Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, April 13, 2025)
This Sunday is Palm Sunday. It marks the beginning of Holy Week, a week in which Christians in the Western Church recall the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the events leading up to his suffering and death. It commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey while the multitude welcomed him with palm branches and shouts of "Hosanna".
In many Anglican, Lutheran, Methodists, and other Protestant churches, on this particular Sunday the people gather in a place apart from the church and then enter the church in procession, carrying branches of palm or of other trees or shrubs and singing hymns and palms appropriate to the occasion. The procession may be preceded or interspersed with other devotions. Later in the service one of the gospel accounts of the crucifixion is read.
In this Sunday’s message we consider the question, “Did Jesus’ death have a purpose?”
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link in a new tab to hear Duane Funderburk’s arrangement of the American folk hymn tune WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS for piano and violin.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear John Mason Neale’s translation of Theodulph of Orlean’s “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.”
All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
1 Thou art the King of Israel,
thou David's royal Son,
who in the Lord's Name comest,
the King and blessed one.
All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
2 The company of angels
are praising thee on high;
and we with all creation
in chorus make reply.
All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
3 The people of the Hebrews
with palms before thee went;
our praise and prayer and anthems
before thee we present.
All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
4 To thee before thy Passion
they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, now high exalted,
our melody we raise.
All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
5 Thou didst accept their praises;
accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest,
thou good and gracious King.
All glory, laud, and honor
to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
[The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all
And also with you.]
[Let us pray.]
We thank you, O God, that you have again brought
us together on the Lord’s Day to praise you for your
goodness and to ask your blessing. Give us grace to
see your hand in the week that is past, and your
purpose in the week to come; through Christ our
Lord.
Amen.
[Dear friends in Christ,
as we turn our hearts and minds
to worship almighty God,
let us confess our sins.]
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Merciful God,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
[The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Those present may greet one another in the name of the Lord.]
Open this link in a new tab to hear John L. Bell’s Kyrie Eleison (Bridget).
Kyrie,
Christe, Christe,
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie,
Christe, Christe,
Kyrie eleison.
[Let us pray.]
Almighty and everliving God,
in tender love for all our human race
you sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
to take our flesh
and suffer death upon a cruel cross.
May we follow the example of his great humility,
and share in the glory of his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A reading from the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 50.4–9a
The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say,
so that I can strengthen the weary.
Every morning he makes me eager
to hear what he is going to teach me.
The Lord has given me understanding,
and I have not rebelled
or turned away from him.
I bared my back to those who beat me.
I did not stop them when they insulted me,
when they pulled out the hairs of my beard
and spit in my face.
But their insults cannot hurt me
because the Sovereign Lord gives me help.
I brace myself to endure them.
I know that I will not be disgraced,
for God is near,
and he will prove me innocent.
Does anyone dare bring charges against me?
Let us go to court together!
Let him bring his accusation!
The Sovereign Lord himself defends me—
who, then, can prove me guilty?
All my accusers will disappear;
they will vanish like moth-eaten cloth.
[The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.]
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Psalm 31: 9-16.
9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; *
my eye is consumed with sorrow,
and also my throat and my belly.
10 For my life is wasted with grief,
and my years with sighing; *
my strength fails me because of affliction,
and my bones are consumed.
11 I have become a reproach to all my enemies and
even to my neighbours,
a dismay to those of my acquaintance; *
when they see me in the street they avoid me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; *
I am as useless as a broken pot.
13 For I have heard the whispering of the crowd;
fear is all around; *
they put their heads together against me;
they plot to take my life.
14 But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. *
I have said, “You are my God.
15 My times are in your hand; *
rescue me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
16 Make your face to shine upon your servant, *
and in your loving-kindness save me.”
A reading from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.
Philippians 2.5–11
The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:
He always had the nature of God,
but he did not think that by force he should try to remain[a] equal with God.
Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had,
and took the nature of a servant.
He became like a human being
and appeared in human likeness.
He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—
his death on the cross.
For this reason God raised him to the highest place above
and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.
And so, in honor of the name of Jesus
all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below[b]
will fall on their knees,
and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
[The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.]
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Bernadette Farrell’s “Praise to You, O Christ, Our Saviour.”
Praise to you, O Christ, our Saviour,
Word of the Father, calling us to life;
Son of God who leads us to freedom:
glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
1 You are the Word who calls us out of darkness;
You are the Word who leads us into light;
You are the Word who brings us through the desert:
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
Praise to you, O Christ, our Saviour,
Word of the Father, calling us to life;
Son of God who leads us to freedom:
glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
4 You are the Word who binds us and unites us;
You are the Word who calls us to be one;
You are the Word who teaches us forgiveness:
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
Praise to you, O Christ, our Saviour,
Word of the Father, calling us to life;
Son of God who leads us to freedom:
glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
[The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke.]
Luke 23.1–49
[Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.]
The whole group rose up and took Jesus before Pilate, where they began to accuse him: “We caught this man misleading our people, telling them not to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”
Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“So you say,” answered Jesus.
Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no reason to condemn this man.”
But they insisted even more strongly, “With his teaching he is starting a riot among the people all through Judea. He began in Galilee and now has come here.”
When Pilate heard this, he asked, “Is this man a Galilean?” When he learned that Jesus was from the region ruled by Herod, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. Herod was very pleased when he saw Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been wanting to see him for a long time. He was hoping to see Jesus perform some miracle. So Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus made no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the Law stepped forward and made strong accusations against Jesus. Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus and treated him with contempt; then they put a fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. On that very day Herod and Pilate became friends; before this they had been enemies.
Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me and said that he was misleading the people. Now, I have examined him here in your presence, and I have not found him guilty of any of the crimes you accuse him of. Nor did Herod find him guilty, for he sent him back to us. There is nothing this man has done to deserve death. So I will have him whipped and let him go.”
The whole crowd cried out, “Kill him! Set Barabbas free for us!” (Barabbas had been put in prison for a riot that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)
Pilate wanted to set Jesus free, so he appealed to the crowd again. But they shouted back, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them the third time, “But what crime has he committed? I cannot find anything he has done to deserve death! I will have him whipped and set him free.”
But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices that Jesus should be crucified, and finally their shouting succeeded. So Pilate passed the sentence on Jesus that they were asking for. He set free the man they wanted, the one who had been put in prison for riot and murder, and he handed Jesus over for them to do as they wished.
The soldiers led Jesus away, and as they were going, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon who was coming into the city from the country. They seized him, put the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.
A large crowd of people followed him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Women of Jerusalem! Don't cry for me, but for yourselves and your children. For the days are coming when people will say, ‘How lucky are the women who never had children, who never bore babies, who never nursed them!’ That will be the time when people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Hide us!’ For if such things as these are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Two other men, both of them criminals, were also led out to be put to death with Jesus. When they came to the place called “The Skull,” they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. Jesus said, “Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing.”
They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. The people stood there watching while the Jewish leaders made fun of him: “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah whom God has chosen!”
The soldiers also made fun of him: they came up to him and offered him cheap wine, and said, “Save yourself if you are the king of the Jews!” Above him were written these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!”
Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.”
It was about twelve o'clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o'clock; and the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father! In your hands I place my spirit!” He said this and died.
The army officer saw what had happened, and he praised God, saying, “Certainly he was a good man!”
When the people who had gathered there to watch the spectacle saw what happened, they all went back home, beating their breasts in sorrow. All those who knew Jesus personally, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance to watch.
Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.]
Did Jesus’ Death Have a Purpose?
“Why did Jesus have to die in such a brutal fashion?” is a question with which his followers have wrestled over the centuries. “Could he not have saved humanity without dying the way that he did?”
To the Jews in the time of the apostles the idea of a crucified Messiah was offensive and scandalous. They believed that anyone who was hung from a tree was cursed by God. In their minds God would not allow such a thing to happen to his Anointed. Jesus could not have been the Messiah.
To the Gentiles a crucified savior was utter nonsense. The whole idea was preposterous—stupid and silly. Anyone who believed in such a thing was dull-witted and gullible or worse—insane.
For both Jews and Gentiles Jesus’s crucifixion and death were serious obstacles to their acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah, as a savior.
They focused on this one thing and let it keep them from believing in Jesus.
Human beings tend to do that. We let one thing—an attitude, a belief, a feeling, or an opinion—prevent us from accepting someone or something.
In our time Jesus’ crucifixion and death continues to be an obstacle for some folks. The God depicted in the Bible is a monster and child-abuser, they argue. A really loving God would not subject his Son to such a brutal death. A really loving God would not force his child to suffer and die like that.
They ignore two important considerations. Jesus was not just a human being. He was also God in the person of the Son. It was God himself in human flesh who suffered and died for our sake on the cross, not some poor soul God grabbed off the streets.
Jesus not only went willingly to the cross, but he also went determinedly.
While he showed fear in the garden of Gethsemane, he chose to do what he had come to Jerusalem to do. He saw his death as a part of his mission here on earth. It served a purpose. It was not the unfortunate end of the short career of an itinerant preacher and miracle healer.
In the first book C.S. Lewis wrote in the Narnia Chronicles, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a part of the story in which Jardis, the White Witch as she is called in that book, demands the life of Edmund, one of the four Pevansie children, who has betrayed his siblings. The lives of all traitors are her due, she reminds Aslan, the Christ-figure in the story, but in the form of a beast, the great lion, the Son of the Emperor Overseas. Unless she is given her due, Narnia will be destroyed.
Aslan agrees to take Edmund’s place, sparing him death at the hand of the White Witch, and saving Narnia from destruction.
Aslan surrenders himself to Jardis and her evil followers. They bind him, muzzle him, shave his mane, and lay him on a stone table. They jeer him before Jardis plunges her knife into his heart.
Believing that she has killed the one that she fears the most, Jardis breaks her promise and attacks the Narnians. She is intent on killing Edmund anyways.
At the end of this part of the story, we find the two Pevensie’s girls, Lucy and Susan, weeping over the bound corpse of Aslan.
They are disturbed by movements on his corpse. It is field mice nibbling his bonds to free him. Their disgust turns to pity. The mice do not realize that Aslan is dead, they think.
As they turn to go down the hill upon which the stone table stood, the sun begins to rise. They are startled by a loud crack behind them. When they look back at the table, it is broken in half and Aslan is gone!
They search for his body and find Aslan alive, risen from the dead, bigger and more glorious than ever. They are overjoyed. Aslan bids them to climb on his back and they race to deliver the Narnians from Jardis and her evil horde.
Aslan’s death in Lewis’ story is purposeful. It saves not only Edmund’s life but also it saves all of Narnia. What the New Testament tells us is that Jesus’ death was purposeful too. It played a part in God’s reconciliation of humanity to himself.
Jesus himself saw his death as serving a purpose. His disciples initially sought to discourage him from going to Jerusalem and dying there. It was later, after Jesus had been crucified, died, was buried, and arose from the dead, they grasped that it had a purpose.
As Jesus had told them, a seed must be planted in the ground and lie dormant for a time, if it is to germinate and to become a plant.
They may not have fully grasped the purpose of his death and interpreted its purpose the best that they could. It, however, was no longer purposeless in their minds.
For Christians the instrument of Jesus’ death—the cross--would become the symbol of their faith.
As Jesus’ followers, as people who believe in what Jesus taught and practiced and who try to live our lives according to his teachings and example, accepting Jesus’ death had a purpose and an important purpose at that is a part of following him. While we may not fully grasp what its purpose was, we believe that it was purposeful. It was not just some unfortunate happening: Jesus ran afoul of the religious authorities in Jerusalem, and they engineered his death.
Despite the brutal manner of his death, his dying was not purposeless. It opened to us the way of salvation. It enables us to be put right with God and to be on good terms with God through faith in Jesus.
The apostles and early Christians did not draw any negative inferences from Jesus’s crucifixion and death as horrific as it was. It carried a far greater stigma in their time than it does today.
They saw a positive outcome to what happened—a risen Lord who had overcome death. Any doubts that they had about Jesus were swept away. Even James, Jesus’ older brother who with his other siblings had thought that Jesus was crazy was convinced that Jesus whom he had known all of his life was God.
Jesus saw a purpose in his death. The memorial that Jesus instituted to recall and proclaim his death, the Lord’s Supper, affirms the purposefulness of his death. Many of us will be commemorating his institution of that ordinance or sacrament this coming Thursday, Maundy Thursday.
Whether we ourselves will be joining in such an observance, let us remember this final week of Lent that Jesus’ crucifixion and death were not meaningless. They were not without purpose. They played an important part in our salvation.
It is not necessary for us to fully grasp their purpose for us to benefit from them. What is necessary is that we believe in Jesus and trust in him, that we declare our faith and confidence in him not only with our lips but with our lives, following his teachings and example and living a life of love like his, a life that embodies God’s love for humankind.
Silence
[Let us confess our faith
as we say,]
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
In peace we pray to you, Lord God.
Silence
For all people in their daily life and work;
For our families, friends, and neighbours,
and for all those who are alone.
For this community, our country, and the world;
For all who work for justice, freedom, and peace.
For the just and proper use of your creation;
For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.
For all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble;
For those who minister to the sick, the friendless, and needy.
For the peace and unity of the Church of God;
For all who proclaim the gospel, and all who seek the truth.
For N. our bishop, and for all bishops and other ministers;
For all who serve God in the Church.
For our own needs and those of others.
Silence.
Those present may add their own petitions.
Hear us, Lord.
For your mercy is great.
We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life.
Silence.
Those present may add their own thanksgivings.
We will exalt you, O God our king;
And praise your name for ever and ever.
We pray for those who have died in the peace of Christ,
and for those whose faith is known to you alone,
that they may have a place in your eternal kingdom.
Silence.
Those present may add their own petitions.
Lord, let your loving kindness be upon them;
Who put their trust in you.
Gracious God,
you have heard the prayers of your faithful people;
you know our needs before we ask,
and our ignorance in asking.
Grant our requests as may be best for us.
This we ask in the name of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Isaac Watt’s “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”
1 When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God:
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
3 See from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingling down:
did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
4 Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an off'ring far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
[If a collection is taken, it is presented with these words and placed I a suitable place.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness,
the power, the glory, the splendour, and the majesty;
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.]
[And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
we are bold to say,]
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
THE SENDING OUT OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Glory to God
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and ever. Amen.
May the God of hope
fill us with all joy and peace in believing
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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