Fifth Sunday of Lent - Reflection by Canon Leslie

Today is the Fifth Sunday of Lent. The fifth Sunday of Lent initiates Passiontide and prepares the people of God for the events of Holy Week when Jesus will be arrested and crucified.  During Passiontide, we approach the death of Jesus in confidence of the resurrection.  In John’s Gospel, when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume, she prefigured his burial.  But all this was done in the very place where Lazarus had already been raised from the dead.  So, too, will Jesus be raised from the dead after his burial. 


For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of cemetery. In today’s picture from their book, Cross, Aled and Sian are looking over the cemetery wall at the gravestones and memorials.  


Lord Jesus Christ, 
by your cross you teach us 
that death is the gateway to life. 
Bless and comfort all those who mourn, 
that they may hold fast your promise 
of life eternal; 
now and always. 
Amen. 


Next week, Palm Sunday, reminds us of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt. The image to help us prepare for next week’s theme is donkey. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials.