Opening

Now is the shining fabric of our day
Torn open, flung apart,
Rent wide by Love.
Never again
The tight, enclosing sky,
The blue bowl,
Or the star-illumined tent. 
We are laid open to infinity,
For Easter Love
Has burst
His tomb and ours.
Now nothing shelters us
From God’s desire
Not flesh, not sky,
Not stars, not even sin.
Now Glory waits
So He can enter in.
Now does the dance begin.

–Elizabeth Rooney

Geoff used this as a prayer of adoration on Easter morning at St. A’s. And I have to admit, I haven’t been able to get that last line out of my head ever since. 

This week is thought of as “oh, maybe I can get caught up on some sleep” week among clergy. Holy Week has taken its toll. We are tired and lacking energy. We need recovery time. 

And that’s not a bad thing. It means we worked hard, gave our all, spent the energy we had stored up in making sure that Easter was meaningful and inspiring. We SHOULD be tired.  

But we should also be looking forward. As Rooney says, “now does the dance begin!” Easter isn’t the end, it’s a beginning. Our celebration of it each year should have us fired up and ready to move forward into the future to which God is calling us. A future in which we are the hand and feet of Christ. A future in which we share what we have been given and spend our time in this world reaching out with the boundless, endless, steadfast, redeeming love that God has revealed to us in the celebrations of Holy Week. 

My friends, now does the dance begin. May you always dance to the eternal tune played by the Lord of the Dance. May you be freed and empowered by the sacrificial love of God to live for others, to honor the ways of Christ and to be a blessing to all you may meet. 

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭10-11‬ NLT

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! 

In Christ Alone (Watch this video, it is worth the 5min or so of your time!)

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭1-8‬ NLT

I love the ending of Mark’s Gospel. It leaves us on a cliff hanger. It leaves us uncertain. As to what will happen next. Some things are so big and so wonderful they become frightening. The poets used the world “sublime” to describe something so beautiful that it was frightening to behold. 

The Ressurection is sublime. 

There are no words. This day we remember the very center of our faith: that on the third day, he rose again. He broke the bonds of sin and death forever. If God had never granted another prayer, never healed another body, never again made a way where there was no way, this day would be more than enough reason to praise him for eternity. 

We are an Easter people. We are a people of the ressurection. And that means that even on our worst day, we know alife that triumphs over death, a light that shines in the darkness and a hope that will not be kept down. 

May your Easter celebration be beautiful: full of life and light and joy and love. May you know the source of all life and may you know that on this day, as on every day, He is making you new. 

  

  

  

  

 

 

    

  

The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.
Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭62-66‬ NLT

The tomb is sealed. The enemies of Jesus have won. 

It’s over. All of the ministry, all of the healings, all of the miracles. The teaching that surprised everyone. The words of wisdom and of challenge and of love. The way he ate at table with prostitutes. The way he welcomed tax collectors. The way he made room for the outcast and the downtrodden. It’s over. 

Isn’t it?

The disciples must have thought so. How could they have faith on this day? Jesus was dead. Judas had betrayed him. Peter had denied him. The rest had scattered. 

It was all in ruins. It was all a terrible mess. And they were in shock, grieving. 

But if only they’d remembered. If only they’d thought back to the thing he said. If only they could see that he truly is the Son of the Living God, as Peter named him. 

I’m not saying that it wouldn’t have hurt. But maybe they’d have had a thin thread of hope to cling to during the long, silent Saturday.

Because in Jesus was life.  And not even the grave, not even death, could defeat the power of life and light that flowed through him. 

This Holy Saturday, May you await the ressurection in silence, but may you also know that nothing will keep Sunday morning from dawning and Jesus from rising again.  

   

  Candles placed by pilgrims at the site of the empty tomb. 

 Luke prays at the anointing stone – believed to be the stone on which Jesus’ body was laid as they prepared him for burial. 

   An empty tomb under the church of the Holy Sepulcher, like the tomb where Jesus would have been laid. 

 

The church in the church. Inside the Holy Sepulcher, this church houses and protects the empty tomb. 

 

 

Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha ). There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them.

 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

 John‬ ‭19‬:‭1-3, 16-18, 28-30‬ NLT

This is the hardest day. 

The things that were done to Jesus today are terrible. The pain he suffered, the suffering he endured. Many people stay away from church today. It’s just too hard. It’s just too upsetting. 

 And I suppose I can understand that. But I choose not to stay away. I choose to go. To look fully upon my crucified Lord. To hear the way he was treated and the final words he said. I choose to witness. 

Not because I’m callous and can deal easily with it – I will shed my tears as the Scriptures are read, I will have a tough time holding it together as the choir sings, I will have a tough time holding it together as I preach – I go because Jesus did this for me. 

 As much as I love Easter Sunday, I am convinced I cannot fully experience Resurrection joy unless I’ve spent my time mourning at the cross. 

 It is terrible that the powers of this world crucified Jesus. It is terrible that he was beaten and whipped and crowned with thorns and given sour wine when he was thirsty. It was all a terrible, terrible mess. 

 But it was also a choice. It was a choice He made for me. It was a choice He made for you. It was a choice because his love for us outweighed the pain that he would suffer. And that is saying quite a lot. 

 This Good Friday, may you know that love has come for you. That love bled for you. That love died for you. That love made THAT choice, for you (and for me, and for all). May you be touched anew by the power of sacrificial love. And though you may weep, may you also know that you are not alone in your weeping, and that the promise has been made that your weeping will be turned to dancing.

   

  

 Three of the stations of the cross on the Via Dolorosa (the way of  Sorrows) in Jerusalem. 

  The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which houses Golgotha and the place of the Empty Tomb. 

  Crosses carved into the walls of the church by pilgrims over the centuries. 

 Luke touches Golgotha – the place of the crucifixion in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

     

 

Nails in the door and crosses carved in the doors to the Holy Sepulcher – marks of pilgrims over the years. 

    

  

The archway over the staircase leading up to Golgotha.  

And now the plot continues in earnest. The ball is rolling now. The cross will not be avoided. They will kill Jesus. They will make it brutal and torturous in their fear and anger.  

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭26-30‬ NLT

And yet, in the midst of the  gathering storm, Jesus sits down for a little supper with his friends. I find this immensely comforting. Despite the gathering darkness and chaos, despite the pain and suffering to come, despite the betrayal that lurks in the air, Jesus still takes time for dinner with his friends. 

And as with all things when it comes to Jesus, dinner isn’t just dinner. This is the Last Supper, the Holy Communion,  the Eucharist. A teachable moment that the Teacher uses to full effect.  Jesus breaks bread and passes the cup encouraging his disciples to be still and know that he is God. Mandating a sacrament which will be observed around the world, in many different denominations, in many different ways and traditions, for thousands of years to come.  

As I write this blog entry, I am getting ready to leave for the Maundy Thursday service with my congregation. We will hear the stories, we will sing the songs, we will pass bread and dip it in wine. We will consume the elements and remember the body of Christ broken for us, the blood of Christ, poured out for us. We will know, despite the gathering darkness that we are safe in the steadfast love of the Lord which never slumbers nor sleeps. 

Whether or not, in your observance of Holy Week, you consume bread and wine as part of a Maundy Thursday service this evening, may you know this day that even in times of distress, Jesus gathered with friends for dinner. Mayor know the comfort of his everlasting love and may you trust in the action he has taken on your behalf. 

  

Eunice, a member of St. Andrew’s reads from the Psalms in the “pit” where Jesus was likely impeosoned on Maundy Thursday as he awaited his trials on Good Friday. 

  

St. Peter in Gallicantu is the church on top of Caiaphus’ house, which holds the pit where Jesus would have been imprisoned. 

 

Some of our pilgrims in the Upper Room – the place where the Last Supper happened. 

   

Sign leading in to The Upper Room. 

  

Our pikgrims in the Upper Room. 

Dormitory Abbey – where the Upper Room is housed.  

 

Service taking place in the grotto of Gethsemane. It was here Uesus was praying for God to take this cup from him. It was here that Judas betrayed him and he was arrested. 

   

To the Grotto – a sign en route to Gethsemane. 

On Holy Wednesday, the plot grows darker. 

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭1-6‬ NKJV

  

Jesus continues to teach in the Temple, and the Devil lurks in the background.  The life of Jesus is bought for a few coins. One of his closest friends chooses betrayal. The powers that be actively plot to kill him. 

If it were just a movie, this would be the point where I’d want to turn away. To stop watching. This would be the point where I’d hope that this time, just this once, it would all go differently. 

But it’s not just a movie. This is the story of God’s saving grace. This is the story of Life triumphing over death. This is the story of how dearly, how deeply, God loves each of us. Enough to stand back and watch as his Son is betrayed, and then beaten, and then crucified, because He wanted to save us. The way, though dark, will lead to endless light. 

So I do not turn way. For I must witness this. I must realize that this – all of this – was the terrible, horrible, exhorbitant cost for my soul to be saved. For your soul to be saved. 

And Jesus – God in the mortal flesh and blood – chose to pay it. For me. For you. 

So I do not turn away. 

This Holy Week, may you also choose to witness this. May you realize that God loves you enough to pay an exhorbitant price to save you. 

   

Sandra, on of St. A’s pilgrims, reads passages of the Scriptures that place Jesus at the Temple, on the Temple steps. 

  

Sitting on the Temple Steps as our pilgrims gather (with the bag that my Aunt made for me).

  

Mom, Dad and I with our hands on the unrestored section of the Temple steps. Jesus was here, for us. 

 

  

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Luke‬ ‭21‬:‭1-4‬ NLT

On Tuesday, Jesus continues to be incendiary. In the temple he argues with the cheif priests and teachers of the law. He tells the parable of the wicked tenants. He discusses taxes and resurrection and the line of David. 

Generally, these are referred to as the “temple controversies.” Jesus is controversial. He comes to embody God’s word, which has always been in direct opposition to the the priorities of the powers of the world. 

God’s way is not about power, prestige or wealth. Or at least, not as the world defines them. In God’s definition, power comes through weakness. Prestige comes through humility. And wealth can be found in a heartfelt gift, no matter how small its worth. 

So it is on Holy Tuesday, in the temple, Jesus points out the small donation of a poor widow. Though she gave little, in the eyes of Heaven, her gift is great. Because it was all she had. 

It was what Jesus  would give as he lays down all that he is as a sacrifice later in the week. For you. For me. For everyone. 

This Holy Week, may you know that God’s way is not the way of this world. May you know what it is to find power in your weakness, prestige through humility and wealth in the giving of your heart. May you be inspired to give all you have – mind, body, spirit – to the One who gave it all for you.   

  

My friend and co-VBS-leader, Kim, standing where Jesus was: the Temple steps.  

  

And a longer view…

 

Some of our pilgrims making their way up the steps. 

  

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.
‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭15-18‬ NLT

On Monday Jesus begins to get himself in trouble. In truth it was alway going to lead here. His way was in direct opposition to the powers of the day. He stood opposed to those who wanted to protect what they already had or were looking to get a little more. Eventually it was going to be a showdown. 

On Monday Jesus is in the Temple. Saying difficult words and overturning tables. I’ve heard many interpretations of this Scripture throughout my life, but the one that appeals to me most is the one that says that this wasn’t about money. Not really. Jesus wasn’t angry that people were selling doves for worshippers to sacrifice or exchanging currency so that people from away could buy a dove to sacrifice in worship. Jesus was angry because those selling the doves and those changing the money were making it difficult (sometimes impossible) for those who had honestly come to worship God. 

People could bring their own dove (or other animal) to sacrifice in worship at the Temple. But it had to be inspected by the priests to be sure it was without blemish, as the Scriptures commanded. There is evidence that the priests were in cahoots with the dove sellers. And they would reject the animals not bought on the premises, saying that they were blemished and unfit for worship. Then, if the person wished to continue with their act of worship, they would have to buy a dove on the premises. And if they didn’t have the proper currency, they would have to get it exchanged. The exchange rates would be inflated (convenience tax, we’d call it today) as would the cost of the doves (like buying candy at the movie theatre or a slice of pizza at a sporting event). The priests would get kickbacks from the dove sellers and the money exchangers. It was a rather nasty business. 

On top of that, many of the worshippers would not be able to afford the cost of the dove or the rates of exchange for their money, and they would turn away, unable to worship God this year (for Jews, the only true place of worship was in the Temple in Jerusalem, and many made the pilgrimage once a year…or once every few years if that was what they could afford). 

In this interpretation, Jesus isn’t angry that people are making money in a worship place, he isn’t even angry at the dishonest practices of the proprietors and priests. No, what truly makes him mad is the thought of anyone standing in the way of a person who truly wishes to worship, to draw closer to God, to give thanks for the good God has granted and to ask pardon for the bad they have done.  

Yes. That sounds like something that would make the Jesus I know, very angry indeed. At the end of the week, he will lay down his life in order to bridge the gap between God and humanity. As one of my favorite Christian singers puts it, He will tear the veil so we could sit with Him in person. He will lay down his life – in agony and in disgrace – to secure our right to come directly to God. Of course the thought of anyone standing in the way of someone wanting to get to God is going to make him angry. 

For the priests, and the dove sellers, and the money exchangers, though…for them, Jesus’ act of defiance and righteous anger represents a loss of income. A loss of power. A loss of wealth.

So, they begin to plot his death. Because those who hold money in that high esteem will always try to elimate any threat to their prosperity.

This Holy Week, may you know how important it was to Jesus that you be able to worship in freedom, without impediment. May you know that Jesus longs for you to draw closer to God. May you find comfort in a house of prayer for all nations. And may you worship in spirit and in truth. 

  

The unrestored Temple Steps in Jerusalem. 

 

 

Standing on the Temple steps, one of my favorite places in Jerusalem. Jesus would have walked up these very steps before overturning the tables.  

  

Mom and I on the Temple steps. 

 

Mom and Dad on the Temple steps. 

Palm Sunday is different when you have walked the route that Jesus took from the Mount of Olives to the Temple. 

As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on. As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!” But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭29-40‬ NLT

The crowds cheered, and it bothered the Pharisees. They wanted him to tell them to quiet down. But Jesus wouldn’t play by their rules. He told them that if he did as they asked, the very sones would cry out. 

Because God will not be denied. The King had arrived, and his praises would be sung by humanity or by the very stones that were created through him when the world was begun. 

In worship at St. A’s today, Geoff encouraged us to make certain it isn’t necessary for the stones to sing. To instead use the gifts that God has given each of us to sing the praises of the King. 

When we were in Israel, we were constantly surrounded by stone. If the stones had sung, I am certain that the sound would have been overwhelming. Maybe they would have done a better job than us. 

But that was not what God wanted, that’s not why Jesus went to Jerusalem, knowing he would be persecuted and executed. God wants us to sing. With him, for him and in his honor. 

As we head into Holy Week, may your life song sing for God. May you praise him so well that the sones need bever make a sound. And I pray that your life may be continually transformed by the King riding on a donkey. 

   

Mom and Dad together as Mom reads the Palm Sunday passage on the Mount of Olives with the temple in the background. 

  

Mom reading the Palm Sunday passage on the Mount of Olives. 

 The Temple Mount as seen from the Mount of Olives. 

A wider view of the Temple Mount as seen from the Mount of Olives.  

Seems I just can’t stop thinking about how God never abandons us. That’s what my last entry was about, and as I perused the Scriptures for a verse that might inspire tonite’s entry, I was caught by this verse in Philipians:

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ NLT

Two things struck me here – one that God has begun a good work in you and in me. That’s encouraging. Some days it might feel like not much has happened. You got up, went to work, ate when you were hungry, made your way back home and will head to bed soon. But what actually happened? Where was God in all of that?

Sometimes it will be hard to feel as though God were there. But the Scripture tells us that God has begun a good work in us. Even when it might not be obvious. Even when we might not feel like it. 

The second thing is that God is not going to give up working that good work in us until it is finally finished when Jesus comes back.  So if you are still drawing breath, if life is continuing as normal, then God is still working on you and in you. 

Sometimes, I need an encouragement like that. Especially when Lent has been going on for a long time and things seem a little flat-line-ish. 

This Lent, may you know that God is working a good work in you. And that he will not stop. Not until it is finally finished, when Jesus comes again.