between shouting and silence
April 13, 2025 Passion Sunday
Candle lighting
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
On this day, Jesus marched between
the city walls and the Temple, between joyful Hosannas and doubtful whispers,
On the journey to the cross Jesus marched between rampant fear and hope unfurled.
Jesus marched in between what had been and what could be.
Today may we meet Christ in that liminal space. Here we lay down our coats in that messy middle.
We sing hosanna to the King we see. Hosanna to the King God helps us to see.
Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in between!
Hymn: 214 All glory Laud and Honour
Prayer of Approach
Speaking God, Most days we are inundated with noise. Some of it is good— laughter, music, storytelling. Some of it is hard— arguments, slurs, the sound of sirens.
Every day we live between silence and shouting, rotating through quiet and noise. So in the midst of this messy middle, help us to hear what is yours. Help us to hear your song, your story, your good news. Help us to hear your voice, your Spirit, your will.
And show us how to release the rest.
We are listening. Amen.
Call to Confession
Friends, we are called to truthfulness in the prayer of confession.
We are honest about the fact that we are works in progress.
We tell the truth of our lives. We lay it all out before God.
But this moment of prayer isn’t just about us.
In the prayer of confession we also reveal who God is, and our God is merciful. Our God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
So let us pray, knowing that God’s truth will always mean grace for us.
Prayer of Confession:
Great Creator, forgive me when I speak before listening, when I speak over my neighbor, when I speak with barbed words.
Creator God, forgive me when I listen to society, when I listen to my friends, when I listen to the news, but I do not listen to you.
Creator God, forgive me when I shout out, but do not shout your name, when I listen, but do not listen for your voice. Forgive me.
Create in me a heart like yours. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Friends, whether or not you know to speak to God or listen for God’s voice, God listens to you. God is merciful.
God is abounding in steadfast love.
There is nothing you could do or leave undone that could keep God from loving you.
So hear and believe the good news of the gospel:
We are seen. We are heard. We are loved. We are forgiven.
Not a day goes by that we ever walk alone. Hosanna in the highest! Amen.
Passing the Peace
Hymn: 221 O dearest Lord
Scripture:
Resp Psalm 34: 15-24 p 872
Luke 19: 29-40 p 1631
Sermon: between shouting and silence
When we trace the accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus, we see that it is a study in contrasts. As we consider the messy middle that marks the pathway laid before us, we have paused to wonder what those contrasts mean for us and for the development of our faith and confidence.
Surely our journey is never always faith, nor is it always doubt. We are not always praising, neither are we always weeping.
Today and for the week to come, we are called to trust unwaveringly in the truth we learn from Ecclesiastes. We look at some of the polarities that are described there.
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 ,…
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
…
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
… a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 various verses NIV
Over the past weeks in this journey, we have explored the messy middle between planting and uprooting, resting and growing, searching and waiting, judgement and loving mercy, intention and actions.
Today we see how so many of those themes come together in Jesus as he enters Jerusalem to the adulation of the disciples. There is dancing and there is singing, there is laughing and there is weeping.
And that is just today. It will become more stark in the rest of this week.
But these same themes appear through the other accounts we have of Jesus from birth, to death and resurrection.
The angels sang “gloria” on the mountain top, the shepherds had a quiet holy moment in the stable as they spoke with Mary. And then in exuberance they told the story to all whom they met on the way back up the hill.
Every person on earth knows the movement between the polar opposites of life. Never do we live fully in joy, or fully in despair. We don’t always have mountain top experiences where we are immersed in the glory of grace. And we don’t always live in the condemnation of judgement. We move from one to the other depending on the experiences we have and the choices we make.
Along the way we learn to trust in God’s grace and take the lessons to heart as we grow in faith and in confidence.
Today we see the joy and the adulation of the disciples. Not crowds waving palm branches; mostly just the disciples.
What were they thinking?
What have they learned on this journey? What were their expectations of what Jesus would do when he entered Jerusalem?
Do they still hold onto the expectation that he will take the throne of David by armed force?
At every stop along the way Jesus has not responded as they expected in the situations they encountered. At every stop Jesus exhibited grace instead of judgment. He exhibited love and mercy and forgiveness. He exhibited gentleness and patience as he tried to show the disciples the better way he had chosen.
More than that, along the way Jesus has shown that he travelled with intention that displayed itself in his actions. This journey to Jerusalem and the Cross is about the intentions and the actions of justice, mercy, grace and love. These are the lessons that we are meant to have learned along the way.
Do we, or the disciples, remember that when he entered Jerusalem his face was firmly set on going to the cross? Jerusalem is not the end of this journey. Yet do we see beyond the exuberance of the disciples as they enter Jerusalem? Do we see the pain and grief in Jesus?
Surely they believe they have arrived. The journey is over. The Kingdom begins. Do they realize there will be even more delays to come?
Were the disciples impatient to get on with it?
I remember the day my Father’s parents came to Canada to visit. We went to the airport in Vancouver to meet them. After the long flight from Amsterdam Oma and Opa were so glad to have finally arrived.
Then they learned we had an hour to drive to the Ferry Terminal.
Then they learned we had a two hour ferry ride.
Then they learned it would be another long ride to Port Alberni.
An hour later, in Parksville ,we pulled into the parking lot of Dot’s because my Father would never give up a chance for the mile-high lemon pie.
By then Opa had had enough, and he wanted to know why we had to stop for coffee when we were so close to the end of the journey. Surely we could make coffee at home.
As we have journeyed these past 5 weeks the many stops along the way have likely felt like unnecessary stops and delays for the disciples. Let’s get on with it. Lets go to Jerusalem and get on with things. Things like taking back the throne.
All of the delays along the way prevented them from having that satisfaction and all the lessons along the way could seem like Jesus was not sticking to the plan.
What did grace and mercy have to do with the journey to Jerusalem?
What did learning to stop and rest in the presence of God have to do with establishing the throne of David?
What did undergoing the pain of growth have to do with establishing the Kingdom of God?
While they journeyed, Jesus was teaching the most important lesson of all. Going to Jerusalem was all about trusting in God’s timing. God is directing what is about to happen from here. That is why every stop along the way was about growing in Kingdom values and virtues: because once in Jerusalem it would look like everything would spin out of control. The lessons on the way were meant to teach the disciples to trust, to have faith, and to remember to have confidence in God.
From the birth in Jerusalem to the Cross on Calvary God was in charge. He was bringing joy in the angel’s song. He was bringing news that Mary needed to ponder in the shepherd’s visit. Every stop in this journey God was teaching the two things that the disciples needed to learn and reconcile, in order to be able to see and recognize God’s hand in the unfolding of the events to come.
After all of the singing and the dancing, after all the praises shouted to God as they prepared to enter the city; there was a demand for silence and decorum. That demand came from the Pharisees.
We can give the Pharisees a hard time about this request, but last week we learned not to judge based on common knowledge. Instead we need to look a little deeper.
In every country that was included in the Roman Empire, the Romans had demanded that the only god the people worshipped was Caesar. They insisted on complete compliance.
Yet somehow, the people of Israel, were still able to gather at the Temple and worship. Pilate was extremely lenient with the people on that matter and in return expected that there would be no difficulties arising from among the people. The Pharisees were intervening in the hope of keeping the peace, such as it was.
We learn a few important things from this encounter.
First: the Pharisees know that Jesus has power that they do not have.
Second: They have put their trust in the wrong place. They rely on the Romans to give them the leniency to practice their faith.
Third: they are living in fear as they try to embrace a false and tenuous peace. They are worried about keeping a false peace.
All those things Jesus has been teaching along the road about grace, mercy, spiritual growth, confidence, trust and faith are not evident in the lives of the Pharisees.
Jesus shows up as the antidote to that fearful grasping at what can only promise to disappoint. Jesus offers real peace; healing, freeing, forgiving and merciful peace.
Jesus has some to free all God’s people from the false peace that comes with lies, and instead brings them, justice, grace, healing and mercy.
So the Pharisees demand that Jesus stop the disciples from singing of God’s mercy and love. In response, Jesus very simply says, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19: 40 NIV
The truth is that if the people don’t praise God, God’s creation will praise God. Creation will always recognize its Maker.
Whenever we rely on false peace, we will lose our ability to see that God is active in our midst. That is why it is so important to spend time learning, resting and growing and especially in being silent before God.
The only thing that false peace gives us, is the foundation for fear. It prevents us from being able to wonder at the grandeur of God.
That fear can make us rigid about what is acceptable and appropriate.
That fear prevents us from seeing God’s grace.
That fear ultimately makes it impossible for us to join in the way of God.
In contrast, when we are relying and trusting on the peace that Jesus gives us, then we can see grace and mercy and be grace and mercy. But more than that, when we rely on the peace that Jesus gives us, in the silence of that peace we are able to see into the heart of God.
Jesus entered Jerusalem with his face set for the Cross. Surely that affected his heart. We didn’t read verse 41 today. But it is a crucial verse when we enter into the silence of peace and glimpse God’s heart. The adulation of praise must lead to the silence of acceptance.
Verse 41 simply says this of Jesus: As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. He continues to say, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. V 42
Everything that we have learned about living in the messy middle is about keeping our eyes open to see the Majesty of God.
We are called to joy and grief. We are called to adulation with praise and quiet confident faith. There is room for all of it in the messy middle. Amen
Affirmation of Faith
We believe that many years ago a peaceful parade wove its way through the streets of Jerusalem. We believe that on that day the people cried out, longing and praying for a better world.
We believe that these longings came from a place of deep hope, and we believe that hope cannot be silenced.
So we listen for the Spirit. We sing Hosanna. We pay attention.
For in between the silence and the song, we believe the Spirit is speaking. Amen.
Hymn: 217 Ride on, Ride on in Majesty
Offering and Doxology 830
Offertory Prayer
Holy God, you have fed us all out of your own generous and gracious hands. From them, we have received welcome, nourishment, hope, and consolation. May these things grow in us, alongside the gift of faith, so that we may plant their seeds in the world around us.
As we present to you, these our offerings of wealth and self, we ask that you will bless them and make them be the seeds that will bring the change that Jesus desires to be a blessing for the world. Amen.
Gathering Prayer Requests
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
God of Steadfast Love we thank you that your love for us was expressed in Jesus. We join the shouting of the crowds, as we sing your praises. Help us to keep praising as this journey continues.
Thank you that this journey to Jerusalem did not end in the city; but rather, moved up to the hill. We thank you for the tears of Jesus as he lamented in the silence. We know that his pain speaks of an experience of joining us in our own pain. Steady us in the days when pain is stuck, and when fear is our constant companion.
We lay all of our concerns before you, that we may be lifted up in confidence and trust in the mercy you reveal in Jesus.
JOYS
CONCERNS
Shirley
John/Janet as they lead worship in Mara, and celebrate the relationship they have with the people
WORLD
rebuilding in Myanmar
As we go forth to walk with Jesus through Holy Week we confess that we hesitate to walk into the unknown stretching before us. Thank you for tightly clasping our hands and teaching us how to take those first steps.
We empty ourselves into the silence, that our praises resonate in our hearts, and we ask that you will fill us with peace.
God in Community, Holy in One, we open our hearts to you,
as we pray as Jesus has taught us, saying,. . . Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen
Hymn: 338 Let all things now living
Benediction
Lenten Benediction: As you leave this place, may you find God in every messy middle.
May you know that the world is bigger than two sides. May you trust that you are made in the image of God, and therefore, you contain multitudes.
So may you move through this world with an open heart, with a curious mind, and with the confidence that you do not go alone. God is with you in the in the singing and in the dancing, God is with you in the silent tears and the gentle praises and everywhere in between.
Believe that good news, and go in peace.
Blessing Song: 646 Lead me Jesus I will follow
Lead me Jesus I will follow, down the dusty pathway all along the sea
Teach me Jesus to be loving your disciple I will be x2
3-Fold Amen