Today’s scripture: Mark 16:1-8

“HOPE – Hold ON, Pandemic Ends!” Easier to say, than it has been to do. Shut in on ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, we have become pandemic zombies.

Shut in on ourselves, we have developed Covid burnout with bouts of pervasive dread and free-floating anxiety. Jesus broke through stone walls and a locked door made of solid wood to end crucifixion trauma by delivering a message of purpose to followers in the upper room. What is his message for us today?

Today’s scripture: Mark 16:1-8

“HOPE – Hold ON, Pandemic Ends!” Easier to say, than it has been to do. Shut in on ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, we have become pandemic zombies.

Shut in on ourselves, we have developed Covid burnout with bouts of pervasive dread and free-floating anxiety. Jesus broke through stone walls and a locked door made of solid wood to end crucifixion trauma by delivering a message of purpose to followers in the upper room. What is his message for us today

Easter morning begins with more questions, “How did the huge stone get rolled away?” and “Where is my Lord, what have they done with him?” The resurrection astounds us, even today, yet it is the cornerstone of our faith for without the “foolishness” of God, we have no hope. Because of the resurrection we have the greatest hope of all, forgiveness and eternal life with God.

Roman guards on the scene, a tomb sealed by a huge rock. The sabbath is over and at sunrise a number of women disciples arrive to complete the burial rituals cut short by sunset. There had just been time for Joseph of Aramathea to take Jesus’ body to his own tomb, wrap him in linen and roll the rock over the entrance sealing him in.

The unthinkable has happened. When the women arrive wondering how they would open the tomb, they discover it has already been opened and it is empty. They are told Jesus has risen from the dead and is going on to Galilee. The unthinkable? Perhaps for us because we doubt, just as Peter did. Perhaps because we have so much difficulty seeing and understanding what God has already seen.

Despite our doubt and sin, just like Peter, God does not stop loving us. He is going on ahead of us to meet us there. Where do you need God to meet you? Where is he calling you?

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Easter morning begins with more questions, “How did the huge stone get rolled away?” and “Where is my Lord, what have they done with him?” The resurrection astounds us, even today, yet it is the cornerstone of our faith for without the “foolishness” of God, we have no hope. Because of the resurrection we have the greatest hope of all, forgiveness and eternal life with God.

Roman guards on the scene, a tomb sealed by a huge rock. The sabbath is over and at sunrise a number of women disciples arrive to complete the burial rituals cut short by sunset. There had just been time for Joseph of Aramathea to take Jesus’ body to his own tomb, wrap him in linen and roll the rock over the entrance sealing him in.

The unthinkable has happened. When the women arrive wondering how they would open the tomb, they discover it has already been opened and it is empty. They are told Jesus has risen from the dead and is going on to Galilee. The unthinkable? Perhaps for us because we doubt, just as Peter did. Perhaps because we have so much difficulty seeing and understanding what God has already seen.

Despite our doubt and sin, just like Peter, God does not stop loving us. He is going on ahead of us to meet us there. Where do you need God to meet you? Where is he calling you?

Easter morning begins with more questions, “How did the huge stone get rolled away?” and “Where is my Lord, what have they done with him?” The resurrection astounds us, even today, yet it is the cornerstone of our faith for without the “foolishness” of God, we have no hope. Because of the resurrection we have the greatest hope of all, forgiveness and eternal life with God.

Roman guards on the scene, a tomb sealed by a huge rock. The sabbath is over and at sunrise a number of women disciples arrive to complete the burial rituals cut short by sunset. There had just been time for Joseph of Aramathea to take Jesus’ body to his own tomb, wrap him in linen and roll the rock over the entrance sealing him in.

The unthinkable has happened. When the women arrive wondering how they would open the tomb, they discover it has already been opened and it is empty. They are told Jesus has risen from the dead and is going on to Galilee. The unthinkable? Perhaps for us because we doubt, just as Peter did. Perhaps because we have so much difficulty seeing and understanding what God has already seen.

Despite our doubt and sin, just like Peter, God does not stop loving us. He is going on ahead of us to meet us there. Where do you need God to meet you? Where is he calling you?

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1 that the cross is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles … the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.

The seven last statements of Jesus while being crucified on a cross reveal God’s wisdom, love, forgiveness, ultimate desire for humanity, and our petulance as humans.

We examine where we are in our faith, in our lives, and in our relationship with God in this poignant retelling of the seven statements. Today, we ask questions, often questions without answers, at least not until Easter morning.

Seven statements made while Jesus hung on a cross and taken from three of the Gospels, Matthew, Luke, and John, lead us in the crucifixion account. We learn first of God’s willingness and desire to forgive. Next his desire to be in relationship with us, then to care for one another. We, too experience pain when Jesus asks God, “Why have you forsaken me?” and we wonder over the statement, “It is finished.”

We continue to examine our own lives this day – Holy Friday, as we remember and retell the account of the cross. Often called,   “Good Friday,” we can only wonder, “What’s so ‘good’ about a man dying on a cross – any man, but especially Jesus. What’s “good” about it is the work Jesus did on the cross that day for you and I, for freedom.

What is your response to the Cross?

Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus’ mandate to celebrate what we have come to know as Holy Communion. Maundy is a Latin word meaning “command.” The “Last Supper” connects us to the Exodus – deliverance from slavery and now, Jesus is going to deliver us from the slavery to sin. We remember what God has done in the past, is doing today, and what he has done for us for the future.

The Passover meal ‘remembers’ or retells the account of the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Each of the four cops of ceremonial wine consumed during the meal recount the actions God took in delivering his people.

Cup of sanctification

Cup of deliverance

Cup of Redemption

Cup of praise

The journey of the cross didn’t begin with Jesus, it began when Moses led the people out of Egypt. This is the continuity of the Bible as each time we experience Holy Communion, we experience the pain and joy of the Israelites in exodus and Jesus on the way to the cross. God’s faithfulness to his promises is lived out in both celebrations. The “New Covenant” Jesus introduced also sets the stage for Holy Friday and Easter morning.

Today’s scripture is: Romans 14:1-12

If compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece as Ludwig Erhard noted, then how do Christians “do” compromise? As Paul notes in Romans 14, the strong in faith work with the weak in faith to raise them up and strengthen them. This is discipleship. We are not to be spending our time judging the relative position of others, but to work to lift them up and in so doing we lift ourselves.

Compromise is often seen as weakness especially when it comes to core values. It certainly seems that our legislators have forgotten how to compromise in matters that would seem to clearly benefit the citizenry. Here, in Romans 14, we see Paul teaching us that judging others for their relative strength or weakness is sin on our part and we fail to help lift the weak.

Rather, compromise helps us to work together for unity of action, if not in thought. Compromise enables the church to adapt and change as the world changes even while we hold onto the core values of Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples and we remain steadfast with the doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus. There is an old saying, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and, in all things, charity.”

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Today’s scripture is: Matthew 18:21-35

Unforgiveness eats as us like a cancer. It is self-imprisonment. Jesus wants to free us and helps us to forgive. Forgiving flushes the pain and toxins from us setting us free to reclaim joy.

Forgiving those who have wronged us, or even ourselves, brings us healing and wholeness that frees us from being victims to the wrong. It benefits our loved ones too because our unforgiveness keeps us from being whole in our relationships. Forgivness is less about the offender and more about becoming freed from the incident and the pain it causes. It means the offender no longer has power over you. Forgiveness does NOT mean the other was right. It means we are choosing to no longer let that experience steal our joy and keep us from wholeness. Forgivenss is an amazing gift God offers each of us no matter what we’ve done, not done, or said. The servant in our scripture was forgiven a huge debt, yet was unwilling to forgive one who owed him much less. Let’s not be like the unforgiving servant. Jesus is our coach in the process of forgiveing. Let’s be freed and whole in God’s grace. Choose to learn to forgive.

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Today’s scripture is: Exodus 12:1-4

What events have shaped your faith? This week we look at a major event in the Bible that has shaped both the Jewish faith and became a key event in our Christian faith, the Passover. From a historical event and record to a deeply spiritual shared ritual that opens the door for the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Passover marked an event in the life of the early Israelites when they began the exodus from Egypt to become a people. Before, they were a group of slaves. Now, they would become a people. Every year, for thousands of years, devout Jews celebrate the passover feast, a remembrance of the struggles, the plagues of Egypt and the Israelites. It is a defining moment in their formative history. Jesus transformed this moment into a new formative event we call Holy Communion, the Eucharist, or “The Lord’s Supper.” It is a defining moment in our Christian faith that binds us together as one body and creates space for the presence of the Holy Spirit. In our Methodist theology, it is an “outward sign of an inward grace” which God can use as a “means of grace” to touch us and change us, to heal and restore, to renew and energize.

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