Fourth Sunday of Lent Year C
From the archives of March 27, 2022 (and March 31, 2019, March 6, 2016, and March 10, 2013
Worship Resources for March 27th, 2022—Fourth Sunday in Lent
Revised Common Lectionary: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Narrative Lectionary: Jesus and Pilate, John 18:28-40 (Psalm 145:10-13)
When the Israelites arrived at the promised land, they kept the Passover in Joshua 5:9-12. God had provided manna in the wilderness, but on that day, they ate the produce of the land and the unleavened bread they made. The manna ceased the day they arrived, but now God provided through the land for the people, a continuation of God’s promise.
Psalm 32 is a song of thanksgiving for healing and forgiveness. The psalmist acknowledges their sin before God, recognizing that they kept silent when they should have come clean, for their whole body was distressed by the weight, the anxiety. Now, they know the power of God’s forgiveness in their life since they have confessed. The psalmist instructs others to follow the way of God, to not be constrained by the wickedness of sin but to remain faithful to God and know the steadfast love that heals and protects.
Paul declares that the old has become new in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. The old way is the human point of view, understanding death as final and Christ as a human being. Now, knowing Christ resurrected, all are a new creation in Christ. God reconciled the world through Christ, who bore our sins, and now sin has no hold on those who are faithful.
As Jesus taught people, including sinners and tax collectors, some religious leaders grumbled about it. In Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, Jesus tells a parable (there are two other parables, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, in the verses omitted). A man had two sons, one of whom demanded his inheritance early and squandered it, ending up at the bottom of the barrel, feeding pigs and hungry enough to want to eat from the pods he fed the pigs with. He came to himself, knowing that if he went back to his father as a hired hand it would be better than the situation he was in. He rehearsed his speech, to confess that he had sinned against heaven and against his father, but before he could even say it, his father ran outside, filled with compassion, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him. The son gave his confession, but his father ordered the servants to bring a robe, a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet, and to kill the fatted calf. The older son was livid, but the father stated they had to celebrate because this younger son who was lost had returned. To the older son, he reminded him that he was always with him, everything he had belonged to him. This may have been a nod to the religious leaders who grumbled—they already knew God, but didn’t understand why Jesus taught sinners and tax collectors, for they desired to turn back to God, but some religious leaders had turned them away.
A note: it’s always a good reminder to remember that Jesus was not at odds with all Pharisees (see Luke 13:31-35) and that he was probably closest to the Pharisees in belief and practice.
The Narrative Lectionary focuses on Jesus’ encounter with Pilate in John 18:28-40. Jesus was brought before Pilate very early in the morning. Pilate wondered why they had brought him, what charges they had against him. The community leaders state simply that Jesus was a criminal and they wouldn’t have brought him unless he was. The leaders wouldn’t kill Jesus, but they wanted someone else to do it. Pilate then asks Jesus if he is the king of the Jews. Jesus replies with a question of his own—is Pilate really asking this, or did the others put him up to it? Pilate replies with a rhetorical question: “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Jesus responds that his kingdom is not of this world. This back-and-forth continues, with Pilate questioning, “So you are a king?” Jesus’ response: “You say I am a king.” Jesus continues with, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice,” and Pilate responds, “What is truth?” This conversation convinces Pilate in this moment that there is nothing he can charge Jesus with. He asks the crowd gathered if they want him to release Jesus as part of the custom on Passover or someone else, and the crowd chooses Barabbas, a member of the insurrection.
A note: as much as the Gospels sometimes paint Pilate in a more innocent light, he is the one who held all the power in these locations. He could have released Jesus, but instead sentenced him to die on the cross. Even with the anger of the crowd, he had the military power, and chose to use his power in this way.
The verses of Psalm 145:10-13 sing of the glory of God’s reign, making known all of God’s mighty deeds. God’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and God’s reign endures through all generations.
Some scholars have changed the title of the parable from the Prodigal Son to the Forgiving Father, because it is about the father’s actions that change everything. It is about the father rejoicing when his son recognized that there was still something better ahead of him than behind him, that turning back was better than wallowing in misery. The older son could not understand why the father would accept the younger back after what he did, and it felt like a punishment to him. Yet, it is also about that younger son and his “coming to himself.” When we remember who we truly are as a child of God, it doesn’t matter what we have done, but what God has done, and what we are doing and what we will do that can change the course of everything. And that older son: at some point, we are that older son, too, who have tried to abide by the father in everything and yet somehow it never seems enough.
Sometimes we want those who did go astray to be punished, like the older son upset at the younger son’s treatment and forgiveness by the father, though we can’t admit we’ve gone astray ourselves. In John’s account of Jesus before Pilate, perhaps some of the community leaders wanted Jesus punished because they’d longed to draw close to God and understand God’s reign in a way Jesus did but didn’t dare to under Rome’s rule. But it goes back to the parental figure. God provided for the people of Israel, and even though they went astray, God continued to provide for them and fulfill the promise. Paul states that in Christ we are a new creation, like the prodigal son—everything has become new. God is always there, waiting, with abundant love, and God’s reign endures forever.
Call to Worship (from 2 Corinthians 5:16-17)
We regard no one from a human point of view,
For we no longer view Christ that way.
If anyone is in Christ,
There is a new creation.
Everything old has passed away
See, everything has become new!
Come, worship our God,
Who makes all things new!
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Almighty God, we confess that we have resisted the transformation necessary to become who You intended us to be. We have declined Your invitation to change our ways, we have denied Your commandments to repent and turn back, we have reacted violently to stay the same. Forgive us for refusing to follow Your ways that call us into renewal. Call us into repentance, to come to You with the knowledge that we must change, and the courage to be transformed. Guide us into the work of nonviolent resistance that challenges the world’s systems of oppression rooted in keeping the status quo. You are the one who makes all things new, for You have made us into a new creation, through Jesus Christ. May we be made new again, and may we be part of a new revolution of love. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance
As the seasons change, so do we. We learn and grow and shed what has held us back, letting what needs to return to dust decay, so that the greenness of new life may flourish. God is restoring our hearts and making us new. God loves you, so much. Know the fullness of God’s steadfast love in your life. Let go of what has held you back and embrace the new life in Christ. Go forth, knowing you are forgiven, loved, and restored. Amen.
Prayer
God Who Provides, we give You thanks in these changing seasons. In the southern part of our world, the harvest has come, the fruits and vegetables are gathered, and we are reminded how You provide for us from the earth You made. In the northern hemisphere, spring is coming, and the new shoots are arriving, reminding us that You are the bringing of life out of death. In all seasons, we are reminded of Your abundance in our lives. Too often we live in a scarcity mindset. The world we made promotes the idea that we must have more than others to be satisfied, that there is never enough. The world tells us that we must have more than another to be successful, to have wealth and power over others. Your earth, however, teaches us that there is always enough, and to let go when there is more than needed. As You provided manna in the wilderness, and the first fruits when Your people arrived in their land, so You have provided for us. May we take only our daily needs, and give what is leftover to those with none, until all have enough to eat and are filled. May we know Your abundance is always with us. We give You thanks, Creator God, giver of life. Amen.
Worship Resources for March 31, 2019—Fourth Sunday of Lent
Revised Common Lectionary: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Narrative Lectionary: Bridesmaids (or Talents), Matthew 25:1-13 (14-30), (Psalm 43:3-4)
The selection from the Hebrew Scriptures continues to point toward hope in this season of Lent. In Joshua 5:9-12, the Israelites have completed their journey out of Egypt and the wilderness. God has taken away their shame, and the manna that God provided during their time in the wilderness came to an end, on the day they ate the produce from the land promised to their ancestors.
The psalmist repents, turns back to God and confesses their sin in Psalm 32. A song of thanksgiving, the psalmist announces their forgiveness by God, declaring how God is their refuge, in hope others will also repent and turn back to God. Healing is found when one confesses. Trust and obey the teaching of God, the psalmist declares, and don’t be like animals that need to be led by bit and bridle, but be led by God and rejoice in God’s steadfast love.
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, 5:16-21, he writes that everything has been made new in Christ. We are reconciled to God through Christ, and therefore ambassadors of reconciliation, called to share that message with others, to become reconciled to God. Paul speaks to the church in Corinth, a deeply divided church of members who followed different Christian teachings and leaders, to become reconciled to God and to one another.
Jesus tells the parable of the Prodigal Son, or Forgiving Father, in Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. There are two other parables told in the verses missing from this selection. Jesus was teaching, and the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. Sinners would have been a broad group that might have included people who were ritually unclean, beggars, lepers, sex workers, and others. Some of the religious leaders thought Jesus was being hypocritical. Jesus tells three parables—one about a lost sheep, one about a lost coin, and then this one: a son who demands his inheritance before his father has died, goes off and spends it all, and becomes destitute. He recognizes that if he goes home, he isn’t worthy, but it’s better to go home in shame than to have nothing. But as he returns, his father rushes out and greets him, accepting him publicly. The older brother, however, is upset, because he has never been given the same celebration his disgraceful younger brother has. But his father replied, “you are always with me; all that is mine is yours.” The father insists they had to celebrate because the son who was lost is now found.
The Narrative Lectionary focuses on the Parable of the Bridesmaids, with an optional inclusion of the Parable of the Talents as told by Matthew. These are among Jesus’ final teachings to the disciples. In the Parable of the Bridesmaids, five only brought enough oil for the time they expected the groom to come, but five others had brought extra oil for their lamps and were ready when the groom was delayed. The five who had only brought what they expected had to leave to find more, and they missed the groom. When they arrived, the groom didn’t recognize them and didn’t allow them in. Jesus warns his disciples to “keep awake.”
In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus tells a story of a man who goes away and entrusts his money (talents) to his slaves. To one he gave five, to a second, he gave two, and to a third, he gave one talent. When he returned, he found that the one he gave five to had made five more, and the same with the one he gave two to, he had two more. But the one he gave only one talent, that slave had buried it in the ground, and gave it back to his master. The one who only had one was called wicked and lazy, and his talent was given to the one who had ten talents. “For those who have, more will be given; for those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” This is a harsh parable, but it is not about investing money, but rather that if we are not willing to risk what we have, we are bound to lose it.
The psalmist sings for God’s light and truth to lead them on in Psalm 43:3-4. The psalmist will worship God at the altar of joy and will praise God.
Parables are short stories with a moral point, but they also are stories with layers. Every time we go back to a parable, we discover a new layer, a new understanding that wasn’t there before. As always, it is helpful to look at the context of where Jesus was in his ministry and teaching. He’d been hanging around tax collectors and other sinners, and that wasn’t the crowd a respected teacher should be with. But by sharing the parable of the Prodigal Son/Forgiving Father, he both recognizes the feelings of those who feel disrespected while validating that God rejoices when we welcome those who have been excluded. In the Narrative Lectionary’s parable selections, Jesus was in Jerusalem, about to be arrested. He wants the disciples to be prepared for what is about to happen, but also to understand the long-term ramifications: they will have to watch and wait for signs of his return. In the same manner, they must be willing to risk. If they hide away what they’ve been given by Christ, they will not serve him, but if they are willing to risk themselves for the Gospel, they will experience God’s abundance.
Call to Worship (from 2 Corinthians 5:7, 14-16)
We walk by faith, not by sight;
For the love of Christ urges us on.
If we are in Christ,
We are a new creation
Everything old has passed away;
Everything has become new!
Come, enter this time of worship:
May we be renewed in our spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Almighty God, we confess that at times, even when we do our best, we fail. We are not perfect. We sometimes do not recognize when our words or actions, even when we mean well, can cause harm. We miss signs and cues from others. Call us into accountability and show us mercy. Instill in our hearts kindness and compassion, for others and ourselves. Teach us how to forgive well, in ways that protect ourselves from further harm, but extend the same mercy You have extended to us. Forgive us when we have failed to notice the harm we have caused, and help us to correct our faults and make amends as best as we are able. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance
It is a blessing that we are not perfect. It is a blessing that we make mistakes. It is a blessing that we have opportunities to grow and learn. God created us to change! May we offer forgiveness and give space for one another to learn and grow. For God has shown us abundant mercy, grace, forgiveness, and healing. Go into the world, to restore and repair, to heal and forgive. Amen.
Prayer
Author of Life, inspire in us to write a new page, a new chapter on healing and forgiveness. Inspire us to leave the tropes of the world behind by ceasing violence, and instead seek ways of reparation and restoration. Sing into our hearts the songs of praise and thanksgiving. Write into our bodies the actions of love and justice. Plot in us the course to follow the way of Christ in all we say, do, think, feel, and believe. Create in us a new, whole story, of love and life everlasting. Amen.
Worship Resources for March 6, 2016—Fourth Sunday in Lent
Revised Common Lectionary: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Narrative Lectionary: Great Commandment, Mark 12:28-44 (Psalm 89:1-4)
The passage in Joshua marks the crossing of a boundary, the end of one era and the beginning of another. As the people of Israel celebrate the Passover, the manna provided for them in the wilderness ceases, because God is providing for them in their new home, as they will eat the crops of Canaan. The way God has provided for the people changes, as their relationship will now grow into something new: a connection with the land, with the very earth God has made for them.
Psalm 32 is a psalm of confession. The psalmist sings about the release that comes when one confesses where they have gone wrong, when the shame and guilt is lifted. God forgives those who repent and confess their wrongdoing. God is the one in whom we trust and know that we have deliverance, from our enemies, and from the enemy of sin within us.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 calls us to look at humanity not through our own eyes, but through the eyes of God. Through death, everything becomes new. Christ has reconciled himself to us and has defeated sin and death at the cross, so sin and death no longer have a hold on us.
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 speaks of a time when some were complaining about the company Jesus was keeping, and he tells them a parable of a prodigal son and a forgiving father. Even before the son is able to speak, to confess his sins and ask for forgiveness, the father has already forgiven him, running towards him the moment he turned back home. The son that did not leave doesn’t understand, and is upset and jealous, but the father reminds him that he never left, so he never left the abundance of his father’s love, and the child that did leave needs that love more than ever.
The Narrative Lectionary focuses on Jesus teaching in the temple during the last week of his life. Jesus is asked by a scribe which is the greatest commandment, and when Jesus answers “Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself,” the scribe responds that Jesus is right, that this is more important than all of the sacrifices and rituals. Jesus tells this scribe he is not far from the kingdom of God. However, Jesus continues to teach and suggests that many of the scribes don’t understand—the scribes do not understand who the Messiah is, as they call him the Son of David, and the scribes also like to show how religious they are for the sake of appearance and honor, but do not follow God’s ways. Lastly, Jesus observes a widow putting two small copper coins in the treasury box after others have given out of their abundance. Jesus both upholds her as an example of giving all she has, but also (and I credit David Lose for these thoughts on this passage) condemns the fact that she is a poor widow, and has nothing left for herself because no one has given to her.
Psalm 89:1-4 sings praise to God who has made a covenant with David, to establish the throne forever. The psalmist sings of God’s steadfast love, a love that is established and faithful forever. This love will never end, being made known to David’s descendants, who will also never end.
Repentance. Turning back to God. Following God’s ways. These are common themes that we wrestle with in Lent, but we also need to accept that we have faults and shortcomings. Accepting we are not perfect is also a process. Accepting that we can’t do it all, can’t have it all, can’t be it all, because we are human beings and we are going to mess up, but we are going to try to do better. Wrestling with giving others the same grace that we have been given is also a challenge, to give others a chance to try again. Repentance goes both ways—repenting of our own sins and turning back to God, and accepting that others need the same patience and grace that we do in order to truly follow Jesus.
Call to Worship
We know that in God our sin is forgiven;
We know that in Christ we have new life.
We know that when we confess where we have gone wrong,
God is already waiting with open arms to welcome us back.
We enter this time of worship, knowing that we have made mistakes;
We enter this time of worship knowing we have new life in Christ,
Who continues to set our feet onto the path of righteousness. Amen.
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
We come before You, O Christ, confessing that we have not forgiven others for the same mistakes we continue to make. We have not shown mercy when we have been shown mercy. We have judged others while asking to not be judged for our own ignorance and misunderstandings. Forgive us for not sharing grace and mercy. Forgive us for demanding so much of others while seeking forgiveness for ourselves. Help us to see our kindred in Christ, all of Your children, the way You see us, made in Your image, forgiven and restored. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance of Pardon
God welcomes us with open arms before we even turn back. God forgives us before we even know we have done wrong. May we forgive others with the same grace. May we love others with the same love. Go and share the Good News. Amen.
Prayer
Creator of Beauty, help us to find the beauty in life, in Your creation, in our very selves. Help us to lift up what is good and wonderful, kind and thoughtful and beautiful, in our lives and in the lives of others. Call us away from the negativity in the world that causes us to judge and look down on others, and instead to embrace Your goodness that is in all that You have created. In the name of Jesus the Christ, who turned death into eternal life, and turns our sin into forgiveness and restoration, we pray. Amen.
Worship Resources for March 10th—Fourth Sunday of Lent
Revised Common Lectionary: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Our Old Testament thread in Lent has been on the covenant between God and the people of Israel. Today’s lesson from Joshua marks another instance of where God fulfills the covenant, even when the people have gone astray. God has made a nation out of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. God has led them through the wilderness, and now as they enter their new home, God is providing them with the stability of home. No longer will they gather manna, they will be able to grow their own crops. As they celebrate the Passover, remembering what God had done for them in delivering them from slavery in Egypt, the manna ceases, and God’s abundance is revealed in the land around them. While change is inevitable and difficult (how many times did the people complain in the wilderness and want to go back to the oppression they knew?) we know God is with us, and that God will see us through.
Psalm 32 praises God for forgiveness. The psalmist sings about keeping sins secret, hiding what one has done, and finding the damage done by keeping silent and hiding what was wrong was more damaging (spiritually and physically), than confessing the sin or the need for God’s help. The psalmist rejoices that God forgives, God hears, God heals, and God restores. When we think we can do it all ourselves, we are more able to stumble and fail, but when we acknowledge our need for help, we find that God is there with us.
Luke 15 contains three parables, but the parable focused on here is commonly called “The Prodigal Son.” The NRSV subtitles it “The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother.” However, other Bibles and scholars are calling it “The Parable of the Forgiving Father.” It is not about the actions of the Prodigal son, nor the actions of the Older Brother that are profound or revolutionary; it is the father who runs out to greet his son while he is still coming up the road, the father who drops everything to rejoice when his son comes home, the father who gives everything to celebrate with the son who has been found. All too often we look at this story and think we are mostly like the older brother, judging, feeling that any goodness, kindness or mercy shown to the prodigal is undeserved; or we look at this like the younger, prodigal son, who know we have done wrong and know we need to repent and turn back. But let us look through the eyes of the father—the one who loves all of his children, who gives all he has to the ones who are with him and to the ones who have run off and squandered what they have. The father loves all of his children so much and all that he has is theirs, even if they don’t realize it or appreciate it. The father rejoices when the son that left and squandered and spent and spoiled returns, but the father also includes the ones that never left, the ones that are always there. Are we caught up in sibling rivalry, or do we recognize that God loves us all, each and every one of us, no matter who we are or what we’ve done?
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 reminds us that we can no longer regard each other from a human point of view: we can no longer call ourselves righteous and others sinners. We can no longer say “We have it right and you have it wrong.” We can no longer think we are better than anyone else, because in Christ, everything old has passed away, everything has become new, even ourselves. We are all new creations. We are all the prodigal son and the son who never left. We are the same to God: beloved. Christ became human, one of us, so that we might all become children of God.
Changing our point of view, changing our mindset, changing our way of thinking is difficult. It’s hard for us to change our view about someone who has wronged us, who has sought our forgiveness and is living a new life. It is hard to change our mind about other people. It is also hard to change the mind of the church, the old viewpoint: the world has changed around us. We can no longer view people as church and unchurched. We can no longer see people as insiders and outsiders. Rather, we are all called to “unchurch.” We are all called to let go of our lens that excludes and divides others but see all as children of God. We must go out of the doors to the people. We must let go of the manna and instead go out to see what crops are to be harvested. It is a hard change, but one we are called to move through, one we must go through, for everything old has passed away, and everything is becoming new.
Call to Worship (from Romans 8:38-39)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life
Nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come
Nor powers nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation—
Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
There is nothing we can do, no place we can hide, where God will forget us
God loves us, God forgives us, God calls us by name.
Let us worship our God who seeks us, finds us, and loves us! Amen.
Prayer of Brokenness/Confession
Parental God, we have failed to see each other as Your children. We claim to see each other as brothers and sisters, but we put others down and we puff ourselves up. We think we are more worthy than others, and we judge how others believe and live. Forgive us for not seeing through Your eyes, for not serving through Your hands, for not walking together with Your feet. Call us away from the view of the world, and instead look to You, and see the beautiful prism of life reflected in Your light. In the name of Christ, who came into this world to become our brother, we pray. Amen.
Blessing/Assurance of Pardon
Whoever does the will of God is our brother and sister, our mother and father. God has called us away from the earthly divisions and bonds into a greater community of faith. May we live as forgiven and loved people, and see all others in the same forgiveness and love. Amen.
Prayer
Almighty God, who led our ancestors in faith out of the wilderness into a land that became their home, You continue to walk with us in our journeys of life. Guide us in the ways that we interact and relate to one another. Help us to pause and take notice of our neighbors, to concern ourselves with their daily needs, to care for them in distress, to comfort in times of brokenness. Call us to live in faithfulness to Your ways in our daily lives, and call us to live in the ways of compassion and mercy, love and forgiveness in this world. Remind us that it is not our duty to gain followers, but our call to love and serve others. Help us to minister to one another in this world. In the name of Jesus, who taught in the synagogues and ministered to thousands outside, and continues to call us to move beyond our comfort zone, we pray. Amen.