The fifth sunday in lent
AN ORDER OF SERVICE FOR USE AT HOME
THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
March 22, 2026
THE WORD OF GOD
Opening Hymn: All My Hope On God Is Founded #665
The Opening Acclamation
Presider: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins;
People: His mercy endures forever.
Collect for Purity BCP p. 355
The Collect of the Day
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 for ever. Amen.
The First Reading 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.
Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice;
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
2 If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss,
O LORD, who could stand?
3 For there is forgiveness with you
therefore you shall be feared.
4 I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him;
in his word is my hope.
5 My soul waits for the LORD,
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
6 O Israel, wait for the LORD,
for with the LORD there is mercy;
7 With him there is plenteous redemption,
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
The Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light–for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Sequence Hymn Oh Love of God, How Strong and True #455
The Holy Gospel John 11:1-45
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.
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.
Reader: The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Nicene Creed BCP p. 358
The Prayers of the People
Lifting our voices and turning toward God, let us pray for the church, the earth, and all who are in need.
God, our sure strength, inspire your church with the Spirit of love and mission. Bring healing where there is division and hope where there is worry. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
You bring life where there was despair and death. Bring new hope and new growth to barren lands and water to parched earth. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Listen to the voices of the weak and oppressed. Guard people in all lands from danger and injustice. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Martha and Mary pleaded for healing. Hear the cries of your people who call out in need and pain. Grant healing and comfort to those who are ill or in need. We pray for Christians being persecuted for their faith; for the people of Ukraine and the Middle East; for victims of disasters and violence; and for Becky, Cathy, Chuck, Derek, Erin, Gary, Gloria, Helena, Holly, Jeanne, Judy, Louise, Lyndon, Miriam, Ray, Robert, Zach, and others? (pause). Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Bring life to dry bones in our community. Breathe your life-giving Spirit into the corners of our ministry that need renewal. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
We give thanks for the faithful departed, and for the assurance that we will join them in the heavenly banquet. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Into your hands, O God, we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray, trusting in your steadfast love; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
we confess that 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.
The Lord’s Prayer
A Prayer for Spiritual Communion When We Cannot Receive the Sacrament
In union, O Lord, with your faithful people
at every altar of your Church
where the Holy Eucharist is now being celebrated:
I desire to offer you praise and thanksgiving.
I remember your death, Lord Christ,
I proclaim your resurrection,
and I await your coming in glory.
and since I cannot receive you today
in the Sacrament of your Body and Blood,
I ask you to come into my heart.
Cleanse and strengthen me with your grace, Lord Jesus,
and let me never be separated from you.
May I live in you, and you in me,
in this life, and in the life to come. Amen.
Closing Hymn Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus #495
The Lenten Blessing
May Christ give us grace to grow in holiness,
to deny ourselves,
to take up the Cross,
and to follow him;
And may the blessing of God Almighty:
the Father, and the + Son, and the Holy Spirit
be with us, and remain with us always.
Amen.
The Dismissal
Presider: Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God.