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    • Sunday service - Holy Communion April 28, 2024 at 9:30 am – 11:00 am Grace Church 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon, VT Website: www.gracechurchsheldon.comTime:  09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)        Every week on Sun.Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83929911344?pwd=alZQTWZMN0ZkWFFPS1hmNjNkZkU2UT09Meeting ID: 839 2991 1344Password: Call for detailsOne tap mobile+13126266799,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (Chicago)+19294362866,,83929911344#,,1#,816603# US (New York)Dial by your location        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)        +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)Meeting ID:…
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Palm Sunday Year C RCL March 20, 2016

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Beth Crane

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 22:14-23:56

Palm Sunday is one of those days in the Church year which we moderns might call “intense.” We welcome Jesus as our Savior and our King, and then we walk with him through all he endures, and we stand at the foot of the Cross feeling helpless as he suffers for us.

This is a day full of paradoxes. Were are so happy to welcome him as our K  ing. Then we plunge to the depths of despair as he dies on the Cross. And, as we walk with him, we hope that we would not deny him, as even Peter did. We hope that we would see him as who he really is. We hope that we would not join in the mob mentality and yell, “Crucify him!” at the top of our lungs.

Even Pilate, the great Roman governor, can see no guilt in our Lord.

The soldiers and the priests mock him. One of the criminals admits his own sin but says clearly that Jesus has done nothing wrong and asks our Lord to remember him when Jesus comes into his kingdom. And Jesus tells him, from the Cross, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

The Centurion has the last word. Here is an officer in the Roman army who commands one hundred men.  he is disciplined; he knows the chain of command; he serves in the legions of the powerful emperor. And yet, he has the courage and the insight to say, “Certainly this man was innocent.”

Jesus, our King, our savior, “set[s] his face like flint,”goes to Jerusalem, empties himself, gives his life for us so that we can realize, at last, that he loves us and that he will lead us into new life.   May we follow him.     Amen.

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Palm Sunday Year C RCL March 24, 2013

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Beth Crane

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 22:14-23:56

Our lesson from Isaiah describes the suffering servant. St. Paul tells us that Christ emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.

At the beginning of today’s gospel, we sit at the Last Supper with Jesus and the disciples. Jesus shares the bread and the cup with them and then he says that one of them is going to betray him. In shock, they wonder who could do this. Then they begin to argue among themselves about who is the greatest.

In response to this, Jesus contrasts his kind of kingship and power with the world’s view of power. He says, “I am among you as one who serves.” If we are going to follow our Lord, we, too, must be servants.

This past Tuesday, on the feast day of St. Joseph, Pope Francis I celebrated his installation mass. In his sermon, Pope Francis said that “authentic power is service,” and he called all of us to protect God’s creation and to protect each other, especially those who are the weakest. He said that, “caring, protecting demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness.” The sermon was all the more moving because Pope Francis lives these principles in his daily life. I thank God for this inspiring leader of our faith who is such an example of servanthood.

During Holy Week. We will see again and again Jesus’ love for us, and his giving of himself to lead us into a new way of living. As we walk the way of the Cross, may we become more and more aware of Christ’s love for us, and may we answer his call to serve others in his name.

Amen.

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