Ash Wednesday - C

Object: The object for this message is an activity for your children. The goal is to help the children move around so they are sitting in order by age, the oldest at one end and the youngest at the other end.

* * *

Isaiah 50:4-9
A magician makes a magic trick more impressive by making things more difficult on themselves. S/he will be blindfolded or have their hands tied behind their back. They’ll have a volunteer from the audience sign their name to a card, so they’ll know it’s really the one. All of these obstacles make a successful trick that much more impressive.

Where is God now? This week is often used as Palm Sunday in some congregations, for others it is Sunday of Passion. Reading the text or its longer version is an option then saying, “Amen” is one idea. The John 18-19:41 version is read on Good Friday. This Sunday is an opportunity to uplift what Luke contributes to this passion narrative. For Luke despite, all the chaos and confusion which is occurring, Jesus’ ministry continues. He heals the man whose ear was cut off. He counsels the weeping daughters of Jerusalem. He prays for those who crucify him.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself. . . (vv. 5-7)

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) was world famous during his lifetime, respected, adored, even treated with awe by his legions of admirers. However, he didn’t look upon himself as anything special. Indeed, his friends were frustrated by his lack of protective coloration, his openness to being taken advantage of, and his lack of care when it came to protecting his privacy and his finances.

My friends, as we gather this Sunday to recall the passing of the weeks of Lent and move ourselves into the holiest of weeks in the Christian calendar, there is no better passage for us to reflect upon. Many scholars believe this passage from the letter to the church in Philippi may have been an ancient, early Christian hymn unfolding the stages of Christ’s whole being ― from being in the form of God, to becoming human, to surrendering to humiliation and death, and then to ascension back into heaven. Much of Christian theology rests in these verses.

(Occurs in all three cycles of the lectionary; see Liturgy Of The Palms, Cycle A; see also The Resurrection Of Our Lord/Easter Day, Years A, B, and C for vv. 1-2, 14-24.)

This psalm, titled "A Song Of Victory," has rich associations in Christian liturgy. Portions of it occur in all three lectionary cycles for Palm Sunday (Liturgy Of The Palms), as well as in all three cycles for Easter Day.

The reason for the Palm Sunday connection is plain to see: "Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord" (v. 19).

One would be hard pressed to find a historical event with so many ramifications equal to these words from Saint Luke's Gospel. In fact, for the devout Christian there is no other! It is a moment when the universe seems to come to a standstill and the angels watch in troubled awe.

Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday as it is now called in some churches is certainly one of the greatest festivals of the Christian Year. However, for many years, I wondered just what this day really does signify in terms of the everyday life of a Christian. Is it simply a reminder that fickle human beings can shout ''Hosanna'' one day, and then a few days later, those same people cry, ''Crucify him''? Certainly that is a part of the Holy Week story.

Dear friends in Christ, grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The journey has finally come to its illogical conclusion. After three years of teaching and preaching and helping and healing, Jesus tonight arrives in the city of Jerusalem, and there he is met by the screaming crowds. We've still a week to go in the season of Lent, but tonight marks the beginning of the end for Jesus.

There is no use in worrying needlessly. Some things you absolutely cannot change. And some things are too ridiculous for us to be concerned about. A Peanuts column shows Charlie Brown saying, "I couldn't sleep last night. I kept worrying about school, and about life, and about everything." Snoopy, the dog, walks away thinking, "I didn't sleep well either. All night long I kept worrying that the moon was going to fall on my head."