Simply Grace

Processional Gospel (alternate): John 12:12-16

Jesus enters Jerusalem

12[Five days before the Passover] the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

 “Hosanna!

 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—

  the King of Israel!”

14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:

 15“Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.

 Look, your king is coming,

  sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

16His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.

Gospel (alternate): Mark 15:1-39 [40-47]

The passion story in Mark’s gospel presents Jesus as one who dies abandoned by all. He shows himself to be the true Son of God by giving his life for those who have forsaken him.

1As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” 3Then the chief priests accused him of many things. 4Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

  6Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. 7Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. 9Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” 15So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

  16Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. 17And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. 18And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. 20After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple

Thank you to everyone who participated in this week’s study preparing for the fifth Sunday in Lent.

When I was in my young adult years I had a roommate who was a raging alcoholic. I didn’t know about it at first. For two months everything was great. Then two months after I lived there, he started to drink. Alcohol addiction is a disease. His disease was so intense that he became a totally different person who was very aggressive. He broke into my room, went through all my belongings, and stole the money I had hidden. It was $50. Which at the time was a lot of money for me. That was money to buy food. For a long time afterwards I harbored a very strong bias against who suffered from alcoholism. 

In the Gospel according to John, there were Greek foreigners who came to meet Jesus. Although they were from a different culture, they wanted to know Jesus and share in his ministry. The disciples did not know what to say. They still didn’t know that Jesus was going to be a king  for all people, even Romans and Greeks. When the disciples asked Jesus about the Greeks, he didn’t give a direct answer but said that a grain of wheat must die to generate an abundant harvest of new grain. Maybe the disciples had a bias against Greek speaking people.

Jesus meant that he had to die on the cross in order to save us from our sins. He also meant that the disciples would have to follow his lead and sacrifice their lives too. The gospel of Jesus doesn’t make your life easier. It is a call to daily die to our sins, to sacrifice the things that give us comfort, and to more fully depend on God. The disciples would have to “die” to any bias they had against people different from them.

For the disciples it meant that they would have to sacrifice the notion that Jesus’ message was only to their cultural group. They would have to learn Greek, they would have to speak Greek, they would have to write Greek. If they tried to keep Jesus’ message to themselves then it would be preserved like a little grain of wheat. But if they would do the difficult work of translating the good news into Greek, then even though their comfortable group of twelve disciples might “die” the Good news would spread over all the world. And it did!

The entire New Testament was written in what language? Greek. Everything we know about Jesus we have received through the Greek language. We would not be Christians without the Greeks. God’s love translates to all languages and peoples.  

The disciples’ belief that Jesus was a special messiah only for them had to die in order for God’s salvation to be available to all creation. This was the point written in the letter to the Hebrews when it spoke of Jesus as a descendant in the Order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a king and priest of Salem in Abram’s time. When Abram was successful in a battle, he offered a tenth of what he won to God by way of Melchizedek. Abram was not the only believer in the true God. There were others on earth, there still are, and they will always be believers that we do not know. Jesus said that he has other flocks of sheep that we don’t know about. We have to be humble like Abram and recognize that Christ is God

Estimados colegas,Dios les bendiga en este tiempo de cuaresma. Jesucristo es el Verbo de Dios que nos ama y nos cuida. Les invito pasar tiempo con el Verbo de Dios mañana el miércoles. Tendremos un invitado especial: Pastora Hazel Rebecca Salazar-Davidson. Ella va a presentar sobre el salmo 51. ¡Gracias Pastora Hazel! Todos ustedes invitados a participar en el estudio y compartirlo en sus redes sociales.

Los textos son para el Quinto domingo de cuaresma: Jeremías 31:31-34, Salmo 51:1-12, Hebreos 5:5-10, Juan 12:20-33. https://www.graceupland.org/cinco-domingo-de-la-cuaresma/

Hacemos un “sprint” a través los textos evangelicos de la Semana santa hasta el día de la resurrección:

Domingo de ramos y pasión

Juan 12:12–16

Mucha gente había ido a Jerusalén para la fiesta de la Pascua. Al día siguiente, supieron que Jesús iba a llegar a la ciudad. Entonces cortaron hojas de palmera y salieron a recibirlo, gritando: —¡Hosana! ¡Bendito el que viene en el nombre del Señor, el Rey de Israel! Jesús encontró un burro y montó en él, como se dice en la Escritura: «No tengas miedo, ciudad de Sión; mira, tu Rey viene montado en un burrito.» Al principio, sus discípulos no entendieron estas cosas; pero después, cuando Jesús fue glorificado, se acordaron de que todo esto que le habían hecho estaba en la Escritura y se refería a él.

2. Marcos 15

Al amanecer, se reunieron los jefes de los sacerdotes con los ancianos y los maestros de la ley: toda la Junta Suprema. Y llevaron a Jesús atado, y se lo entregaron a Pilato. 2 Pilato le preguntó:—¿Eres tú el Rey de los judíos?—Tú lo has dicho —contestó Jesús. 3 Como los jefes de los sacerdotes lo acusaban de muchas cosas, 4 Pilato volvió a preguntarle: —¿No respondes nada? Mira de cuántas cosas te están acusando.

5 Pero Jesús no le contestó; de manera que Pilato se quedó muy extrañado. Jesús es sentenciado a muerte

6 Durante la fiesta, Pilato dejaba libre un preso, el que la gente pidiera. 7 Un hombre llamado Barrabás estaba entonces en la cárcel, junto con otros que habían cometido un asesinato en una rebelión. 8 La gente llegó, pues, y empezó a pedirle a Pilato que hiciera como tenía por costumbre. 9 Pilato les contestó:

—¿Quieren ustedes que les ponga en libertad al Rey de los judíos? 10 Porque se daba cuenta de que los jefes de los sacerdotes lo habían entregado por envidia. 11 Pero los jefes de los sacerdotes alborotaron a la gente, para que pidieran que les dejara libre a Barrabás. 12 Pilato les preguntó:—¿Y qué quieren que haga con el que ustedes llaman el Rey de los judíos? 13 Ellos contestaron a gritos: —¡Crucifícalo! 14 Pilato les dijo:

—Pues ¿qué mal ha hecho? Pero ellos volvieron a gritar: —¡Crucifícalo! 15 Entonces Pilato, como quería quedar bien con la gente, dejó libre a Barrabás; y después de mandar que azotaran a Jesús, lo entregó para que lo crucificaran. 16 Los soldados llevaron a Jesús al patio del palacio, llamado pretorio, y reunieron a toda la tropa. 17 Le pusieron una capa de color rojo oscuro, trenzaron una corona de espinas y se la pusieron. 18 Luego comenzaron a gritar: —¡Viva el Rey de los judíos! 19 Y le golpeaban la cabeza con una vara, lo escupían y, doblando la rodilla, le hacían reverencias. 20 Después de burlarse así de él, le quitaron la capa de color rojo oscuro, le pusieron su propia ropa y lo sacaron para crucificarlo. Jesús es crucificado

21 Un hombre de Cirene, llamado Simón, padre de Alejandro y de Rufo, llegaba entonces del campo. Al pasar por a

Estudio bíblico para el cuarto domingo de la cuaresma, 14 de marzo de 2021

Gracias Pastor@s: María Rojas-Banda, Nathan Allen, Wesley Menke

Números 21: 4-9 el proceso de “discutir” como pueblo de Dios

Salmo 107:1-3, 17-22 una meditación de la bondad de Dios

Efesios 2:1-10 Estamos salvados por la gracia de Dios

Juan 3:14-21 el fuego del Espíritu de Dios alumbra la oscuridad de nuestras almas

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Pacifica Synod’s YouTube channel

Hello good day. Last week I preached on the Ten Commandments and immigration. I have had a few conversations afterwards and received a suggestion because it does not clarify my point of view. This I am trying to do today.

God’s people walked in the desert according to the book of Numbers chapter twenty-one. They decided to go around the territory of Edom. The journey  was difficult and the people spoke badly of Moses and God. As they walked they were attacked by poisonous snakes. Then the people approached Moses, admitted their mistake, and asked for help from God. They asked for help not only because they were afraid of suffering and dying from the snakes, but also because losing so many people does a lot of damage to the people. A people, or a culture of people, is an organism. Each person depends on the other to survive. Losing a person is devastating. Losing several, dozens, hundreds, thousands, or millions makes an incredible devastating impact until it is difficult to understand. Suffice to say that everyday life is even more difficult after a loss of people. Many hands make work light. If you lose hands, it turns out that life’s work is heavier. 

We are in a similar situation. We have lost more than five hundred thousand people in the United States and almost three million people around the world. There are no words to describe, nor are we really aware of the trauma we are experiencing. Life will be more difficult. At the beginning of the quarantine there was a hope of a growth of births. But sadly a year later, the situation is exactly the opposite: there are fewer births. Forty years ago in the 1980s there was a concern that the world’s human population was growing at a dangerous and unsustainable level. But they were wrong. The world’s population is going down, and they are possibly going to go much lower. 

We are the people of God and like our ancestors we feel the anguish of trying to survive when the people suffer losses. But why were the people walking around Edom and not through? Tradition says that Edom was the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. James was the ancient ancestor of the People of Israel. I imagine there was fear and anger that Israel and Edom would be separated, and above all a lack of confidence. If the people had crossed into the land of Edom there would be no attack by the serpents. 

The letter of the Ephesians speaks of this situation. He says that there is an evil spirit that makes us live according to the desires of the flesh or the skin, and that is why we are children of wrath. The people did not want to confront Edom because they had anger and hatred for this people with different flesh and skin. Living according to the flesh means living with prejudice and fear against people with different skin. But while we were dead in sin and anger, Jesus Christ died on the cross to save all mankind. He did not die for the good, but for sinners like us. Jesus said that just the snake had to be lifted up in the desert so that God could save the people who were dying from the poison of the snake, the son of man,

Hello good day. Last week I preached on the Ten Commandments and immigration. I have had a few conversations afterwards and received a suggestion because it does not clarify my point of view. This I am trying to do today.

God’s people walked in the desert according to the book of Numbers chapter twenty-one. They decided to go around the territory of Edom. The journey  was difficult and the people spoke badly of Moses and God. As they walked they were attacked by poisonous snakes. Then the people approached Moses, admitted their mistake, and asked for help from God. They asked for help not only because they were afraid of suffering and dying from the snakes, but also because losing so many people does a lot of damage to the people. A people, or a culture of people, is an organism. Each person depends on the other to survive. Losing a person is devastating. Losing several, dozens, hundreds, thousands, or millions makes an incredible devastating impact until it is difficult to understand. Suffice to say that everyday life is even more difficult after a loss of people. Many hands make work light. If you lose hands, it turns out that life’s work is heavier. 

We are in a similar situation. We have lost more than five hundred thousand people in the United States and almost three million people around the world. There are no words to describe, nor are we really aware of the trauma we are experiencing. Life will be more difficult. At the beginning of the quarantine there was a hope of a growth of births. But sadly a year later, the situation is exactly the opposite: there are fewer births. Forty years ago in the 1980s there was a concern that the world’s human population was growing at a dangerous and unsustainable level. But they were wrong. The world’s population is going down, and they are possibly going to go much lower. 

We are the people of God and like our ancestors we feel the anguish of trying to survive when the people suffer losses. But why were the people walking around Edom and not through? Tradition says that Edom was the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. James was the ancient ancestor of the People of Israel. I imagine there was fear and anger that Israel and Edom would be separated, and above all a lack of confidence. If the people had crossed into the land of Edom there would be no attack by the serpents. 

The letter of the Ephesians speaks of this situation. He says that there is an evil spirit that makes us live according to the desires of the flesh or the skin, and that is why we are children of wrath. The people did not want to confront Edom because they had anger and hatred for this people with different flesh and skin. Living according to the flesh means living with prejudice and fear against people with different skin. But while we were dead in sin and anger, Jesus Christ died on the cross to save all mankind. He did not die for the good, but for sinners like us. Jesus said that just the snake had to be lifted up in the desert so that God could save the people who were dying from the poison of the snake, the son of man,

Thank you Pastor Thom Johnson for leading the study, for Mark Allert who hosted the study, and all who participated!

Did you hear about the tragic car accident in Imperial county.  Ford Explorer with 25 people inside crashed into a big rig hauling gravel. At least 13 people died. We know that the car had snuck through the border fence and was attempting to smuggle immigrants. Some may say that the cause of this accident is simple: not obeying the law. But I say to you that the cause of this accident is that we have all failed to follow God’s laws. The result of not obeying God’s laws is suffering and death. Today we study the 10 commandments and consider how following God’s laws can improve the world and help solve the problem of an immigration crisis.

Commandment number one is that there is only one God. Do not worship any idols. An idol can be anything we worship that is not God. A very great idol can be the nation. Worshiping a nation is nationalism. Having faith that America is something that can save us from evil is idolatry. This idolatry can lead toward a prejudice against people from other countries. Jesus rejected nationalism when he overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. He was expelling the image of Cesar and his false claim to be the son of God. Only God saves. Remember that it was God who set the people free from slavery. God saves us still today. Commandment number two is not to take the name of our God in vain. To be vain or to have vanity is to be selfish and use the name of God to satisfy our human desires. God’s name is so powerful that it calls us to lay down our lives to serve God. Someone asked me why I learned Spanish. Spanish is the language of heaven, and of the kingdom of God. You know why? Because the boss is called, “Jesús.” And his name is sacred. All of God’s names in all languages are sacred and worthy of our attention, and learning.Commandment number three is to keep the Sabbath day holy. God made all of creation in six days and rested on the seventh. What if God can do all his work in six days, why not you? Ha ha. But in reality God did not finish all his work in six days. There was a lot of work. But if God who is almighty needs to rest, why not you? Are you stronger than God? I do not believe it.

Also included in this commandment are the following instructions according to the holy and sacred Word of God: “You shall not do any work on the seventh day, you, your son, your daughter, your servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the foreigner who is with you.” The foreigner means the immigrant. When God gave the law to Moses on top of the mountain, he put in this reality that you will be strangers with you. They have to rest too.

When I lived in Mexico, a friend of mine invited me to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant. I was surprised that there was a Chinese restaurant in Mexico. And when I went to the restaurant, who was working in the restaurant? People from C