Announcements
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
Amen.
Let us return to God, confessing our sin in the assurance of God’s abiding love.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Compassionate One,
you are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
but our lives do not always reflect you
and your love for the world.
We do not show others the tender compassion
you have shown to us.
We do not welcome others with the radical hospitality
you grant to all people.
We oppress others,
even though you have set us free again and again.
We squander the abundant gifts of the earth.
Transform our lives
and guide us again in the way of the cross.
Amen.
Beloved in Christ,
God’s arms are always stretched open wide
to welcome the wandering ones home.
In ☩ Christ your sins are forgiven.
You have a place in God’s house forever.
Amen.
Opening Hymn
ELW 532 - Gather Us In (vs. 1 & 2)
Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Prayer of the Day
Creator God, you prepare a new way in the wilderness, and your grace waters our desert. Open our hearts to be transformed by the new thing you are doing, that our lives may proclaim the extravagance of your love given to all through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
16 Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
19 I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 126
Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. (Ps. 126:5)
1 When the Lord restored the for- | tunes of Zion,
then were we like | those who dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with | shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great | things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great | things for us,
and we are | glad indeed.
4 Restore our for- | tunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses | of the Negeb. R
5 Those who | sowed with tears
will reap with | songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, carry- | ing the seed,
will come again with joy, shoulder- | ing their sheaves. R
Second Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14
[Paul writes:] 4b If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
ELW Setting 8 (Lent)
Gospel: John 12:1-8
This is the holy gospel according to John the 12th chapter.
Glory to you, O Lord.
1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Hymn of the Day
ELW 685 - Take My Life, That I May Be (vs. 1, 3, 4)
Prayers of Intercession
Led by the Spirit, let us turn to God in prayer for the church, the world, and all those in need.
A brief silence.
The church declares your praise, O God. Guide us in the example of Isaiah’s imagination, Paul’s transformed identity, and Mary’s faith and devotion; that our lives, too, may be poured out in love as we trust in your promises. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The earth declares your praise, O God. Make a way for the planet’s future in the sea and the wilderness, the mountains and plains, the tundra and wetlands. Repair habitats and sustainable ecosystems on, above, and beneath the ground. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The nations declare your praise, O God. Where religious differences divide, bring together those who worship you in the name of Jesus Christ and those who call to you with different names. Guide interreligious dialogue, that faith may unite rather than divide communities. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The people declare your praise, O God. Restore those whose hope has been dampened through a health diagnosis, job or home loss, divorce, or death. Bring healing to those in need (especially). May all who weep now sing songs of joy again. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
The gifts of the Spirit declare your praise, O God. We thank you for artists who proclaim the gospel (especially Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach). Inspire music, poetry, and images that proclaim the new thing you are doing. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
Here other intercessions may be offered.
The communion of saints declares your praise, O God. Giving thanks for those who have died, we trust in the one who has made them his own: Christ Jesus, our crucified and risen Savior. God, in your mercy,
receive our prayer.
Receive the prayers of your people and draw all things together in your love, in the name of Jesus, who leads us from death to life. Amen.
The Passing of Peace
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
And also with you.
Anthem
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Offertory Hymn
ELW 186 - Create in Me a Clean Heart
Offertory Prayer
Gracious Provider,
you set your immense treasures among us,
opening your heart to the world.
As we prepare to feast on your bountiful love,
deepen our commitment to sharing those
treasures with others,
through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Great Thanksgiving
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 indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all
times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty
and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. Fulfilling the
promise of the resurrection, you pour out the fire of your Spirit,
uniting in one body people of every nation and tongue.
And so, with Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of
the resurrection, with earth and sea and all their creatures, and
with angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, we praise
your name and join their unending hymn:
ELW Setting 8
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of pow’r and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory, full of your glory.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
Thanksgiving at the Table
Holy God, our Bread of life, our Table, and our Food, you created
a world in which all might be satisfied by your abundance.
You dined with Abraham and Sarah, promising them life, and fed
your people Israel with manna from heaven. You sent your Son to
eat with sinners and to become food for the world.
In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Remembering, therefore, his life given for us and his rising from
the grave, we await his coming again to share with us the
everlasting feast.
By your Spirit nurture and sustain us with this meal: strengthen
us to serve all in hunger and want, and by this bread and cup
make of us the body of your Son.
Through him all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father,
with the Holy Spirit, in your holy Church, both now and forever.Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Lord remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hollowed by 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;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
God feeds us with tender mercy.
Come to the table.
Lamb of God
ELW Setting 8
Communion Hymns
ELW 479 - We Come to the Hungry Feast
ELW 481 -Come to the Table
ELW 483 - Here is Bread
The Table Blessing
All who are hungry, come!
The feast of grace is spread.
Post Communion
ELW 200 - Now, Lord
Prayer After Communion
Generous Host,
you have shared your feast with us and made us new.
Send us now to set tables of love and grace in our communities,
that your liberating love might nourish the world into freedom,
in the name of the crucified one, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessing
God our tender parent,
God the crucified one,
God the reconciling Spirit,
☩ bless you now and forever.
Amen.
Sending Hymn
ELW 543 - Go, My Children , with My Blessing (vs. 1 & 3)
Dismissal
Go in peace. Care for others as God cares for you.
Thanks be to God!
Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash
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