BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.2//EN TZID:America/Toronto X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Toronto BEGIN:VEVENT UID:2769@martinluther.ca DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto;VALUE=DATE:20200405 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto;VALUE=DATE:20200406 DTSTAMP:20200405T161714Z URL:https://martinluther.ca/events/palm-sunday-sunday-devotion-on-our-webs ite-and-oat-9-30-a-m-live-on-chlo-radio-am-530/ SUMMARY:PALM SUNDAY Sunday Devotion at 9.30 a.m. live on CHLO Radio AM 530 and our blog/YouTube Channel DESCRIPTION:April 5\, 2020 PALM SUNDAY\n\nRadio Devotion – Palm Sunday (i n German): [PDF]with Vicar Caroline Raddatz\n\n[audio mp3="https://martinl uther.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2020-04-05_Radioandacht_Martin-Luther- Kirche-Palmsonntag-Caroline-Raddatz.mp3"][/audio]\n\n\n\nOnline YouTube Wo rship Service: [PDF]: with Vicar Jordan Smith\n\nWhile we can not gather i n person during this time\, we can gather online for a time of sharing in the Word\, prayer\, and reflection.\n\nhttps://youtu.be/gPIF1tCGp04\n\nWe begin our journey through Holy Week with Palm Sunday and the entrance of J esus into Jerusalem.\n\nThis week\, Vicar Jordan Smith provides an overvie w of the plan for Holy Week at Martin Luther Church and offers a reflectio n on how change can come upon us suddenly and by surprise.\n\nThe lectiona ry readings for April 5\, 2020 are:\nPsalm 31:9-16\nMatthew 21:1-11\n\nOur weekly reflections will be posted to our YouTube page. All of our Holy We ek Resources can be found on our website.\n\nTranscript [PDF]:\nMartin Lut her Church Service Outline and Sermon\n\nWelcome\n\nGrace and peace to you in the name of the Father\, the Son\, and the Holy Spirit.\n\nToday\, we enter the story of Holy Week\, a story defines our faith: Jesus is glorifi ed king and also humiliated servant. Also in the week ahead we will hear o f Peter who desires to follow Christ but also finds himself afraid and den ying Christ. We will hear of Judas\, the disciple who betrays the one he w as following and comes to regret his choices. And today\, we wave palms in celebration as Christ comes into our midst\, even if we are waving them i n a different way and without a large crowd gathered.\n\nThank you to ever yone who has joined our weekly online videos in English and the radio devo tions offered in German. As people of all faiths around the world prepare to celebrate their holy seasons\, we are united in our efforts to continue our faith practices in a way that honours our past while living in the pr esent reality.\n\nThe leadership and pastoral team at Martin Luther are th inking of you and praying for you constantly. In the coming week there wil l be more member calls happening to check in on people\, a prayer circle w ill be starting up using the Zoom platform\, we are exploring more ways to support the needs of our neighbourhood. Please keep checking our website\ , your emails\, and this YouTube channel for the latest updates and devoti onal materials. On YouTube\, if you hit the subscribe button just below me \, you’ll be updated as we post new material throughout this week.\n\nWh ile we are not gathered in body\, we are gathered in spirit\, and in all o f this\, we join together to begin the week that stands at the center of t he church year\, anticipating the completion of God’s astounding work.\n \nPrayer of the Day\nLet us pray.\nO God of mercy and might\, in the myste ry of the passion of your Son you offer your infinite life to the world. G ather us around the cross of Christ\, and preserve us until the resurrecti on\, through Jesus Christ\, our Savior and Lord\, who lives and reigns wit h you and the Holy Spirit\, one God\, now and forever. Amen.\n\nPsalm 31:9 -16\n\n9Have mercy on me\, O Lord\, for I am in trouble\;\nmy eye is consu med with sorrow\, and also my throat and my belly.\n10For my life is waste d with grief\, and my years with sighing\;\nmy strength fails me because o f affliction\, and my bones are consumed.\n11I am the scorn of all my enem ies\, a disgrace to my neighbors\,\na dismay to my acquaintances\;\nwhen t hey see me in the street they avoid me.\n12Like the dead I am forgotten\, out of mind\;\nI am as useless as a broken pot.\n13For I have heard the wh ispering of the crowd\; fear is all around\;\nthey put their heads togethe r against me\; they plot to take my life.\n14But as for me\, I have truste d in you\, O Lord.\nI have said\, “You are my God.\n15My times are in yo ur hand\;\nrescue me from the hand of my enemies\, and from those who pers ecute me.\n16Let your face shine up- on your servant\;\nsave me in your st eadfast love.”\n\nReadings:\n\nMatthew 21:1-17\n\n21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage\, at the Mount of Olives\, Jesus sent two disciples\, 2 saying to them\, “Go into the village ahead of yo u\, and immediately you will find a donkey tied\, and a colt with her\; un tie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you\, just say this\, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet\, say ing\,\n5 “Tell the daughter of Zion\,\nLook\, your king is coming to you \,\nhumble\, and mounted on a donkey\,\nand on a colt\, the foal of a donk ey.”\n6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them\; 7 they b rought the donkey and the colt\, and put their cloaks on them\, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road\, and other s cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds th at went ahead of him and that followed were shouting\,\n“Hosanna to the Son of David!\nBlessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!\nHosa nna in the highest heaven!”\n10 When he entered Jerusalem\, the whole ci ty was in turmoil\, asking\, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying\ , “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”\n12 Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the t emple\, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats o f those who sold doves. 13 He said to them\, “It is written\,\n‘My hou se shall be called a house of prayer’\;\nbut you are making it a den of robbers.”\n14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple\, and he cured them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did\, and heard the children crying out in the temple\, “ Hosanna to the Son of David\,” they became angry 16 and said to him\, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them\, “Yes\; hav e you never read\,\n‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies\nyo u have prepared praise for yourself’?”\n17 He left them\, went out of the city to Bethany\, and spent the night there.\n\nSermon:\n\nBlessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven.\ n\nIt sure feels like an odd time to be celebrating. I’m thinking of all the celebrations that usually happen at this time of year\, or birthdays that are falling into this season\, that are feeling different. Parties ca ncelled\, maybe a cupcake shared over a facetime call\, likely not what wa s planned.\n\nThe people who at the time of Jesus’ procession\, who have gathered in Jerusalem for Passover were expecting a religious celebration \, but they probably weren’t expecting this. A man\, sitting on a donkey \, being led into the city by a large crowd that is cheering wildly.\n\nTh e normal day\, the normal life\, changed by the announcement that someone important was coming. That this could be the messiah\, here and now. And a s they shouted their praises and cries\, more and more people joined in.\n \nIf we think back to three weeks ago\, in the middle of our Lenten journe y\, we probably weren’t expecting this. Unable to have our own parade. U nable to partake in the normal acts of day to day life.\n\nI’ve been rea ding online over the past week or so that as things have changed\, as most of us have come together to support each other\, as governmental aid and financial support looks to reach as many people as possible\, that as all of this has changed\, we can’t go back to the old normal. In our old nor mal\, where people were being left behind\, mental health and grief were d ismissed\, work from home arrangements were barely considered\, the econom ic system that couldn’t be changed even as we face a global climate cris is – During this time\, maybe we heard from leaders or advocates that th ings needed to change\, to save our world\, to save each other\, but there was little indication that society as a whole could make that change.\n\n And then\, in a matter of days\, things did change. We were forced to acce pt a new normal that seemed impossible. And people are reaching out again. Community groups are figuring out what their true strengths are. Churches are reaching out to members more than ever. We are taking time at home to be with our loved ones. Like the people in Jerusalem who planned to recog nize Passover but were surprised by calls of Hosanna\, called to recognize that something is different\, we have also been surprised and called to r ecognize that something is different.\n\nThe cry of the people\, Hosanna\, seems pretty appropriate for today. It is an Aramaic phrase meaning “he lp I pray\, or save I pray” and over the centuries has come to be unders tood as a phrase of praise or adoration. And maybe that mixed usage\, that mixed meaning\, is what we need to hear today. We cry out hosanna – sav e us I pray. We cry out hosanna – help us I pray. We cry out hosanna – praising the messiah as he enters Jerusalem\, entering in glory as he pre pares to face his death. We can cry out hosanna as a call to be saved\, to be helped\, in the midst of knowing what has already been done through Ch rist.\n\nWe cry out hosanna\, in recognition of what the crowd has witness ed. The crowd who has accompanied Jesus from Jericho to Jerusalem\, the cr owd who recognizes their king is walking with them\, not a king of the emp ire\, but a king of their salvation. And while we hear in this passage tha t some people aren’t ready to hear this of joy\, the religious leaders q uestion what is happening\, while they are rejecting the healing that is h appening in their midst\, the crowds and the children celebrate. The child ren are reacting. Hosanna! May that be the shout we can all make today\, k nowing that Jesus’ entry into the city marks a new life\, a new beginnin g for the world\, a world freed from sin\n\nThe leadership team at Martin Luther has been working hard to provide resources for the journey through Holy Week. For the next week we will be dwelling in Matthew’s narrative of the passion story. I would encourage you to check out our website\, www .martinluther.ca\, where you will find the link to our Holy Week Blog post . On this post you will find all our resources\, videos\, and links that y ou can use. Monday to Wednesday will have short videos hosted by myself an d Vicar Adam that focus on the two great commands of Jesus\, Judas’ stor y\, and Peter’s story. On Maundy Thursday Vicars Caroline and Silke will be hosting an agape meal on zoom. For those that can’t join the live di nner there will be an outline for how to do the dinner on your own. On Goo d Friday we will be posting a contemplative video where we read through th e arrest of Jesus to his being laid in the tomb. And on Easter Sunday ther e will be a video posted that helps us celebrate the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. All of this is outlined on the website along with links to other sources to full services for worship at home if that is something yo u would like to take advantage of.\n\nThis is our week to live into this s tory. To hear it with fresh ears and to spend time reflecting. On each day there will be a call to action\, or an activity that you can participate in. For today\, as we celebrate palm Sunday\, take time to go outside and cut a branch off of one of your trees or bushes and wave it around while s aying Hosanna. Tape it to your front door or window so that people walking by can see it. If you don’t have a branch available we have a printable palm leaf linked on our Holy Week page of the website. As you do this\, t ake a picture and connect with the church through email or social media – post a picture or video with you and your palms to Facebook or twitter or Instagram. Let’s create a virtual palm procession where together we can say Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is the one who comes in the n ame of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven.\n\nPrayers:\nIn our separa te homes but gathered together in the Spirit\, we pray for the church\, th e earth\, the world\, and all in need\, responding to each petition with t he words\, “O Lord\, save us.”\n\nO triune God\, God of majesty\, merc y and might\, hear and heed our fervent prayers:\nfor the church around th e world\, that the faithful be nourished by your presence in the word\;\nf or pastors and bishops\, that they be strengthened for their tasks of mini stry\;\nfor all those who are assisting the digital sharing of worship mat erials\;\nfor guidance in keeping this Holy Week in devout prayer and prai se\;\nO holy God\, we pray to you: O Lord\, save us.\n\nFor our distraught world facing the coronavirus\;\nfor countries hardest hit\, especially Ch ina\, Italy\, Spain\, and the United States\;\nfor those who grieve their dead\;\nfor the sick and their families\;\nfor those fearful of an unknown future\;\nfor the millions of unemployed\;\nfor children at home\, that t hey be safe from abuse\;\nfor those who have been led to rely on empty rem edies\;\nfor hospitals\, in their desperate need for supplies\;\nfor all e lected leaders\, that they see our crisis rightly and make judgments wisel y\;\nfor wisdom in distributing governmental economic aid\;\nO compassiona te God\, we pray to you: O Lord\, save us.\n\nFor those whose needs we kno w\, for those whose needs are hidden\;\nfor those with prior illnesses who se treatments are now postponed\;\nfor all who today will die\;\nfor those who are homeless\;\nfor all who are sick\; especially Wanda\, and her fam ily\nO benevolent God\, we pray to you: O Lord\, save us.\n\nWith thanks f or those who celebrate their birthdays this week\, that they can find joy in a world filled with worry. We pray especially for Anita\, Natalie\, Elf riede\, and Emilia.\nO God of life\, we pray to you: O Lord\, save us.\n\n And finally\, for ourselves:\nWith thanks for the technology by which we s tay connected\;\nwith thanks for enough food\;\nwith thanks for the suppor t of our community of faith\;\nwith thanks for the saints who struggled th rough life and died in you\,\nespecially those Christian artists whose wor k has enriched our faith\,\nwe praise your salvation now and unto our end. \nO eternal God\, we pray to you: O Lord\, save us.\n\nInto your hands\, g racious God\, we commend all for whom we pray\,\ntrusting in your mercy\, through the merits of Jesus Christ\, our Savior and Lord.\nAmen.\n\nBlessi ng\nMay the grace of Christ attend us\, and the love of God surround us\,\ nand the Holy Spirit Keep us\, now and ever.\nAmen.\n\nDismissal\nGo in pe ace. Share the good news.\nThanks be to God. 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