Break Open the Word

  The Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day, 4 April 2021   Acts 10:34-43 or  Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or  Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18 or  Mark 16:1-8   The Collect   O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen .   or this   O God, who made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord's resurrection: Stir up in your Church that Spirit of adoption which is given to us in Baptism, that we, being renewed both in body and mind, may worship you in sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spir...

The Sunday of the Passion, Palm Sunday, 28 March 20 21   The Liturgy of the Palms St. Mark 11:1-11 or St. John 12:12-16 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29   The Liturgy of the Word Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:5-11 St. Mark 14:1-15:47 or St. Mark 15:1-39, [40-47]   Background: An Embarrassment of Riches   There are some temptations that come with the celebrations of this day. The first is its dual nature with the seeming joy that accompanies the readings during the Liturgy of the Palms contrasted with the rather different nature that characterizes the reading of the Passion. I’ve served in parishes that have attempted to truncate the day, leaving behind the sadness of the Passion and only observing the “joy” of the Palms. This attitude seems to be blind to the reasons that Jesus enters Jerusalem. Was it for the joy of kingship? Or was it to meet the task at hand, the suffering and the crucifixion. To only fix on the joy is not to understand it, or to know the real na...