Honor the Sacrifice - Maundy Thursday - Year B

Honor the Sacrifice

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

 

Reflection based upon the Passion of our Lord from Mark 14-15

 

Opening prayer

 

This night, we recall the harrowing journey from supper with friends to horrific death before all. 

Blame is not our focus tonight, although there is plenty to be had.

 

In this sacrifice, we remember that Jesus suffered for us and our salvation.

 

We are reminded to raise a voice against violence and injustice whenever we see it – even (and especially) when it is inconvenient. Maybe that is how we truly honor Jesus’s sacrifice (and the many who followed) – to be willing to speak up.

 

Through all of this, keep in mind: Jesus prevails despite perverse injustice and corruption.  

 

Still, there is a question for us to consider: Why did he?  

When you hear verses of injustice, pain and suffering, Jesus is whispering, “you are worthy.” 

Jesus endured this because you are worthy of all God’s gifts.

 

Reconcile fears and guilts. Let God guide our hearts and minds.

 

Let the spirit of God give us courage to honor this sacrifice.

 

Beloved, let God move you and be with you. 

 

Thanks Be to God.

Maundy Thursday Service and Tenebrae - Year B

28 March 2024 | Maundy Thursday

Invitation to Prepare:  

“This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance”  (Exodus 12:14) 

 

*Call to Worship: (from Psalm 116)              

All: ¹⁴ I will pay my vows to Jesus
    in the presence of all people.

¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
    I am your child.

¹⁷ I offer to you thanksgiving sacrifice
    and call on Your name.
Praise the Lord!

 

*Gathering Hymn 224 (NCH): When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

*Prayer of Confession: (unison)

Most holy and merciful Father, We confess to you and to one another, that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. For the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

*Assurance of Pardon

Sharing of Joys, Concerns, and Announcements

Scripture Reading:      Mark 14: 12-21                                    

Reflection:  Honor the Sacrifice

Posted online at:

https://tonyswebstudios.blogspot.com/2024/03/honor-sacrifice-maundy-thursday-year-b.html

 

Sacrament of Holy Eucharist

Preface and Sanctus

Words of Institution (from Mark 14: 22-25)

Prayer over the Elements

Lord’s Prayer (All)

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in 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, for ever. Amen.

Sharing of the Elements

**All are welcome to receive the sacred spiritual gifts of remembrance from Christ’s table.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

We thank you, God, for inviting us to this table where we have known the presence of Christ and have received all Christ's gifts. Strengthen our faith, increase our love of one another, and let us show forth your praise in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Service of Tenebrae (shadows)

The Shadow of Denial:  Mark 14:26-31

All: Lord Have Mercy. Christ Have Mercy.

The Shadow of Agony:  Mark 14:32-42

All: Lord Have Mercy. Christ Have Mercy.

The Shadow of Betrayal:  Mark 14:43-45

All: Lord Have Mercy. Christ Have Mercy.

The Shadow of Desertion:  Mark 14:46-52

All: Lord Have Mercy. Christ Have Mercy.

The Shadow of Accusation:  Mark 14:53-63

All: Lord Have Mercy. Christ Have Mercy.

The Shadow of Mockery:  Mark 15:1- 20

All: Lord Have Mercy. Christ Have Mercy.

The Shadow of Death:  Mark 15:21-39

Extinguishing of the Paschal Candle (“It is finished”)

The Shadow of Burial:  Mark 15: 42-47

Silent Reflection

Solo “Were You There”

Benediction

(Congregation leaves in silence)

* indicates to stand in mind or body as the spirit moves you.

******************************************************

The Revised Common Lectionary. Vanderbilt Divinity Library. https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/. 2008.

Scriptures can be read at: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2014&version=NRSVUE

For All my Sin - Psalm 51 - Lent 5B

For all my sins

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon Psalm 51, Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 12:20-33

Opening prayer

I remember as an alter boy how the priest would wash hands prior to the Eucharist. He would recite the words from Psalm 51.

“God have mercy on me… Wash away my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin.”

Yes, especially before preparing the Eucharist.

This psalm is a prayer from King David that asks for mercy and forgiveness for some serious transgressions he had committed. Remember, the prophet called upon David to apologize and to repent. 

In this season of Lent, it is appropriate for us to atone for the transgressions we have committed and perhaps, remember whom deserves our deepest apologies. Also, how do we correct these injustices.

I have committed grave sins in my life. As a person that is highly critical of the self, I should have known the damage to come, but failed to listen - failed to heed that which was needed. This is more than breaking Lenten promises to oneself. For sin knows no limits - whether stranger, friend, or family.

In those sins, I forgot who would be impacted because my ego, my wants, my personal desires took precedence over others. That is because sin is rooted in ego and selfishness. It is lost in negative emotion. 

Yet ego only goes so far and selfishness only goes so far. When eyes are opened to what has happened, only then, do we realize what has happened - probably when you are caught. (Some never realize their sin and unfortunately remain lost.)

Why? Because when we think only about ourselves and not of others, we lose ourselves in the depths of temptation, fear, anger and hate. We don’t see others. We don’t see neighbors as friends but instead objects. We dont see others as having rights, fair treatment or justice. We don’t see that which God sets before us. We don’t see God.

That is because these temptations, fears and negative emotions cloud our eyes and prevent us from thinking clearly.

The “whys” matter only when they appease the temptation and desires, regardless of who is hurt or what damage that is inflicted. I can’t see you or feel empathy because I only see me and my wants. 

That is truly selfish, and that is truly hurting. The person that gets hurt the most is usually who… me. The problem of sin (aside from damage to others) the problem is that the person committing is doing the most damage to oneself.  

Warren Buffet has been quoted saying that it can take a lifetime to create a good reputation but only minutes to destroy it. 

Because when we cast aside the truth, we cast aside neighbors, and we cast aside God. Then we are truly not just selfish but alone in our selfishness. 

Alone in ego. Alone in sin. Sin spirals so that we grow even more alone in feelings, feeling lost, as the sin spirals us down.

Yet we don’t have to stay there and live there. 

Jesus comes to us through the power of the cross to give a chance to find God and to find grace in our world. Jesus comes to us, breaking bread so that a new covenant is shed for us and for the forgiveness of sins.

Admit you were wrong, turn towards the light of God and humbly ask for forgiveness. I ask for forgiveness to those I have hurt.

Some apologies are left for God for some hurts need not a personal intervention from us who committed such. Trauma also can linger. All apologies have to be received by God.

For it isn’t just the people that we have crossed, but God. Thus David’s prayer asks for mercy and prays that God will grant such.

Like Lady Macbeth, sin can leave a stain, but unlike her, the spot can be washed via the love and forgiveness of Jesus. For “whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, God will honor.” Let your heart follow God not ego.

We cant serve Jesus with hate in our heart. We can’t serve Jesus when we neglect those around us. We can’t serve Jesus when we turn away from God. We can’t serve Jesus with only our ego or our selfishness.

Lift up instead and see God around you and with you. See God waiting with forgiveness for you- you who have sinned. 

Pray the words of Psalm 51 and ask for God’s mercy, to wash away the sin and cleanse our soul (not so that we do it again) but that we get right with God with clean heart and spirit that is restored to life and sight of God . 

Learn the lesson and get right with God.

Let God forgive you for the malevolence and sin. For as long as we hold onto sin, we hold onto hurt and pain.

For those seeking apologies from us who have sinned, perhaps there is opportunity to let God forgive as well. 

Yes, for those of us holding onto the pain and hurt of sin done to us, let us be healed with God’s forgiveness and love so that we might be right with God too. Then we can learn the lesson to teach others and to be the example of forgiveness that God is for us.

That forgiveness, that love, Beloved, is.

Thanks Be To God

Whoever believes - John 3 - Lent 4B

Whoever Believes

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Reflection based upon John 3:14-21, Ephesians 2: 1-10, Psalm 107, Numbers 21: 4-9

Opening Prayer

People love to put words on bumper stickers, plaques, wall art and sometimes you see a floater in a ball game “John 3:14.”  

This is a beloved text from John, and it is a great one. 

I submit to you that there is so much more than this one verse. In context of John, we arrive in the middle of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. 

We observe wisdom like, “The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound but cannot tell where it came from or where it goes…” (John 3:8) 

I think that is part of what commentators describe as the spirt-filled tension in this Gospel and that the cross, resurrection and ascension don’t happen by themselves or as isolated “linear events” but are parts of the spirit manifested. 

The Spirit of God is manifested in Jesus’s life, death, resurrection and Spirit so that we might know the true love and that we can trust in the true God.

Therefore, the Spirit is manifested in us, who believe, so that all people might know the love and grace of God in our world  - so that others might also witness and believe. 

Spirit-filled tension means plenty to us these days as we question much of what surrounds us, what has happened to us, and what will happen to us as we go forward. 

Our world pushes and pulls from us, against us and tell us, but there is truth, not media shaded truth, nor bumper stickers nor marketing distorted ideas or slanted truth that separates us from God. 

There is ultimate truth and to know the truth, that “truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)

Spirit-filled,( the anxious, the speculating, the weary, the wondering, the believing) , that means that when you believe - not just for oneself, for you don’t do that alone. The spirit-filled tension is not tension but is actually the one true love - love that frees. 

So don’t struggle with it for God so loves the world that Jesus is given to us.

That love is to be shared so that all people might abide in this wondrous love and relationship with God so that we free ourselves and those around us from the brokenness that surrounds us. 

With that relationship, that love comes life - eternal life. That isn’t life in this crooked old body that ages and ages, but life that knows God and Jesus. 

That begs the question, what is it to know God and to know Jesus?

To know God, to know Jesus, is not just to hear these words and manifest an idea in one’s mind. As we discussed before, people are want to project ideas of who and what Jesus represents. Same for God.

I submit:

To know God and to know Jesus; this is life not just for oneself, but one that frees the soul and frees us to be the image of God given to us. 

Yes God does not want us to be alone. Eternal life is shared among others. For without others, we are alone. Without God, we are alone.

That is truly a lonely place to be. 

When we read further in John 3 - the conversation with John the Baptizer: “The one who comes from above is above all…” (John 3:31)

Let us bring this closer to us.

We recognize God, Jesus, thus. When we witness: “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit… whoever believes… has eternal life.” (John 34-36)

God gives the Spirit without limit. God’s word frees us to live eternal life today.

To know God, to know Jesus is to believe and to live in the abundance of God’s grace and to grow with that Spirit in us - so that others might also believe and grow in this life, this Spirit. 

That eternal life has no limits and has everything one needs. That life is one that is hope-filled, faith-filled, and love filled. That life is Spirit filled.

I pivot a bit.

The story in Numbers is creepy with snakes sent out. Yet, Moses lifted a poisonous snake on a pole to cure all, and this becomes the symbol of modern medicine.

There are many among us that tell us they believe yet do nothing to help the poor. There are folks among us that talk about God’s love but easily close the door, or roll up the window, to close out compassion. There are people among us claiming God’s grace but only for oneself or even only for people like them. 

Perhaps, Moses lifts the serpent on the pole for them as much as for the people hurt: to recognize what they have done, and for them to repent - to return to God and for people to heal.

Yes, people will heal when they see the true power, the true grace, and true forgiveness. People will heal with the true love, the hope and faith that is God. 

I submit to you, that is one reason why helping the homeless, mentoring youth, standing for justice, and simply listening are ways we share this grace, this truth, this eternal life - this Spirit-filled life. This is why when people see it, they are moved to tears, to joy and souls are lifted. 

Because when people witness the truth of God in us, when they witness God’s word made flesh, they too witness and can experience eternal life of the Spirit in them.

Turn to God, believe in God’s truth, know God, give thanks, and be that love!

Go ahead. Hang that wall art. Raise that sign in the stands. Cheer for those who cheer your favorite team, and cheer with those who do not. Let those words become flesh through and with you here and outside those doors.

That is why we say, 

“O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; for God’s love endures forever.”

That Beloved is…

Thanks Be to God.