Romans 6:3-11

“Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” vs. 4

The disciples of Jesus were very familiar with the practice of baptism. The gospel of John hints that, like Jesus, at least a couple of them had been baptized by John the Baptist. That was a particular kind of baptism, a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and it had been a good thing. So it’s not surprising that as they carried out his great commission, that they also baptized people who wished to be his followers. But baptism had now changed. It wasn’t so much connected with repentance and forgiveness as with inclusion into the Body of Christ. 

That’s why Paul tells the Romans that they had been buried with Christ by baptism into death. Paul wasn’t so much concerned with the things that Jesus had said. For him the gospel was centered on the cross, and in particular, Jesus’ death and burial. For him that’s what baptism did–it was a dying with Christ and a burial so that we too might be raised up and live a new life. 

Perhaps that’s a good thing for us to think about on this Holy Saturday. Jesus is in the grave, and so are we! We’ve been buried with him in baptism, and tomorrow we will rise with him. His resurrection is ours!

Thought for the Day: How do I experience new life?

Psalm 22

“The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.” vss. 26-27

Psalm 22 is familiar to most believers because it begins with the words Jesus uttered from the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” According to Mark and Matthew these are the only words Jesus spoke as pain increased and death drew near. They’re a reminder for us that at the end of his life Jesus experienced alienation from God and deep despair. Not surprisingly many find in these words a point of connection with Jesus in their own suffering.

That’s why it’s important to remember that Psalm 22 didn’t end with a cry of pain and forsakenness. Indeed, among its concluding verses are these triumphant words of hope for all the earth. The story of salvation may have begun with a dying Jesus, but that’s not how it ends. And that’s how the story continues. Each of us will have many dark days in our lives, times when we feel estranged from one another and from God, but we have a God who is able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. One day the poor shall eat and be satisfied and our hearts will live forever. 

Good Friday is always followed by Easter, even when it doesn’t feel like it!

Thought for the Day: A time when hope has rescued me.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

“…the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” vss. 23-24

It’s very likely that these words from Jesus have been quoted more often than any other. They’re known as the Words of Institution and no celebration of the Holy Eucharist can be complete without their being said. What is particularly interesting is that these words do not come from the gospels, but from the letter of Paul to the Corinthians. Paul doesn’t often quote Jesus and mentions his teachings rarely, but he passed on these words to his readers as having come straight to him from the Lord. Since Paul wrote his letters before the gospels were written, these words represent for us a precious and ancient connection to Jesus.

In fact it can be argued that the Words of Institution have served to make Holy Communion the most unifying ritual in the Church. Here we gather weekly around the Table of the Lord to celebrate God’s love for humanity and proclaim our love for one another. Each time we receive the bread and the wine we remember the unbroken line of believers that dates all the way back to that Maundy Thursday Passover meal. Even through times of division and persecution this time of eating and drinking has survived, and tonight, in this moment of  turmoil and confusion, the legacy continues. Bon Appetit!

Thought for the Day: What do I remember as I eat and drink?

Hebrews 12:1-3

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…” vs. 1

So, what is it that encourages us to lead a good and decent life in the midst of the crookedness and perversity of this generation? Is it because we want to win God’s favor and gain a favored position in the life to come? Or is it because we want to walk in the Way of Jesus and follow in his footsteps? 

In reality we’re motivated by a variety of factors in charting our path. Here, the writer to the Hebrews suggests yet another possibility. He says that we can best know the way forward by looking backward! He reminds his readers that they’re not the first to walk in the way of faith, and that for thousands of years people have loved and served God with all of their hearts. Some of them have even given their lives as faithful servants and witnesses! He reasons that it would be horrible if their faithfulness was in vain and the current generation would allow the light of love to be extinguished.

His argument is a good one! We too carry the faith legacy of our ancestors as we run the race that is set before us. How horrible it would be if we allowed the baton of faith we now carry to slip from our grasp! Our great grandchildren are depending on us!

Thought for the Day: What do I owe my grandparents?

Psalm 71:1-14

“Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.” vss. 6, 9

Any lifelong follower of Jesus can readily identify with the psalmist’s words. Often the life of faith begins in infancy. Before we know anything about the bible or creeds we hear prayers at the table and at our bedsides. We grow up believing and we have no recollection of how it happened. Of course there will be wandering as the years pass. Who does not stray from a mother’s knee when the world beckons?

And even though belief can escape us, faith stays close through good times and bad. Often when we’re ready to settle down, career or diploma in hand, and children are born, we return to the fold. The Shepherd welcomes us and soon the Spirit’s familiar songs and stories begin to reshape us in our created image. We relish the communion of saints and delight in our community through thick and thin.

And then come the golden years! Signs of our mortality stalk us and drive us to doctors and hospitals. And as we feel our strength failing we turn again to our God. “Oh Good Shepherd” we pray, “walk with us through the shadows and when our mind grows dim. And when our bodies falter, pick us up and carry us home.”

Thought for the Day: How has my faith has varied with the years?

Isaiah 42:1-9

“He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” vss. 2-3

After centuries of devastating wars and incompetent rulers, the prophet, residing in captivity, had a vision for a new nation, one that was modeled on the Suffering Servant. Now there would be a new governance, and Israel would be known for its gentleness and compassion, and the Spirit of God would bring forth justice for all people. 

Scribes preserved Isaiah’s teachings and his words were like honey for the disheartened people chafing under Roman rule.  Jesus used them as a model for his  ministry, and literally became the Suffering Servant during his last week in Jerusalem. Through him the Peaceable Kingdom has been established and millions of people have lifted up the cross and brought love to the ends of the earth.

Still the struggle continues. Broken people have an appetite for violence and bloodshed and we’ve seen clearly how quickly chaos can erupt on our planet. And the infection quickly spreads. Because of global connectedness it’s hard for any country to stand on the sidelines. Some leaders clamor for escalation, as though the only solution is more destruction. 

But Jesus hasn’t gone away–the Servant still lives and reigns. We can be confident   the Spirit of Peace, and not a Tomahawk missile, will bring rest for the weary and hope for the suffering.

Thought for the Day: Where is the Spirit of Peace at work right now?

Matthew 27:26-54

“They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” vss. 28-29 

While Matthew portrays Pilate as being reluctant to go forward with the crucifixion of Jesus, the soldiers of the governor seem to have relished the task. This was what they did, and they knew how to humiliate prisoners and inflict as much pain as possible. They thought it amusing to treat this bleeding beaten man as the king of the Jews and, having stripped him, they gave him a royal robe, a crown, and a scepter. For them the whole ordeal was a joke!

In the end, of course, the joke was on them! Their cruel charade was meant to be demeaning, but they had unwittingly participated in Jesus’ coronation. Little did they know that the cross, their instrument of torture, would be transformed into his throne of glory. That cross has become for believers all over the world the perfect symbol of God’s compassionate and unrelenting love.

And what a surprise it must have been for them, at least according to Luke’s gospel, to hear from the cross these words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” They had intended their work to be an act of unspeakable cruelty, but the King responded with words of love and grace! What a beautiful surprise for them and for us!

Thought for the Day: What makes me want to hurt “bad” people?

Matthew 27:11-25

“Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’’ vss. 20-21

There is no doubt that the Romans were in charge of Jesus’ execution. It’s what they did to maintain order in the territories that they governed. But they also had concerns about public opinion–the governor did not want a riot to break out in Jerusalem during the festival. So Pilate puts the decision about Jesus in the hands of the crowd. The problem is that crowds can easily be manipulated, and the Jerusalem crowd that welcomed Jesus into their city quickly turned on him. Perhaps they felt he had let them down. Maybe the religious leaders provoked them. We don’t know–all the gospels say is that in the space of a few days their cries turned from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him!”

We know what that’s like. Our leaders are heavily dependent on public opinion and they’ve become adept at using the changing communication landscape to offer their promises, pledges, and deceptions. From mass rallies to round the clock social media postings they do everything they can to manipulate the desires of the people. And even when we’re aware of what is happening, it’s gotten virtually impossible to ferret out the truth.

All we know for sure is that Jesus is the way and the truth. And maybe that’s all we need!

Thought for the Day: How am I being manipulated in these times?

Matthew 21:1-11 

“The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” vs. 9

All of the gospels report that Jesus entered Jerusalem on his final journey, flanked by hordes of pilgrims, and riding on a donkey. The crowd hailed him as the successor to David, Israel’s greatest king, and was looking forward to his coronation as messiah. Jesus says nothing to disabuse them of this notion, but the learned among them must have wondered why he was not mounted on a war horse. Of course we know that the donkey is the p the story! Jesus may have been a king but he wasn’t anything like David, and his throne was a rugged cross. 

When the crowds finally figured this out, most deserted him. They had no idea what a king on a cross represented. But others did understand, and they began to see this sublime act of humility as the key to knowing Jesus. They even adopted the cross as the most powerful symbol of love this world has ever known. It has become the center of our lives together, the magnet that draws all believers into one body.

So on Sunday we’ll be waving palms in our worship, a great way to remember the humility of our king, and some will weave the palms into crosses! It’s a great way to link Palm Sunday to Passion Sunday! After all, they are one and the same!

Thought for the Day: What’s appealing about Palm Sunday?

Philippians 2:7b-11

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” vss. 7b-8

How would the landscape of our country change if our leaders were infected by the mind of Christ and humbled themselves, becoming obedient to the principles of the Peaceable Kingdom? The difference would be startling. We’ve gotten so used to pretension, hypocrisy, and self-exultation on the part of politicians that some can’t even imagine any other possible behaviors. And what’s even more astounding is that many of these leaders consider themselves to be exemplary Christians! Well, they may have learned how to talk the pious talk, but they don’t even come close to walking in the footsteps of Jesus!

There is probably no greater virtue than humility for those who are serious about following Jesus. We’ve encountered them in our congregations. They’re self-effacing, gracious, and polite, never seeking honor or prestige, always seeking to put the interests of others above their own. Oh what joy such people bring to those around them! And oh what a pity that more people are unable to see the virtues of such a life! This is the life that Jesus lived, and it’s a life available to every single one of us. People living this way are the embodiment of the Peaceable Kingdom! They are the foretaste of the feast that is to come!

Thought for the Day: What’s the difference between “humbling oneself” and “being humbled”?