Fifth Sunday In Lent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle A
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 37:1-14 (C); Ezekiel 37:12-14 (RC); Ezekiel 37:1-3 (4-10) 11-14 (E)
This is one of the Old Testament's truly powerful passages. The words were probably referring to the defeat of Judah by the Babylonians. Quite possibly Ezekiel has literally viewed the battlefield where many have died and disinterred bones are to be seen. The people had fallen into despair, and the dead, dry bones were not only those of young men who had died in battle, but also were symbols of the dead dreams of a defeated nation. But now Ezekiel feels the power of God speaking within him, promising that all is not lost. The nation can and will be renewed. The dry bones of his people's hopes will be clothed with power, filled with new life. They will rise from defeat and continue on with their mission to the nations of the earth.
What a profound word, this. All is not lost. God has the power to breathe new life into that which is dead. It happens through the people who have not lost hope. Ezekiel received from God his own new life, then pronounced that hope to his people. How relevant to many a pastor facing a discouraged church. I know of a Methodist church which just a few years ago was small and without hope. The dreary everydayness of their communal life was wearying, defeating. But a young pastor with the faith of an Ezekiel has come into their lives. Their new hope brought new people. Attendance is no longer under a hundred. It went to two hundred, then five hundred, then more than a thousand. The place is alive once more, throbbing with activity and missionary zeal. The pastor didn't do it. He brought the word of a God who did it. He showed that dry bones can live again. This word needs to be preached by many of us into our own hearts.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:6-11 (C); Romans 8:8-11 (RC)
Paul uses "flesh" and "spirit" to identify the two alternative human responses to God. Obviously we are all living in the flesh in the literal sense which is not, of course, what Paul means by the word. He is referring to extreme self-centeredness. He is referring to hatefulness, to complete self-aggrandizement, to those values and attitudes which produce murder. I read in today's paper of a terrible accident in which a young mother was killed and four family members were badly injured. Thieves stole all their money and jewelry as they lay there. That was living in the flesh. The man who beats his wife is living in the flesh. The mother who abuses her children is living in the flesh. We read last week of a woman who was selling her eleven-year-old daughter's sexual services. That was living in the flesh.
Living in the Spirit does not mean going off to a monastery. It doesn't mean spending half a day in prayer. Paul is talking about the direction of our lives, our willingness not only to accept an intellectual belief in Christ, but to accept his way, to strive after a better kind of life. It doesn't mean we will always succeed. When Bishop Richard Raines asked my class of ordinands to reply "Yes!" to the question as to whether we are going on to perfection in this life, we protested. That was unrealistic, we contended. Of course we of mortal flesh would never be perfect in this life. But Bishop Raines set us straight by asking, "If you're not going on to perfection, what are you going on to?" Of course. It was our goal. Maybe we wouldn't make it. But it was where we wished to be. That's what Paul meant. Are you going on to destruction and death of the spirit, or are you going on to the example of Jesus Christ? If the latter, "He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies...."
Lesson 2: Romans 6:16-23 (E)
Paul in this passage is essentially saying what we just read, wherein he reiterates the point made here. Just as we were once slaves to sin, now, by accepting the Spirit of Christ, we become "slaves" to righteousness.
Gospel: John 11:1-45 (C, RC); John 11:(1-16) 17-44 (E)
What a story! Jesus, having apparently left the area because of threats against his life, has received word that an old friend, Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha, two other dear friends, has died. He decides to return, against the advice of some of his disciples, and is met by Martha, who, believing that Jesus could have saved her brother, mildly scolds him. Jesus is genuinely moved. He does care, and goes with several of them to the grave where Lazarus has been buried for four days. According to the story, Jesus calls Lazarus from the grave and Lazarus comes out, tearing the grave clothes from him as he exits.
The responsible preacher has access to good commentaries and will discover lengthy efforts to explain the numerous implications of this story. Homiletically, it could serve for many Sundays. However, the most significant aspect of this remarkable passage is the report of Lazarus' resuscitation. There are reports of resuscitation in the other gospels, but always immediately after death, allowing the suspicion that coma or some other natural explanation is the correct one. Lazarus, though, was dead for four days. Had this happened precisely as reported, surely the report would have been known to one or more of the other gospel authors. We simply can't know at this late date. I have to insert my own doubt about the literal accuracy of the report. I'm content with William Barclay's observation that whether or not Lazarus really rose from the dead in a physical way, we can believe the truth of Jesus' words that "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "New Life In The Church"
Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Theme: This is an ideal text for a sermon on the church. Even healthy churches can benefit from this text, but it is especially relevant to the many churches which are weak and dying. I heard a well-known church consultant speak at a nearby Methodist church just this past week and he said that most of the churches he sees are in a depressed state. In these exciting times, that should not be.
1. A Psalmist said it: "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" (Psalm127). Some churches have forgotten this. Sadly, many a church member is more devoted to a building than to a church. A friend of mine who served a very upscale church conducted a survey to see how his congregation would feel about an expansion of their sanctuary so that more people could be served. One form came back from a lady with this comment: "Can't those people find a church of their own?" Really.
2. If, as Paul insisted, God works through us, then we individuals in the churches must be reminded in an individual way that God works through us. If we've settled into an unexciting version of faith, if our faith has become "dry bones," God can put new life into us as well.
3. How do we begin? With a prayer vigil? I used to be a bit skeptical about those things. Prayer vigils always seemed like a lot of work and a little manipulative -- until a very successful businessman came to me one day after we'd had one. Here's what he said. "My wife was scheduled to be at the church from two to four in the morning last week. I didn't want her over there at that hour, so I reluctantly took her place. I was thoroughly prepared to be bored. Instead, after half an hour or so, with nothing else to do, I started thinking about my life, and then I started praying. Frankly, pastor, I don't do that very often. At least up to now. But God came to me in that prayer. I have to admit to you: my life was changed last week. I've started praying and it's making a difference." That was several years ago. That man has hardly ever missed worship, is a generous contributor to his church, and still professes a strong belief in the power of faith. So ... I was wrong. Prayer can change a church.
Title: "God Will Make The Difference"
Text: Romans 8:6-11
Theme: Paul's warning that new life is the consequence of a life lived in the Spirit underlines what was said in Ezekiel's words. The morning's newspapers report a seemingly endless list of stories of people whose spirits are dead. Crimes, terrorism, corruption in every walk of life, including the church, one must sadly admit. Maybe some people are lost. This I don't know. Some can be saved. That is the mission of the church.
1. The church's inward life will atrophy unless she is reaching out to those who are sad and lost, even those who are doing wrong.
2. There may be no thanks. Well-intended efforts are often rebuffed. Our mission is to go on trying, to understand that there may be no immediate personal rewards, but just as Jesus came out into the world at great sacrifice to get in touch with me and with you, we are in turn to try to reach someone else, even at great sacrifice.
3. God's Spirit will make the difference. This is not something we can do with hard work and energetic programs alone. But with prayer, and with strong worship, together with hard work and energetic programs, it can happen.
Title: "Faith For Tomorrow"
Text: John 11:23
Theme: This remarkable story about Lazarus would require weeks of preaching were one to seek to plumb its depths. The passage I have chosen was spoken by Jesus to his friend Martha. "Your brother will rise to life." To the preacher, I say it is not a denial of Jesus' promise of eternal life to suppose that the literal return from death of Lazarus may, in fact, be symbolic. Although Jesus returned in physical form, briefly, as a sign to his friends and ultimately to us, there is no promise of physical life after death in the Bible. Even those who believe in a resurrection of the body do not expect such in this era. Rather, the promise in this passage is more profound. It applies to us all: You will "rise to life."
1. Life results from faith. So many people live in "graves" of a sort these days. Not literal graves, but imprisoning situations which have a deadly effect upon the victims. Addictions, smothering relationships, dead-end jobs, hopeless family situations, discouragement about school, appearance, health. Faith brings new hope.
2. Part of the faith message is not exactly freedom from our problems but a new inflow of energy and optimism by which to face them and, sometimes, extricate ourselves. Part of this process is to understand that we all have problems to face. This is not an ideal world. I just glanced at the cover of a travel magazine showing a beautiful couple seated in a wonderful outdoor cafe on the edge of a lake in Italy. It almost made me envious until I realized the two tables nearby were empty, while two waiters hovered over the couple. When I arrive at a place like that the tables are filled, I have to wait 45 minutes, then end up near the station where they stack the dishes. That scene in the magazine was posed. Life isn't really like that.
3. Paul said it for all of us: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). An African-American man in our city recently came to the public's attention by working successfully among inner-city men, helping them find a way out of drugs. He was able to rise above a desperate childhood situation through that very strength.
4. We're not alone in this. Jesus was surrounded by the many friends and relatives of Lazarus. They cared. For us it can be the church. That's where we start the faith journey, and a good church supports us as we do the work of faith.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Dr. Bernie Siegel in a wonderful book, Love, Medicine, And Miracle, told of a man who was very ill with cancer. He was given a new medicine for which his doctors had high hopes. Sure enough, the man went into remission, returned home, and spent the next month recovering. He did such things as fly an airplane. Then he read a report in the newspaper that the drug he'd been taking was ineffective. Immediately, he had a relapse and returned to the hospital where he was soon terribly ill. The doctors, despairing for the man, decided to tell him -- well, an untruth, but for worthy reasons. They told him the medicine he'd taken was defective and they had received a new shipment which was good. They again administered the medicine, and before long the man seemed recovered. Again he returned home and began to get better. Finally, though, the doctors had to tell the man the truth. He immediately returned to the hospital and -- the next day he died.
____________
In a major address, Dr. Karl Menninger, celebrating his 87th birthday, read the following as a statement of his philosophy of life.
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered: love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives: do good anyway.
If you're successful you win false friends and make true enemies: try to succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow: be good anyway.
Honesty and frankness will get you nowhere; they make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
People favor the underdogs, but they follow the top dogs: fight for some underdogs anyway.
What you spend days building may be destroyed overnight: do it anyway.
People really need help, but they attack you if you try to help them: try anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you get kicked in the mouth: give the world the best you have anyway.
____________
During the worst of Germany's dark days of World War II, a young German soldier named Peter Habernoll, aged twenty, protested the atrocities he had seen committed by some of his people. In 1944, he was court-martialed and sent to prison, sentenced to be executed. Shortly before his death, he wrote a letter to his mother. Here is what he wrote:
"My dear little Mama! Thanks for your long, sweet, consoling letter ... so full of optimism and courage. And I really don't know how to answer you. For the sky above me is so heavy and gray, and the sun shines all too feebly into this environment and on the experiences amid which one lives here. And yet I go on living with all the strength I still have, summoning all my willpower. The will to live expresses my trust in God. And my thoughts are with all of you.
"The sun stands very low in the sky and shines blood-red in my cell, as if it were coming from a faraway other world. The hour has struck -- and I am calm as never before in my life, and full of confidence. I have known it for days and weeks, even if I could not admit it to you or to myself. The Lord is close to me and has stretched out his hand to me -- and he has given me strength."
And so, a virtually unremembered young hero of those dark days went to his death.
____________
Years ago the following appeared in Christian Century:
PLASTIC SAINT
"During the week, a mild-mannered
Professional woman, she. Lunch
With the boss, coffee with the girls,
Dinner at six. Miss Firstnighter.
Terribly smart, she scorns the
Reviews the next morning.
On Sunday, up at one, that rural Iowa habit -- six o'clock rising
Breakfast, church -- long since passed.
But as the day drags,
She recalls wistfully
Those Sundays spent on the prairie,
And drowns the tears she fights
In Chivas Regal."
-- Michael Graves
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 130 (C, E) -- "Out of the depths I cry to thee."
Prayer Of The Day
Living God, renew in us the faith which fails. Restore to us, we pray, the energy of true faith, that we may again be faithful in the life to which we are called. Forgive our falling short, and direct us once more in the steps of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Ezekiel 37:1-14 (C); Ezekiel 37:12-14 (RC); Ezekiel 37:1-3 (4-10) 11-14 (E)
This is one of the Old Testament's truly powerful passages. The words were probably referring to the defeat of Judah by the Babylonians. Quite possibly Ezekiel has literally viewed the battlefield where many have died and disinterred bones are to be seen. The people had fallen into despair, and the dead, dry bones were not only those of young men who had died in battle, but also were symbols of the dead dreams of a defeated nation. But now Ezekiel feels the power of God speaking within him, promising that all is not lost. The nation can and will be renewed. The dry bones of his people's hopes will be clothed with power, filled with new life. They will rise from defeat and continue on with their mission to the nations of the earth.
What a profound word, this. All is not lost. God has the power to breathe new life into that which is dead. It happens through the people who have not lost hope. Ezekiel received from God his own new life, then pronounced that hope to his people. How relevant to many a pastor facing a discouraged church. I know of a Methodist church which just a few years ago was small and without hope. The dreary everydayness of their communal life was wearying, defeating. But a young pastor with the faith of an Ezekiel has come into their lives. Their new hope brought new people. Attendance is no longer under a hundred. It went to two hundred, then five hundred, then more than a thousand. The place is alive once more, throbbing with activity and missionary zeal. The pastor didn't do it. He brought the word of a God who did it. He showed that dry bones can live again. This word needs to be preached by many of us into our own hearts.
Lesson 2: Romans 8:6-11 (C); Romans 8:8-11 (RC)
Paul uses "flesh" and "spirit" to identify the two alternative human responses to God. Obviously we are all living in the flesh in the literal sense which is not, of course, what Paul means by the word. He is referring to extreme self-centeredness. He is referring to hatefulness, to complete self-aggrandizement, to those values and attitudes which produce murder. I read in today's paper of a terrible accident in which a young mother was killed and four family members were badly injured. Thieves stole all their money and jewelry as they lay there. That was living in the flesh. The man who beats his wife is living in the flesh. The mother who abuses her children is living in the flesh. We read last week of a woman who was selling her eleven-year-old daughter's sexual services. That was living in the flesh.
Living in the Spirit does not mean going off to a monastery. It doesn't mean spending half a day in prayer. Paul is talking about the direction of our lives, our willingness not only to accept an intellectual belief in Christ, but to accept his way, to strive after a better kind of life. It doesn't mean we will always succeed. When Bishop Richard Raines asked my class of ordinands to reply "Yes!" to the question as to whether we are going on to perfection in this life, we protested. That was unrealistic, we contended. Of course we of mortal flesh would never be perfect in this life. But Bishop Raines set us straight by asking, "If you're not going on to perfection, what are you going on to?" Of course. It was our goal. Maybe we wouldn't make it. But it was where we wished to be. That's what Paul meant. Are you going on to destruction and death of the spirit, or are you going on to the example of Jesus Christ? If the latter, "He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies...."
Lesson 2: Romans 6:16-23 (E)
Paul in this passage is essentially saying what we just read, wherein he reiterates the point made here. Just as we were once slaves to sin, now, by accepting the Spirit of Christ, we become "slaves" to righteousness.
Gospel: John 11:1-45 (C, RC); John 11:(1-16) 17-44 (E)
What a story! Jesus, having apparently left the area because of threats against his life, has received word that an old friend, Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha, two other dear friends, has died. He decides to return, against the advice of some of his disciples, and is met by Martha, who, believing that Jesus could have saved her brother, mildly scolds him. Jesus is genuinely moved. He does care, and goes with several of them to the grave where Lazarus has been buried for four days. According to the story, Jesus calls Lazarus from the grave and Lazarus comes out, tearing the grave clothes from him as he exits.
The responsible preacher has access to good commentaries and will discover lengthy efforts to explain the numerous implications of this story. Homiletically, it could serve for many Sundays. However, the most significant aspect of this remarkable passage is the report of Lazarus' resuscitation. There are reports of resuscitation in the other gospels, but always immediately after death, allowing the suspicion that coma or some other natural explanation is the correct one. Lazarus, though, was dead for four days. Had this happened precisely as reported, surely the report would have been known to one or more of the other gospel authors. We simply can't know at this late date. I have to insert my own doubt about the literal accuracy of the report. I'm content with William Barclay's observation that whether or not Lazarus really rose from the dead in a physical way, we can believe the truth of Jesus' words that "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "New Life In The Church"
Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Theme: This is an ideal text for a sermon on the church. Even healthy churches can benefit from this text, but it is especially relevant to the many churches which are weak and dying. I heard a well-known church consultant speak at a nearby Methodist church just this past week and he said that most of the churches he sees are in a depressed state. In these exciting times, that should not be.
1. A Psalmist said it: "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" (Psalm127). Some churches have forgotten this. Sadly, many a church member is more devoted to a building than to a church. A friend of mine who served a very upscale church conducted a survey to see how his congregation would feel about an expansion of their sanctuary so that more people could be served. One form came back from a lady with this comment: "Can't those people find a church of their own?" Really.
2. If, as Paul insisted, God works through us, then we individuals in the churches must be reminded in an individual way that God works through us. If we've settled into an unexciting version of faith, if our faith has become "dry bones," God can put new life into us as well.
3. How do we begin? With a prayer vigil? I used to be a bit skeptical about those things. Prayer vigils always seemed like a lot of work and a little manipulative -- until a very successful businessman came to me one day after we'd had one. Here's what he said. "My wife was scheduled to be at the church from two to four in the morning last week. I didn't want her over there at that hour, so I reluctantly took her place. I was thoroughly prepared to be bored. Instead, after half an hour or so, with nothing else to do, I started thinking about my life, and then I started praying. Frankly, pastor, I don't do that very often. At least up to now. But God came to me in that prayer. I have to admit to you: my life was changed last week. I've started praying and it's making a difference." That was several years ago. That man has hardly ever missed worship, is a generous contributor to his church, and still professes a strong belief in the power of faith. So ... I was wrong. Prayer can change a church.
Title: "God Will Make The Difference"
Text: Romans 8:6-11
Theme: Paul's warning that new life is the consequence of a life lived in the Spirit underlines what was said in Ezekiel's words. The morning's newspapers report a seemingly endless list of stories of people whose spirits are dead. Crimes, terrorism, corruption in every walk of life, including the church, one must sadly admit. Maybe some people are lost. This I don't know. Some can be saved. That is the mission of the church.
1. The church's inward life will atrophy unless she is reaching out to those who are sad and lost, even those who are doing wrong.
2. There may be no thanks. Well-intended efforts are often rebuffed. Our mission is to go on trying, to understand that there may be no immediate personal rewards, but just as Jesus came out into the world at great sacrifice to get in touch with me and with you, we are in turn to try to reach someone else, even at great sacrifice.
3. God's Spirit will make the difference. This is not something we can do with hard work and energetic programs alone. But with prayer, and with strong worship, together with hard work and energetic programs, it can happen.
Title: "Faith For Tomorrow"
Text: John 11:23
Theme: This remarkable story about Lazarus would require weeks of preaching were one to seek to plumb its depths. The passage I have chosen was spoken by Jesus to his friend Martha. "Your brother will rise to life." To the preacher, I say it is not a denial of Jesus' promise of eternal life to suppose that the literal return from death of Lazarus may, in fact, be symbolic. Although Jesus returned in physical form, briefly, as a sign to his friends and ultimately to us, there is no promise of physical life after death in the Bible. Even those who believe in a resurrection of the body do not expect such in this era. Rather, the promise in this passage is more profound. It applies to us all: You will "rise to life."
1. Life results from faith. So many people live in "graves" of a sort these days. Not literal graves, but imprisoning situations which have a deadly effect upon the victims. Addictions, smothering relationships, dead-end jobs, hopeless family situations, discouragement about school, appearance, health. Faith brings new hope.
2. Part of the faith message is not exactly freedom from our problems but a new inflow of energy and optimism by which to face them and, sometimes, extricate ourselves. Part of this process is to understand that we all have problems to face. This is not an ideal world. I just glanced at the cover of a travel magazine showing a beautiful couple seated in a wonderful outdoor cafe on the edge of a lake in Italy. It almost made me envious until I realized the two tables nearby were empty, while two waiters hovered over the couple. When I arrive at a place like that the tables are filled, I have to wait 45 minutes, then end up near the station where they stack the dishes. That scene in the magazine was posed. Life isn't really like that.
3. Paul said it for all of us: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). An African-American man in our city recently came to the public's attention by working successfully among inner-city men, helping them find a way out of drugs. He was able to rise above a desperate childhood situation through that very strength.
4. We're not alone in this. Jesus was surrounded by the many friends and relatives of Lazarus. They cared. For us it can be the church. That's where we start the faith journey, and a good church supports us as we do the work of faith.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Dr. Bernie Siegel in a wonderful book, Love, Medicine, And Miracle, told of a man who was very ill with cancer. He was given a new medicine for which his doctors had high hopes. Sure enough, the man went into remission, returned home, and spent the next month recovering. He did such things as fly an airplane. Then he read a report in the newspaper that the drug he'd been taking was ineffective. Immediately, he had a relapse and returned to the hospital where he was soon terribly ill. The doctors, despairing for the man, decided to tell him -- well, an untruth, but for worthy reasons. They told him the medicine he'd taken was defective and they had received a new shipment which was good. They again administered the medicine, and before long the man seemed recovered. Again he returned home and began to get better. Finally, though, the doctors had to tell the man the truth. He immediately returned to the hospital and -- the next day he died.
____________
In a major address, Dr. Karl Menninger, celebrating his 87th birthday, read the following as a statement of his philosophy of life.
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered: love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives: do good anyway.
If you're successful you win false friends and make true enemies: try to succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow: be good anyway.
Honesty and frankness will get you nowhere; they make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
People favor the underdogs, but they follow the top dogs: fight for some underdogs anyway.
What you spend days building may be destroyed overnight: do it anyway.
People really need help, but they attack you if you try to help them: try anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you get kicked in the mouth: give the world the best you have anyway.
____________
During the worst of Germany's dark days of World War II, a young German soldier named Peter Habernoll, aged twenty, protested the atrocities he had seen committed by some of his people. In 1944, he was court-martialed and sent to prison, sentenced to be executed. Shortly before his death, he wrote a letter to his mother. Here is what he wrote:
"My dear little Mama! Thanks for your long, sweet, consoling letter ... so full of optimism and courage. And I really don't know how to answer you. For the sky above me is so heavy and gray, and the sun shines all too feebly into this environment and on the experiences amid which one lives here. And yet I go on living with all the strength I still have, summoning all my willpower. The will to live expresses my trust in God. And my thoughts are with all of you.
"The sun stands very low in the sky and shines blood-red in my cell, as if it were coming from a faraway other world. The hour has struck -- and I am calm as never before in my life, and full of confidence. I have known it for days and weeks, even if I could not admit it to you or to myself. The Lord is close to me and has stretched out his hand to me -- and he has given me strength."
And so, a virtually unremembered young hero of those dark days went to his death.
____________
Years ago the following appeared in Christian Century:
PLASTIC SAINT
"During the week, a mild-mannered
Professional woman, she. Lunch
With the boss, coffee with the girls,
Dinner at six. Miss Firstnighter.
Terribly smart, she scorns the
Reviews the next morning.
On Sunday, up at one, that rural Iowa habit -- six o'clock rising
Breakfast, church -- long since passed.
But as the day drags,
She recalls wistfully
Those Sundays spent on the prairie,
And drowns the tears she fights
In Chivas Regal."
-- Michael Graves
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 130 (C, E) -- "Out of the depths I cry to thee."
Prayer Of The Day
Living God, renew in us the faith which fails. Restore to us, we pray, the energy of true faith, that we may again be faithful in the life to which we are called. Forgive our falling short, and direct us once more in the steps of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
