Gospel | Luke 23:35-43 (with Nick Locke)

Opening Song:
Remember by Bryan and Katie Torwalt

Lyrics:
How quickly we forget
The God who lives in ev'ryday
How easy to lose sight
That You reside in the mundane
How quickly we forget the pow'r
That's running through our veins
The kind of pow'r that empties graves

(And) oh my soul
Remember who you're talking to
The only One who death bows to
That's the God who walks with you
And oh my soul
You know that if He did it then
He can do it all again
His pow'r can still raise the dead
Don't tell me that He's finished yet

Lest we not forget the voice
That's holding back the waves
Was once the voice that told the skies
To pour them into place
Let us join the endless song of everlasting praise
The only God who empties graves

If You broke through the oceans
You can break through these chains
If Your word made the mountains
It can move them all the same
If death fell before You
And it's still on its face
Then the power that raised You
Is about to move again

Is about to move again

Mmm He's not finished yet
And oh my soul
His pow'r can still raise the dead
Don't tell me that He's finished yet

Passage:
And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,[a] “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[b] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

Musical Reflection:
Jesus, Remember Me by Jacques Berthier

Reflection Notes:
“Jesus, Remember Me” is a tune from the French Taizé tradition; these simple songs are meant to be repeated indefinitely with added instrumentation or voice parts. They are meant to be meditative and allow for prayer.

Prayer:
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.