— — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Arrested

Just as he was speaking,
Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared.
With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs,
sent from the chief priests,
the teachers of the law, and the elders.

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them:
“The one I kiss is the man;
arrest him and lead him away under guard.”
 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
 The men seized Jesus and arrested him.
Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest,
cutting off his ear.

“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus,
“that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?
 Every day I was with you,
teaching in the temple courts,
and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
 Then everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment,
was following Jesus. When they seized him,
he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
(Mark 14:43-52).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Gethsemane

They went to a place called Gethsemane,
and Jesus said to his disciples,
“Sit here while I pray.”
 He took Peter, James and John along with him,
and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,”
he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

 Going a little farther,
he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.
 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.
Take this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.
“Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep?
Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.
 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
They did not know what to say to him.

 Returning the third time, he said to them,
“Are you still sleeping and resting?
Enough! The hour has come.
Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.
 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
(Mark 14:32-42).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

“You will all fall away,”
Jesus told them, “for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered.’

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered,
“today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice
 you yourself will disown me three times.”

 But Peter insisted emphatically,
“Even if I have to die with you,
I will never disown you.”
And all the others said the same.
(Mark 14:27-31).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away,
and the chief priests
and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.
“But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper,
a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume,
made of pure nard.
She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another,
“Why this waste of perfume?
It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages
and the money given to the poor.”
And they rebuked her harshly.

 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus.
“Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
 The poor you will always have with you,
 and you can help them any time you want.
But you will not always have me.
 She did what she could.
She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.
 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world,
what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,
went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.
 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money.
So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
(Mark 14:1-11).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Day and Hour Unknown

“But about that day or hour no one knows,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
 Be on guard! Be alert!
You do not know when that time will come.
It’s like a man going away:
He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge,
each with their assigned task,
and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—
whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
(Mark 13:32-37).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Widow’s Offering

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put
and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.
Many rich people threw in large amounts.
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,
worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said,
“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
 They all gave out of their wealth;
but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—
all she had to live on.”
(Mark 12:41-44).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)