Celebrating in strange places

Mark 14:12  On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 13  So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14  and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15  He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." 16  So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. 17  When it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18  And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." 19  They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, "Surely, not I?" 20  He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. 21  For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born." 22  While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." 23  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 24  He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25  Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." 26  When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Are you preparing for the festival?

Jesus asked his disciples to begin the preparations for the festival. It strikes me how difficult this must have been: Jesus was a stranger in town. He had come from the rural areas with his students and as a good rabbi he would have wanted to do things properly. But instead of gathering his mother and brothers as has would have been his tradition, he rents a room in the city and gathers his students in what would have been a very makeshift celebration.

If you find yourself in a place that makes Easter difficult for you – perhaps you can ask God to open your eyes to a sign of God’s new life at work in your world. I pray that you might become aware of the ways that God overcomes sin and darkness.

Thought:

Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of my life spent with You...

And here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You're my God....

Easter Sunday

Christ Lives

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 142.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day

...all our betrayals end

John 13:21  After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." 22  The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. 23  One of his disciples--the one whom Jesus loved--was reclining next to him; 24  Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25  So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" 26  Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27  After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do."

John 13:36  Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward." 37  Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." 38  Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

No one calls their son Judas.

This name has become synonymous with betrayal. The English dictionary defines a Judas as “One who betrays another under the guise of friendship”. Yet John’s Gospel tells us that there were two betrayers: Judas and Peter. In some ways Peter’s betrayal was worse, because after insisting that he would ‘lay down his life’ for Jesus, he promptly betrayed the friendship by denying any knowledge of Jesus. 

This is the poignant pain of the Easter story. Fear causes friend to turn on friend. This is a familiar story: Marcus Brutus betrays his friend Julius Caesar; Benedict Arnold betrays his family and country because he was humiliated by George Washington; or Japan betrays the Allied powers in December 1941 when they attacked the Allied powers at Pearl Harbour.

However, few of us can easily condemn the betrayer – because we know this impulse only too well. Our betrayals cover the range from sharing the secret we should have kept, or failure to speak up for a friend’s reputation - to stealing money kept in trust, or initiating/thinking of a relationship outside of our marriage. 

Easter is a time when all our betrayals can come to an end. This becomes an opportunity to put to rest the past hurts and resentments and allow a fresh beginning. Ask yourself where your rebirth is needed – and pray that this can begin in you today.

Thought

He comes to save us now:

To serve him is to know

Life's true reward.

May he our lives amend,

All our betrayals end:

Give me your hand, my friend:

JESUS IS LORD!

Fred Pratt Green

Easter Sunday

Christ Lives

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 142.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day

Dem Bones

Ezekiel 37:1  I felt the powerful presence of the LORD, and his spirit took me and set me down in a valley where the ground was covered with bones. 2  He led me all around the valley, and I could see that there were very many bones and that they were very dry. 3  He said to me, "Mortal man, can these bones come back to life?" I replied, "Sovereign LORD, only you can answer that!" 4  He said, "Prophesy to the bones. Tell these dry bones to listen to the word of the LORD. 5  Tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to life. 6  I will give you sinews and muscles, and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and bring you back to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD." 7  So I prophesied as I had been told. While I was speaking, I heard a rattling noise, and the bones began to join together. 8  While I watched, the bones were covered with sinews and muscles, and then with skin. But there was no breath in the bodies. 9  God said to me, "Mortal man, prophesy to the wind. Tell the wind that the Sovereign LORD commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies, and to bring them back to life." 10  So I prophesied as I had been told. Breath entered the bodies, and they came to life and stood up. There were enough of them to form an army. 11  God said to me, "Mortal man, the people of Israel are like these bones. They say that they are dried up, without any hope and with no future. 12  So prophesy to my people Israel and tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am going to open their graves. I am going to take them out and bring them back to the land of Israel. 13  When I open the graves where my people are buried and bring them out, they will know that I am the LORD. 14  I will put my breath in them, bring them back to life, and let them live in their own land. Then they will know that I am the LORD. I have promised that I would do this---and I will. I, the LORD, have spoken."

Ezekiel 37 uses the imagery of “bones’ to offer hope to a hopeless nation. At the time that this was written, the nation, the holy city of Jerusalem and the Temple all lay in ruins. Ezekiel insists that this is not the end – but is rather the beginning of a new thing that God is about to do. God will breathe life into the “dry bones” and they will come back to life. We who follow Jesus add the story of Easter – a time where the dry bones came back to life. The story of Jesus invites us to discover a promise of an open grave, of new life, of a fresh beginning.   

May the journey of Holy Week shift the “old bones” inside of us. May they begin rattling and shaking; may they come together; may they shed their dryness; and may we find life.

Song:

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Head bone‘s connected to the neck bone

Neck bone connected to the shoulder bone

Shoulder bone connected to the back bone

Back bone connected to the hip bone

Hip bone connected to the thigh bone

Thigh bone connected to the knee bone

Knee bone connected to the shin bone

Shin bone connected to the ankle bone

Ankle bone connected to the heel bone

Heel bone connected to the foot bone

Foot bone connected to the toe bone

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Chorus

Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.

Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.

Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.

Now hear the word of the Lord.

Finale

Prayer

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Blend all my soul with Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

Ed­win Hatch, 1878;

Easter Sunday

Christ Lives

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 142.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day

Expecting Easter

John 12:1  Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, the man he had raised from death. 2  They prepared a dinner for him there, which Martha helped serve; Lazarus was one of those who were sitting at the table with Jesus. 3  Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house. 4  One of Jesus' disciples, Judas Iscariot---the one who was going to betray him---said, 5  "Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?" 6  He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would help himself from it. 7  But Jesus said, "Leave her alone! Let her keep what she has for the day of my burial. 8  You will always have poor people with you, but you will not always have me." 9  A large number of people heard that Jesus was in Bethany, so they went there, not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from death. 10  So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too, 11  because on his account many Jews were rejecting them and believing in Jesus.

John, the theologian, wants his readers to discover a renewed Passover. He does this by using the stories of how different people reacted to Jesus. Mary breaks out her expensive perfume and allows its fragrance to express her appreciation for Jesus; Judas’ concern for wastage prevents him from sharing in this loving action of Mary; the Passover pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the Passover smell the perfume and come to satisfy their curiosity; and the religious leaders planned to “keep a lid” the religious experience.

Perhaps this is the story of Easter – some (like Mary) express their love for Jesus in unorthodox ways; some (like Judas) want Easter to be an opportunity to increase their money; some (like the Pilgrims) watch the religious rituals of Easter with curiosity; and some (like the priests) want to ensure that the beliefs and practices of Easter are firmly kept within their theological belief system.

What is your expectation of Easter? Is it possible that God could invite you into a new adventure – where, like Mary, you might have an unorthodox experience that will increase you love for him?  What attitudes might you have to leave behind in order for this to happen? Might you – like Judas – need to take your eyes off the money for a while and look for Jesus instead? Perhaps you can stop following the Easter crowds to the shopping mall, and pause to find the fragrance of Jesus? Or maybe we all should pray that the Spirit of God blow some fragrant fresh air through our dusty theological expectations of Easter, and surprise us with something new.

Song:

Your name is like ointment poured forth
Your name is your character, your nature
It's the way that you live, it's your behaviour
Anything and everything you are is all wrapped up in that name
And every name has a fragrance, a perfume
It's the thing that hits you when they walk into the room
And Jesus if that person is You I will say
I love the fragrance of Your name, O Lord
I love the fragrance of Your name

“Fragrance” by Jon Thurlow

Easter Sunday

Christ Lives

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 142.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day

      

The Righteous One

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper. 11  Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12  Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

The intention of this excerpt of this religious poetry is to point to the purifying role of ‘the servant’[1]: “The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11).  Instead of the righteous one withdrawing from the sinners in order to retain his religious purity, he gets alongside of them and his righteousness purifies them.

Here is the rub:  for generations people of faith have thought to isolate ourselves in order to keep our faith pure. Isaiah suggests that our faith is preserved when we have been “numbered with the transgressors ... and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa 53:12). Instead of Lent being a time where we withdraw from society to find religious purity, let us discover our righteousness as we share our lives with the unfaithful, the unrighteous, and the sinful.

Thought:

May we be a healing balm to the nations
A healing balm to the peoples of the earth
Till the whole world knows the power of Your name
May Your healing flow through us

Chris Christensen

Palm Sunday

The Wounds and Sorrows of Ministry

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 136.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day

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[1] As mentioned over the past two days: many Christians read this retroactively and discover a description of Jesus who was unjustly crucified; there are other people of faith who see the “servant” in Isaiah 53 as a poetic symbol to describe the community of God’s people. Beginning with chapter 41, the equating of God’s Servant with the nation of Israel is made nine times by the prophet Isaiah,

Breaking the Silence of the Lambs

Isaiah 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8  By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. 9  They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

This imagery, also found in Psalms 44:12, 23 and Jeremiah 11:19, speaks of a lamb led to the slaughter, unjustly removed from “the land of the living”. As mentioned yesterday: Many Christians read this retroactively and discover a description of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was ‘led to the slaughter’; there are others who see the ‘servant’ in Isaiah 53 as a poetic symbol to describe the community of God’s people.[1] Either way, this is a story of injustice, silent suffering, and death. Nothing in this is pleasant.

And yet ... this is the experience of many people in our communities. There are people who suffer in silence: women who struggle within oppressive relationships and children who live silently with abuse. There are also the perpetrators of abuse, who are trapped by their cycle of cruel expression and remorse.

Lent is an opportunity to use fasting and abstinence as a (very small) way of understanding those who suffer. Lent can be an opportunity to commit our lives to breaking the silence of the suffering. [2]

I think it's 'cause I'm clumsy
I try not to talk too loud
Maybe it's because i'm crazy
I try not to act too proud
They only hit until you cry
And after that you don't ask why
You just don't argue anymore

Suzanne Vega - My Name Is Luca Lyrics

Palm Sunday

The Wounds and Sorrows of Ministry

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 136.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day

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[1] Beginning with chapter 41, the equating of God’s Servant with the nation of Israel is made nine times by the prophet Isaiah,

[2] See also: http://www.hst.org.za/publications/breaking-silence-profile-domestic-violence-women-attending-community-health-centre

Struck Down by God?

Isaiah 53:1  Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2  For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3  He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. 4  Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. 6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53 is the last of the four “Servant Songs.”[1] Many Christians read this passage retroactively (through the filter of our experience of Jesus) and discover a description of Jesus who was unjustly crucified; on the other hand Jewish people see the “servant” in Isaiah 53 as a poetic symbol to describe the community of God’s people.[2]

The central idea in this passage is a repudiation of the ancient belief that the one who suffers, the one who ‘carries diseases’ must have been “struck down by God” (Isa 53:4). Here is expressed the amazement that illness and suffering are not God’s weapons against sinful human beings. Instead, these are often the result of the actions of other people: “wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities” describes victims of human sinfulness. Women suffer because they are abused by men; children suffer because they are hurt by adults; the weak suffer because strong people take advantage of them.

Fasting during Lent can sensitize us to those people who struggle to survive the day. Pray for eyes to see, and a heart that is willing to assist.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Palm Sunday

The Wounds and Sorrows of Ministry

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 136.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day

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[1] The others are found in Isaiah chapters 42, 49 and 50.

[2] Beginning with chapter 41, the equating of God’s Servant with the nation of Israel is made nine times by the prophet Isaiah,