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Palm Sunday

3/25/2018

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Those who are relatively new to St. Cyprian’s may wonder why I only read a portion of the Passion Gospel instead of the whole XX pages. I feel that the Passion Gospel is most appropriately read on Good Friday. However, the number of people in almost all congregations who would attend a Good Friday service is relatively small compared to those that are present on Palm Sunday. So, if the people are going to hear the Good Friday story, then they might as well hear it on Palm Sunday.

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Lent 5

3/18/2018

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Today is the Fifth Sunday of Lent, next week is Palm Sunday, and then the week after is Easter. Our gospel reading this morning is once again from John. However, by John’s reckoning this story about Jesus predicting his death happens AFTER Jesus has already entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. So, the chronology is just a little bit off.

This reading from John also includes the saying, “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” In the Synoptic Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke this saying … or its equivalent … appears in the middle of Jesus’ travels, at Caesarea Philippi, a week before the Transfiguration. The author of John’s gospel seems to have borrowed the saying and placed it here … after Jesus has entered Jerusalem … for literary effect.

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Lent 4

3/11/2018

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For many Christians the reading we heard from John’s gospel this morning contains some of the most comforting and reassuring words found in the gospels:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

These words are very familiar to us. Indeed, for some they are a litmus test for one’s faith. These words, or at least the chapter and verse reference to them, are often very visible at many public events. Who has not seen someone waving a large placard at a nationally televised sporting events with “John 3:16” plastered on it in huge letters. Or, a well-known football player with “JN 3:16” painted on his cheek until the NCAA said “Stop it!”

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Lent 3

3/4/2018

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This morning we heard the Ten Commandments as our lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures, and then the story of the “cleansing of the Temple” from John as our Gospel reading.

The story of the “cleansing of the Temple” is found in all four gospels. However, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke the event happens at the end of the story … after Jesus enters Jerusalem just before his crucifixion. In Matthew, Mark and Luke the “cleansing of the Temple” becomes a primary reason for Jesus to be arrested which leads to his crucifixion. However, in John’s gospel the story of the cleansing of the Temple happens at the very beginning of his ministry. In John’s gospel it becomes a prediction of his death and resurrection at the opening of the larger story as if it is a lens through which to view the life of Jesus.

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Palm Sunday

Lent 5

Lent 4

Lent 3

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