Family Worship Together

There are so many different things right now.

More than we can count in our new normal -

 not so normal days.

That became weeks.

 And it is certainly feeling like-

 into months.

 One of the things that we have been 

enjoying is our 

Family Worship Time together.

There are 8 littles- 

6 and under-

 and most on the lower end of that spectrum.

They don't last long on a normal 

Facbook or Zoom worship experience.

So at the very beginning of all

 of this we started writing our own

 family worship service
and gather on ZOOM.

We start by making the sign of the cross, 

and we light a candle.

We follow the Lectionary reading for the Gospel.

Papa rewrites the reading for different "parts"

 for Pappa and Gigi to read.

 We began with sock puppets-

but quickly moved to pictures on paint sticks.

Papa plays songs on guitar that are easy

 for our young crowd to learn.

There is often a question 

for the older guys in the troop. 

The BIG GUYS help to lead with the Lord's Prayer.

We started to do the family blessing the way

 we saw families do in a 

Messianic Jewish Worship service in Israel. 

The dad (we do both parents) 

stretches out a prayer shawl

(or blanket) to extend the blessing over his family.

The service is short and to the point.

Each week begins with a short review

 of what we learned last week.

Some things have been very good

 in this COVID19 season.

This is one of them.

Easter Vigil

WERE YOU THERE?

Readings and Song for a personal Easter Vigil

Luke 23:20-21 

Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again, but they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” 

Luke 23:24-27: 

So, Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will. As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.”

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble,

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

LSB 456 vs 1; CW 119 vs 1; ELW 353 VS 1

Mark 15:22-25 

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of The Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was the third hour when they crucified him.

Mark 15:40, 41: 

Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Oh, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble,

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

LSB 456 vs 2; CW 119 vs 2; ELW 353 VS 2

Matthew 27:50

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

Matthew 27:59-61:

Joseph [of Arimathea] took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Oh, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble,

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

LSB 456 vs 3; CW 119 vs 3; ELW 353 VS 3

Sit in silence for 3 minutes.

Mark 16:1-7:

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb, and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, and tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will find him, just as he told you.”

Were you there when God raised Him from the dead?

Were you there when God raised Him from the dead?

Oh, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble,

Were you there when God raised Him from the dead?

LSB 456 vs 4; CW 119 vs 4; ELW 353 VS 4

Luke 24:9,10

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others, it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who said this to the apostles.

John 20:11-18:

But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” [which means Teacher].

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” and she told them that he had said these things to her.

For all the faithful women Who served in days of old,

To You shall thanks be given; To all their story told.

They served with strength and gladness

In tasks Your wisdom gave,

To You their lives bore witness, Proclaimed Your pow’r to save.

We sing Your praise for Mary, Who came at Easter dawn

To look for Jesus’ body And found her Lord was gone.

But, as with joy she saw Him

In resurrection light,

May we by faith behold Him, The Day who ends our night!

O God, for saints and servants, Those named and those unknown

In whom through all the ages Your light of glory shone,

We offer glad thanksgiving

And fervent prayer we raise

That, faithful in Your service, Our lives may sing Your praise.

All praise to God the Father! All praise to Christ the Son!

All praise the Holy Spirit, Who binds the Church in one!

With saints who went before us,

With saints who witness still,

We sing glad Alleluias And strive to do Your will.

(LSB 855, vs 1, 13, 3, 4; ELW 419, vs 1, 9, 3, 4)

Thank you to Natalie Hartwig for this Easter devotion.

The Crowds Who Followed After

                                                                                                 

                                                                                          CPH Image- 2019

April 3, 2020

The Crowds Who Followed After

The crowds who followed after Jesus for the three years knew:

He made the blind to see, He made the lame to walk, He made the lepers clean,

He made the deaf to hear and the dead to live,

He fed the hungry and brought good wine to the rejoicing.

The crowds who followed after did not shout: “Praise ye The Lord!”

That would have been “Hallelujah!”

They did not recognize a conquering king and shout: “Lord, Have Mercy!”

That would have been “Kyrie Eleison!”

They shouted: “Save Us Now! Help Us! Rescue Us!”

“Hosanna!”

The crowds who followed after those three years were like The twelve who,

After the resurrection, asked: “Lord, will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?”

The crowds who followed after, like Abel’s blood and grave stones of the dead,

Cried out for vengeance,

And got forgiveness instead.

We, who follow after Jesus, shout “So Be It!” “Amen!”

We shout: “Kyrie Eleison! Hosanna! Hallelujah! Amen!”

“Rejoice in the Lord always… Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,

By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, Present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”    April 3, 2020

A high school classmate shared his Palm Sunday sermon with me.

 It made me remember what Hosanna means and helped me 

better understand why the crowd could change from 

Hosanna to Crucify in less than a week. 

They thought they were welcoming a leader 

to overthrow the Romans. When Christ did not do that, 

they were willing to move on, no matter the price. 

Here is how I distilled that in poetry. 

Natalie Grace Hartwig 

is a contributing writer for Journeys of Faith.

Palm Sunday Interactive Litany

A Triptych for Palm Sunday, 2020

This year there was no processionals into the nave with palm branches waving. My daughter is mourning the absence of a palms to drape over a cross until next Shrove Tuesday. I tried to think of a different approach to Palm Sunday and kept coming back to the presence of palms of flesh and blood. This project creates a triptych of pieces that look at the palms of a sinner, the palms of praise and supplication, and the palms of Salvation. 

You will need 3 brown paper bags, black ink or a pencil, a green ink pen or crayon, red paint, your hymn book, and your Bible. Use the sacks to make the canvases. Cut the seams from the bags and open them out to the largest pieces you can. Crumple the pages and smooth them out again. Tear and or singe the edges of the pages. The wrinkles, ragged edges, and singed edges remind us of our humanity.

• “Palms of a sinner” (The first canvas )
• Using black, water proof ink or pencil, write a hymn verse that speaks to your personal sinfulness as the need for mercy.
• Moisten your hands with oil and make as many prints on the paper as you desire. 

• “Palms of Supplication and Praise” 
• Using black, water proof ink or pencil, write a verse from your favorite Palm Sunday hymn on the canvas.
• Paint your hands with green acrylic  (water base) paint and stamp or you can use oil to make the marks and then finish by....
• Using a green pen or crayon, outline those hand prints.

• “Palms of Salvation” 
• Moisten both your palms and print them with fingers down and the thumbs out, as though they were being held out for examination. 
• Trace the  prints with black ink or pencil
• Above the hands write Christ’s words to Thomas recorded in John 20:27.
• Dip your finger in red paint and touch the center of the hands.

Some thoughts on Palm Sunday:

This year is different. We did not be bringing palms home from church to drape over a cross and dry until next year when they are burnt for Ash Wednesday. This year it will be different. This year we can think, instead, of other meanings of the word palm, as a noun, the palm of the hand. 

• First, on this Palm Sunday we think of the nail pierced palms of Jesus. Thomas touched those nail prints and believed that The Christ was indeed risen from the dead. 

• We turn our hands up and look at their empty status. We remember the hymn line, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” There is nothing we can offer God. Only by the grace of God are our sinful hands washed clean. Only by the power of the Spirit are we able to unclench our fists and accept the forgiveness paid for by the pierced palms of Christ.

• This year we will look at our palms and remember that the plan of salvation, for us each of us is carved into the hands of God. (Isaiah 49:6)

• We hear of “crossing the palm” and recognize the term to mean the payment of a price to procure a desired object or action. This year, as you remember your baptism, mark your palms with the sign of the cross as a token that you have been redeemed by Christ, the crucified.

We are reminded that we are still in the celebration of Hosanna

 in these days- this project might be especially helpful

 for young children to process the 

Palm Sunday event that begins Holy Week.

Thanks to contributing writer 

Natalie Grace Hartwig for this post.

Have Faith

                                                               (photo- Kathy Meier)

SPIRITUAL CONNECTIVITY 

with SOCIAL DISTANCING

My family and I went to church together on Sunday.

We were all behind locked doors, for fear of the virus,

 but Christ connected us.

Miles and walls and the governor’s orders divided us, 

but Christ connected us.

We wore pajamas and slippers while Christ dressed us

 in His own righteousness.

We hadn’t planned it that way, 

but Christ connected us.

Because we were gathered together, in His name,

 Christ connected us.

He was there, in the midst of us.

Worshiping with the family of faith through electronics,

 Christ connected us.

My family and I will worship together again,

 Christ still connects us.

Our parents, siblings, spouses, and children, 

our grandparents, our in-laws, 

many cousins and friends are in glory,

 Christ still connects us.

We can sing together again, with all the saints, 

Christ will connect us.

Natalie Grace, 2020

Thanks to Journeys of Faith Contributor-

 Natalie Grace Hartwig for this devotional thought.