SPEAKER_04: Good evening.
SPEAKER_04: I welcome you to one of the most intimate services of our church calendar.
SPEAKER_04: I want to thank all those who are helping to lead our service.
SPEAKER_04: We are in the midst of Holy Week, and the sir and this service commemorates the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_04: As we move through the service, candles will be extinguished, along with the dimming of light, progressing from light to darkness.
SPEAKER_04: Tonight we gather around this table to share a meal and remember the Last Supper.
SPEAKER_04: We invite all to come forward to receive communion by intinction.
SPEAKER_04: And as you receive the bread, it is appropriate for you to say thanks be to God for Amen.
SPEAKER_04: And give the bread into the cup saying amen.
SPEAKER_08: Let us say the prayer of Thanksgiving together.
SPEAKER_08: Holy God, in this sacred and solemn week, when we see again the depth and mystery of your redeeming love, fix our eyes upon Christ.
SPEAKER_08: One's glad disciples shouted, Hosanna, and then turned away.
SPEAKER_08: Help us to follow where he goes, to stop where he stumbles, to listen when he cries, to hurt as he suffers, to bow our heads in sorrow when he dies, so that when raised to life again, we may share your endless joy.
SPEAKER_03: Then they came to Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_03: He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple.
SPEAKER_03: He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seeds of those who sold doves.
SPEAKER_03: He would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
SPEAKER_03: He was teaching and saying, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.
SPEAKER_03: When the chief priests and scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him, for they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.
SPEAKER_03: Let us join in prayer, saying together, Great God, cleanse your church of fake piety, overturn our greed, and let us be a holy people, repentant, prayerful, and ready to worship you in spirit and in truth.
SPEAKER_06: What do you think?
SPEAKER_06: He went to the first and decided to go and work in the vineyard today.
SPEAKER_06: He answered, I will not.
SPEAKER_06: But later he changed his mind and went.
SPEAKER_06: The father went to the second and said the same.
SPEAKER_06: And he answered, I go, sir.
SPEAKER_06: But he did not go.
SPEAKER_06: Which of the two did the will of his father?
SPEAKER_06: They said, the first.
SPEAKER_06: And Jesus said to them, Truly, I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going to enter the kingdom of heaven ahead of you.
SPEAKER_06: For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him.
SPEAKER_06: But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him.
SPEAKER_06: And even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
SPEAKER_06: Let us join in prayer, saying together, loving God, whose mercy never ends, even as Jesus came not to judge, but to save us, so may we his believing people, to reach people everywhere with your Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Then he leased it to the tenants and went to another country.
SPEAKER_00: When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: But they seized him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
SPEAKER_00: And again he sent another slave to them.
SPEAKER_00: This one they beat over the head and insulted.
SPEAKER_00: Then he sent another one, and that one they killed.
SPEAKER_00: And so it was with many others.
SPEAKER_00: Some they beat and others they killed.
SPEAKER_00: He had still one other son.
SPEAKER_00: Finally he sent it to them and to them, saying, They will respect my son.
SPEAKER_00: But those tenants said to one another, This is the heir.
SPEAKER_00: And the inheritance will be ours.
SPEAKER_00: So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: What then will the owner of the vineyard do?
SPEAKER_00: He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
SPEAKER_00: Have you not read the scripture?
SPEAKER_00: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
SPEAKER_00: This was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.
SPEAKER_00: When they realized that he had told his parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, so they left him and went away.
SPEAKER_00: Almighty God, who has trusted to labor faithfully in your vineyard, deliver us from our impulse to reject you.
SPEAKER_00: Save us from our desire to do things our way, so that we may be profitable stewards and receive the reward that you have promised through Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_05: For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.
SPEAKER_05: That the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took a loaf of bread.
SPEAKER_05: And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body that is for you.
SPEAKER_05: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_05: In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
SPEAKER_05: Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_05: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
SPEAKER_05: Let us join in prayer, saying together, Eternal God, whose covenant with us is never broken.
SPEAKER_05: We confess that we have failed to fulfill your will for us.
SPEAKER_05: We betray our neighbors and desert our friends and run in fear when we shall be loyal.
SPEAKER_05: Though you have bound yourself to us, we will not bind ourselves to you.
SPEAKER_05: God have mercy on us, weak and willful people.
SPEAKER_05: Lead us once more to the table and once more unite to Christ, who is the bread of life and the vine from which we grow in grace, to whom we praise forever.
SPEAKER_05: Amen.
SPEAKER_07: God of grace, you welcome us to the table of our Lord Jesus Christ and give us gifts for fear or desire.
SPEAKER_07: We are grateful for Christ who builds our faith and renews your covenant with us, who by his death gives life to all who trust in him.
SPEAKER_07: How can we thank you for your love?
SPEAKER_07: Give us a willingness to serve you in the manner of Christ, who became your son, our Lord.
SPEAKER_07: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: One on his right and one on his left.
SPEAKER_01: And they cast lots to divide his clothing, and the people stood by, watching.
SPEAKER_01: But the leaders scoffed at him, saying, He saved others, but let him save himself, if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one.
SPEAKER_01: The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.
SPEAKER_01: There was also an inscription over him, this is the king of the Jews.
SPEAKER_01: One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, Are you not the Messiah?
SPEAKER_01: Save yourself and us.
SPEAKER_01: But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
SPEAKER_01: And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds.
SPEAKER_01: But this man has done nothing wrong.
SPEAKER_01: Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come when we when you come into your kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: He replied, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
SPEAKER_01: It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
SPEAKER_01: While the sun's light failed, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
SPEAKER_01: Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Having said this, he breathed his last.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew 27 says, When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
SPEAKER_01: So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock.
SPEAKER_01: He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.
SPEAKER_01: Let us join in prayer, saying together, How great is your love, O God, for which Jesus willingly took up a cross and lay down his life.
SPEAKER_01: Work in us such true faithfulness that we may cast out sin, welcome mercy, and live in wonder, praising the perfect gift of Jesus Christ the Savior.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: On this holy week, soon after celebrating the Lord's Supper with his disciples, Jesus was betrayed, abandoned, interrogated, imprisoned, and crucified.
SPEAKER_04: And despite the mocking and rebuking, Jesus asks God to forgive them.
SPEAKER_04: When all seems lost, Jesus offers hope to a criminal on a cross next to him.
SPEAKER_04: When he says, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
SPEAKER_04: And then in the middle of the day, the whole sky goes black, and the curtain in the temple is torn into two, and Jesus cries out with a loud voice, saying, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
SPEAKER_04: Having said this, he breathed his last.
SPEAKER_04: How many people here know and learn how to handle lots of things in life?
SPEAKER_04: There's one area that happens a lot that we're often ill-equipped for.
SPEAKER_04: It's loss and death.
SPEAKER_04: According to the Grief Recovery Handbook, loss is inevitable.
SPEAKER_04: Sometimes loss is even predictable.
SPEAKER_04: In spite of these truths, we receive no formal training in how to respond to events that are guaranteed to happen and sure to cause pain and disruption.
SPEAKER_04: Now, of course, I wish I could tell you that your pastor excels in this subject, but the formal training I have is a one-semester class in pastoral counseling.
SPEAKER_04: Loss and death were just one among many other components of this single class.
SPEAKER_04: So it's very likely that I or the church has fallen short in counseling or helping you when you experience death or loss.
SPEAKER_04: Myth number one, don't feel bad is what we're told.
SPEAKER_04: Myth number two, replace the loss.
SPEAKER_04: And the sixth myth, keep busy.
SPEAKER_04: Maybe you know some of these myths.
SPEAKER_04: Maybe you've shared or said, hey, this is what to do.
SPEAKER_04: Maybe you could add a few others to this list.
SPEAKER_04: And on top of all this, we go to extremes to avoid talking about death.
SPEAKER_04: Some won't say the word death or died.
SPEAKER_04: Instead, many say things like she's passed away or dad's gone.
SPEAKER_04: He expired.
SPEAKER_04: We've lost mother.
SPEAKER_04: Grandpa's gone to sleep.
SPEAKER_04: God has called him home.
SPEAKER_04: A pastor in Christian Century uh shared why unruly children should be in church.
SPEAKER_04: He says several years and several churches ago, something happened that clinched this point for me.
SPEAKER_04: Our church had done a canvas of the working class neighborhood, and a large group of unattended kids had started attending.
SPEAKER_04: The little knot of people who I sat with ended up being the default babysitters for this group of kids whose ages ranged from four to eleven.
SPEAKER_04: And one week, as our rector repeated for the umpteenth time the words that accompany the Eucharist, when she got to he died, a four-year-old face turned to me full of shock and horror and said, He what?
SPEAKER_04: It's one of those only times I've seen someone begin to register what we do and say in church in all its world-overturning beauty and terror while sitting in church.
SPEAKER_04: It's wild.
SPEAKER_04: I was in that instant a dull, responsible adult, trying to shovel as much wholesome theological content into my words as I could.
SPEAKER_04: I was trying to be adequate at to the moment because that's what inadequate people do.
SPEAKER_04: She's probably forgotten me and whatever it was I said.
SPEAKER_04: But I hope she never forgets what she said.
SPEAKER_04: He died.
SPEAKER_04: He what?
SPEAKER_04: While most of us prefer focusing on what happens three days later, this four-year-old child reminds us how shocking and tragic it was.
SPEAKER_04: What Jesus did for us.
SPEAKER_04: And despite most of us being ill-equipped and ill-prepared for loss and death, tonight we don't sugarcoat it or avoid it or pretend it away.
SPEAKER_04: That night when Jesus was on the cross, and after he commended his spirit to God, he breathed his last.
SPEAKER_08: When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
SPEAKER_08: At three o'clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Aloy, alloy, Lima Sabakhtani.
SPEAKER_08: Which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
SPEAKER_08: When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, Listen, he is calling for Elijah.
SPEAKER_08: And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink.
SPEAKER_08: Saying, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.
SPEAKER_08: Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
SPEAKER_08: And the curtain of the temple was torn into from top to bottom.
SPEAKER_02: It causes me to tramble, tremble, tremble.
SPEAKER_02: When they cruiser, my Lord, it courses me to trample Trambo the tree.