April 18, 2021 Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24:36b-48  (The Message)

36 While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you." 37 They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. 38 He continued with them, "Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. 39 Look at my hands; look at my feet - it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this." 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 They still couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. 42 They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. 43 He took it and ate it right before their eyes. 44 Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled." 45 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. 46 He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, 47 and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations - starting from here, from Jerusalem! 48 You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses.

Good news as well as bad news is hard to believe.  It is too good to be true.

To “disbelieve for joy”, as some versions depict the disciples reaction to the risen Jesus, is to believe that which is too good to be true.  It is perhaps the most honest way to hear and respond to the Easter message.

As Eugene Kennedy, says in his book, “Believing”, the disciples here are 

“experiencing an impulse to believe more deeply...a passionate need to believe as richly and profoundly as possible.”  For “believing cannot be activated by force or by fear.” It happens when we encounter the mystery of the resurrection.  And discover a truth which is too good to not be true!

 

"The great challenge of faith   

is to be surprised by joy."  

Henri Nouwen

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord surprise me again, and again, and again

with that which is too good to not be true.  Open my eyes to see the resurrection

which happened and happens again and again and again. 

April 11, 2021 2 Sunday of Easter

 John 20:19-31  (The Message)

19 Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you." 20 Then he showed them his hands and side. 21 Jesus repeated his greeting: "Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you." 22 Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. "Receive the Holy Spirit," he said. 23 "If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good. If you don't forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?" 24 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, "We saw the Master." But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it." 26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you." 27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe." 28 Thomas said, "My Master! My God!" 29 Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." 30 Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. 31 These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

Be a doubting Thomas!  It is a part of healthy faith.

It will keep you honest and open to change; open to God’s will for your life.  

It will keep you humble - you will not get so easily caught in the idolatry of certainty.  Faith will be a voyage of discovery, often disturbing, yet also fulfilling.

For the terrible truth we are saved from by doubting is, as Alan Jones says,  “the persecuting personality (which) is marked by clarity and precision.  (In which) there is no room for indecision... no room for guilt... no room for doubt.  Such are the distinguishing marks of a totalitarian state or totalitarian church (or totalitarian individual).  (It is ) the divided mind, the uneasy conscience, and the sense of personal failure (that is, our own uneasiness and doubt) which brings us... to the place of faith (where we become not blind believers) but one of God’s spies trying to make room for hope (in a world of hopelessness and despair.)”  (Soul Making, pp.117,119)

Ellie Wiesel, who lived through the fanaticism of the Holocaust born of the blind belief in the superiority of the Arian race says, “I turn away from persons who declare that they know better than anyone else the only true road to God....My experience is that the fanatic hides from true debate...He is afraid of pluralism and diversity; he abhors learning.  He knows how to speak in monologues only...The fanatic never rests and never quits; the more he conquers, the more he seeks new conquests....A fanatic has answers, not questions; certainties, not hesitations,(and ) as the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche expressed it, (it’s) ‘Madness is the result not of uncertainty but certainty’.”  

“In a world where there is no room   

for doubt, ambiguity, or questioning, 

there is no room for genuine faith.”    

Alan Jones

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.  Help me to doubt my way into a living active faith.  And be one of God’s spies making room for hope in my world, certain only that love is your answer to our problems.”

April 4, 2021 Easter Sunday

Mark 16;1-8  (The Message)

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”

4-5 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.

6-7 He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”

8 They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone. (for they were afraid. RSV)

They were afraid!  Who wouldn’t be!  Something mind boggling had happened!

They were alarmed, affrighted, amazed, astonished, dumb founded, bewildered, terrified - for something too terrible or too wonderful had happened and they couldn’t make heads or tails of it - YET!  

So they ran away.   Yet hidden in their fear was the spark of hope which was too wonderful to believe - YET!  

They were the first to feel the hope that does not disappoint, the truth that God is for us, not against us.  And as their fear gave way to hope they dared speak about what had happened.

Easter is not just an oddity in history, an isolated act of God’s power.  It is “The new action of God whose province (specialty) it is to create new futures for people and to let them be amazed in the midst of despair.”

“Amazed in the midst of despair.”

Amazed that there is a God who will not forsake us, ever.

Amazed that there is a love which is greater then all the hate, and nothing can separate us from this love - in this world or in the next.

Out of our fear comes our hope  and out of our hope comes our living as those  who are been loved eternally!

Easter is “The new action of God 

whose province (speciality) it is to 

create new futures for people and 

to let them be amazed in the midst 

of despair.”

Anonymous  

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, I too am amazed, even dumb founded by the 

thought of a Resurrection.  Yet I dare believe it happened.  Help me to live in the joy of this truth, today and always.”

March 258 2021 Palm/Passion Sunday

Mark 11:1-11  (The Message)

1 When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany on Mount Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: 2 "Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you'll find a colt tethered, one that has never yet been ridden. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone asks, 'What are you doing?' say, 'The Master needs him, and will return him right away.'" 4 They went and found a colt tied to a door at the street corner and untied it. 5 Some of those standing there said, "What are you doing untying that colt?" 6 The disciples replied exactly as Jesus had instructed them, and the people let them alone. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus, spread their coats on it, and he mounted. 8 The people gave him a wonderful welcome, some throwing their coats on the street, others spreading out rushes they had cut in the fields. 9 Running ahead and following after, they were calling out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God's name! 10 Blessed the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in highest heaven! 11 He entered Jerusalem, then entered the Temple. He looked around, taking it all in. But by now it was late, so he went back to Bethany with the Twelve.

 The Passion Story - Mark 14:1-15:47

“Not What Was Expected”

Jesus was not what was expected by the people of Israel who had waited so long for their promised Messiah so they crucified Him within the same week they hailed him as King.

They were looking at Him as their great political Messiah; he was coming as a King whose kingdom was not of this world.

In His kingdom peace (“would that you know the things which make for peace”)  comes not by being the most powerful but by loving enough to suffer for others.  (Phil 2:8)

It is to serve rather then be served and to give one’s life as a ransom for many.

The disciples (nor the crowd) didn’t understand that the Messiah must die.  The thought is both repulsive and enraging for them; this is not what they expected: a king riding into Jerusalem on a donkey!

God , the incomprehensible God, 

did things not necessary or expected of God.   He took exception to our way of doing things and sent his Son to be a servant

”to humble himself and become obedient 

unto death, even death on a cross.”  (Phil 2:8)                      

                                                                              

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, may your passion make me passionate in serving

rather then being served.”

                                                                                       

March 21. 2021 Fifth Sunday of Lent

 Mark 10:42-45 (The Message)

42 Jesus called them (disciples) together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Being a servant is more in step with Jesus then being a mighty one.

Servant means lowly in our world.  In God’s Kingdom it is the highest office one can hold.

To be great in the Kingdom is to be a servant.

To be first is to be last.

To really live is to lose oneself in life in serving Jesus Christ.

Don’t ask what you can get, but what you can give.

Greatness, honor, deep meaning and fulfillment in life comes, in Jesus terms, ”...not in self-seeking, but in solidarity....not in accruing status, but in benefiting others…not in hoarding, but in giving...not in ruling, but in serving.” 

“A servant is one who        

“finds grace to help in

time of need.” 

           Hebrews 4:16

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, keep me humble and use me as a 

servant.  Help me to help others.”

March 14, 2021 Fourth Sunday in Lent

John 3:14-17  (The Message)

¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹

Love is a universal theme of humanity.  It is something we all need - to love and be loved.

Love is also at the center of the Bible, which is a love letter from God.

God does not love only those who love God. God loves the world! Everyone!

Not even our rejection of God stops God from loving us.  As Luther said:

“Nobody is in this life nearer God than those who hate and blaspheme him. He has no more dear children then they.”

God’s grace is Gods love in action.   We can’t get out of being loved by God.  That is the bottom line!  It is at the core of all we believe.  We cannot manipulate God into loving us more then others or letting us decided who God loves and who we can condemn because God doesn’t love them.  That is not ours to do!

In fact, we are free to do as we please, as one who is loved by God.  God takes the risk that love will make a difference in our lives and in how we live.  

It is a big risk - as these words of John Lewis remind us:

“Know that the truth always leads to love and the perpetuation of peace. Its products are never bitterness and strife. Clothe yourself in the work of love, in the revolutionary work of nonviolent resistance against evil. Anchor the eternity of love in your own soul and embed this planet with goodness. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won.” 

^{“Clothe yourself in the work of love,}      

^{in the revolutionary work of nonviolent}

^{resistance against evil.”}

^{John Lewis}

^{Prayer thought for the week:  “God loves me!  And calls me to love as I have been loved.}

^{It is an awesome task!  I fail often!  Lord, forgive me so I can try again!”}

March 7, 2021 Third Sunday in Lent

John 2:13-17  (The Message)

¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus had two faces.  He was “meek and lowly in heart”;  and  “he looked at them with anger”.  (Mk 5:5)  He was gentle but not anemic,  as when he called Herod a “fool” or told Peter “Get behind me, Satan!”

Nor was He anemic when he cleansed the temple.  He was a violent intruder, disrupting their comfortable little set up.  It must have been a wild scene!  The disciples must have been stunned, even embarrassed.  The people likewise.  

Jesus was not always an easy person to be with.  For example, when he said:

“Leave the dead to bury their own dead; for as for you, go and proclaim the                kingdom of God.”  Lk. 9:60

“No own who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Lk. 9:62 

“He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me.”  Mt. 10:37, 38

This may sound harsh and in some ways it is.  It is also an expression of God’s awesome love which will not let us off easy, but expresses itself even in punishment for sin.  It is as Luther prayed, “Ah, God, punish us, we pray Thee...but be not silent...toward us.”

Jesus, would be an Intruder in our lives, harsh though it may seen, to awaken in us our need for a Savior, and then Jesus would be the  Savior we need.

“Ah, God, punish us, we pray Thee…

but be not silent...toward us.”

           Martin Luther

Prayer though for the week:  “Lord, open my heart to your ‘tough love’ and help me change who I am to who you would have me be.”