St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Welland, Ontario, Canada

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PALM SUNDAY & Sunday of the Passion April 13, 2025

Prayer of the Day

Sovereign God, you have established your rule in the human heart through the servanthood of Jesus Christ. By your Spirit, keep us in the joyful procession of those who with their tongues confess Jesus as Lord and with their lives praise him as Saviour, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Luke 19:28-40

28 After he had said this, [Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “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. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 Now as he was 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, 38 saying,

 “Blessed is the king

  who comes in the name of the Lord!

 Peace in heaven,

  and glory in the highest heaven!”

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Reflections for the day

    Recent protests in the US and other places connect powerfully and squarely with Palm Sunday—That rag tag procession was protest defying the most powerful empire in the world at the time. Cosmopolitan folk from Jerusalem would scoff at a parading troupe of Galileans who were always viewed with suspicion and a bit of derision.   Anyone marching or calling out “hosanna” risked being spotted by Roman spies and torture and execution wouldn’t be out of the question.

The improvised parade was parody of the carefully choreographed imperial parades  displaying military prowess and intended to coerce people to bend the knee, pledge allegiance to Caesar—and look to him for both their day to day survival and ultimately as the one who  would have claim over who lives and who dies.  To cry “hosanna” meant to reject Caesar as Lord and the one to whom we turn for daily bread. The word “Hosanna”roughly translates Lord, save us.  Sung “Hosannas” call into question loyal to an empire that expected compliance without question.

As Palm Sunday descends into Good Friday, the empire is exposed for what it is; brutal and oppressive.  Threat and violence are the only way things get done. So in reality,  the empire is a ghastly and evil parody of the realm of God—economic sanction and political violence mock God’s vision for the thriving and dignity of all and of creation. This collision is what Holy Week is all about—Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday where Jesus mandates love, Good Friday where God risks everything in the name of love, and Easter Sunday when love conquers death.

Today, the empire wins most of the time. Not always. Not forever. This is why Jesus marches. This is why Jesus washes feet. This is why Jesus willingly allows his own arrest. This is why in God’s good time God serves up the most decisive rebuttal to the empire’s claim over life and death.

This…is the Easter for which we wait.

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FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT APRIL 6, 2025

Prayer of the Day Creator God, you prepare a new way in the wilderness, and your grace waters our desert. Open our hearts to be transformed by the new thing you are doing, that our lives may proclaim the extravagance of your love given to all through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: John 12:1-8 1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Reflections on the Gospel Reading John’s use of vivid detail brings out important contrasts that teach us about Jesus and about following him. These details likely encouraged people in the first community to hear John’s Gospel. These folk were expelled from their faith community. Their Temple had been levelled and their city sacked by the occupying Romans. Earlier in Bethany the stench of death staggered everyone after Lazarus was dead and buried. When Jesus calls for the stone to be rolled away from the tomb’s entrance, Lazarus’ sisters protest— the stink one one dead for four days would over power everyone. Lazarus was dead. Death comes to us all, and when we die, we stay dead. Except….

Just before Passover, Lazarus is very much alive and present at the family special supper his family is putting on for Jesus. Lazarus reclines with his friend, Jesus. His sister Martha, true to her nature and sense of hospitality tends to her guests.

Mary, also true to her acts of attentiveness and devotion to Jesus, breaks open a container of costly oil that she had been saving for Jesus’ burial. As She anoints Jesus’ feet, poignantly sweet aroma fills the house and mingles with the smell of food cooking and wine decanted. Any lingering stench of death is overcome…yet even now death takes no holiday.

Some of us read this story earlier in the week and wondered about the significance of Mary wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair. Women were never seen in public with their heads uncovered or their hair let down…even a family meal was considered a public event. Mary’s intimate act might scandalize some and she her self demonstrates a humility that onlookers can scarcely accept.

Mary’s hair would be softer than any cloth she could have used and it was the most personal expression possible as she dried Jesus’ feet. The oil now in her own hair and its aroma might have signified to her that her own life is bound with Jesus’ fate. As one commentator puts it, Mary obeys Jesus commands to love and serve even before he gives those instructions to his followers. Her devotion even prefigures Jesus’ own actions when he would wash the feet of his followers.

The contrast between Mary’s ministrations and Judas’ protests couldn’t be any more stark. We can concede Judas’ point that lavish expense could have helped many poor people have a meal today. He would have calculated that the oil’s cost was worth a year’s wages. John tells us that Judas had been embezzling, so it’s more likely that money would have lined Judas’ pockets more than it would have fed the poor.

What Jesus says next doesn’t dismiss the poor. The call to care for them would outlive Jesus in his earthly life. Maybe Mary’s prescience extends there too. Maybe Mary believes that love and service to Jesus would take on other forms and expressions even after Jesus’ earthly life ended. Maybe she sensed that now was the moment for the ointment to be poured out. Maybe “now” is also our moment for serving Jesus by caring for those who need it most.

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FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT  March 30, 2025 

Prayer of the Day 

God of compassion, you welcome the wayward, and you embrace us all with your mercy. By our baptism clothe us with garments of your grace, and feed us at the table of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 1

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 11b “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’

So he divided his assets between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that region, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that region, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate, 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”

Reflections on the Gospel Reading

The youngest sibling has gotten more than enough press from preachers and church people—the kid would fit right in with those celebrities known for hard partying and we know tabloids and social media lap up that kind of dish.

The older sibling is cast as the “no fun police” and a bit of a stick in the mud. If we’re honest we identify more closely with the stay at home good child than we might with the wild child. He might be the only sensible person in the whole parable.

What if this story is really about the father? He’s a bit of a chump. When he consents to dividing the family assets before his death he’s messed with the rules of how things are done. He also completely chucks aside a centuries old custom of giving the first born a larger share and a larger say in what what happens in families. When Good Time Charlie stumbles home his father runs to meet him. As undignified as it might be for some of us mudges to run in public it was downright scandalous in Jesus’ day. For the hired help so see their boss running would have elicited snickers and sidelong glances and maybe even a few under the breath murmurings.

See the parallel between some characterizing Jesus as a bit of a schnook for hanging out with the ‘wrong people’ and the father who lets his younger son make off with the family silver—-and gets a hero’s welcome when he gets back?

Jesus tells three stories of people rejoicing over lost things and people. From the one who has lost and regained, the joy is sublime and maybe we just don’t get it.

The foil in the parable utters profound and poignant wisdom—-We rail against that “son of yours” and the waiting Father reframes the whole scene with the words “that brother of yours”. We who follow Jesus would do well to let those words ‘that brother of yours….that sister of yours’ lodge in our hearts—Could come in handy when we are tempted judge who exists, who is deserving, and even who is just as human as we are.

Please contact Pastor Bart to receive an invitation and link to join ZOOM.

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THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT March 23, 2025 

Prayer of the Day 

Eternal God, your kingdom has broken into our troubled world through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son. Help us to hear your word and obey it, and bring your saving love to fruition in our lives, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9 

1At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.2 [Jesus] asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?3 No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish just as they did.” 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the man working the vineyard, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

SERMON-

Where is God when a tower collapses or an empire slaughters people and desecrates their bodies? Do we somehow bring suffering upon ourselves?

Jesus pushes back hard against the popular notion that suffering is always a punishment for sin (blame the victim). He calls us all to a radical shift in perspective—This is no debate to be won or lost. How we imagine God and how we believe God operates informs the way we treat what God has created and whom God has created. Sometimes we need to totally re-think what we believe about God and God’s ways of operating. People of faith are called to a lifetime of repenting and repentance. Deeply changed hearts and minds bring changed behaviour.

If you will allow a word nerd his moment…the Bible’s word for “repent” in Greek is meta-noia. Literally a change—meta— as in meta-morphosis plus no-ous meaning mind as in diagnosis.

Once upon a time a young couple’s first born suffered a rare condition of premature aging which led to a short life of suffering. Young Aaron’s dad was Rabbi Harold Kushner ‘s whose book When Bad Things Happen to Good People published nearly 45 years ago has true staying power. Kushner would write that God’s fundamental goodness dictates that God would be a companion with those who suffer.

Maybe Jesus’ parable of the patient gardener reveals something about God and something about us. We might be tempted to abandon the fig tree or maybe the entire enterprise of fig raising when we don’t see any fruit. Might God be the one pleading the fig tree’s case; give it another year.

Fun fig fact…one we learned Wednesday over prayer and coffee and tea…is that fig trees typically bear fruit three to five years after first being planted. Expecting fig trees to bear fruit in years one and two is just plain unrealistic…even year three is pushing it. Neither the gardener nor God are simply kicking the can farther down the road. Maybe the gardener and God know something of the long game here.

Further, figs and fig trees feature in the imagination of each religion with roots in Abraham and Sarah’s life. The prophet Jeremiah has a dream in which fresh sweet fruit represents people living in exile and a basket of mouldering figs represents the usurpers of the Jewish homeland and those who collude with them. Figs might remind the exiles that God remembers and that a sweet day of homecoming will happen one day

This week our group listened as one described what it’s like to eat a fig freshly picked from the tree—Maybe that’s a foretaste of God’s restoration to come—but a fig tree can’t be manipulated or forced to bear fruit. Jesus parable invites us to root for the fig tree—how about rooting for God’s realm coming to be in which all things are reconciled and restored? What radical shift in our beliefs about God and the world would lead to behaviours needed in the world right now? May God instill hope in us and empower us to do a bit of weeding and a bit of fertilizing while we anticipate God bringing a Divine and loving plan to fruition one day. Amen.