22nd March: Lent 5
online Morning Prayer from St.Oswald’s.
Morning Services
Ezekiel 37:1-14
In his vision, Ezekiel finds himself in a valley of dry bones. God’ s Spirit, his breath which gave life to creation, will now give new life to the Jews in exile.
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’
So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’
John 11.1-45 (shortened)
Now Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha was ill, so the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ When Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer where he was. After this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been dead for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah.’
When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ When Mary heard it, she went to Jesus and kneeling at his feet, said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved and said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep.
Then Jesus, greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
Something to think about
Jesus’s act of raising Lazarus (like his meeting with the Samaritan woman) is only recorded by John. Jesus had known the family so it was natural that they turned to him when Lazarus fell ill. Jesus’s surprising delay ensured that he could reassure the family of what was to come, and of how God’s life-giving power was at work in all that wold take place.
Collect
True and humble King,
the crowd hailed you as Messiah then turned against you:
may our praise last longer than a day;
may we be found beside you on the way of the cross,
which is the path of glory.
Post Communion
Lord Jesus Christ,
you humbled yourself in taking the form of a servant,
and in obedience died on the cross for our salvation:
give us the mind to follow you
and to proclaim you as Lord and King,
to the glory of God the Father.
Evensong
There are no readings for Evensong as there is no service at St Oswald's because there is Songs of Praise at Snelston, at 4pm, instead.
Next Sunday’s (29th) Morning Readings:
(reading for the Blessing of the Palms)
Luke 19.28-40
PARISHES other than St.Oswald::
Philippians 2:5-11
ALL PARISHES:
Matthew 26:47 - 27:54
Please remember in your prayers this week: *See footnote
Those who are unable to be with us in church, including Diana & Edmund Urquhart, Linda Torr, Arthur and Barbara Williams, the Reverend Joe and Mrs. Gillie Lister..
Those who are ill, especially Graham Price, Pam Phillips, Reina Hammond and Neil Burns.
The recently bereaved, especially the relatives and friends of Alan Wibberley and Thomas Limer.
Areas of conflict: the Ukraine, the Middle East and too many others.
Our local churches.
Our Ministry Team: Dwayne, Maggie, Nigel & Lynda.
*The Prayer List
Please do not give out personal names when intercessing in the Thursday recording.