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Bolingbroke Deanery Team Parishes Faithful, Confident, Joyful

5th April 2020

Sixth Sunday of Lent PALM SUNDAY

(Red)

BLESSINGS AND PEACE THIS

PALM SUNDAY & HOLY WEEK

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This week: Weekday Prayer: Daily at St James Spilsby ALL MEETINGS CANCELLED Monday in Holy Week

Pray for Spilsby

Tuesday in Holy Week Pray for our Shared Ministries 11am on Line Renewal of Ministerial Vows/Promises Wednesday in Holy Week

Pray for Stickney

Thursday in Holy Week Pray for our Daily Bread Good Friday Pray with wonder Holy Saturday Pray for the care opf those with Covid 19

Next Sunday – EASTER SUNDAY 2nd Sunday in the month Pray for HOLY LIVING https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/news/diocesan-activities-for-holy-week

Worship on

Separate Attachments

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Diocesan activities for Holy Week For Holy Week there is an invitation to all, across the county and greater Lincolnshire, to take part in both local and diocesan worship. The bishops hope that the diocesan worship and resources will complement and add to local worship.

• Each day of Holy Week you are invited to watch a brief daily video message from members of the bishops' staff that can be used as a source of reflection and prayer. The reflections will be based on the gospel of the day and be on this website and also on social media.

• There is encouragement from the bishops to make palm crosses out of paper or card and to place them in windows from Palm Sunday, or use larger branches at a door, to indicate their house has entered the story of Holy Week

• There will be a simple service on Tuesday for the renewal of ministerial commitment for all God’s people which will be on Facebook live at 11am and accessible to all via the internet. Simply search for Lincoln - Bishops' Office.

• There will be a Eucharist online at 5pm on Easter Sunday evening with Bishop David. This will use the diocesan website with the invitation to light a candle in a window each evening from Easter Day as a sign of new life.

https://www.facebook.com/lincolnbishopsoffice/

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How to make a Palm Cross

1. Cut two strips about 1cm in width from the length of an A4 piece of paper. Sellotape them

together to make one long strip (or use an A3 sheet if you have it).

2. Take the strip and fold it in the middle to form an inverted right

angle/ an upside down L.

3. Now take the vertical strip and fold that up (behind).

4. Turn the whole thing over to form a number

7 and then fold the vertical end up again (behind).

5. Then take the horizontal end and fold it over

(in front). Now when you look in the back you will notice you have made a small square pocket.

6. Take the horizontal arm and

slide it through the pocket from the back, all the way to the end and gently tug at it to ensure it’s firm.

7. Now slide the horizontal arm through the back of the pocket to make about a third of the length into a loop to form the left arm of the cross.

8. Then tuck the end of the right arm back into the middle to form the right arm, then fold the top vertical bit down through the pocket to make the vertical part of the cross.

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As you will all know all Public Worship has been suspended and our Churches have been closed as part of our attempts to slow the progress of the Coronavirus (Corvid 19). There will be no services in our or in our sister Churches (with the exception of grave side or crematorium Funerals with only very close family in attendence) Weddings and Baptisms (with the excpetion of emergence Baptisms) are not allowed. However, I am sure that worship and prayer to our loving God is at the heart of what we need to do at all time and especially now. That is why we are asking you to be part of the Churches offering of Worship this Sunday and every day too. Although we can’t be together to worship physically we can in spirit. We are offering in this booklet a service we can pray at Some point on Sunday and through the week. We can join together through the mass media. Please be aware there is also a national service on Sunday led by the Archbishop of York at 9am on the Church of England website and Facebook page which you might want to point people to. Church Times: “CLERGY in the Church of England must not enter their own churches, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have said. On Monday night, the Prime Minister named places of worship as among the buildings that must shut, and banned all weddings and baptisms, apart from emergency baptisms in hospitals in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.” This Sunday your Ministers will celebrate the Holy Communion/Eucharist in their own homes (we have been asked to not use our church buildings as we are all advised to stay at home. Please join in at home. As you eat and drink spiritually know that you are receiving our Lord. Each day we will be saying the daily prayers. Join in where you are https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-service-daily-prayer

#LIVE LENT – Week 5 HUMANS AND OTHER ANIMALS

Today = Holy Week----- Sign up to our email reflections https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/living-out-our-faith/lent-holy-week-and-easter/livelent-care-gods-creation The sick at home or in hospital,

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Leo Seebacher-Hobson, Nigel Worth, Kathleen, Ann, Molly, Veronica, Dorothy, Maggie J. Betty Brawn, Tristan, Joan Abbey, Michael P, Joan T. Mark, Jossie Lee, June, Hilary, Michael, Harriet, Rose L., Kate B. Abby, Sheila Janes, Fleur, Beryl B. Mary, Jeff Mason, Rosie, Jean C. Wendy, Bob, (Baby) Chloe Lear, Lawrence, Kathryn B. The Departed: Bertha ‘Vicky’ Vickers, Fiona, Rachel, Isobel Eaton, Sylvia Bell, Kate Benson, Joan Griffiths, Michael Dobson.

Anniversary: Mary Mead, Eileen Parker, Joan Law, Don Thom, Milly Allen, John Coe, George Griffin, Cliff Rowlett, Bill Donner, David Cooke, Alan Cornall, Lue Mullinger, Jean Curtis, Harry Orchard (p), Rupert Fletcher, Sheila Shaw, Jack Smith, Peter Dooling (p), Judith Balderston, Frances Blackburn, Charles Mottley, Hilda Yates, Joyce Carse, Jean Thompson, Pearl Blanchard, Trevor Williamson, Ernest Bendall, Don Marshall, Edwin Bogg, John Potterton, Ronald Collier. Susan Bates, Dorothy Wales, Florence Beecham, Mable Watkins, Wayne Field, Violet Storr, Kay & Dave Spence, James Seidel, Richard Waters, Freda Wild, Jessie Coote, Stella Gyler, Reg Hutson, Arthur Spring, Christopher Hagar, Peter Croft, Blanche Winn, Ronald, Lucy Short, Ivy Todd, Marjory Bradley. Iris Gooderham, Pamela Williamson, Joyce Fenwick, Patricia Wells, Michael Hedison, Joyce Jones, Richard Epton, Rebecca Shaw, Roy Nelson, Vera Willis, Joan Barrett, Maureen Clarke, Clifford Willetts, May Dickinson, Betty Leighton, Peter Allewell, John Lear, Trevor Thompson, Penny Holmes, Ken Whitbread, John Emmerson, Christine Pilcher.

Guidance on Spiritual Communion and Coronavirus The term ‘Spiritual Communion’ has been used historically to describe the means of grace by which a person, prevented for some serious reason from sharing in a celebration of the Eucharist, nonetheless shares in the communion of Jesus Christ. The form of prayer below offers Christians an opportunity to give thanks for their

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communion with him, particularly at times when they would ordinarily be present at the Eucharist. The Book of Common Prayer instructs us that if we offer ourselves in penitence and faith, giving thanks for the redemption won by Christ crucified, we may truly ‘eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ’, although we cannot receive the sacrament physically in ourselves. Making a Spiritual Communion is particularly fitting for those who cannot receive the sacrament at the great feasts of the Church, and it fulfils the duty of receiving Holy Communion ‘regularly, and especially at the festivals of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun or Pentecost’ (Canon B 15). The Church of which we are members is not defined by the walls of a building but by the Body of Christ of which we are members. In making our communion spiritually, we are joining with Christians everywhere to be nourished by the one who tells us, ‘I am the Bread of Life’. In making a Spiritual Communion, you may wish to pray all or part of the following, as you are able. An act of Spiritual Communion You may wish to find a space for prayer in front of a cross, a candle, or a special place. You might choose to make your Spiritual Communion at a particular time of day, or after viewing a live streamed service. Reflect on the day and on your relationships.

- What good things have come from God today? - Where have I fallen short? - What might I do tomorrow?

You may wish to say or pray Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Read the following words from Scripture. If you have access to today’s readings for Holy Communion, you may wish to read and reflect on them. Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ John 6.35

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Pray for the needs of the world, for your local community, and for those close to you. End with the Lord’s Prayer. Our Father... Give thanks for the saving death and resurrection of Jesus and ask him to be with you now. Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits you have given me, for all the pains and insults you have borne for me. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, I ask you to come spiritually into my heart. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen. after the Prayer of St Richard of Chichester You might then add one or more of the following prayers: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your disciples, ‘I am with you always’. Be with me today, as I offer myself to you. Hear my prayers for others and for myself, and keep me in your care. Amen. O God, help me to trust you, help me to know that you are with me, help me to believe that nothing can separate me from your love revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Lord, in these days of mercy, make us quiet and prayerful; in these days of challenge, make us stronger in you; in these days of emptiness, take possession of us; in these days of waiting, open our hearts to the mystery of your cross. Angela Ashwin Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you most humble and hearty thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And give us, we pray, such a sense of all your mercies that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we show forth your praise, not only with our lips but in

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our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Conclude with the following: The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Dealing with loneliness and isolation: five top tips Find simple ways to deal with loneliness and isolation.

1. Pray. Light a candle, if safe, and pray for hope, faith and strength to keep loving and caring for each other during this time of struggle.

2. Talk about how you feel. This may be difficult if you are self-isolating, but do use the telephone, internet, and social media. If you need to contact a counsellor this can be arranged by your GP, or via local agencies, or privately. The Samaritans are there 24 hours a day, every day, and it’s free to call them on 116 123.

3. Focus on the things that you can change, not on the things you can’t. 4. Look after yourself - physically, emotionally, spiritually. Plan in things that

you enjoy at regular intervals during the day – a TV programme, a phone call, a book, a favourite dish, a game.

5. Look after others. Even if only in small ways, but do what you can: a smile, a kind word, writing a letter or an email.

A prayer for all those affected by coronavirus

Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious,

be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low;

that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love

in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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Daily at Noon God of love, turn our hearts to Your ways and give us peace. Amen From our Bishops In the past few days we have been encouraged to see ways in which congregations are already putting into action new ways to stay in touch with communities. We now have a new Facebook page as a way to stay in touch, which is Lincoln – Bishops’ Office (please click on https://www.facebook.com/lincolnbishopsoffice/? to access the page).

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Clergy Team The Rev’d. Canon Peter Coates

The Vicarage, Church Street, Spilsby, PE23 5EF email: peter.coates50@yahoo.com

Tel: 01790 752526

The Rev’d. Ms. Fran Jeffries The Rectory, Horbling Lane, Stickney PE22 8DQ

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email: revfjeffries@outlook.com

The Rev’d. Mrs Joan Thornett email: fctjw@btinternet.com

Tel: 01790 754151 The Rev’d Mrs Jean Coates

Contact via Spilsby Vicarage – As above email: coatesjean@yahoo.co.uk

Rev’d. Mrs Teresa McLaughlin &

Mr Paul McLaughlin – Community Chaplain The Rectory, Scremby Road Partney PE23 4PG

tmclaughlin@tiscali.co.uk 01790 752344

[Please take this sheet home with you for reference]

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Bolingbroke Team Ministry

Palm Sunday 2020

This is a Palm Sunday service with a difference! Palm Crosses are probably not available to all, and we cannot celebrate together with shouts of praise and Hallelujahs. But from our homes and in our minds, we can watch from afar as the events unfold before us. Lord God, let us approach with shouts of praise: hosanna in the highest! Let us draw close to you on this day that caused disturbance and disruption. Let us approach the throne of the one who came as a humble servant, who came to set us free, to change things for ever. Hosanna to the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen Hymn Chorus: All glory, laud, and honour

To thee, Redeemer, King, To whom the lips of children Made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou art the King of Israel, Thou David's royal Son, Who in the Lord's name comest,

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The King and blessed one. Chorus The company of angels Are praising thee on high, And mortal men and all things Created make reply. Chorus The people of the Hebrews With palms before thee went; Our praise and prayer and anthems Before thee we present. Chorus To thee, before thy passion, They sang their hymns of praise; To thee, now high exalted, Our melody we raise. Chorus Thou didst accept their praises; Accept the love we bring, Who in all good delightest, Thou good and gracious King. Chorus Reading: Matthew 21:1-11 Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem 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 fulfil 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.’

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Call to Reconciliation God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Let us then show our love for him by confessing our sins in penitence and faith. Prayer of Confession Lord Jesus, you came to change the world. Forgive us when we become complacent, when change is difficult – and we give up. Lord Jesus, you came to serve, not to be served. Forgive us when we put ourselves and our needs before those of our brothers and sisters. Lord Jesus, you came to bring peace. Forgive us when we cause more fights, more trouble, and more wars than peace. Lord Jesus, you came to set the captives free. Forgive us when we don’t stand up for justice and freedom for our neighbours. Lord Jesus, you came to meet us where we are. Forgive us when we don’t stand with each other through the pain and struggle. Help us to change the world by serving one another, working for peace, standing up for justice and walking with our fellow pilgrims. Amen. Assurance of Pardon In Christ, God hears; God answers; God sets us free. In Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Collect True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah: grant us the faith to know you and love you, that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross, which is the path of glory. Homily from the Diocesan Website This week we begin the story of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, and follow him into Jerusalem, through Holy Week, to the cross of Golgotha and on to that quiet garden on Easter morning. Jesus’ ministry had been getting more and more controversial and more and more edgy, as the Pharisees and religious leaders of the people began to become worried about the following he was gathering and his radical message. Just as it seemed certain that the religious authorities would want to attack Jesus, as people began to recognise him as being something special, he set his face in the very direction in which his enemies held strength, the holy city of Jerusalem. Most pilgrims would have entered Jerusalem on foot. The prophecy from Zechariah 9:9, which Matthew quoted in our gospel this morning, makes much of the humility of riding on a donkey, rather than a horse, but in fact either animal was thought fit for a king. The difference was that a horse was considered a war animal, but a donkey appropriate for peace time. Solomon was given his father David’s donkey to ride on

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as a sign of his kingship. The mount of kings was supposed to be for the king alone, not ridden by anyone else, which is why it was important that it should be a colt, a young animal, never ridden before; it is a sign of kingship. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt, not on foot as an ordinary pilgrim, shows that he was making a point, he was claiming kingship, he was being deliberately provocative to the religious authorities, who he had predicted would kill him. The whole scene would have sent a very clear sign to everyone that he was making special claims, and that the people thought he was a king, coming to liberate the people. But did Jesus really see himself as a king? He had consistently avoided the many claims to make him a political king – such as after he had fed the 5000, when John tells us Jesus withdrew from the crowds to prevent the people making him king by force (John 6:15). On the first Palm Sunday he had accepted the homage of the people, but did not do any of the things they expected him to do as an aspiring king. Jesus himself never called himself king, but he did talk about his kingdom. For kings in that age of totalitarian leaders, being a king was all about what it meant about you – your power and prestige, making sure that everyone was afraid of you. But Jesus did nothing to claim power or status for himself. Quite the opposite. In the week that followed, he washed his followers’ feet, and by the end of the week he was hanging on a cross, the death reserved for the lowest of the low. For Jesus it wasn’t about being a king – but about his kingdom, about the people who he was doing all this for. Jesus didn’t come to recapture Jerusalem from the power of the Romans, but to bypass earthly authority, to show that it was fleeting and that the power of God, and the kingdom he brought, made political power irrelevant in the long run. In the first century AD, it was important to question the power of Caesar and the rulers of the nations, because their power was so absolute and so self-serving. In the twenty-first century, long after Caesar and his descendants have gone, Jesus is still king. What does this mean to us in an age which resists any kind of power over us, and always seeks to allow each person to make their own choices? In Jesus we are offered a different kind of freedom from that our world promises us through self-improvement and self-fulfilment. The life offered in Christ comes from being willing to take up our cross and follow him. We gain first position by being willing to be last; we gain freedom through service and worship of God. We are entering the holiest week of the Christian year. We are invited, this week, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, though the highs and lows of that amazing week, to the foot of the cross, and weep with his followers. Only by travelling that journey of sorrow and humility, only by dying with him, can we come to the joy of Easter and the new hope that is to come. Questions for Reflection

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1. What most struck you hearing this familiar passage afresh today? 2. What do you think it means for Jesus to be king in our lives, our families, our

town/village/community and our world today? 3. Is there anything else from the passage not already discussed that speaks to

you? What is it? 4. What will you do this week in your Monday-to-Saturday ministry in response to

what you have read today? Prayers of Intercession Lord Jesus, we pray for all who give of themselves sacrificially, for those whose lives are dedicated to serving others: parents, carers, foster carers, doctors, nurses… those caring for children or elderly relatives. Let us travel together and lighten the load. We pray for those serving in war-torn countries around the world: medics, those who work in missions, the media, NGOs and charities… who bring food, shelter and healing to those in need, sometimes putting their lives on the line. Let us travel together and lighten the load. We pray for those in our communities who need our unconditional love: those hurting from broken relationships, abuse, bullying, domestic violence… children and adults whose lives are bereft of love and hope. Let us travel together and lighten the load. We pray that we might be Easter people, laying down our lives to serve others, bringing hope to hopeless situations – the hope of the cross and resurrection. Let us travel together and lighten the load. Amen. Gathering our prayers and praises into one let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us. Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our sins. As we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom the power and the glory are yours,

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Now and forever. Amen

Liturgy of the Passion : Matthew 26:14 – 27:66 Traditionally, when we gather on Palm Sunday, we hear the story of the Passion read, either by a lone voice, or in a dramatized version. We cannot do this at the moment. But we can read and reflect on the story. Take it slowly, enter into the drama of the story, and allow God to speak through the words on the page into our hearts. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I betray him to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. The Passover with the Disciples On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, “The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.”’ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’ The Institution of the Lord’s Supper While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’ When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

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Peter’s Denial Foretold Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.’ Peter said to him, ‘Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And so said all the disciples. Jesus Prays in Gethsemane Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;[e] the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’ The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.’ At once he came up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, do what you are here to do.’ Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?’ At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me.

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But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. Jesus before the High Priest Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, ‘This fellow said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.”’ The high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, ‘I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?’ Peter’s Denial of Jesus Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly. Jesus Brought before Pilate When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. The Suicide of Judas When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to

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it yourself.’ Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.’ After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.’ Pilate Questions Jesus Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said, ‘You say so.’ But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?’ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. Barabbas or Jesus? Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Pilate Hands Jesus over to Be Crucified So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. The Soldiers Mock Jesus Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the

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head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. The Crucifixion of Jesus As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, “I am God’s Son.”’ The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. The Death of Jesus From noon on, darkness came over the whole land[p] until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. The Burial of Jesus When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in

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a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The Guard at the Tomb The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead”, and the last deception would be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’ So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. Spend some time in quiet reflection as we turn our thoughts towards the events of Holy Week and Easter

Lord Jesus Christ, I have read the story of your last week on earth, the story we call the passion story. And I ponder all that you did and said and all that you chose not to do and not to say. I reflect on the meaning of the events for me today, for I know that it is by your cross and your passion that humankind is freed from guilt and sin and set right with God, your Father and my Father. You, who were sinless, were content to live a human life and to die not just any human death, but an awful form of capital punishment. Help me to understand more of this great mystery - that God incarnate should lay down his life for me and for all people. Give me also a care for all those who suffer in today's world from cruelty, from vicious political regimes and from neglect.

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Help me to understand how I should respond to the challenge of this story as I seek to be faithful to you this Holy Week and every week. Amen. Hymn My song is love unknown, my Saviour’s love to me, love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be. O who am I, that for my sake my Lord should take frail flesh and die? He came from his blest throne, salvation to bestow; but men made strange, and none the longed-for Christ would know. But oh, my Friend, my Friend indeed, who at my need his life did spend! Sometimes they strew his way, and his sweet praises sing; resounding all the day hosannas to their King. Then “Crucify!” is all their breath, and for his death they thirst and cry. Why, what hath my Lord done? What makes this rage and spite? He made the lame to run, he gave the blind their sight. Sweet injuries! Yet they at these themselves displease and 'gainst him rise. They rise, and needs will have my dear Lord made away; a murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay. Yet cheerful he to suffering goes, that he his foes from thence might free. In life, no house, no home my Lord on earth might have; in death, no friendly tomb but what a stranger gave. What may I say? Heav'n was his home, but mine the tomb wherein he lay. Here might I stay and sing, no story so divine; never was love, dear King, never was grief like thine. This is my Friend, in whose sweet praise I all my days could gladly spend.