It’s the Fourth Sunday in Lent, called Laetare Sunday. On this day, the midpoint in Lent, our Lenten theme of repentance is “lightened,” and we focus on celebrating God’s love for us. In our First Reading, we’re celebrating how, in Jesus, there is a new creation, and all is made new. In our Gospel, we’re looking at how this happens. We’re spending time with 2 of the most famous of Jesus’ Parables, and celebrating how Jesus, our Good Shepherd, seeks and saves his lost sheep and children. We’re remembering how he loves us enough to lay down his life for us, and invites us to join in the joy of new life and creation, and the joy of God! All of this will also be the theme of our Children’s Time, in which we’ll learn the fun piece “The Baa Baa Song.”
This Sunday is also called Mothering Sunday (not to be confused with Mother’s Day). On this day, people, including servants, returned to their “mother church.” Servants were thus able to spend time with their earthly families, in what was, in effect, the first-ever Statutory Holiday. It’s a day in which we celebrate being together as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, and remember the gift of home and family. It’s very appropriate, therefore, that our First Reading and Prayers of the People be led by father and son, Freddie and Stacy; and show our thankfulness to see each other and share even when 4,000 km away, with Freddie sharing the First Reading from New Brunswick and Stacy sharing the Prayers in-person. On this day celebrating love, life, family, and home, we’re continuing especially to remember Ukraine, and the terrible difference between what we’re celebrating and the hate, death, and forcing of people to flee homes and families we’re witnessing.
It’s also a Triple C Service – the Christ-centre Creative Celebration we hold on the fourth Sundays of the month. This month, to honour St. David’s and St. Patrick’s Days, we’re having a Celtic Liturgy throughout. This is also greatly appropriate for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, because of the joy, celebration of creation, and consciousness of God’s immanence and care that characterize Celtic Christian spirituality. Our Hymns also reflect this, with Hymns such as “All Creatures of Our God and King,” “Rainbows and Crosses,” the 8th Century Irish Hymn “Be Thou My Vision,” and 3 more pieces all led by our Virtual Choir, plus the recording of a Celtic version of “I Feel the Winds of God Today,” as our Offertory Instrumental. Because it’s a Triple C Service, also look for an Alternate Collect of the Day, and special translations of our Readings and Psalm. We’re blessed to have Norman with us, to preside, and Betty to assist. In addition to all the above, after the Offertory, we have the priceless opportunity to receive within us the One who offers his life to us, feeding on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving, as we share Communion physically or spiritually together. Last, our Liturgy ends, and the service begins, with a “Sending” forth to help spread the joy of Jesus throughout the world God loves so much.
Today’s Service of Holy Eucharist will be livestreamed on our main Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stpaulscalgary) at 9:30 am. Following the service, the video will be posted on our YouTube Channel, and a link to the service will be added here. To watch this service in full screen mode, please click on the “Watch on YouTube” button in the lower left-hand corner of the video. Please download the Order of Service in the Sermon Notes above if you would like to follow along. If you are sharing this Service online and don’t have Reserved Sacrament, you are invited to say the Prayer for Communion for those receiving Spiritual Communion also available above.
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from:
(a) ONE LICENSE with license # A-713985, and/or
(b) CCLI with Streaming License # 20351479.
All rights reserved.