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Romans 12:14-18

By Pr. Lisa Rygiel

We continue our journey of Lent through the devotionals found in Love Outpoured, Devotions for Lent.

The Word

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse then. Rejoice with those who rejoice; week with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser that you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

To Ponder

Sometimes the elevation of harmony over everything else merely makes a gathering dull. Often, though, it is worse than that: the goal of harmony burrows its way into the core of the gathering and becomes a kind of pretender purpose, hampering the very thing the gathering was supposed to be about. Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering.

The Dance of Harmony

To live in harmony sounds delightful and calls to mind pleasing arrangements of melodies and delight. When we hold to a definition of harmony as the absence of tension and discord, however, we flatten the range of human experience, freeze the moment, and dull the exquisite diversity of God’s creation.

The true nature of harmony in music is a dance between dissonance and resolution. The delight is in the discordant tones and the intriguing juxtapositions of sound that build tension and reach toward resolution. Exquisite harmony savors the contrasts and invites us to lean in and pay attention.

Living in community in Christ calls us to lean into the dissonance of the ups and downs of life and the diversity of God’s beloved. We are called to humbly listen and join the dance – especially in the dissonance and discord. For in that tension, we glimpse the purpose and delight of God’s presence in every movement of our human experience.

Prayer

God of life, open our hearts to delight in the harmonies of the community of Christ. Draw us into the dissonance and reveal your presence in the dance oof life in the fullness of your creation. Amen.

March 29, 2026, Passion/Palm Sunday
10 a.m. Sunday Worship

Announcements

  • Clean-up Day!!! Your hands are needed: This Saturday, March 28, beginning at 9 AM, we will spiff and dust and clean our sanctuary and fellowship hall so they will sparkle for Easter Sunday. Bring your favorite cleaning items if you have them and join us. We will start in the sanctuary to be out of the way for 5-Loaves, then move over to the hall as the space clears out.
  • Vaccines: Safeway will be available at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 30, at the Senior Center, 1222 San Pedro Ave., Trinidad, to administer vaccines on Monday March 30 beginning at 10 am.
  • Looking ahead to Easter Sunday: Easter Sunday is also our First Sunday Potluck, so we are going to do it up in our usual over the top fashion. Our main proteins are already sourced so please sign up to bring appropriate side dishes. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Fellowship hall.
  • Wednesday Book Club: The Wednesday Book Club is focusing upon What if Jesus was Serious – A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore. It meets at 10:30 a.m. each Wednesday in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome.
  • 5-Loaves Our next 5-Loaves deliveries will be on Saturday, March 28. We need help with deliveries that day, as well as with meal preparation on Friday, March 27. Please let Norine Hazen, Terri Watson, or Jo Moss know if you can help.
  • Palm Sunday: For our Palm Sunday worship on Sunday, we will gather behind the sanctuary for our processional (those who prefer to begin worship in the sanctuary, please feel free to do so).
  • Good Friday: Good Friday worship will be at 7 p.m. on April 3.
  • Children’s Choir: Choir practice is at 3 p.m. each Sunday in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Lenten Soup Suppers: At 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday during Lent, Zion’s will share a soup supper and devotion. Sign-up sheets are in the Fellowship Hall to bring soup, bread, or dessert. Our next soup supper is at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25.
  • Time of Prayer and Coffee: We are invited to join our siblings in Christ from the Methodist church for a time of prayer and coffee at 10:30 a.m. each Thursday at Kangaroo Coffee -- in the Marketplace on Commercial Street.
  • Temple Aaron: Temple Aaron has invited us to a Saturday night Sedar from 5 to 9 p.m. on March 28 at the temple. Many of us have attended a Sedar celebration in the past. For this one, Rabbi Joe is going to explain each of the Sedar steps and the Jewish significance of them. You must go online to register and pay in advance. See https://www.templeaaron.org/ for details.
  • God’s Work Our Hands: Terri Watson is coordinating efforts to match people who are able to provide outreach and support with members of our congregation who need assistance, such as rides or errands. For more information talk to Terri.
  • The Way Ministry: At 1 p.m. Sunday Zion’s welcomes The Way ministry to our Fellowship Hall as they offer food and worship to those in need.
  • We’re Here for You: For pastoral care, call Zion’s at 719-846-7785 or send an email: zionsluth@gmail.com.

E-formation

To grasp something fully, we need to look at both sides. This coming Sunday is both Palm Sunday and the Sunday of the Passion. We join in the joy of the palm procession, and we gather in sorrow at the foot of the cross. Come to sing both “Hosanna!” and “Lord, have mercy upon us.”

Matthew 21:1-11

Holy Week begins with a palm procession and the proclamation of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem from the gospel of Matthew. Christ enters the assembly now, just as he did then, and we praise his presence among us. “Hosanna” is now our song.

Matthew 26:14—27:66

Twice each Holy Week we hear the entire story of the betrayal, arrest, trials, abuse, and crucifixion of Jesus. Since it is Sunday, we listen to Matthew, the synoptic gospel of this year.

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Christians have seen in the Servant Songs descriptions of Jesus Christ. The reading imagines Jesus himself as describing his ill treatment, while affirming his innocence and his trust in God.

Philippians 2:5-11

We join with Christians of the first century in a creedal poem: Christ humbled himself to death, and God has raised him as Lord. The ancient song is a summary, not only of our baptismal faith, but also of the Holy Week which has begun.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785