiving at the Table

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right to give you thanks and praise,
O Lord, our God, sustainer of the universe,
you are worthy of glory and praise.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

At your command all things came to be:
the vast expanse of interstellar space,
galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses,
and this fragile earth, our island home;
by your will they were created and have their being.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

From the primal elements
you brought forth the human race,
and blessed us with memory, reason and skill;
you made us the stewards of creation.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

But we turn against you and betray your trust,
and we turn against one another.
Again and again you call us to return.
Through the prophets and sages
you reveal your righteous law.
In the fullness of time you sent your Son,
born of woman, to be our Saviour.
He was wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities.
By his death he opened to us
the way of freedom and peace.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

Therefore we praise you,
joining with the heavenly chorus,
with prophets, apostles and martyrs,
and with those in every generation
who have looked to you in hope,
to proclaim with them your glory,
in their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest. [vii]

Blessed are you, Lord our God,
for sending us Jesus, the Christ,
who on the night he was handed over
to suffering and death,
took bread, said the blessing,
broke the bread, gave it to his friends,
and said, “Take this, and eat it:
this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after supper,
he took the cup of wine;
he gave you thanks,
and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for all people
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me.”
Glory to you for ever and ever.

Gracious God,
we recall the death of your Son Jesus Christ,
we proclaim his resurrection and ascension,
and we look with expectation for his coming
as Lord of all the nations.
We who have been redeemed by him
and made a new people by water and the Spirit,
now bring you these gifts.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this offering of your Church,
so that we who eat and drink at this holy table
may share the divine life of Christ our Lord.
Glory to you for ever and ever.

Pour out your Spirit upon the whole earth
and make it your new creation.
Gather your Church together
from the ends of the earth into your kingdom,
where peace and justice are revealed,
so that we, with all your people,
of every language, race and nation,
may share the banquet you have promised;

through Christ, with Christ and in Christ,
all honour and glory are yours,
Creator of all.
Glory to you for ever and ever.  Amen. [viii]

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.  Amen. [ix]

The Breaking of the Bread

We break this bread,
communion in Christ’s body once broken.

Let your Church be the wheat
which bears its fruit in dying.
If we have died with him,
we shall live with him;
if we hold firm,
we shall reign with him.

The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.

The Communion

Communion Hymn

‘Breathe on Me, Breath of God’  Common Praise #649

The Sending Forth of the Community

Lenten Prayer after Communion

Compassionate God,
you have fed us with the bread of heaven.
Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage:
may our fasting be hunger for justice;
our alms, a making of peace;
and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [x]

Glory to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and ever.  Amen.

Closing Hymn

‘Wind upon the Waters’  Common Praise #408

Dismissal

The Deacon or Assisting Minister sends the Community forth with an appropriate Dismissal.

Concluding Music



[i] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 97.

[ii] Common Worship (2000), 133 alt.

[iii] Common Worship (2000), 133 alt.

[iv] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 86 alt.

[v] 1 John 4.7-10a, 11, 16bc alt.

[vi] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 64.

[vii] Common Praise #722.

[viii] Eucharistic Prayer 4 in The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 201-203 alt.

[ix] Common Praise #744.

[x] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 65.