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April 5, 2022

The Shape of Discipleship

Mark W. Stamm   |   Read Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

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Lectionary Week
April 4–10, 2022
Scripture Overview

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Psalm 118 is a song of rejoicing, yet it also includes the prophecy that the cornerstone must experience rejection. Isaiah speaks of physical suffering, of being beaten, disgraced, and spat on. We see elements of this in the Gospel reading, where Luke describes the final moments of Jesus’ life. Bloodied and beaten, Jesus hangs on the cross and breathes his last. In Philippians, Paul places this drama within the eternal narrative of God’s redeeming work. Jesus leaves his rightful place and becomes flesh. He experiences pain and suffering, even the most humiliating form of death, crucifixion. Jesus can empathize with our suffering because he has suffered. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Isaiah 50:4-9a. How does the Suffering Servant speak to your life today?
Read Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29. How do you hear differently the familiar verses of this psalm when you read them together?
Read Philippians 2:5-11. Do you find it paradoxical to live as a beloved child of God and as a servant? If so, how do you live in this paradox?
Read Luke 22:14–23:56. How do you experience the extreme emotional highs and lows of Palm Sunday and Holy Week, even knowing how it will all turn out?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

1 Give thanks to the LORD because he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever. 2 Let Israel say it: “God’s faithful love lasts forever!” 19 Open the gates of righteousness for me so I can come in and give thanks to the LORD! 20 This is the LORD’s gate; those who are righteous enter through it. 21 I thank you because you answered me, because you were my saving help. 22 The stone rejected by the builders is now the main foundation stone! 23 This has happened because of the LORD; it is astounding in our sight! 24 This is the day the LORD acted; we will rejoice and celebrate in it! 25 LORD, please save us! LORD, please let us succeed! 26 The one who enters in the LORD’s name is blessed; we bless all of you from the LORD’s house. 27 The LORD is God! He has shined a light on us! So lead the festival offering with ropes all the way to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God—I will give thanks to you! You are my God—I will lift you up high! 29 Give thanks to the LORD because he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

God is addressing you through the scriptures, calling you to participate in what God is doing. That’s never truer than in the psalm appointed for the Liturgy of the Palms. Note its dynamism and allow it to carry you forward.

We praise the God who saves and delivers us. We...

God, thank you for my neighbors and my neighborhood. Help us to see that, in you, the whole world is one neighborhood. Amen.


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