“Hosanna!”

Meditation on Matthew 21:1-11

March 29, 2015

  “When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.’ This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
   humble, and mounted on a donkey,
     and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

***

   What leads a church to close, while others, with similar challenges, continue year after year? Why do some small, rural churches go on worshiping the Lord, engaging in fellowship, prayer and Bible study, and mission and outreach to their community, even if they have only 25 active members, while other small congregations decide not to be a church anymore?

     This is what I was thinking about on my way home from a presbytery committee meeting on Thursday. As part of a visioning team of teaching elders and ruling elders, discerning a new design for our presbytery, we had talked about some problems in our presbytery. This included a brief discussion of a small church that has voted to close its doors. This is despite the fact that they still have resources, including active members with gifts and talents. And they still have a community with needs, which presents opportunities for even a small congregation to serve. The people on my committee were shaking their heads sadly and asking, “Why?”

     This isn’t the first church that has closed in our presbytery since I arrived 4 years ago. I can think of several other small churches that, after struggling with dwindling membership and finances, decided they would struggle no longer. I know, also, that the trend of smaller churches on the decline isn’t new or unique to our denomination.

      I have heard some people blame church closures on aging membership. Few young people are joining churches, they say, so the churches decline naturally as our older members pass away. But that doesn’t explain why some churches are actually growing and many of them in the younger demographic. Others say it’s a financial problem--that people don’t have the money to give or if they do, the practice of tithing or giving 10% of one’s income to the Lord has gone by the wayside. While it is true that giving is down in our denomination and presbytery, this is not necessarily the reason why small churches close. In some small congregations, the average per member giving may be higher than the average per member giving in larger congregations.

    Others say it’s all the controversial issues being argued at the denominational level, stirring conflict locally and hurting membership and giving. Conflict, if not handled biblically, with prayer and loving, respectful conversation, can hurt relationships and divide a church. But conflict at the denominational level doesn’t usually result in church closures. The home-grown kind of conflict usually does more damage to a local church.

    I think, truly, it’s not any of these things--not finances, membership or conflict--that really bring a congregation to decide to end. If you think about it, the earliest “church” had no building and very little money or material resources. The first “church” was Jesus and the 12 disciples called to be “fishers of people.” They didn’t have one place of worship, praise and prayer. They moved from house to house and town to town, ministering in small groups or pairs. They were sent to cast out demons, heal the sick and call people to repentance, for the Kingdom of God was drawing near! Jesus told his would-be followers that if they wanted to be his disciples, they had to leave their families and homes behind -- let the “dead bury the dead!” He told them not to bring extra clothes, shoes, tunics. The Son of Man had no home; no place to lay his head. And if you think the Church from the very beginning didn’t have many conflicts from within and without to overcome, then you haven’t read the gospels or the book of Acts very closely.

   What I believe kills a congregation is a problem of the heart, mind and soul. A church struggles to continue when it lacks hope and joy, when it has, instead, an attitude of doom and gloom. Apathy can also spread like a disease and stop God’s work in its tracks--when people turn away from the Lord, and stop caring for one another and the needs of their community, and stop listening to God’s Word. Worst of all is when a church lacks faith. People stop believing that they are a church and that their congregation has a future together. They begin to think that God can no longer use them for His glory and His Kingdom purposes because of their financial challenges, small membership, building or other problems, including struggles with sin. They may forget that they are as strong as the Spirit that guides them and fills them with gifts, empowering them to walk in Christ’s ways. The Church is not a human institution or organization. It’s not a building or a place at all! We are the Church, Christ’s new Creation! We are set free from sin and death! Saved by God’s mercy and grace!

    

***

      This certainty of who we are as God’s Children, forgiven and set free, and the hope of our salvation through His Son--this is what is beginning to dawn on the people of Israel in our gospel reading today. They have listened to his teaching. His authority has astounded them! They watched him heal the sick and cast out demons. Never has anything like this been seen in Israel! Twice, they witness his miraculous feeding of the multitude with a few loaves and a couple of fish. And now Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, beginning at the Mount of Olives. It’s all coming together for them! It’s an “aha!” moment! He must be the Messiah, after all these miracles and now this, his appearing at the traditional location where the Messiah is expected to appear, riding on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecies of Zechariah and Isaiah. The triumphal entry is recalled in all 4 gospels, with slightly different details.  In each one, the crowd follows Jesus, riding an animal that two disciples have “borrowed” from a villager at Jesus’ request. The entire city is in an uproar. Some watch in amazement, asking one another, “Who is this?!” Others believe he is a prophet. But many more are shouting, “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!” A large number of them run ahead of Jesus to joyfully welcome him by laying down leafy branches cut from trees and spreading their cloaks on the road. Although they will turn against him when Jesus is brought to trial-- they will call for Pilate to “Crucify him”--on this day of triumph, many believe he is the one they have been waiting for, the one who has brought them what they need most of all --God’s salvation.

    “Hosanna!!” they shout, meaning, “Save us!” “Hosanna to the Son of David!...Hosanna in the Highest Heaven!”

    

***

    Friends, we live as new Creations in Christ, and we will live eternally with God because of the work of our humble Savior. He was sent from God to fulfill the words of the prophets of old. We don’t need to have 1,000 members or worship in the Crystal Cathedral to be Christ’s Church. We don’t even need a building or a piece of land! We need three things--His Spirit (and we have that) and faith that Christ has made us His Church when He laid down His life for our sakes. And we need, most of all, His Salvation, which is a gift of God’s mercy and grace!

    Let us never be like some other churches that see the glass as half empty and feel they don’t have enough of something--members or young people or money or … (fill in the blank)! Let us, by faith, with gratitude to the Lord for what He has done, always continue to be the Church God has called us to be. We have many gifts, talents and resources. We have opportunities to minister and serve locally and around the globe. And we have Christ’s compassion and hearts willing to share from our abundance with those in need.

      No matter how big or small we are in membership, no matter how rich or poor we are in material possessions, we are the Church and Jesus is our head. We are God’s Children, saved by grace so that the Lord may use us for His glory.

     Let us love God and neighbor with all heart, soul, mind and might, bearing witness to our humble Savior. Let us wait for our King of Kings in joyful anticipation, like the crowd on the Mount of Olives, who shouted on that day of triumph, “Hosanna! (Save us!) Hosanna to the Son of David!...Hosanna in the Highest Heaven!”

    

Let us pray.

Holy One, we give you our thanks and praise for sending us Jesus to be our Messiah, our King, our Savior! Thank you for your love, mercy and grace that led you to forgive us for all our sins through your Son’s death on a cross! Thank you for your Spirit that illumines your Word to us, so that we have all that we need for our salvation and to be Your Church. Lead us to walk in Christ’s loving, righteous ways, to be people of gratitude and grace, never falling into the trap of negative thinking or seeing the glass as half empty, instead of seeing, by faith, our cups filled to overflowing--all of our needs as a Church and individuals provided for every day. Forgive us if we have focused too much on material possessions, finances and the appearance of our church and not enough on ministry to the community and our world. Reveal your will to us and help us to quickly obey. Enable us to trust in your abundance so that we give more generously and love the things of this world a little less. Let us see with eyes of eternity so that all matters to us is your salvation and sharing our hope and promise in you. Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Through your Son we pray! Amen.

“My Father is the Gardener”

Meditation on John 15:1-17

March 25, 2015

     “I am the true vine,” said Jesus, “and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t bear fruit, so that it can bear more fruit. You are already clean. That’s because of the word that I’ve spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you! The bran can’t bear fruit by itself, but only if it remains in the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. People who remain in me and I in them are the one who bear plenty of fruit. Without me, you see, you can’t do anything. If people do not remain in me, they are thrown out, like a branch, and they wither. People collect the branches and put them in the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want, and it will happen for you. My father is glorified in this: that you bear plenty of fruit and so become my disciples.

       As the Father loved me,” Jesus continued, “so I loved you. Remain in my love, just as I have kept my father’s command, and remain in his love. I’ve said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and so that your joy may be full. This is my command: love one another, in the same way that I loved you. No one has a love greater than this, to lay down your life for your friends. You are my friends, if you do what I tell you. I’m not calling you ‘servants’ any longer; servants don’t know what their master is doing. But I’ve called you ‘friends’ because I’ve let you know everything I heard from my father. You didn’t choose me. I chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that would last. Then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command to you: love one another.”

***

      I was working on bulletins for this week, when my house phone rang yesterday. The connection was poor, so I struggled to hear every word the young lady was saying. Also, she was speaking rapidly as if she were afraid I might hang up. And it’s true that most late afternoon phone calls we receive on the house phone are usually sales calls, charities seeking donations, or the dreaded recorded messages, “This is Bridget from Cardholder services,” and “Attention Seniors!”

      But as soon as I heard her voice, I knew this call was important and that she was calling for help. Living next door to the church, we have grown accustomed to calls and surprise visits from the community. And lately, for some reason, the calls and visits from people in need have increased. All of them have that same desperate tone in their voice as the young lady who called yesterday. By the time people are calling area churches for help, they have exhausted all their usual options for assistance. They feel as if they are at the end of their rope. They feel ashamed for asking for help from strangers; they feel even worse when the strangers say no. Many feel as this young caller did that she did not want to bother me; she was apologetic for her situation. She has a job, and she’s studying to get her G.E.D. She has a home and some family in the area. She usually pays all her bills. But she couldn’t pay her utility bill for the last few months, and now she had received a cut-off notice. Very soon, she would have no heat, light, or electricity. Essentially, she and her two small children would not be able to live in her home. Her story tumbled out in a rush, as if she could not hold it in one moment longer.

   After taking her name, address, and phone number, I said I would call her after I made some calls and then stop by her house when we had determined how we could help her. We wouldn’t be able to pay her entire utility bill, I said.

    She was grateful for any help, she said. But then she didn’t hang up. She wanted to talk some more. She had had a bad day. A bad week. She wasn’t sleeping; she wasn’t eating. All she could think about was this money she didn’t have and wonder what she could possibly do.

    I asked, “Where are you now?” “A few miles away,” she said. She paused. “Can I stop by?” “Of course,” I said.

    She needed money--and it was that need that motivated her to call the church. But what she really needed was a friend. A Christian friend who would invite her in. Listen and encourage her and pray for her. She needed to know that God hadn’t forgotten her. He still loved her. And everything was going to be OK. That though she had this bill she didn’t know how she could pay, God would provide for her family’s needs, perhaps another way.

      Brothers and sisters, I had a different scripture picked out for tonight and a different sermon before I decided that it wasn’t the message I needed to share. I feel that God wanted me to share John 15 and talk about our need for one another--and for the Lord and the promise of abundant and eternal life with Him. I also want to say thank you to all you faithful followers of Christ, who took the time to come each Wednesday night. I pray you were blessed with God’s peace and joy! Throughout these midweek Lenten services, we have grown together as we drew nearer to the Lord, pilgrims walking a journey of faith. I have felt God’s loving, comforting presence with us as we studied His Word, sung God’s praises, prayed for one another and sought to build one another up. Coming “to the Garden” each week, seeking and worshiping the Lord, and listening for His voice, we have done what God wants us to do.

       Jesus says in John 15, “Remain in me and I will remain in you! People who remain in me and I in them are the ones who bear plenty of fruit! Without me, you see, you can’t do anything!”

       And yet some Christians live lives never wanting help from anyone! They never want to need anything or anybody. Some people really struggle with accepting help and love from others! Some may look down upon people who come to the church, seeking help from the people of God. And yet caring for people in need, caring for strangers, is exactly what God calls the Church to do! Some take so much pride in being “self sufficient” that they don’t realize self-sufficiency is an illusion! No matter how much money or property we have, we still need one another; we will always need the Lord.

      God created human beings to be in relationship with Him and one another. Isn’t that what we learned in Genesis in the Garden? God planted a garden so that the human beings would have a beautiful place to live with God. But the Garden was not just a home for people. This was a home, a paradise, truly, for all creatures that creep, crawl, walk and fly to live together in harmony with the Lord.

     In today’s reading in John 15, God is called, “The Gardener.” Some translations say, “The Farmer.” “I am the true vine,” Jesus says, “and my father is The Gardener.” What does the Gardener do? He prunes the branches that don’t bear fruit. Who are the branches? We are! What happens to branches that are cut off or fall off the vine? They wither and die. People pick up the branches and toss them into the fire.

    Hear the promise in our gospel reading today. If we remain connected to Christ the Vine, we will live abundantly and joyfully with the Vine forever. That connection is made by the Holy Spirit and through faith, worship, service in Christ’s name, and meditating on God’s Word. Branches that remain on a living vine live on and on. We will never be separated from Him! The only way, though, that branches will keep bearing fruit is if they submit to the Gardener’s pruning. The Lord, who promises to complete a good work in us, will cut away whatever keeps us from bearing “plenty of fruit.” Sometimes we might not be happy as the Lord prunes us, reshaping and reforming our character and renewing our minds. When God prunes us, the Lord remove things in our life that get in the way of God’s purposes for us.  We might rather hold onto these things, rather than let them go. We have to trust that God knows best.

     What does the Lord mean by “bearing fruit”? Beginning at verse 9, we move from the gardening imagery, which Christ uses to explain our intimate relationship with him, God, and one another. Jesus hammers his point home. “As the father loved me,” he says, “so I loved you. Remain in my love …And as you remain connected with me in love, love one another.” Then he calls us his friends and speaks of his own death on the cross--for us! “No one has a love greater than this, to lay down your life for your friends.” He tells us that if we want to remain his friends, then we will do what he tells us to do. Then he says, go and bear fruit! Love one another! The fruit we bear, when we remain in the Vine and are pruned by the Gardener, is love!

     But we can’t love alone. We need other people to love and to love us, if we choose to receive their love. And we need the Lord. Jesus says, “Without me, you see, you can’t do anything!”

Let us pray.

Holy One, our gracious Gardener in Heaven, we give you thanks and praise for supplying all our needs in Jesus Christ, the one who died in our place, for our sakes, that we might live with you forever and be forgiven for all our sins. Thank you for calling us your friends and loving us, even when we have been prideful, thinking sometimes that we don’t need anything from anyone, that maybe we don’t really need you! Thank you for your Word to us tonight that exposes this lie. We know the truth that without you, we can’t do anything! We cannot bear any fruit. We cannot love as you have loved us. We surrender ourselves to our Gracious Gardener, who knows what is best and prunes us so that we will keep on bearing fruit. Help us to remain always in you, in good relationship with you. Help us also to be kind to one another, especially people who are in need, and to remain in loving relationship with one another, connected by faith and the Word, worship, prayer, and service. Through Christ our Lord and Friend we pray. Amen.

“We wish to see Jesus”

Meditation on John 12:20-36

March 22, 2015

    

     Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

    

     ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’

     

    After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

***  

     Driving back from Willmar on Friday--on the First Day of Spring-- the fields looked different to me. One field in particular looked like a farmer had just turned the soil to prepare it for planting. But of course, it’s a little early for that. The calendar may say that winter has gone and spring is here, but we in Minnesota know that it will still be a while before planting time!

    When it is finally time to plant, farmers will spring to life like hungry bears awakening from a long winter’s nap. Big machines will roll over the fields, drilling seeds precisely into the earth. And all the while, the farmers will not really be seeing the corn seeds. They will have visions of tall, green stalks bending and whispering in the breeze. They will not be seeing the bean seeds; they will envision the sturdy plants sprouting from the earth, reaching up to the sun. And when the seeds have grown to be plants, farmers will already be imagining the harvest, when the combines lumber across the fields night and day, and truckload after truckload of grain are delivered to grain elevators and farmers’ bins. In fact, I would be surprised if farmers were not already thinking about the harvest before they purchase the seed, let alone plant it!

***

    We don’t grow wheat around here on a large scale anymore, but on an organic gardening Website, I found encouragement for people to grow wheat in family gardens; only a few pounds of seed, the author said, would produce 8 times as much “edible grain.” Another Website, “Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom,” says that every head of wheat has 50 kernels, and 1 kernel of wheat, when planted, may yield several hundred new kernels.

     Wheat has been around for about 9,000 years, originating in the Fertile Crescent, which would include land in modern day Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, and the western fringes of Iran. Bread was a staple in the diet of Jesus’ time; people who didn’t make a living at farming still grew wheat in their family gardens. They didn’t buy special seeds from a seed company, though. They set aside some of the kernels from the harvest to use for seed for the next growing season. This had to be done in both good seasons and lean seasons, when the harvest wasn’t plentiful and drought or pestilence plagued crops. So in a way, grain that wasn’t ground and baked into bread and was, instead, kept for seed for next year’s garden was bread given up or sacrificed this year so they would have more bread to eat the following year.

     When Jesus uses the illustration, then, of the wheat seed that had to fall to the ground and die to bear more fruit, his audience knows what he is talking about. The disciples do not understand, though, why Jesus keeps talking about dying! Surely the one who raised Lazarus from the dead would himself never die! Besides, Jesus has many new followers after Lazarus is raised from the dead. Word spreads of the miracle and people ask, “Is this the Christ? The Messiah we have been waiting for?”

      But at the same time, Jesus is making powerful enemies. The chief priests and Pharisees see that they are losing control of the people and resent this man who has become so popular, who is doing so many miraculous things. Jesus incenses the Jewish leaders when he says that not all of the descendants of Abraham would be saved and that salvation is now offered to those who are not descendants of Abraham--and not by adhering to the rituals and laws of the ancient faith but by being his followers! In John 8, Jesus says to those who believe in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!” “I am the Light of the World!” he says in John 8:12. “I am the Good Shepherd!” he says in John 10:11. “I am the Bread of Life!” he says in John 6.

    Speaking about the grain of wheat that falls and dies, Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for the horror of the cross and comfort those who will witness his terrible death--that though it might seem like the end of everything they have been working for, it will be only the beginning! One will die so that many others will live, rather than perish in their sins. His death will open the door to eternal life to all people, including the Gentile “Godfearers” who believe in and worship the God of Israel, “the Greeks” who come to Philip and ask to see Jesus. And Philip, so amazed at this request from Gentile strangers that he talks to Andrew about it before going to Jesus. You can imagine them wondering, “What’s going on? What should we do?” With the visit from the “Greeks,” the fears of the Pharisees seem to be coming true. In John 6, Jesus astonishes the people with his teaching and tells them that he will be with them only a little while longer--that he would soon be returning to the One who sent him. “You will search for me,” he says, “but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” The Jews are baffled by his words and assume that he intends to go out into the Diaspora to live among and teach “the Greeks.”

    When Philip and Andrew bring the news to Jesus of the “Greeks” wishing to see him, the Lord sees their request as a sign that his work with them is almost over; the cross looms ahead. He says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

      One can’t help but be moved by the verses that follow his call to discipleship and assurance of everlasting presence with his followers. “Now my soul is troubled,” Jesus says of the death he is to die. This is the one who will assure his disciples in John 14, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.” This is the one who teaches us in Matthew 6 and Luke 12 not to worry about anything--for our heavenly Father, who clothes the lilies of the field and tenderly cares for the birds of the air, will surely take care of us! And yet, here Jesus is also struggling with emotion--He is “troubled” as He seeks to obey the one who sent him.

     This is not a God who is far removed from us, my friends! This is a God who emptied himself of his divinity and became one of us so that he might suffer and die for us. He would experience every sorrow, pain, struggle and temptation that we experience! And yet, as Hebrews 4, I John 3, 2 Cor 5, and I Peter 2 assure us, he would not sin!

      Jesus shows us the way--the path we ought to take when we are tempted, when we, too, are struggling as we seek to obey. When we are anxious and afraid, unsure that we can bear all things that the Lord says we can bear--with His help. Jesus doesn’t ask God to take away His pain or to spare Him the death that he will suffer. He doesn’t say, “Father, save me from this hour.” He seeks to do God’s will and trusts that the suffering He will bear is what God wants for him. “It is for this reason,” Jesus says, “that I have come to this hour.” He turns to His Heavenly Father and gives him praise. “Father,” he says, “glorify your name.”

    ***

    Friends, the answer to every question we have, the answer to everything that troubles us about the past, present or future, is found in God’s Word and revealed in Jesus Christ! The Son of God was God who became fully human--like us! He experienced everything we experience now. He models for us kindness, openness, and honesty, not fearing that others might think he is weak for admitting that he doesn’t want to suffer and die! He has the courage to admit that He is troubled, knowing the cross looms ahead! You might ask, “Why is this passage in the Bible?” It is for our sakes! God wants us to rely on Him for comfort and strength! He loves us that much!

     Seek the Lord, brothers and sisters! Seek His face, just like the Greeks, the Gentile Godfearers who came to the Holy City for the Passover and sought out Philip, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

    If we can envision and anxiously anticipate the harvest when we plant seeds in the springtime, why can’t we learn to trust in Him now and anxiously anticipate the Harvest of souls with the same faith? God’s Word and our hearts tell us that Jesus is the only Way to eternal life. That He is the Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd, the Light of the World.

     If only you and I would learn to trust in Him each day, for all things--he who was also willing to be the grain of wheat that would fall to the earth and die to bear much fruit!

Let us seek Him now together.

Holy One, our Good Shepherd and Bread of Life, we come to you for comfort, wisdom and strength. Feed and tend to us now as we seek your face, fully believing that in you we will find all our answers, everything we need to continue walking this journey of faith together. Father, help us to bear every troubling thing that might loom ahead, without complaint, just as you helped your Son be perfectly obedient all the way to the cross. Help us to believe in the light and walk in the light, confident that we are also children of the Light. Especially now in this season of Lent, lift our eyes to the cross where our Savior died to set us free from sin and death. Thank you for your grace, mercy and salvation. Lead us to carry your gospel of hope to our communities and the world and be the comforting, peaceful presence of Christ to all who are troubled. Give us joy to plant the seeds of faith in the old and young, the stranger and the friend. Give us courage to always obey, despite our fears or anxieties. Help us to always trust in you. Through Christ we pray. Amen.