Get reading for Worship!
Did you know that most of the time we follow a pattern of scripture readings in our worship services? It’s called “following the lectionary” and it is based upon a three-year cycle of Bible readings. Many churches follow this pattern — Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, etc. Sometimes, we set aside the lectionary readings in order to do a sermon series based upon other Scripture readings that we would not otherwise hear in worship.
We invite you to spend some time each week “reading ahead” and pondering the readings that you will hear in upcoming worship services. If you take this challenge, think about how it will change how you hear the word in worship after you have spent reading it during the week. It’s a great way to get ready for worship by reading for worship!
Sun. April 6— Fifth Sunday in Lent
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Readings and Psalm
- Isaiah 43:16-21
The Lord gives water in the wilderness to the chosen people - Psalm 126
Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. (Ps. 126:5) - Philippians 3:4b-14
To know Christ and his resurrection, to share in his sufferings - John 12:1-8
Mary anoints Jesus for his burial
- Isaiah 43:16-21
Overview
Mary of Bethany recognizes Jesus’ mission: he has come to die. Perceiving the new thing God is doing, she embraces his death and pours out her devotion to Jesus in an extravagant act. The prophet beseeches the Israelites to forget the old pattern of salvation—the dry way through the Red Sea. Now God will make a new way, a wet way, in a dry, barren, and death-filled place.
On this Sunday in Lent, salvation lies not behind us but before us, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Mary’s action in the face of death is bold. She anoints a corpse, and in so doing honors Jesus’ vulnerability and his life. She models love for the other disciples and for us.
By honestly facing the reality of death, we are more fully able to live honoring our own vulnerability and the humanity of others. We live with gratitude. We are more able to love one another and God extravagantly. However, in our culture, mortality is often avoided. The stench of death is removed through chemicals, and deceased bodies are cosmetically enhanced to appear as life-like as possible.
Each day, we the baptized boldly face death, trusting that God has made a new way, a wet way, to travel from death to life. God in Christ has honored human vulnerability by becoming flesh and by laying down his own life. He is the new way through a dry, barren, and death-filled place. Because Christ Jesus has made them his own, the baptized walk wet through the desert places of this life, pouring out the whole of their lives, down to the very last hair, in extravagant love for God and for the people God has formed.
Sun. April 13 — Palm Sunday
Procession with Palms
- Luke 19:28-40
Entrance into the final days
Readings and Psalm
- Isaiah 50:4-9a
The servant of the Lord submits to suffering - Psalm 31:9-16
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. (Ps. 31:5) - Philippians 2:5-11
Humbled to the point of death on a cross - Luke 22:14—23:56
The passion of the Lord - Luke 23:1-49 (alternate)
The passion of the Lord
Overview
The movement of this day—from shouts of praise to words of denial and cries for crucifixion—mirrors the path of discipleship. The lives of Jesus’ followers hang in the balance between faithfulness and betrayal. For Peter, the act of denial is subtle and insidious. He claims not to know Jesus; he claims to have no place as his disciple. On the surface it is seemingly harmless. It happens, and then is over in a moment. In reality, the harm is deep and lasting. Subtle but harmful denial happens in a split second as disciples compromise faith for the sake of self-protection—as they’re too embarrassed to give thanks; as someone knows how to help but fails to do so because it’s inconvenient; as resources are hoarded. While Peter withholds everything for his own sake, Jesus, for the sake of others, withholds nothing. As disciples fail to claim their place with Jesus, Jesus’ embrace claims them. From the cross, Jesus offers mercy wide enough to claim even those who do not know what they do.
Sun. April 20— Easter
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Readings and Psalm
- Acts 10:34-43
God raised Jesus on the third day - Isaiah 65:17-25 (alternate)
New heavens and a new earth - Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps. 118:24) - 1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Christ raised from the dead, the first fruits - Acts 10:34-43 (alternate)
God raised Jesus on the third day - Luke 24:1-12
The women proclaim the resurrection - John 20:1-18 (alternate)
Seeing the risen Christ
- Acts 10:34-43
Overview
What is Easter anyway? Christians consider Easter to be the “first day.” From Easter comes the practice of worshiping on Sunday morning. It is the first day of the week. It is also the first day of new creation, sometimes called the “eighth day” of the week, for on it Christ restored the image of God in the human and in so doing also brought restoration and renewal to all of creation. The Easter season proceeds from and celebrates this first day. In the resurrected Christ, there is time after the end, life after death, restoration of what was broken, the brightening of what had gone dark. In the fifty days of Easter, Christian communities around the world strive to worship God in a way that illustrates that the body of Christ lives now in the heavenly places and also in the gathered body in the world. Worship is where heaven and earth meet.
Sun. April 27 — Second Sunday of Easter
Readings and Psalms
- Acts 5:27-32
The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus - Psalm 118:14-29
You are my God, and I will exalt you. (Ps. 118:28) - Psalm 150 (alternate)
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Ps. 150:6) - Revelation 1:4-8
Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the dead, is coming - John 20:19-31
Beholding the wounds of the risen Christ
Overview
The texts for today explore what it means to be a witness: the power of seeing and experiencing the resurrection firsthand. For those of us who weren’t there in person to witness Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, a question persists: How do we give witness? How have we experienced Easter firsthand? What do we need to see, to touch, to hear in order to believe?
The witness given in our readings today is extraordinary. “Doubting” Thomas comes up with one of the most powerful, concise creeds in all of scripture: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Peter and the apostles affirm their belief in Christ at great risk to themselves and their families. The Spirit is at work, giving ordinary, doubting people extraordinary boldness to declare the core beliefs of Christian faith. God works in surprising ways, through unexpected people, to share the good news of Easter. With the Spirit’s help, we can give witness too.