God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prelude: “Nocturne” by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”

Confession
All: Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you  in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.  For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

May almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all our sins, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy; come, let us worship.

Psalm 130

1  Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! *
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
2  If you, O LORD, should mark in-iquities,*
Lord, who could stand?
3  But there is forgiveness with you,*
so that you may be revered.
4  I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,*
and in his word I hope;
5  my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning,*
more than those who watch for the morning.
6  O Israel, hope in the LORD!*
For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
7 It is he who will redeem*
Israel from all its iniquities.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

First Lesson: Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

Canticle
All: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a migh-ty savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his ho-ly covenant. 

This was the oath he swore to our fa-ther Abraham, to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Ho-ly Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

John 11:1-45
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Reflection

Anthem: “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” (Brother James’ Air)

Lord’s Prayer
All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayers of the People
Leader: God of the present moment, God who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart; bring hope and courage to all who wait or work in uncertainty.

Bring hope that you will make them the equal of whatever lies ahead.

Bring them courage to endure what cannot be avoided, for your will is health and wholeness; you are God, and we need you.….
☩ Lord, in your mercy / Hear our prayer

For the church throughout the world , for Shannon our bishop, for this holy gathering, and for the people of God in every place.….☩

For us in our daily life: open our eyes to the people within our reach; inspire generosity, courage, and compassion in our hearts…. ☩ 

For the leaders of this nation and all the nations; for all in authority…. ☩ 

For health care workers and public officials, for medical professionals and all who work in health care, caring for the sick while also caring for themselves and their loved ones….  ☩ 

For those facing economic uncertainty, hunger, and homelessness…. ☩

For all who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity. For all who live in fear…. ☩ 

Give peace to those who have died, grant them eternal rest, and give comfort to those who mourn….☩

Now we offer prayers and thanksgivings, silently or aloud….

St. Martin’s prayer list 
Sierra O’Leary, Mrs. Gillies, Clyde Holt, Bob Martin, Steve Ward, Susan Korbet, Paul Dunn, Mak Yost, Robert Buhner, Richard Erb, Pat Ottina, Robert Hertzberg, Jaqueline Wren, Nancy Hanger, Sara Boardman, Bill Hamilton, Sandra Trowbridge, Joe Davis, Vera Mallary, Richard Erb (RIP), Susan Clark (RIP)

All: Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never‑failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.   (BCP, p. 831)

Postlude: “Allemande” from Partita no. 1, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

The collect for Lent 5
All: Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

God of every generation that has been and is yet to be,
we praise and thank you
    for those who have served and shaped your church.
In our day give us new challenges, new insights,
    and renewed confidence in you
and in the enlivening good news of your Son. Amen.

All: Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do more than we can ask or even imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation in the church, and forever in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.