March 16, 20088 AMUsher Blake LaMar
Usher Muriel Schulz
Prayers of People Dar Hoover
Passion Gospel Parts
Narrator Katharine Bingham
Jesus Norm Ishizaki
Betrayer/Friend Blake LaMar
High Priest Muriel Schulz
False Witness Dave Walbeck
First Slave Girl Diane Babcock
Second Slave Girl Diane Babcock
Peter Evan Cooper
Jeremiah Stephanie Cooper
Pilate Jim Babcock
Centurion Velda Ishizaki
Spokesperson Dar Hoover
Chalice Dar Hoover
Chalice Jim Babcock
10 AMUsher Susan Mulledy-DeFrank
Usher Gail Connolly
Prayers of People Gail Connolly
Passion Gospel PartsNarrator Nan Wilson
Jesus Clay Pinney
Betrayer/Friend Rob Nelson
High Priest Sandy Pringle
False Witness Laurie Nelson
First Slave Girl Nicole Compton
Second Slave Girl Anamarie Marescca
Peter Alan Franz
Jeremiah Kathy Compton
Pilate Robert Nelson
Centurion Elizabeth Pringle
Spokesperson Helena Chan
Chalice Sandie Nelson
Chalice Caroline Prasad
The Passion Gospel
Matthew 26:36—27:1-66
All may be seated for the reading of the Passion Gospel. At the verse which mentions the arrival at Golgotha all stand.
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Narrator Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
Jesus "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
Narrator He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them,
Jesus "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me."
Narrator And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed,
Jesus "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want."
Narrator Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter,
Jesus "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Narrator Again he went away for the second time and prayed,
Jesus "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."
Narrator Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them,
Jesus "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. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."
Narrator 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. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying,
Betrayer/Friend "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him."
Narrator At once he came up to Jesus and said,
Betrayer/Friend "Greetings, Rabbi!"
Narrator and kissed him. Jesus said to him,
Jesus "Friend, do what you are here to do."
Narrator Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. 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. Then Jesus said to him,
Narrator "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?"
Narrator At that hour Jesus said to the crowds,
Jesus "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. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled."
Narrator Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. 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.
Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said,
False Witnesses "This fellow said, `I am able to destroy the
temple of God and to build it in three days.'"
Narrator The high priest stood up and said,
High Priest "Have you no answer? What is it that they
testify against you?"
Narrator But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him,
High Priest "I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God."
Narrator Jesus said to him,
Jesus "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."
Narrator Then the high priest tore his clothes and said,
High Priest "He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?"
Narrator They answered,
"He deserves death."
Narrator Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying,
"Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?"
Narrator Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said,
First Servant-Girl "You also were with Jesus the Galilean."
Narrator But he denied it before all of them, saying,
Peter "I do not know what you are talking about."
Narrator When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, Second Servant-Girl: "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."
Narrator Again he denied it with an oath,
Peter "I do not know the man."
Narrator After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter,
"Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you."
Narrator Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath,
Peter "I do not know the man!"
Narrator At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said:
Jesus "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times."
Narrator And he went out and wept bitterly.
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
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. He said,
Betrayer/Friend "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."
Narrator But they said,
"What is that to us? See to it yourself."
Narrator Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. 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."
Narrator After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah,
Jeremiah "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, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me." Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him,
Pilate "Are you the King of the Jews?"
Narrator Jesus said,
Jesus "You say so."
Narrator But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him,
Pilate "Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?"
Narrator But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them,
Pilate "Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?"
Narrator For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him,
Pilate’s Wife "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him."
Narrator Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them,
Pilate "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?"
Narrator And they said,
"Barabbas."
Narrator Pilate said to them,
Pilate "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?"
Narrator All of them said,
"Let him be crucified!"
Narrator Then he asked,
Pilate "Why, what evil has he done?"
Narrator But they shouted all the more,
"Let him be crucified!"
Narrator 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,
Pilate "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves."
Narrator Then the people as a whole answered,
"His blood be on us and on our children!"
Narrator So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
Narrator Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 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!"
Narrator They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross.
Please Stand.
Narrator And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
Narrator And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."
Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads 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."
Narrator In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying,
"He saved others; he cannot save himself. If he is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God's Son.’"
Narrator The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice,
Jesus "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"
Narrator that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Narrator When some of the bystanders heard it, they said,
"This man is calling for Elijah."
Narrator 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. But the others said,
"Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him."
Narrator Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. 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,
Centurion "Truly this man was God's Son!
Narrator Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 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. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said,
Spokesman for the Chief Priests and Pharisees: "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 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."
Narrator Pilate said to them,
Pilate "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can."
Narrator So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
The Prayers of the PeopleRemain standing
With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”
For the peace from above, for the loving kindness of God, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the world, for the welfare of the holy Church of God, and for the unity of all peoples, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For our Bishop, Jon, and for all the clergy and people, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For our President, George, and for the leaders of the nations, and for all in authority, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For this city of Redondo Beach and the greater Los Angeles area, for every city and community, and for those who live in them, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the good earth which God has given us, and for the wisdom and will to conserve it, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and orphans, and for the sick and the suffering, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For ___________ , let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor and the oppressed, for the unemployed and the destitute, for prisoners and captives, and for all who remember and care for them, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all who have died in the hope of the resurrection, and for all the departed, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For deliverance from all danger, violence, oppression, and degradation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Defend us, deliver us, and in thy compassion protect us, O Lord, by thy grace.
Lord, have mercy.
In the communion of all the saints, let us commend ourselves, and one another, and all our life, to Christ our God.
To thee, O Lord our God.
Silence
Celebrant: For yours is the majesty, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and for ever. Amen.
