March 29, 2024
WELCOME AND OPENING PRAYER
1. BETRAYAL
MARK 14:10-13,16-21
10 Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to give Jesus up to them. 11 When they heard it, they were delighted and promised to give him money. So he started looking for an opportunity to turn him in.
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, the disciples said to Jesus, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
13 He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city. A man carrying a water jar will meet you. Follow him.
16 The disciples left, came into the city, found everything just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
17 That evening, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 During the meal, Jesus said, “I assure you that one of you will betray me—someone eating with me.”
19 Deeply saddened, they asked him, one by one, “It’s not me, is it?”
20 Jesus answered, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who is dipping bread with me into this bowl. 21 The Human One goes to his death just as it is written about him. But how terrible it is for that person who betrays the Human One! It would have been better for him if he had never been born.”
PRAYER
Jesus, like Judas, we too have betrayed you and your children in the pursuit of money. We blindly acquire wealth and possessions at the expense of others which causes significant suffering throughout the world. We confess that we feel trapped by these financial systems we’ve created and we can’t envision a better way to live. Forgive us and show us a new way to live that values the lives and work of all of your children. Amen.
SONG
Were you there when our Lord he was betrayed?
Were you there when our Lord he was betrayed?
Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when our Lord he was betrayed?
2. DENIAL
LUKE 22:39-48,54-62
39 Jesus left and made his way to the Mount of Olives, as was his custom, and the disciples followed him. 40 When he arrived, he said to them, “Pray that you won’t give in to temptation.” 41 He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed. 42 He said, “Father, if it’s your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, not my will but your will must be done.” 43 Then a heavenly angel appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 He was in anguish and prayed even more earnestly. His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. 45 When he got up from praying, he went to the disciples. He found them asleep, overcome by grief. 46 He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you won’t give in to temptation.”
47 While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd appeared, and the one called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him.
48 Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Human One with a kiss?”
54 After they arrested Jesus, they led him away and brought him to the high priest’s house. Peter followed from a distance. 55 When they lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
56 Then a servant woman saw him sitting in the firelight. She stared at him and said, “This man was with him too.”
57 But Peter denied it, saying, “Woman, I don’t know him!”
58 A little while later, someone else saw him and said, “You are one of them too.”
But Peter said, “Man, I’m not!”
59 An hour or so later, someone else insisted, “This man must have been with him, because he is a Galilean too.”
60 Peter responded, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” At that very moment, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered the Lord’s words: “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably.
PRAYER
Jesus, like Peter, we too have denied knowing you and your children out of fear. We are quick to cut people out of our lives because they are different than we are. We deny fellowship and hospitality to those we perceive as threatening, as expendable, as unlovable, or whose experiences we don’t understand. We confess that we often feel overpowered by fear. Forgive us and give us the courage to face our fear with love. Amen
SONG
Were you there when his friends they turned away?
Were you there when his friends they turned away?
Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when his friends they turned away?
3. INJUSTICE
MARK 15:1-15, MATTHEW 27:27-31
1 At daybreak, the chief priests—with the elders, legal experts, and the whole Sanhedrin—formed a plan. They bound Jesus, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus replied, “That’s what you say.” 3 The chief priests were accusing him of many things.
4 Pilate asked him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? What about all these accusations?” 5 But Jesus gave no more answers, so that Pilate marveled.
6 During the festival, Pilate released one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 A man named Barabbas was locked up with the rebels who had committed murder during an uprising. 8 The crowd pushed forward and asked Pilate to release someone, as he regularly did. 9 Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” 10 He knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of jealousy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead. 12 Pilate replied, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?”
13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
14 Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
They shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus whipped, then handed him over to be crucified.
27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s house, and they gathered the whole companyof soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a red military coat on him. 29 They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they bowed down in front of him and mocked him, saying, “Hey! King of the Jews!” 30 After they spit on him, they took the stick and struck his head again and again. 31 When they finished mocking him, they stripped him of the military coat and put his own clothes back on him. They led him away to crucify him.
PRAYER
Jesus, like Pilate and the chief priests, we also have participated in unjust judicial systems that condemn you and your children. We live in a country that hypocritically proclaims liberty and justice for all people, while systematically oppressing people of color, immigrants, refugees, the poor and many others. We are often blind to this injustice unless we’ve experienced it ourselves, so we remain silent. Forgive us and open our eyes to see injustice, so we can challenge it and actively bring your justice into the world. Amen
SONG
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
4. SUFFERING
LUKE 23:32-43
32 They also led two other criminals to be executed with Jesus. 33 When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” They drew lots as a way of dividing up his clothing.
35 The people were standing around watching, but the leaders sneered at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he really is the Christ sent from God, the chosen one.”
36 The soldiers also mocked him. They came up to him, offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you really are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 Above his head was a notice of the formal charge against him. It read “This is the king of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus insulted him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40 Responding, the other criminal spoke harshly to him, “Don’t you fear God, seeing that you’ve also been sentenced to die? 41 We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus replied, “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.”
PRAYER
Jesus, like the gathered masses at your crucifixion, we also are surrounded by violence. We live in a world stuck in a constant cycle of war and destruction. We are watching in horror as this cycle unfolds before us in Ukraine. The human suffering in these conflicts is incomprehensible, and we have grown numb to the violence. We also have grown numb to the violence in our own communities as people are shot and killed in senseless violence. Soften our hearts and forgive our complacency, so that we may actually become peacemakers. Amen
SONG
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?
Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?
5. DEATH
MARK 15:33-39
33 From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. 34 At three, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”
35 After hearing him, some standing there said, “Look! He’s calling Elijah!” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 But Jesus let out a loud cry and died.
38 The curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who stood facing Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “This man was certainly God’s Son.”
PRAYER
Jesus, like you, we also will die. We struggle to accept that these bodies that we’ve been given will not last forever. So, we cling to them, numb them, abuse them, and hide from them - in order to avoid facing their end. Too often, our fear of death leads us toward the path of safety - when you call us to courageous action. Forgive us and free us from our fear so that we may embrace our death in order to find true life. Empower us to grieve with those who grieve, mourn with those who mourn, listen to those who are unheard, and lift up those who are beaten down. Amen.
SONG
Were you there when they killed the Lord of Life?
Were you there when they killed the Lord of Life?
Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they killed the Lord of Life?
CLOSING PRAYER
God, let us wait well
While we wait, we will restore with you
While we wait, we will redeem with you
While we wait, we are transformed by you
Jesus, let us wait well
While we wait, we hope for your presence
While we wait, we pray for peace in tension
While we wait, we hope for change around and in us
God, let us wait well
While we wait, let us remember your promise
While we wait, let us remember those who have waited before
While we wait, let us remember you wait with us
Jesus, let us wait well
While we wait, may we beat swords into plowshares
While we wait, may we love where there is hate
While we wait, may we live as if the wait is over.
Amen