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April 2, 2023

Palm Sunday

PRELUDE

Hosanna, Loud Hosanna! arr. Michael Burkhardt

Welcome and Announcements

BLESSING OF PALMS

Almighty and loving God, it is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise for the acts of love by which you have redeemed us through Christ Jesus our Savior. The Hebrews acclaimed Jesus as the Messiah and King with palm branches in their hands, crying “Hosanna in the highest”. We pray you, O Lord, bless these branches for our use. May we also, carrying them forth from this place and crying out “Hosanna in the Highest” and “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord’, acclaim Jesus as our Messiah and King and follow Him in the way that leads to eternal life.

PROCESSIONAL GOSPEL – Luke 19:28-40

29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Let us add our song to the multitude of disciples. Hosanna in the highest.

*Gathering Song

ELW 344 All Glory, Laud, and Honor

*Greeting

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

*Prayer of the Day

Let us pray. Everlasting God, in your endless love for the human race you sent our Lord Jesus Christ to take on our nature and to suffer death on the cross. In your mercy enable us to share in his obedience to your will and in the glorious victory of his resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Entering the Passion Pastor Eric Trozzo

The Passion according to Matthew

Group 1

I. The betrayal of Judas

1: One of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,

2: What will you give me if I betray him to you?

3: They paid him thirty pieces of silver.

4: And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

Group 2

II. The last supper

1: On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying,

2: Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?

1: He said,

3: Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, “The Teacher says, my time is near; will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.”

4: So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

1: When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said,

3: Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.

4: And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another,

2: Surely not I, Lord?

3: The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.

1: Judas, who betrayed him, said,

2: Surely not I, Rabbi?

3: You have said so.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION

In the night in which he was betrayed,

our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:

Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup,

gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

*POST-COMMUNION BLESSING

May the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in God’s grace. Amen

*PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Let us pray.

Compassionate God, you have fed us with the bread of heaven. Sustain us in our Lenten pilgrimage: may our fasting be hunger for justice; our alms, a making of peace; and our prayer, the song of grateful hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Group 1

III. The Mount of Olives

1: When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them,

2: You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

1: Peter said to him,

3: Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.

2: Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.

3: Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.

4: And so said all the disciples.

Group 2

IV. Gethsemane

1: Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,

2: Sit here while I go over there and pray.

3: He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them,

2: I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.

1: And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed,

2: My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.

3: Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter,

2: So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

1: Again he went away for the second time and prayed,

2: My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.

3: Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them,

2: Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.

1: While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying,

4: The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.

3: At once he came up to Jesus and said,

4: Greetings, Rabbi!

3: and kissed him. Jesus said to him,

2: Friend, do what you are here to do.

3: Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

1: Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him,

2: Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen this way?

3: At that hour Jesus said to the crowds,

2: Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.

1: Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Prayers of Intercession

Sustained by God’s abundant mercy, let us pray for the church, the world, and all of creation.
Response after each prayer: Merciful God, receive our prayer.
We lift our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your steadfast love and your promise to renew your whole creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Group 1

V. Trial before Caiaphas

1: Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said,

2: This fellow said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.”

1: The high priest stood up and said,

3: Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?

1: But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him,

3: I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.

4: You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

1: Then the high priest tore his clothes and said,

3: He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?

2: He deserves death!

1: Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying,

2: Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?

Group 2

VI. Peter’s denial; Judas’s death

1: Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came and said to him,

2: You also were with Jesus the Galilean.

1: But he denied it before all of them, saying,

3: I do not know what you are talking about.

4: When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders,

2: This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

4: Again he denied it with an oath,

3: I do not know the man!

1: After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter,

2: Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.

1: Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath,

3: I do not know the man!

1: At that moment the cock crowed.

4: Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

1: When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death.

4: They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

1: When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said,

3: I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

2: What is that to us? See to it yourself.

1: Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.

4: But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said,

2: It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.

4: After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners.

1: For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, “And they took thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Peace

The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Anthem

A Hymn to God the Father arr. Howard Helvey

Offering

Offering Prayer

Let us pray. God our provider, you have not fed us with bread alone, but with words of grace and life. Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Group 1

VII. Jesus before Pilate

1: Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him,

2: Are you the King of the Jews?

3: You say so.

4: But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him,

2: Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?

1: But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

4: Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them,

2: Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?

1: For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him saying, “Have nothing to do with this innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.”

4: Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them,

2: Which of the two do you want me to release for you?

1, 3, 4: Barabbas!

2: Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?

1, 3, 4: Let him be crucified!

2: Why, what evil has he done?

1, 3, 4: Let him be crucified! Let him be crucified! Let him be crucified!

1: So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying,

2: I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.

1, 3, 4: His blood be on us and on our children.

4: So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

1: Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on him, and took a reed and struck him on the head. And after mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Group 2

VIII. Golgotha

1: As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

2: And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him.

1: Over his head they put the charge against him which read,

1, 2: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

1: Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying,

3: You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.

2: In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying,

4: He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.

2: The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

Psalm 31:9-16

9Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I | am in trouble; my eye is consumed with sorrow, and also my throat | and my belly. 10For my life is wasted with grief, and my | years with sighing; my strength fails me because of affliction, and my bones | are consumed. 11I am the scorn of all my enemies, a disgrace to my neighbors, a dismay to | my acquaintances; when they see me in the street | they avoid me. 12Like the dead I am forgotten, | out of mind; I am as useless as a | broken pot. 13For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is | all around; they put their heads together against me; they plot to | take my life. 14But as for me, I have trusted in | you, O LORD. I have said, “You | are my God. 15My times are | in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who | persecute me. 16Let your face shine up- | on your servant; save me in your | steadfast love.”

Reflection Pastor Eric Trozzo

Group 1

IX. Jesus’ death

1: From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

2: And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice,

3: Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?

2: that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

1: When some of the bystanders heard it, they said,

4: This man is calling for Elijah.

2: At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said,

4: Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.

1: Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.

(Pause for at least one minute.)

1: At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who

had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.

2: Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said,

4: Truly this man was God’s Son!

2: Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Group 2

X. Burial

1: When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and rapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

2: The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said,

3: Sir, we remember what that imposter said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead” and the last deception would be worse than the first.

1: Pilate said to them,

4: You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.

2: So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

*LORD’S PRAYER

*Blessing

Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. Amen.

Sending Song

ELW 347 Go To Dark Gethsemane

*Dismissal

Go in peace. Remember the poor. Thanks be to God.

Postlude

O Sacred Head Now Wounded arr. Michael Burkhardt