Reuben's Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Lent:
Reuben's Theme: "Remade - Reborn - Restored - Redeemed"

(Lent 5) - EVENSONG 1830hrs. at Saint George's - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 13th. March 2005 Anno Domini.

Morning Mass: Ezekiel: 37.1-14 Ps: 130 Romans: 8.6-11 John: 11.1-45
Evensong: Psalm: 30. Lamentations: 3.19-33 Matthew: 20.17-end

March 13, 2005 Cycle A Lent 5.

COLLECT

Most merciful God, who - by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ - delivered and saved the world:
grant that - by faith in Him who suffered on the cross - we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Morning Masses:

FIRST READING Ezekiel 37.1­14

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
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 around 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.
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.'

PSALM Psalm 130

RR With the Lord there is mercy and plenteous redemption.
Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice; let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication. If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, O Lord, who could stand? For there is forgiveness with you; therefore you shall be feared. RR
I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope. My soul waits for the Lord, more than the night-watch for the morning, more than the night-watch for the morning. RR
O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy; With him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins. RR

SECOND READING Romans 8.6­11

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law ­ indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

GOSPEL John 11.1­45

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
A certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.
So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, 'Lord, he whom you love is ill.'
But 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.' Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.'
The disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?'
Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.' After saying this, He told them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.'
The disciples said to Him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.' Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.
Then Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.'
Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him.' When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home.
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, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.'
When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, 'The Teacher is here and is calling for you.' And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw Him, she knelt at his feet and 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 greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.
He said, 'Where have you laid him?'
They said to him, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus began to weep.
So the Jews said, 'See how He loved him!'
But some of them said, 'Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?'
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.'
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, 'Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead 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.
And Jesus looked upwards and said, 'Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew 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.

POST COMMUNION

Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do also for you:
give us the will to be the servant of others as you were the servant of all, and gave up your life and died for us, but are alive and reign, now and for ever.

Evensong:

Psalm 30

1 A Psalm of David. A Song at the dedication of the Temple. I will extol thee, O LORD, for thou hast drawn me up, and hast not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to thee for help, and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."
7 By thee favour, O LORD, thou hadst established me as a strong mountain; thou didst hide thy face, I was dismayed.
8 To thee, O LORD, I cried; and to the LORD I made supplication:
9 "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise thee? Will it tell of thy faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be thou my helper!"
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
12 that my soul may praise thee and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.

Lamentations: 3.19-33 (RSV)

19 Remember my affliction and my bitterness, the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him;
29 let him put his mouth in the dust--there may yet be hope;
30 let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.
31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever,
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.

Matthew: 20.17-end (RSV)

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.
And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."
But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."
He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.
And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent; but they cried out the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"
And Jesus stopped and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?"
They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened."
And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Reuben's Theme: "Remade - Reborn - Restored...

...Redeemed"

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

A quick look back over the content of the liturgy for this morning's Masses:

Having suffered ten years in exile (and with Jerusalem destroyed), the people have given up hope.

Ezekiel's promises of restoration start to fall on deaf ears.

The nation is dead.

But God can take even dry bones and make them into skeletons and, in turn make them into a living army.

Ezekiel does his bit by making God's word known.

But it is the Spirit of God who gives life.

Israel will be remade. Israel will live again.

The two warring kingdoms will unite and become one nation... ...under one king... ...a new David.

Remade - reborn - restored - redeemed... ...through God.

There is praying, waiting and hoping for God's redemption, in Psalm 130 this morning.

The response we all sang, "With the Lord there is mercy and plenteous redemption."

The psalmist told us "O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy; With him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins."

Remade - reborn - restored - redeemed... ...through God.

In Paul's letter to the Romans, he talks of the new humanity.

The Holy Spirit of God is alive and actively working in everyone who belongs to Christ.

Remade - reborn - restored - redeemed... ...through God.

And in John's Gospel, Lazarus is allowed to die in order to allow

God's purpose to be shown - through Jesus.

Neither the disciples nor the two sisters could understand Jesus' behaviour.

Lazarus is raised from death.

As a result, all of them have renewed trust in Jesus.

Remade - reborn - restored - redeemed... ...through God.

So, where does that leave us with our liturgy for this evening?

The message continues...

Psalm 30 is a thanksgiving for a new lease of life.

Remade - reborn - restored - redeemed... ...through God.

and

In Lamentations we hear that in the darkness, crushed and battered to the point where all hope dies, faith is still restored at the thought of God in all his love and mercy.

Remade - reborn - restored - redeemed... ...through God.

And that is what this Sunday is all about.

Revealed to us (the few of us here tonight) and all other Christians who - at evening prayer, this evening - are pondering over the message of Jesus...
...the message of God.

We can all be remade - reborn - restored and redeemed... ...through God.

Even when Jesus was predicting His own death - in our crucial second reading tonight, the disciples were caught up in arguments over their own status.

The mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asks for special status for her sons.

The other disciples become indignant, also becoming concerned about their own status in the eyes of God.

But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?"

But they said to him, "We are able."

Jesus replies, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

It is interesting to note that James was the first of the apostles to meet a violent death, because of his faith.

Over and over again Jesus predicts that the kingdom is for the humble.

There is to be no lording it.
"...whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave..."

And so we come to the blind men.

The blind men are searching for their faith, but have not found it... ...they are in darkness... ...they are blind.

Jesus opens their eyes...
...They are remade - reborn - restored - redeemed...
...through Jesus... ...through God.

Over the next two weeks, leading up to Easter Day, we will travel on a journey of renewal.

* The dry bones of our faith will be clothed in flesh by the Spirit of God.
* The Holy Spirit of God is alive and actively working in everyone who belongs to Christ.
* With the Lord there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem us from all our sins.
* Lazarus is raised from death to a new life.
And tonight...
* A thanksgiving for a new lease of life.
* Faith is restored at the thought of God in all his love and mercy.
* "...whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave..."
* Jesus opens the eyes of the blind...

Through Jesus...

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.