Today’s Scripture:

Luke 29:19-40
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 As he was now 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.”

Today’s Music:

We’re moving from shouting to silence with our music this morning. “Ring the Bells” functions as a shout song to start us off, “Kingdom of Jesus” works as a transitional piece to take themes from the first song and think of them in a more contemplative way, and then we end with “I See the Birds” which takes place in the quiet space of an individual prayer in the confines of the mind. We end the service singing about the last part of today’s Scripture - the rocks (a stand-in for all of the non-human universe) trading in silence for the sound of worship.

Today’s Words for Worship:

Call to worship
Leader: On this day, Jesus marched
All: in between the city walls and the Temple,
in between joyful Hosannas and doubtful whispers,
in between oppressive poverty and greedy power,
in between rampant fear and hope unfurled.
Leader: On this day, Jesus marched in between what had been and what could be.
All: So may we meet Christ in that liminal space.
May we lay down our coats in that messy middle.
Leader: Hosanna in the highest!
All: Hosanna in between!

Call to confession
Leader: Friends, we are truthtellers 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
Leader: Great Creator, forgive me
All: when I speak before listening,
when I speak over my neighbor,
when I speak with barbed words.
Leader: Creator God, forgive me
All: when I listen to society,
when I listen to my friends,
when I listen to the news,
but I do not listen to you.
Leader: Creator God, forgive me
All: when I shout out, but do not shout your name,
when I listen, but do not listen for your voice.
Forgive me.
Leader: Create in me a heart like yours.
All: Amen.

Words of forgiveness
Leader: Friends, whether or not you stuck to your Lenten goals this year,
whether or not this is your first time in church or your thousandth time,
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:
All: 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.

Prayer for illumination
Leader: 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 bomber planes.
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.

Affirmation of faith
All: 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.

Today’s Video:

Silence and Solitude
by Christine Valters Paintner
Holy Source of Silence,
beneath the clatter and din of the everyday
you offer your mysteries to our hearts.
You call us to pause,
to slow down and listen to the true longing
planted in each of us by you, a seed of holy desire.
Support us in letting go of the inner and outer noise.
Open wide in us a sacred cave for stillness
where we can attune to your presence.
Enliven us with the gift of your sweet music
and allow us to encounter your holy presence
flaming in each of our hearts.
Help us to catch a note of your song
in the wind or in the voice of another,
in times of sadness, and in the rush of our lives.
In a world so filled with distraction,
we listen for your whispers
which call us to another way of being.
and ask for the courage to respond to all
we discover in this tabernacle of silence.

Today’s Visio Divina:

I Believe
by Steve Prince
Inspired by Luke 19:29-40
Pen and ink on paper

It is said that the true confession that flows
from one’s heart and lips and professes that
they are a sinner and desire to be healed, is
essentially the key to unlocking one’s salvation.
Amid a sometimes turbulent and chaotic world,
if we enter with faith and Christ in our hearts
we shall be delivered. The figure’s hands are
lifted in praise as he navigates the flood of life
which can be overbearing. He recognizes that
the flood of life is symbolic of sin and separation
from God. He closes his eyes, humbles himself
before God, and he is delivered into a new
chapter of his life, triumphant.