Holy Week begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem… even as another sinister parade takes place across town.
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Online Bulletin: Full to the Brim
Palm/ Passion Sunday: Even the Stones Cry Out
Psalm 118; Luke 19:28-40
Union Presbyterian Church
April 10, 2022
Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Liturgist: Rev. Jeff Kellam Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Prelude "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" - Glory to God, #196, public domain Rev. Robin Lostetter
Call to Worship Rev. Jeff Kellam
It is holy to gather.
It is holy to sing.
It is holy to be generous, to throw our coats on the ground.
It is holy to celebrate justice when we see it.
It is holy to shout “Hosanna!”
It is holy to remember.
It is holy to gather.
It is holy to sing.
Here and now, let us do all these things!
Let us begin by remembering how the people would have a joyous procession to the Temple.
Scripture Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Rev. Pat Raube
Give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good;
God’s mercy endures forever!
Let Israel now declare,
“God’s mercy endures forever!”
Open for me the gates of righteousness,
I will enter them and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
here the righteous may enter.
I give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and you have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
By the Lord’s has this been done;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Hosanna! O Lord, save us!
We pray to you Lord, prosper our days!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and has given us light.
Form a procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will thank you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good;
God’s mercy endures forever!
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Hymn # 267 W & R “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna!” (Public Domain)
Hosanna, loud hosanna,
The little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple
The lovely anthem rang:
To Jesus, who had blessed them,
Close folded to his breast,
The children sang their praises,
The simplest and the best.
From Olivet they followed
'mid an exultant crowd,
The victor palm branch waving,
And chanting clear and loud;
The Lord of earth and heaven
Rode on in lowly state,
Nor scorned that little children
Should on his bidding wait.
"Hosanna in the highest!"
That ancient song we sing,
For Christ is our Redeemer,
The Lord of heaven our King.
O may we ever praise him
With heart and life and voice,
And in his blissful presence
Eternally rejoice!
Call to New Life
Prayer for Wholeness and Peace
God of street parades and hosannas,
we know that you are counting on us to speak out against oppression,
to speak up for love, and to speak hope to fear,
but so often we are silent.
We worry that we’ll say the wrong thing,
so we don’t say anything at all.
We worry that we’ll offend,
so we keep our convictions to ourselves.
We worry that we’ll speak up and won’t be heard,
so we stay silent.
And meanwhile, the parade marches on.
Unravel our fears. Spark conviction in us.
Give us the courage to yell, “Hosanna!”
Gratefully we pray: Amen.
Assurance of God’s Love
Friends, even when we are silent,
even when we are scared,
even when we miss the moment,
even when we choose to speak and say the wrong thing—
we belong to God.
There is nothing said or unsaid,
done or undone that can undo that,
so rest in this good news:
We are forgiven. We are known.
We belong to God, every day and always. Amen.
Sharing of the Peace
May the peace of God be with you.
And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.
Children’s Message Rev. Pat Raube
Music: "Blessed Jesus, at your word", Johann Gottfried Walther (Public Domain)
Rev. Robin Lostetter
Scripture Luke 19:28-40 Rev. Jeff Kellam
[Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Meditation “Even the Stones Cry Out” Rev. Pat Raube
Hymn “Not On a War Horse, But a Humble Donkey,” David M. Miller
(sung to Finlandia, #372 W & R)
©2010, The Millery, All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Not on a war horse, but a humble donkey,
The Son of Man came to Jerusalem;
Great city full of faithful Hebrew pilgrims
Received one more as she had often done.
And yet this time, Christ journeyed into danger;
To be betrayed, to suffer and to die.
They paved his way with scattered cloaks and branches—
A prelude to the coming victory.
Crowds of disciples shouting out their praises;
"Glory to God! Hosanna to the King!
Bless'd is the one, Jesus has come to save us."
The very stones would cry out if they could.
His friends knew not the horrors that awaited,
Imagining an end to Roman rule.
Instead God's plan was moving to fruition;
His Son would gain a greater vict'ry still.
Not by the might of gathered rebel armies,
But strength of purpose and submissive will.
So let us pause, as we this day remember
Our humble King who gathers up the lost;
How great his trial, how strong the love he shows us;
How weak a faith that does not count the cost.
We walk with him, come through into the city;
One final meal, a symbol for God's grace.
Out into darkness, Jesus' time is coming;
A kiss to greet, a sign—"this is the one"
The soldiers mock, yet still our Lord is silent;
The sentence passed and all our crimes his own.
Christ hoisted high, humanity is ransomed;
Through Jesus' death, we all are given life!
Prayers of the People
Response: … to you we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Prayer Response # 459 W 7 R “Be Still and Know”
“Be Still and Know,” Jack Schrader
©1989, Hope Publishing Company, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God.
The Stripping of the Communion Table and Removal of the Christ Candle
The Session of Union Presbyterian Church removes the appointments of the sanctuary.
Scripture Isaiah 53:1-11: The Song of the Suffering Servant Elder Doug Moore
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Departure The congregation leaves in silence.
Portions of liturgy taken or adapted from “A Sanctified Art.” Used with permission.