Looking into the lectionary - I am not ready for Lent to be over...

April 13, 2025 Passion Sunday  Luke 22:14 – 23:41 I am not ready for Lent to be over. Every year, Lent gives us an opportunity to connect our individual and collective griefs to a larger grief in the narrative of Scripture. This Lent in particular, we have watched as unprecedented events have unfolded in our nation and world. Even more than in years past, I have found great comfort in gathering each week with other people of faith to lament and cry to God. In 2025, prayers like, “How long, O Lord?” and “Lord, have mercy upon us,” transcend their liturgical significance. It seems I’m not alone in this sentiment; our Ash Wednesday service this year set an attendance record. It’s natural to seek companionship as we walk through the darkness. The problem is, I’m not ready for it to end. Easter’s hallelujahs feel hollow this year. This Sunday’s cries of Hosanna – “Save us!” – feel more honest and appropriate to the circumstances. On this last Sunday of Lent, worship leaders must choose between the Liturgy of the Palms, the Liturgy of the Passion, or some combination of the two. Considering our state of national turmoil, my gut says this a year for the passion. In a recent conversation about Holy Week and our collective despair, a friend reminded me of Miguel de la Torre’s “theology of hopelessness.” De la Torre takes issue with modern society’s relentless optimism, the belief that we are ever-improving as a species, or, as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so famously put it, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” He argues that from the underside of history, from the perspective of the marginalized and oppressed, this sentiment is naïve at best, intentionally pacifying and subjugating at worst. “The oppressed of the world,” de la Torre writes, “occupy the space of Holy Saturday … This is a space where some faint anticipation of Sunday’s Good News is easily drowned out by the reality and consequences of Friday’s violence and brutality. It is a space where hopelessness becomes the companion of used and abused people.” ... Thank you to this week's guest writer Ginna Bairby. Read the rest of the commentary on the website. Order of worship — April 13, 2025, by Ginna Bairby These PC(USA) churches offer shelter and sanctuary to vulnerable migrants. Here’s why by Patrick Davis, Anna King, Sarah Ventre Thanks for looking out (April 13, 2025) by Chris Burton Practicing joy when the world is falling apart by Tom Are Jr. Presbyterian camp and conference centers recover and ready for summer by Colleen Earp Palm Sunday as a call to non-violence by Aaron Neff Want the worship resources for April 6, 2025? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Disciples of White Jesus Angela Denker explores the radicalization of young White men in America and the role of right-wing Christianity, while also highlighting those who promote a more compassionate path. — Amy Pagliarella White House unfreezes $19 million in USAID funding for Samaritan’s Purse Graham defended the Trump administration's review of USAID funding as an important step in reining in federal waste and fraud. — Tony Mator DEI: Gospel imperative or radical leftwing agenda? What does the Bible really say about diversity, equity and inclusion? While political leaders label DEI a "radical leftist agenda," Jesus' ministry tells a different story. So why do some Christians reject it, asks Emery J. Cummins? The transformative power of Easter joy A barista’s joy transforms Teri McDowell Ott's routine Starbucks visit into a lesson on contagious, life-changing joy — shared, uncontained, and deeply felt. Unification Commission approves a job description for the Stated Clerk/Executive Director Commissioners also receive an update on the transformation of World Mission. — Mike Ferguson Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand Journalist and pastor Jeff Chu reflects on the lessons he learned at Princeton Seminary's Farminary.