Holy Saturday: the Sequel

The other women and I rose very early that morning, the first day of the week. We had been able to sleep, finally, after being exhausted from the labor and horror of the last few days. But I heard the first cock crowing well before it was light. It was time to get moving. We had a lot to do before leaving

I Gave Up ___ For Lent, and Look What it Got Me

This year, I gave up bread for Lent. Sandwiches, burgers, donuts, cake...well, you get the picture. Maybe for you it's coffee.  Now, you don't have to actually give up something for Lent, in order to please God or prove your obedience. Giving up something is an exercise in learning what you've grown

He Did it Because He Loves You

We're only a few weeks away from Easter, the celebration of our Savior's resurrection. But before he could be raised, he died a horrible death: an innocent in the hands of sinners, the Just One killed unjustly, the Sinless One thrown in with criminals, the Ruler of All betrayed by everyone in power in his time. The one who made humanity from dust was laid in the dust for us, the One who breathed life into Adam breathed his last so he could bring eternal life to us all.

He did it 2,000 years ago because he loves you today. As the

Reading and Meditation Guide for Holy Week

We hope this scripture list and questions for meditation will help you walk through Holy Week. From the Book of Common Prayer, let’s pray together:

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Focus / For Meditation	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
Monday
Jesus clears the temple Voice from heaven	21:12-17	11:15-19	19:41-48	12:20-36
If you were in the crowd watching Jesus clear out the merchants from the temple, would you have been “for him” or “against him”? Why? What did Jesus mean by “Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you”?
Tuesday
Temple controversies, and continuing the tension with the Jewish leaders	21:23-23:39	11:27-12:44	20:1-21:4	12:37-50
Did Jesus speak these parables to condemn the Jews, or for some other purpose? What? Imagine yourself as an observant Jew listening to those parables. Do you understand what he is saying? How do you feel about that? Does he make you angry, convict you, or what? Likewise, what was Jesus thinking and feeling as he spoke the words in John 12:37-40? Why?
Wednesday
Sanhedrin plots to kill Jesus Preparations for the Passover meal	26:3-5 26:17-19	14:1-2 14:12-16	22:1-2 22:7-13
If you were a member of the Sanhedrin, why would you condemn Jesus? Imagine yourself not agreeing with their decision but remaining silent. What are you feeling?
Thursday
Last Supper; footwashing Upper Room sayings & prayer Jesus prays in Gethsemane	26:20-35 26:36-46	14:17-26 14:32-42	22:14-30 22:39-46	13:1-17 13:18-17:26
Reclining at the table, and being part of the argument about who is greatest, how would you feel about being rebuked by Jesus? What was Judas feeling during the Last Supper? How was Jesus feeling about Judas? What would you be feeling as you were taking the bread and the cup, as Jesus commanded? Do you sleep in Gethsemane while Jesus prays? Imagine praying with him instead.
Friday
Betrayal and arrest Trail Crucifixion Burial	26:47-56 26:57-27:26 27:27-54 27:57-61	14:43-52 14:53-15:16 15:16-39 15:42-47	22:47-53 22:54-23:49 23:26-49 23:50-54	18:2-12 18:13-19:16 19:16-37 19:38-42
Imagine yourself as Simon Peter, falling asleep then waking to find the crowd approaching. What are you thinking? Why do you believe you can fight off the guards? Imagine yourself as one of the witnesses to the crucifixion. What is the weather like? How are you feeling? Where are you standing and what can you see? What is your reaction to the words of the soldiers and the Pharisees? What do you think about when Jesus says “Father, forgive them”? Do you wish to forgive? Put yourself in the place of Mary, Jesus’ mother. What are you feeling? Are you praying? Put yourself in the place of Nicodemus, assisting with Jesus’ burial. Why are you participating? What are you feeling? What is your relationship to Joseph of Arimathea?
Saturday
Silence and mourning	27:61	15:47-16:1	23:54-56
Where are the disciples on this day? What are they thinking? Are they talking? Sitting in shock silently? Praying? Weeping? As one of the disciples, would you be asking “what if this was all for nothing?”
Sunday
Empty tomb Resurrection appearances	28:1-8 28:9-20	16:1-8 16:9-20	24:1-12 24:13-53	20:1-10 20:1-21:25
Imagine yourself as Mary Magdalene, arriving at the tomb and finding it empty. What is your first reaction? When you see Jesus, why are you so joyful? As one of the women who sees the angels and hears them speak, do you believe or not? Why? What does it usually mean in the Old Testament when angels appear? What could it mean now? Imagine yourself as John, racing with Peter to see the empty tomb. What are you thinking? Hoping? Fearing? Wondering? As one of the disciples (choose one), what changes in you as you see the risen Christ for the first time?

Outlook: Cloudy with 100% Chance of New Life

Less than halfway through his gospel account, Luke records Jesus turning the corner toward his crucifixion, in chapter 9. Twice (in verses 21 and 44) he predicts his death, Then in verse 51, he "resolutely set out for Jerusalem." All this emphasis on such a small slice of time gives us a detailed understanding of the events around our Savior's death and his miraculous -- and world-changing -- resurrection!  As we finish up our

A Quiet Day

It was a quiet day. The turmoil of the last few days was finally past. Jesus, the Galileean teacher who had stirred up so much trouble, had finally been trapped and put to death before he could create even more unrest. His execution had been a most unusual one, not only from the

Pharaoh and the Pharisees

Long ago in Egypt, the Pharaoh of the nation held the people of Israel captive as slaves, building whatever public works were going up at the time (exactly which Pharaoh and which buildings, is not the point here). He had a captive labor force and he wasn't about to give them up. Moses showed up and said "My God is telling you and your pitiful

Holy Saturday

We sat in that room all day. We men sat pretty much in silence scattered around the floor, not trying to talk, not knowing what to say. The women were huddled together in the corner, sometimes whispering to one another then breaking out into quiet sobbing. Mary Magdalene started

Praying for Our Enemies

This very insightful post was written by Judy Wu Dominick on her blog, lifereconsidered.com.  I suggest it for your reading and edification. It sobered me and has given me much to pray about in my own life.

http://lifereconsidered.com/2015/02/22/praying-for-our-enemies/

May you be blessed today.

Ashes and Dust, You and Me, and the World

Today (February 18) is Ash Wednesday in the Christian tradition. It springs from a desire to spend 40 days of contemplation, self-examination, repentance of our sins and humbling ourselves before God, in order to accept in a humble spirit his

He Did it Because He Loves You

We love stories of someone who gives up his or her life for others. A soldier falls on a grenade for his buddies; a mother dies giving birth; the hero holds off the monster all alone so others can escape. We consider them courageous, and so we should! Yet the sacrifice

Resurrection Life

The celebration of Easter (see footnote) is behind us by a couple of days now. Once more we've lived through what many Christians call Holy Week -- the time from Palm Sunday, remembering Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with the crowds waving palm fronds, through the events of Thursday night, commemorated by footwashing and partaking of the bread and wine, to Good Friday and its solemn remembrance of the Lord's death on the cross; all the way to the victorious excitement of the resurrection on Sunday morning.

Now what? Back to the same old drudgery of working and paying taxes? Is that all? Nope -- Paul said we are "raised with Christ" (Colossians 3:1) and we have a whole new life with him (Romans 6:4). Paul says we are "in Christ" over 80 times in his epistles, not counting other phrases like "alive with Christ" or "raised with him". That means it was important to him, and it has a lot of meaning for us as Christ-followers.

Being "in Christ" basically means:
--Our sins are now wiped away because of his death on the cross
--Our old lives no longer matter to God, because the Father accepts us through Jesus
--Since he was resurrected, we too are as good as resurrected also
--We live in two worlds -- the current physical existence we see, and the spiritual life we experience through Jesus (this is the hardest one to understand)

How do we experience being "in Christ"? The best analogy I can come up with so far is being "in marriage." My old single life is gone, my wife accepts and loves me, and I get to spend the rest of my days exploring my relationship with her. I get to know her better, love her more, be loved by her, and learn to please her. By following that process, she and I are bound together in love more and more. We are secure in each other's love, and participate in each other's lives in multiple ways. We don't have any desire to go back to being single, and we live together more fully and intimately because we know and love each other so well.

In our new life "in Jesus Christ," we have at least one advantage that marriage doesn't give: at the end of physical life, we get transported into an eternity of ever-growing closeness with God. So, being "in Christ" is truly something wonderful and blessed. Even if we can't completely understand it, we can enjoy it. My life "in Christ" is a lot richer and deeper than it was ten years ago, and I hope yours continues to grow too.

*Contrary to popular myth, the name Easter is not linked to any pagan goddess. The best historical information gives a different story. For more, follow this link, or ask me about it:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/bytopic/holidays/easterborrowedholiday.html

Four Reasons to Celebrate the Resurrection

The death of our Lord was important. He was the perfect atonement for all our sins, so they are no longer a barrier between us and God. But lest we get wrapped up only in his death, we need to remember that we are also saved by his life:
Romans 5:8-10 says: ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹ And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

Why should we celebrate the resurrection? Here are four basic reasons:

1. His resurrection proves he was the Messiah, that he did die for our sins and was raised from the dead to make us whole.
1 Cor. 15:17-18 says: ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!

2. His resurrection gives us our hope for a future life with God, beyond this physical life with all its troubles and brevity.
1 Cor. 15:19-22 says: ¹⁹ And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.²⁰ But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. ²¹ So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. ²² Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

3. By faith we understand that the risen Jesus Christ lives in us, and we have new life already because of him.
Galatians 2:20 says: ²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

4. The risen Jesus Christ is now with the Father, and is our advocate at the Father's throne. We are wrapped up in him and included with him, fully accepted and loved by God.
Ephesians 2:4-6 says: ⁴ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) ⁶ For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

Wow! What a series of blessings and gifts we have been given by this amazing act of God through his Son! These should give us every possible reason to rejoice this meaningful season. May you have a blessed week of celebration!

Buds

Trees and shrubs are budding out. New life is bursting out all over. Must be spring!

I think God chose the spring of the year for the centerpiece of his plan - the death and resurrection of the Son of God to bring us new life - so the visual metaphor of new life everywhere would remind us of the new life we have in Jesus Christ.

The book of Colossians has a lot to say about this new life. In chapter 2, Paul tells us that God has given us life in Christ: "You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins." He starts chapter 3 by saying "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ..." and then gives some suggestions for living in a way that is focused on what Jesus Christ has done and where he is now (in heaven). In verse 10 he gives it a sort of summary: "Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him."

Plants and trees can only grow as they have good roots, getting nutrients from the soil that they can combine with the sunshine to produce branches and eventually fruit. Paul uses this metaphor too: "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. " (2:7) Our source for nutrition and strength for a Christian life is -- no surprise! -- Jesus Christ. Being based on Christ is the only way we can follow what Paul says in 3:17: "And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."

In its own mysterious way, new life is budding out in the trees and plants we see outside. In "God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself" (Col. 2:2) we also get to have new life, new growth, and the fruit of the Spirit. As you enjoy the spring season, I hope that seeing the new life in plants will inspire you to thank God for the new life he has given us in the Son!