[Propertalk] PALM SUNDAY - LITURGY of the PASSION

[Charles Wohlers]

The following are the readings for the Liturgy of the Passion - Palmn 
Sunday, April 17, 2011, according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal 
(ECUSA), Roman Catholic, Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common 
Worship) lectionaries. All readings are taken from the New Revised Standard 
Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, C of E and 
Canadian lectionaries are identical to the RCL for this day.

The readings are posted on our web site: <http://satucket.com/lectionary>, 
in RTF format, which can be read by all word processors.



OLD TESTAMENT:   Isaiah 50: 4 - 9a   (RCL)
                                     Isaiah 50: 4 - 7   (Roman Catholic)

Isai 50:4 (NRSV) The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens-- 
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
7 The Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8 he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
9 It is the Lord GOD who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?



PSALM 31: 9 - 16   (RCL)

Psal 31:9 (NRSV) Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
my soul and body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,
and my bones waste away.
11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horror to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the whispering of many-- 
terror all around!-- 
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
15 My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16 Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.


Psalm 22: 7 - 8, 16 - 19, 22 - 23 (Roman Catholic)

Psal 22:1 (NRSV) 7 All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8 "Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver-- 
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!"

16 For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me.
My hands and feet have shriveled;
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
   stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

Note: Verse numbering in Roman Catholic bibles is one higher than the above


NEW TESTAMENT:   Philippians 2: 5 - 11   (RCL)
                                      Philippians 2: 6 - 11   (Roman 
Catholic)

Phil 2:5 (NRSV) Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death-- 
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.


GOSPEL: Matthew (26: 14 - 27: 10) 27: 11 - 54 (55 - 66) (RCL, Roman 
Catholic)

Matt 26:14 (NRSV) Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscar'iot, 
went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What will you give me if I betray 
him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment 
he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 
"Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 
18 He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, "The Teacher 
says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my 
disciples.'" 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they 
prepared the Passover meal.
20 When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; 21 and while they 
were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." 22 And 
they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, 
"Surely not I, Lord?" 23 He answered, "The one who has dipped his hand into 
the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of 
him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have 
been better for that one not to have been born." 25 Judas, who betrayed him, 
said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" He replied, "You have said so."
26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it 
he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my 
body." 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, 
saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, 
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I 
will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink 
it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
30 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
31 Then Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters because of me 
this night; for it is written,
"I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
32 But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." 33 Peter 
said to him, "Though all become deserters because of you, I will never 
desert you." 34 Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this very night, 
before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." 35 Peter said to him, 
"Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And so said all the 
disciples.
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsem'ane; and he said to 
his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took with 
him Peter and the two sons of Zeb'edee, and began to be grieved and 
agitated. 38 Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; 
remain here, and stay awake with me." 39 And going a little farther, he 
threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let 
this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." 40 Then he 
came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, 
could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray that you 
may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the 
flesh is weak." 42 Again he went away for the second time and prayed, "My 
Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." 43 Again 
he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So leaving 
them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same 
words. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still 
sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man 
is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let us be going. See, my 
betrayer is at hand."
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him 
was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the 
elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, 
"The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him." 49 At once he came up to Jesus 
and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, "Friend, 
do what you are here to do." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and 
arrested him. 51 Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his 
sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his 
ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all 
who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot 
appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of 
angels? 54 But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must 
happen in this way?" 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you 
come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day 
after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But 
all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be 
fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Ca'iaphas the high priest, in 
whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 But Peter was 
following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and 
going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. 59 
Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony 
against Jesus so that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, 
though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and 
said, "This fellow said, "I am able to destroy the temple of God and to 
build it in three days.'" 62 The high priest stood up and said, "Have you no 
answer? What is it that they testify against you?" 63 But Jesus was silent. 
Then the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath before the living 
God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." 64 Jesus said to him, 
"You have said so. But I tell you,
>From now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven."
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has blasphemed! Why 
do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is 
your verdict?" They answered, "He deserves death." 67 Then they spat in his 
face and struck him; and some slapped him, 68 saying, "Prophesy to us, you 
Messiah! Who is it that struck you?"
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to 
him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." 70 But he denied it 
before all of them, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." 71 
When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to 
the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72 Again he denied it 
with an oath, "I do not know the man." 73 After a little while the 
bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you are also one of them, 
for your accent betrays you." 74 Then he began to curse, and he swore an 
oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment the cock crowed. 75 Then Peter 
remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me 
three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. 27:1 When morning came, all 
the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against 
Jesus in order to bring about his death. 2 They bound him, led him away, and 
handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and 
brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the 
elders. 4 He said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they 
said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." 5 Throwing down the pieces 
of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. 6 But 
the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to 
put them into the treasury, since they are blood money." 7 After conferring 
together, they used them to buy the potter's field as a place to bury 
foreigners. 8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood 
to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet 
Jeremi'ah, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one 
on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a 
price, 10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded 
me."
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you 
the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." 12 But when he was accused 
by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. 13 Then Pilate said to 
him, "Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?" 14 But he 
gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was 
greatly amazed.
15 Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for 
the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious 
prisoner, called Jesus Barab'bas. 17 So after they had gathered, Pilate said 
to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barab'bas or Jesus 
who is called the Messiah?" 18 For he realized that it was out of jealousy 
that they had handed him over. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, 
his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for 
today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him." 20 Now the 
chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barab'bas and 
to have Jesus killed. 21 The governor again said to them, "Which of the two 
do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barab'bas." 22 Pilate 
said to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" 
All of them said, "Let him be crucified!" 23 Then he asked, "Why, what evil 
has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!"
24 So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was 
beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 
"I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." 25 Then the 
people as a whole answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" 26 So 
he released Barab'bas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over 
to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's 
headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. 28 They 
stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and after twisting some 
thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right 
hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 
30 They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 After 
mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. 
Then they led him away to crucify him.
32 As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyre'ne named Simon; they 
compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place 
called Gol'gotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to 
drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And 
when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by 
casting lots; 36 then they sat down there and kept watch over him. 37 Over 
his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the 
King of the Jews."
38 Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his 
left. 39 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, 
"You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! 
If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." 41 In the same way the 
chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, 
saying, 42 "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of 
Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43 
He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, "I 
am God's Son.'" 44 The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him 
in the same way.
45 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the 
afternoon. 46 And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "E'li, 
E'li, lema' sabach'thani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken 
me?" 47 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is 
calling for Eli'jah." 48 At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it 
with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the 
others said, "Wait, let us see whether Eli'jah will come to save him." 50 
Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. 51 At that 
moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The 
earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened, and 
many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 After his 
resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and 
appeared to many. 54 Now when the centurion and those with him, who were 
keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were 
terrified and said, "Truly this man was God's Son!"
55 Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed 
Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. 56 Among them were Mary 
Mag'dalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the 
sons of Zeb'edee.
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathe'a, named Joseph, 
who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the 
body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 So Joseph took 
the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60 and laid it in his own new 
tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the 
door of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Mag'dalene and the other Mary were 
there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests 
and the Phar'isees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, "Sir, we remember 
what that impostor said while he was still alive, "After three days I will 
rise again.' 64 Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third 
day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, 
"He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse 
than the first." 65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, 
make it as secure as you can." 66 So they went with the guard and made the 
tomb secure by sealing the stone.



Chad Wohlers
East Bridgewater, Mass.   USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu