Wednesday in Holy Week

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 70
Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-32
There is a paradox at the heart of human unfolding: We can only love others to the degree that we are capable of loving ourselves. But, on the other hand, we are not born
loving ourselves; we develop self-love by experiencing the love of all those who have loved us. As babies, we do not make our own food; neither do we make our own love.
Later in life, having been given the example, we may become bestowers of kindness; having been fed, we will feel the goodness of feeding others; having been nurtured by
many along the way, we find ways to nurture others. Love is a verb!
Like day and night, summer and winter, the nature that lives and breathes through us is full of polarities. I come into the fullness of MY personal being in relation to many YOUs. To cherish life at a deeper level is to accept this web of interconnectedness, of earth, sea and sky, creation and cosmos…but also, of you and me. Love is more than a feeling, it is a way of being and doing.
Christian discipleship is a lifelong journey of transformation…until we are more and more radiant in the splendor of love. To be Christian is to be reduced to love, to become “all flame”. The life that emerges between us… The partnership of bodies brings forth new life. The partnership of minds, brings forth new ideas. Hearts joined in love invite everyone to love more. “Love one another,” Jesus said, “as I have loved you,” not only counseling his followers but also describing the path love travels down the generations, if we let it, because we let it.

Tuesday in Holy Week

Isaiah 49:1-7

Psalm 71:1-14

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

John 12:20-36

Meditative prayer for Tuesday in Holy Week.

As time allows observe a minimum period of one minute of silence before and after each repetition of “In you O God, I will hope continually, I still proclaim your wondrous deeds”

In you O God, I will hope continually,

I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

O God our Savior, in the midst of fathomless darkness your light still shines. In the desolate wasteland your salvation flows as cleansing water, even unto the ends of the earth. Remain as the eternal light in our darkness and the sole source of our soul’s salvation.

In you O God, I will hope continually,

I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

O God our Wisdom, as you called prophets of old, continue to call men and women as servants of your church. Help us, your faithful servants, to forsake our human foolishness and trust in your knowledge, to forgo earthly power and put on divine weakness, to forswear our demand for signs that confirm your greatness and proclaim the foolish wisdom of the Christ crucified. In your timeless wisdom, O God, remove stumbling blocks that keep us from discerning your calling in our lives.

In you O God, I will hope continually,

I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

O God our Stronghold, draw us nearer to your compassionate love and lift us up from the despair of our own sinfulness. May the example of Christ glorified in death, even death on a cross, inspire the death of our human wants and desires. On your strong foundation, build in us inconceivably courage so that we may gladly lose our lives in faithful service of your Son Jesus Christ.

In you O God, I will hope continually,

I still proclaim your wondrous deeds

Almighty God, Your name is glorified even in the anguish of your Son's death. Grant us the courage to receive your anointed servant who embodies a wisdom and love that is foolishness to the world. Empower us in witness so that all the world may recognize in the scandal of the cross the mystery of reconciliation. Amen

Monday in Holy Week

Isaiah 42:1-9

Psalm 36:5-11

Hebrews 9:11-15

John 12:1-11

I always knew in life while growing up and even after moving out of the house that my parents would love me no matter what. There were times when I pushed that premise to the outer limits yet time and time again their love shown through and their willingness to continue to care for me and love me with an everlasting love never failed.

I work hard on showing that same love to my children, telling them that no matter what they may do in life I will always love them. It’s not only important to know, it’s even more important to experience.

The psalmist speaks time and again in the brief selection of the psalm of God’s steadfastness found in God’s love and the gifts of God for the people of God. There were days in the early part of my faith journey when I wondered if God would continue to love me or how God could love me given the fact that time and again I failed to correct the wrongs done and committed the same sin over and over again. Somewhere along the way I learned it wasn’t what I did or didn’t do, it was about what God has done in Christ.

God’s steadfast love is enough for me each day and on really trying days, it’s all I need.

Sunday of the Passion

Prayer of the Day

Everlasting God, in your endless love for the human race you sent our Lord Jesus Christ to take on our nature and to suffer death on the cross. In your mercy enable us to share in his obedience to your will and in the glorious victory of his resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Luke 19:28-40

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 31:9-16

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 22:14—23:56

Even in times of trouble, the writer is trusting in the Lord (Psalm 31). … “My times are in your hand…” We’re back to the question of time, is it ours? No! Time is a gift from God. We are the stewards of that gift and it is up to us to use it in a faithful way and to be prepared to give up control of our time.

Jesus knew this. As we read about the last supper with his disciples and about the deception and betrayal of Judas and Peter; remember that Jesus knew that it was time. Not his time, but God’s time. God’s plan. “Not my will, but yours be done”

Are you willing to use God’s time wisely? Will you be a good steward of that gift? Will we accept God’s will and God’s time and not try to make it our time or waste His time?

Saturday

Psalm 31:9-16
Leviticus 23:1-8
Luke 22:1-13
THE TYGER
By William Blake
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Friday

Psalm 31:9-16

Isaiah 54:9-10

Hebrews 2:10-18

At our house decorating for Christmas also brings on a parade of Noah’s ark ornaments. My wife collects them and next year we may actually require a separate smaller tree just for the arks. We even have a Noah’s ark Advent calendar.

What does Noah have to do with Christmas? The story of Noah recalls God’s covenantal promise to never to flood the earth again and exemplifies the type of covenantal promise God makes with the people throughout the Old Testament. Advent sets apart a time for anticipating the eternal covenant God makes through God’s only son, Jesus Christ. A new covenant rooted in God’s prior covenants yet superceding all previous covenants.

Today’s reading follows directly after the portion of Isaiah known as the “Suffering Servant.” The prophecies in chapter 53 appear to point directly to the suffering Jesus must in endure as he takes on the iniquity of all humanity. Out of this suffering Isaiah foresees God’s covenant of eternal peace with the people of Israel.

A quick search of the NRSV Bible text reveals that the word steadfast occurs 190 times throughout the bible. God’s love made manifest in signs like Noah’s rainbow or in Jesus, the Word made flesh, come with an enduring promise . Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ God sanctifies an eternal covenant of peace with us and swears to never again rebuke us in anger. With permanence that exceeds the tallest mountain God promises steadfast love and compassion that nothing in this world can remove. Perhaps this year we should leave the Noah’s ark tree up year round as a permanent reminder of the compassionate and steadfast that God has surrounded us with all the day of our lives.

Thursday

Psalm 31:9-16
Isaiah 53:10-12
Hebrews 2:1-9
There is something about the psalms of lament, such as today’s reading, that resonate with me. They are raw, real and revealing of the pain and struggle that the psalmist is encountering at this given moment in life.
Yet, even more importantly, they reflect my life at some moments in time, not so much in specific ways but more so in the general sense of lament and the intense feelings exhibited in the writings. I don’t experience that a lot, but when I do these psalms speak to me clearly and succinctly.
Having said that, before getting lost in the language and feelings I am also called to remember that which the psalmist does; that God is my God, my times are in his hands, I trust in his presence and promise and know that God is with me, even in the worst of times. And knowing that, my lament begins to turn toward joy, finding its way toward God.

Wednesday

Psalm 20

Habakkuk 3:2-15

Luke 18:31-34

You know, to be honest, I never even heard of Habakkuk until a few years ago. Or maybe I did, but I didn’t remember. Yes, I grew up going to church, and my father was a pastor; but somehow Habakkuk escaped my notice. I remember him now, because a few years ago, Pastor Vern Squire was preaching at Christ the Good Shepherd. On Habakkuk. Yes, I actually looked him up in the Bible because it honestly didn’t sound like a book in the Bible. Of course, I’m embarrassed about that now.

Anyway, this 3rd chapter in Habakkuk is the Prophet’s Prayer. It follows the first 1st chapter where Habakkuk is full of despair at the evil all around him and wonders why God is letting His people suffer, then the 2nd chapter where God answers Habakkuk. Now, in the 3rd chapter, Habakkuk accepts God’s answer and realizes that God is control. This prayer is full of his praise for God as Habakkuk grows in his faith. “O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe….” He must have been pretty impressed, because the language of the prayer is full of strong images of fury and trampling and victory. God is a strong, victorious warrior here.

Tuesday

Psalm 20
Judges 9:7-15
1 John 2:18-28
Eugene Peterson’s modern paraphrase of the Bible, The Message, lifts up the tender and passionate urgency of John to the churches: "And now children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives."
This is life worth living, not the escapism that is so increasingly problematic in our postmodern society. Too often we forget who and whose we are (redeemed children of the Divine in whose image we are made), or settle for love that is too small, why we are here and where we are going. Not the boredom that seeks relief in substance abuse, mindless entertainment, and crass materialism. But the adventure, that comes from direct encounter with the living Christ and the world and people God created in love. A world both beautiful and broken, yet never abandoned so that we see the love of our Creator in the holy cross, the vertical plank of which reaches beyond our imagination to the heavens and down to the very depths of Hell, living and otherwise.
You are abiding in the Everlasting Arms. You are you tucked in and held against the heartbeat of God. “Peace, peace, be still.”

Monday

Psalm 20

Exodus 40:1-15

Hebrews 10:19-25

If God has cable, I wonder if God enjoys watching HGTV. In the Old Testament God repeatedly lays out specific visions articulating design aspects of every physical object and human action required to realize a full relationship between God and God’s chosen people. Noah practically received a blue print for the ark and Moses had to spend 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai receiving instructions including 3 chapters of specific details like color scheme and types of materials used for the construction of the tabernacle. (see Exodus 25-27, then Exodus 28 when God catches “Project Runway” fever and designs the priests’ clothing.)

Does today’s Old Testament reading construe God as a control freak? All throughout these final chapters of Exodus God has specified the minute details of how the Israelites will worship, praise and interact with God. Perhaps God has earned the right to dictate every detail of the Israelites’ lives. After all God has freed them from slavery, led them with pillars of cloud and fire, washed the Egyptian army into the sea, and provided them with food and water in the midst of a desolate wilderness. Perhaps also after 430 years living in Egypt the Israelites forgotten sacramental language of the covenant made with their ancestor Abraham.

Whether God intends to extract an elaborate tribute for miraculous acts or desires a covenantal reeducation the children of Abraham, God’s actions do have at least one clear implication. Even in the midst of the wilderness God’s people need to create sacramental space to house the holiest of holies.

Those who are unsettled in the world, must not think that this will excuse want of religion; as if it were enough to begin to serve God when they begin to be settled in the world. No; a tabernacle for God is very needful, even in a wilderness, especially as we may be in another world before we come to fix in this. And we may justly fear lest we should deceive ourselves with a form of godliness. The thought that so few entered Canaan, should warn young persons especially, not to put off the care of their souls.

Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Bible

Do not put off erecting a tabernacle, even in the midst of unsettled wandering. Few who fled Egypt ever reached a permanent settlement in the Promised Land. It is God’s design for us to have rich sacramental space where God may dwell; regardless of where we are in the wilderness.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Prayer of the Day
Creator God, you prepare a new way in the wilderness, and your grace waters our desert. Open our hearts to be transformed by the new thing you are doing, that our lives may proclaim the extravagance of your love given to all through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
Have you ever done something trying to be helpful, only to get into trouble once it was accomplished or completed? I can’t remember any specific moments but I know I have had plenty of them.
Jesus does something that is exceptionally helpful, in fact, way beyond helpful; he raises Lazarus from the dead! Amazing stuff! And yet, it will wind up getting him into trouble. Because of this, Luke tells us in the portion of our narrative, people were coming out to see the result of this wonderful miracle and in the process they were forsaking the faith and believing in Jesus instead. The Chief Priests were not happy; they planned to put Lazarus to death. It seems an odd reaction to me since, if they did, Jesus could once again raise him from the dead, but the plotting began and it would eventually lead to Jesus’ demise as well.
In Christ, God helps us to see and understand more fully God’s love for us and the world. And even though it will get him into the ultimate trouble of being crucified, Jesus continues the journey and keeps the faith. Because of his death, we shall rise again. Proof once again that God will go to any length just to save us. Thanks be to God!

Saturday

Psalm 126

Exodus 12:21-27

John 11:45-57

In reading this passage in Exodus about the Passover story, I am reminded of earlier readings which assure us of God’s love and protection, of His watching over us. This reinforces the message that not only are we under God’s sheltering wing, but that we are marked and identified by our rituals and practices.

What are the outward signs of your faith and devotion? How will you be identified as one of the Chosen People?

Friday

Psalm 126
Isaiah 43:8-15
Philippians 2:25—3:1
When you exult in God, you not only glorify in God’s love , you make much of him by rejoicing in him and delighting in him and being glad in him. Exultation adds that emotional element of joy in God that we believe is essential if God is going to be honored the way God should be. Another word for exultation in God is "worship."
Chapters 43 in Isaiah is breathtaking in its praise of the absoluteness and sovereignty of God –“ I! I! I am he, and there is no other god, no other savior, no other rock! I! I! I am the LORD the Holy One of Israel!” God's commitment to being God and being known as God is declared in awesome wonder.
The unfathomable “God-ness” of God - the bare, awesome reality that God is - is the most noble, true and beautiful reality there is. Isaiah was simply ravished by the thought that God is God. And so am I. Our Orthodox sisters and brothers believe that God’s essence is unknowable… the God beyond God… and that it is only by God’s energies or attributes that God can be known.
I love God. And I love to meditate on the nature of God. I cannot separate the delight I have in God as an infinitely holy and loving Being from the delight I have in Him as absolutely sovereign. His being God and his being sovereign are one. This idea of God’s sovereignty was very important to the Protestant reformers and it should be to us as well. I have been guilty of forming God in my own image, making God too small, thinking I can know God in any other way than to receive his infinite mercies with open hands and an open heart.

Thursday

Psalm 126

Isaiah 43:1-7

Philippians 2:19-24

Who can you say shows a genuine concern for your welfare?

Who can you say shows a genuine concern for your loved ones?

Who can you say would place these concerns above their own?

Practicing Christianity does not occur in a vacuum. Christ calls us to life in community with one another. When we encounter “Timothys”, those who show genuine concern, we need to send them those who need guidance and care. Like Paul we must act selflessly in sharing those individuals with the larger world and encourage them to act as “fathers” to new generations of “Timothys.” For the sake of our faith communities we must lift up women and men who will serve in the work of the gospel and advance the interests of Jesus Christ with a genuine concern for the welfare of God’s people.

Wednesday

Psalm 53
2 Kings 4:1-7
Luke 9:10-17
The Feeding of the Five Thousand never gets old, does it? Jesus is followed, because of his popularity, by folks, quite a few, to a place he thought would be private. They find him and seek not only to be fed by his wisdom and power but also they have left behind their lunch boxes.

The disciples want to get rid of them, Jesus puts the responsibility for feeding them on their shoulders. They are clueless, he blesses the little that is present and gives it to them to distribute and they wind up with leftovers. A miracle indeed.

This time around with this feeding I wonder what I see in my life as limited and not enough and wonder how many times I’ve asked the same question of God; “I don’t have what’s necessary, what do you want me to do?” Time and time again God takes what I have and turns it into enough and then some.

It’s an issue of trusting that God will provide and getting out of my own way so God can do so. What do you see as insufficient in your life? What do you need to give to God and let God handle? God stands ready when you are.

Tuesday

Psalm 53
Leviticus 25:1-19
Revelation 19:9-10
What does God see when he looks down on you? Does he see that you are seeking him? Or does he see you turn away?

Remember, God is watching you. And me too. (He’s watching me - I’m not watching you.)

I love this song, it’s been sung both by Bette Midler and by Nanci Griffith.



From A Distance (Julie Gold)


From a distance the world looks blue and green

And the snow-capped mountains white

From a distance the ocean meets the stream

And the eagle takes to flight


From a distance there is harmony

And it echoes through the land

It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace

It's the voice of every man



From a distance we all have enough

And no one is in need

There are no guns, no bombs, no diseases

No hungry mouths to feed



From a distance we are instruments

Marching in a common band

Playing songs of home, playing songs of peace

They're the songs of every man

God is watching us, God is watching us

God is watching us from a distance



From a distance you look like my friend

Even though we are at war

From a distance I can't comprehend

What all this war is for



From a distance there is harmony

And it echoes through the land

It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves

It's the heart of every man



It's the hope of hopes, It's the love of loves

It's the song of every man

Monday

Psalm 53

Leviticus 23:26-41

Revelation 19:1-8

Examples of praise occur so often in Sacred Scripture that we have to acknowledge its importance. After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and knew they were finally free of Egypt’s influence, their joy was so great that they played music and sang songs and danced. When Mary met with Elizabeth, she praised God, saying, “My soul declares the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God” for all the wonderful things that God has done. Zechariah was moved to speak overwhelming praises to God for the joy that was coming to humanity. Later, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the praises and exuberance of the people were so great that the priests warned Jesus to quiet them, but Jesus told them that the great joy that God’s Kingdom had come was so intense that even if every human tongue was silent, the rocks and stones would sing out-because all of creation is filled with happiness and excitement!

Praise is an indispensable part of the spiritual life. During the season of Lent we “bury” our Alleluias but joy comes in the morning and the sorrow and suffering of the cross is the journey through hell to heaven. Like I used to say to my preschool class, “Can’t go over it, Can’t go around it, gotta go through it!”