Ministry Matters Preach. Teach. Worship. Reach. Lead. "Death & resurrection of an urban church | Leading strong-willed people | ‘We've always done it that way’" for Tuesday, 31 March 2015Share this:
For an idea of how Broadway United Methodist Church is turning the model of the urban church inside out, look for a moment at its food pantry, clothing ministry and after-school program.
They’ve been killed off.
In many cases, they were buried with honors. But those ministries, staples of the urban church, are all gone from Broadway. Kaput.
Broadway’s summer youth program, which at one point served 250 children a day — bringing them in for Girl Scouts and basketball, away from the violence and drugs of Broadway’s neighborhood — is gone, too. Broadway let the air out of the basketballs. Sent the Girl Scouts packing.
Then peek into the comfortably cluttered office of the Rev. Mike Mather, who is prone to putting his feet on his desk and leaning so far back in his swivel chair that you expect him to go flying at any moment.
Watch him, inverted like this, until he suddenly gets animated, drops his feet to the floor, leans over, elbows on knees, and shares this: “One of the things we literally say around here is, ‘Stop helping people.’
“I’m serious.”
He is serious. Mather has given years of thought to this, and he’s as sure about it as anything he learned in seminary.
Broadway UMC's leaders have changed the way they view their neighbors — as people with gifts, not just needs. In what ways does this view reframe the conversation? What difference does reframing the relationship make in the outcomes achieved?
“The church, and me in particular,” Mather said, “has done a lot of work where we have treated the people around us as if, at worst, they are a different species and, at best, as if they are people to be pitied and helped by us.”
With that in mind, Broadway has — for more than a decade now — been reorienting itself. Rather than a bestower of blessings, the church is aiming to be something more humble.
“The church decided its call was to be good neighbors. And that we should listen and see people as children of God,” said De’Amon Harges, a church member who sees Broadway’s transformation in terms not unlike Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.
Rejecting charity
In 2004, Mather hired Harges to be Broadway’s first “roving listener,” a position that is exactly what it sounds like. Harges’ job was to rove the neighborhood, block by block at first, spending time with the neighbors, not to gauge their needs but to understand what talents lay there.
“I was curious about what was good in people, and that was what I was going to find out,” he said.
Harges wound up spending hours sitting on people’s porches and hovering near them as they worked in their backyard gardens. He began listening for hints about their gifts.
“I started paying attention” he said, “to what they really cared about.”
Mather, meanwhile, was drawing deeply from the philosophical well of “asset-based community development” — the notion of capitalizing on what’s good and working in a place rather than merely addressing its deficiencies.
John McKnight, a professor emeritus at Northwestern University, is one of the founders of the approach. He literally wrote the book on building communities from the inside out. He describes Mather and Harges as a “God-given team.”
When Broadway invited him to come speak, McKnight spent some time walking the church’s neighborhood with Harges.
“What he’s listening for is their gifts — ‘What has God given you?’” McKnight said. He doesn't advocate ignoring people's needs and problems, but rather to look first for solutions within the community itself. Later, he said, institutions and services can help.
“John 15:15 tells us that, at the Last Supper, Jesus said to the disciples, ‘I no longer call you servants. … I call you friends.’ So the final way of defining what Christianity is based on is friendship, not service. … I think Mike and De’Amon are guided by that spiritual principle.”
A key to what’s going on now at Broadway, McKnight says, is the church’s brutally honest view of charity, which McKnight defines as “a one-way compensatory activity that never changes anything.”
Seeing and serving needs
Like so many older, urban churches, Broadway came to its charitable ways honestly, and with the best of intentions.
When the current building was erected, in 1927, the church along the banks of Fall Creek was on the northern outskirts of Indianapolis. It was then a flourishing area primed for growth. Within a decade, Broadway had 2,300 members. The pews were packed. The Sunday school rooms were buzzing.
But by the late 1950s, Indianapolis began to experience white flight to newer suburbs. The neighborhood began a long, slow decline. And so did the church.
By the mid-1990s, weekly attendance was down to 75. The pews were empty. The Sunday school was dark.
Amid the surrounding decay, the church assumed a new role: caregiver.
Broadway, Mather says now, came to see its neighborhood for all of its problems — poverty and abandoned houses, drugs and the related violence, high teen pregnancy and dropout rates.
Mather confesses to being part of that history. He has been pastor of Broadway twice, and during his first stint, from 1986 to 1991, he retooled the church’s summer youth program — the one with the basketballs and the Girl Scouts — and injected it with a new spiritual theme each week. And it took off.
“We felt so good about it,” Mather said, “that I broke my arm patting myself on the back.”
But then Mather was confronted with a heavy dose of reality. In a nine-month span, nine young men within a four-block radius of the church died violent deaths. Some of them had come through that great youth program at Broadway, a program that had done nothing to inoculate them against street violence.
Mather was left to bury them — along with the sense that what Broadway had been doing for its neighborhood all those years had been effective.
Asking new questions
Mather carried that sense with him to another United Methodist church in South Bend, Indiana, where he was assigned in 1992.
Again, he was a pastor in an urban setting. But this time Mather began to probe more deeply into McKnight’s philosophies, into what it meant to be an urban preacher. Finally, he asked himself whether he was living out what he believed, and what he had been preaching.
One Pentecost Sunday, Mather preached about Peter’s sermonin Acts 2 regarding the prophecy of Joel:
“And in the last days it will be,” God says, “that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:17-18 NET)
At a congregational meal after the service, a parishioner asked Mather pointedly, “So how come we don’t treat people like that?”
Mather didn’t understand. Then the woman explained that she was talking about the government food giveaway hosted by the church. To get food, participants had to fill out a form that basically asked, “How poor are you?”
Nowhere on the form were there questions about people’s gifts.
“If we believe that God’s spirit is flowing down on all people, old and young, women and men — and on the poor,” the woman continued, “why don’t we treat people like that’s true?”
Mather saw where she was going. He put aside the government form and, in a number of ways, began asking people new questions. One of his favorites: “What three things do you do well enough that you could teach others how to do it?”
Soon, the church was tapping into people who could repair cars, make quilts, paint, and cook some of the best Mexican food Mather had ever eaten. Through that, some neighbors found new livelihoods. More found a community.
By the time the church reassigned him back to Broadway in 2003, Mather was fully committed to this inside-out approach.
He hired Harges as the roving listener, then started closing ministries from the charity era. The moves were as practical as they were oriented to the new philosophy.
For 30 years, Broadway had tutored neighborhood kids after school. And for 30 years, the neighborhood dropout rate kept climbing higher. So Broadway stopped tutoring.
For decades, the church had been feeding people out of its pantry. But local health officials were telling Mather that the No. 1 health problem facing the neighborhood wasn’t starvation.
It was obesity — often leading to diabetes.
To Mather, it made no sense to hand out carbs in a box and peaches in cans of heavy syrup to people who were overweight.
“We’re not only not helping,” he concluded. “We’re actively making people sicker.”
Instead of handing out food, Mather hopes to help people find long-lasting solutions to problems such as hunger. He likes to tell the story of Adele, who came to the food pantry for supplies for her family and ended up, a year and a half later, using her gifts as a cook to open her own restaurant.
But giving up old ways is difficult. Mather tried to ease the shock to Broadway’s system. He devoted part of one Sunday service to bidding farewell to the dead ministries. That included the thrift shop, which by then was being run by women in their 80s and 90s.
During the service, Mather asked everyone who had ever worked in the thrift shop or had ever donated to it to stand. Many did. Then, in unison, the congregation said, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”
Convincing the doubters
Not everyone cared for Broadway’s new approach.
Neighbors were grumbling about services the church had cast aside. There were even doubters among the Broadway staff. Among them was Cathy Pilarski.
Before moving to Indianapolis in 2008, Pilarski had run a mobile latte business in Tucson, Arizona. She needed work in Indy and found it at Broadway — as a janitor. Six months in, Mather wanted to promote her to facilities manager.
Pilarski knew nothing about mechanics or wiring or other building systems. Besides, her head was spinning from everything going on at Broadway.
She responded to Mather’s offer with disdain.
“No, Mike,” she told the pastor. “No, because I think you’re crazy, and I think there are some other people who think you are crazy, too.”
As soon as she spoke the words, Pilarski regretted them. She had always fancied herself as someone who liked to think outside the box. Here was a pastor taking a chainsaw to the box. And she was resisting. That revelation told her that maybe she should trust Mather and his vision.
When she did, Pilarski came to see that Mather was less interested in her cleaning skills and her knowledge of building mechanics than in her social skills and her experience as an entrepreneur. More than the building itself, he was concerned about building community.
Such rewiring was going on across the church.
The church’s governing council stopped rehashing committee reports at its quarterly meetings and instead began inviting people from the neighborhood and the congregation to come in and tell them about the work they’d been up to.
Harges began connecting people with common interests. Within four blocks of the church — the same area where young people had been dying years before — Harges found 45 backyard gardeners. He brought them together around a meal. With no agenda.
The gardeners liked it enough that they began to meet monthly. None of them individually had seen their green thumbs as a gift. Together, they began to realize that they had something valuable. In a neighborhood that’s part of an urban food desert, they’ve begun planning their own farmer’s market.
Broadway is even passing on the art of listening to young people.
In each of the last six years, the church has hired 15 to 20 kids from the neighborhood to learn from Harges and then head out into the neighborhood as part-time roving listeners.
The information they’ve been bringing back has enabled other interest groups to form in areas such as art, poetry, music, law and education.
From these gatherings, people have found jobs, collaborators and friends. There are still hungry people who need a meal. They just find it now among friends.
“The whole idea is that we extend beyond the physical structure of our church and that we grow community — and that we know community — in real ways,” said Seana Murphy, who lives near the church.
Recently, she invited people from the church and the neighborhood with an interest in education for conversation over meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
The people around her table included a woman who grew up in a housing project who’s now attending a community college, a dropout who got a high school equivalency diploma and plans to be a nurse, a college administrator, and an assistant pastor with a Ph.D.
At the meal, one woman mentioned she had struggled with depression. Now, Murphy said, others will know to check on her from time to time.
Making connections
Tamara Leech, an associate professor at the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, has been studying what Broadway is doing for the past six years.
Social cohesion, Leech said, is a key to improving life in what she calls “neighborhoods of the concentrated disadvantaged.”
“The neighbors see Broadway as a place where you can go and ask for help. Not for goods or services,” she said. “You go there for connections.”
Leech hopes to win a grant to do a long-term study of Broadway and its neighborhood. But, for now, hard data is scarce. At least from a theoretical basis, Leech said, “What I do know is that Broadway takes an approach that makes the most sense to me.”
Anecdotally, both she and Mather have heard about people finding jobs through their Broadway community connections. Others have found the encouragement to enter college or technical programs. Leech points to a partnership with the state health department in which the church brought together teen mothers, many intent on having more babies right away, with older women. Two years later, none of the girls has had another child.
Mather says the neighborhood is much less violent than in the 1990s, but he concedes the causes of that are hard to isolate. For one thing, some homes that were once abandoned or occupied by the poor are now being inhabited by middle class families.
Change also is evident in what’s going on in Sunday school classrooms that sat dark for decades.
Today, they are filled with an unusual collection of small businesses that rent space, together with fledgling organizations that get space for free. Meeting in the church now is a metropolitan youth orchestra and an eclectic mix of artists and, on Sunday nights, 50 or more gamers.
There’s a dance studio and a pottery shop and an office for a small architectural firm. The church acquired a commercial kitchen license, and now people from the neighborhood use it for catering startups.
Pilarski, the onetime doubter, is in charge of managing all this. She still thinks her pastor is crazy. “Certifiable,” she said, joking.
But in each busy corner of the church, in each of the hundreds of faces that now pass under its roof each week, she sees something that was missing for a long time — the majesty of God.
“I want to make sure that God is glorified not only in that sanctuary but in every corner of this building,” she said.
Some of that bustle has spilled over into the sanctuary. Sunday morning attendance has climbed past 200. But in the Broadway economy, that’s almost an afterthought.
Broadway has died to its old self, giving up the things that were holding it back, said Harges, the roving listener. The church’s resurrection has come from seeking the gifts of others.
“Our role in this place is to become like yeast — that invisible agent for social change. It is not about us as an agency inviting people to witness God here. Instead, what we want to do is to see God out of this place.”
Questions to consider
Who do you serve? With whom do you partner? What difference does framing the relationship make in the outcomes achieved?
The Rev. Mike Mather asks people, “What three things do you do well enough that you could teach others how to do it?” How does a question like that shift the conversation?
Is anyone assigned to listen to your congregation and community? If so, do those listeners compare notes and connect what they are learning?
Mather realized that his church's food pantry might be contributing to obesity and diabetes. Do your ministries produce unintended consequences? How do you envision the impact of your projects? How do you assess their impact?
This was first published in Faith & Leadership.
‘We've always done it that way’: A phrase to celebrate by Teddy RayDid you make a New Year’s resolution? By the end of the year,research says there will be an eight percent chance you’ve kept it.
Eight percent!
Why so low?
Because objects in motion stay in motion. Objects at rest stay at rest. To change their course or get them going, you need external force. And the bigger something is, the more force it requires. You’ve experienced this if you’ve ever tried to push a car.
The same is true of your resolutions. They require change, a new force, willpower. And that means working against nature, working against what you’ve become accustomed to.
They say one of the best times to change a habit is when you move. Why? Because you’re already undergoing major, unavoidable change. While everything is in motion, you can get that new habit in motion, as well. It’s a natural new start. And it’s easier to start that way, than to try to change later.
That’s an important general truth: It’s easier to start that way. Changing later is hard.
“Because we’ve always done it that way” is a common phrase incorporate culture and church culture. It’s usually derided as a bad answer. But it’s also human nature. When we start doing things from the beginning, we’re likely to continue doing them.
How to use “we’ve always done it that way” for good
While we usually sneer at “we’ve always done it that way” as an uncritical, unreflective response, it can be just the opposite. Whenever you start something new, you have a great opportunity. Ask yourself this question:
Ten years from now, what do we want to look at and say, “We’ve always done it that way”?
Let’s take generosity as an extended example. I’m going to start with a thought about churches and then say something about families and individuals.
New churches and generosity
Several years ago, I was with the leader of a new church start in another state. They were about two years old at the time. He talked about how they were still trying to get established and hoped to start giving to missions and our denomination’s ministry fund (called apportionments) soon. They weren’t yet giving anything externally. Actually, they were receiving external funds.
That’s not unusual. They were two years old and still trying to get their feet under them.
About five years later, that new church start was still going. They had grown and hired multiple staff. I saw their pastor and asked how they were doing. Not well, it turned out. They had just learned they were losing their external funding, and they weren’t sure how they could survive without it. They were still giving nothing to missions or the denominational fund and still relying on external support.
How does that happen? They had grown and looked to be thriving! But from the beginning they had required every penny for themselves — plus some outside funding. And when their resources grew, their internal need grew equally. So that great ideal of starting to give some away remained just an ideal.
For new church starts — a wild and unusual suggestion — ask yourselves how you want to be giving ten years from now, and then start giving like that on day one. Because if you choose to use everything internally until there’s “enough to spare,” you’re likely to find yourselves ten years later with still nothing to spare. And if you choose to give generously from day one, in year ten you’ll be able to say, “we’ve just always done it this way.”
I’m going to take a moment and celebrate the church and community I have the privilege to be a part of. First UMC has always been a generous church, and a few years ago, they decided to automate it — no questions asked about whether to be generous, in lean years or good years. The church puts 12 percent of every dollar given immediately into a fund for missions and puts another 13 percent immediately toward our denominational fund — which goes to support important missions locally and around the globe. That’s 25 percent out the door to support missions external to us. It’s automatic, immediate, no questions asked.
As my community at First Church (called Offerings) has looked to move from our downtown campus, our leaders have never wavered on this. 25 percent goes out the door from the very first day. They want extravagant generosity to part of our identity, and they don’t want to start that later. If you think you’ll start later, you may never get around to it. They want to say, “We’ve just always done it that way.”
To be certain, this involves sacrifice. If we kept that extra $20,000, I can tell you quickly how we would use it. If we had an extra $40,000, I can tell you how we’d use it. But isn’t that always the case? There’s always something more. Always something more we would like or could use or even think we need. And that’s why if you don’t start giving generously from the beginning, it’s likely you never will. Changing that pattern doesn’t get easier when you get bigger. Remember trying to push that car from stand-still?
For individuals
The same goes for individuals. So you’re just getting started at your first job, just barely scraping by? You couldn’t possibly be generous now. That’s for when you have more.
As your resources grow, so will your appetite. If you don’t set a pattern for generosity now, on that just-out-of-college budget, you’ll be shocked that you have just as little to spare on a nice 6-figure salary later. Even more, if you find that right now you need 110 percent just to get by (i.e. what you’re making isn’t quite enough to sustain, so you take on a bit of debt … ), you’re likely to need 110 percent to get by, even when you’re making 6 figures.
Whether you’re just starting out, or just got a new job or raise, take advantage of anything new and ask whether you can start a new pattern now.
A big challenge for any of you who want extravagant generosity to be part of your identity … It’s 2015. What if you resolved to give away 15 percent of your income this year? And made it 16 percent next year? You see where this is going … If that’s impossible for you (ask yourself if it’s really impossible), then set your own numbers.
Years from now, someone may ask how you — as a church, or a family, or an individual — can be so generous. And I hope you might be able to say, “I don’t know. We’ve just always done it that way.”
This post first appeared at TeddyRay.com. You can subscribe to Teddy's blog via email here.
‘Tis the season when Hollywood gets religion.
On Easter Sunday, ABC will be airing Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 epic “The Ten Commandments” for the umpteenth time. (This tradition started at the network when I was less than a year old, and to my knowledge the film has aired there every year since.) Through the years, other films based on the Bible have shown up on the big screen and on television. “King of Kings,” “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Jesus of Nazareth,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “The Gospel of John,” “Noah.” Too many to name, really.
I remember watching a replay of “Jesus of Nazareth” on NBC in 1978 when I was five (it had premiered the year before). I was glued to the set. That production played a major role in getting me interested in who Jesus was at a very young age. (Sadly, I didn’t understand the concept of a miniseries and was confused and disappointed when I tuned in the following week and found“The Wonderful World of Disney.”)
I discovered much later that controversy had surrounded the film. Fundamentalist Bob Jones III had declared the film “blasphemy” (before he even saw it) and eventually the film’s lead sponsor General Motors pulled out of the project. If Procter and Gamble hadn’t stepped in, “Jesus of Nazareth” probably wouldn’t have aired.
I’m glad I didn’t know all this as a kid. It would have probably ruined the film for me.
Fast forward 37 years, and not a lot has changed. My three TV channels from the 1970s have turned into a couple of hundred, and the screen aspect ratio is now 16:9, but it seems many Christians still enjoy criticizing Bible films for sport. Except now they have Twitter, so God help those of us who venture into a movie hashtag timeline unawares.
Last night (Palm Sunday) I watched the premiere of the television movie “Killing Jesus” on the National Geographic Channel. The film, based on the book of the same title by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, is notable in that it features an actor of Middle Eastern descent as Jesus. Haaz Sleiman is Lebanese-American and Muslim. “Killing Jesus” also features an ethnically diverse supporting cast.
During the commercial breaks, I read tweets from the #KillingJesus timeline.
Many of the tweets were positive.
5 tips for leading strong-willed people
by Ron EdmondsonHave you ever tried to lead someone who didn’t want to be led?
The same children that were labeled “strong-willed” by theirparents often grow up to be strong-willed adults. Perhaps you know one. Perhaps you are one.
(I know one personally — me!)
But, have you ever tried to lead one?
It’s not easy.
In fact, I’m convinced many strong-willed people end up leading just because they couldn’t be led — and yet they probably didn’t need to lead. But, no one ever learned to lead them.
And, I’m not sure I am an expert. But, I have some ideas, since I’m speaking to my own kind.
Here are 5 tips for leading strong-willed people:
Give clear expectations.
Everyone responds best when they know what is expected of them. That is especially true of those with strong opinions of their own, or shall I say, those of us more stubborn people. If you have a definite idea of how something needs to be done and you leave it as an undefined gray area, we will redefine things our way. Keep this in mind with strong-willed people: Rules should be few and make sense or they’ll likely be resisted or broken more often.
Give freedom within the boundaries.
Once the guidelines and expectations are established, allow people to express themselves freely within them. That’s important for all of us, but especially for strong-willed people. Strong-willed people need to know they can make some decisions — that they have freedom to explore on their own.
Be consistent.
Strong willed people need boundaries, but they will test them. They want to know the limits of their freedom. Keep in mind they are headstrong. We’ve even labeled them: strong-willed. They aren’t the rule followers on the team. Make sure the rules you have — and again there shouldn’t be too many — are consistent in application. If it’s worth making a rule, make sure it’s worth implementing.
Pick your battles.
This is huge. Strong-willed people can be the backbone of a team. They can loyal, dogmatic, and tenacious, all for the benefit of the vision. What leader doesn’t want that? But, those same qualities can be where the problems start also. Don’t cross a strong-willed person over issues of little importance to the overall vision of the organization. If you back them in a corner they will usually fight back.
Respect their opinions and individualities.
Strong-willed people ultimately want to be heard (as all people do). They aren’t weird because they sometimes seem immovable. But, they do resist leadership most when their voice is silenced. Learn what matters to them and give credence to their opinions. You’ll find a loyal teammate.
Be honest. Are you strong-willed? How do you like to be led?
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
by Courtney T BallYou may not recognize Jesus this Easter
Mary Magdalene thought he was a gardener. Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus mistook Jesus for a fellow traveler until he broke bread with them. When Jesus stood on the shoreline and called out to his fishing disciples, Peter and the others could not recognize him. John writes that when the eleven first saw the risen Jesus, they believed they had seen a ghost.
And then there is that passage from Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus promises his followers that when he reappears it will be as the beggar, the stranger, the sick person or the prisoner. In these cases, it will not be the church that brings the risen Christ to the world. Instead, it will be the world in all its broken messiness that teaches the church how to recognize Christ.
Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again, and again, and again, and again. But you probably won’t recognize him when he does. Instead you might see a person who feels like nothing more than a distraction, an obstacle or a burden. An outsider you don’t have time to let in.
This is the repeated message of the Easter story. Jesus is already out there in the world, waiting for his followers to catch up and recognize him. The Holy Spirit and God’s love are bound by no human structure, no conventional limitation.
How appropriate it is that this Holy Week, one of the biggest current news stories is one of Christians claiming and celebrating their right to exclude those with whom they disagree. We still don’t get it. We still think we’re Peter, holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Luckily for us, even though Jesus supposedly handed over those keys, he also has no problem ignoring all our locked doors. He comes and goes as he pleases, takes whatever form he sees fit, and consistently reminds us, “Do not fear.”
I love that about Jesus. I marvel at his complete disregard for human convention and limitations. I am grateful that every Easter we hear once again how untamed God’s love really is. As limited human beings, we try to bind, beat and destroy God’s unsettling presence in our world. We look upon others who are different, knowing the Bible tells us they are made in the image of God, and still we fail to see Christ in them. But God can’t be bound, beaten or destroyed. And Christ will always show up in those faces we look upon with fear or disgust.
Easter reminds Christians to be humble. It retells that story of how we human beings tried our hardest to kill off the ultimate example of God’s love on earth. It shows us that even our best attempts at denial and destruction end up looking feeble in the light of God’s ever-present, life-renewing love for this world. Easter stories also recall how much trouble even the faithful had with understanding God’s redeeming work. We seem bent on underestimating God. Thankfully, God is just as intent on defying our expectations.
(Special thanks to Professor Thomas H. Troeger for introducing me to Jesus the stranger.)
You can see more of Courtney's work at CourtneyTBall.com, or sign up to receive his weekly email, “Life and Depth.
The promise of the Good Friday - Passover overlap by A. James Rudin / Religion News Service
A statue depicting Mary holding Jesus after his crucifixion is displayed at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Kansas City, Mo. RNS photo by Sally Morrow
NEW YORK (RNS) This year, Good Friday and the start ofPassover occur on the same date: Friday, April 3. The coincidence is no accident.
Jesus’ pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the eight-day Jewish festival marking the Hebrew slaves’ exodus from Egyptian slavery was a religious requirement for Jews of his day. After his death by Roman crucifixion, Passover became an integral part of the Easter story, and Jesus’ Last Supper was like an early version of what later became the Passover seder meal.
In past years, I anonymously attended Good Friday services in New York and sat alongside Christians as they commemorated the death of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament Gospel of John. I alternated each year between Roman Catholic and Protestant churches because I was interested in how preachers handled John’s 71 references to the Jewish people, a text that’s often called “radioactive” because of its negative teaching about Jews and their alleged culpability in killing Jesus.
I attend the most solemn Christian service of the year knowing it had often been a day of dread and even death for many European Jewish communities. On some Good Fridays past, worshippers stormed out of churches filled with hatred and venom for Jews. Many preachers riled up their congregations with sermons saying that “the Jews killed our Lord,” the infamous “Christ killer” or deicide charge that has long poisoned relations between Christians and Jews.
John’s Gospel introduces more problematic themes and hostile descriptions about Jews and Judaism than the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Some contemporary scholars have attempted to mitigate or soften John’s negative description of “the Jews.” One explanation is that the Greek word “Ioudaioi” refers only to the obsequious Jewish leaders who collaborated with the Romans, not the entire people. Another approach is to translate the word as “Judeans,” the residents of Judea, the Roman name for the region.
Yet for most people, these are linguistic differences without any real meaning or significance. A more plausible explanation is that John describes a bitter intra-Jewish family feud, an internal clash between the followers of Jesus and those who remained faithful to the older faith. Vigorous angry debates took place within the “mishpacha,” the Hebrew word for “family.” Truth be told, people often utter or write more derogatory words and phrases in family disputes than they would ever use with those outside the family circle.
Such finely crafted academic opinions, however, were rarely heard at the Good Friday services I attended. Some preachers made “the Jews” into the chief adversaries, the eternal enemies of Jesus. They preached that the Jewish people merited eternal divine punishment because of their “crime.” The decisive and central role played by the cruel Roman authorities — the only ones with the power to carry out capital punishment — was frequently minimized or omitted completely. Jesus’ killers were “the Jews,” full stop. Such anti-Jewish Good Friday services were painful and distressing.
But I also attended Good Friday services in both Catholic and Protestant churches where the death of Jesus was portrayed in broad universal terms without placing the blame on “the Jews” or even the Romans: no condemnation, no divine punishment. Such sermons focused less on “who” killed Jesus than on the meaning of his death for our own age. Those positive sermons reflected the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 repudiation of the deicide charge and the call for “mutual respect and knowledge” between Christians and Jews.
After Passover and Easter concluded, I always contacted the various preachers and suggested we meet to discuss my Good Friday experience. Almost all accepted my invitation. The Christian clergy, including those who did not verbally beat up on the Jews, usually asked: “Rabbi, why didn’t you tell me you were coming to the Good Friday service?”
My response: “Would that have changed your preaching?”
The answer from even those who had spewed anti-Judaism from their pulpit was invariably something along the lines of: “Knowing a rabbi was present would have made a real difference. I would have changed my message so I didn’t offend you.”
My response: “It’s not a matter of politeness. Before you again falsely condemn Jews as ‘Christ killers’ and cursed by God, imagine that Jews, the kinsfolk of Jesus, are physically present at all your services, not just on Good Friday.”
Abortion will be the 21st century's slavery
By Randall Hardman
The 2015 March for Life in Washington, D.C. Photo by Kristen Hwang / Creative Commons
Years ago I saw a T-shirt for sale with a picture of an old, gray haired, African-American woman sitting on a stump and dressed in rags. She looked solemn but strong as she held an infant which was obviously no more than a few months old in development. It was easy to tell, even without words, what was going on: The shirt was addressing justice on some level. This woman had experienced something. She looked wise — not from opportunity but through suffering and experience. This shirt made you think.
But the words, in case you missed it in the image itself, made it clear what was being conveyed. She spoke to the child that she held in her arms, “They also once thought that I wasn’t a person.”
I've often thought about that shirt and I wish I'd bought it that day because I haven’t seen it since. The message conveys a question which most people today are willing to write off with an assumption at best. In a culture which considers itself progressive, advanced, and morally superior to its past, we have utterly failed to go back and address the very foundational question behind abortion: Is this a person?
No doubt some are going to jump up and say “Of course we have! We addressed this in Roe v. Wade.” And, yet, thecourt system is equally prone to negative social permeation, as can be seen through American history in its denial of rights to all sorts of groups of people. But even if a handful of individuals are convinced that they've thought this issue out to its logical conclusion, society hasn’t done it — philosophically, ethically, or scientifically.
The notion that aborting a child in the womb is not a moral action is a cultural assumption pure and simple. In a culture obsessed with personal convenience, individuality, success, sexual liberation and a tendency to relativize ethics in light of these and other obsessions, we don’t address the question either because we've already assumed the answer or because we insist that the question should be framed in another way (usually in the context of women’s rights which, by framing it that way, already presumes the answer to the personhood question).
I’ve studied history all my life. While I've focused particularly on religious history and specifically Judeo-Christian history in the Ancient Near East, I've also studied history more broadly and one of the things that strikes me regularly is this: There has never been a period in the history of mankind where we haven’t denied one group of people the status of personhood. Never.And in most cases, this denial has been justified in the name of convenience for either one particular group of people or society at large.
There's one question that regularly goes through my mind concerning abortion. What if this is our modern-day slavery? Or, if you like, our modern-day racism, our modern-day sexism, etc.Is it possible that in a hundred years we’ll see our current acceptance — and even celebration in many cases — of abortion as on par with the acceptance of slavery, or the acceptance of women as lesser than men?
History is always looking backward and nobody can see the true nature of things while in the present moment. Think of all those times in your life when you've wished that you had the knowledge that you now have! History is similar. We routinely look back at both our minor and massive ethical failings and ask “How could we not see it then?” or “How did we let x,y and z justify that position?”
I wonder if we’ll ever get to a point in our own history where we look back and ask how was it that we could abort 50 million children? I don’t know that it will ever happen, but it’s not because the assumption of non-personhood is inherently correct or because we've progressed so far as a culture that we’ve got this one figured out. It's because for all our civil rights movements, it's always easier to deny personhood to the ones we can’t see, who can’t speak, can’t respond, and can’t defend themselves. And because, like others through all of history, we only afford the status of personhood as long as it doesn’t get in our way.
Listen, I'm aware of some of the complexities surrounding abortion. But there are complexities in every ethical decision, and the exceptions don't do away with the legitimacy of the question. (Ask a pro-abortion advocate, for example, whether they would still support abortion if all the “difficult” scenarios went away. Most, I venture to guess, would say yes).
I'm 100% pro-woman and pro-choice for everything else the feminist movement stands for. The question is not whether you are pro-woman or anti-woman. It's whether you are pro-abortion or anti-abortion. The question is not the right of the woman; it's the right of the child, and that distinction is critical to understand, despite the popular insistence that it's only a question of the former. I’ll deal more with this in another post.
But for now the two questions I want to ask are this: Are we positive the child is not a person? And if it is a person, how will history look back on the tens of millions we’ve aborted under a major cultural assumption?
Randall Hardman blogs at The Bara Initiative.
A statue depicting Mary holding Jesus after his crucifixion is displayed at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Kansas City, Mo. RNS photo by Sally Morrow
NEW YORK (RNS) This year, Good Friday and the start ofPassover occur on the same date: Friday, April 3. The coincidence is no accident.
Jesus’ pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the eight-day Jewish festival marking the Hebrew slaves’ exodus from Egyptian slavery was a religious requirement for Jews of his day. After his death by Roman crucifixion, Passover became an integral part of the Easter story, and Jesus’ Last Supper was like an early version of what later became the Passover seder meal.
In past years, I anonymously attended Good Friday services in New York and sat alongside Christians as they commemorated the death of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament Gospel of John. I alternated each year between Roman Catholic and Protestant churches because I was interested in how preachers handled John’s 71 references to the Jewish people, a text that’s often called “radioactive” because of its negative teaching about Jews and their alleged culpability in killing Jesus.
I attend the most solemn Christian service of the year knowing it had often been a day of dread and even death for many European Jewish communities. On some Good Fridays past, worshippers stormed out of churches filled with hatred and venom for Jews. Many preachers riled up their congregations with sermons saying that “the Jews killed our Lord,” the infamous “Christ killer” or deicide charge that has long poisoned relations between Christians and Jews.
John’s Gospel introduces more problematic themes and hostile descriptions about Jews and Judaism than the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Some contemporary scholars have attempted to mitigate or soften John’s negative description of “the Jews.” One explanation is that the Greek word “Ioudaioi” refers only to the obsequious Jewish leaders who collaborated with the Romans, not the entire people. Another approach is to translate the word as “Judeans,” the residents of Judea, the Roman name for the region.
Yet for most people, these are linguistic differences without any real meaning or significance. A more plausible explanation is that John describes a bitter intra-Jewish family feud, an internal clash between the followers of Jesus and those who remained faithful to the older faith. Vigorous angry debates took place within the “mishpacha,” the Hebrew word for “family.” Truth be told, people often utter or write more derogatory words and phrases in family disputes than they would ever use with those outside the family circle.
Such finely crafted academic opinions, however, were rarely heard at the Good Friday services I attended. Some preachers made “the Jews” into the chief adversaries, the eternal enemies of Jesus. They preached that the Jewish people merited eternal divine punishment because of their “crime.” The decisive and central role played by the cruel Roman authorities — the only ones with the power to carry out capital punishment — was frequently minimized or omitted completely. Jesus’ killers were “the Jews,” full stop. Such anti-Jewish Good Friday services were painful and distressing.
But I also attended Good Friday services in both Catholic and Protestant churches where the death of Jesus was portrayed in broad universal terms without placing the blame on “the Jews” or even the Romans: no condemnation, no divine punishment. Such sermons focused less on “who” killed Jesus than on the meaning of his death for our own age. Those positive sermons reflected the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 repudiation of the deicide charge and the call for “mutual respect and knowledge” between Christians and Jews.
After Passover and Easter concluded, I always contacted the various preachers and suggested we meet to discuss my Good Friday experience. Almost all accepted my invitation. The Christian clergy, including those who did not verbally beat up on the Jews, usually asked: “Rabbi, why didn’t you tell me you were coming to the Good Friday service?”
My response: “Would that have changed your preaching?”
The answer from even those who had spewed anti-Judaism from their pulpit was invariably something along the lines of: “Knowing a rabbi was present would have made a real difference. I would have changed my message so I didn’t offend you.”
My response: “It’s not a matter of politeness. Before you again falsely condemn Jews as ‘Christ killers’ and cursed by God, imagine that Jews, the kinsfolk of Jesus, are physically present at all your services, not just on Good Friday.”
By Randall HardmanThe 2015 March for Life in Washington, D.C. Photo by Kristen Hwang / Creative Commons
Years ago I saw a T-shirt for sale with a picture of an old, gray haired, African-American woman sitting on a stump and dressed in rags. She looked solemn but strong as she held an infant which was obviously no more than a few months old in development. It was easy to tell, even without words, what was going on: The shirt was addressing justice on some level. This woman had experienced something. She looked wise — not from opportunity but through suffering and experience. This shirt made you think.
But the words, in case you missed it in the image itself, made it clear what was being conveyed. She spoke to the child that she held in her arms, “They also once thought that I wasn’t a person.”
I've often thought about that shirt and I wish I'd bought it that day because I haven’t seen it since. The message conveys a question which most people today are willing to write off with an assumption at best. In a culture which considers itself progressive, advanced, and morally superior to its past, we have utterly failed to go back and address the very foundational question behind abortion: Is this a person?
No doubt some are going to jump up and say “Of course we have! We addressed this in Roe v. Wade.” And, yet, thecourt system is equally prone to negative social permeation, as can be seen through American history in its denial of rights to all sorts of groups of people. But even if a handful of individuals are convinced that they've thought this issue out to its logical conclusion, society hasn’t done it — philosophically, ethically, or scientifically.
The notion that aborting a child in the womb is not a moral action is a cultural assumption pure and simple. In a culture obsessed with personal convenience, individuality, success, sexual liberation and a tendency to relativize ethics in light of these and other obsessions, we don’t address the question either because we've already assumed the answer or because we insist that the question should be framed in another way (usually in the context of women’s rights which, by framing it that way, already presumes the answer to the personhood question).
I’ve studied history all my life. While I've focused particularly on religious history and specifically Judeo-Christian history in the Ancient Near East, I've also studied history more broadly and one of the things that strikes me regularly is this: There has never been a period in the history of mankind where we haven’t denied one group of people the status of personhood. Never.And in most cases, this denial has been justified in the name of convenience for either one particular group of people or society at large.
There's one question that regularly goes through my mind concerning abortion. What if this is our modern-day slavery? Or, if you like, our modern-day racism, our modern-day sexism, etc.Is it possible that in a hundred years we’ll see our current acceptance — and even celebration in many cases — of abortion as on par with the acceptance of slavery, or the acceptance of women as lesser than men?
History is always looking backward and nobody can see the true nature of things while in the present moment. Think of all those times in your life when you've wished that you had the knowledge that you now have! History is similar. We routinely look back at both our minor and massive ethical failings and ask “How could we not see it then?” or “How did we let x,y and z justify that position?”
I wonder if we’ll ever get to a point in our own history where we look back and ask how was it that we could abort 50 million children? I don’t know that it will ever happen, but it’s not because the assumption of non-personhood is inherently correct or because we've progressed so far as a culture that we’ve got this one figured out. It's because for all our civil rights movements, it's always easier to deny personhood to the ones we can’t see, who can’t speak, can’t respond, and can’t defend themselves. And because, like others through all of history, we only afford the status of personhood as long as it doesn’t get in our way.
Listen, I'm aware of some of the complexities surrounding abortion. But there are complexities in every ethical decision, and the exceptions don't do away with the legitimacy of the question. (Ask a pro-abortion advocate, for example, whether they would still support abortion if all the “difficult” scenarios went away. Most, I venture to guess, would say yes).
I'm 100% pro-woman and pro-choice for everything else the feminist movement stands for. The question is not whether you are pro-woman or anti-woman. It's whether you are pro-abortion or anti-abortion. The question is not the right of the woman; it's the right of the child, and that distinction is critical to understand, despite the popular insistence that it's only a question of the former. I’ll deal more with this in another post.
But for now the two questions I want to ask are this: Are we positive the child is not a person? And if it is a person, how will history look back on the tens of millions we’ve aborted under a major cultural assumption?
Randall Hardman blogs at The Bara Initiative.
by Christy ThomasLike millions of others, I shall board an airplane tomorrow. First a reasonably quick flight to Philadelphia and then an overnight flight to Tel Aviv. Every step of this journey is an exercise in trust.
We trust the competence and willingness to abide by traffic rules of our driver and other drivers on the way to the airport. We trust the people who check us in that our luggage will actually arrive with us and that we’ll board the correct flight. We trust the baggage handlers and the people who designed that system. We trust the TSA to do their screening jobs with competence and thoroughness. We trust the mechanics who check out the airplanes and the maintenance schedulers to keep the planes in good repair. We trust the food handlers that they are not loading the food with devastating bacterias. We trust the air traffic controllers to get the planes on and off the ground with split-second accuracy.
And we trust that the pilots are not in a mood to commit suicide or mass murder.
Life works that way. It works on mutual trust. Certainly, there are always the fringe crazies who think they can manage with utter self-sufficiency, dependent upon no one else for survival and comfort. But the rest have few options but to trust one another.
As I write this, a couple of plumbers are here with the complex job in front of them of dismantling a kitchen sink and cleaning out a terminally clogged drain. They trust that they’ll get paid the large sum this will cost. We trust that they’ll do what they say they can do so the sink once again becomes usable and no longer emits a foul odor.
We trust.
Because cooking was not an option, I made a run to Starbucks this morning for a quick bite. I trust that my Chai tea was actually made with coconut milk, not cow milk, so I won’t be doubled over in pain when I board the plane tomorrow.
As I write, I trust that the keys my fingers instinctively land upon will actually create the words on the screen that I intend. I trust these unknown people who built this computer to have done so with integrity and not loaded it with virus-producing or password-stealing malware.
We all live by faith, not by sight.
I suspect, however, all of us have had times of trusting the wrong people, the wrong things, the wrong beliefs. I have spent my life seeking to love God and my neighbor, trying to come to some sense of understanding about the nature of revelation. I have studied and read and practiced and ministered. I went through a rigorous set of standards in order to be ordained in The United Methodist Church, a place I saw as worthy of trust. I love the church, and see it as a place where we can practice our faith and go out into the world with the habits of love and grace firmly entrenched in our souls.
Since last July, I’ve taken on a new career as a mystery worshipper and have visited about 35 different churches and religious gatherings.
And I’m just about to lose my trust in the church as a place of holy mystery. While there have been the occasional moments of hope and transcendence, they have been few. Mostly what I see now are either near-cultish celebrity/ athlete/ charismatic/ entrepreneurial pastors who are seeking to build their own kingdoms or sadly ingrown older congregations that can not or will not learn the language of grace and invitation to the outsider.
In the United Methodist Church, I see clergy mistreating one another, career ladders instead of lives of service, the incompetent but well-connected moved to high levels and the quiet, faithful ones relegated to the worst possible churches with impossible demographics. Not all the time, of course, but often enough that cynicism becomes the norm.
I see battle lines drawn over ultimately inconsequential things, voyeuristic peering into the sexual activities of others and little self-examination for gossip, divisive behaviors, unbridled pride and self-serving ambitions.
It gets harder to trust.
Yet, in the midst of my despair, I see pockets of light and hope. While trust in humanity can often be problematic and is too frequently betrayed, trust that God holds creation in infinite, bottomless love and intention of redemption provides hope of life and freedom.
In the midst of my despair, these two competent plumbers have now restored the kitchen sink to its freely draining state. In the midst of my despair, hungry are still being fed and naked clothed, the grieving comforted and forgiveness for the unforgivable offered.
In the midst of darkness, light will prevail, although the church as it exists right now probably won’t. And maybe it shouldn’t.
Christy blogs at ChristyThomas.com.
Juan Pablo di Pace as Jesus in “A.D. The Bible Continues.” Photo: Lightworkers Media / NBC
(RNS) Need proof that biblical entertainment is Hollywood’s holiest trend? Then look no further than Morocco, where three TV projects — National Geographic Channel’s “Killing Jesus,” NBC’s “A.D. The Bible Continues” and CNN’s “Finding Jesus” — were filmed on neighboring sets last year.
“You got this kind of ‘Life of Brian’-esque world you’re living in, where on all of our days off, there’s 36 disciples sitting around the pool and three Jesuses at the bar,” said actor Stephen Moyer, who ditched the fangs from “True Blood” to play Roman governor Pontius Pilate in the Ridley Scott-produced “Killing Jesus.”
Based on Fox News host Bill O’Reilly’s follow-up to the books he co-wrote with Martin Dugard, “Killing Lincoln” and “Killing Kennedy,” “Killing Jesus” tracks the last days of the Christian Messiah. Played by Muslim actor Haaz Sleiman, he is portrayed less as a miracle worker and more as a political threat, and the script heightens the sexual tension between Jesus and follower Mary Magdalene (Klara Issova).
“It plays with the idea that Jesus’ teachings are more important than the doing of miracles, that the idea behind what he’s saying is the point and it doesn’t need to have out-of-body, magical elements happening,” Moyer said.
The $12 million production is one of the latest endeavors to give Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection a grittier, more realistic feel — an approach Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” introduced in 2004 to earn more than $370.3 million. History’s 10-part miniseries “The Bible” took a similar approach in 2013 and drew 13.1 million viewers for its Easter Sunday finale.
Though “The Ten Commandments” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” have become Easter staples, new faith-oriented entertainment has mostly failed to cross over in recent years, with exceptions in “The Da Vinci Code,” “Fireproof” and “The Nativity Story” in the mid-2000s.
But after the success of “The Bible” (and religion-themed films Rentrak says earned $400 million last year, the most since 2006), studios have recognized demand and ordered more, including ABC pilot “Of Kings and Prophets” and TV One’s “To Hell and Back” (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET/PT).
“The Bible” was created by producer Mark Burnett (“Survivor,” “The Voice”) and his wife, actress Roma Downey (“Touched by an Angel”); they repurposed the series’ section on Jesus for a stand-alone feature film “Son of God.” It totaled $59.7 million at the box office last spring, thanks in large part to grassroots marketing in churches nationwide.
It’s now being followed with an NBC sequel, “A.D. The Bible Continues” (begins April 5, 9 p.m. ET/PT), a 12-episode event that takes, Burnett says, a “Game of Thrones”-approach to the Bible’s book of Acts, about the early church after Jesus’ resurrection.
With “The Bible,” “we didn’t make Sunday-school programming. We made stuff that was accurate to the Bible, but realistic, and didn’t feel like it had been made on a shoestring budget,” Burnett said. “You have to treat every hour of television you’re given like a $100 million movie, and with ‘A.D.,’ we stepped it up even a stage further.”
The couple also promoted diversity in “A.D.” — 15 nationalities are represented in the cast, Downey says — and in their CBS miniseries “The Dovekeepers” (Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET/PT), led by Chilean actress Cote de Pablo, formerly of NCIS. It’s adapted from Alice Hoffman’s 2011 historical novel following four Hebrew women during the siege of Masada more than 2,000 years ago. While not explicitly biblical, it incorporates themes of bravery and honor into a desert romance.
“Oftentimes, history is written about men for men, but what’s appealing about this story is that it’s told through the eyes of these very courageous women,” Downey said. “There’s such a poignancy to that, and we realize that there’s something more important to these people than being taken and being killed — that their faith and their families came first.”
But a spiritual message doesn’t always translate to divine success. Last year, “Noah” and “Exodus: Gods and Kings” recruited A-listers for biblical blockbusters but earned just $101 million and $65 million, respectively, though overseas box office was more robust. “Left Behind” ($14 million) and Kirk Cameron’s “Saving Christmas” ($2.8 million) didn’t have a prayer with audiences or critics, either.
“I don’t think Christian audiences, especially younger ones, are going to rush to the theater to support something just because all Christians are supposed to go see it,” says S. D. Kelly, a writer for the website Christ and Pop Culture. “Younger audiences want more nuance and are a lot more forgiving of a ‘Noah,’ and are interested in revisiting (Bible stories). They almost want to have their faith challenged.”
Juan Pablo Di Pace, the Argentinian actor who plays Jesus in “A.D.,” says, “What’s been done in the past has been very textbooky, and it’s great to inject doses of fantasy into these things, and creativity.”
But the glossy commercialization of the gospel isn’t for everyone.
“It is kind of an uncomfortable bargain for some people, because they really want to support it and they are entertained by it, but it also feels a little over the top in how we tend to think of Scripture,” Kelly said.
Others embrace it. The Rev. Ray Johnston, pastor of the multi-campus Bayside Church in the Sacramento area, praised Downey and Burnett for the accuracy and meticulous care they brought to “A.D.” Like “Son of God,” which Bayside rented out an entire theater to watch last year, the congregation is getting behind “A.D.” and has collected $100,000 in donations to buy teaching kits for churches that can’t afford them.
“For some reason, Christians are known for what they’re against and not what they’re for,” Johnston said. “Anything that triggers conversation about faith and values in America is a really good thing,” even if some take liberties with their narratives.
“I tend to feel like, man, if something’s worth it, let’s get behind it and support it.”
The couple also promoted diversity in “A.D.” — 15 nationalities are represented in the cast, Downey says — and in their CBS miniseries “The Dovekeepers” (Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET/PT), led by Chilean actress Cote de Pablo, formerly of NCIS. It’s adapted from Alice Hoffman’s 2011 historical novel following four Hebrew women during the siege of Masada more than 2,000 years ago. While not explicitly biblical, it incorporates themes of bravery and honor into a desert romance.
“Oftentimes, history is written about men for men, but what’s appealing about this story is that it’s told through the eyes of these very courageous women,” Downey said. “There’s such a poignancy to that, and we realize that there’s something more important to these people than being taken and being killed — that their faith and their families came first.”
But a spiritual message doesn’t always translate to divine success. Last year, “Noah” and “Exodus: Gods and Kings” recruited A-listers for biblical blockbusters but earned just $101 million and $65 million, respectively, though overseas box office was more robust. “Left Behind” ($14 million) and Kirk Cameron’s “Saving Christmas” ($2.8 million) didn’t have a prayer with audiences or critics, either.
“I don’t think Christian audiences, especially younger ones, are going to rush to the theater to support something just because all Christians are supposed to go see it,” says S. D. Kelly, a writer for the website Christ and Pop Culture. “Younger audiences want more nuance and are a lot more forgiving of a ‘Noah,’ and are interested in revisiting (Bible stories). They almost want to have their faith challenged.”
Juan Pablo Di Pace, the Argentinian actor who plays Jesus in “A.D.,” says, “What’s been done in the past has been very textbooky, and it’s great to inject doses of fantasy into these things, and creativity.”
But the glossy commercialization of the gospel isn’t for everyone.
“It is kind of an uncomfortable bargain for some people, because they really want to support it and they are entertained by it, but it also feels a little over the top in how we tend to think of Scripture,” Kelly said.
Others embrace it. The Rev. Ray Johnston, pastor of the multi-campus Bayside Church in the Sacramento area, praised Downey and Burnett for the accuracy and meticulous care they brought to “A.D.” Like “Son of God,” which Bayside rented out an entire theater to watch last year, the congregation is getting behind “A.D.” and has collected $100,000 in donations to buy teaching kits for churches that can’t afford them.
“For some reason, Christians are known for what they’re against and not what they’re for,” Johnston said. “Anything that triggers conversation about faith and values in America is a really good thing,” even if some take liberties with their narratives.
“I tend to feel like, man, if something’s worth it, let’s get behind it and support it.”
by Lauren Markoe / Religion News ServiceThe Rev. Sharon Watkins (DOC president), left, and the Rev. Geoffrey Black (president of the United Church of Christ). Photo courtesy of UCC via Flickr
(RNS) Though the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has made Indianapolis its headquarters for nearly a century, the denomination is considering pulling its next biennial convention out of Indiana over a new state law that allows businesses to turn away gay customers.
Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Thursday (March 26), the day after receiving a letter from church leaders pleading with him to veto it and threatening to move their 2017 General Assembly outside the state.
The bill protects business owners who invoke their religious beliefs to deny service to LGBT customers. A photographer, for example, may refuse to take pictures of a lesbian wedding on the grounds that his faith rejects gay marriage.
“Purportedly a matter of religious freedom, we find RFRA contrary to the values of our faith — as well as to our national and Hoosier values,” stated the letter, which was signed by Sharon E. Watkins, the church’s general minister and president, as well as the leaders of its overseas and domestic missions.
“As a Christian church, we are particularly sensitive to the values of the One we follow — one who sat at table with people from all walks of life, and loved them all.”
The General Assembly will bring more than 6,000 church members to whatever U.S. city the church decides upon and is expected to generate about $5 million in tourism dollars. After Pence signed the law, ministry leaders said they are weighing the costs of moving not only the General Assembly, but smaller meetings — such as the more frequent gatherings of the 125-member board of directors — which most often meets in Indianapolis.
Associate General Minister and Vice President Todd Adams said the church’s board will decide whether to yank the General Assembly from Indianapolis at its next meeting, which begins on April 10.
Other businesses and conventions, including Gen Con, the world’s largest gaming convention, which brings an estimated $50 million to the state each year, have also threatened to find another place to hold their events.
NCAA President Mark Emmert on Thursday afternoon said in a statement that his organization, which hosts the men’s basketball Final Four in Indianapolis next week, is “especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees” and that it will examine how Indiana’s RFRA could impact future NCAA events in Indiana.
Pence, after signing the law, told reporters that Indiana “should have done this a long time ago,” and he rejected the idea that Indiana would pay a financial price for the law. The state’s economy is doing well and the media have misconstrued the bill, which does not sanction discrimination, he said, but protects government from forcing people to act against their deeply held religious beliefs.
Pence, a Republican, cited similar laws in dozens of other states, and the national Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which came into play in the controversial Supreme Court Hobby Lobby decision in 2014. Then, the court allowed the business an exemption from a part of the Affordable Care Act that Hobby Lobby owners find objectionable on religious grounds.
“Faith and religion are important values to millions of Hoosiers and with the passage of this legislation,” Pence said in a statement, “we ensure that Indiana will continue to be a place where we respect freedom of religion and make certain that government action will always be subject to the highest level of scrutiny that respects the religious beliefs of every Hoosier of every faith.”
by Richard Wolf / USA TodayDemonstrators gather in Indianapolis on March 28 to protest a controversial religious freedom bill recently signed by Gov. Mike Pence.Photo courtesy of Reuters/Nate Chute
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence defended his state’s new religious freedom law Sunday (March 29) while refusing to say if it would allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Facing a rising tide of criticism and business boycotts against his state, Pence said he would consider a second law that “amplifies and clarifies” the first one but added, “We’re not going to change the law.”
“We have suffered under this avalanche for the last several days of condemnation, and it’s completely baseless,” Pence said on ABC’s This Week. “This isn’t about disputes between individuals. It’s about government overreach.
“I’m working hard to clarify this,” Pence said. “We’re reaching out to business leaders.”
The law Pence signed Thursday prohibits state or local governments from substantially burdening a person’s ability to exercise their religion — unless the government can show that it has a compelling interest and that the action is the least restrictive way to achieve it. It takes effect July 1.
On Saturday (March 28), thousands of people gathered in downtown Indianapolis to protest the law that critics say could allow discrimination against gays and lesbians. And business leaders have balked, led by Indianapolis-based Angie’s List, which put off a planned $40 million expansion.
The governor’s effort to quell the firestorm over the state’s religious freedom restoration act did little to mollify gay rights organizations convinced that the law would allow businesses to refuse to serve gays and lesbians.
“Governor Pence’s calls for a clarification of this destructive bill are phony unless the legislation guarantees explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBT Hoosiers and includes a clear civil rights carve-out,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on ABC that the law “appears to legitimize discrimination” despite Pence’s claims that it is modeled after laws signed by President Clinton at the federal level in 1993 and supported by then-state senator Barack Obama in Illinois.
“If you have to go back two decades to try to justify something you are doing today, it may raise some questions about the wisdom of what you’re doing,” Earnest said. “Governor Pence is in damage control mode this morning, and he’s got some damage to fix.”
The Democratic National Committee sought to tie Pence’s stand to statements made earlier by Republicans running, or likely to run, for president — including Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.
The Supreme Court has weighed in on religious freedom recently but has not specifically resolved the question of what private businesses with religious objections can and cannot do when it comes to serving gays.
The justices ruled last year in the Hobby Lobby case that companies cannot be forced to offer health insurance coverage for certain birth control methods they equate with abortion. The court’s conservative majority said the Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects closely held for-profit corporations — those controlled by a limited number of shareholders — from the contraception mandate in President Obama’s health care law.
But the court refused to consider a New Mexico photography studio’s challenge to a lower court ruling that it could not refuse to shoot a same-sex wedding for religious reasons. And the court has not ruled on the legality of state religious freedom laws — something that could be the next wave of legal challenges following this spring’s upcoming decision on gay marriage.
On Sunday’s nationally televised show, host George Stephanopoulos — who worked for Clinton when the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed — asked Pence repeatedly if the law would let merchants discriminate against gays and lesbians. Of particular concern is whether businesses that serve weddings — such as photographers, florists and bakers — could refuse to participate in same-sex weddings.
Each time, Pence avoided the question and accused the media and outside groups of an “avalanche of intolerance that’s been poured on our state.”
“When you see these headlines about Indiana, a license to discriminate in Indiana … it is a red herring, and I think it’s deeply troubling to millions of Americans and, frankly, people all across the state of Indiana who feel troubled about government overreach,” Pence said.
He said he would not recommend adding sexual orientation as a protected class under the state’s civil rights laws — something that some other states with similar religious freedom laws have in place.
“I will not push for that,” Pence said. “That’s not on my agenda.”
Southern Baptist race summit calls for focus on reconciliation 
by Heidi Hall / Religion News Service
Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore. File photo, June 9, 2014. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Southern Baptists did not mince words about their racist past during a two-day summit here devoted to making churches more diverse.
During the first half-hour of the conference Thursday (March 26), the Southern Baptist Convention’s top ethics czar acknowledged that the denomination’s heritage included preaching family values while splitting up the families of black slaves.
“Our heritage comes to us through a trail of blood, but not all of it is Christ’s blood, and some of it cries out from the ground right now,” said Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
He assured the audience that racial hatred would land them in hell.
But demonstrating the difficult task of getting blacks and whites to worship together, fewer than a fifth of the nearly 550 attendees at The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation summit were black — even with powerhouse names such as African-American pastor Tony Evans on the agenda.
This was the second year that the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission held a summit for pastors and other church leaders. Registration drew more than twice last year’s number when the summit focused on homosexuality.
Commission officials attributed that jump to a national conversation surrounding the Ferguson protests that followed the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
Moore said the work of racial reconciliation isn’t just for people whose “bedsheets have eyeholes,” he said, referring to the Ku Klux Klan. It’s for articulate people whose racism finds expression in complex and indirect ways.
“Racial reconciliation is going to take the courage of knowing who you are in Christ,” he told an energetic crowd, earning a shower of amens and yeses. “We are not the state church of the Confederate States of America.”
The Southern Baptist Convention was born in 1845 in a split over its support of slavery, a stance its leadership didn’t formally apologize for until 1995.
Still today, of the 50,474 Southern Baptist congregations in North America, only about 20 percent self-identified as predominantly minority, including 3,502 African-American and 3,229 Latino churches.
Four years ago, the SBC considered a name change to increase opportunities for expansion outside the South.
Moore, a Mississippi native, was among those who rejected the idea. He said the denomination doesn’t need rebranding; it needs repentance.
The name can be challenging to overcome, admitted Carlos Smith, a black youth pastor from First Baptist Church of Chesterfield, Mo., who attended Thursday’s summit. Start any phrase with “Southern,” and some African-Americans will stop listening, he said. The only solution is to speak candidly about the denomination’s history and move forward with events such as the summit.
“I am thrilled to hear a white man, Russell Moore, stand up and preach the message he just preached,” Smith said during a break in Thursday’s program. “We need some of our white brothers and sisters saying that it isn’t just race-baiters and people with a victimized mentality who believe these things. (Racism) is a real problem.”
Evans, a well-known speaker in African-American evangelical circles, built his sermon on comparing modern racial divisions to the biblical account of Jesus overcoming ethnic differences to talk to the racially mixed Samaritan woman at the well.
He went on to counsel Christians who would let political differences get in the way.
“God doesn’t ride the backs of donkeys or elephants,” Evans said. “Jesus didn’t come to take sides. He came to take over.”
An afternoon panel explored racial discussions about Ferguson and veered off into abortion as a social justice issue for African-Americans.
Robert George, a Princeton law professor and anti-abortion activist, tied the #BlackLivesMatter social media hashtag to the abortion debate. George said there are more abortion clinics in African-American and Latino neighborhoods than white neighborhoods and pointed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showing black women are significantly more likely to have an abortion than white women.
The conference continued on Friday with a panel including Andrew Walker, the ERLC’s director of policy studies, titled “Marriage, Sexuality, Adoption and Racial Reconciliation.”
Keeping the baby vs. abortion: Americans' muddled morality about the unborn 
by Trevin Wax / Religion News Service
A pregnant woman looks at her ultrasound photo. Photo: Bigstock
(RNS) On March 18, Michelle Wilkins answered a Craigslist ad for baby clothes. When she arrived at the seller’s home, Dynel Lane, a former nurse’s aide, attacked her, cut her open, and removed her unborn child. Wilkins survived the incident; her child did not.
Hearing about this horrifying crime provokes a sense of moral revulsion, as well as a demand for justice to be carried out against the killer. But this crime took place in Colorado, and therefore, the attacker will not face murder charges. Colorado state law does not recognize the fetus as a person unless the fetus has reached the point he or she can survive outside the womb.
Today, 38 states have fetal homicide laws that increase penalties for crimes involving pregnant women or explicitly refer to the fetus as a person worthy of protection.
But creating and passing these laws is a contentious process because it takes lawmakers to the heart of our society’s debate over abortion: What is the unborn?
Opponents fear that some of these laws go too far in bestowing “personhood” on the unborn and may jeopardize a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion. Supporters believe these laws provide justice for women like Wilkins and Laci Peterson, a pregnant California woman who disappeared in 2002.
The debate over fetal homicide reveals our society’s inconsistency in the ongoing debate over abortion: We only affirm the humanity of the unborn if the child is “wanted.”
With friends and neighbors and family members who celebrate a pregnancy, we speak of the unborn in warm and personal terms: “baby” and “child.” When debating the right to abortion, we speak of the unborn in clinical and impersonal terms: “fetus,” “zygote,” or “tissue.” One wonders if our manner of conversation conveniently shifts, depending on the context, or whenever we find it necessary to distance ourselves from the humanity of the unborn.
American views of the morality and legality of abortion are complex, defying the conventional labels of “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” and confounding activists on both sides who see the issue with black-and-white clarity. Describing American views as “complex” is the nice way to put it; it may be more accurate to say we’re muddled on the morality of abortion because we are inconsistent in our view of human life in the womb.
This is why Cosmopolitan can post an article lauding Latina reproductive rights activists and a video of ultrasounds showing how unborn babies grimace when their mothers smoke, without any apparent dissonance. Cosmo readers are supposed to react with horror to the harm smoking may cause a prenatal child, while rallying to support a woman’s right to a procedure that, in the second and third trimesters, would tear the same child limb by limb.
It’s why many in our society demand the harshest penalties for people who commit violent crimes against a pregnant woman or unborn child, while maintaining the right of a doctor to do violence to the unborn within the sterile confines of anabortion clinic. It’s why there is outrage at the news of fetal remains being used to heat hospitals in England, as if we ought to treat a prenatal child with more dignity after death than before. If the baby is “wanted,” he or she deserves our protection. If the baby is unwanted, he or she can be discarded.
Appealing to religious grounds in opposing abortion is difficult because of society’s wide range of perspectives. Agnostics or atheists may not agree that human beings are made in the image of God, or that abortion is a sin against another human being, or that human life begins at conception.
Appealing to science is difficult as well because, while science may answer the question of when human life begins (at conception), it cannot tell us if that developing human being should be considered a “person” or at what stage of development we should consider the fetus worth protecting.
But here at this intersection of science and faith the debate over the unborn is beginning to converge. Technology is playing a larger role in these discussions. High-quality ultrasounds offer us unprecedented pictures inside the womb. Millennial parents who put together scrapbooks for their children begin with sonograms, not newborn photos.
And so, as technology advances, our society is put in the increasingly uncomfortable position of both affirming and denying the humanity of the unborn. For now, however, our muddled inconsistency will deny justice to Michelle Wilkins, and no one will be charged in the death of the baby she lost.
by Heidi Hall / Religion News Service
Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore. File photo, June 9, 2014. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Southern Baptists did not mince words about their racist past during a two-day summit here devoted to making churches more diverse.
During the first half-hour of the conference Thursday (March 26), the Southern Baptist Convention’s top ethics czar acknowledged that the denomination’s heritage included preaching family values while splitting up the families of black slaves.
“Our heritage comes to us through a trail of blood, but not all of it is Christ’s blood, and some of it cries out from the ground right now,” said Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
He assured the audience that racial hatred would land them in hell.
But demonstrating the difficult task of getting blacks and whites to worship together, fewer than a fifth of the nearly 550 attendees at The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation summit were black — even with powerhouse names such as African-American pastor Tony Evans on the agenda.
This was the second year that the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission held a summit for pastors and other church leaders. Registration drew more than twice last year’s number when the summit focused on homosexuality.
Commission officials attributed that jump to a national conversation surrounding the Ferguson protests that followed the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
Moore said the work of racial reconciliation isn’t just for people whose “bedsheets have eyeholes,” he said, referring to the Ku Klux Klan. It’s for articulate people whose racism finds expression in complex and indirect ways.
“Racial reconciliation is going to take the courage of knowing who you are in Christ,” he told an energetic crowd, earning a shower of amens and yeses. “We are not the state church of the Confederate States of America.”
The Southern Baptist Convention was born in 1845 in a split over its support of slavery, a stance its leadership didn’t formally apologize for until 1995.
Still today, of the 50,474 Southern Baptist congregations in North America, only about 20 percent self-identified as predominantly minority, including 3,502 African-American and 3,229 Latino churches.
Four years ago, the SBC considered a name change to increase opportunities for expansion outside the South.
Moore, a Mississippi native, was among those who rejected the idea. He said the denomination doesn’t need rebranding; it needs repentance.
The name can be challenging to overcome, admitted Carlos Smith, a black youth pastor from First Baptist Church of Chesterfield, Mo., who attended Thursday’s summit. Start any phrase with “Southern,” and some African-Americans will stop listening, he said. The only solution is to speak candidly about the denomination’s history and move forward with events such as the summit.
“I am thrilled to hear a white man, Russell Moore, stand up and preach the message he just preached,” Smith said during a break in Thursday’s program. “We need some of our white brothers and sisters saying that it isn’t just race-baiters and people with a victimized mentality who believe these things. (Racism) is a real problem.”
Evans, a well-known speaker in African-American evangelical circles, built his sermon on comparing modern racial divisions to the biblical account of Jesus overcoming ethnic differences to talk to the racially mixed Samaritan woman at the well.
He went on to counsel Christians who would let political differences get in the way.
“God doesn’t ride the backs of donkeys or elephants,” Evans said. “Jesus didn’t come to take sides. He came to take over.”
An afternoon panel explored racial discussions about Ferguson and veered off into abortion as a social justice issue for African-Americans.
Robert George, a Princeton law professor and anti-abortion activist, tied the #BlackLivesMatter social media hashtag to the abortion debate. George said there are more abortion clinics in African-American and Latino neighborhoods than white neighborhoods and pointed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showing black women are significantly more likely to have an abortion than white women.
The conference continued on Friday with a panel including Andrew Walker, the ERLC’s director of policy studies, titled “Marriage, Sexuality, Adoption and Racial Reconciliation.”
by Trevin Wax / Religion News ServiceA pregnant woman looks at her ultrasound photo. Photo: Bigstock
(RNS) On March 18, Michelle Wilkins answered a Craigslist ad for baby clothes. When she arrived at the seller’s home, Dynel Lane, a former nurse’s aide, attacked her, cut her open, and removed her unborn child. Wilkins survived the incident; her child did not.
Hearing about this horrifying crime provokes a sense of moral revulsion, as well as a demand for justice to be carried out against the killer. But this crime took place in Colorado, and therefore, the attacker will not face murder charges. Colorado state law does not recognize the fetus as a person unless the fetus has reached the point he or she can survive outside the womb.
Today, 38 states have fetal homicide laws that increase penalties for crimes involving pregnant women or explicitly refer to the fetus as a person worthy of protection.
But creating and passing these laws is a contentious process because it takes lawmakers to the heart of our society’s debate over abortion: What is the unborn?
Opponents fear that some of these laws go too far in bestowing “personhood” on the unborn and may jeopardize a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion. Supporters believe these laws provide justice for women like Wilkins and Laci Peterson, a pregnant California woman who disappeared in 2002.
The debate over fetal homicide reveals our society’s inconsistency in the ongoing debate over abortion: We only affirm the humanity of the unborn if the child is “wanted.”
With friends and neighbors and family members who celebrate a pregnancy, we speak of the unborn in warm and personal terms: “baby” and “child.” When debating the right to abortion, we speak of the unborn in clinical and impersonal terms: “fetus,” “zygote,” or “tissue.” One wonders if our manner of conversation conveniently shifts, depending on the context, or whenever we find it necessary to distance ourselves from the humanity of the unborn.
American views of the morality and legality of abortion are complex, defying the conventional labels of “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” and confounding activists on both sides who see the issue with black-and-white clarity. Describing American views as “complex” is the nice way to put it; it may be more accurate to say we’re muddled on the morality of abortion because we are inconsistent in our view of human life in the womb.
This is why Cosmopolitan can post an article lauding Latina reproductive rights activists and a video of ultrasounds showing how unborn babies grimace when their mothers smoke, without any apparent dissonance. Cosmo readers are supposed to react with horror to the harm smoking may cause a prenatal child, while rallying to support a woman’s right to a procedure that, in the second and third trimesters, would tear the same child limb by limb.
It’s why many in our society demand the harshest penalties for people who commit violent crimes against a pregnant woman or unborn child, while maintaining the right of a doctor to do violence to the unborn within the sterile confines of anabortion clinic. It’s why there is outrage at the news of fetal remains being used to heat hospitals in England, as if we ought to treat a prenatal child with more dignity after death than before. If the baby is “wanted,” he or she deserves our protection. If the baby is unwanted, he or she can be discarded.
Appealing to religious grounds in opposing abortion is difficult because of society’s wide range of perspectives. Agnostics or atheists may not agree that human beings are made in the image of God, or that abortion is a sin against another human being, or that human life begins at conception.
Appealing to science is difficult as well because, while science may answer the question of when human life begins (at conception), it cannot tell us if that developing human being should be considered a “person” or at what stage of development we should consider the fetus worth protecting.
But here at this intersection of science and faith the debate over the unborn is beginning to converge. Technology is playing a larger role in these discussions. High-quality ultrasounds offer us unprecedented pictures inside the womb. Millennial parents who put together scrapbooks for their children begin with sonograms, not newborn photos.
And so, as technology advances, our society is put in the increasingly uncomfortable position of both affirming and denying the humanity of the unborn. For now, however, our muddled inconsistency will deny justice to Michelle Wilkins, and no one will be charged in the death of the baby she lost.
Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1 Adonai spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt; he said, 2 “You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Speak to all the assembly of Isra’el and say, ‘On the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb or kid for his family, one per household — 4 except that if the household is too small for a whole lamb or kid, then he and his next-door neighbor should share one, dividing it in proportion to the number of people eating it. 5 Your animal must be without defect, a male in its first year, and you may choose it from either the sheep or the goats.
6 “‘You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then the entire assembly of the community of Isra’el will slaughter it at dusk. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame at the entrance of the house in which they eat it. 8 That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzah and maror. 9 Don’t eat it raw or boiled, but roasted in the fire, with its head, the lower parts of its legs and its inner organs. 10 Let nothing of it remain till morning; if any of it does remain, burn it up completely.
11 “‘Here is how you are to eat it: with your belt fastened, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand; and you are to eat it hurriedly. It is Adonai’s Pesach [Passover]. 12 For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am Adonai. 13 The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over [a] you — when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.
14 “‘This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to Adonai; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation.[Footnotes:
Exodus 12:13 Hebrew: pasach]
Psalm 116:1 I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
2 because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
1 Corinthians 11:23 For what I received from the Lord is just what I passed on to you — that the Lord Yeshua, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; 24 and after he had made the b’rakhah he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this as a memorial to me”; 25 likewise also the cup after the meal, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant effected by my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, as a memorial to me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes.
John 13:1 It was just before the festival of Pesach, and Yeshua knew that the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. Having loved his own people in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 They were at supper, and the Adversary had already put the desire to betray him into the heart of Y’hudah Ben-Shim‘on from K’riot. 3 Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. 4 So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him.
6 He came to Shim‘on Kefa, who said to him, “Lord! You are washing my feet?” 7 Yeshua answered him, “You don’t understand yet what I am doing, but in time you will understand.” 8 “No!” said Kefa, “You will never wash my feet!” Yeshua answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 “Lord,” Shim‘on Kefa replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and head too!” 10 Yeshua said to him, “A man who has had a bath doesn’t need to wash, except his feet — his body is already clean. And you people are clean, but not all of you.” 11 (He knew who was betraying him; this is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”)
12 After he had washed their feet, taken back his clothes and returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me ‘Rabbi’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because I am. 14 Now if I, the Lord and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, so that you may do as I have done to you. 16 Yes, indeed! I tell you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is an emissary greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
31 After Y’hudah had left, Yeshua said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If the Son has glorified God, God will himself glorify the Son, and will do so without delay. 33 Little children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and, as I said to the Judeans, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ now I say it to you as well.
34 “I am giving you a new command: that you keep on loving each other. In the same way that I have loved you, you are also to keep on loving each other. 35 Everyone will know that you are my talmidim by the fact that you have love for each other.”5
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-14
Verse 1
[1] And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
The Lord spake — Had spoken, before the three days darkness. But the mention of it was put off to this place, that the history of the plagues might not be interrupted.
Verse 2
[2] This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
This shall be to you the beginning of months — They had hitherto begun their year from the middle of September, but hence-forward they were to begin it from the middle of March, at least in all their ecclesiastical computations. We may suppose that while Moses was bringing the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, he was directing the Israelites to prepare for their departure at an hour's warning. Probably he had, by degrees, brought them near together from their dispersions, for they are here called the congregation of Israel; and to them, as a congregation, orders are here sent.
Verse 3
[3] Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
Take every man a lamb — In each of their families, or two or three families, if they were small, join for a lamb. The lamb was to be got ready four days before. and that afternoon they went, they were to kill it, ( Exodus 12:6,) as a sacrifice, not strictly, for it was not offered upon the altar, but as a religious ceremony, acknowledging God's goodness to them, not only in preserving them from, but in delivering them by the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians. The lamb so slain they were to eat roasted (we may suppose in its several quarters) with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; they were to eat it in haste, Exodus 12:11, and to leave none of it until the morning; for God would have them to depend upon him for their daily bread. Before they eat the flesh of the lamb, they were to sprinkle the blood upon the door-posts; by which their houses were to be distinguished from the houses of the Egyptians, and so their first-born secured from the sword of the destroying angel. Dreadful work was to be made this night in Egypt; all the first-born both of man and beast were to be slain; and judgment executed upon the gods of Egypt,Numbers 33:4. It is probable the idols which the Egyptians worshipped were defaced, those of metal melted, those of wood consumed, and those of stone broke to pieces. This was to be annually observed as a feast of the Lord in their generations, to which the feast of unleavened bread was annexed, during which, for seven days, they were to eat no bread but what was unleavened, in remembrance of their being confined to such bread for many days after they came out of Egypt,Exodus 12:14-20. There was much of the gospel in this ordinance: (1.) The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our passover, 1 Corinthians 5:7, and is the Lamb of God, John 1:29. 2. It was to be a male of the first year; in its prime. Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days. It notes the strength and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus, on whom our help was laid. 3. It was to be without blemish, noting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a lamb without spot, 1 Peter 1:19. 4. It was to be set apart four days before, noting the designation of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It is observable, that as Christ was crucified at the passover, so he solemnly entered into Jerusalem four days before, the very day that the paschal lamb was set apart. 5. It was to be slain and roasted with fire, noting the exquisite sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. 6. It was to be killed by the whole congregation between the two evenings, that is, between three o'clock and six. Christ suffered in the latter end of the world, Hebrews 9:26, by the hand of the Jews, the whole multitude of them,Luke 23:18. 7. Not a bone of it must be broken, Exodus 12:46, which is expressly said to be fulfilled in Christ, John 19:33,36. (2.) The sprinkling of the blood was typical. 1st, It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, noting the application of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; 2dly, It was to be sprinkled upon the door-posts, noting the open profession we are to make of faith in Christ, and obedience to him. The mark of the beast may be received in the forehead, or in the right hand, but the seal of the lamb is always in the forehead, Revelation 7:3. 3dly, The blood thus sprinkled was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel. If the blood of Christ be sprinkled upon our consciences, it will be our protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell. (3.) The solemn eating of the lamb was typical of our gospel duty to Christ. 1st, The paschal lamb was killed not to be looked upon only, but to be fed upon; so we must by faith make Christ ours, as we do that which we eat, and we must receive spiritual strength and nourishment from him, as from our food, and have delight in him, as we have in eating and drinking when we are hungry or thirsty. 2dly, It was to be all eaten: those that, by faith, feed upon Christ, must feed upon a whole Christ. They must take Christ and his yoke, Christ and his cross, as well as Christ and his crown. 3dly, It was to be eaten with bitter herbs, in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt; we must feed upon Christ with brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin. 4thly, It was to be eaten in a departing posture Exodus 12:11, when we feed upon Christ by faith, we must sit loose to the world, and every thing in it. (4.) The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, 1 Corinthians 5:7,8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, 1st. We must keep a feast, in holy joy, continually delighting ourselves in Christ Jesus; If true believers have not a continual feast, it is their own fault. 2dly, It must be a feast of unleavened bread, kept in charity, without the leaven of malice, and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. All the old leaven of sin must be put far from us, with the utmost caution, if we would keep the feast of a holy life to the honour of Christ. 3dly, It was to be an ordinance forever. As long as we live we must continue feeding upon Christ, and rejoicing in him always, with thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
Verse 9
[9] Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
Raw — Half roasted, but throughly drest.
Verse 10
[10] And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Ye shall burn with fire — To prevent the profane abuse of it.
Verse 11
[11] And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover.
The Lord's passover — A sign of his passing over you, when he destroyed the Egyptians.
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
(Read all of Psalm 116)
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Verse 23
[23] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
I received — By an immediate revelation.
Verse 24
[24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
This is my body, which is broken for you — That is, this broken bread is the sign of my body, which is even now to be pierced and wounded for your iniquities. Take then, and eat of, this bread, in an humble, thankful, obediential remembrance of my dying love; of the extremity of my sufferings on your behalf, of the blessings I have thereby procured for you, and of the obligations to love and duty which I have by all this laid upon you.
Verse 25
[25] After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
After supper — Therefore ye ought not to confound this with a common meal.
Do this in remembrance of me — The ancient sacrifices were in remembrance of sin: this sacrifice, once offered, is still represented in remembrance of the remission of sins.
Verse 26
[26] For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Ye show forth the Lord's death — Ye proclaim, as it were, and openly avow it to God, and to all the world.
Till he come — In glory.John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Read all of John 13)
Verse 2
[2] And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
Having now — Probably now first.
Verse 3
[3] Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
Jesus knowing — Though conscious of his own greatness, thus humbled himself.
Verse 4
[4] He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
Layeth aside his garments — That part of them which would have hindered him.
Verse 5
[5] After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Into the basin — A large vessel was usually placed for this very purpose, wherever the Jews supped.
Verse 7
[7] Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter — We do not now know perfectly any of his works, either of creation, providence, or grace. It is enough that we can love and obey now, and that we shall know hereafter.
Verse 8
[8] Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
If I wash thee not — If thou dost not submit to my will, thou hast no part with me - Thou art not my disciple. In a more general sense it may mean, If I do not wash thee in my blood, and purify thee by my Spirit, thou canst have no communion with me, nor any share in the blessings of my kingdom.
Verse 9
[9] Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Lord, not my feet only — How fain would man be wiser than God! Yet this was well meant, though ignorant earnestness.
Verse 10
[10] Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
And so ye, having been already cleansed, need only to wash your feet - That is, to walk holy and undefiled.
Verse 14
[14] If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
Ye ought also to wash one another's feet — And why did they not? Why do we not read of any one apostle ever washing the feet of any other? Because they understood the Lord better. They knew he never designed that this should be literally taken. He designed to teach them the great lesson of humble love, as well as to confer inward purity upon them. And hereby he teaches us, 1. In every possible way to assist each other in attaining that purity; 2. To wash each other's feet, by performing all sorts of good offices to each other, even those of the lowest kind, when opportunity serves, and the necessity of any calls for them.
Verse 16
[16] Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
The servant is not greater than his lord — Nor therefore ought to think much of either doing or suffering the same things.
Verse 31
[31] Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
Jesus saith — Namely, the next day; on Thursday, in the morning. Here the scene, as it were, is opened, for the discourse which is continued in the following chapters.
Now — While I speak this, the Son of man is glorified - Being fully entered into his glorious work of redemption. This evidently relates to the glory which belongs to his suffering in so holy and victorious a manner.
Verse 33
[33] Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
Ye cannot come — Not yet; being not yet ripe for it. John 7:34.
Verse 34
[34] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
A new commandment — Not new in itself; but new in the school of Christ: for he had never before taught it them expressly. Likewise new, as to the degree of it, as I have loved you.
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: HOLY THURSDAY 2015 by Bill Hoppe
Color: PurpleExodus 12:1-14
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1 Adonai spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt; he said, 2 “You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Speak to all the assembly of Isra’el and say, ‘On the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb or kid for his family, one per household — 4 except that if the household is too small for a whole lamb or kid, then he and his next-door neighbor should share one, dividing it in proportion to the number of people eating it. 5 Your animal must be without defect, a male in its first year, and you may choose it from either the sheep or the goats.
6 “‘You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then the entire assembly of the community of Isra’el will slaughter it at dusk. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame at the entrance of the house in which they eat it. 8 That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzah and maror. 9 Don’t eat it raw or boiled, but roasted in the fire, with its head, the lower parts of its legs and its inner organs. 10 Let nothing of it remain till morning; if any of it does remain, burn it up completely.
11 “‘Here is how you are to eat it: with your belt fastened, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand; and you are to eat it hurriedly. It is Adonai’s Pesach [Passover]. 12 For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am Adonai. 13 The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over [a] you — when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.
14 “‘This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to Adonai; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation.[Footnotes:
Exodus 12:13 Hebrew: pasach]
Psalm 116:1 I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
2 because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
1 Corinthians 11:23 For what I received from the Lord is just what I passed on to you — that the Lord Yeshua, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; 24 and after he had made the b’rakhah he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this as a memorial to me”; 25 likewise also the cup after the meal, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant effected by my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, as a memorial to me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes.
John 13:1 It was just before the festival of Pesach, and Yeshua knew that the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. Having loved his own people in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 They were at supper, and the Adversary had already put the desire to betray him into the heart of Y’hudah Ben-Shim‘on from K’riot. 3 Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. 4 So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him.
6 He came to Shim‘on Kefa, who said to him, “Lord! You are washing my feet?” 7 Yeshua answered him, “You don’t understand yet what I am doing, but in time you will understand.” 8 “No!” said Kefa, “You will never wash my feet!” Yeshua answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 “Lord,” Shim‘on Kefa replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and head too!” 10 Yeshua said to him, “A man who has had a bath doesn’t need to wash, except his feet — his body is already clean. And you people are clean, but not all of you.” 11 (He knew who was betraying him; this is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”)
12 After he had washed their feet, taken back his clothes and returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me ‘Rabbi’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because I am. 14 Now if I, the Lord and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, so that you may do as I have done to you. 16 Yes, indeed! I tell you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is an emissary greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
31 After Y’hudah had left, Yeshua said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If the Son has glorified God, God will himself glorify the Son, and will do so without delay. 33 Little children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and, as I said to the Judeans, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ now I say it to you as well.
34 “I am giving you a new command: that you keep on loving each other. In the same way that I have loved you, you are also to keep on loving each other. 35 Everyone will know that you are my talmidim by the fact that you have love for each other.”5
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-14
Verse 1
[1] And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
The Lord spake — Had spoken, before the three days darkness. But the mention of it was put off to this place, that the history of the plagues might not be interrupted.
Verse 2
[2] This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
This shall be to you the beginning of months — They had hitherto begun their year from the middle of September, but hence-forward they were to begin it from the middle of March, at least in all their ecclesiastical computations. We may suppose that while Moses was bringing the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, he was directing the Israelites to prepare for their departure at an hour's warning. Probably he had, by degrees, brought them near together from their dispersions, for they are here called the congregation of Israel; and to them, as a congregation, orders are here sent.
Verse 3
[3] Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
Take every man a lamb — In each of their families, or two or three families, if they were small, join for a lamb. The lamb was to be got ready four days before. and that afternoon they went, they were to kill it, ( Exodus 12:6,) as a sacrifice, not strictly, for it was not offered upon the altar, but as a religious ceremony, acknowledging God's goodness to them, not only in preserving them from, but in delivering them by the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians. The lamb so slain they were to eat roasted (we may suppose in its several quarters) with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; they were to eat it in haste, Exodus 12:11, and to leave none of it until the morning; for God would have them to depend upon him for their daily bread. Before they eat the flesh of the lamb, they were to sprinkle the blood upon the door-posts; by which their houses were to be distinguished from the houses of the Egyptians, and so their first-born secured from the sword of the destroying angel. Dreadful work was to be made this night in Egypt; all the first-born both of man and beast were to be slain; and judgment executed upon the gods of Egypt,Numbers 33:4. It is probable the idols which the Egyptians worshipped were defaced, those of metal melted, those of wood consumed, and those of stone broke to pieces. This was to be annually observed as a feast of the Lord in their generations, to which the feast of unleavened bread was annexed, during which, for seven days, they were to eat no bread but what was unleavened, in remembrance of their being confined to such bread for many days after they came out of Egypt,Exodus 12:14-20. There was much of the gospel in this ordinance: (1.) The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our passover, 1 Corinthians 5:7, and is the Lamb of God, John 1:29. 2. It was to be a male of the first year; in its prime. Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days. It notes the strength and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus, on whom our help was laid. 3. It was to be without blemish, noting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a lamb without spot, 1 Peter 1:19. 4. It was to be set apart four days before, noting the designation of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It is observable, that as Christ was crucified at the passover, so he solemnly entered into Jerusalem four days before, the very day that the paschal lamb was set apart. 5. It was to be slain and roasted with fire, noting the exquisite sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. 6. It was to be killed by the whole congregation between the two evenings, that is, between three o'clock and six. Christ suffered in the latter end of the world, Hebrews 9:26, by the hand of the Jews, the whole multitude of them,Luke 23:18. 7. Not a bone of it must be broken, Exodus 12:46, which is expressly said to be fulfilled in Christ, John 19:33,36. (2.) The sprinkling of the blood was typical. 1st, It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, noting the application of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; 2dly, It was to be sprinkled upon the door-posts, noting the open profession we are to make of faith in Christ, and obedience to him. The mark of the beast may be received in the forehead, or in the right hand, but the seal of the lamb is always in the forehead, Revelation 7:3. 3dly, The blood thus sprinkled was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel. If the blood of Christ be sprinkled upon our consciences, it will be our protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell. (3.) The solemn eating of the lamb was typical of our gospel duty to Christ. 1st, The paschal lamb was killed not to be looked upon only, but to be fed upon; so we must by faith make Christ ours, as we do that which we eat, and we must receive spiritual strength and nourishment from him, as from our food, and have delight in him, as we have in eating and drinking when we are hungry or thirsty. 2dly, It was to be all eaten: those that, by faith, feed upon Christ, must feed upon a whole Christ. They must take Christ and his yoke, Christ and his cross, as well as Christ and his crown. 3dly, It was to be eaten with bitter herbs, in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt; we must feed upon Christ with brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin. 4thly, It was to be eaten in a departing posture Exodus 12:11, when we feed upon Christ by faith, we must sit loose to the world, and every thing in it. (4.) The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, 1 Corinthians 5:7,8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, 1st. We must keep a feast, in holy joy, continually delighting ourselves in Christ Jesus; If true believers have not a continual feast, it is their own fault. 2dly, It must be a feast of unleavened bread, kept in charity, without the leaven of malice, and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. All the old leaven of sin must be put far from us, with the utmost caution, if we would keep the feast of a holy life to the honour of Christ. 3dly, It was to be an ordinance forever. As long as we live we must continue feeding upon Christ, and rejoicing in him always, with thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
Verse 9
[9] Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
Raw — Half roasted, but throughly drest.
Verse 10
[10] And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Ye shall burn with fire — To prevent the profane abuse of it.
Verse 11
[11] And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover.
The Lord's passover — A sign of his passing over you, when he destroyed the Egyptians.
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
(Read all of Psalm 116)
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Verse 23
[23] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
I received — By an immediate revelation.
Verse 24
[24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
This is my body, which is broken for you — That is, this broken bread is the sign of my body, which is even now to be pierced and wounded for your iniquities. Take then, and eat of, this bread, in an humble, thankful, obediential remembrance of my dying love; of the extremity of my sufferings on your behalf, of the blessings I have thereby procured for you, and of the obligations to love and duty which I have by all this laid upon you.
Verse 25
[25] After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
After supper — Therefore ye ought not to confound this with a common meal.
Do this in remembrance of me — The ancient sacrifices were in remembrance of sin: this sacrifice, once offered, is still represented in remembrance of the remission of sins.
Verse 26
[26] For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Ye show forth the Lord's death — Ye proclaim, as it were, and openly avow it to God, and to all the world.
Till he come — In glory.John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Read all of John 13)
Verse 2
[2] And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
Having now — Probably now first.
Verse 3
[3] Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
Jesus knowing — Though conscious of his own greatness, thus humbled himself.
Verse 4
[4] He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
Layeth aside his garments — That part of them which would have hindered him.
Verse 5
[5] After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Into the basin — A large vessel was usually placed for this very purpose, wherever the Jews supped.
Verse 7
[7] Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter — We do not now know perfectly any of his works, either of creation, providence, or grace. It is enough that we can love and obey now, and that we shall know hereafter.
Verse 8
[8] Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
If I wash thee not — If thou dost not submit to my will, thou hast no part with me - Thou art not my disciple. In a more general sense it may mean, If I do not wash thee in my blood, and purify thee by my Spirit, thou canst have no communion with me, nor any share in the blessings of my kingdom.
Verse 9
[9] Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Lord, not my feet only — How fain would man be wiser than God! Yet this was well meant, though ignorant earnestness.
Verse 10
[10] Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
And so ye, having been already cleansed, need only to wash your feet - That is, to walk holy and undefiled.
Verse 14
[14] If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
Ye ought also to wash one another's feet — And why did they not? Why do we not read of any one apostle ever washing the feet of any other? Because they understood the Lord better. They knew he never designed that this should be literally taken. He designed to teach them the great lesson of humble love, as well as to confer inward purity upon them. And hereby he teaches us, 1. In every possible way to assist each other in attaining that purity; 2. To wash each other's feet, by performing all sorts of good offices to each other, even those of the lowest kind, when opportunity serves, and the necessity of any calls for them.
Verse 16
[16] Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
The servant is not greater than his lord — Nor therefore ought to think much of either doing or suffering the same things.
Verse 31
[31] Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
Jesus saith — Namely, the next day; on Thursday, in the morning. Here the scene, as it were, is opened, for the discourse which is continued in the following chapters.
Now — While I speak this, the Son of man is glorified - Being fully entered into his glorious work of redemption. This evidently relates to the glory which belongs to his suffering in so holy and victorious a manner.
Verse 33
[33] Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
Ye cannot come — Not yet; being not yet ripe for it. John 7:34.
Verse 34
[34] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
A new commandment — Not new in itself; but new in the school of Christ: for he had never before taught it them expressly. Likewise new, as to the degree of it, as I have loved you.
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: HOLY THURSDAY 2015 by Bill Hoppe
Scripture Readings: Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19;1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Theme Ideas
It was by the blood of a sacrificial lamb that the Hebrews were saved in Egypt, as God passed over their homes. And it was at his final Passover feast that Jesus ate his last meal on earth, showing himself to be the sacrificial Lamb of God, by whose blood the entire world is saved. This was a Passover feast unlike any other. Jesus changed its imagery forever by asking his disciples to eat his body, with the breaking of the bread, and to drink his blood with the sharing of the cup. And so, this meal became for us the Lord’s Supper, commemorated as the sacrament of Holy Communion. As doubtful and confused as the disciples must have been, Jesus left no doubt about his love for them, as he washed their feet—even the feet of Judas Iscariot, his betrayer. Sacrifice and love, then, are the foremost themes of Holy Thursday: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34b).
Call to Worship (John 13, 1 Corinthians 11, Exodus 12)
A table is set before us. A feast is prepared for us.
A meal of bread and wine, of meat and bitter herbs.
The Lord calls us to this supper of remembrance.
The Lord calls us to serve and to be served.
As we break the bread and share the cup,
our understanding may fail us.
But we will never forget Christ’s example.
We will never forget the full extent of his love.
Contemporary Gathering Words (John 13)
Christ’s love is poured out for us
like water poured into a basin.
Christ’s love washes us clean.
Christ’s love shows us who we are to be,
and what we are to do.
How blessed we are to know such love!
Contemporary Gathering Words (John 13)
God invites us to the table.
All are welcome, even those with their own agenda.
Christ serves us at this meal.
All may partake, even those who feel unworthy.
All are welcome; all are served; all are loved.
Opening Prayer (Psalm 116)
We love you, Lord. You hear us.
You listen to our prayers.
You have always heard us
whenever we’ve called to you.
Though death tries to bind us
and the gates of hell open before us,
we will call on the Lord’s name for deliverance.
You are full of grace and righteousness.
Lord, you are full of compassion!
You have saved us and preserved us, God.
We rest in your love and care.
How can we repay you, Lord,
for the gifts you’ve showered upon us?
We offer our thanksgiving to you
before all your people!
O praise the Lord!
Praise be to God! Amen.
Opening Prayer or Inivtation to Communion (1 Corinthians 11)
On the night of his arrest,
the Lord Jesus took bread and broke it, saying:
“This is my body, given for you. Remember me.”
As Jesus gave thanks to God,
we also give thanks for his sacrifice.
On that same night, in the same way,
the Lord Jesus took the cup, saying:
“This is my blood, poured out for you. Remember me.”
As Jesus gave thanks to God,
we also give thanks for this new covenant.
When you eat this bread and drink this cup,
remember the Lord Jesus. Remember and be thankful.
Remember until he comes!
Remember us when you come, Lord Jesus!
Thanks be to God!
Prayer of Confession (John 13)
Loving Christ,
on that night long ago,
you knew that your hour had come.
You knew full well what lay ahead of you.
Your disciples loved you and followed you,
but they had also failed you.
They would fail you yet again that night,
and one would betray you.
Yet you washed their feet, as a servant would.
even the feet of your betrayer.
We have also loved you and followed you.
We have also failed you,
and we cannot comprehend the love that you show us,
the love that is our example,
the love that tells us to do
as you have done for us.
May we be like you, Master, servants of all.
May all see how we long to be your faithful disciples.
May all see how we love each other,
just as you have loved us.
In your holy name we pray. Amen.
Words of Assurance (John 13)
Now the Son of Man, the one who loves us, is glorified.
In him, God is also glorified.
The one who loves us gives us a new commandment:
to love one another!
As the Lord has loved us, you are to love each other.
Let all see this love among you, and glorify God.
Let all see how you belong to Christ!
Benediction (Psalm 116, John 13)
How precious to the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
How precious is the sacrifice of Christ.
You are the treasure for which everything was given.
Know that you are precious to God.
And know that you are worthy of Christ’s sacrifice.
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2005 Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2015” is now available.
A DRAMATIC SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
For HOLY THURSDAY written by Rev. Nancy Townley
[A table is set up in the front of the sanctuary, within full view of the congregation. It is covered in a white cloth, which extends down to the floor. There needs to be a place set off to the side for the NARRATOR, who may also be the Pastor. Thirteen chairs are set up behind the table. [as you are looking at the table from the congregation’s standpoint] The chair in the center is for JESUS. The other disciples will fill the other chairs, with PETER and JOHN to the left of JESUS, JAMES to the rightof JESUS, and JUDAS at the end of the table on the right hand side. You may choose to wear long robes, or contemporary dress. However, it will be important for PETER to be wearing a pair of sandals. On this table place thirteen glasses (you may use chalices/wine glasses, or regular glasses), a bowl to the left of JESUS, within reach of JUDAS; a plate on which an uncut loaf of bread is placed. To the left of the table will be a chair and a stand on which a basin, pitcher, and towel have been placed (these should not be blocking the main table, but may be moved forward for the foot-washing sequence. When the foot-washing is complete, the chair, table, pitcher and basin may be moved to the side.]
GATHERING MUSIC “What Wondrous Love Is This” Instrumental only.
PASTOR: Tonight is a special night, for it is on this night that we gather to commemorate the Lord’s Supper, as it is known to us. Welcome to the table of the Lord.
*HYMN “Saranam, Saranam” UMH #523
UNISON PRAYER: Ever-gracious God, we gather in this evening hour as friends gathered with Jesus in an Upper Room long ago. We come bearing the marks and burdens of a bitter and broken world. We come from anonymous places, with dry and thirsty spirits. Remind us, in the breaking of the bread, of our need and of your great sufficiency. Refresh us and make us whole with the cup of forgiveness. Draw us nearer to each other in mutual service and closer to you in the covenant of faithfulness and thanksgiving. As the night advances, deepen in us a sense of your steadfast love for us in Jesus Christ, our friend and Redeemer. AMEN.
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NARRATOR: The road to Jerusalem had been a long, dusty trail. They had willingly followed this man, this Jesus. Now was the time of his triumph, they felt. At last, in the Holy City of Jerusalem, God would make God’s Kingdom manifest.
[breaking the “freeze” position - PETER speaks, and when done, again “freezes”]
PETER: I’m the one that they call the “Big Fisherman”….Big, I guess, and definitely a fisherman. But He called me to become someone who fishes for people. And I left my nets, my boats, and my family and followed Him. I never thought I’d be here, in this place, with this man. He is God’s Son, there’s no doubt about that, and now we have gathered for a meal and enjoyed each other’s company. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I am sure that something incredible is going to happen.
[breaking from “freeze” position - JAMES speaks, and when done, again “freezes”]
JAMES: I remember the first time I heard Him speak. I had gone to hear Him with my brother, John. There was something so compelling about this man, something which seemed to touch my very soul. His words pierced my heart, and yet at the same time drew me in. Then one day, He came to the lakeshore and asked us to follow Him. My father, Zebedee, was not very happy about our decision to follow this wilderness preachers, as he called Him. But follow, we did…over hills, and through valleys, into cities and towns. The things we witnessed! We saw healing, hope restored, lessons taught, the loves of people were changed. It was exciting. Tonight, in this Holy City, we have gathered to share a meal together. I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I know it will be something exciting.
[breaking from “freeze” position - JOHN speaks, and when done, again “freezes”]
JOHN: Everyone else seems so calm, but there is an uneasiness in my soul tonight. Something is wrong, at least that is how I feel. Things have been rather hectic, and this should be a wonderful time to share a meal, but I can’t help the way I feel. I just don’t want this journey to end. I know there are wondrous things yet to happen, but somehow, this sense of foreboding is sneaking into my spirit.
[breaking from “freeze” position - JUDAS speaks, and when done, again “freezes”]
JUDAS: Well, it has been a nice meal, although I can tell you that it cost us a pretty penny to gather all the supplies. I am required to keep the treasury, to make sure that all the needs of these people are taken care of and that we have funds to do our work helping people. He, this Jesus, talks about the Kingdom of Godbeing at hand, and He has done some miraculous things….but when is it truly coming? Am I the only one who really desires God’s intervention right now? We have been in the Temple every day. He preaches, and proclaims God’s presence. But we need to have action right here and now. I don’t know why He’s stalling….but maybe it’s my turn to do something to get this thing rolling.
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NARRATOR: Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world and to go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Him. And during the supper, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off His outer robed, and tied a towel at his waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciple’s feet, and to wipe them with the towel that has tied around Him.
[JESUS gets up from the table, comes over to the stand where the basin, pitcher and towel are placed. He takes a towel and fastens it to His waist (rope cinture if he’s wearing a robe; otherwise, tucking it in the belt of his slacks). He places the basin on the floor in front of the chair (which is to the right of the table), and pours water into the basin. He signals to PETER to come to the chair to have his feet washed. PETER comes over, but does not immediately sit in the chair]
PETER: Lord, are you going to wash my feet?
JESUS: Yes, Peter. But you do not know now what I am doing, later you will understand.
[PETER sits in the chair and removes a sandal. JESUS washes his foot, dries it and then places the sandal back on his foot. They both return to their places at the table]
[Note: if you desire, you may have the other disciples come forward and each of them receive a foot washing from Jesus, then return to their previous seats - this will depend on the amount of time available for this worship service]
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NARRATOR: But Judas was disturbed by these things. As he reached to dip a piece of bread in the bowl, JESUS spoke to him.
JESUS: Do quickly what you must do, Judas.
[JUDAS looks startled and then puts the bread down - stands up and leaves the table.]
[After the litany of Confession and Assurance, the other disciples come out of the “freeze” positions and begin conversing quietly among themselves]
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PRAYER OF CONFESSION and ASSURANCE:
Pastor: God of mercy and love, when Judas went out that door, a part of each one of us went with him.
PEOPLE: We have all betrayed Jesus in one way or another.
Pastor: And when the disciples sat unmoving at the table, each waiting for the other to wash their feet, a part of each one of us sat there with them.
PEOPLE: We have all sat unmoving, waiting for someone else to do what we should be doing ourselves.
Pastor: And when Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet, a part of each one of us joined him in that rejection
PEOPLE: We have all resisted the new hierarchy of Jesus, where those who are greatest become loving servants to all.
Pastor: Forgive us for immobility, for our fear. Help us to again return to following Jesus who would lead us to hope, forgiveness and eternal life. AMEN.
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NARRATOR: But the evening was not complete…..
[JESUS looks at His disciples. Then He takes an uncut loaf of bread. As He raises it, the disciples turn toward Him, watching intently, very serious]
JESUS: Blessed are you, O Lord God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth the bread. We give you thanks for the bounty of the harvest, for the hands which fashioned this bread, and for those it will nourish.
And now, I give it to you. Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
[JESUS breaks the bread and passes it to the disciples on either side of Him. Each disciple breaks a piece of bread and holds it, and passes the loaf to the one beside him. When it reaches the last one at each end of the table, it is placed on a plate. The communion for the congregation will be served from these plates.]
NARRATOR: Likewise, he took the cup…..
[JESUS takes the cup, raises it, and recites the blessing. Then he lowers it before he begins the second paragraph]
JESUS: Blessed are you, O Lord God, Ruler of the Universe. We give you thanks for the fruit of the vine, for those who have tended and harvested, for those who have prepared this wine, and for those it will nourish.
Drink from this, all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you drink of this, do it in remembrance of me.
[JESUS takes the cup and passes it, first to his right and it is returned to h im, and then to his left, and the cup is returned to him. Each disciple dips his bread into the cup and then passes it to the one next to him. Upon completion of their communion, one disciple from the right of Jesus and one from his left, will co forward, prepared to hold the plate of bread while the communion is being offered to the congregation. The Pastor will hold the Chalice]
PASTOR: Come, all who labor and are heavy laden. Come to the table of the Lord. Here find refreshment for your soul. Hear find your healing. Here remember that Christ died for you and be thankful. Come forward in unbroken line to receive this gift.
This is the body of Christ broken for you.
This is the blood of Christ poured out for you.
MUSIC DURING COMMUNION:
UMH #614 “For the Bread Which You Have Broken“, Verses 1 & 2
UMH #432 “Jesu, Jesu”
FWS #2254 “In Remembrance of Me”
FWS #2198 “Stay With Me”
(You may opt to have the whole congregation sing these songs, or the choir only)
PRAYER: Patient God, we h ave received the elements of bread and wine. We have come to the table, imperfect, flawed. Yet You, In Christ, receive us and offer to us healing and hope. Forgive our waywardness. Heal our brokenness. Challenge us to live lives of faithfulness and discipleship. AMEN.
*CLOSING SONG: “Go to Dark Gethsemane” UMH #290
BENEDICTION:
Go in peace, into the darkness of the night to await the dawn. AMEN.
[The service may end with just those spoken words, or it may end with somber music being played. There should be little or no discussion among the participants in order to create an atmosphere of solemnity]
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this night is: PURPLE
[PLEASE NOTE: The directions for the Communion Table, the Footwashing stand are given in the beginning of the service. When you are preparing a bulletin, these directions and all stage directions should be omitted]
THE THEME FOR LENT: TAKING STEPS TOWARD THE CROSS
Although the traditional color for this night is purple, I am asking you to consider covering the worship center with the brown landscapers’ burlap, so that the coarseness of the fabric will set the tone for the weeks which are coming. The movement throughout Lent this year will be taking step toward the cross. Each week, there will be a representation on each step concerning the gospel message for that Sunday (also including Holy Thursday and Good Friday). Each week will be built upon the previous week. moving upward from the bottom step toward the cross. Follow the prompts in the directions below to see the suggestions for each step. The Sunday in Lent will be in italics and bold print.
LENT 1: This is the first step (Ash Wednesday begins with the display on the floor of the worship center, in front of the steps). The journey upward toward the cross begins here. Today’s representation will be THE WILDERNESS.
LENT 2: This is the second step. Today we move forward in commitment, being willing to deny ourselves, and take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Today’s representations will be THE CROSSES of DISCIPLESHIP
LENT 3: Our greed and selfishness have become the focus of today’s representation. Jesus’ overturns the tables of the money changers, for they have been cheating the people for their own profit, they have corrupted the house of worship by their avarice. Today’s representations will the COINS.
LENT 4: We often want God’s purpose for sending Jesus to be that of retribution for all the hurts and alienation we have felt; however, Jesus came to heal and restore us to a right relationship with God….”for God sent Jesus into the world so that the world through him might be saved….God did not send him into the world for condemnation…”
Today’s representation is A SMALL GLOBE or A PARTIALLY UNFOLDED MAP.
LENT 5: Discipleship requires a willingness to give totally of one’s self to the Lord. Holding nothing back, our deeds of mercy, justice and peace will bear a great witness to all, long after we have moved on in our journey. Today’s representation is a bundle of WHEAT.
PASSION/PALM SUNDAY or PALM SUNDAY: Although churches may choose to celebrate this as either Palm Sunday or Passion/Palm Sunday, the artistic representation may vary only slightly. Today’s symbol are THE PALM BRANCHES and CLOAKS (for those specifically celebrating Palm Sunday only). If you are celebrating PASSION/PALM SUNDAY, you may want to add A CHALICE, CROWN OF THORNS, BLACK FABRIC (however, you may add some palm fronds, if you choose)
HOLY THURSDAY: There is no change in the “journey” scene, however follow the directions for the Table, etc. at the beginning of the worship service.
SURFACE: You will be creating 11 steps, leading from the cross down onto the floor of the worship area. These steps should be about 8” high You will need to make each step about 2 feet wide and about 12” deep. This might mean building some additional steps to be placed on the worship center and extending the other steps well into the chancel area. If you are limited in space, make the steps slightly smaller and put them in a staggered format to the right and left of the main step, which should be the highest one. It is on this one that the Lenten cross will rest, to be replaced by an Easter cross
FABRIC: Cover the entire worship area with landscapers’ burlap, making sure that all risers are covered and that the fabric puddles on the floor in front of the worship center.
Take 3 3” wide ribbons or strips of royal purple cloth and place them on the center of the top riser, under the Lenten cross. Make sure that they are separated about 1-2” apart. Bring them forward down over the risers and onto the floor in front of the worship center.
Passion/Palm Sunday: Add a yard of black fabric to the step.Palm Sunday: Add several pieces of colored cloth to the step.
CANDLES: Ash Wednesday: On the top step, in front of the Lenten cross, place a 10” white pillar candle. Lent 1: Place a 3” white candle on the bottom step. Lent 2: Place a 3” white candle on the next step up from the bottom. Lent 3: Place a 3” white candle on the next step up from the previous week‘s step. Lent 4: Place a 3” white candle on the next step up from the previous week’s step. Lent 5: Place a 3” white candle on the next step up from the previous week’s step. (it should be placed behind the sheaf of wheat). Passion/Palm Sunday: No candle should be placed on this step. Palm Sunday: Place a white candle on this step and several votive candles.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: Ash Wednesday: If you can get cacti, or other large, spiky plants, place them on the floor on either side of the steps leading to the cross. Place some smaller spiky plants on either side of the cross, but make sure that there is about 8” between the cross and the plants. Lent 1: Place several cacti on the bottom step. Lent 2, 3, and 4: no additional cacti or floral pieces necessary. Lent 5: At a local craft store you may want to purchase a bundle of wheat or grain stalks, to represent the grains of wheat that Jesus describes in today’s Gospel lesson. Place the wheat, lying on its side on the step above the globe/map and in front of the candle on that step Passion/Palm Sunday: Place several palm fronds and a crown of thorns on this step. Palm Sunday: You may place a small bundle of palms, or some Ti palms (the kind used in funeral baskets and purchased at the local florist) in a small vase to be put on the step.
ROCKS/WOOD: Place piles of rocks on each of the steps, just to give some texture. Don’t use too many, but have some there for effect. Lent 4: If you choose, you may place a small pile of rocks by the globe or map. Passion/Palm Sunday: You may place a group of rocks near the crown of thorns.
OTHER: If it is possible, have someone create a rough, rugged cross, about the size of the brass cross that you might normally use on the worship center. This is known as the Lenten Cross. Place that Cross on the center of the uppermost riser, on top of the strips of purple ribbon/fabric. Lent 2: Place a collection ofsmall crosses, about 6” high on the second step from the bottom. Lent 3: Place coins and other monies on the step (heaped up and spilling over from a basket. Lent 4: Place a small globe or partially opened map on the step (The map should be opened so that some of it is leaning against the next step up and a small portion of it is spilling down over the edge to the step below.). If you are using a globe, place the candle slightly in front of the globe. Passion/Palm Sunday: add a chalice to the step. Holy Thursday: Prepare the table as directed. You may decide to robe or wear contemporary clothing. Make sure that the bread which you have for communion at the Table is sufficient for the worshippers in the congregation. Additionally, have a spare pitcher of “wine” in case you need to refill the chalice.
HOLY THURSDAY (Option 2)
Notes on Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday is such a powerful celebration and witness to our faith. I have presented two "almost" complete services to be offered in two differing locations. One is called THE SANCTUARY SERVICE and other is entitled THE FELLOWSHIP HALL. The time of these worship services is flexible, although generally we have them in the evening. The first service would be held in the main worship area or sanctuary. The format is contemporary, using music and visual display to enhance and support the liturgy. The Fellowship Hall service may be done in any large room in which it is permissible to have food. The idea is to provide a space in which a common meal can be shared. Note: this is not a Seder or a Love Feast. It is more like a Potluck supper. The liturgy for both these services is what I call "springboard" material, and I encourage you to use it for ideas to develop your own special liturgy. Within each of these services I have listed the supplies that you might need for both settings (Artistic Elements). At the end of each service there is a reprise of the Artistic Elements list, for your convenience. These services are designed for any size congregation.
THE SANCTUARY SERVICE
GATHERING MUSIC
THE FAITH WE SING p. 2002 "I Will Call Upon the Lord" (choir or small group)
UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL p. 432 "Jesu, Jesu", (vocal solo)
UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL p. 579 "Lord God, Your Love Has Called Us Here"
(Instrumental)
WORDS OF WELCOME
Leader: Welcome this evening to a celebration of hope and joy. On this dark night we have come to remember the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples. This Lenten Journey has brought us to this place, past many barriers, over difficult spiritual terrain. Now we are invited to the feast, the time of remembrance. Welcome, dear friends, welcome to worship and to the table of the Lord.
CALL TO WORSHIP
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2265, "Time Now to Gather", offer the call to worship in the following manner]
[Have the musician, keyboardist, organist, play the song through once. ]
[As the choir is singing the first verse, have four people bring forward the following elements: a white cloth to cover the worship center, a chalice and pitcher, a basket with bread, a white pillar candle. The cloth should be placed first on the worship center, followed by the candle in the center of the table and the bread basket on one side of the candle and the chalice and pitcher with the wine/juice on the other side. When these have been placed, the servers step to the side of the worship center.]
Choir (singing): "Time now to gather, time now to feel, Christ’s holy presence gracing this meal. Grain from the harvest, fruit of the vine; simple the supper, sacred the sign.
L: Come, now is the time to gather for this meal.
P: We come, hearts ready to receive the gift of Christ.
Choir (singing): "Time to remember Christ who was sent. Time to say, "Thank you" for all he meant. Come to this table. Come, without fear. God will forgive you, welcome you here."
L: All is ready.
P: Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of this holy meal. AMEN.
**Song "Saranam, Saranam" UMH p. 523
Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19 [Paraphrased for inclusive language, this reading is done by several people]
Reader 1: I love the Lord, because God has heard my voice and my supplications. Because God has listened to me, therefore I will call upon the name of the Lord for as long as I live.
Reader 2: The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I pray, save my life!"
Reader 3: What shall I return to the Lord for all the bounty given to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
Reader 1: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of God’s faithful ones.
Reader 2: O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds.
Reader 3: I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord.
Reader 1: I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
Reader 2: In the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of God, I will offer praise.
ALL: Praise the Lord!**Song "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" UMH p. 629
[Note: either the scripture for the Evening may be read in usual form, and the traditional service of Holy Communion with the words of Institution may be offered, or you may use the following to incorporate both the scripture and the Sacrament]
Scripture in Dramatic Form John 13: 1-17, 31b-35, Mark 14: 22-24; Luke 22: 19-20
[Note: it is not necessary to have people in this drama dress in period costume. Regular clothing worn today is appropriate. If you do not have a lot of space, you may decrease the amount of disciples to 3-4 plus Peter and Judas. The disciples should vary in age and gender. They should be barefoot. They may have slippers or sandals which be slipped of and on with ease. Have the twelve disciples sit in this order, from left to right, Peter is in the 6th seat or near the middle of the small group. Judas is at the end on the right. You will need to have a narrator, who will remain off-stage. Other characters may use the scripts (Readers’ Theatre style) or they may memorize their parts. Articles you will need are chairs for each character, a pitcher [with water] and basin, towels, a small table with a loaf of bread and a cup/chalice and a glass pitcher of grape juice]
Narrator: Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table.
[Jesus: takes off his sweater (cardigan), and taking the towel and the pitcher and basin, kneels at the feet of his disciples. He pours a small amount of water into the basin and begins to wash the feet of the disciples and dry them. When he gets to Peter, the following dialog appears]
Peter: Lord, are you going to wash my feet?
Jesus: You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.
Peter: You will never wash my feet.
Jesus: Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.
Peter: Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!
Jesus: One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.
(Jesus looks at the chair where Judas is sitting. Judas looks back at him and then leaves)
[Jesus continues to wash the feet - Note: have the organist or keyboardist play softly "Jesu, Jesu", under the action that follows Judas’ departure, until Jesus stands up and returns to his seat. ]
Jesus: Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
[While the narrator is speaking, have two people bring to the center a small table (card table) covered in a white cloth and the loaf of bread, the cup/chalice, and the pitcher of grape juice (it should be about half full). Make sure that there is enough room between "Jesus" for some movement. The congregation will receive the sacrament from this table)
Narrator: Following the foot washing, Jesus ate supper with his friends. They were still puzzled about his actions and were thinking about the explanation and what he meant by it. Jesus stood up and went to the table, and took a loaf of bread in his hands.
[Jesus takes the uncut loaf of bread, lifts it heavenward and offers a prayer]
Jesus: Lord God of all, you have given to us the grain of the field from which this bread has been made. Make it a blessing for your people.
[Jesus tears the loaf of bread in half, with his hands outstretched, he looks at the disciples on his right and his left and offers the following ..].
Jesus: Look at this bread. This represents my body which is broken for you. Take and eat this bread in remembrance of me.
Narrator: Jesus passed the bread to his friends and each one took a piece, but did not eat immediately, for they were stunned at his words. What could he have meant by his body being broken?
[Jesus returns to the table and speaks as he pours the juice into the chalice. He lifts the chalice heavenward and prays the following prayer.]
Jesus: Lord God of all, you have given to us the fruit of the vine. May we be ever grateful for the nourishment which you continually pour into our lives.
[Jesus looks at the disciples on either side and then offers the following words]
Jesus: Drink from this, all of you, for this represents my blood, the new covenant, which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.
[Jesus goes to each of his disciples, and they dip their morsel of bread into the cup and eat the soaked bread. Jesus returns to the table.]
Jesus: Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God h as been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
[All participants in drama remain in their place.]
The Pastor comes forward and invites the congregation to participate in the Eucharist.
Pastor: This is the night of remembrance. Christ calls you to his table. Come with expectant and penitent hearts and spirits. Receive the bread of life and the cup of salvation with thanksgiving. It is given and poured out for you that you may have life. All is ready. Come to the table of the Lord.
[The people are ushered forward in a single line, to the table, the Pastor and the person portraying Jesus offer the bread and the cup, silently]
[The organist may play soft music under the communion service]
[When all is complete, the people from the dramatic presentation leave the area and return to the pews/chairs offstage. The Pastor remains behind the table.]
Prayer following Communion:
Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
**Song "What Wondrous Love" UMH p. 292
Benediction:
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, has satisfied our hungry hearts and longing spirits. You have been given the nourishment needed to go into the world, proclaiming God’s eternal love. Go now in peace and may God’s peace be with you all. AMEN.
CLOSING MUSIC: (choice of the musicians - any relatively somber piece is appropriate)
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
Note: It is a good idea to write a brief description of the visual presentation in the worship bulletin describing the symbols and their meaning.
[The Lenten Services will be progressive in nature, that is, we will create a visual display that will move people through the services of Lent to the Easter Resurrection Celebration. There are several ways in which this visual display can be accomplished. The first way uses multiple levels, both on the worship center and in front of the worship center. Each Sunday and worship service during Lent, the symbols of a barrier and its "key word" will be placed on a riser. All symbols will remain on the riser to which they are assigned. The list will build as the Sundays progress. The second way, more simple than the first, will be using only two or three levels. The barrier for the week or worship service will be put in place each week prior to worship and then following the service it will be removed in preparation for the next week’s worship service. ]
THE TRADITIONAL COLOR FOR LENT IS PURPLE
SURFACE: The surface or structure of this display is created through the use of multiple risers. Create three levels with risers on the worship center. The center riser, placed near the back of the worship table, should be the highest, approximately 12" high. The two other risers should be about 4-6" high and should be to the left and right of the center riser. They should come toward the front of the worship center so that a gap of about 6-8" occurs. The other risers should be placed in front of the worship center. You will need a two risers that are 4" shorter than the level of the worship table. These should be placed in front of the worship table with a space of about 12" between them. The next two risers should be about 6" shorter than the previous risers and are placed in front of them, slightly off center so that they do not look like stair steps. The floor may suffice for the first level, although you may want to make risers about 2-3" high to create slight elevations from the main floor.
FABRIC: Purple is the traditional color for Lent. However it is very effective if you cover the entire worship area in burlap. Landscaper’s burlap, once it is aired out, is a great cover. It comes in 50 foot rolls and can be purchased at any landscape or home improvement store. However, do air it out! Using purple cloth, weave the cloth from the center riser, across the worship table and then down onto some of the other risers. Do not cover all the risers with purple cloth, but rather create a draping effect with it. Puddle both the remainder of the burlap and purple cloth on the floor in front of the worship center. Have a piece of dark material, black or very dark navy blue, approximately 1 yard in length, cover the brass cross on the top riser.
You will need white fabric to cover the card table which will be put in the center of the worship area.
CANDLES: Place a candle on each of the risers, with the exception of the top center riser, the riser on which the suitcase is placed, and the riser which will be used for the "coins". [The coins will be placed on the riser on Good Friday, or on Palm/Passion Sunday, whichever is your focus]. The pillar candle which was in place in front of the top riser is to remain there during most of the Lenten Services. These candles may be purple, the traditional color for Lent. They should be pillar candles about 4-6" in height. You may want a candle for the card table which is put in the center during the dramatic presentation, but it is not necessary.
FLOWERS/PLANTS: The palms which were placed in the worship center, remain in place. Do not add any flowers or other plants.
ROCKS/WOOD: Place some rocks in the setting, in the "valleys" of fabric. The larger rocks that were in place in the Ash Wednesday service may remain at the base of the worship center.
OTHER: Place a brass cross on the top riser and cover it with dark fabric. The cross remains hidden during the first portion of Lenten services. The other items remain on the risers on which they were placed. Place a loaf of uncut bread, a chalice, and bunches of grapes on the center of the worship area, in front of the center candle. This represents the Holy Communion. .
HOLY THURSDAY (Option 3)
THE FELLOWSHIP HALL SERVICE
CALL TO WORSHIP:
[This setting is unique in that it incorporates both a corporate supper with the congregation and the setting for the service of Holy Communion. The call to worship and the blessing for the meal are placed together. It is recommended that this service is done in a common room, a fellowship hall or such other church gathering place which is separate from the sanctuary. If a fellowship hall is not available, any large room in which food is permitted would be ok. Tables should be placed in a square, if possible so that all the people are seated outside the square. At the center of the table where the Pastor is, the covered centerpiece should be a loaf of bread and the chalice filled with grape juice. This will be used for the Sacrament. The center of the square contains a small table on which there is a purple cloth, a bible, a small loaf of bread, a bunch of grapes, and a candle. You may also place a cross on this table if you wish.]
L: Welcome to this celebration, this meal of gratitude.
P: We come here at Christ’s bidding.
L: Offer to each other words of welcome and greeting
[People will greet each other around the table]
L: Now let us return thanks to God who has provided us with such blessings.
L: Holy and gracious God, we thank you for this wonderful meal, provided lovingly by these people present. Bless this food to our good and bless us in your service, for we ask this in Christ’s Name. AMEN.
P: AMEN.
SONG: "Be Present at Our Table, Lord" UMH p. 621
THE SUPPER OF CELEBRATION: Let all gathered share the food and fellowship in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
OPENING PRAYER
[as the dishes are being cleared from the table, this prayer may be offered]
Pastor: Let us pray...
Pastor and People: We have gathered here in your presence, Lord Jesus, to share in a time of fellowship and remembrance. We have talked, laughed, and listened. Now you offer to us a time to truly remember the great gift you have given to us - the gift of yourself. AMEN.
SONG: "Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast" UMH, p. 616, verses 1 & 2
Pastor: This has been quite a Lenten journey for us. We began so long ago with the service of Ash Wednesday, the smudge of ashes as reminders of our need to look within and to repent of the many ways in which we betrayed and denied Jesus in our lives. There have been barriers and obstacles on our journey and we have worked diligently to overcome them. Now this night we have shared a fellowship meal, lovingly prepared by you all here. It has been a great time of feasting, but there is a greater feast yet to come.
[Have the pianist/keyboardist play some appropriate quiet music under the service of communion which is being offered].
Pastor: On the night in which Jesus gathered with his disciples, he ate a common meal, knowing that it would be his last meal with them before the hour of his death would come. He rose from the table and took a loaf of bread in his hands. He raised the bread, blessing it and thanking God for the bounty and the gift of finest wheat, then he offered it to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
[The Pastor breaks the bread and offers it to all the people who pass it from one to another around the table, but do not consume it until directed by the Pastor]
Pastor: Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup and he gave thanks to God for it and blessed it. He turned to his disciples and said "Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me."
As each of you receive the cup, dip your bread into the cup and eat the bread which is given and poured out for you.
[When all have received the sacrament, the Pastor and the people share the following prayer:]
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus Christ, you have walked with us on our Lenten journey. You have been with us as we encountered each barrier and obstacles. It is by your guidance and help that we have overcome so much. We have been strengthened by you. Now we give you thanks that you have brought us to this holy meal in which we have shared and become one with you through receiving the morsels of bread dipped in the wine. Nourish our souls and spirits by your love, that having been empowered and inspired by your example, we may go into the world to serve, heal, and welcome all people in your name. AMEN.
Pastor: When Jesus had finished his supper with his disciples, he led them out to the Garden called Gethsemane, where he knelt in prayer to God. The time of trial was drawing near.
SONG: "What Wondrous Love Is This" UMH p. 292
SENDING FORTH:
Our Journey is not complete. There are more barriers that we must encounter. Remember this night and our meal together. Remember the witness of the disciples. Be prepared. The darkness of Good Friday awaits. You must continue the journey. Go in peace. Christ’s love is with you always. AMEN.
CLOSING MUSIC: (somber music, nothing spritely or bouncy. This is a time of reflection)
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
[The setting for this service is a fellowship hall or large room in which meals can be eaten.
THE TRADITIONAL COLOR FOR LENT IS PURPLE
SURFACE: The tables are set in a square in a large room or fellowship hall. There may be a side table for the food to be shared. A small table will be needed for the center if the square
FABRIC: The square tables may be covered in white cloth. The small table in the center of the square may be covered in purple cloth. You will need white cloth to cover the communion elements that are on the table where the Pastor sits.
CANDLES: A white pillar candle may be placed on the small center table
FLOWERS/PLANTS: Plants and flowers are generally not used. However, a bunch of grapes may be appropriate for the center table.
ROCKS/WOOD: None are needed for this setting
OTHER: Loaves of bread (one for the center table, and the appropriate number for the communion service; pitcher of grape juice, chalices (one for the center table and one at the Pastor’s table), a brass cross (optional). Music, either books or copied pages from the hymnal (if you have CCLI) for the worship service. Bulletins may be desired with the prayers printed in them.
COLOR: Purple
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35
THEME IDEAS
These readings, depicting the moment before Jesus’persecution, crucifixion, and resurrection, contain familiar high drama: death and deliverance, blood as sign and symbol, shared food weighted with meaning. But they also stress something unfamiliar and countercultural in today’s individualized world: communal caring that transcends personal and family boundaries. “If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one,” Exodus instructs. “Wash one another’s feet,” Jesus commands. “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Even Paul’s famous words of the Lord’s Supper are set within a larger exhortation of right practice and relationship within the community of faith.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (John 13)
From busy weekday lives
we pause this hour, gathered as friends,
to remember Jesus’ last earthly night
with his disciples.
May we listen for God’s invitations
to personal discipleship and service;
to communion with one another
and with the Holy One.
Let us prepare our hearts and minds
to worship God.
Opening Prayer (Exodus 12, John 13)
Holy God,
remind us on this special day
of the many ways we know you:
as strong deliverer,
as humble servant,
as the One who bids us love one another,
that the world might know you.
Lead us not only to the beauty of solitary reflection
but also to community, as we remember together
your words and your example.
In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Exodus 12, 1 Corinthians 11, John 13)
God of service and abundance,
on this night of holy meals,
we are reminded that we ought to love
and share with one another.
We confess that your ways
are not always our ways.
When we drift toward isolation and indifference,
may we remember this night of communion
and your ever new commandment of love.
May our love and sharing
be signs of hope for the world. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Psalm 116)
The Lord has heard our voices and our supplications. God has loosed our bonds. Know that when we fall short, God hears ourprayers and frees us for lives of gratitude and service. In Christ we are forgiven. Let the whole church say amen.
Amen.
Response to the Word (1 Corinthians 11)
May the word opened, like bread broken, nourish us for God’s service. Thanks be to God! Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Psalm 116:12-14)
To the question, “What shall I return to the LORD for all [God’s] bounty to me,” the psalmist answers: “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all [God’s] people.” As we prepare to lift the cup, let us offer thanksgiving through our tithes and offerings. Praise be to God.
Offering Prayer (Psalm 116, John 13)
We offer these gifts, O God,
with joy and thanks.
May they strengthen your church
for acts of love and service,
in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Invitation to Communion (John 13)
We are gathered as disciples, and tonight Jesus reveals himself to us. He is the master teacher who unexpectedly washes our feet, as would a servant. He has led us triumphantly into Jerusalem, and yet he speaks of going where we cannot go, of being broken and poured out for us. We remember him now as he asked us to do, in a communal meal. Whether bewildered that he must depart, sobered before the cross that awaits, or quietly anticipating Sunday’s joy, let us center ourselves now—in this moment,
connected with those around us—to seek God’s presence in the breaking of the bread.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (John 13)
Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
Go in peace, then, loving one another
and loving the world that God so loved. Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (John 13)
Thursday night is not our usual time to meet.
Something is up.
Why the teacher as a servant?
What of leaving and remembering?
What does this mean?
Jesus, help us understand.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 116)
For all God’s bounty, what shall I return?
I will lift the cup of salvation.
I will offer thanksgiving.
I will pay my vows to God.
For God has heard my voice
and my prayers.
Gracious is God, and righteous!
Praise God!
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2011, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2010 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, fascinates us. Some of us might confess that we find him the most intriguing of all the disciples. He is the accident we pass on the highway, to which our eyes are drawn even as we prepare to be repelled by what we see.
Perhaps it’s the rule of drama that finds villains more interesting than heroes. Most novelists confess that they’d rather develop their bad characters than their good ones, because it’s so difficult to make the good ones interesting. I wonder if this is because there’s a little of the villain in every one of us, so when we watch the villain in action we see some elements of our own character, slightly or largely magnified? Most of us are wise enough to know, when we pass a derelict soul, that it is “there, but for the grace of God, go I.” So when we look at someone who has done a quite monstrous thing, we ask ourselves how it is that he or she came to such a place—and perhaps, sometimes, how it is that we did not.
What made Judas do what he did? What circumstances, what mounting influence, or what subliminal darkness in his heritage made Judas do what I fear I’m capable of doing, but yet have never done?
As dramatically evil as is Judas’s act of betraying Jesus, most of us feel some measure of sympathy for him. Some people feel that Judas didn’t get a fair break. After all, the Christian faith declares that Jesus was crucified as part of the divine plan for the salvation of our human race. If that be so, wasn’t Judas essential to the unfolding of the plan? Was he, in fact, a kind of divine catalyst? Some have even said that perhaps he should be praised for fulfilling the ugliest of roles in this eternal drama.
Jesus himself spoke to the question. “For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!” (Mark 14:21). One thinks also of Jesus saying to his disciples at another time, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come!” (Luke 17:1). I think Jesus is telling us, in very pragmatic fashion, that in a world of sin many tragedies will happen; but each person can decide for himself or herself whether or not to be the instrument of tragedy.
I have great sympathy for Judas, not only because he is a pathetic figure, but because the seed of divine betrayal is in each of us. And while I really cannot imagine myself performing the Judas-deed, I know my capacity for my own kinds of shame and betrayal. Nevertheless, I don’t believe Judas was helpless; I don’t believe he was simply a divine pawn. I believe he could have resisted evil, and that he could have been a disciple of honor, with his story continuing into the book of Acts, and on into legend and tradition.
So why did Judas do it? You remember the story. Judas Iscariot was one of the disciples, a person chosen by Jesus as a leader. He was part of that small and uniquely blessed group who lived with the Master day and night for perhaps three years, sharing in our Lord’s struggles and triumphs, and feeding daily on his teachings. Then one day he slipped away from the disciples to drive a bargain with the enemies of Jesus.
Judas had heard that the chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to be rid of Jesus. He went to them and settled on a means of getting Jesus into their hands quietly. They agreed on a price, and the deal was closed.
Sometime later, the disciples gathered with Jesus in an upper room, to celebrate the Passover. In the course of the meal, Jesus said that one of the little group would betray him. It was an astonishing statement, quite beyond belief. But the disciples responded in a remarkable way: Each one asked, with obvious anxiety, “Lord, is it I?” (Matthew 26:22 KJV). Whatever immaturities they may have shown at othe times, at this moment they were spiritual enough to recognize their personal frailty and their capacity for sin.
Jesus and Judas then had a brief conversation, and Judas left the room. Since Judas was treasurer of the disciples, the others assumed that he was going out to buy additional supplies or perhaps to do something for the poor. Not long afterward, Jesus and the remaining disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed. It was without doubt the most significantprayer offered in the history of our human race. As the group prepared to leave the garden, a band of soldiers appeared, with Judas among them. The moon was full, providing quite good vision, but to prevent the possibility of error, Judas had arranged a signal that would identify Jesus to the soldiers, so the arrest could be made expeditiously. He chose a practical signal; in those days, disciples customarily greeted their teachers by placing hands on the rabbi’s shoulders and kissing him.
So Judas had said, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him” (Matthew 26:48). One would expect that a betrayal kiss would be as brief and uninvolving as possible, but in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the Greek word kataphilein is used—a word that means to kiss fondly and repeatedly. Why did Judas kiss his Lord with such intensity? Was it only to heighten the irony of his signal? Or was it because, once he faced his Lord, he was overwhelmed by the terror of his deed and by his latent devotion to his Master?
The authorities quickly took Jesus to trial, persecuted him, and crucified him. And Judas was the catalyst in the story, making his name forever afterward the classic synonym for traitor. What made him do it?
I venture that thousands of artists—some of them classic practitioners and vast others unknown—have painted pictures of Judas. As I said earlier, he fascinates us. Always, of course, the artists try to show the evil in his face. But he didn’t start life as an evil human being, any more than any of the rest of us. Once, he was somebody’s baby, a helpless, lovely thing that a mothercuddled and a father juggled proudly in the air.
I use such language with some assurance, because his parents gave him an honored, beautiful name, Judah or Judas. In those days, a Jewish boy could have no finer name. It had a jubilant, spiritual tone, meaning “praise to God.” This was the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel), and the name of the greatest tribe, the one from which King David came. It was the name also of Judas Maccabaeus, the great Jewish hero, and of Judas of Galilee, another hero, from the generation just preceding. Jewish parents of the first century could hardly speak a higher hope for a child than to name him Judah or Judas.
No one can prove all that is in a name, but I’ve long noticed that we tend to live up—or down—to the name we are given. Give a girl a name with intimations of beauty, and she is likely to lay claim to it; give a boy a “real boy” name, and he generally embodies it. So Judas grew up with a great name, and perhaps with equally great expectations. Then, somewhere in his young manhood, he met the challenging young teacher from Nazareth. He listened to Jesus, and gave him his heart.
Mind you, I fully believe that Judas gave Jesus his heart. I don’t feel that he was a tentative follower. No doubt he joined Jesus with mixed motives; I’m fully convinced that we human beings rarely if ever do things with utterly pure motives. But I believe Judas joined Jesus’ band with sincere, devout commitment—as good, I venture, as any other of the disciples.
Jesus seems to have received Judas with high expectations. Judas was clearly a capable man, and he got a place of leadership among the Twelve. Specifically, he was held in such trust that he was made treasurer of the group—a tribute to both his judgment and his evidences of integrity.
And there’s more. At the Last Supper, John’s Gospel gives us the impression that Judas was seated in the position of the most favored guest, at the Master’s left, because Jesus handed the sop (the dipped bread) to Judas, and at a Passover feast for the host to make up the sop and hand it to a guest was a mark of particular honor. It’s also clear that Judas was seated near enough to Jesus that they were able to carry on a quite private conversation. Yet Judas became the traitor. Why did he do it? Some try to justify Judas’s deed by reasoning that Judas didn’t really intend to betray Jesus, but that he wanted only to force him to act. They say that Judas, too, was a Zealot— there is tradition to this effect—and that Judas felt the time had come for Jesus to organize his revolution. According to this theory, Judas believed that if Jesus were arrested, he would be forced to commit himself, and the revolution would begin. This is an ingenious defense of Judas, but it depends almost entirely on imagination. There’s no real support for it in the record of the Scriptures.
Others have found an interesting theory in Judas’s surname. “Iscariot” suggests that Judas came from Kerioth in Judea. This would mean that Judas was the only Judean among the disciples; all the others were Galileans. The Judeans spoke a different dialect and were a stricter people than the Galileans. Perhaps Judas felt shut out because of the difference in language, customs, and tradition, especially since he was the only one of his kind in the group. It’s very easy for a loner to become antisocial and bitter if he or she doesn’t take care. This seems to me to be a possible contributing factor in Judas’s story, but I don’t think it is a major issue.
From what I understand of human personality and of the principle of sin, I think the important issue in Judas is that of strength and weakness. Always speak of a person’s strength and weakness in the same breath, for most likely they are opposite sides of the same coin. As someone has wisely noted, “Temptation commonly comes through that for which we are naturally fitted.”
It does, indeed. In this regard, the story of Judas is the story of all of us. If a person’s strength is a fine mind, the Waterloo will be at the issue of the mind. If personality is the strength, it will almost as surely be the peril. Is a person impressive for disciplined habits? Then know that discipline itself may someday be the point of downfall. We are more likely to destroy our souls at the height of our talent than at the level of our ordinariness.
So what was Judas’s strength? Pretty clearly this: that he handled money well. To use a phrase from our common speech, he knew the value of a dollar. No doubt that’s why he was made treasurer of the disciples. This was a significant compliment. After all, Matthew was a tax collector, a person who dealt all the time in money, and most of the rest of the group were small businessmen, people instinctively proud of their ability to make good use of limited resources. Yet it was in such a group that Judas’s ability with money was recognized as so outstanding that he was chosen as treasurer.
But if handling money was Judas’s strength, it was even more dramatically his weakness. The evidence is painful and inescapable. The point is implied in Matthew’s Gospel (26:6- 16) and plainly stated in John’s (12:1-11). As Matthew tells the story, an unnamed woman interrupted a meal where Jesus was a guest and poured a very expensive perfume on him. The disciples “were angry” because of her wastefulness. Jesus, however, rebuked the disciples, explaining that the woman had done a deed of sincere devotion, and that her act was a preparing of his body for burial. Matthew goes on immediately to say, “Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I betray him to you?’ ” (Matthew 26:14-15). I think there is no doubt that Matthew sees the anointing event as the act that impels Judas to his work of betrayal. As Matthew says, it was “then,” after the bitter incident, and resulting from it, that Judas went into action.
John, as I said, is more direct. As he tells the story, it was Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, who anointed Jesus with the expensive perfume; and it was not just the disciples in general who objected, it was Judas in particular. Putting the two accounts together, I suspect that all the disciples murmured, but Judas gave specific voice to their feelings. He was true to his skills; he knew the value of the ointment, and he calculated what could be done with such a sum. It could have been sold, he said, “for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” Since a denarii was a day’s wages for a laboring man, this ointment represented essentially a year of a laborer’s wages.
But John’s Gospel doesn’t let the matter lie there; it adds an editorial comment. Judas said what he did, John tells us, not because he cared for the poor, “but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it” (12:6).
Whatever case one wants to make for Judas (and I am sympathetic, because Judas and all humanity and I are kin), certain facts seem to me to be compelling. Judas was fascinated by money and was stealing from the apostolic purse. So when he was rebuked by Jesus, he went out to betray him. It seems to me that John’s Gospel is telling us that Judas’s act of betrayal had antecedents, as do all of our deeds, both good and bad. The betrayal had its conception in a love of money, and it got its final impetus in the scene of anointing. On that occasion, perhaps two things happened. For one, Judas saw again how “unrealistic” Jesus was in his values; what hope could there be for a leader who saw things as Jesus did? Then, the rebuke. When we are corrected, whether by parent, teacher, spouse, friend, or foe, we can learn from it or we can turn angry and inward. Judas did the latter.
So he sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver. There’s irony in the sum; this was the going price, in those days, for a slave. It was a pathetic, tragic bargain—the kind of bargain that would be driven only by someone who knew the value of a dollar. It is always at the point of our strength that we are most susceptible to error, and at the peak of our ability that we are most in danger of destroying ourselves.
What is the end of Judas’s story? The New Testament gives two reports (Matthew 27:3-10; Acts 1:16-20), but I think they are nothing other than varying insights on the same data. When Judas realized what he had done, he hurried to the priests to see if he might call off the whole, bad bargain. They laughed at his appeal. Judas then threw the thirty pieces of silver to the ground at their feet. At last, at last, Judas was getting his values straight. But not quite. Because then he went out and hanged himself.
I hurt with Judas in his remorse. Many of the things we do wrong can somehow be made right. But now and again we take steps that can never on this earth be retraced. Of this I’m sure: Judas should have gone to Jesus with his remorse, for it was against Jesus that he had sinned. Even if Jesus were already on the cross, Judas should have clung to the tree in loving sorrow. And as Christian theology understands it, Judas needed most of all to understand that his sins were not dealt with by hanging himself, but by trusting the One who was dying in his stead at Golgotha.
And this brings us to a question over which people have speculated since the first century: Was Judas lost? Or will we see him in heaven? George MacDonald, the nineteenth-century novelist (of whom C. S. Lewis said, “I regarded him as my master” because of his closeness to the Spirit of Christ), said in his Unspoken Sermons, “I think, when Judas fled from his hanged and fallen body, he fled to the tender help of Jesus, and found it—I say not how” (quoted in The Wind from the Stars, Gordon Reid, editor, HarperCollins, 1992; page 173). Origen, the third-century philosopher and theologian, found a “how”: He said that when Judas realized what he had done, he hurried to commit suicide so that he might meet Jesus in Hades, the abode of the dead, and there bare his soul and seek his Lord’s forgiveness (Origen, Sermons on Matthew, 35, cited in William Barclay, The Master’s Men, Abingdon Press, 1959; page 80).
I choose just now to leave the soul of Judas with his God, walking quietly from the place where a human being meets his or her Maker. As I slip away, I remind myself that Judas was a very able human being, and that it was at the point of his strength that he destroyed himself. I will remember that so many of our worst deeds and errors are at the place of our greatest strengths.
Judas helps me to understand some things about myself, and to seek God’s mercy and strength. You, too, perhaps?
excertped from: The Thirteen Apostles by J. Ellsworth Kalas ©2012 Abingdon Press. Used by permission.
It’s odd, even for the odd Gospel of John. Jesus is in Bethany entertained by his good friends Mary and Martha. (John 12:1-11.) John casually remarks that Lazarus, whom Jesus has just raised from the dead, is there at the table.
Lazarus whom he has just raised from the dead? Are you kidding?
Imagine being seated at that dinner table. “You know our rabbi, Jesus, don’t you? And seated next to him is our brother Lazarus, who died last week. Thanks to Jesus, he’s back among the living. No tell tale grave stench, even. Please make yourself comfortable between them.”
Settling uneasily in your seat, just being polite, you ask the table companion on your right, “Had a good week?”
Your fellow dinner guest replies, “Well, I was sick unto death, my sisters were frantic with worry, then I died, was entombed for three days, wrapped like a mummy. Jesus graciously stopped by the cemetery, shouted, ‘Lazarus come out!’ and raised me from the dead just in time for my sisters’ dinner party. How was your week?”
The guest to your right, the young rabbi, says, “Unfortunately, no sooner had I raised Lazarus, than my enemies vowed to kill me. I give myself no more than a week before they succeed.”
Where are we? Welcome to the wonderfully weird world of the Gospel of John and to the holiest week of the church’s year. And welcome to the truth about what God in Jesus Christ is up to in the world. God isn’t just good and great, God is on the move toward us. Jesus joins us at the table and, whenever Jesus shows up, hold on to your hat; corpses rise from the dead and we are shocked that God is more active than we imagined. The predictable, dull world is rendered strange, and even at a meal Jesus, though unarmed, is extremely dangerous.
In intensifying his whole ministry at a meal, Jesus leads us into a world that is thick with subtle, secret meaning. A meal in which a piece of bread is called “my body broken for you,” a cup of wine designated as “my blood shed for you” is almost too rich a metaphorical feast. We can spend a lifetime attempting to plumb the depths of such a mystery and never exhaust, much less consume the meaning. This book on Maundy Thursday’s mysteries is meant to increase enjoyment of this holy mystery rather merely to explain it.
The liturgy of the church generally lets Luke, Matthew, or Mark handle Holy Week through Maundy Thursday, then turns to John for Good Friday and the Passion. I propose to allow John teach us on Thursday.
In four long chapters (John 13:1-16:33) the Word-Made-Flesh, God-With-Us turns away from instruction of the world to host a farewell supper with his disciples where he tells them how to live once he is physically absent from them.
John’s gospel is a rich, almost too rich, for the interpreter. To get one’s good news from the Fourth Gospel is willingly to enter aluxuriant figurative world where few things are as they first appear. Our world has been made strange by the advent of a God whom almost nobody expected. In heaps of symbols, metaphors, similes and images, John teaches us how to read the world as Christians, gradually, sign by sign, leading us into a reality we might have missed without John’s words.
Augustine described his own conversion to Christ as a long process of learning how to read the Bible. His teacher, Ambrose, helped Augustine to see that in the odd, thick, mysterious world of Scripture “bread” means more than what you had for dinner, “fish” more than fish, and things like vines, water, women, and men on crosses are almost never as they first appear.
I have had to learn to love the Gospel of John and the way it refuses to be managed by my intellect. Jesus, as John recalls him, reminds you of the Jesus we meet in the Synoptics—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—but this is Jesus as Christ taken up to the tenth degree. Somehow John’s Jesus manages both to be strange and remote and also intimate and close at hand. I have found Jesus to be paradoxically no more distant from us and no nearer to us than when he is at table with us.
The gospel that begins with, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory….” (John 1:14) is a supremely Eucharistic, table-talk gospel where Jesus saves some of his best stuff until the end when he settles down at the dinner table with his twelve best friends (who are also his worst betrayers) and unpacks his significance for them, having a bite to eat with them just before he is tortured to death for them.
God’s incarnation, Jesus’ act of redemption, our grand reconciliation, all these weighty, true but unfathomable mysteries are on the table on Thursday. The Lord’s Supper is always a demonstration of God with us, none other than the great glorious God present with none other than the lousiest sinners. If you can’t be safe from God at a carnal, mundane fleshly, ordinary gathering of friends around the supper table, well, where can you hide?
Excerpted from the author's new book,Thank God It's Thursday: Encountering Jesus at the Lord's Table As If It's the Last Time.
The room was dark, giving it a gloomy feeling. We were gathered for a meal on the eve of Passover. Because the Lord was quietly pensive, we ate in silence. During supper, he stood, removed his robe and tied a towel around his waist like a servant. He poured water into a clay basin and began to wash the feet of each of us, drying them with the towel. “This is slave’s work,” I thought. I couldn’t imagine the Lord, the One we believed to be the Messiah, doing the work of a common slave.
When he knelt at my feet, I asked, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet, too?”
He said, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
I said firmly, “You will never wash my feet.”
The Lord’s tone matched mine: “Unless I wash you, you will have no future with me.”
“Then wash not only my feet, but my whole body,” I said.
After washing my feet, the Lord said, “Not all of you are clean.” I was perplexed by this.
He continued teaching, as he often did after performing a sign, “If I, your Lord and Master, wash your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. I have done this as an example for you.”
At the time I thought, “How strange to tell us to wash one another’s feet.” Later I realized that he was not talking about foot washing, but about love. We were to follow his example and lovingly serve one another. As with everything the Lord did, foot washing pointed to a deeper truth.
After the foot washing we gathered around the table for supper. The Lord’s face darkened with an expression I had never seen. He looked deeply distressed, as if in pain.
“I tell you truly, one of you will betray me,” he said. I glanced at Andrew whose expression was a mixture of horror and sadness. “Who could he mean?” I thought. I turned to John, who was sitting next to Jesus, and whispered, “Ask him who he means.”
John asked and the Lord said, “The one to whom I’m giving this piece of bread dipped in the dish.” He handed the bread to Judas and said, “Do quickly what you must.”
We thought Judas was simply leaving to buy more food. He was the treasurer and often left a meal early to buy food for the next day.
With Judas gone in the darkness of night, the Lord continued teaching, “Children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, but where I am going, you cannot come.”
Immediately I asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
He said, “You cannot follow me now where I am going, but you will follow afterward.”
I was confused and afraid as I said, “Lord why can’t I follow you now? I would lay down my life for you.”
Shaking his head slowly from side to side, he answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? In truth, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.”
The mystery of where Judas went was soon solved. After supper, we went with the Lord across the Kidron valley to a garden where he liked to pray. While we were praying, Judas emerged from the shadows leading a group made up of Roman soldiers, chief priests’ guards, and some Pharisees.
The Lord turned and asked, “Whom are you looking for?”
They replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
When the Lord said, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. He asked them a second time whom were they seeking. Their answer was the same. “You have found me. Now, let these men go,” he said.
I couldn’t allow the Lord to be arrested without a fight. I drew a sword from under my cloak and slashed at the man who was about to seize the Lord, cutting off his ear. The Lord rebuked me saying, “Put your sword away. Would you prevent me from drinking the cup the Father has given me?” Stung by these words, I stood frozen in place while they bound him. John violently jerked my arm and we ran for our lives.
We fled in terror and confusion, having no idea where the others went. When we realized the soldiers hadn’t pursued us, we retraced our steps and followed the Lord and his arresters. They took him into Jerusalem to Annas, who shared the office of high priest with his father-in-law, Caiaphas.
John was admitted into the courtyard, since he was known to Annas. I remained outside the gate, crouching in the shadows, afraid of being recognized as a follower of Jesus. A short time later John came out and called, “Peter, where are you?” I emerged from hiding and followed.
As we passed a woman standing by the gate, she said, “Aren’t you also one of Jesus’ disciples?” I disagreed firmly saying, “I am not.”
I disappeared into the crowd gathered in the courtyard, joining those huddled around a large fire in the cold dawn. I listened for news of what was happening to the Lord. Someone said that Annas was questioning him.
While warming myself by the fire, one of the temple police who had been at the arrest looked at me intently. I turned my face away. He said, “Aren’t you also one of his disciples?” I answered, “I am not.”
As I worked my way to the edge of the crowd, one of the slaves of the high priest who was also at the Lord’s arrest said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” I denied it vehemently by saying, “I was never there.” No sooner had the words escaped, a cock crowed.
What have I done? I thought. How could I deny my Lord? How could the words of betrayal have been spoken by my lips? I didn’t believe I was capable of such a cowardly act. But, in the end, I denied him.
I was devastated by the cowardice of my denials. I, who had sworn allegiance to the death, had crumbled in fear. The “rock” had been crushed; terror had triumphed over loyalty.
The Lord was crucified that same day. I didn’t watch . . . I couldn’t watch. I was no longer Peter the Rock. In shame, I confessed my new name: Peter the Denier.
Download: Peter the Denier (PDF)
Pastor's Theme
The Humility of Discipleship in Foot Washing and Communion
Scripture: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Theme Focus
The humility of Jesus as he washed the feet of each of his disciples; a true demonstration of servant leadership.
Artist's Challenge
There were two evident themes for this evening worship: foot washing and Communion. Communion sets are used so often that they might become too familiar, but the act of foot washing was relatively new to this church and spoke directly to the disciple (each one of us) as servant. Stephanie’s design, with a variety of sandals in the setting, suggests that we all are called to be disciples, to be servant leaders
Artist's Resources
Risers: altar, adjustable table, plant stand, box, small table, crate, small chair
Fabric: blankets, burlap, gray polyester, aqua blue shiny fabric
Plants: artificial trees, rubber tree plant, potted palm, dried pampas grass in earthenware jug
Rocks: small stones, medium and large rocks
Other: Jesus figure, raffia, basin, earthenware Jug, iridescent “bunny grass,” multiple pairs of sandals
Creating the Foundation
A crate was placed on the upper right of the altar. In front of the altar, Stephanie placed the adjustable table and a plant stand. She covered the whole set with blankets to soften the edges.
The Idea Takes Shape
Covering the whole set with the gray polyester fabric, Stephanie tucked it into various nooks and crannies to give a sense of texture. She carefully placed the fabric so that it just puddled onto the main floor. Stephanie placed a small chair on the upper left side of the altar on which she would put the figure of Jesus [Fig. 11-3]. The base of the figure is an old maple syrup bucket in which she stuffed fabric. She molded fabric to fit into the striped robe and used a mask to create a face for the figure. The beard was composed of raffia pushed around the base of the face. The hands of Jesus were actually light flesh colored socks that were stuffed with fabric and pushed into the sleeves of the robe and pinned to the robe. The feet of Jesus were two light beige knee socks into which fabric was stuffed. She was able to place sandals on Jesus’ feet.
Stephanie wadded up the blue shiny fabric and stuffed it into the basin. She took a box, inverted it so that the earthenware pitcher could rest above the basin. Using the iridescent “bunny grass,” Stephanie stuffed it into the mouth of the pitcher and cascaded it onto the blue fabric. She also placed some iridescent grass in the basin to give a sense of “splashing” to the water [Fig. 11-4].
Rocks were piled up around the box to disguise it and to anchor and provide a setting for the various pairs of sandals placed around Jesus. These sandals represented the disciples who received foot washing from Jesus. The sandals were from Stephanie and her daughters.
The two artificial trees were placed on either side of the altar. She covered the base of one of the artificial trees with burlap. Stephanie placed the earthenware jug filled with the dried pampas grass to the left of Jesus. The potted palm was placed on his right.
Observations and Suggestions
This is the first treatment of the foot washing as an altar setting for this church. It was very effective in setting the major theme for this worship event.
When you are designing settings, think about the items you have at hand, what you might need and can borrow. Stephanie employs items at hand. Much of the fabric used in her settings comes from the “holy hardware” closet. Some items she can leave in this closet, others she has to store at home. She hadaccess to a maple syrup bucket that is somewhat conical in shape. There is a box of fabric that she uses, mostly to bunch up into shapes for figures. Raffia is left over from craft projects. The artificial trees and all the plants are the property of the church. The pampas grass was cut from a garden and placed in an old earthenware jug. The pitcher was borrowed. Stephanie carefully keeps the iridescent “bunny grass” in a plastic bag so that it can be used many times.
excerpted from: Altars for Everyone: Worship Designs on Any Budget by Nancy Townley and Stephanie Davis ©2013 Abingdon Press. Used with permission.
Among others, there is Great Wednesday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. And depending upon the tradition, Holy Week is celebrated with special Masses, vigils, Tenebraes, participation in the Stations of the Cross, Passion plays, sunrise services, cantatas, and street processions.
Not to be missed in all this activity is the Thursday of Holy Week, referred to as Maundy Thursday. “Maundy,” like so many Christian traditions, comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning “commandment.” On Jesus’ last night before his crucifixion, he gathered his disciples and gave them the commandment to love and serve one another. Then he showed them how.
Jesus rolled up his sleeves, threw a towel over his shoulder, and with a basin of water, squatted down to wash the filthy feet of his disciples. Yes, God stooped. The Christ crawled. The Master became the servant. Jesus took the position of a slave and honored those who had not the slightest indication of how holy such an act really was.
Walter Brueggemann describes this scene with his usual insight and flair. He says, “To kneel in the presence of another is to be totally vulnerable, because you are in an excellent posture to have your face or your groin kicked in. Our Lord made himself vulnerable precisely in that way! He knelt, not in humility or in fear, but in strength and confidence, opening himself to others.”
In the midst of this busy week of festivities, I wonder if a few of we Christians might pause to consider vulnerability as a holy exercise. See, Jesus never maintained feelings of superiority over others; he eagerly gave up his rights and privileges. Jesus didn’t defend himself with angry tirades or theological manifestos; he taught – and manifested – vulnerable love.
Jesus’ instruction on Maundy Thursday was not a how-to lecture on proving how “right” his followers were; it was a demonstration course for how to live in the world. Thus, the Christian means and method of confrontation is not condemnation, but naked service.
A follower of Jesus testifies to and celebrates the truth he has come to know, but knows in equal measure that the truth has been washed through and through with a foot wash basin. The power of the disciple of Christ is a power wielded, not by force or fist, but by a holy hand towel.
He who would be like Jesus does not lord over others. He gets down on the ground, down on his face, down in the dust, the mire, and the mud. He makes himself completely and totally exposed. Even if those whom he serves kick him in the face; even if they stone him to death; even if they crucify him on a cross: There is no other way.
So how does this kind of vulnerability break out in our lives? Maybe like this: One day, all at once or like a slow dawn; in ablinding flash or a gradual evolvement; as literal as the world or as mystical as a dream; we will see Jesus kneeling before us. His calloused carpenter’s hands are gently splashing the water in the basin. A clean towel hangs around his neck.
He crouches to wash our dirty feet, knowing who and what we are really made of: Suspicious, angry, petty, fragile, hateful, self-centered, and untrusting. We know he knows these things, but then he smiles a knowing smile, and we understand that he loves us anyway.
By submitting to and serving us, Christ opens our hearts in new, revolutionary ways. And the more open our hearts become – the more we understand how vulnerable our Lord has made himself to us – the greater our capacity to be vulnerable toward others. That’s how God’s love works, and that love can make any week holy.
Ronnie McBrayer is a syndicated columnist, speaker, and author of multiple books. You can read more and receive regular e-columns in your inbox at www.ronniemcbrayer.me.
The words of Scripture tell us the story of that fateful evening and the events which led up to it. We know that in three days, there will be great rejoicing. But, let us not get ahead of ourselves. We cannot get around the fact that we must first witness the betrayal, a trial, great suffering, and a crucifixion.
Some of you will attend worship services later this evening. You may hear sermons about the significance of The Lord’s Supper and the Commandment we are given to love and serve one another. You may wash one another’s feet. You may witness the beauty of your worship space stripped bare and left empty. Memories will no doubt be formed in your mind. When my own son was three years old I took him to the Maundy Thursday service at our church. I tried to explain what would happen prior to entering the sanctuary, mainly in hopes that he would remain quiet and civilized we entered, armed with crayons and paper. To my amazement, and relief, he was not only quiet but also attentive to what was going on around him. As if he knew the solemnity of the events were important and meant something. The altar was stripped, and at the end of the service we all departed in silence while the lights were turned off. I was carrying Gabe in my arms he leaned into my ear and asked in a saddened tone, “Why did God turn the lights out, mommy?” Remarkable!
“Why did God turn out the lights?” indeed!
Let us go to the Mount of Olives for a moment (picture of Agony). Jesus is praying and asking God that he not have to suffer – we can sense in his words a great deal offear and anxiety. He is overwhelmed with grief when he finds that even his disciples were unable to keep vigil. Jesus is arrested – he has been betrayed, he is alone, in agony, despair and feels the deepest levels of loneliness. Look at the empty altar here and remember.
The disciples scatter in the midst of the arrest. Peter denies Jesus; bitter weeping ensues. Darkness and emptiness enclose upon those who were closest to Jesus. Look at the empty altar here and remember.
We live with an interesting dichotomy in the next three days. We are on this side of the Resurrection and yet we spend these few days in repentance and mourning, or at least we should. I understand that we have been redeemed and should give every thanks for it; however, I cannot help but stop and think about the utter chaos, fear, loneliness, and despair that the scattered disciples must have felt. Their beloved teacher and leader was gone! They had not yet witnessed the resurrection. From where we are, is it even possible to know how they felt that night or the next day watching Jesus die on the Cross?
Have you ever spent any part of your life outside of the Church? There is no doubt in my mind that you, or maybe a family member, a colleague, those we encounter on the street have experienced some form of grief, depression, sickness, hopelessness. I recall going through a period of time in that state. After God led me back to the Church, and specifically to our Lord’s Table, I’m unable to fathom now how I survived without it. There have been times when I have had to cling tightly to the promises of my baptism.
But we also run into those same people in the pews next to us. We try to tend to those in our midst with care and compassion. In general though, we often run from suffering and despair. We hide it in ourselves because we don’t want to make others feel uneasy or we discreetly step away from those we encounter in this state because we’re not sure what to say or we end up offering some platitude. Silence often makes us feel uncomfortable. What we really want is to make it all better, and quickly! I have a close friend, a deeply committed Christian, who was suffering from depression. A fellow parishioner told him that what he really needed was to accept the Joy Christ was offering and that would give him the attitude adjustment he needed. Needless to say, that wasn’t helpful and only added to my friends grief and guilt. Our society is consumed with the need to ‘be happy’ and individuals the need to feel special. I know, let’s all go to the empty tomb and we’ll know then that it’s going to be alright. Yes, but it’s not really about me, is it?
Look here, at the empty altar, and remember. We cannot go to the empty tomb without first standing at the Cross. John Henry Newman wrote in his sermon, The Cross of Christ,
“the doctrine of the Cross is not on the surface of the world. The surface of things is bright only, and the Cross is sorrowful; it is a hidden doctrine; it lies under a veil; it at first sight startles us, and we are tempted to revolt from it. Like St. Peter, we cry out, ‘Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee.’ And yet it is a true doctrine; for truth is not on the surface of things, but in the depths.” (1242)
We cannot get around it today or tomorrow – the altar is empty. Despite the desperate need to do so, don’t run from it or from those who do not yet know the joy of the Resurrection. For the next couple of minutes, sit in silence. For the next couple of days, allow yourself the space to contemplate what the Cross means for our world. The next time you gather for Holy Communion, give thanks and praise that our Lord is present and real!
The Cross of Christ: The Measure of the World by John Henry Newman. Ignatius Press.
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JESUS PREPARES THE DISCIPLES by Thomas Lane ButtsJohn 13:1-17, 31b-35
We come now to John’s account of the beginning of the end of Jesus’ earthly life. This is the beginning of his passion. John establishes the mood of Jesus, which will permeate everything that happens for the next twenty hours (John 12–19:30). “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father” (John 13:1). He stayed 101 April 13, 2006 focused and comforted in this knowledge until, on the cross, he said: “It is finished.” And “then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30b).
He wanted this final private session with the disciples. “He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer’” (Luke 22:14b). The public proclamation and the debates are over, and Jesus devotes himself to “his own in this world” because, unbeknownst to them, they are about to face the most shattering experience of their lives. He wants to prepare them for what is about to happen, as much as anyone can be prepared for such a terrible ordeal.
Time is of the essence. He has already said many things to them, much of which they have not understood. He said: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). He has spoken to them concerning his death, but they did not hear him because they did not want to hear that kind of news. It did not fit into their vision of what should be happening. It did not fit the messianic dream in which their minds had been marinated. After all he had said and done, after all they had hoped and dreamed, they could not face the possibility that death would be the final outcome. The idea of his absence from their world was completely unacceptable. Somehow Jesus had to help them face the stark reality of his death and give them something to hang on to until his resurrection.
There were problems that Jesus had to deal with in addition to time and apostolic imperviousness and denial. There was the attitude the disciples brought to the meeting. Luke gives us some insight into the reason for the mood of the disciples to which John does not refer. On the way to the meeting a dispute had arisen among the twelve as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest (Luke 22:24). This was probably continued contention resulting from an earlier occasion in which James and John had asked Jesus to give them places of eminence on his right and the other on his left (Mark 10:35-45). When the other disciples heard this they were indignant. It appears by the time of the Last Supper with Jesus the cancer of lust for power and prominence had spread to them all.
Like pouting children they arrived at the upper room with ill feelings and festering jealousy. They did not notice the basin, pitcher, and towel positioned there. It was customary that when people came as guests for dinner a servant (or slave) would wash the dirt and dust from the feet of the guests. Since they had no servant or slave to wait on them, it is likely their practice was to take turns at foot-washing duty. But not on this night. They had unsettled issues with one another. They went stubbornly to their appointed places at the table, not one of them willing to compromise his dignity by doing a menial task, which, in their collective misunderstanding, might lessen their chances of preference and prominence in this kingdom that was to come.
They began the meal with travel-stained feet because no one was willing to back down. Sensing the climate of anger and childishness, Jesus knew that he would not be able to accomplish what he had hoped with them unless he could empty the atmosphere of the palpable ill spirit of the twelve. Words would not work. He had to do something dramatic to get their attention. So, “During supper” (not “supper being ended,” as rendered in the King James Version), “Jesus . . . got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him” (John 13:3-5).
The disciples must have watched what Jesus was doing with a growing uneasiness. How embarrassed they must have been, but no one said anything until Jesus knelt down to wash the feet of Peter. The impulsive Peter asked in shock: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered: “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said: “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Peter said, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and head” (John 13:6-9). The wordless lesson got to all of them: he who is greatest among you must be servant of all.
One other pressing problem must be resolved before Jesus can get on with preparing them. Judas was sitting there. The implication in John (unlike the Synoptic) is that the deal with the devil had not been finalized, but that there had been preliminarynegotiations. Jesus announced to them that one of the twelve would betray him, and the disciples began to question Jesus about who this might be. Jesus was troubled in spirit about this, which reads, angry at the betrayer. In answer to their question, Jesus said the betrayer is the one to whom he will give the bread he has dipped in the dish. He dipped the bread and offered it to Judas. Jesus said to Judas: “Do quickly what you are going to do” (John 13:27). The scene ends with Judas leaving. John’s closing sentence in the scene is worthy of a sermon by itself. “And it was night” (John 13:30b).
The New English Bible characterizes the five chapters of John, chapters thirteen through seventeen, as “farewell discourses.” Facing the death and absence of someone we love is painful beyond description. In a very short time life for the disciples was going to collapse into chaos. Darkness would come at midday and all would seem lost. It was against this that Jesus began to prepare his little company. There comes a time for all of us in which life cracks open at the seams—everything upon which we have counted falls to pieces. Few people get past mid-life without having their world crumble at their feet. This was what was about to happen to the disciples, and Jesus was giving them something to hang on to until the storm was over. How beautifully and with what great sensitivity Jesus comforts and prepares the twelve in these farewell discourses. Knowing Christians turn to this place in the Bible any time they face the death and absence of loved ones.
In the course of his discourse to the disciples Jesus offered a novel idea with which they had difficulty—and so do we. He said: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). How could this be? How could they (or we) be better for his leaving, especially in the manner in which he left? They were to understand later, but at the moment it left question marks hanging like fishhooks at their throats. Jesus was essentially saying, “This new power that has been arranged for you is waiting in the wings, and he will not come here until I get there.” They would not understand until later.
Jesus was leaving because he had finished his work. The Bible teaches that he was born in “the fullness of time”—at the right time. Now he will leave in “the fullness of time”—at the right time. It was time for another level of development to take place. He must go and they would understand later.
I have a sign in my office that says: “When the pupil is ready the teacher will come.” There is a paradoxical reverse to this saying: “When the pupil is ready the teacher will go.” Students do not become teachers and disciples do not become leaders until the master is gone. Once one of the disciples marveled at what Jesus was doing and Jesus remarked: “These things you can do and greater things also when I go to the Father.”
Jesus said that it was to their advantage that he was going away. “When I am gone I will be with you more substantially than when I was here. Turn me loose. Let me go.”
We come now to John’s account of the beginning of the end of Jesus’ earthly life. This is the beginning of his passion. John establishes the mood of Jesus, which will permeate everything that happens for the next twenty hours (John 12–19:30). “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father” (John 13:1). He stayed 101 April 13, 2006 focused and comforted in this knowledge until, on the cross, he said: “It is finished.” And “then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30b).
He wanted this final private session with the disciples. “He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer’” (Luke 22:14b). The public proclamation and the debates are over, and Jesus devotes himself to “his own in this world” because, unbeknownst to them, they are about to face the most shattering experience of their lives. He wants to prepare them for what is about to happen, as much as anyone can be prepared for such a terrible ordeal.
Time is of the essence. He has already said many things to them, much of which they have not understood. He said: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). He has spoken to them concerning his death, but they did not hear him because they did not want to hear that kind of news. It did not fit into their vision of what should be happening. It did not fit the messianic dream in which their minds had been marinated. After all he had said and done, after all they had hoped and dreamed, they could not face the possibility that death would be the final outcome. The idea of his absence from their world was completely unacceptable. Somehow Jesus had to help them face the stark reality of his death and give them something to hang on to until his resurrection.
There were problems that Jesus had to deal with in addition to time and apostolic imperviousness and denial. There was the attitude the disciples brought to the meeting. Luke gives us some insight into the reason for the mood of the disciples to which John does not refer. On the way to the meeting a dispute had arisen among the twelve as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest (Luke 22:24). This was probably continued contention resulting from an earlier occasion in which James and John had asked Jesus to give them places of eminence on his right and the other on his left (Mark 10:35-45). When the other disciples heard this they were indignant. It appears by the time of the Last Supper with Jesus the cancer of lust for power and prominence had spread to them all.
Like pouting children they arrived at the upper room with ill feelings and festering jealousy. They did not notice the basin, pitcher, and towel positioned there. It was customary that when people came as guests for dinner a servant (or slave) would wash the dirt and dust from the feet of the guests. Since they had no servant or slave to wait on them, it is likely their practice was to take turns at foot-washing duty. But not on this night. They had unsettled issues with one another. They went stubbornly to their appointed places at the table, not one of them willing to compromise his dignity by doing a menial task, which, in their collective misunderstanding, might lessen their chances of preference and prominence in this kingdom that was to come.
They began the meal with travel-stained feet because no one was willing to back down. Sensing the climate of anger and childishness, Jesus knew that he would not be able to accomplish what he had hoped with them unless he could empty the atmosphere of the palpable ill spirit of the twelve. Words would not work. He had to do something dramatic to get their attention. So, “During supper” (not “supper being ended,” as rendered in the King James Version), “Jesus . . . got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him” (John 13:3-5).
The disciples must have watched what Jesus was doing with a growing uneasiness. How embarrassed they must have been, but no one said anything until Jesus knelt down to wash the feet of Peter. The impulsive Peter asked in shock: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered: “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said: “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Peter said, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and head” (John 13:6-9). The wordless lesson got to all of them: he who is greatest among you must be servant of all.
One other pressing problem must be resolved before Jesus can get on with preparing them. Judas was sitting there. The implication in John (unlike the Synoptic) is that the deal with the devil had not been finalized, but that there had been preliminarynegotiations. Jesus announced to them that one of the twelve would betray him, and the disciples began to question Jesus about who this might be. Jesus was troubled in spirit about this, which reads, angry at the betrayer. In answer to their question, Jesus said the betrayer is the one to whom he will give the bread he has dipped in the dish. He dipped the bread and offered it to Judas. Jesus said to Judas: “Do quickly what you are going to do” (John 13:27). The scene ends with Judas leaving. John’s closing sentence in the scene is worthy of a sermon by itself. “And it was night” (John 13:30b).
The New English Bible characterizes the five chapters of John, chapters thirteen through seventeen, as “farewell discourses.” Facing the death and absence of someone we love is painful beyond description. In a very short time life for the disciples was going to collapse into chaos. Darkness would come at midday and all would seem lost. It was against this that Jesus began to prepare his little company. There comes a time for all of us in which life cracks open at the seams—everything upon which we have counted falls to pieces. Few people get past mid-life without having their world crumble at their feet. This was what was about to happen to the disciples, and Jesus was giving them something to hang on to until the storm was over. How beautifully and with what great sensitivity Jesus comforts and prepares the twelve in these farewell discourses. Knowing Christians turn to this place in the Bible any time they face the death and absence of loved ones.
In the course of his discourse to the disciples Jesus offered a novel idea with which they had difficulty—and so do we. He said: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). How could this be? How could they (or we) be better for his leaving, especially in the manner in which he left? They were to understand later, but at the moment it left question marks hanging like fishhooks at their throats. Jesus was essentially saying, “This new power that has been arranged for you is waiting in the wings, and he will not come here until I get there.” They would not understand until later.
Jesus was leaving because he had finished his work. The Bible teaches that he was born in “the fullness of time”—at the right time. Now he will leave in “the fullness of time”—at the right time. It was time for another level of development to take place. He must go and they would understand later.
I have a sign in my office that says: “When the pupil is ready the teacher will come.” There is a paradoxical reverse to this saying: “When the pupil is ready the teacher will go.” Students do not become teachers and disciples do not become leaders until the master is gone. Once one of the disciples marveled at what Jesus was doing and Jesus remarked: “These things you can do and greater things also when I go to the Father.”
Jesus said that it was to their advantage that he was going away. “When I am gone I will be with you more substantially than when I was here. Turn me loose. Let me go.”
WILL YOU LET JESUS WASH YOUR FEET? by Marsha Brown WoodwardText: John 13:1-17
Theme: It takes courage to risk being open with Christ.
Sermon Outline
FROM PETER'S PERSPECTIVE
Set the stage by retelling the story from the perspective of Peter. Jesus and the Twelve have just eaten the meal we now call the Last Supper. After dinner, Jesus gets up and takes a towel and a basin of water and begins to wash feet. He moves around the circle and has washed several feet, maybe those of everyone except Peter. As Peter is watching, all kinds of thoughts go through his head. Perhaps he wonders if he should be helping Jesus. Maybe he wonders, "Is he going to wash my feet?"
PETER'S CHALLENGE
Peter was being confronted with all kinds of assumptions and all kinds of ideas. This one act was turning Peter's world around, maybe even upside down. Could he let Jesus wash his feet? He wasn't afraid of being intimate with Jesus, for he had gotten used to eating with Jesus, and eating can be a sign of intimacy. You generally don't eat with just anybody. Foot washing was different. It was a place of vulnerability that Peter had not been before; it was a different level of their relationship. Here the leader was willing to serve the followers. It was blowing Peter's mind!
OUR CHALLENGE AND TRIUMPH
Will we let Jesus wash our feet? Are we willing to allow our leader, the Lord, to wash our feet? The easy, automatic response—since I am in church and know the right answer to give—is yes, the Lord can wash my feet. But stop and freeze the frame and invite the congregation to put themselves in the story. Imagine you are Peter, and walk in his place around the text. Does it feel different? Can you understand how awkward this made him and even makes you feel? It is so contrary to all we are taught, we are to serve the leader and not have the leader serve us. Even in groups that say there are no leaders, there tend to be unofficial leaders. Somehow whether official or unofficial, the leader is supposed to behave in a certain way, in a certain manner that does not include washing the feet of the followers. Will you be so open before Christ that nothing is kept back—that he sees your best sides and your not-so-good sides, that he gets all of you?
Even though we know that God knows all about us, we still in our humanness often try to protect ourselves, and even try to protect God from us. And to get this close, to allow Jesus to wash my feet is scary. Peter knew that the real story was that he was not deserving. Would we feel deserving? Jesus washed feet so they and we would understand grace. The great triumph and joy is that it's not about what we deserve, but what God offers— just because. The triumph continues as we go and wash the feet of another.
Consideration and Resources
This sermon could be ended in a variety of ways. A traditional way would be to have a service of foot washing. Leaders of the congregation could gather and take a towel and a basin and go into the congregation and wash the feet of those gathered. There are many variations on this, from having people come forward and the officers wash their feet, to having people come forward to place their hands over a bowl and have water poured over their hands as a symbol of having their feet washed. This is also good practice for those who are unable to take their shoes off for physical reasons, or for those who have amputated limbs or are in a cast.
Conclude the sermon by inviting the congregation to continue reflecting on the message at a later time. Encourage them to do a self-guided meditation:
Find a place where you can be alone. Read or reflect on this passage and then get still. Be at the table with Jesus, laughing, talking, and enjoying the meal. See Jesus get up; see Jesus pick up a bowl and begin to wash feet.
Now see Jesus in front of you, see him kneel down, feel his eyes as they lock into your eyes, feel him reaching to take off your sandals. Stay in that moment; don't run from it or rush it; allow Jesus to wash your feet.
As he washes your feet, believe that all the things you are trying to keep hidden from the world are being washed away—all the secrets, the hurts, the pains—things that he already knows about, you no longer have to keep from him. See how free you feel, how new, how strengthened.
Slowly come back to the space where you are and take a few minutes to thank God for what you experienced.
Children might not think it such an odd thing that Jesus is washing their feet, because they are used to adults washing them, no matter how dirty they might be. So the challenge may be to ask them if there is someone they can be kind to, but who doesn't expect them to be kind.
While this sermon could be used at any point during the Lenten season, it would be especially appropriate on Maundy, or Holy, Thursday. Consider a live sermon, in which you act out the text. Have a table set up, with individuals reclining at the table and not objecting as Jesus washes their feet. Peter could develop his role even more to include part of the dialogue of the sermon.
From The Abingdon African American Preaching Library Volume 1, Kirk Byron Jones, Editor, Copyright © 2006 Abingdon Press.
Theme: It takes courage to risk being open with Christ.
Sermon Outline
FROM PETER'S PERSPECTIVE
Set the stage by retelling the story from the perspective of Peter. Jesus and the Twelve have just eaten the meal we now call the Last Supper. After dinner, Jesus gets up and takes a towel and a basin of water and begins to wash feet. He moves around the circle and has washed several feet, maybe those of everyone except Peter. As Peter is watching, all kinds of thoughts go through his head. Perhaps he wonders if he should be helping Jesus. Maybe he wonders, "Is he going to wash my feet?"
PETER'S CHALLENGE
Peter was being confronted with all kinds of assumptions and all kinds of ideas. This one act was turning Peter's world around, maybe even upside down. Could he let Jesus wash his feet? He wasn't afraid of being intimate with Jesus, for he had gotten used to eating with Jesus, and eating can be a sign of intimacy. You generally don't eat with just anybody. Foot washing was different. It was a place of vulnerability that Peter had not been before; it was a different level of their relationship. Here the leader was willing to serve the followers. It was blowing Peter's mind!
OUR CHALLENGE AND TRIUMPH
Will we let Jesus wash our feet? Are we willing to allow our leader, the Lord, to wash our feet? The easy, automatic response—since I am in church and know the right answer to give—is yes, the Lord can wash my feet. But stop and freeze the frame and invite the congregation to put themselves in the story. Imagine you are Peter, and walk in his place around the text. Does it feel different? Can you understand how awkward this made him and even makes you feel? It is so contrary to all we are taught, we are to serve the leader and not have the leader serve us. Even in groups that say there are no leaders, there tend to be unofficial leaders. Somehow whether official or unofficial, the leader is supposed to behave in a certain way, in a certain manner that does not include washing the feet of the followers. Will you be so open before Christ that nothing is kept back—that he sees your best sides and your not-so-good sides, that he gets all of you?
Even though we know that God knows all about us, we still in our humanness often try to protect ourselves, and even try to protect God from us. And to get this close, to allow Jesus to wash my feet is scary. Peter knew that the real story was that he was not deserving. Would we feel deserving? Jesus washed feet so they and we would understand grace. The great triumph and joy is that it's not about what we deserve, but what God offers— just because. The triumph continues as we go and wash the feet of another.
Consideration and Resources
This sermon could be ended in a variety of ways. A traditional way would be to have a service of foot washing. Leaders of the congregation could gather and take a towel and a basin and go into the congregation and wash the feet of those gathered. There are many variations on this, from having people come forward and the officers wash their feet, to having people come forward to place their hands over a bowl and have water poured over their hands as a symbol of having their feet washed. This is also good practice for those who are unable to take their shoes off for physical reasons, or for those who have amputated limbs or are in a cast.
Conclude the sermon by inviting the congregation to continue reflecting on the message at a later time. Encourage them to do a self-guided meditation:
Find a place where you can be alone. Read or reflect on this passage and then get still. Be at the table with Jesus, laughing, talking, and enjoying the meal. See Jesus get up; see Jesus pick up a bowl and begin to wash feet.
Now see Jesus in front of you, see him kneel down, feel his eyes as they lock into your eyes, feel him reaching to take off your sandals. Stay in that moment; don't run from it or rush it; allow Jesus to wash your feet.
As he washes your feet, believe that all the things you are trying to keep hidden from the world are being washed away—all the secrets, the hurts, the pains—things that he already knows about, you no longer have to keep from him. See how free you feel, how new, how strengthened.
Slowly come back to the space where you are and take a few minutes to thank God for what you experienced.
Children might not think it such an odd thing that Jesus is washing their feet, because they are used to adults washing them, no matter how dirty they might be. So the challenge may be to ask them if there is someone they can be kind to, but who doesn't expect them to be kind.
While this sermon could be used at any point during the Lenten season, it would be especially appropriate on Maundy, or Holy, Thursday. Consider a live sermon, in which you act out the text. Have a table set up, with individuals reclining at the table and not objecting as Jesus washes their feet. Peter could develop his role even more to include part of the dialogue of the sermon.
From The Abingdon African American Preaching Library Volume 1, Kirk Byron Jones, Editor, Copyright © 2006 Abingdon Press.
Say the word glory aloud. Let it roll across the tongue and out of your mouth. The very word glory contains a sense of triumph and grandeur. On August 16th in 1976, I walked out the center aisle of the Chapel of Perkins School of Theology at S.M.U. Holding my arm was my wife. Looking back over three decades plus it is still a moment I glory in.
Or take another incident in American life and culture. On the night of November 4, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama walked out to greet the gathered crowd at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. It was a night of triumph and glory for his supporters. It was night of glory in a larger sense because the election of the first African American to the office of the presidency represented the crashing of a racial barrier. The word glory in description of that event evokes the emotions of joy and exultant triumph.
No doubt you can come up with your own experiences of glory. It may be associated with a purely personal event such as a wedding. It may evoke a sports triumph or great social victory. Images for glory abound but almost all involve some deep sense of exultant, joyous triumph. As a diehard Chicago Cubs fan (any team can have a bad century), I still hear the legendary announcer Harry Caray shouting, “Cubs win! Cubs win!”
Contrast those emotions with the scene reported in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. “When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once’ (vv. 31-32).” Pause. Reflect. Pray. Soak in the jarring contrast between our experiences of glory and God’s glory as Jesus speaks about it. Understand that this is a night of glory, true glory, God’s glory.
Typical understandings of this passage land quickly on the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. It is an appealing, evocative demonstration of the depth of Christ’s love. A common sermon appeal urges us to wash the feet of others, mimicking Jesus in our actions. It fits nicely with the close of the passage containing the admonition of verse 35: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” What is missing is the full impact of the teaching from Jesus.
The assigned text moves from verse 7, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand,” to the verses of glory and glorification. In this night, this sacred meal decisively changed from a Passover supper into the Lord’s Supper. Through this action we are called to embrace the glory of Christ. Biblically, glory denotes worship. To glorify someone is to worship them! The supper and the service (footwashing) are declarations of Jesus as the incarnate God. Jesus is the glory of God—God present and in action to us and for us. The act of footwashing, far from being merely an example of dedicated service that we are to emulate, reveals how God is present with us and for us. God is present as a servant among us. Glory and glorification are the revealed presence of God.
How then do we twenty-first-century people know and experience God? We encounter God in embracing God’s glory. The sacrament begun this night so long ago invites us again to the table to encounter Christ. Acts of love poured out in sacrificial service for others (even and especially for those who desert us or betray us) lead us to an encounter with the gloried (revealed presence) of God in Christ.
The understanding of this text must do far more than just call us into sacrificial service for others. Faithfulness in proclamation requires an invocation of who Jesus really is. Jesus as theChrist is the revealed presence (the glory) of God. Augustine writes: “But the glorifying of the Son of man is the glorifying of God in him” (Joel C. Elowsky, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVb: John 11–21 [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2007], 110).
Once in Sunday school a little boy was determinedly drawing a picture on a piece of paper. The teacher asked him, “What are you drawing?” Confidently he replied, “A picture of God.” Kindly, with laughter in her voice, the patient teacher responded, “Oh, nobody knows what God looks like.” Even more confidently the young boy retorts, “They will when I’m done.”
On this night of glory we learn again what God looks like; we encounter God in the flesh at the table with Jesus. Let the faithful revel in the glory of God on this night of glory. Let us not stop at the footwashing or rush too quickly ahead to the great verse 35. We invite our congregation to glorify God in Christ through our worship.
Then, and only then, may we properly move to the second element of the lesson. In encountering God, we come to understand the nature of God. In the example of Christ we learn again that it is God’s nature to sacrificially love. “So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (1 John 4:16).
Do not be afraid to live in silence and awe in our worship and our lesson. The presence of God should bring us, like those of old, to stillness in adoration and praise. There will be time for sacrificial service later. The sacrificial love of Christ, the giving of himself, and the washing of their feet; all these may and should inspire us to action. The source of such action springs first from a recognition of God’s glory, God’s very presence in Christ sitting at the table with us and for us. Let this be a night of glory.
The prophets may have called them “beautiful,” at least when they belonged to those who brought good news to others. On the whole, however, most of us would agree that when it comes to the parts of the body that are usually not thought of as all that lovely, our feet are pretty high up on the list. We hear of folks having great legs, or beautiful hair, or stunning eyes; but when have we ever heard of someone being attracted to another person because he or she had neat feet? There are no “People’s Choice Pedicures” or “Hollywood Hang Ten Awards,” for instance. Because indeed, most feet are not only funny looking, they are also crooked, ugly, and sometimes even smelly. They’re practical, to be sure, but appealing? Hardly! So just imagine dealing with not just your own feet, but with somebody else’s. Think about how you would like to wash that person’s feet—to peel off the mud and dirt that was caked onto their heels, and maybe even between their toes!
It’s not very inviting, is it? So it’s understandable why that particular job—the task of washing feet always fell to the lowestservant of a household, to the “last hired, first fired” person with no seniority. Only someone really desperate for work would quite literally stoop to take that job. All of which is what makes this little incident in today’s text so completely unheard of and even radically arresting. On his last night on this Earth, that’s exactly what Jesus did. He got up during the meal, took off his outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist, and then got down on his knees to begin to wash the feet of his disciples. It was so unexpected, so unheard of, so “un-Lord-like,” that when Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter crossed his arms and said rather emphatically, “You will never wash my feet.” Because in Peter’s mind, washing feet was clearly not the kind of thing that a man like Jesus ought to be doing.
But Jesus took on the servant’s role anyway. He got down and he got dirty, doing the task that rightfully belonged not to a king or lord, or even to a rabbi, but to one at the very bottom of that societal totem pole. So why did he do it? Verse 3 makes it patently clear, for instance, that Jesus was far from uncertain about his own status or identity; he knew “that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God.” Rather, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet not because he had to, but because, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” That’s a hard task indeed for many of us. We can put up with folks for a while, even if they start to be finicky. But loving someone “to the end”? That’s a different matter. When we don’t get any affirmationfrom our relationship with someone, or when the other person is perhaps even spiteful toward us, it’s tempting indeed to just give up on him or her. We could understand it if Jesus, who “knew that his hour had come to depart from this world,” had been just a little preoccupied on that evening with what was about to happen to him. He didn’t really have time to put up with the petty squabbles of his disciples, who were still arguing about who was going to sit in the places of honor when it came time for the meal. Who would have blamed Jesus, had he told all of those disciples to just “be silent and sit down”?
But he didn’t. Instead, without fanfare, Jesus simply got up and took the servant’s role and washed their feet. Because, to put it in the simplest of terms, Jesus wanted those determined-to-be-dense disciples to understand that real love and real faith, and especially real leadership, means one thing and one thing only: it means servanthood. Just as he had told them earlier, now he showed them: “I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27). Maybe that’s what we ought to remember about Jesus the most, as well. Even two thousand years later, nothing really has changed about what real love is, and how Jesus calls us to manifest it to others. Indeed, if you want to follow Jesus, the simple truth is that the line starts at the rear. Jesus said that “a new commandment I give you: that you love one another.” And that novum mandatum is the expression from where the term “Maundy Thursday” comes. If we want to know just what following Christ means, the mandate makes it clear: it means being willing to serve others, even if not just their feet but their whole manner of being makes them genuine stinkers. Indeed, to paraphrase the old saying about having to “kiss a lot of frogsbefore you can get a prince,” we may have to wash a lot of feet as well before we can really understand the astounding love of our king. Because it is by this that everyone will know that we are truly Christ’s disciples. Indeed, people will recognize that we are sincere in this whole faith business only if we actually love one another. So are we keeping Christ’s mandate to truly love those around us?
To be sure, feet may not be very glamorous. But they can say a lot about who is here to be served and who has come to serve. What’s more, as the prophet of old once told us, they can even be beautiful if they belong to those who bring good news.
“If you know these things,” Jesus thus said, “you are blessed if you do them.”Good Friday
Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 22
Hebrews 10:16-25
John 18:1-19:42
Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13 “See how my servant will succeed!
He will be raised up, exalted, highly honored!
14 Just as many were appalled at him,
because he was so disfigured
that he didn’t even seem human
and simply no longer looked like a man,
15 so now he will startle many nations;
because of him, kings will be speechless.
For they will see what they had not been told,
they will ponder things they had never heard.”
53:1 Who believes our report?
To whom is the arm of Adonai revealed?
2 For before him he grew up like a young plant,
like a root out of dry ground.
He was not well-formed or especially handsome;
we saw him, but his appearance did not attract us.
3 People despised and avoided him,
a man of pains, well acquainted with illness.
Like someone from whom people turn their faces,
he was despised; we did not value him.
4 In fact, it was our diseases he bore,
our pains from which he suffered;
yet we regarded him as punished,
stricken and afflicted by God.
5 But he was wounded because of our crimes,
crushed because of our sins;
the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him,
and by his bruises* we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, went astray;
we turned, each one, to his own way;
yet Adonai laid on him
the guilt of all of us.
7 Though mistreated, he was submissive —
he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to be slaughtered,
like a sheep silent before its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 After forcible arrest and sentencing,
he was taken away;
and none of his generation protested
his being cut off from the land of the living
for the crimes of my people,
who deserved the punishment themselves.
9 He was given a grave among the wicked;
in his death he was with a rich man.
Although he had done no violence
and had said nothing deceptive,
10 yet it pleased Adonai to crush him with illness,
to see if he would present himself as a guilt offering.
If he does, he will see his offspring;
and he will prolong his days;
and at his hand Adonai’s desire
will be accomplished.
11 After this ordeal, he will see satisfaction.
“By his knowing [pain and sacrifice],
my righteous servant makes many righteous;
it is for their sins that he suffers.
12 Therefore I will assign him a share with the great,
he will divide the spoil with the mighty,
for having exposed himself to death
and being counted among the sinners,
while actually bearing the sin of many
and interceding for the offenders.”
Psalm 22: (0) For the leader. Set to “Sunrise.” A psalm of David:
2 (1) My God! My God!
Why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from helping me,
so far from my anguished cries?
3 (2) My God, by day I call to you,
but you don’t answer;
likewise at night,
but I get no relief.
4 (3) Nevertheless, you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Isra’el.
5 (4) In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted, and you rescued them.
6 (5) They cried to you and escaped;
they trusted in you and were not disappointed.
7 (6) But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
8 (7) All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
9 (8) “He committed himself to Adonai,
so let him rescue him!
Let him set him free
if he takes such delight in him!”
10 (9) But you are the one who took me from the womb,
you made me trust when I was on my mother’s breasts.
11 (10) Since my birth I’ve been thrown on you;
you are my God from my mother’s womb.
12 (11) Don’t stay far from me, for trouble is near;
and there is no one to help.
13 (12) Many bulls surround me,
wild bulls of Bashan close in on me.
14 (13) They open their mouths wide against me,
like ravening, roaring lions.
15 (14) I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint;
my heart has become like wax —
it melts inside me;
16 (15) my mouth is as dry as a fragment of a pot,
my tongue sticks to my palate;
you lay me down in the dust of death.
17 (16) Dogs are all around me,
a pack of villains closes in on me
like a lion [at] my hands and feet.[a]
18 (17) I can count every one of my bones,
while they gaze at me and gloat.
19 (18) They divide my garments among themselves;
for my clothing they throw dice.
20 (19) But you, Adonai, don’t stay far away!
My strength, come quickly to help me!
21 (20) Rescue me from the sword,
my life from the power of the dogs.
22 (21) Save me from the lion’s mouth!
You have answered me from the wild bulls’ horns.
23 (22) I will proclaim your name to my kinsmen;
right there in the assembly I will praise you:
24 (23) “You who fear Adonai, praise him!
All descendants of Ya‘akov, glorify him!
All descendants of Isra’el, stand in awe of him!
25 (24) For he has not despised or abhorred
the poverty of the poor;
he did not hide his face from him
but listened to his cry.”
26 (25) Because of you
I give praise in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows
in the sight of those who fear him.
27 (26) The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek Adonai will praise him;
Your hearts will enjoy life forever.
28 (27) All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to Adonai;
all the clans of the nations
will worship in your presence.
29 (28) For the kingdom belongs to Adonai,
and he rules the nations.
30 (29) All who prosper on the earth
will eat and worship;
all who go down to the dust
will kneel before him,
including him who can’t keep himself alive,
31 (30) A descendant will serve him;
the next generation will be told of Adonai.
32 (31) They will come and proclaim
his righteousness
to a people yet unborn,
that he is the one who did it.[Footnotes:
Psalm 22:17 Or: “They pierced my hands and feet.” See Introduction, Section VIII, paragraph 6, and Section XIV, footnote 70.]
Hebrews 10:16 “ ‘This is the covenant which I will make
with them after those days,’ says Adonai:
‘I will put my Torah on their hearts,
and write it on their minds . . . ,’ ”[a]
17 he then adds,
“ ‘And their sins and their wickednesses
I will remember no more.’ ”[b]
18 Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed.
19 So, brothers, we have confidence to use the way into the Holiest Place opened by the blood of Yeshua. 20 He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the parokhet, by means of his flesh. 21 We also have a great cohen over God’s household. 22 Therefore, let us approach the Holiest Place with a sincere heart, in the full assurance that comes from trusting — with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.[c] 23 Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other.
And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching.[Footnotes:
Hebrews 10:16 Jeremiah 31:32(33)
Hebrews 10:17 Jeremiah 31:33(34)
Hebrews 10:22 Ezekiel 36:25]
John 18:1 After Yeshua had said all this, he went out with his talmidim across the stream that flows in winter through the Vadi Kidron, to a spot where there was a grove of trees; and he and his talmidim went into it. 2 Now Y’hudah, who was betraying him, also knew the place; because Yeshua had often met there with his talmidim. 3 So Y’hudah went there, taking with him a detachment of Roman soldiers and some Temple guards provided by the head cohanim and the P’rushim; they carried weapons, lanterns and torches. 4 Yeshua, who knew everything that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Whom do you want?” 5 “Yeshua from Natzeret,” they answered. He said to them, “I AM.” Also standing with them was Y’hudah, the one who was betraying him. 6 When he said, “I AM,” they went backward from him and fell to the ground. 7 So he inquired of them once more, “Whom do you want?” and they said, “Yeshua from Natzeret.” 8 “I told you, ‘I AM,’” answered Yeshua, “so if I’m the one you want, let these others go.” 9 This happened so that what he had said might be fulfilled, “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
10 Then Shim‘on Kefa, who had a sword, drew it and struck the slave of the cohen hagadol, cutting off his right ear; the slave’s name was Melekh. 11 Yeshua said to Kefa, “Put your sword back in its scabbard! This is the cup the Father has given me; am I not to drink it?”
12 So the detachment of Roman soldiers and their captain, together with the Temple Guard of the Judeans, arrested Yeshua, tied him up, 13 and took him first to ‘Anan, the father-in-law of Kayafa, who was cohen gadol that fateful year. 14 (It was Kayafa who had advised the Judeans that it would be good for one man to die on behalf of the people.) 15 Shim‘on Kefa and another talmid followed Yeshua. The second talmid was known to the cohen hagadol, and he went with Yeshua into the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; 16 but Kefa stood outside by the gate. So the other talmid, the one known to the cohen hagadol, went back out and spoke to the woman on duty at the gate, then brought Kefa inside. 17 The woman at the gate said to Kefa, “Aren’t you another of that man’s talmidim?” He said, “No, I’m not.” 18 Now the slaves and guards had lit a fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it warming themselves; Kefa joined them and stood warming himself too.
19 The cohen hagadol questioned Yeshua about his talmidim and about what he taught. 20 Yeshua answered, “I have spoken quite openly to everyone; I have always taught in a synagogue or in the Temple where all Jews meet together, and I have said nothing in secret; 21 so why are you questioning me? Question the ones who heard what I said to them; look, they know what I said.” 22 At these words, one of the guards standing by slapped Yeshua in the face and said, “This is how you talk to the cohen hagadol?” 23 Yeshua answered him, “If I said something wrong, state publicly what was wrong; but if I was right, why are you hitting me?” 24 So ‘Anan sent him, still tied up, to Kayafa the cohen hagadol.
25 Meanwhile, Shim‘on Kefa was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “Aren’t you also one of his talmidim?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the cohen hagadol, a relative of the man whose ear Kefa had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the grove of trees?” 27 So again Kefa denied it, and instantly a rooster crowed.
28 They led Yeshua from Kayafa to the governor’s headquarters. By now it was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters building because they didn’t want to become ritually defiled and thus unable to eat the Pesach meal. 29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What charge are you bringing against this man?” 30 They answered, “If he hadn’t done something wrong, we wouldn’t have brought him to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “You take him and judge him according to your own law.” The Judeans replied, “We don’t have the legal power to put anyone to death.” 32 This was so that what Yeshua had said, about how he was going to die, might be fulfilled.
33 So Pilate went back into the headquarters, called Yeshua and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Yeshua answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have other people told you about me?” 35 Pilate replied, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and head cohanim have handed you over to me; what have you done?” 36 Yeshua answered, “My kingship does not derive its authority from this world’s order of things. If it did, my men would have fought to keep me from being arrested by the Judeans. But my kingship does not come from here.” 37 “So then,” Pilate said to him, “You are a king, after all.” Yeshua answered, “You say I am a king. The reason I have been born, the reason I have come into the world, is to bear witness to the truth. Every one who belongs to the truth listens to me.” 38 Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”
Having said this, Pilate went outside again to the Judeans and told them, “I don’t find any case against him. 39 However, you have a custom that at Passover I set one prisoner free. Do you want me to set free for you the ‘king of the Jews’?” 40 But they yelled back, “No, not this man but Bar-Abba!” (Bar-Abba was a revolutionary.)
19:1 Pilate then took Yeshua and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted thorn-branches into a crown and placed it on his head, put a purple robe on him, 3 and went up to him, saying over and over, “Hail, ‘king of the Jews’!” and hitting him in the face.
4 Pilate went outside once more and said to the crowd, “Look, I’m bringing him out to you to get you to understand that I find no case against him.” 5 So Yeshua came out, wearing the thorn-branch crown and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Look at the man!” 6 When the head cohanim and the Temple guards saw him they shouted, “Put him to death on the stake! Put him to death on the stake!” Pilate said to them, “You take him out yourselves and put him to death on the stake, because I don’t find any case against him.” 7 The Judeans answered him, “We have a law; according to that law, he ought to be put to death, because he made himself out to be the Son of God.” 8 On hearing this, Pilate became even more frightened.
9 He went back into the headquarters and asked Yeshua, “Where are you from?” But Yeshua didn’t answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You refuse to speak to me? Don’t you understand that it is in my power either to set you free or to have you executed on the stake?” 11 Yeshua answered, “You would have no power over me if it hadn’t been given to you from above; this is why the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 On hearing this, Pilate tried to find a way to set him free; but the Judeans shouted, “If you set this man free, it means you’re not a ‘Friend of the Emperor’! Everyone who claims to be a king is opposing the Emperor!” 13 When Pilate heard what they were saying, he brought Yeshua outside and sat down on the judge’s seat in the place called The Pavement (in Aramaic, Gabta); 14 it was about noon on Preparation Day for Pesach. He said to the Judeans, “Here’s your king!” 15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Put him to death on the stake!” Pilate said to them, “You want me to execute your king on a stake?” The head cohanim answered, “We have no king but the Emperor.” 16 Then Pilate handed Yeshua over to them to have him put to death on the stake.
So they took charge of Yeshua. 17 Carrying the stake himself he went out to the place called Skull (in Aramaic, Gulgolta). 18 There they nailed him to the stake along with two others, one on either side, with Yeshua in the middle. 19 Pilate also had a notice written and posted on the stake; it read,
YESHUA FROM NATZERET
THE KING OF THE JEWS
20 Many of the Judeans read this notice, because the place where Yeshua was put on the stake was close to the city; and it had been written in Hebrew, in Latin and in Greek. 21 The Judeans’ head cohanim therefore said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but ‘He said, “I am King of the Jews.”’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had nailed Yeshua to the stake, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier, with the under-robe left over. Now the under-robe was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom; 24 so they said to one another, “We shouldn’t tear it in pieces; let’s draw for it.” This happened in order to fulfill the words from the Tanakh,
“They divided my clothes among themselves
and gambled for my robe.”[a]
This is why the soldiers did these things.
25 Nearby Yeshua’s execution stake stood his mother, his mother’s sister Miryam the wife of K’lofah, and Miryam from Magdala. 26 When Yeshua saw his mother and the talmid whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Mother, this is your son.” 27 Then he said to the talmid, “This is your mother.” And from that time on, the talmid took her into his own home.
28 After this, knowing that all things had accomplished their purpose, Yeshua, in order to fulfill the words of the Tanakh, said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of cheap sour wine was there; so they soaked a sponge in the wine, coated it with oregano leaves and held it up to his mouth. 30 After Yeshua had taken the wine, he said, “It is accomplished!” And, letting his head droop, he delivered up his spirit.
31 It was Preparation Day, and the Judeans did not want the bodies to remain on the stake on Shabbat, since it was an especially important Shabbat. So they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. 32 The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been put on a stake beside Yeshua, then the legs of the other one; 33 but when they got to Yeshua and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. 34 However, one of the soldiers stabbed his side with a spear, and at once blood and water flowed out. 35 The man who saw it has testified about it, and his testimony is true. And he knows that he tells the truth, so you too can trust. 36 For these things happened in order to fulfill this passage of the Tanakh:
“Not one of his bones will be broken.”[b]
37 And again, another passage says,
“They will look at him whom they have pierced.”[c]
38 After this, Yosef of Ramatayim, who was a talmid of Yeshua, but a secret one out of fear of the Judeans, asked Pilate if he could have Yeshua’s body. Pilate gave his consent, so Yosef came and took the body away. 39 Also Nakdimon, who at first had gone to see Yeshua by night, came with some seventy pounds of spices — a mixture of myrrh and aloes. 40 They took Yeshua’s body and wrapped it up in linen sheets with the spices, in keeping with Judean burial practice. 41 In the vicinity of where he had been executed was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. 42 So, because it was Preparation Day for the Judeans, and because the tomb was close by, that is where they buried Yeshua.[Footnotes:
John 19:24 Psalm 22:19(18)
John 19:36 Psalm 34:21(20); Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12
John 19:37 Zechariah 12:10]
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: GOOD FRIDAY 2015 (OPTION 2) by John A. BrewerColor: Black or None
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1–19:42
Theme Ideas
“Undying love.” Today is the day when this overused cliché holds concrete truth for the followers of Christ. While it wasn’t as evident to those who stood beneath the cross on that Friday we call “good,” it is clear to us today. In the death of Christ, there is evidence of the undying love of God. A search of the true disciple’s heart will reveal the branding of God’s redeeming love. Christ was forsaken for love’s sake. Such love is for our benefit, calling us to draw near to the throne of God’s grace. This sacrificial love is unrelenting, irresistible, never ending, and undying. We will not be forsaken. God enters humanity and dies. God’s undying love in Christ is both universal and specific—it is a love for humanity in general and for each individual in particular.
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before God.
For dominion belongs to the Lord.
God rules over the nations.
All peoples on the earth will feast and worship.
Those who cannot keep themselves alive
will kneel before the Lord.
Posterity will serve God.
Future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim God’s righteousness
to a people yet unborn.
Call to Worship (Hebrews 10)
This is the covenant I will make with them, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts
and I will write them on their minds.
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart,
in full assurance of faith.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for the One who promised is faithful.
Let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together
as some are in the habit of doing.
But let us encourage one another,
as we see the Day of the Lord approaching.
Call to Worship (John 18, John 19)
Come, let us gather again in the shadow
of the Cross of Christ.
We gather to remember the overwhelming evidence
of Love’s ultimate sacrifice.
Who would have guessed that the height and depth,
the length and width of God’s love might look like this:
a forsaken savior on a cross?
Certainly not us. Not us, who are too often lost
amid the world’s distractions and responsibilities.
Not us, for whom such love was offered without cost.
Let us gather again in the shadow of the Cross of Christ
and commit ourselves to remember the price paid.
Let us live our lives in a way that indicates why
this Friday is called “Good.”
Thanks be to God, who opened the gates of heaven,
that we might have the faith, hope, and love,
witnessed in Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation.
Contemporary Gathering Words
(Referencing Charles Wesley’s hymn “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”)
Who is the victim of this terrible thing?!
Who is the scapegoat of this horrific thing?!
An innocent man has been ruthlessly killed.
An innocent man has been senselessly sacrificed.
For whom has this man been sacrificed?
For whom has this man been slain as an offering?
For a guilty man he has been hung on a cross.
For a guilty woman he has been pierced.
What kind of man is this?
Who would die in the place of the guilty?
What kind of man is this?
Who would suffer for one who has done evil?
Amazing Love! How can it be
that Thou, my God would die for me?
Amazing Love! How can it be,
that Thou, my Christ would die for me?
Praise Sentences (Hebrews 10)
Thanks be to God, who remembers our sins
and our lawless deeds no more.
Thanks be to God, whose forgiveness is now sure
and who no longer demands any offering for sin.
Praise be to God, who has removed the veil,
drawing us near to the throne of grace and mercy.
Let us honor and glorify God, by gathering together
and encouraging us to love one another,
as Christ has loved us.
Praise be to God!
Opening Prayer (John 18, John 19, Good Friday)
O God of infinite love and power,
we gather together on this Good Friday
to reflect on the passion of the Christ.
We are utterly humbled
in the presence of such love and mercy.
Open our hearts this day
to the goodness of Good Friday,
and fill us with your love
and powerful Spirit of Holiness.
Remove from us all sin.
Offer us anew this Life in Christ
that makes all things new. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Psalm 8, Hebrews 2, Good Friday)
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Who are we that you are mindful of us?
Yet, you consider us only a little lower
than the heavenly angels.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
We who need you desperately each day,
have come to you on this Good Friday
to acknowledge the endless love
you have demonstrated on the Cross of Christ.
Inspire us to live each and every day,
in the fullness of your eternal life.
In the name of the love incarnate,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Unison Prayer or Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 53, Psalm 51)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray.
We have all turned to our own way.
We have sinned and have been the cause
of Christ’s suffering.
Please forgive us, we pray.
Remove the sins that distance us from you
and from those we love and care about.
Remove our selfishness, our pride, our envy,
and our greed.
Remove from us our thoughtless acts
and words that hurt one another.
Remove from us the tendency to hurt others
out of revenge and anger.
Forgive us please.
Create in us a clean heart, O Lord.
And renew in us a right spirit. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10, Jeremiah 31)
In the name of the compassionate Christ,
you are forgiven.
For God has declared, “I forgive your evil ways
and remember your sins no more!”
Benediction (Hebrews 10)
May you leave this place with the assurance
of forgiveness that is made possible
through the sacrifice of Christ.
Go forth in hope and anticipation
of the ultimate victory that comes with Easter.
Go forth! Be Easter people!
Benediction (1 Peter 2, Good Friday)
By his stripes we are healed.
By his wounds, we are made whole.
Go in the name of Jesus Christ
and live in the salvation made possible
by the Goodness of this Friday. Amen.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2005 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 22
Hebrews 10:16-25
John 18:1-19:42
Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13 “See how my servant will succeed!
He will be raised up, exalted, highly honored!
14 Just as many were appalled at him,
because he was so disfigured
that he didn’t even seem human
and simply no longer looked like a man,
15 so now he will startle many nations;
because of him, kings will be speechless.
For they will see what they had not been told,
they will ponder things they had never heard.”
53:1 Who believes our report?
To whom is the arm of Adonai revealed?
2 For before him he grew up like a young plant,
like a root out of dry ground.
He was not well-formed or especially handsome;
we saw him, but his appearance did not attract us.
3 People despised and avoided him,
a man of pains, well acquainted with illness.
Like someone from whom people turn their faces,
he was despised; we did not value him.
4 In fact, it was our diseases he bore,
our pains from which he suffered;
yet we regarded him as punished,
stricken and afflicted by God.
5 But he was wounded because of our crimes,
crushed because of our sins;
the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him,
and by his bruises* we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, went astray;
we turned, each one, to his own way;
yet Adonai laid on him
the guilt of all of us.
7 Though mistreated, he was submissive —
he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to be slaughtered,
like a sheep silent before its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 After forcible arrest and sentencing,
he was taken away;
and none of his generation protested
his being cut off from the land of the living
for the crimes of my people,
who deserved the punishment themselves.
9 He was given a grave among the wicked;
in his death he was with a rich man.
Although he had done no violence
and had said nothing deceptive,
10 yet it pleased Adonai to crush him with illness,
to see if he would present himself as a guilt offering.
If he does, he will see his offspring;
and he will prolong his days;
and at his hand Adonai’s desire
will be accomplished.
11 After this ordeal, he will see satisfaction.
“By his knowing [pain and sacrifice],
my righteous servant makes many righteous;
it is for their sins that he suffers.
12 Therefore I will assign him a share with the great,
he will divide the spoil with the mighty,
for having exposed himself to death
and being counted among the sinners,
while actually bearing the sin of many
and interceding for the offenders.”
Psalm 22: (0) For the leader. Set to “Sunrise.” A psalm of David:
2 (1) My God! My God!
Why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from helping me,
so far from my anguished cries?
3 (2) My God, by day I call to you,
but you don’t answer;
likewise at night,
but I get no relief.
4 (3) Nevertheless, you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Isra’el.
5 (4) In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted, and you rescued them.
6 (5) They cried to you and escaped;
they trusted in you and were not disappointed.
7 (6) But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
8 (7) All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
9 (8) “He committed himself to Adonai,
so let him rescue him!
Let him set him free
if he takes such delight in him!”
10 (9) But you are the one who took me from the womb,
you made me trust when I was on my mother’s breasts.
11 (10) Since my birth I’ve been thrown on you;
you are my God from my mother’s womb.
12 (11) Don’t stay far from me, for trouble is near;
and there is no one to help.
13 (12) Many bulls surround me,
wild bulls of Bashan close in on me.
14 (13) They open their mouths wide against me,
like ravening, roaring lions.
15 (14) I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint;
my heart has become like wax —
it melts inside me;
16 (15) my mouth is as dry as a fragment of a pot,
my tongue sticks to my palate;
you lay me down in the dust of death.
17 (16) Dogs are all around me,
a pack of villains closes in on me
like a lion [at] my hands and feet.[a]
18 (17) I can count every one of my bones,
while they gaze at me and gloat.
19 (18) They divide my garments among themselves;
for my clothing they throw dice.
20 (19) But you, Adonai, don’t stay far away!
My strength, come quickly to help me!
21 (20) Rescue me from the sword,
my life from the power of the dogs.
22 (21) Save me from the lion’s mouth!
You have answered me from the wild bulls’ horns.
23 (22) I will proclaim your name to my kinsmen;
right there in the assembly I will praise you:
24 (23) “You who fear Adonai, praise him!
All descendants of Ya‘akov, glorify him!
All descendants of Isra’el, stand in awe of him!
25 (24) For he has not despised or abhorred
the poverty of the poor;
he did not hide his face from him
but listened to his cry.”
26 (25) Because of you
I give praise in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows
in the sight of those who fear him.
27 (26) The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek Adonai will praise him;
Your hearts will enjoy life forever.
28 (27) All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to Adonai;
all the clans of the nations
will worship in your presence.
29 (28) For the kingdom belongs to Adonai,
and he rules the nations.
30 (29) All who prosper on the earth
will eat and worship;
all who go down to the dust
will kneel before him,
including him who can’t keep himself alive,
31 (30) A descendant will serve him;
the next generation will be told of Adonai.
32 (31) They will come and proclaim
his righteousness
to a people yet unborn,
that he is the one who did it.[Footnotes:
Psalm 22:17 Or: “They pierced my hands and feet.” See Introduction, Section VIII, paragraph 6, and Section XIV, footnote 70.]
Hebrews 10:16 “ ‘This is the covenant which I will make
with them after those days,’ says Adonai:
‘I will put my Torah on their hearts,
and write it on their minds . . . ,’ ”[a]
17 he then adds,
“ ‘And their sins and their wickednesses
I will remember no more.’ ”[b]
18 Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed.
19 So, brothers, we have confidence to use the way into the Holiest Place opened by the blood of Yeshua. 20 He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the parokhet, by means of his flesh. 21 We also have a great cohen over God’s household. 22 Therefore, let us approach the Holiest Place with a sincere heart, in the full assurance that comes from trusting — with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.[c] 23 Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other.
And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching.[Footnotes:
Hebrews 10:16 Jeremiah 31:32(33)
Hebrews 10:17 Jeremiah 31:33(34)
Hebrews 10:22 Ezekiel 36:25]
John 18:1 After Yeshua had said all this, he went out with his talmidim across the stream that flows in winter through the Vadi Kidron, to a spot where there was a grove of trees; and he and his talmidim went into it. 2 Now Y’hudah, who was betraying him, also knew the place; because Yeshua had often met there with his talmidim. 3 So Y’hudah went there, taking with him a detachment of Roman soldiers and some Temple guards provided by the head cohanim and the P’rushim; they carried weapons, lanterns and torches. 4 Yeshua, who knew everything that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Whom do you want?” 5 “Yeshua from Natzeret,” they answered. He said to them, “I AM.” Also standing with them was Y’hudah, the one who was betraying him. 6 When he said, “I AM,” they went backward from him and fell to the ground. 7 So he inquired of them once more, “Whom do you want?” and they said, “Yeshua from Natzeret.” 8 “I told you, ‘I AM,’” answered Yeshua, “so if I’m the one you want, let these others go.” 9 This happened so that what he had said might be fulfilled, “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
10 Then Shim‘on Kefa, who had a sword, drew it and struck the slave of the cohen hagadol, cutting off his right ear; the slave’s name was Melekh. 11 Yeshua said to Kefa, “Put your sword back in its scabbard! This is the cup the Father has given me; am I not to drink it?”
12 So the detachment of Roman soldiers and their captain, together with the Temple Guard of the Judeans, arrested Yeshua, tied him up, 13 and took him first to ‘Anan, the father-in-law of Kayafa, who was cohen gadol that fateful year. 14 (It was Kayafa who had advised the Judeans that it would be good for one man to die on behalf of the people.) 15 Shim‘on Kefa and another talmid followed Yeshua. The second talmid was known to the cohen hagadol, and he went with Yeshua into the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; 16 but Kefa stood outside by the gate. So the other talmid, the one known to the cohen hagadol, went back out and spoke to the woman on duty at the gate, then brought Kefa inside. 17 The woman at the gate said to Kefa, “Aren’t you another of that man’s talmidim?” He said, “No, I’m not.” 18 Now the slaves and guards had lit a fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it warming themselves; Kefa joined them and stood warming himself too.
19 The cohen hagadol questioned Yeshua about his talmidim and about what he taught. 20 Yeshua answered, “I have spoken quite openly to everyone; I have always taught in a synagogue or in the Temple where all Jews meet together, and I have said nothing in secret; 21 so why are you questioning me? Question the ones who heard what I said to them; look, they know what I said.” 22 At these words, one of the guards standing by slapped Yeshua in the face and said, “This is how you talk to the cohen hagadol?” 23 Yeshua answered him, “If I said something wrong, state publicly what was wrong; but if I was right, why are you hitting me?” 24 So ‘Anan sent him, still tied up, to Kayafa the cohen hagadol.
25 Meanwhile, Shim‘on Kefa was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “Aren’t you also one of his talmidim?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the cohen hagadol, a relative of the man whose ear Kefa had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the grove of trees?” 27 So again Kefa denied it, and instantly a rooster crowed.
28 They led Yeshua from Kayafa to the governor’s headquarters. By now it was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters building because they didn’t want to become ritually defiled and thus unable to eat the Pesach meal. 29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What charge are you bringing against this man?” 30 They answered, “If he hadn’t done something wrong, we wouldn’t have brought him to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “You take him and judge him according to your own law.” The Judeans replied, “We don’t have the legal power to put anyone to death.” 32 This was so that what Yeshua had said, about how he was going to die, might be fulfilled.
33 So Pilate went back into the headquarters, called Yeshua and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Yeshua answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have other people told you about me?” 35 Pilate replied, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and head cohanim have handed you over to me; what have you done?” 36 Yeshua answered, “My kingship does not derive its authority from this world’s order of things. If it did, my men would have fought to keep me from being arrested by the Judeans. But my kingship does not come from here.” 37 “So then,” Pilate said to him, “You are a king, after all.” Yeshua answered, “You say I am a king. The reason I have been born, the reason I have come into the world, is to bear witness to the truth. Every one who belongs to the truth listens to me.” 38 Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”
Having said this, Pilate went outside again to the Judeans and told them, “I don’t find any case against him. 39 However, you have a custom that at Passover I set one prisoner free. Do you want me to set free for you the ‘king of the Jews’?” 40 But they yelled back, “No, not this man but Bar-Abba!” (Bar-Abba was a revolutionary.)
19:1 Pilate then took Yeshua and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted thorn-branches into a crown and placed it on his head, put a purple robe on him, 3 and went up to him, saying over and over, “Hail, ‘king of the Jews’!” and hitting him in the face.
4 Pilate went outside once more and said to the crowd, “Look, I’m bringing him out to you to get you to understand that I find no case against him.” 5 So Yeshua came out, wearing the thorn-branch crown and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Look at the man!” 6 When the head cohanim and the Temple guards saw him they shouted, “Put him to death on the stake! Put him to death on the stake!” Pilate said to them, “You take him out yourselves and put him to death on the stake, because I don’t find any case against him.” 7 The Judeans answered him, “We have a law; according to that law, he ought to be put to death, because he made himself out to be the Son of God.” 8 On hearing this, Pilate became even more frightened.
9 He went back into the headquarters and asked Yeshua, “Where are you from?” But Yeshua didn’t answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You refuse to speak to me? Don’t you understand that it is in my power either to set you free or to have you executed on the stake?” 11 Yeshua answered, “You would have no power over me if it hadn’t been given to you from above; this is why the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 On hearing this, Pilate tried to find a way to set him free; but the Judeans shouted, “If you set this man free, it means you’re not a ‘Friend of the Emperor’! Everyone who claims to be a king is opposing the Emperor!” 13 When Pilate heard what they were saying, he brought Yeshua outside and sat down on the judge’s seat in the place called The Pavement (in Aramaic, Gabta); 14 it was about noon on Preparation Day for Pesach. He said to the Judeans, “Here’s your king!” 15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Put him to death on the stake!” Pilate said to them, “You want me to execute your king on a stake?” The head cohanim answered, “We have no king but the Emperor.” 16 Then Pilate handed Yeshua over to them to have him put to death on the stake.
So they took charge of Yeshua. 17 Carrying the stake himself he went out to the place called Skull (in Aramaic, Gulgolta). 18 There they nailed him to the stake along with two others, one on either side, with Yeshua in the middle. 19 Pilate also had a notice written and posted on the stake; it read,
YESHUA FROM NATZERET
THE KING OF THE JEWS
20 Many of the Judeans read this notice, because the place where Yeshua was put on the stake was close to the city; and it had been written in Hebrew, in Latin and in Greek. 21 The Judeans’ head cohanim therefore said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but ‘He said, “I am King of the Jews.”’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had nailed Yeshua to the stake, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier, with the under-robe left over. Now the under-robe was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom; 24 so they said to one another, “We shouldn’t tear it in pieces; let’s draw for it.” This happened in order to fulfill the words from the Tanakh,
“They divided my clothes among themselves
and gambled for my robe.”[a]
This is why the soldiers did these things.
25 Nearby Yeshua’s execution stake stood his mother, his mother’s sister Miryam the wife of K’lofah, and Miryam from Magdala. 26 When Yeshua saw his mother and the talmid whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Mother, this is your son.” 27 Then he said to the talmid, “This is your mother.” And from that time on, the talmid took her into his own home.
28 After this, knowing that all things had accomplished their purpose, Yeshua, in order to fulfill the words of the Tanakh, said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of cheap sour wine was there; so they soaked a sponge in the wine, coated it with oregano leaves and held it up to his mouth. 30 After Yeshua had taken the wine, he said, “It is accomplished!” And, letting his head droop, he delivered up his spirit.
31 It was Preparation Day, and the Judeans did not want the bodies to remain on the stake on Shabbat, since it was an especially important Shabbat. So they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. 32 The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been put on a stake beside Yeshua, then the legs of the other one; 33 but when they got to Yeshua and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. 34 However, one of the soldiers stabbed his side with a spear, and at once blood and water flowed out. 35 The man who saw it has testified about it, and his testimony is true. And he knows that he tells the truth, so you too can trust. 36 For these things happened in order to fulfill this passage of the Tanakh:
“Not one of his bones will be broken.”[b]
37 And again, another passage says,
“They will look at him whom they have pierced.”[c]
38 After this, Yosef of Ramatayim, who was a talmid of Yeshua, but a secret one out of fear of the Judeans, asked Pilate if he could have Yeshua’s body. Pilate gave his consent, so Yosef came and took the body away. 39 Also Nakdimon, who at first had gone to see Yeshua by night, came with some seventy pounds of spices — a mixture of myrrh and aloes. 40 They took Yeshua’s body and wrapped it up in linen sheets with the spices, in keeping with Judean burial practice. 41 In the vicinity of where he had been executed was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. 42 So, because it was Preparation Day for the Judeans, and because the tomb was close by, that is where they buried Yeshua.[Footnotes:
John 19:24 Psalm 22:19(18)
John 19:36 Psalm 34:21(20); Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12
John 19:37 Zechariah 12:10]
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Verse 13
[13] Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
Behold — This is the beginning of a new prophecy, which is continued from hence to the end of the next chapter.
My servant — That it is Christ who is here spoken of, is so evident, that the Chaldee paraphrast, and other ancient, and some later Hebrew doctors, understand it directly of him, and that divers Jews have been convinced and converted to the Christian faith, by the evidence of this prophecy.
Prosper — This is fitly put in the first place to prevent those scandals which otherwise might arise from the succeeding passages, which describe his state of humiliation.
Very high — Here are three words signifying the same thing to express the height and glory of his exaltation.
Verse 14
[14] As many were astoished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Astonished — At his humiliation.
Thee — At thee, O my servant.
His form — Christ, in respect of his birth, breeding, and manner of life, was most obscure and contemptible. His countenance also was so marred with frequent watchings, and fastings, and troubles, that he was thought to be near fifty years old when he was but about thirty, John 8:57, and was farther spoiled with buffetings, and crowning with thorns, and other cruel and despiteful usages.
Verse 15
[15] So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
So — His exaltation shall be answerable to his humiliation.
Sprinkle — With his word or doctrine; which being often compared to rain or water, may be said to be sprinkled, as it is said to be dropped, Deuteronomy 32:2;Ezekiel 20:46.
Kings — Shall be silent before him out of profound humility, reverence, and admiration of his wisdom.
For — They shall hear from his mouth many excellent doctrines, which will be new and strange to them. And particularly that comfortable doctrine of the salvation of the Gentiles, which was not only new to them, but strange and incredible to the Jews themselves.
Verse 1
[1] Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Who — Who, not only of the Gentiles, but even of the Jews, will believe the truth of what I say? And this premonition was highly necessary, both to caution the Jews that they should not stumble at this stone, and to instruct the Gentiles that they should not be seduced with their example.
The arm — The Messiah, called the arm or power of God, because the almighty power of God was seated in him.
Revealed — Inwardly and with power.
Verse 2
[2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
As a root — And the reason why the Jews will generally reject their Messiah, is, because he shall not come into the world with secular pomp, but he shall grow up, (or spring up, out of the ground) before him, (before the unbelieving Jews, of whom he spake verse 1, and that in the singular number, as here, who were witnesses of his mean original; and therefore despised him) as a tender plant (small and inconsiderable) and as a root, or branch, grows out of a dry, barren ground.
No form — His bodily presence shall be mean and contemptible.
No beauty — This the prophet speaks in the person of the unbelieving Jews.
We — Our people, the Jewish nation.
Verse 3
[3] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
We hid — We scorned to look upon him.
Verse 4
[4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Yet — Our people believed that he was thus punished by the just judgment of God.
Verse 5
[5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Wounded — Which word comprehends all his pains and punishments.
For our iniquities — For the guilt of their sins, which he had voluntarily taken upon himself, and for the expiation of their sins, which was hereby purchased.
The chastisement — Those punishments by which our peace, our reconciliation to God, was to be purchased, were laid upon him by God's justice with his own consent.
Healed — By his sufferings we are saved from our sins.
Verse 6
[6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
We — All mankind.
Astray — From God.
Have turned — In general, to the way of sin, which may well be called a man's own way, because sin is natural to us, inherent in us, born with us; and in particular, to those several paths, which several men chuse, according to their different opinions, and circumstances.
Hath laid — Heb. hath made to meet, as all the rivers meet in the sea.
The iniquity — Not properly, for he knew no sin; but the punishment of iniquity, as that word is frequently used. That which was due for all the sins of all mankind, which must needs be so heavy a load, that if he had not been God as well as man, he must have sunk under the burden.
Verse 7
[7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He opened not — He neither murmured against God, nor reviled men.
Verse 8
[8] He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Taken away — Out of this life.
By distress and judgment — By oppression and violence. and a pretence of justice.
His generation — His posterity. For his death shall not be unfruitful; when he is raised from the dead, he shall have a spiritual seed, a numberless multitude of those who shall believe in him.
Cut off — By a violent death. And this may be added as a reason of the blessing of a numerous posterity conferred upon him, because he was willing to be cut off for the transgression of his people.
Verse 9
[9] And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
With the wicked — This was a farther degree of humiliation. He saith, he made his grave, because this was Christ's own act, and he willingly yielded up himself to death and burial. And that which follows, with the wicked, does not denote the sameness of place, as if he should be buried in the same grave with other malefactors, but the sameness of condition.
Verse 10
[10] Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
He — God was the principal cause of all his sufferings, tho' mens sins were the deserving cause.
When — When thou, O God, shalt have made, thy son a sacrifice, by giving him up to death for the atonement of mens sins. His soul is here put for his life, or for himself.
Shall see — He shall have a numerous issue of believers reconciled by God, and saved by his death.
Prolong — He shall live and reign with God for ever.
The pleasure — God's gracious decree for the salvation of mankind shall be effectually carried on by his ministry and mediation.
Verse 11
[11] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Shall see — He shall enjoy.
The travel — The blessed fruit of all his labours, and sufferings.
Satisfied — He shall esteem his own and his father's glory, and the salvation of his people, an abundant recompence.
By his knowledge — By the knowledge of him.
Justify — Acquit them from the guilt of their sins, and all the dreadful consequences thereof. And Christ is said to justify sinners meritoriously, because he purchases and procures it for us.
Many — An innumerable company of all nations.
For — For he shall satisfy the justice of God, by bearing the punishment due to their sins.
Verse 12
[12] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
I — God the father.
A portion — Which is very commodiously supplied out of the next clause.
With the strong — God will give him happy success in his glorious undertaking: he shall conquer all his enemies, and set up his universal and everlasting kingdom in the world.
Because — Because he willingly laid down his life.
Transgressors — He prayed upon earth for all sinners, and particularly for those that crucified him, and in heaven he still intercedes for them, by a legal demand of those good things which he purchased; by the sacrifice of himself, which, though past, he continually represents to his father, as if it were present.
Psalm 22
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Verse 13
[13] Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
Behold — This is the beginning of a new prophecy, which is continued from hence to the end of the next chapter.
My servant — That it is Christ who is here spoken of, is so evident, that the Chaldee paraphrast, and other ancient, and some later Hebrew doctors, understand it directly of him, and that divers Jews have been convinced and converted to the Christian faith, by the evidence of this prophecy.
Prosper — This is fitly put in the first place to prevent those scandals which otherwise might arise from the succeeding passages, which describe his state of humiliation.
Very high — Here are three words signifying the same thing to express the height and glory of his exaltation.
Verse 14
[14] As many were astoished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Astonished — At his humiliation.
Thee — At thee, O my servant.
His form — Christ, in respect of his birth, breeding, and manner of life, was most obscure and contemptible. His countenance also was so marred with frequent watchings, and fastings, and troubles, that he was thought to be near fifty years old when he was but about thirty, John 8:57, and was farther spoiled with buffetings, and crowning with thorns, and other cruel and despiteful usages.
Verse 15
[15] So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
So — His exaltation shall be answerable to his humiliation.
Sprinkle — With his word or doctrine; which being often compared to rain or water, may be said to be sprinkled, as it is said to be dropped, Deuteronomy 32:2;Ezekiel 20:46.
Kings — Shall be silent before him out of profound humility, reverence, and admiration of his wisdom.
For — They shall hear from his mouth many excellent doctrines, which will be new and strange to them. And particularly that comfortable doctrine of the salvation of the Gentiles, which was not only new to them, but strange and incredible to the Jews themselves.
Verse 1
[1] Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Who — Who, not only of the Gentiles, but even of the Jews, will believe the truth of what I say? And this premonition was highly necessary, both to caution the Jews that they should not stumble at this stone, and to instruct the Gentiles that they should not be seduced with their example.
The arm — The Messiah, called the arm or power of God, because the almighty power of God was seated in him.
Revealed — Inwardly and with power.
Verse 2
[2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
As a root — And the reason why the Jews will generally reject their Messiah, is, because he shall not come into the world with secular pomp, but he shall grow up, (or spring up, out of the ground) before him, (before the unbelieving Jews, of whom he spake verse 1, and that in the singular number, as here, who were witnesses of his mean original; and therefore despised him) as a tender plant (small and inconsiderable) and as a root, or branch, grows out of a dry, barren ground.
No form — His bodily presence shall be mean and contemptible.
No beauty — This the prophet speaks in the person of the unbelieving Jews.
We — Our people, the Jewish nation.
Verse 3
[3] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
We hid — We scorned to look upon him.
Verse 4
[4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Yet — Our people believed that he was thus punished by the just judgment of God.
Verse 5
[5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Wounded — Which word comprehends all his pains and punishments.
For our iniquities — For the guilt of their sins, which he had voluntarily taken upon himself, and for the expiation of their sins, which was hereby purchased.
The chastisement — Those punishments by which our peace, our reconciliation to God, was to be purchased, were laid upon him by God's justice with his own consent.
Healed — By his sufferings we are saved from our sins.
Verse 6
[6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
We — All mankind.
Astray — From God.
Have turned — In general, to the way of sin, which may well be called a man's own way, because sin is natural to us, inherent in us, born with us; and in particular, to those several paths, which several men chuse, according to their different opinions, and circumstances.
Hath laid — Heb. hath made to meet, as all the rivers meet in the sea.
The iniquity — Not properly, for he knew no sin; but the punishment of iniquity, as that word is frequently used. That which was due for all the sins of all mankind, which must needs be so heavy a load, that if he had not been God as well as man, he must have sunk under the burden.
Verse 7
[7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He opened not — He neither murmured against God, nor reviled men.
Verse 8
[8] He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Taken away — Out of this life.
By distress and judgment — By oppression and violence. and a pretence of justice.
His generation — His posterity. For his death shall not be unfruitful; when he is raised from the dead, he shall have a spiritual seed, a numberless multitude of those who shall believe in him.
Cut off — By a violent death. And this may be added as a reason of the blessing of a numerous posterity conferred upon him, because he was willing to be cut off for the transgression of his people.
Verse 9
[9] And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
With the wicked — This was a farther degree of humiliation. He saith, he made his grave, because this was Christ's own act, and he willingly yielded up himself to death and burial. And that which follows, with the wicked, does not denote the sameness of place, as if he should be buried in the same grave with other malefactors, but the sameness of condition.
Verse 10
[10] Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
He — God was the principal cause of all his sufferings, tho' mens sins were the deserving cause.
When — When thou, O God, shalt have made, thy son a sacrifice, by giving him up to death for the atonement of mens sins. His soul is here put for his life, or for himself.
Shall see — He shall have a numerous issue of believers reconciled by God, and saved by his death.
Prolong — He shall live and reign with God for ever.
The pleasure — God's gracious decree for the salvation of mankind shall be effectually carried on by his ministry and mediation.
Verse 11
[11] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Shall see — He shall enjoy.
The travel — The blessed fruit of all his labours, and sufferings.
Satisfied — He shall esteem his own and his father's glory, and the salvation of his people, an abundant recompence.
By his knowledge — By the knowledge of him.
Justify — Acquit them from the guilt of their sins, and all the dreadful consequences thereof. And Christ is said to justify sinners meritoriously, because he purchases and procures it for us.
Many — An innumerable company of all nations.
For — For he shall satisfy the justice of God, by bearing the punishment due to their sins.
Verse 12
[12] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
I — God the father.
A portion — Which is very commodiously supplied out of the next clause.
With the strong — God will give him happy success in his glorious undertaking: he shall conquer all his enemies, and set up his universal and everlasting kingdom in the world.
Because — Because he willingly laid down his life.
Transgressors — He prayed upon earth for all sinners, and particularly for those that crucified him, and in heaven he still intercedes for them, by a legal demand of those good things which he purchased; by the sacrifice of himself, which, though past, he continually represents to his father, as if it were present.
Psalm 22
Verse 1
[1] My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
My God — Who art my friend and father, though now thou frownest upon me. The repetition denotes, the depth of his distress, which made him cry so earnestly.
Forsaken — Withdrawn the light of thy countenance, the supports and comforts of thy spirit, and filled me with the terrors of thy wrath: this was in part verified in David, but much more fully in Christ.
Roaring — My out-cries forced from me, by my miseries.
Verse 3
[3] But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
But thou art — Just and true in all thy ways, this he adds to strengthen his faith, and to enforce his prayers, and prevail with God for the honour of his holy name, to hear and help him.
Inhabitest — Whom thy people are perpetually praising.
Verse 6
[6] But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
A worm — Neglected and despised.
People — Not only of the great men, but also of the common people. Which doth not so truly agree to David as to Christ.
Verse 7
[7] All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Shoot out — They gape with their mouths, in mockery. This and the next verse are applied to Christ, Matthew 27:39,43.
Verse 12
[12] Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
Bulls — Wicked and violent, and potent enemies; for such are so called, Ezekiel 39:18; Amos 4:1.
Of Bashan — As the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious.
Verse 14
[14] I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Water — My spirits are spent and gone like water which once spilt can never be recovered; my very flesh is melted within me, and I am become as weak as water.
Bones — I am as unable to help myself, and as full of torment, as if all my bones were disjointed.
Wax — Melted, through fear and overwhelming grief.
Verse 15
[15] My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Dried — I have in a manner no more moisture left in me, than is in a dry potsherd.
Cleaveth — Through excessive thirst and drought.
Death — Thy providence, delivering me into the power of mine enemies, and by thy terrors in my soul.
Verse 16
[16] For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Dogs — So he calls his enemies for their insatiable greediness, and implacable fierceness against him.
Pierced — These words cannot with any probability be applied to David, but were properly and literally verified in Christ.
Verse 17
[17] I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
May tell — By my being stretched out upon the cross.
Verse 18
[18] They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
They part — This also cannot be applied to David, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35; John 19:24.
Verse 20
[20] Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
Darling — Heb. my only one; his soul, which he so calls, because it was left alone and destitute of friends and helpers.
Verse 21
[21] Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
Heard — Answered and delivered me.
Verse 22
[22] I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Declare — When thou hast delivered me.
Thy name — that power and faithfulness and goodness, which thou hast manifested on my behalf.
Congregations — The same whom he calls the congregation, and the seed of Jacob and Israel: which also does not so fitly agree to David, who never gives this title to any, but such as were near a-kin to him, as it does to Christ, who extends this name to all his disciples, Matthew 12:48,49, and to whom this very text is applied,Hebrews 2:11,12.
Verse 24
[24] For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
Abhorred — He did not turn away his face from it, as men do from things which they abhor.
From him — For ever: tho' he did so for a time.
Verse 25
[25] My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
Great congregation — In the universal church, of Jews and Gentiles.
Verse 26
[26] The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
Satisfied — This is doubtless to be understood, of those spiritual blessings, that grace and peace, and comfort, which all believing souls have in the sense of God's love, the pardon of their sins, and the influences of God's spirit.
Seek him — That seek his favour.
Your heart — He speaks of the same persons still, though there be a change from the third to the second person, as is usual in these poetical books.
For ever — Your comfort shall not be short and transitory, as worldly comforts are, but everlasting.
Verse 27
[27] All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
The world — All nations from one end of the world to the other. So this is an evident prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, and a clear proof, that this psalm immediately speaks of Christ; to whom alone, this and divers other passages of it, belong.
Remember — They shall remember their former wickedness with grief and shame, and fear; particularly in worshiping dead and impotent idols. They shall remember their great and manifold obligation to God, which they had quite forgotten, his patience in sparing them so long, in the midst of all their impieties, and in giving his son for them: they shall remember the gracious words and glorious works of Christ, what he did, and suffered for them; which possibly divers of them had been eye and ear-witnesses of.
The Lord — Into the only true God, and unto Jesus Christ, to whom this name of Jehovah is often ascribed in scripture.
Verse 28
[28] For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.
For — This is added as a reason, why the Gentiles should be converted, because God is not only God and the Lord of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, and of all nations.
Verse 29
[29] All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
Fat — Kings and princes, and the great men of the world.
Shall eat — Shall feed upon the bread of life, Christ and all his benefits.
Worship — This is added to shew what kind of eating he spoke of.
Go down — That is, all mankind, for none can escape death.
Verse 30
[30] A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
A seed — Christ shall not want a seed or posterity, for though the Jewish nation will generally reject him, the Gentiles shall come in their stead.
A generation — That believing seed shall be reputed both by God and men, The generation, or people of the Lord, as the Jews formerly were.
Verse 31
[31] They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
They — The seed last mentioned.
Come — From Judea and Jerusalem (from whence the gospel was first to go forth) to the Gentile world, to the several parts whereof the apostles went upon this errand.
His — God's righteousness: his wonderful grace and mercy unto mankind, in giving them Christ and the gospel; for righteousness is often put for mercy or kindness.
Unto — Unto succeeding generations. Whereby David gives us a key to understand this psalm, and teaches us that he speaks not here of himself, but of things which were to be done in after-ages, even of the spreading of the gospel among the Gentiles, in the time of the New Testament.
That he — They shall declare that this is the work of God, and not of man.
Hebrews 10:16-25
Verse 16
[16] This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Jeremiah 31:33, etc.
Verse 19
[19] Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Having finished the doctrinal part of his epistle, the apostle now proceeds to exhortation deduced from what has been treated of Hebrews 5:4, which he begins by a brief recapitulation.
Having therefore liberty to enter, —
Verse 20
[20] By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
By a living way — The way of faith, whereby we live indeed.
Which he hath consecrated — Prepared, dedicated, and established for us.
Through the veil, that is, his flesh — As by rending the veil in the temple, the holy of holies became visible and accessible; so by wounding the body of Christ, the God of heaven was manifested, and the way to heaven opened.
Verse 22
[22] Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us draw near — To God.
With a true heart — In godly sincerity.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience — So as to condemn us no longer And our bodies washed with pure water - All our conversation spotless and holy, which is far more acceptable to God than all the legal sprinklings and washings.
Verse 23
[23] Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The profession of our hope — The hope which we professed at our baptism.
Verse 25
[25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Not forsaking the assembling ourselves — In public or private worship.
As the manner of some is — Either through fear of persecution, or from a vain imagination that they were above external ordinances.
But exhorting one another — To faith, love, and good works.
And so much the more, as ye see the day approaching — The great day is ever in your eye.
John 18:1-19:42
Verse 2
[2] And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
Mark 14:43; Luke 22:47.
Verse 3
[3] Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
A troop of soldiers — A cohort of Roman foot.
Verse 6
[6] As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
As soon as he said, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground — How amazing is it, that they should renew the assault, after so sensible an experience both of his power and mercy! But probably the priests among them might persuade themselves and their attendants, that this also was done by Beelzebub; and that it was through the providence of God, not the indulgence of Jesus, that they received no farther damage.
Verse 8
[8] Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:
If ye seek me, let these (my disciples) go - It was an eminent instance of his power over the spirits of men, that they so far obeyed this word, as not to seize even Peter, when he had cut off the ear of Malchus.
Verse 9
[9] That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.
John 17:12.
Verse 10
[10] Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
Then Simon Peter — No other evangelist names him. Nor could they safely. But St. John, writing after his death, might do it without any such inconvenience.
Verse 13
[13] And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.
Annas had been high priest before his son-in-law Caiaphas. And though he had for some time resigned that office, yet they paid so much regard to his age and experience, that they brought Christ to Annas first. But we do not read of any thing remarkable which passed at the house of Annas; for, which reason, his being carried thither is omitted by the other evangelists. Matthew 26:57; Mark 14:53; Luke 22:54.
Verse 17
[17] Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not.
Art thou also — As well as the others, one of this man's disciples - She does not appear to have asked with any design to hurt him.
Verse 20
[20] Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
I spake openly — As to the manner: continually - As to the time: in the synagogue and temple - As to the place.
In secret have I said nothing — No point of doctrine which I have not taught in public.
Verse 21
[21] Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.
Why askest thou me — Whom thou wilt not believe?
Verse 22
[22] And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
Answerest thou the high priest so? — With so little reverence?
Verse 24
[24] Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Annas had sent him to Caiaphas — As is implied John 18:13.
Bound — Being still bound, John 18:12.
Verse 28
[28] Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
They went not into the palace themselves, lest they should be defiled — By going into a house which was not purged from leaven, Deuteronomy 16:4. Matthew 27:2; Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1.
Verse 31
[31] Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:
It is not lawful for us to put any man to death — The power of inflicting capital punishment had been taken from them that very year. So the sceptre was departed from Judah, and transferred to the Romans.
Verse 32
[32] That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.
Signifying what death he should die — For crucifixion was not a Jewish, but a Roman punishment. So that had he not been condemned by the Roman governor, he could not have been crucified. John 3:14.
Verse 36
[36] Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
My kingdom is not of this world — Is not an external, but a spiritual kingdom; that I might not be delivered to the Jews - Which Pilate had already attempted to do, John 18:31, and afterward actually did, John 19:16.
Verse 37
[37] Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Thou sayest — The truth.
To this end was I born — Speaking of his human origin: his Divine was above Pilate's comprehension. Yet it is intimated in the following words, I came into the world, that I might witness to the truth - Which was both declared to the Jews, and in the process of his passion to the princes of the Gentiles also.
Every one that is of the truth — That is, a lover of it, heareth my voice - A universal maxim. Every sincere lover of truth will hear him, so as to understand and practise what he saith.
Verse 38
[38] Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
What is truth? — Said Pilate, a courtier; perhaps meaning what signifies truth? Is that a thing worth hazarding your life for? So he left him presently, to plead with the Jews for him, looking upon him as an innocent but weak man.
Verse 7
[7] The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
By our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God — Which they understood in the highest sense, and therefore accounted blasphemy.
Verse 8
[8] When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
He was the more afraid — He seems to have been afraid before of shedding innocent blood.
Verse 9
[9] And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
Whence art thou? — That is, whose son art thou?
Verse 11
[11] Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Thou couldst have no power over me — For I have done nothing to expose me to the power of any magistrate. Therefore he that delivered me to thee, namely, Caiaphas, knowing this, is more blamable than thou.
Verse 13
[13] When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
Pilate sat down on the judgment seat — Which was then without the palace, in a place called, in Greek, the pavement, on account of a beautiful piece of Mosaic work, with which the floor was adorned: but in Hebrew, Gabbatha - Or the high place, because it stood on an eminence, so that the judge sitting on his throne might be seen and heard by a considerable number of people.
Verse 14
[14] And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
It was the preparation of the passover — For this reason both the Jews and Pilate were desirous to bring the matter to a conclusion. Every Friday was called the preparation, (namely, for the Sabbath.) And as often as the passover fell on a Friday, that day was called the preparation of the passover.
Verse 17
[17] And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
Bearing his cross — Not the whole cross, (for that was too large and heavy,) but the transverse beam of it, to which his hands were afterward fastened. This they used to make the person to be executed carry. Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:20; Luke 23:26.
Verse 19
[19] And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews — Undoubtedly these were the very words, although the other evangelists do not express them at large.
Verse 20
[20] This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
It was written in Latin — For the majesty of the Roman empire; in Hebrew - Because it was the language of the nation; and in Greek - For the information of the Hellenists, who spoke that language, and came in great numbers to the feast.
Verse 22
[22] Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
What I have written, I have written — That shall stand.
Verse 23
[23] Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
The vesture — The upper garment.
Verse 24
[24] They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
They parted my garments among them — No circumstance of David's life bore any resemblance to this, or to several other passages in the 22d Psalm. So that in this scripture, as in some others, the prophet seems to have been thrown into a preternatural ecstacy, wherein, personating the Messiah, he spoke barely what the Spirit dictated, without any regard to himself. Psalms 22:18.
Verse 25
[25] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
His mother's sister — But we do not read she had any brother. She was her father's heir, and as such transmitted the right of the kingdom of David to Jesus: Mary, the wife of Cleopas - Called likewise Alpheus, the father, as Mary was the mother of James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas.
Verse 27
[27] Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
Behold thy mother — To whom thou art now to perform the part of a son in my place, a peculiar honour which Christ conferred on him.
From that hour — From the time of our Lord's death.
Verse 29
[29] Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
A stalk of hyssop — Which in those countries grows exceeding large and strong. Psalms 69:21.
Verse 30
[30] When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
It is finished — My suffering: the purchase of man's redemption.
He delivered up his spirit — To God, Matthew 27:50.
Verse 31
[31] The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Lest the bodies should remain on the cross on the Sabbath — Which they would have accounted a profanation of any Sabbath, but of that in particular.
For that Sabbath was a great day — Being not only a Sabbath, but the second day of the feast of unleavened bread (from whence they reckoned the weeks to pentecost:) and also the day for presenting and offering the sheaf of new corn: so that it was a treble solemnity.
Verse 34
[34] But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
Forthwith there came out blood and water — It was strange, seeing he was dead, that blood should come out; more strange, that water also; and most strange of all, that both should come out immediately, at one time, and yet distinctly. It was pure and true water, as well as pure and true blood. The asseveration of the beholder and testifier of it, shows both the truth and greatness of the miracle and mystery.
Verse 35
[35] And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
His testimony is true — Valid, unexceptionable.
And he knoweth — And his conscience beareth him witness, that he testifieth this for no other end, than that ye may believe.
Verse 36
[36] For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
A bone of it shall not be broken — This was originally spoken of the paschal lamb, an eminent type of Christ. Exodus 12:46.
Verse 37
[37] And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
They shall look on him whom they have pierced — He was pierced by the soldier's spear. They who have occasioned his sufferings by their sins (and who has not?) shall either look upon him in this world with penitential sorrow: or with terror, when he cometh in the clouds of heaven, Revelation 1:7. Zechariah 12:10.
Verse 38
[38] And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate — And Nicodemus also came - Acknowledging Christ, when even his chosen disciples forsook him. In that extremity Joseph was no longer afraid, Nicodemus no longer ashamed.
Verse 41
[41] Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
In the place where he was crucified — There was a garden in the same tract of land: but the cross did not stand in the garden.
Verse 42
[42] There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
Because of the preparation — That is, they chose the rather to lay him in that sepulchre which was nigh, because it was the day before the Sabbath, which also was drawing to an end, so that they had no time to carry him far.
[1] My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
My God — Who art my friend and father, though now thou frownest upon me. The repetition denotes, the depth of his distress, which made him cry so earnestly.
Forsaken — Withdrawn the light of thy countenance, the supports and comforts of thy spirit, and filled me with the terrors of thy wrath: this was in part verified in David, but much more fully in Christ.
Roaring — My out-cries forced from me, by my miseries.
Verse 3
[3] But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
But thou art — Just and true in all thy ways, this he adds to strengthen his faith, and to enforce his prayers, and prevail with God for the honour of his holy name, to hear and help him.
Inhabitest — Whom thy people are perpetually praising.
Verse 6
[6] But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
A worm — Neglected and despised.
People — Not only of the great men, but also of the common people. Which doth not so truly agree to David as to Christ.
Verse 7
[7] All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Shoot out — They gape with their mouths, in mockery. This and the next verse are applied to Christ, Matthew 27:39,43.
Verse 12
[12] Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
Bulls — Wicked and violent, and potent enemies; for such are so called, Ezekiel 39:18; Amos 4:1.
Of Bashan — As the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious.
Verse 14
[14] I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Water — My spirits are spent and gone like water which once spilt can never be recovered; my very flesh is melted within me, and I am become as weak as water.
Bones — I am as unable to help myself, and as full of torment, as if all my bones were disjointed.
Wax — Melted, through fear and overwhelming grief.
Verse 15
[15] My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Dried — I have in a manner no more moisture left in me, than is in a dry potsherd.
Cleaveth — Through excessive thirst and drought.
Death — Thy providence, delivering me into the power of mine enemies, and by thy terrors in my soul.
Verse 16
[16] For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Dogs — So he calls his enemies for their insatiable greediness, and implacable fierceness against him.
Pierced — These words cannot with any probability be applied to David, but were properly and literally verified in Christ.
Verse 17
[17] I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
May tell — By my being stretched out upon the cross.
Verse 18
[18] They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
They part — This also cannot be applied to David, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35; John 19:24.
Verse 20
[20] Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
Darling — Heb. my only one; his soul, which he so calls, because it was left alone and destitute of friends and helpers.
Verse 21
[21] Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
Heard — Answered and delivered me.
Verse 22
[22] I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Declare — When thou hast delivered me.
Thy name — that power and faithfulness and goodness, which thou hast manifested on my behalf.
Congregations — The same whom he calls the congregation, and the seed of Jacob and Israel: which also does not so fitly agree to David, who never gives this title to any, but such as were near a-kin to him, as it does to Christ, who extends this name to all his disciples, Matthew 12:48,49, and to whom this very text is applied,Hebrews 2:11,12.
Verse 24
[24] For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
Abhorred — He did not turn away his face from it, as men do from things which they abhor.
From him — For ever: tho' he did so for a time.
Verse 25
[25] My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
Great congregation — In the universal church, of Jews and Gentiles.
Verse 26
[26] The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
Satisfied — This is doubtless to be understood, of those spiritual blessings, that grace and peace, and comfort, which all believing souls have in the sense of God's love, the pardon of their sins, and the influences of God's spirit.
Seek him — That seek his favour.
Your heart — He speaks of the same persons still, though there be a change from the third to the second person, as is usual in these poetical books.
For ever — Your comfort shall not be short and transitory, as worldly comforts are, but everlasting.
Verse 27
[27] All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
The world — All nations from one end of the world to the other. So this is an evident prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, and a clear proof, that this psalm immediately speaks of Christ; to whom alone, this and divers other passages of it, belong.
Remember — They shall remember their former wickedness with grief and shame, and fear; particularly in worshiping dead and impotent idols. They shall remember their great and manifold obligation to God, which they had quite forgotten, his patience in sparing them so long, in the midst of all their impieties, and in giving his son for them: they shall remember the gracious words and glorious works of Christ, what he did, and suffered for them; which possibly divers of them had been eye and ear-witnesses of.
The Lord — Into the only true God, and unto Jesus Christ, to whom this name of Jehovah is often ascribed in scripture.
Verse 28
[28] For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.
For — This is added as a reason, why the Gentiles should be converted, because God is not only God and the Lord of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, and of all nations.
Verse 29
[29] All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
Fat — Kings and princes, and the great men of the world.
Shall eat — Shall feed upon the bread of life, Christ and all his benefits.
Worship — This is added to shew what kind of eating he spoke of.
Go down — That is, all mankind, for none can escape death.
Verse 30
[30] A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
A seed — Christ shall not want a seed or posterity, for though the Jewish nation will generally reject him, the Gentiles shall come in their stead.
A generation — That believing seed shall be reputed both by God and men, The generation, or people of the Lord, as the Jews formerly were.
Verse 31
[31] They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
They — The seed last mentioned.
Come — From Judea and Jerusalem (from whence the gospel was first to go forth) to the Gentile world, to the several parts whereof the apostles went upon this errand.
His — God's righteousness: his wonderful grace and mercy unto mankind, in giving them Christ and the gospel; for righteousness is often put for mercy or kindness.
Unto — Unto succeeding generations. Whereby David gives us a key to understand this psalm, and teaches us that he speaks not here of himself, but of things which were to be done in after-ages, even of the spreading of the gospel among the Gentiles, in the time of the New Testament.
That he — They shall declare that this is the work of God, and not of man.
Hebrews 10:16-25
Verse 16
[16] This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Jeremiah 31:33, etc.
Verse 19
[19] Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Having finished the doctrinal part of his epistle, the apostle now proceeds to exhortation deduced from what has been treated of Hebrews 5:4, which he begins by a brief recapitulation.
Having therefore liberty to enter, —
Verse 20
[20] By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
By a living way — The way of faith, whereby we live indeed.
Which he hath consecrated — Prepared, dedicated, and established for us.
Through the veil, that is, his flesh — As by rending the veil in the temple, the holy of holies became visible and accessible; so by wounding the body of Christ, the God of heaven was manifested, and the way to heaven opened.
Verse 22
[22] Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us draw near — To God.
With a true heart — In godly sincerity.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience — So as to condemn us no longer And our bodies washed with pure water - All our conversation spotless and holy, which is far more acceptable to God than all the legal sprinklings and washings.
Verse 23
[23] Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The profession of our hope — The hope which we professed at our baptism.
Verse 25
[25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Not forsaking the assembling ourselves — In public or private worship.
As the manner of some is — Either through fear of persecution, or from a vain imagination that they were above external ordinances.
But exhorting one another — To faith, love, and good works.
And so much the more, as ye see the day approaching — The great day is ever in your eye.
John 18:1-19:42
Verse 2
[2] And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
Mark 14:43; Luke 22:47.
Verse 3
[3] Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
A troop of soldiers — A cohort of Roman foot.
Verse 6
[6] As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
As soon as he said, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground — How amazing is it, that they should renew the assault, after so sensible an experience both of his power and mercy! But probably the priests among them might persuade themselves and their attendants, that this also was done by Beelzebub; and that it was through the providence of God, not the indulgence of Jesus, that they received no farther damage.
Verse 8
[8] Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:
If ye seek me, let these (my disciples) go - It was an eminent instance of his power over the spirits of men, that they so far obeyed this word, as not to seize even Peter, when he had cut off the ear of Malchus.
Verse 9
[9] That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.
John 17:12.
Verse 10
[10] Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
Then Simon Peter — No other evangelist names him. Nor could they safely. But St. John, writing after his death, might do it without any such inconvenience.
Verse 13
[13] And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.
Annas had been high priest before his son-in-law Caiaphas. And though he had for some time resigned that office, yet they paid so much regard to his age and experience, that they brought Christ to Annas first. But we do not read of any thing remarkable which passed at the house of Annas; for, which reason, his being carried thither is omitted by the other evangelists. Matthew 26:57; Mark 14:53; Luke 22:54.
Verse 17
[17] Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not.
Art thou also — As well as the others, one of this man's disciples - She does not appear to have asked with any design to hurt him.
Verse 20
[20] Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
I spake openly — As to the manner: continually - As to the time: in the synagogue and temple - As to the place.
In secret have I said nothing — No point of doctrine which I have not taught in public.
Verse 21
[21] Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.
Why askest thou me — Whom thou wilt not believe?
Verse 22
[22] And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
Answerest thou the high priest so? — With so little reverence?
Verse 24
[24] Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Annas had sent him to Caiaphas — As is implied John 18:13.
Bound — Being still bound, John 18:12.
Verse 28
[28] Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
They went not into the palace themselves, lest they should be defiled — By going into a house which was not purged from leaven, Deuteronomy 16:4. Matthew 27:2; Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1.
Verse 31
[31] Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:
It is not lawful for us to put any man to death — The power of inflicting capital punishment had been taken from them that very year. So the sceptre was departed from Judah, and transferred to the Romans.
Verse 32
[32] That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.
Signifying what death he should die — For crucifixion was not a Jewish, but a Roman punishment. So that had he not been condemned by the Roman governor, he could not have been crucified. John 3:14.
Verse 36
[36] Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
My kingdom is not of this world — Is not an external, but a spiritual kingdom; that I might not be delivered to the Jews - Which Pilate had already attempted to do, John 18:31, and afterward actually did, John 19:16.
Verse 37
[37] Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Thou sayest — The truth.
To this end was I born — Speaking of his human origin: his Divine was above Pilate's comprehension. Yet it is intimated in the following words, I came into the world, that I might witness to the truth - Which was both declared to the Jews, and in the process of his passion to the princes of the Gentiles also.
Every one that is of the truth — That is, a lover of it, heareth my voice - A universal maxim. Every sincere lover of truth will hear him, so as to understand and practise what he saith.
Verse 38
[38] Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
What is truth? — Said Pilate, a courtier; perhaps meaning what signifies truth? Is that a thing worth hazarding your life for? So he left him presently, to plead with the Jews for him, looking upon him as an innocent but weak man.
Verse 7
[7] The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
By our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God — Which they understood in the highest sense, and therefore accounted blasphemy.
Verse 8
[8] When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
He was the more afraid — He seems to have been afraid before of shedding innocent blood.
Verse 9
[9] And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
Whence art thou? — That is, whose son art thou?
Verse 11
[11] Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Thou couldst have no power over me — For I have done nothing to expose me to the power of any magistrate. Therefore he that delivered me to thee, namely, Caiaphas, knowing this, is more blamable than thou.
Verse 13
[13] When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
Pilate sat down on the judgment seat — Which was then without the palace, in a place called, in Greek, the pavement, on account of a beautiful piece of Mosaic work, with which the floor was adorned: but in Hebrew, Gabbatha - Or the high place, because it stood on an eminence, so that the judge sitting on his throne might be seen and heard by a considerable number of people.
Verse 14
[14] And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
It was the preparation of the passover — For this reason both the Jews and Pilate were desirous to bring the matter to a conclusion. Every Friday was called the preparation, (namely, for the Sabbath.) And as often as the passover fell on a Friday, that day was called the preparation of the passover.
Verse 17
[17] And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
Bearing his cross — Not the whole cross, (for that was too large and heavy,) but the transverse beam of it, to which his hands were afterward fastened. This they used to make the person to be executed carry. Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:20; Luke 23:26.
Verse 19
[19] And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews — Undoubtedly these were the very words, although the other evangelists do not express them at large.
Verse 20
[20] This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
It was written in Latin — For the majesty of the Roman empire; in Hebrew - Because it was the language of the nation; and in Greek - For the information of the Hellenists, who spoke that language, and came in great numbers to the feast.
Verse 22
[22] Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
What I have written, I have written — That shall stand.
Verse 23
[23] Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
The vesture — The upper garment.
Verse 24
[24] They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
They parted my garments among them — No circumstance of David's life bore any resemblance to this, or to several other passages in the 22d Psalm. So that in this scripture, as in some others, the prophet seems to have been thrown into a preternatural ecstacy, wherein, personating the Messiah, he spoke barely what the Spirit dictated, without any regard to himself. Psalms 22:18.
Verse 25
[25] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
His mother's sister — But we do not read she had any brother. She was her father's heir, and as such transmitted the right of the kingdom of David to Jesus: Mary, the wife of Cleopas - Called likewise Alpheus, the father, as Mary was the mother of James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas.
Verse 27
[27] Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
Behold thy mother — To whom thou art now to perform the part of a son in my place, a peculiar honour which Christ conferred on him.
From that hour — From the time of our Lord's death.
Verse 29
[29] Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
A stalk of hyssop — Which in those countries grows exceeding large and strong. Psalms 69:21.
Verse 30
[30] When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
It is finished — My suffering: the purchase of man's redemption.
He delivered up his spirit — To God, Matthew 27:50.
Verse 31
[31] The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Lest the bodies should remain on the cross on the Sabbath — Which they would have accounted a profanation of any Sabbath, but of that in particular.
For that Sabbath was a great day — Being not only a Sabbath, but the second day of the feast of unleavened bread (from whence they reckoned the weeks to pentecost:) and also the day for presenting and offering the sheaf of new corn: so that it was a treble solemnity.
Verse 34
[34] But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
Forthwith there came out blood and water — It was strange, seeing he was dead, that blood should come out; more strange, that water also; and most strange of all, that both should come out immediately, at one time, and yet distinctly. It was pure and true water, as well as pure and true blood. The asseveration of the beholder and testifier of it, shows both the truth and greatness of the miracle and mystery.
Verse 35
[35] And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
His testimony is true — Valid, unexceptionable.
And he knoweth — And his conscience beareth him witness, that he testifieth this for no other end, than that ye may believe.
Verse 36
[36] For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
A bone of it shall not be broken — This was originally spoken of the paschal lamb, an eminent type of Christ. Exodus 12:46.
Verse 37
[37] And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
They shall look on him whom they have pierced — He was pierced by the soldier's spear. They who have occasioned his sufferings by their sins (and who has not?) shall either look upon him in this world with penitential sorrow: or with terror, when he cometh in the clouds of heaven, Revelation 1:7. Zechariah 12:10.
Verse 38
[38] And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate — And Nicodemus also came - Acknowledging Christ, when even his chosen disciples forsook him. In that extremity Joseph was no longer afraid, Nicodemus no longer ashamed.
Verse 41
[41] Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
In the place where he was crucified — There was a garden in the same tract of land: but the cross did not stand in the garden.
Verse 42
[42] There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
Because of the preparation — That is, they chose the rather to lay him in that sepulchre which was nigh, because it was the day before the Sabbath, which also was drawing to an end, so that they had no time to carry him far.
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1–19:42
Theme Ideas
“Undying love.” Today is the day when this overused cliché holds concrete truth for the followers of Christ. While it wasn’t as evident to those who stood beneath the cross on that Friday we call “good,” it is clear to us today. In the death of Christ, there is evidence of the undying love of God. A search of the true disciple’s heart will reveal the branding of God’s redeeming love. Christ was forsaken for love’s sake. Such love is for our benefit, calling us to draw near to the throne of God’s grace. This sacrificial love is unrelenting, irresistible, never ending, and undying. We will not be forsaken. God enters humanity and dies. God’s undying love in Christ is both universal and specific—it is a love for humanity in general and for each individual in particular.
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before God.
For dominion belongs to the Lord.
God rules over the nations.
All peoples on the earth will feast and worship.
Those who cannot keep themselves alive
will kneel before the Lord.
Posterity will serve God.
Future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim God’s righteousness
to a people yet unborn.
Call to Worship (Hebrews 10)
This is the covenant I will make with them, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts
and I will write them on their minds.
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart,
in full assurance of faith.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for the One who promised is faithful.
Let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together
as some are in the habit of doing.
But let us encourage one another,
as we see the Day of the Lord approaching.
Call to Worship (John 18, John 19)
Come, let us gather again in the shadow
of the Cross of Christ.
We gather to remember the overwhelming evidence
of Love’s ultimate sacrifice.
Who would have guessed that the height and depth,
the length and width of God’s love might look like this:
a forsaken savior on a cross?
Certainly not us. Not us, who are too often lost
amid the world’s distractions and responsibilities.
Not us, for whom such love was offered without cost.
Let us gather again in the shadow of the Cross of Christ
and commit ourselves to remember the price paid.
Let us live our lives in a way that indicates why
this Friday is called “Good.”
Thanks be to God, who opened the gates of heaven,
that we might have the faith, hope, and love,
witnessed in Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation.
Contemporary Gathering Words
(Referencing Charles Wesley’s hymn “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”)
Who is the victim of this terrible thing?!
Who is the scapegoat of this horrific thing?!
An innocent man has been ruthlessly killed.
An innocent man has been senselessly sacrificed.
For whom has this man been sacrificed?
For whom has this man been slain as an offering?
For a guilty man he has been hung on a cross.
For a guilty woman he has been pierced.
What kind of man is this?
Who would die in the place of the guilty?
What kind of man is this?
Who would suffer for one who has done evil?
Amazing Love! How can it be
that Thou, my God would die for me?
Amazing Love! How can it be,
that Thou, my Christ would die for me?
Praise Sentences (Hebrews 10)
Thanks be to God, who remembers our sins
and our lawless deeds no more.
Thanks be to God, whose forgiveness is now sure
and who no longer demands any offering for sin.
Praise be to God, who has removed the veil,
drawing us near to the throne of grace and mercy.
Let us honor and glorify God, by gathering together
and encouraging us to love one another,
as Christ has loved us.
Praise be to God!
Opening Prayer (John 18, John 19, Good Friday)
O God of infinite love and power,
we gather together on this Good Friday
to reflect on the passion of the Christ.
We are utterly humbled
in the presence of such love and mercy.
Open our hearts this day
to the goodness of Good Friday,
and fill us with your love
and powerful Spirit of Holiness.
Remove from us all sin.
Offer us anew this Life in Christ
that makes all things new. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Psalm 8, Hebrews 2, Good Friday)
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Who are we that you are mindful of us?
Yet, you consider us only a little lower
than the heavenly angels.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
We who need you desperately each day,
have come to you on this Good Friday
to acknowledge the endless love
you have demonstrated on the Cross of Christ.
Inspire us to live each and every day,
in the fullness of your eternal life.
In the name of the love incarnate,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Unison Prayer or Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 53, Psalm 51)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray.
We have all turned to our own way.
We have sinned and have been the cause
of Christ’s suffering.
Please forgive us, we pray.
Remove the sins that distance us from you
and from those we love and care about.
Remove our selfishness, our pride, our envy,
and our greed.
Remove from us our thoughtless acts
and words that hurt one another.
Remove from us the tendency to hurt others
out of revenge and anger.
Forgive us please.
Create in us a clean heart, O Lord.
And renew in us a right spirit. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10, Jeremiah 31)
In the name of the compassionate Christ,
you are forgiven.
For God has declared, “I forgive your evil ways
and remember your sins no more!”
Benediction (Hebrews 10)
May you leave this place with the assurance
of forgiveness that is made possible
through the sacrifice of Christ.
Go forth in hope and anticipation
of the ultimate victory that comes with Easter.
Go forth! Be Easter people!
Benediction (1 Peter 2, Good Friday)
By his stripes we are healed.
By his wounds, we are made whole.
Go in the name of Jesus Christ
and live in the salvation made possible
by the Goodness of this Friday. Amen.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2005 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
WORSHIP ELEMENTS: GOOD FRIDAY 2015 (OPTION 1) by Jamie D. GreeningCOLOR: Black or None
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 (16-23); John 18:1–19:42
THEME IDEAS
Good Friday is the most somber day of the Christian year. It has only one theme and only one event in mind: Jesus’ death. The flow of the service should systematically emphasize the progression toward death at Golgotha with the service finally ending on the proclamation that the world got what it wanted. Resist the temptation to point toward the hope that comes at Easter. That is for another day. Today is about the Christian doctrine that Jesus did indeed die, and that his death was painful.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
(With each repetitive phrase, the worship leader should get progressively louder, until the last question is almost a demand.)
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight (today)?
To tell what Jesus did in the midst of our brokenness.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To give our praise in the midst of our pain.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To seek the Lord and give God our praise.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To join with the families of the earth
as we worship the Holy One.
Opening Prayer (Hebrews 10)
Almighty God,
we would be lying to you and deceiving ourselves
if we pretended to be joyful and satisfied tonight (today).
We are not.
The violent pain that our friend Christ Jesus endured
makes us want to hide and wait until it is over;
it makes us wish to ignore his wounds altogether.
Yet in the miracle of grace, you have drawn us here,
along with millions of others around the earth,
that we might remember Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice
and covenant of grace.
As we worship you tonight
and undertake the ancient work of remembering,
we ask that you open our hearts to feel anew
exactly why this is called “Good Friday.”
In the name of Christ our Lord, amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
(This is designed for two readers. Reader 1 on the chancel and Reader 2 on the sanctuary floor, preferably in the midst of the people.)
He has borne and carried the evil of our hearts.
He has borne my evil.
Because of our transgressions, he was wounded.
Because of my hate, prejudice, immorality,
greed, lying, intolerance, and blasphemy,
he was wounded.
Our iniquities crushed him and . . .
(cutting off Reader 1)
I crushed him! I drove the nails.
I wove the thorny crown. I pierced his side.
I shouted “crucify him.”
The Lord laid it all on him—
all our iniquity, punishment, and guilt.
He heaped the ugliest part of us
onto his amazing beauty.
With every puncture, each whip stroke,
at every cry of anguish
and innumerable flinch of pain,
in every wound and bruise,
he was healing the brokenness
of my sinful soul.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10)
We are guilty, but God is faithful.
In this faithfulness, God chose to remember
our lawlessness no longer.
Through Christ, our sins—yours and mine—
are not only forgiven, they are forgotten.
Christ blotted out the ledger book with his love.
Response to the Word (Isaiah 52-53, John 18-19)
The Word hung between heaven and earth
on a splintery cross. At the place where two wooden
beams intersected, sin and salvation also intersected.
It astonishes us—why would Christ do this?
The Word bled, shouted, and died.
He startled us—what kind of love is this?
The Word has broken our hearts.
The tragic sorrow marks our faces with shame.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Hebrews 10, John 18–19)
Was there anything Jesus did not give, as he died on Calvary? Did he withhold anything as he set our spirits free from fear? The answer is no, he gave it all. Now, what will you give, in light of one who died on a tree?
Offering Prayer (Hebrews 10)
As your love brought us healing,
may our gifts be used to heal.
As your sacrifice brought us salvation,
may our sacrifices be used to save.
As your offering feeds our souls,
may our offering feed the hungry.
As you willingly gave yourself,
may we give faithfully of ourselves.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (John 18–19)
“Crucify him,” they scream,
and crucify him they do.
Pierce his side and watch him bleed.
Make certain he is dead.
They murder an innocent man on the cross.
We murder him with our sins.
We walk away from here with stained hands
and bruised hearts.
But it does not matter who did it.
It is Friday. He is dead.
Jesus is dead.
God is dead.
Did we get what we really wanted?
(W. H. Auden’s Poem, “Stop All the Clocks” may also be read at the end of this service.)
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (Isaiah 53)
Come, behold the man of suffering.
We have come.
Come, look at his appearance.
We have come.
Come, gather around the cross to see him.
We have come.
Come, weep as the curtain falls
over the light of the world.
We have come.
We see.
We behold.
We weep.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 22, Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
The ironic plaque said it all:
The King of the Jews.
The King of the Jews:
The Lord of the Church.
The King of Kings:
The Lord of Creation,
exalted and lifted up.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 (16-23); John 18:1–19:42
THEME IDEAS
Good Friday is the most somber day of the Christian year. It has only one theme and only one event in mind: Jesus’ death. The flow of the service should systematically emphasize the progression toward death at Golgotha with the service finally ending on the proclamation that the world got what it wanted. Resist the temptation to point toward the hope that comes at Easter. That is for another day. Today is about the Christian doctrine that Jesus did indeed die, and that his death was painful.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
(With each repetitive phrase, the worship leader should get progressively louder, until the last question is almost a demand.)
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight (today)?
To tell what Jesus did in the midst of our brokenness.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To give our praise in the midst of our pain.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To seek the Lord and give God our praise.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To join with the families of the earth
as we worship the Holy One.
Opening Prayer (Hebrews 10)
Almighty God,
we would be lying to you and deceiving ourselves
if we pretended to be joyful and satisfied tonight (today).
We are not.
The violent pain that our friend Christ Jesus endured
makes us want to hide and wait until it is over;
it makes us wish to ignore his wounds altogether.
Yet in the miracle of grace, you have drawn us here,
along with millions of others around the earth,
that we might remember Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice
and covenant of grace.
As we worship you tonight
and undertake the ancient work of remembering,
we ask that you open our hearts to feel anew
exactly why this is called “Good Friday.”
In the name of Christ our Lord, amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
(This is designed for two readers. Reader 1 on the chancel and Reader 2 on the sanctuary floor, preferably in the midst of the people.)
He has borne and carried the evil of our hearts.
He has borne my evil.
Because of our transgressions, he was wounded.
Because of my hate, prejudice, immorality,
greed, lying, intolerance, and blasphemy,
he was wounded.
Our iniquities crushed him and . . .
(cutting off Reader 1)
I crushed him! I drove the nails.
I wove the thorny crown. I pierced his side.
I shouted “crucify him.”
The Lord laid it all on him—
all our iniquity, punishment, and guilt.
He heaped the ugliest part of us
onto his amazing beauty.
With every puncture, each whip stroke,
at every cry of anguish
and innumerable flinch of pain,
in every wound and bruise,
he was healing the brokenness
of my sinful soul.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10)
We are guilty, but God is faithful.
In this faithfulness, God chose to remember
our lawlessness no longer.
Through Christ, our sins—yours and mine—
are not only forgiven, they are forgotten.
Christ blotted out the ledger book with his love.
Response to the Word (Isaiah 52-53, John 18-19)
The Word hung between heaven and earth
on a splintery cross. At the place where two wooden
beams intersected, sin and salvation also intersected.
It astonishes us—why would Christ do this?
The Word bled, shouted, and died.
He startled us—what kind of love is this?
The Word has broken our hearts.
The tragic sorrow marks our faces with shame.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Hebrews 10, John 18–19)
Was there anything Jesus did not give, as he died on Calvary? Did he withhold anything as he set our spirits free from fear? The answer is no, he gave it all. Now, what will you give, in light of one who died on a tree?
Offering Prayer (Hebrews 10)
As your love brought us healing,
may our gifts be used to heal.
As your sacrifice brought us salvation,
may our sacrifices be used to save.
As your offering feeds our souls,
may our offering feed the hungry.
As you willingly gave yourself,
may we give faithfully of ourselves.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (John 18–19)
“Crucify him,” they scream,
and crucify him they do.
Pierce his side and watch him bleed.
Make certain he is dead.
They murder an innocent man on the cross.
We murder him with our sins.
We walk away from here with stained hands
and bruised hearts.
But it does not matter who did it.
It is Friday. He is dead.
Jesus is dead.
God is dead.
Did we get what we really wanted?
(W. H. Auden’s Poem, “Stop All the Clocks” may also be read at the end of this service.)
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (Isaiah 53)
Come, behold the man of suffering.
We have come.
Come, look at his appearance.
We have come.
Come, gather around the cross to see him.
We have come.
Come, weep as the curtain falls
over the light of the world.
We have come.
We see.
We behold.
We weep.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 22, Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
The ironic plaque said it all:
The King of the Jews.
The King of the Jews:
The Lord of the Church.
The King of Kings:
The Lord of Creation,
exalted and lifted up.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
Order of service written by Rev. Nancy Townley
[Note: Good Friday is the time of remembrance of Jesus' Crucifixion and Burial. The following service focuses on the "Approaching Darkness", before the dawn of Easter. Liturgy, Music, and Visual arts reflect the darkening time. There is no closing music - the people leave in silence]
[Begin the service with full lighting in the sanctuary. Follow the prompts in the service for the gradual dimming, or shutting off of the electric lights, so that darkness may approach the worship center]
GATHERING MUSIC:
"Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed" UMH 294
"Thou Didst Leave thy Throne" FWS 2100
Call to Worship:
L: We gather tonight in the shadow of the Cross.
P: Evil abounds. Jesus goes forth to suffer and die.
L: How we tremble with fear!
P: How we weep.
L: Why have we forsaken Him?
P: Why have we betrayed and run from his Passion?
L: Lord, have mercy upon us.
P: Christ, have mercy upon us.
READING: Portions of Psalm 22
Reader in the back of the congregation:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
**Song: "Ah, Holy Jesus" UMH 289 Verses 1 & 2
[Dim a few lights, but leave sufficient lighting for the people to easily read their music]
Reader from the right side of the congregation:
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled; I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the Dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
**Song "Ah, Holy Jesus" UMH 289, verses 3 & 4
PRAYER:
Lord, we come before you in the approaching darkness of our souls. We have traveled this Lenten journey, overcoming and conquering barriers that have kept us from serving you. We gathered at the gates of joy on Palm Sunday, and feasted at the Lord's Table yesterday. But today is a different story. We witness the arrest and trial of the Innocent Savior. We watch as he is moved brutally from place to place, to be judged by people who have hardened their hearts against you. The sorrow that we feel lies heavy upon us. Lift us, Lord. Comfort us. Help us get through this time of darkness. AMEN.
[Gradually shut off the sanctuary lights. All the sanctuary lights should be off following the singing of "Were You There" leaving only the candles of the remaining readers. The readers may have pen lights (small flashlights. Each reader will extinguish the candle after their speech. The readers should be able to move from their speaking place to a chair, and remain there until most of the congregation has left at the end of the service. There is to be no talking until they have left the sanctuary]
THE SEVEN CANDLES AND THE APPROACHING DARKNESS
a dramatic presentation of the Crucifixion
[Note: these monologs are meant to be read by very good readers. It is important for them to have an opportunity to rehearse together, so that they can sense each other's timing]
[Note: Extinguish one candle after each speech is given, with the exception of the large white pillar candle in front of the cross]
A member of the Sanhedrin:
This is not a good time. This Jesus came, proclaiming a new law, said he was the King of the Jews. That's dangerous talk. We have a very tentative peace with the Romans. They let us alone to practice our faith and we obey their laws. It is uncomfortable and we long for the avenging Messiah, but it isn't this wilderness preacher. He makes me nervous. He is chipping away at what little peace we have. If he destroys this peace, he will destroy God's people. We can't risk it, no matter how the crowds love him. We just can't risk it.
[the 1st candle is extinguished]
Woman disciple:
I can't believe this. He has done nothing wrong. He healed people, he taught them the lessons of life; he gave new hope. What is wrong with that? How is that a threat to our faith? How is that a threat to the Roman authority? I was at the table, bringing the food for the supper last evening. He was so serious, sad. The disciples didn't know what to make of his actions. He washed their feet and told them that they had to be like servants if they wanted to serve the Master. He took the loaf of leftover bread and broke it and gave it to them to eat, telling them it was representing his body which was broken for them. He didn't know it, but we women in the background also took bread as he was speaking. He passed the cup to them and reminded them of the new covenant, a new relationship between each of them and God, and said that it was like his blood which would be poured out for them. They dipped their bread in the cup and ate it. So did we. It was awful. I wanted to run, but I couldn't leave. I followed him to the garden of prayer, but at a respectful distance. Hidden in the dark of the bushes, I witnessed the parade of soldiers, the torches, and his capture. My God, my God, what has happened! How could this be?
[the 2nd candle is extinguished]
Song: "Go to Dark Gethsemane" UMH 290 verses 1 & 2
Soldier:
I do what I'm told. They assigned us to go and bring back this wilderness rabble-rouser, Jesus from Nazareth. So I went. I didn't see anything particularly threatening about him. His buddy, Judas, was the one who told the authorities where we could find him. He got paid - in silver. I don't like that business - paying for a life. He didn't seem surprised, but he did seem disappointed when this Judas kissed him on the cheek. One of his disciples drew a sword and cut off the ear of one of the servants who accompanied us. I've got to tell you, I could hardly believe what I saw. Jesus put his hands on the man's ear and it was healed. Healed! I shook my head - must be the night air, I thought. It really couldn't have happened. No matter. My job was to bring him in. He didn't struggle and we shuttled him back and forth between the religious authorities, Annas and Caiaphas, and Pilate, the procurator, the Roman law in these parts. After that, we were dismissed for a while.
[Extinguish the 3rd candle]
Woman in the courtyard:
I knew who that tall, muscular man was, all right! I'd seen him with the others who followed this Jesus. I heard the whisperings from the others all around, but I was the only one who was brave enough to speak up. "You're one of his disciples, aren't you?" I said to him. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know him", he growled at me. I knew that I was right and I wasn't going to let it be. I challenged him again, and again he told me that he didn't know this Jesus. Okay, one more try. "Are you not one of this man's disciples?" "I am not". And then a strange silence fell over the area. You could hear a rooster crowing. The man turned ghastly white and ran away. He was guilty of something. Probably more guilty than anything these authorities can drum up against the one they captured tonight.
[Extinguish the 4th candle]
**Song "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" UMH 286, verses 1 & 2
Pilate:
These people are going to drive me crazy. They are in an uproar because of some wilderness preacher. I examined him, asked him pointed, direct questions. His answers puzzled me, but I really could not find any reason why he should be brought before me. He did not commit a crime against our Roman government. He was just a thorn in the hide for the Jewish religious authorities. They wanted to have him killed and by their law, they couldn't do it. They wanted to take care of the matter for them. Scapegoat! That's what he was! I asked him if he was the King of the Jews, a charge the religious people were trying to pin against him so that I would do something. You know Caesar is our king. Anyway, he said "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice". Doesn't sound too treasonous to me. I had him flogged, thinking that would placate their blood lust. The soldiers played a little game with him. They stripped him, flogged him, put an old purple cloak on him and someone made a crown out of thorn bushes and jammed it on his head. They shouted "Hail, King of the Jews!" and spit at him. Well, they were just having a little jest with him. I finally had to do something. The crowds were getting out of hand, demanding the extreme punishment, crucifixion. I gave them a choice, Barabbas, a murderer in our custody, or this flogged and bleeding Jesus. To my surprise, they chose Barabbas, and I had to wash my hands of the whole deal. They made their choice. It was over. But, is it? Is it really over? I think not.
[Extinguish the 5th candle]
Woman at the crucifixion:
The crowds that had cheered at his entrance to Jerusalem, now jeered him as he dragged his heavy cross to the place of crucifixion. It was Golgotha, the Skull, a place where the vilest criminals were nailed to a cross and died a slow and agonizing death. My God, it was so horrible. How could they do this to him? He had done nothing wrong? How could God let this happen to this kind healer? My heart was breaking. He had healed me of a host of diseases when all others had given up. He looked at me, smiled, and told me of God's love for me......for me? And I could feel that love, God's love, pouring over me. It was unlike anything I had known before. I left everything and followed Jesus, like so many others. The words of compassion, the healing love, the reminders of how God wants us to live - I could listen to Jesus forever. My soul was healed; my spirit was restored. But now, now it was being dragged with him to Golgotha. He stumbled and fell. A strange man was grabbed from the crowd and forced to carry the heavy cross when Jesus could no longer do it. I couldn't break away. I followed. My God, I followed...... I stood near his mother, and Mary Magdalene, and John. And we watched and wept. But no one made us leave.
[Extinguish the 6th candle]
**Song "Were You There" UMH 288 verses 1-3
[Shut off all sanctuary lights, leaving only the candles of the readers' for lighting]
[Note: the person who reads the part of Jesus should pause between each phrase. The very last phrase should be shouted. ]
Jesus:
"My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?"
"Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing?
"Woman, here is your son. Here is your mother"
"I am thirsty"
"It is finished!"
" Father, Into your hands I commend my spirit!
[Someone other than Jesus extinguish the Christ Candle. Thunder, or loud crashing sound at the same time the candle is extinguished should be heard]
[In the darkness have someone read the following:]
Reader:
Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and their bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this had testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled. "None of his bones shall be broken." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, tough a secret one because of his fear of the authorities, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial customs of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
[SILENCE - the people can leave as they are moved to do so]
STATIONS OF THE CROSS: PROJECTABLE ART by Jessica Miller KelleyEnhance your Holy Week observances with this free Stations of the Cross artwork and devotional experience.
The Stations of the Cross, also called The Way of the Cross, is a historic practice of Christians around the world, observed especially during Lent and on Good Friday in particular. The concept was originated in medieval times, to bring a taste of Holy Land pilgrimage to people in their own churches. Rather than walking the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows) around Jerusalem to remember Jesus' humiliation and sacrifice, devotees could process from station to station within the church or an outdoor space, meditating on visual representations of Jesus' journey—often sculptures, paintings, or reliefs.
There are traditionally fourteen stations, marking Jesus' experience from condemnation to burial, though adaptationsexist, including the addition of a resurrection station (which some would say defeats the purpose of meditating on Christ's suffering before jumping to Easter) or a version that only depicts scenes explicitly recorded in Scripture. (Jesus stumbling and falling under the weight of the cross might be logically assumed, though not stated in Scripture, and one station—Veronica wiping Jesus' face with a towel—introduces a completely extrabiblical character and incident.)
The Stations of the Cross experience offered below follow the traditional fourteen stations, with the substitution of resurrection (as Station 14) for the traditional station 13, Jesus is taken down from the cross. These worship elements may be projected or printed free of charge for use in congregational settings.
Artwork is mixed media collage, created by Jessica Miller Kelley in 2006, photographs ©2013.
Corresponding and thematically-related scriptures are from the Common English Bible, ©2010.
Download: Stations of the Cross Powerpoint (.ppt)
Download: Stations of the Cross Images (.zip)
Download: Stations of the Cross Scriptures (.doc)
The Stations of the Cross, also called The Way of the Cross, is a historic practice of Christians around the world, observed especially during Lent and on Good Friday in particular. The concept was originated in medieval times, to bring a taste of Holy Land pilgrimage to people in their own churches. Rather than walking the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows) around Jerusalem to remember Jesus' humiliation and sacrifice, devotees could process from station to station within the church or an outdoor space, meditating on visual representations of Jesus' journey—often sculptures, paintings, or reliefs.
There are traditionally fourteen stations, marking Jesus' experience from condemnation to burial, though adaptationsexist, including the addition of a resurrection station (which some would say defeats the purpose of meditating on Christ's suffering before jumping to Easter) or a version that only depicts scenes explicitly recorded in Scripture. (Jesus stumbling and falling under the weight of the cross might be logically assumed, though not stated in Scripture, and one station—Veronica wiping Jesus' face with a towel—introduces a completely extrabiblical character and incident.)
The Stations of the Cross experience offered below follow the traditional fourteen stations, with the substitution of resurrection (as Station 14) for the traditional station 13, Jesus is taken down from the cross. These worship elements may be projected or printed free of charge for use in congregational settings.
Artwork is mixed media collage, created by Jessica Miller Kelley in 2006, photographs ©2013.
Corresponding and thematically-related scriptures are from the Common English Bible, ©2010.
Download: Stations of the Cross Powerpoint (.ppt)
Download: Stations of the Cross Images (.zip)
Download: Stations of the Cross Scriptures (.doc)
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This incredible, wrenching story is at the heart of our faith, and thus we’re called to share it. But how do we share it with the children in our midst in a way that helps them to hear the Good News and grow in the love and knowledge of God? Kids can easily be taught to parrot back a profession of “Jesus died for our sins,” and can just as easily learn to fear a God who calls for the death of his beloved son. While it seems irresponsible to teach them that they are implicated in the death of “their friend Jesus” (as Carolyn C. Brown observes in Sharing the Easter Faith With Children), it’s equally troubling to teach them that “others” killed him after a motley crowd demanded his crucifixion.
During Holy Week Christians locate themselves within the passion narrative through worship. Some, for fear of their children’s reactions, may simply avoid the midweek services. It’s an understandable strategy, but it leads to young Christians who, having only heard of Palm and Easter Sunday joy, grow up without a sense of the richness of the Gospel story.
Enter the Family Good Friday service. Many school districts continue to give students the day off from school (ours is technically for Earth Day this year!), rendering a noontime service feasible while providing an opportunity to plan worship that does not compete with any evening observances. Worship can be kept well under an hour, and music can involve one or two easily learned hymns such as “Were You There?”
As always when planning worship with children and non-readers consider call-and-response prayers with a brief, repeating refrain. Keep Scripture lessons short or offer your own narrative paraphrase, as though telling an actual story. Consider incorporating rituals that engage a number of the senses (kids love footwashing and Communion).
The trickiest thing, of course, is telling the story itself. I try to select one metaphor that will speak to the kids’ experience while also shedding light on some aspect of the Holy Week drama. Growing up, the Good Friday family services I attended in my dad's congregation were populated by a veritable menagerie of animals -- mostly the pets of my frustrated-vet mother. We'd bring in frogs and snakes, gerbils and hedgehogs, and, of course, butterflies; beasts that shed their skin or hibernate or metamorphose, bodies that do not die at a critical moment, but which all are changed. There is a period of apparent death, but then there is new life. Pinecones, which are designed by our Creator to withstand forest fires and then release their seeds in newly cleared earth, provide another good example from nature.
In the two examples offered here, the metaphors used are less tangible. One year, I designed the service around a theme of lullabies, nightmares, and bright mornings -- emphasizing Jesus's comforting words to his disciples at the Last Supper, the nightmare of feeling abandoned in the garden and facing death alone, and the bright morning of Easter, knowing that all is restored. This year, our service uses the Tomie DePaola children's book Now One Foot, Now the Other, which tells the story of a young boy and his grandfather, Tom. Tom nurtures little Tommy, teaches him to walk. Then Tom suffers a stroke and Tommy is afraid and lost. Finally, over time, Tom begins to heal, and Tommy now helps his grandfather learn to walk once more.
I'll let you know if I can read it in worship without crying. It tends to reduce my husband and I to tears at bedtime with our daughter. But I'm taking the risk because the story conveys, in ways I am convinced children can understand and be moved by, that journey of the disciples through nurture at the hands of Christ, through despair and fear, to hope and love.
Carolyn Brown reiterates that when sharing this central story with children, we must never leave them at the cross or the tomb -- they must leave with the Good News of Easter ringing in their ears. But we must take them to the cross -- even if in imperfect metaphors -- so that they will know and learn that nothing under heaven can separate us from the power and love of God.
Download: Sample Order of Worship
Although I had done a faithful job of proclaiming “the word of the cross,” I'll confess that I had pretty much avoided the specific term “atonement” until our senior high youth group studied Christian Believer. When they discussed the classical “theories of the atonement,” they wanted to know what I believed and, more important, what difference it made. The result was a series of teaching sermons and a Lenten Bible study (Dying to Live.) Out of that experience, I've discovered four steps toward communicating the atonement in a postmodern culture.
Teach Biblically
That's not as easy as it sounds. The word “atonement” appears 87 times in Scripture, but only twice in the New Testament and never in the Gospels. The challenge is to draw on its Old Testament roots without allowing the Hebrew sacrificial system to completely define its meaning. The question is, What difference does it make to understand atonement through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? How does the gospel both appropriate and redefine the meaning of atonement?
Teaching biblically also means allowing the full range of biblical images to come alive without reducing them to a simplistic, one-size-fits-all definition. In searching for the best way to proclaimtheir faith, the New Testament writers engaged a wide variety of traditions and images from the Old Testament and from the culture around them. We don't need to be more simplistic or systematic than they were. We can engage the whole range of biblical language and images to connect with the people we are trying to reach.
Teach Holistically
The root word for atonement in Middle English was onen,meaning “unite.” The starting point for teaching atonement in our contemporary culture is "at-one-ment,” the uniting of all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:10).
The “satisfaction” theory of atonement connected with people who felt that they were condemned sinners hanging on the edge of damnation. But that's not where most people are today. The dominant mood of our time is alienation, estrangement, and disconnection. The world is divided by ethnic conflict and war. Communities are separated by economic status and race. Families are splintered by divorce and social pressure. Individuals feel fragmented and disconnected from one another. To people living fragmented lives in a fractured world, the story of a God who acts in self-giving love to bring “at-one-ment” comes as great good news indeed!
Luther D. Ivory, in his book on the theology of Martin Luther King Jr., wrote that Dr. King “understood God as radical agape love in action seeking to create, redeem, sustain, and restore community. Even when purposive human action tried to destroy it, God insists on community, and demonstrated (through the cross of Christ), that no sacrifice was too great to effect its restoration” (Toward a Theology of Radical Involvement, p. 139). As one of my early camp meeting preacher mentors would say, “That'll preach!”
Teach Visually
In my first seminary homiletics course, Dr. Donald Demeray said, “People do picture thinking.” If it was true three decades ago, it's even more accurate today. A highly rationalistic explanation of the theories of the atonement made sense for people who lived (or still prefer to live!) in the modern era. But for people who live in a postmodern culture, one powerful, practical image conveys more truth than chapters of explanation.
For example, if I had attempted a full explanation of the “ransom” theory of atonement, a lot of folks would have left with more questions than answers. But when we showed a film clip from Stephen Spielberg's movie, Amistad, they “saw” the point in less time than it would have taken to explain it. When I told the story of a couple who are mortgaging their home to pay for therapy to save their son from drug addiction, there wasn't a parent in the room who didn't sense something of the price God was paying at the cross to save this world.
Teach Feelingly
When Shakespeare has King Lear ask the Earl of Gloucester how he sees in the world without his eyes, Gloucester replies, “I see it feelingly.”
We're talking mystery here; the great mystery of God's infinite, self-giving, saving love. Although the preacher/teacher must have a solid theological understanding of the concept, our purpose is not merely to convey an intellectual concept, but toinvite people into an experience of God's saving grace. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Theories about Christ's death are not Christianity: they are explanations about how it works…. The thing itself is infinitely more than any explanations that theologians have produced” (Mere Christianity, pp. 58-59).
We can, and should, work out our stumbling attempts to explain it, but the closer I get to Good Friday every year, the more I know that the word we proclaim is beyond our capacity to comprehend or contain. The only way to experience the full power of the atonement is to see it feelingly; to experience it in the suffering of marginalized and oppressed people and to allow the power of God's self-giving love to soak into a place in our souls that is beyond the ability of our brains to explain or our words to contain.
The exclamation points convey that Charles Wesley saw the atonement “feelingly” in his hymn:
O Love divine, what hast thou done!
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father's co-eternal Son
bore all my sin upon the tree.
Th' immortal God for me hath died:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified!
A South African pastor-friend patted me on the back as I stepped into the pulpit and said, “Preach it, Brother. Preach it!”
"FATHER, FORGIVE THEM" by Adam Hamilton"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
It is not surprising that these words—the first words spoken by Jesus from the cross—were a prayer. What is surprising, haunting, and, for some, disturbing, is what he prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Let’s begin our exploration of this prayer with aquestion: For whom was Jesus praying? Who was the “them” Jesus was asking God to forgive?
He was, of course, praying for the soldiers who cruelly tortured him and crucified him and who were preparing to gamble for his clothes. “Father, forgive them.”
He also was praying for the crowd who, even now, were beginning their verbal assault on him—Luke notes that they were deriding him, shaking their heads and mocking him. For them he prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
Then there were the religious leaders who, from their own jealousy and spiritual blindness, conspired with the Romans to kill him, just as the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day had sought to kill him. For these hypocritical leaders he prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
This is astounding! Can you imagine such mercy? That Jesus would pray for them as he hung on the cross is one of the most powerful images in all the Gospels.
But there is someone else included in Jesus’ prayer, someone for whom Jesus was pleading from the cross for God’s mercy to be extended: We are among the “them” Jesus was praying for as he said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
There’s an old gospel hymn that asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” The answer is that, in a profound spiritual sense, you were there. The entire human race was there at the Crucifixion. The death of Jesus was an event that transcended time. Jesus’ prayer gave voice to what Jesus was doing on the cross. He was offering himself to God his Father as an offering of atonement. In this moment he was both the High Priest pleading for atonement for the human race and the offering itself. This sacrificial act was for those who had come before and for those who would come after just as much as it was for those who heard his words that day.
You and I were there when they crucified the Lord. In a sense, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive Adam. Forgive (insert your name). Forgive those in our churches and those on the streets. Forgive those in the suburbs and those downtown. Forgive those in our country and those on the other side of the world. Father, forgivethem. . . .” This is the power of the words Jesus cried out from the cross: They were prayed not only for those who stood by at the cross, but also for all of us— for all of humanity.
This article is excerpted from Adam's book, Final Words from the Cross, ©2011 by Abingdon Press.
It is not surprising that these words—the first words spoken by Jesus from the cross—were a prayer. What is surprising, haunting, and, for some, disturbing, is what he prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Let’s begin our exploration of this prayer with aquestion: For whom was Jesus praying? Who was the “them” Jesus was asking God to forgive?
He was, of course, praying for the soldiers who cruelly tortured him and crucified him and who were preparing to gamble for his clothes. “Father, forgive them.”
He also was praying for the crowd who, even now, were beginning their verbal assault on him—Luke notes that they were deriding him, shaking their heads and mocking him. For them he prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
Then there were the religious leaders who, from their own jealousy and spiritual blindness, conspired with the Romans to kill him, just as the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day had sought to kill him. For these hypocritical leaders he prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
This is astounding! Can you imagine such mercy? That Jesus would pray for them as he hung on the cross is one of the most powerful images in all the Gospels.
But there is someone else included in Jesus’ prayer, someone for whom Jesus was pleading from the cross for God’s mercy to be extended: We are among the “them” Jesus was praying for as he said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
There’s an old gospel hymn that asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” The answer is that, in a profound spiritual sense, you were there. The entire human race was there at the Crucifixion. The death of Jesus was an event that transcended time. Jesus’ prayer gave voice to what Jesus was doing on the cross. He was offering himself to God his Father as an offering of atonement. In this moment he was both the High Priest pleading for atonement for the human race and the offering itself. This sacrificial act was for those who had come before and for those who would come after just as much as it was for those who heard his words that day.
You and I were there when they crucified the Lord. In a sense, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive Adam. Forgive (insert your name). Forgive those in our churches and those on the streets. Forgive those in the suburbs and those downtown. Forgive those in our country and those on the other side of the world. Father, forgivethem. . . .” This is the power of the words Jesus cried out from the cross: They were prayed not only for those who stood by at the cross, but also for all of us— for all of humanity.
This article is excerpted from Adam's book, Final Words from the Cross, ©2011 by Abingdon Press.
GOOD FRIDAY by Thomas Lane ButtsJohn 18:1–19:42
What a day! Who in the world gave it the name “Good Friday”? Reading even the most sketchy and benign accounts of that day is enough to make even the strong shudder. No one there that day, including the Romans who did the deed, would ever have agreed to call it “Good Friday.” It was a terrible day by any standard of consideration.
Even dumb nature cried out against it. “When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon” (Mark 15:33). The stars hid their faces in shame and the sun refused to shine. The earth rebelled. There was an earthquake. Rocks split and graves opened and “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-52). Good Friday? Nobody there that day thought so! It was a day of human infamy, when the very Son of God, who came in gentle love, was hurled back into the face of the Father who sent him. That day represents humanity at its worst, but God at God’s best. Good Friday? There certainly did not appear to be anything good about it! Whatever good there may have been was not to be understood on that day—only later.
No one present that day would have ever dreamed—not in his or her wildest imagination—the significance that day would hold for all the world. No single day in the history of humankind has touched so many for so long. Its importance to Christians is equaled only by the resurrection three days later. In truth, one can hardly see how those two days can be separated. They are two events of one fabric. They are indivisible with a symbiotic relationship of meaning. Either day would be stripped of its meaning without the other.
It was just another day to many who were there. Pilate was anxious and hesitant because it was a political “hot potato” and he had used up his political capital with Rome. He wassuperstitious about the matter, but he otherwise had no personal investment in the outcome. It certainly was not the first time he had uttered those fateful words to a condemned man: “Ibis ad Crucem” (“You will go to the cross”), and it probably was not the last.
It was just another day for the Roman soldiers who happened to draw the duty of whipping and then crucifying a prisoner. They had done it before. They were obviously bored with the tedium of it all. They amused themselves by making sport of Jesus. They taunted him, placed an old purple cloak on him, and put a crown of thorns on his head. It was amusement to them. Only one of the execution squad sensed there was something special going on here. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he died, he said: “Truly this man was God’s Son!” But for all the other soldiers it was just “another day at the office.” They had been there before. They would be there again.
It was just another day for the curious bystanders who came to gawk in some perverted amusement at the suffering and dying of the condemned. It was not their first time. It would not be their last.
It was important to the religious establishment that the problem of another disturber of “their peace” be silenced. To them Jesus was just another false messiah who was making trouble for them by getting the Romans upset. And he was disturbing their temple business of moneychanging and selling sacrificial animals. There had been others. He had to go. Really, just another day.
It was not just another day to the family and followers of Jesus. It was the most terrible day of their lives. Not only did they lose a dear and special friend, their faith and hope was lost also. It was just another horrible day, like other horrible days, except many times worse. It certainly was not a “Good” day! They were much too grieved and upset to remember that he had said to them earlier that it was “good” that he was leaving— to their advantage even. He promised that he would be more substantially with them in his absence than when he was there. They did not understand this when he said it, and if it crossed their troubled minds on that Friday, it was no comfort.
It was three days before the significance of that Friday began to dawn on the followers and family of Jesus. It was not long before the Romans and the Jewish religious establishment began to sense there was more going on that Friday than “just another day.” Unbeknownst to them, they had played into the hand and plan of the great God Almighty in a way they could never have dreamed. None of those who were instrumental in putting Jesus on the cross had any idea of what they were really doing. Jesus was speaking a word of fact as well as a word of forgiveness when from the cross he prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” They did not know!
Soon the whole world would know. Soon the message of Jesus would spread like wildfire across the civilized world. Soon the day that his enemies thought was just another day, and his followers thought the most awful day imaginable, would take on a significance that would justify the title of “Good Friday.” For two thousand years the significance of that day has continued to grow. Banks close. The stock exchanges close. Thousands of books have been written about it. Movies have been made and television specials run to tell again the story of that day. Special services are held in churches and people who otherwise do not tend to be religious take off their hats and bow their heads and remember.
Those of us who know how the story ends tend to forget that those who were there did not and could not have known. God is always doing things in our world and in our lives that we do not understand, the significance of which will dawn on us later. None of us are ever far from painful events, which we do not understand. There are things that happen that seem to us like the end of the world, but we later see how they blessed us and saved us in a manner we could not see at the time. Suffering in our lives has the potential of either crushing us or refining us. And, we do have some modicum of choice when our world turns dark at midday as to its ultimate effect on us. When we go into the tumbler, we have some choice about whether we come out crushed or polished. The God who turned the most awful day in history into Good Friday is still at work in our world and in our lives.
Today, as we walk the via dolorosa with Jesus and weep at the cross, we are kept from despair in the sure knowledge that there is an ending we do not see. When faith in the power and wisdom of God is the theme and mood of our lives, we can live with the pain of the moment.
Several years ago I listened in rapt attention to Dr. Tony Campolo describe a sermon preached by his pastor on Good Friday titled: “It Is Friday, but Sunday’s Coming!” The disciples are lost in pain and shame. Mary is crying. The crowd is jeering: “He saved others, now let him save himself.” The Jews are strutting and laughing. The Roman soldiers are shooting dice for his garments. Jesus is dying. What they do not know is that it is just Friday. Just Friday! But, Sunday is coming! Do you understand that?
What a day! Who in the world gave it the name “Good Friday”? Reading even the most sketchy and benign accounts of that day is enough to make even the strong shudder. No one there that day, including the Romans who did the deed, would ever have agreed to call it “Good Friday.” It was a terrible day by any standard of consideration.
Even dumb nature cried out against it. “When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon” (Mark 15:33). The stars hid their faces in shame and the sun refused to shine. The earth rebelled. There was an earthquake. Rocks split and graves opened and “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-52). Good Friday? Nobody there that day thought so! It was a day of human infamy, when the very Son of God, who came in gentle love, was hurled back into the face of the Father who sent him. That day represents humanity at its worst, but God at God’s best. Good Friday? There certainly did not appear to be anything good about it! Whatever good there may have been was not to be understood on that day—only later.
No one present that day would have ever dreamed—not in his or her wildest imagination—the significance that day would hold for all the world. No single day in the history of humankind has touched so many for so long. Its importance to Christians is equaled only by the resurrection three days later. In truth, one can hardly see how those two days can be separated. They are two events of one fabric. They are indivisible with a symbiotic relationship of meaning. Either day would be stripped of its meaning without the other.
It was just another day to many who were there. Pilate was anxious and hesitant because it was a political “hot potato” and he had used up his political capital with Rome. He wassuperstitious about the matter, but he otherwise had no personal investment in the outcome. It certainly was not the first time he had uttered those fateful words to a condemned man: “Ibis ad Crucem” (“You will go to the cross”), and it probably was not the last.
It was just another day for the Roman soldiers who happened to draw the duty of whipping and then crucifying a prisoner. They had done it before. They were obviously bored with the tedium of it all. They amused themselves by making sport of Jesus. They taunted him, placed an old purple cloak on him, and put a crown of thorns on his head. It was amusement to them. Only one of the execution squad sensed there was something special going on here. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he died, he said: “Truly this man was God’s Son!” But for all the other soldiers it was just “another day at the office.” They had been there before. They would be there again.
It was just another day for the curious bystanders who came to gawk in some perverted amusement at the suffering and dying of the condemned. It was not their first time. It would not be their last.
It was important to the religious establishment that the problem of another disturber of “their peace” be silenced. To them Jesus was just another false messiah who was making trouble for them by getting the Romans upset. And he was disturbing their temple business of moneychanging and selling sacrificial animals. There had been others. He had to go. Really, just another day.
It was not just another day to the family and followers of Jesus. It was the most terrible day of their lives. Not only did they lose a dear and special friend, their faith and hope was lost also. It was just another horrible day, like other horrible days, except many times worse. It certainly was not a “Good” day! They were much too grieved and upset to remember that he had said to them earlier that it was “good” that he was leaving— to their advantage even. He promised that he would be more substantially with them in his absence than when he was there. They did not understand this when he said it, and if it crossed their troubled minds on that Friday, it was no comfort.
It was three days before the significance of that Friday began to dawn on the followers and family of Jesus. It was not long before the Romans and the Jewish religious establishment began to sense there was more going on that Friday than “just another day.” Unbeknownst to them, they had played into the hand and plan of the great God Almighty in a way they could never have dreamed. None of those who were instrumental in putting Jesus on the cross had any idea of what they were really doing. Jesus was speaking a word of fact as well as a word of forgiveness when from the cross he prayed: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” They did not know!
Soon the whole world would know. Soon the message of Jesus would spread like wildfire across the civilized world. Soon the day that his enemies thought was just another day, and his followers thought the most awful day imaginable, would take on a significance that would justify the title of “Good Friday.” For two thousand years the significance of that day has continued to grow. Banks close. The stock exchanges close. Thousands of books have been written about it. Movies have been made and television specials run to tell again the story of that day. Special services are held in churches and people who otherwise do not tend to be religious take off their hats and bow their heads and remember.
Those of us who know how the story ends tend to forget that those who were there did not and could not have known. God is always doing things in our world and in our lives that we do not understand, the significance of which will dawn on us later. None of us are ever far from painful events, which we do not understand. There are things that happen that seem to us like the end of the world, but we later see how they blessed us and saved us in a manner we could not see at the time. Suffering in our lives has the potential of either crushing us or refining us. And, we do have some modicum of choice when our world turns dark at midday as to its ultimate effect on us. When we go into the tumbler, we have some choice about whether we come out crushed or polished. The God who turned the most awful day in history into Good Friday is still at work in our world and in our lives.
Today, as we walk the via dolorosa with Jesus and weep at the cross, we are kept from despair in the sure knowledge that there is an ending we do not see. When faith in the power and wisdom of God is the theme and mood of our lives, we can live with the pain of the moment.
Several years ago I listened in rapt attention to Dr. Tony Campolo describe a sermon preached by his pastor on Good Friday titled: “It Is Friday, but Sunday’s Coming!” The disciples are lost in pain and shame. Mary is crying. The crowd is jeering: “He saved others, now let him save himself.” The Jews are strutting and laughing. The Roman soldiers are shooting dice for his garments. Jesus is dying. What they do not know is that it is just Friday. Just Friday! But, Sunday is coming! Do you understand that?
ANSWERING PILATE'S QUESTION by C. Chappell TempleJohn 18:28–19:26
Had he been asked at the time, he would never have guessed that he would be known best for centuries afterward for the his role as summarized in the simple words of the creed: “he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.” Ironically enough, Pontius Pilate was, in other respects, not all that bad of a guy. He was acareer official with considerable military experience, serving in a rather fractious part of the empire; Pilate’s career produced the second longest tenure of any Roman governor of Judea in those centuries, lasting a full ten years. What’s more—in most respects, Pilate did a difficult job fairly well. He had a conscience and sense of justice. He generally tried to do right by those who came before him, and he even wanted to do right by the prisoner named Jesus who was hauled into his residence early on that Friday of Passover Week. Indeed, Pilate’s face may well have been the most sympathetic into which Jesus looked that day.
Pilate had one rather tragic flaw, however. Unfortunately, Pontius Pilate was a coward, lacking the courage to back his convictions with his actions. The result for Pilate was not fame, but infamy: forever to be remembered not for all of the many right decisions he may have made, but for a single wrong one. Perhaps we can identify with him just a little here. Sometimes the good things we do can be wiped out in a single blow with one stupid or ill-considered decision. We say something that we wish we could take back. We make a judgment call only to realize that we blew it. We may even get blamed for being wrong when it’s not really our fault. Several years back, an Israeli weatherman was actually sued by a woman who said that, because he predicted a sunny day, she dressed lightly and got caught in a storm, from which she caught the flu, missed four days’ work, and had to spend money on medicine and suffer stress. It’s crazy, of course, for we can’t really blame the weather on any meteorologist. But wecan blame Pontius Pilate. He did not simply make an unfortunate guess—he made a fatally wrong judgment. He chose to listen to the shouts of the mob rather than to the still, small voice of God, even while his every instinct may have told him that Jesus was innocent.
Being smart, Pilate surely understood that crowds can often be terribly wrong. The crowd is wrong, for instance, when it seeks to impose an injustice on a minority simply by overwhelming them with its number. The crowd is wrong when it tries to use its power to tyrannize individuals who dare to disagree with it. And the crowd is wrong when it attempts to press its cause with the sheer volume of its protest, and not with the soundness or rightness of its claims. God seldom speaks in the roar of a frenzied mob. Rather, God’s cause has often been championed precisely because someone was willing to stand up against the shouts of the many and do that which was right, no matter how unpopular. Pilate, however, was willing to sacrifice the sacred for the secular, the eternal for the immediate, the spiritual for the political. In the end, Pilate chose to put the service of Caesar over the fear of God.
If all that were not bad enough, Pontius Pilate did one other cowardly thing. He failed to accept the responsibility for his own actions.Washing his hands in front of the crowd, he told them, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; I find no fault in him; it is your responsibility if we kill him.” But then, of course, it was not their responsibility; for it could not be. On that fatal day, only one man had the authority to order the crucifixion of Jesus, to say “Let him go” or “String him up.” Only one man could overrule the mob and do that which in his own heart he knew was right, and that was Pontius Pilate. Thus, just as no one else had the power to crucify Jesus, so Pilate could not deny his responsibility afterward. Neither can we. When it comes to the kind of important questions that have to do with Jesus Christ and our response to him, we cannot shrug that responsibility off onto anybody else—it is ours alone to make, and the simple truth is that none of us were ever made for neutralities. What’s more, the most important decision any of us ever make is the same choice Pilate had to make on that day of the Crucifixion, namely “What should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah” (Matthew 27:22)? Can we fit Jesus into our lives, or must we deny his Lordship altogether? Shall we stand with him for truth, or shall we crucify him again by the things we do that kill his spirit within us, that drown out that still, small voice speaking to us? Will we acclaim him as our Master, or reject him as an imposter? Pilate could never have imagined that for one wrong decision he would forever remain known. Yet how much like Pilate are we? Have we listened to the crowd rather than to God, sacrificing the spiritual so as simply not to mess up the material in our lives?
Good Friday is the day when Jesus stands before us, and all must now decide: what will we do with this Jesus, who is called the Christ?
Had he been asked at the time, he would never have guessed that he would be known best for centuries afterward for the his role as summarized in the simple words of the creed: “he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.” Ironically enough, Pontius Pilate was, in other respects, not all that bad of a guy. He was acareer official with considerable military experience, serving in a rather fractious part of the empire; Pilate’s career produced the second longest tenure of any Roman governor of Judea in those centuries, lasting a full ten years. What’s more—in most respects, Pilate did a difficult job fairly well. He had a conscience and sense of justice. He generally tried to do right by those who came before him, and he even wanted to do right by the prisoner named Jesus who was hauled into his residence early on that Friday of Passover Week. Indeed, Pilate’s face may well have been the most sympathetic into which Jesus looked that day.
Pilate had one rather tragic flaw, however. Unfortunately, Pontius Pilate was a coward, lacking the courage to back his convictions with his actions. The result for Pilate was not fame, but infamy: forever to be remembered not for all of the many right decisions he may have made, but for a single wrong one. Perhaps we can identify with him just a little here. Sometimes the good things we do can be wiped out in a single blow with one stupid or ill-considered decision. We say something that we wish we could take back. We make a judgment call only to realize that we blew it. We may even get blamed for being wrong when it’s not really our fault. Several years back, an Israeli weatherman was actually sued by a woman who said that, because he predicted a sunny day, she dressed lightly and got caught in a storm, from which she caught the flu, missed four days’ work, and had to spend money on medicine and suffer stress. It’s crazy, of course, for we can’t really blame the weather on any meteorologist. But wecan blame Pontius Pilate. He did not simply make an unfortunate guess—he made a fatally wrong judgment. He chose to listen to the shouts of the mob rather than to the still, small voice of God, even while his every instinct may have told him that Jesus was innocent.
Being smart, Pilate surely understood that crowds can often be terribly wrong. The crowd is wrong, for instance, when it seeks to impose an injustice on a minority simply by overwhelming them with its number. The crowd is wrong when it tries to use its power to tyrannize individuals who dare to disagree with it. And the crowd is wrong when it attempts to press its cause with the sheer volume of its protest, and not with the soundness or rightness of its claims. God seldom speaks in the roar of a frenzied mob. Rather, God’s cause has often been championed precisely because someone was willing to stand up against the shouts of the many and do that which was right, no matter how unpopular. Pilate, however, was willing to sacrifice the sacred for the secular, the eternal for the immediate, the spiritual for the political. In the end, Pilate chose to put the service of Caesar over the fear of God.
If all that were not bad enough, Pontius Pilate did one other cowardly thing. He failed to accept the responsibility for his own actions.Washing his hands in front of the crowd, he told them, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; I find no fault in him; it is your responsibility if we kill him.” But then, of course, it was not their responsibility; for it could not be. On that fatal day, only one man had the authority to order the crucifixion of Jesus, to say “Let him go” or “String him up.” Only one man could overrule the mob and do that which in his own heart he knew was right, and that was Pontius Pilate. Thus, just as no one else had the power to crucify Jesus, so Pilate could not deny his responsibility afterward. Neither can we. When it comes to the kind of important questions that have to do with Jesus Christ and our response to him, we cannot shrug that responsibility off onto anybody else—it is ours alone to make, and the simple truth is that none of us were ever made for neutralities. What’s more, the most important decision any of us ever make is the same choice Pilate had to make on that day of the Crucifixion, namely “What should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah” (Matthew 27:22)? Can we fit Jesus into our lives, or must we deny his Lordship altogether? Shall we stand with him for truth, or shall we crucify him again by the things we do that kill his spirit within us, that drown out that still, small voice speaking to us? Will we acclaim him as our Master, or reject him as an imposter? Pilate could never have imagined that for one wrong decision he would forever remain known. Yet how much like Pilate are we? Have we listened to the crowd rather than to God, sacrificing the spiritual so as simply not to mess up the material in our lives?
Good Friday is the day when Jesus stands before us, and all must now decide: what will we do with this Jesus, who is called the Christ?
Perhaps the most enigmatic episode in this section of John is the conversation of Jesus from the cross with the Beloved Disciple and Jesus' mother. This story is unique to John.It's meaning has been variously debated. Some would take it literally as a poignant story telling how Jesus saw to it that his mother would be cared for after his death. However, both the Beloved Disciple and Jesus' mother are given symbolic roles elsewhere in John's Gospel. An often repeated interpretation is that Jesus' mother here represents the church, which has now been given into the safekeeping of the Beloved Disciple, who would here symbolize the leadership of John's Christian community.
I propose another interpretation. In the only other story where the mother of Jesus appears, in the story of the wedding feast at Cana (2:1-11), she has a role as one who participates in bringing about the mission of Jesus. She is not like other characters in John who have to go through a process of faith: she is already in the know. In fact, she operates virtually as a partner in Jesus' ministry on that occasion at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Now at the end of his ministry, when he is about to depart, he entrusts his “partner” to the Beloved Disciple. In doing so, he symbolically appoints the Beloved Disciple to be the agent of his mission on earth in his absence. In this sense, the Beloved Disciple becomes symbolic of pastoral leadership in the church in any generation. His role at the foot of the cross is to interpret events correctly, utilizing the spiritual insight symbolized by the mother of Jesus, an insight made accessible to succeeding generations by the stories presented in this very Gospel.
Excerpted from The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, Volume 10
For a couple of years my wife and I have attended Good Friday services at St. John the Evangelist Monastery (an Episcopal monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts). The quiet, contemplative service centers on an adoration of the cross. At the appropriate time, following the monks’ lead, participants are invited to approach the cross solemnly kneeling and bowing to the ground three times as they move closer to the cross. The third station of adoration is at the very foot of the cross where participants either kiss or touch the cross in some manner.
There is something deeply moving about this strange and ancient service. Good Friday invites us to come to the cross. It beckons us to stand or kneel in awe before the reality of this night. The words of John Bowring’s great hymn portray the essence: “In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time” (“In the Cross of Christ I Glory,” The United Methodist Hymnal [Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989], 295).
The truth we know well. The cross was a cruel form of the death penalty used by the Roman Empire as deterrent. Today’s equivalent is the electric chair or the syringe for a lethal injection. Yet for many, the cross is simply a nice piece of jewelry; a dangling bauble to hang on a chain. This night invites us back to the strange world of the first Holy Week and thrusts us forward into our bruised and bleeding modern world. On this night the Roman sign of cruel death is transformed into a cross of life for today.
Consider well how the teaching from Hebrews invites us to participate in the transformation from a crucifixion of cruelty to a cross of life. It begins with a quotation of Jeremiah 31:33. God acts to indelibly write the law on our hearts. Such action by God is stunning movement beyond pitiful human attempts to sacrifice, cleanse, or fix the problem of our brokenness. God’s law is not a rule to keep from a dusty book but a living relational covenant of love. The additional quotation of Jeremiah 33:34 makes explicit the mercy we receive. “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Metaphorically we approach the cross out of God’s gracious action of undeserved mercy or not at all.
Many a modern reader cringes at images of blood sacrifice. We like our world cleaned up and sanitized. Yet incontestably the employment of the Old Testament image of Jesus as a “blood sacrifice” is anchored in the cross. To a world that knows bombs and IEDs, violence and heartache, a sanitized Jesus will not do. By the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), we come to a cross of life. Jesus’ physical death on the cross is a metaphorical tearing in two of the temple curtain (see Matthew 27:51). Previously the curtain kept the common believer separated from God. Now, on this day, we dare to call good because of our great priest Jesus, the sacrifice has been made that opens our way to God. We are reconciled to God through the cross of life. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrased interpretation catches the essence: “So, friend, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into ‘the Holy Place.’ Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God” (Hebrews 10:19-20, THE MESSAGE).
From this towering conviction we claim a cross of life amidst death’s rubble. From here the rest of the passage unfolds as a call to faithfulness and perseverance. The faithful need to take care not to move the attention from the cross. Because we have a cross of life and not a sign of death we are ushered to (1) a reception of mercy, (2) a confession of hope, and (3) a plan of action.
The reception of mercy is explicit in the verses that follow. We can approach God not through vain cover-up but with “full assurance.” Many, both outside and inside the community of faith, are convinced that mercy applies to everyone but them. Faithful proclamation invites us to remember our most unfaithful moment since last Good Friday and lay it on the altar of God with assurance of God’s great mercy. The punishment we deserve is laid aside by God in and through Christ.
We think of confession as a confession of sin. The amazing truth of this night is that we are invited to confess our hope. “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful” (v. 23). Biblical hope transcends fleeting optimism. It is anchored not in our faithfulness but God’s. The Divine invites the congregation to reflect on their deepest, most heartfelt hopes, and place than in the hands of God.
The plan of action comes last. It is important in our culture with the stress on human striving and accomplishment to emphasize this. The sacrifice (atonement) is Christ. The mercy is the Lord’s. The hope is anchored in God. Our action comes as a natural outgrowth of the sacrifice, mercy, and hope. It is simple and straightforward. “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds” (v. 24).
Such love arises from the worship of God and the encouragement of meeting together. Thus the plan of action properly closes with a common sense bit of advice that we are to not neglect in meeting together “but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (v. 25).
The text folds out neatly for us on this night of nights. It bids us first come and behold the true wonder of the cross. All the rest flows from that position of adoration, grace, and mercy. It comes from God’s action in Christ alone. Faithful proclamation shines the spotlight on the cross. Through Christ’s sacrificial, atoning love, death is transformed into life. The three acts of (1) a reception of mercy, (2) a confession of hope, and (3) a plan of action might best be used as a time of silent reflection andprayer in the body of the sermon itself. We are called to the cross of life on this night.
Isaiah 52:13–53:12; John 18:1–19:42
As a member of the Sanhedrin, I had participated in audiences with the procurator of Judea several times.
This time was different.
This time, I wasn’t approaching Pilate as a representative of the powerful ruling council. I was going as Joseph, a citizen of Jerusalem.
Walking up the polished marble steps of the procurator’s palace, I reflected on how my friendship with Nicodemus led me here. I met Nicodemus after I was appointed to the Sanhedrin.
Nicodemus was a famous Rabbi. We soon became close friends, united by a deep devotion to the principles of Torah.
Early one morning a year ago, Nicodemus met me wearing a serious expression.
“Last night I met the Rabbi called Jesus,” he said.
My face must have betrayed shock. To speak with Jesus without permission from the Sanhedrin was forbidden.
“Don’t worry, Joseph. We met at night. Nobody saw us. The conversation was brief, but confusing. He spoke in riddles and I revealed my ignorance. But I will tell you this: he is a man sent from God.”
“Do you realize what you are saying?” I said, worried for my friend. “You could be cast off the council, or worse, for speaking such blasphemy!”
He eventually became convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah!
At first, I couldn’t accept Nicodemus’s radical change of heart. I was angry with him and tried to dissuade him from his belief in Jesus. Instead, over time, by listening to my friend’s accounts of Jesus’ teachings and works, I, too, became a believer.
By the time I joined Nicodemus as a secret believer, it was too late to save Jesus. Caiaphas, the high priest, had convinced the Sanhedrin that Jesus must be stopped. It was only a matter of time before Jesus was captured, tried, and executed.
Jesus died on a cross as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. Nicodemus and I sat together in silence while he was crucified.
I realized what I had to do. So I went to the procurator’s palace.
My legs were trembling when I reached the doors to the audience chamber. I could see Pilate on the far side of the room, perched on his throne, animatedly gesturing to one of the army of advisers who surrounded him.
After being announced, I walked toward Pilate as if approaching my own crucifixion. I knelt in front of the throne where Jesus had stood only hours before.
“I have come to beg a favor of the procurator, which I pray he will be gracious enough to grant. I would humbly ask His Highness to release the body of the man called Jesus of Nazareth to me for burial. He was crucified today.”
Pilate grimaced. “I remember him well. Why should I give you his body? We usually leave the bodies for the dogs and birds.”
“If it might please the procurator, our law says that one who is executed must be buried the same day. Also, if His Highness will indulge me one moment more, this is the Day of Preparation. Our Feast of the Unleavened Bread begins at sundown. If the body is not buried before daylight ends, our law prohibits burial until . . .”
“Don’t instruct me about your silly customs!” Pilate thundered. “I will grant your request, not because of your law, but because an innocent man deserves a decent burial.”
“Thank you, Procurator. You are most generous. Thank you.”
A centurion led me out of the palace and up the hill called Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. The bodies of the crucified lay crumpled in grotesque positions at the foot of the crosses on which they had died. Agonized souls, not yet dead, breathed in gasps.
I was led to a cluster of three crosses. Two men, more dead than alive, hung on the outside crosses. The middle cross was empty. An inscription in three languages nailed to it read: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
The centurion looked up at the two men panting for air, “They’ll soon be joining this one,” he said pointing to a body lying nearby. “I think this is the one you wanted.”
I had only seen Jesus once, from a distance, and the bearded face was unrecognizable to me.
“Is this one Jesus?” I asked a weeping woman standing a few feet away. She looked at me, nodded, and returned to her grieving.
I hoisted the body onto my shoulder (it felt surprisingly light) and started the march to the garden where Nicodemus was to meetme. The tomb, which I had purchased several months ago as a family burial place, had been completed only a few days before.
As I gently laid the body outside the tomb’s opening, Nicodemus emerged from the shadows.
“Is it really him?” I asked.
Nicodemus gazed at the body for several moments. Tears were streaming down his face when he finally said, “Yes, it is the Lord.”
“We must work quickly,” I said, because the sun was low on the horizon.
Nicodemus walked over to where he had been standing and began dragging a huge sack towards me. I went to help him.
“This weighs at least a hundred pounds. You must have spent a fortune on these spices!” I said.
“Nothing is too extravagant for the Lord’s burial,” he said.
Silently, we anointed Jesus’ body with the lavish amount of spices and wrapped it in the linen cloths Nicodemus had brought. Our tears mixed with the myrrh and aloes as we lovingly prepared Jesus for burial.
When we finished, we carried him into the inner chamber of the tomb and laid a pure, white cloth over his head. Nicodemus rested his hand on Jesus’ head for a brief time and closed his eyes in prayer.
Just as the sun was setting, we sealed the tomb by rolling the large, circular stone into the groove hewn for that purpose. It fit perfectly. Nothing will get in here, I thought.
Nicodemus and I walked into the soft light of evening, our arms around each other’s shoulders, comforting each other in our loss. It was finished.
The passages for Good Friday present a look at the redemptive work of Christ that spans the centuries. In Isaiah 52:13, for instance, the prophet offers a stunning portrayal of the suffering servant of God, leading to the rhetorical question of 53:1—which is actually more of an exclamation than an inquiry—“Who has believed what we have heard?” The picture of that “servant of suffering” is a stark one, exceeded only by the harshness of our response to him. The servant may indeed be marked by grief and sorrow, but clearly, they are not his own. Rather, as verses 4-6 make plain, it is we who are the cause of his condition, as the servant has taken the sicknesses that belong to us and lifted them (nasa) upon himself.
Psalm 22
Psalm 22 presents the fate of God’s servant with even more disturbing detail, recording the haunting words that are quoted by Jesus from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (v. 1)? Similarly, the graphic imagery in verses 14 and 15 uncannily describes the physical effects that crucifixion imposed on its victims, and the notation in verse 18 of casting lots for the sufferer’s clothing foreshadows the events of Good Friday with alarming accuracy. Because of the particular potency that this psalm has for Christians, it is tempting to overlook its earlier Old Testament contexts. It is worth remembering, however, that God’s Word is often multidimensional, and such is the case here as well. For this psalm of David represents both a plea for deliverance and anaffirmation of trust, applicable to both individuals and to nations, that in the end “dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations” (v. 28).
Hebrews 10:16-25
Hebrews 10:16-25 enlarges this idea, noting that it is specifically because of the sacrifice of Christ, “the blood of Jesus” (v.19), that a new way has been opened up for us all, allowing us to come to God in boldness. Our response to what Christ has done is subsequently indicated by the threefold exhortation of verses 22-24: “let us approach with a true heart . . . let us hold fast to the confession of our hope . . . let us consider how to provoke one another to love.”
This Isaiah passage is arguably the greatest of the so called “servant songs” of Isaiah. The passage opens with the triumph; “he shall be exalted and lifted up” (52:13). The victory will be not just over Israel but over the nations. Yet the rejection of the servant is real. In a deep sense this passage must be embraced as written to a nation in exile. The despair of the present is countered with the eventual triumph of God. It is further distinctive that the servant suffers instead of others. “Surely, he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases” (53:4). Much argument can be expended on whether the servant is a person or representative of the nation as a whole. In the original context of Isaiah, the case is best made as a representative of the nation.
The earliest Christian theologians looked back on this passage and made the explicit connection to Christ. It is not so much a fulfillment of prophecy as a living out of God’s eventual triumph that takes place in and through the cross. The careful reader will also note the deep element of confession in this passage. “All we like sheep have gone astray.”
John 18:1–19:42
There is so much contained in these powerful chapters of passion that a simple dramatic reading invites the listener to step back into the text. The text of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion fits carefully in the context of the original Passovercelebration narrative. The dialogue between power and passion is something we know full well. John is careful to show that the various prophecies are fulfilled. Nothing in the text will let us escape the real horror that happened. Nothing in the text will allow us to deny the reality of death. Don’t jump ahead to Easter but dwell on the sacrifice. Reflect carefully on the public nature of crucifixion and the heartrending reality for the original disciples. Live in Good Friday spiritually, emotionally, andintellectually. Ours is an Easter faith, but Easter makes sense only in light of Good Friday.Easter Sunday
This Sunday, April 5, 2015
Easter Sunday - Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8
Easter Sunday - Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8
Lectionary Readings for Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18 or
Mark 16:1-8
Scripture Texts:
Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34 Then Kefa addressed them: “I now understand that God does not play favorites, 35 but that whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what people he belongs to.
36 “Here is the message that he sent to the sons of Isra’el announcing shalom through Yeshua the Messiah, who is Lord of everything. 37 You know what has been going on throughout Y’hudah, starting from the Galil after the immersion that Yochanan proclaimed; 38 how God anointed Yeshua from Natzeret with the Ruach HaKodesh and with power; how Yeshua went about doing good and healing all the people oppressed by the Adversary, because God was with him.
39 “As for us, we are witnesses of everything he did, both in the Judean countryside and in Yerushalayim. They did away with him by hanging him on a stake;[a] 40 but God raised him up on the third day and let him be seen, 41 not by all the people, but by witnesses God had previously chosen, that is, by us, who ate and drank with him after he had risen again from the dead.
42 “Then he commanded us to proclaim and attest to the Jewish people that this man has been appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets bear witness to him, that everyone who puts his trust in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”[Footnotes:
Acts 10:39 Deuteronomy 21:23]
Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Now let Isra’el say,
“His grace continues forever.”
14 Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
15 The sound of rejoicing and victory
is heard in the tents of the righteous:
“Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!
16 Adonai’s right hand is raised in triumph!
Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!”
17 I will not die; no, I will live
and proclaim the great deeds of Yah!
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but did not hand me over to death.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter them and thank Yah.
20 This is the gate of Adonai;
the righteous can enter it.
21 I am thanking you because you answered me;
you became my salvation.
22 The very rock that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
23 This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing.
24 This is the day Adonai has made,
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now, brothers, I must remind you of the Good News which I proclaimed to you, and which you received, and on which you have taken your stand, 2 and by which you are being saved — provided you keep holding fast to the message I proclaimed to you. For if you don’t, your trust will have been in vain. 3 For among the first things I passed on to you was what I also received, namely this: the Messiah died for our sins, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 4 and he was buried; and he was raised on the third day, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 5 and he was seen by Kefa, then by the Twelve; 6 and afterwards he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Later he was seen by Ya‘akov, then by all the emissaries; 8 and last of all he was seen by me, even though I was born at the wrong time. 9 For I am the least of all the emissaries, unfit to be called an emissary, because I persecuted the Messianic Community of God. 10 But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain; on the contrary, I have worked harder than all of them, although it was not I but the grace of God with me. 11 Anyhow, whether I or they, this is what we proclaim, and this is what you believed.
John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Miryam from Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she came running to Shim‘on Kefa and the other talmid, the one Yeshua loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”
3 Then Kefa and the other talmid started for the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other talmid outran Kefa and reached the tomb first. 5 Stooping down, he saw the linen burial-sheets lying there but did not go in. 6 Then, following him, Shim‘on Kefa arrived, entered the tomb and saw the burial-sheets lying there, 7 also the cloth that had been around his head, lying not with the sheets but in a separate place and still folded up. 8 Then the other talmid, who had arrived at the tomb first, also went in; he saw, and he trusted. 9 (They had not yet come to understand that the Tanakh teaches that the Messiah has to rise from the dead.)
10 So the talmidim returned home, 11 but Miryam stood outside crying. As she cried, she bent down, peered into the tomb, 12 and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Yeshua had been, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 “Why are you crying?” they asked her. “They took my Lord,” she said to them, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14 As she said this, she turned around and saw Yeshua standing there, but she didn’t know it was he. 15 Yeshua said to her, “Lady, why are you crying? Whom are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you’re the one who carried him away, just tell me where you put him; and I’ll go and get him myself.” 16 Yeshua said to her, “Miryam!” Turning, she cried out to him in Hebrew, “Rabbani!” (that is, “Teacher!”) 17 “Stop holding onto me,” Yeshua said to her, “because I haven’t yet gone back to the Father. But go to my brothers, and tell them that I am going back to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” 18 Miryam of Magdala went to the talmidim with the news that she had seen the Lord and that he had told her this.
Mark 16:1 When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. 2 Very early the next day, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Then they looked up and saw that the stone, even though it was huge, had been rolled back already. 5 On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right; and they were dumbfounded. 6 But he said, “Don’t be so surprised! You’re looking for Yeshua from Natzeret, who was executed on the stake. He has risen, he’s not here! Look at the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his talmidim, especially Kefa, that he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Trembling but ecstatic they went out and fled from the tomb, and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18 or
Mark 16:1-8
Scripture Texts:
Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34 Then Kefa addressed them: “I now understand that God does not play favorites, 35 but that whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what people he belongs to.
36 “Here is the message that he sent to the sons of Isra’el announcing shalom through Yeshua the Messiah, who is Lord of everything. 37 You know what has been going on throughout Y’hudah, starting from the Galil after the immersion that Yochanan proclaimed; 38 how God anointed Yeshua from Natzeret with the Ruach HaKodesh and with power; how Yeshua went about doing good and healing all the people oppressed by the Adversary, because God was with him.
39 “As for us, we are witnesses of everything he did, both in the Judean countryside and in Yerushalayim. They did away with him by hanging him on a stake;[a] 40 but God raised him up on the third day and let him be seen, 41 not by all the people, but by witnesses God had previously chosen, that is, by us, who ate and drank with him after he had risen again from the dead.
42 “Then he commanded us to proclaim and attest to the Jewish people that this man has been appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets bear witness to him, that everyone who puts his trust in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”[Footnotes:
Acts 10:39 Deuteronomy 21:23]
Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Now let Isra’el say,
“His grace continues forever.”
14 Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
15 The sound of rejoicing and victory
is heard in the tents of the righteous:
“Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!
16 Adonai’s right hand is raised in triumph!
Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!”
17 I will not die; no, I will live
and proclaim the great deeds of Yah!
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but did not hand me over to death.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter them and thank Yah.
20 This is the gate of Adonai;
the righteous can enter it.
21 I am thanking you because you answered me;
you became my salvation.
22 The very rock that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
23 This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing.
24 This is the day Adonai has made,
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now, brothers, I must remind you of the Good News which I proclaimed to you, and which you received, and on which you have taken your stand, 2 and by which you are being saved — provided you keep holding fast to the message I proclaimed to you. For if you don’t, your trust will have been in vain. 3 For among the first things I passed on to you was what I also received, namely this: the Messiah died for our sins, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 4 and he was buried; and he was raised on the third day, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 5 and he was seen by Kefa, then by the Twelve; 6 and afterwards he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Later he was seen by Ya‘akov, then by all the emissaries; 8 and last of all he was seen by me, even though I was born at the wrong time. 9 For I am the least of all the emissaries, unfit to be called an emissary, because I persecuted the Messianic Community of God. 10 But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain; on the contrary, I have worked harder than all of them, although it was not I but the grace of God with me. 11 Anyhow, whether I or they, this is what we proclaim, and this is what you believed.
John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Miryam from Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she came running to Shim‘on Kefa and the other talmid, the one Yeshua loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”
3 Then Kefa and the other talmid started for the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other talmid outran Kefa and reached the tomb first. 5 Stooping down, he saw the linen burial-sheets lying there but did not go in. 6 Then, following him, Shim‘on Kefa arrived, entered the tomb and saw the burial-sheets lying there, 7 also the cloth that had been around his head, lying not with the sheets but in a separate place and still folded up. 8 Then the other talmid, who had arrived at the tomb first, also went in; he saw, and he trusted. 9 (They had not yet come to understand that the Tanakh teaches that the Messiah has to rise from the dead.)
10 So the talmidim returned home, 11 but Miryam stood outside crying. As she cried, she bent down, peered into the tomb, 12 and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Yeshua had been, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 “Why are you crying?” they asked her. “They took my Lord,” she said to them, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14 As she said this, she turned around and saw Yeshua standing there, but she didn’t know it was he. 15 Yeshua said to her, “Lady, why are you crying? Whom are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you’re the one who carried him away, just tell me where you put him; and I’ll go and get him myself.” 16 Yeshua said to her, “Miryam!” Turning, she cried out to him in Hebrew, “Rabbani!” (that is, “Teacher!”) 17 “Stop holding onto me,” Yeshua said to her, “because I haven’t yet gone back to the Father. But go to my brothers, and tell them that I am going back to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” 18 Miryam of Magdala went to the talmidim with the news that she had seen the Lord and that he had told her this.
Mark 16:1 When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. 2 Very early the next day, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Then they looked up and saw that the stone, even though it was huge, had been rolled back already. 5 On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right; and they were dumbfounded. 6 But he said, “Don’t be so surprised! You’re looking for Yeshua from Natzeret, who was executed on the stake. He has risen, he’s not here! Look at the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his talmidim, especially Kefa, that he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Trembling but ecstatic they went out and fled from the tomb, and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34-43
Verse 34
[34] Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
I perceive of a truth — More clearly than ever, from such a concurrence of circumstances.
That God is not a respecter of persons — Is not partial in his love. The words mean, in a particular sense, that he does not confine his love to one nation; in a general, that he is loving to every man, and willeth all men should be saved.
Verse 35
[35] But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
But in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness — He that, first, reverences God, as great, wise, good, the cause, end, and governor of all things; and secondly, from this awful regard to him, not only avoids all known evil, but endeavours, according to the best light he has, to do all things well; is accepted of him - Through Christ, though he knows him not. The assertion is express, and admits of no exception. He is in the favour of God, whether enjoying his written word and ordinances or not. Nevertheless the addition of these is an unspeakable blessing to those who were before in some measure accepted. Otherwise God would never have sent an angel from heaven to direct Cornelius to St. Peter.
Verse 36
[36] The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
This is the word which God sent — When he sent his Son into the world, preaching - Proclaiming by him-peace between God and man, whether Jew or Gentile, by the God-man. He is Lord of both; yea, Lord of and over all.
Verse 37
[37] That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
Ye know the word which was published — You know the facts in general, the meaning of which I shall now more particularly explain and confirm to you.
The baptism which John preached — To which he invited them by his preaching, in token of their repentance. This began in Galilee, which is near Cesarea.
Verse 38
[38] How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
How God anointed Jesus — Particularly at his baptism, thereby inaugurating him to his office: with the Holy Ghost and with power - It is worthy our remark, that frequently when the Holy Ghost is mentioned there is added a word particularly adapted to the present circumstance. So the deacons were to be full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, Acts 6:3. Barnabas was full of the Holy Ghost and faith, Acts 11:24. The disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost, Acts 13:52. And here, where his mighty works are mentioned, Christ himself is said to be anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power. For God was with him-He speaks sparingly here of the majesty of Christ, as considering the state of his hearers.
Verse 41
[41] Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
Not now to all the people — As before his death; to us who did eat and drink with him - That is, conversed familiarly and continually with him, in the time of his ministry.
Verse 42
[42] And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
It is he who is ordained by God the Judge of the living and the dead — Of all men, whether they are alive at his coming, or had died before it. This was declaring to them, in the strongest terms, how entirely their happiness depended on a timely and humble subjection to him who was to be their final Judge.
Verse 43
[43] To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
To him give all the prophets witness — Speaking to heathens he does not quote any in particular; that every one who believeth in him - Whether he be Jew or Gentile; receiveth remission of sins - Though he had not before either feared God, or worked righteousness.
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Verse 14
[14] The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
Salvation — My Saviour.
Verse 15
[15] The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
Doth valiantly — These are the words of that song of praise now mentioned.
Verse 16
[16] The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
Exalted — Hath appeared evidently, and wrought powerfully and gloriously.
Verse 19
[19] Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
Open — O ye porters, appointed by God for this work.
The gates — Of the Lord's tabernacle: where the rule of righteousness was kept and taught, and the sacrifices of righteousness were offered.
Verse 20
[20] This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
The righteous — As David was a type of Christ and the temple of heaven, so this place hath a farther prospect than David, and relates to Christ's ascending into heaven, and opening the gates of that blessed temple, both for himself and for all believers.
Verse 22
[22] The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
The builders — The commonwealth of Israel and the church of God are here and elsewhere compared to a building, wherein, as the people are the stones, so the princes and rulers are the builders. And as these master-builders rejected David, so their successors rejected Christ.
Head stone — The chief stone in the whole building, by which the several parts of the building are upheld and firmly united together. Thus David united all the tribes and families of Israel: and thus Christ united Jews and Gentiles together. And therefore this place is justly expounded of Christ, Mark 12:10; Acts 4:11;Romans 9:32; Ephesians 2:20. And to him the words agree more properly than to David.
Verse 24
[24] This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Made — Or sanctified as a season never to be forgotten.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Verse 2
[2] By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
Ye are saved, if ye hold fast — Your salvation is begun, and will be perfected, if ye continue in the faith.
Unless ye have believed in vain — Unless indeed your faith was only a delusion.
Verse 3
[3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
I received — From Christ himself. It was not a fiction of my own. Isaiah 53:8,9.
Verse 4
[4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
According to the scriptures — He proves it first from scripture, then from the testimony of a cloud of witnesses.Psalms 16:10.
Verse 5
[5] And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
By the twelve — This was their standing appellation; but their full number was not then present.
Verse 6
[6] After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Above five hundred — Probably in Galilee. A glorious and incontestable proof! The greater part remain - Alive.
Verse 7
[7] After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
Then by all the apostles — The twelve were mentioned 1 Corinthians 15:5. This title here, therefore, seems to include the seventy; if not all those, likewise, whom God afterwards sent to plant the gospel in heathen nations.
Verse 8
[8] And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
An untimely birth — It was impossible to abase himself more than he does by this single appellation. As an abortion is not worthy the name of a man, so he affirms himself to be not worthy the name of an apostle.
Verse 9
[9] For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
I persecuted the church — True believers are humbled all their lives, even for the sins they committed before they believed.
Verse 10
[10] But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
I laboured more than they all — That is, more than any of them, from a deep sense of the peculiar love God had shown me. Yet, to speak more properly, it is not I, but the grace of God that is with me - This it is which at first qualified me for the work, and still excites me to zeal and diligence in it.
Verse 11
[11] Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
Whether I or they, so we preach — All of us speak the same thing.
John 20:1-18
Verse 3
[3] Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
Peter went out — Of the city.
Verse 6
[6] Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
Peter seeth the linen clothes lie — and the napkin folded up - The angels who ministered to him when he rose, undoubtedly folded up the napkin and linen clothes.
Verse 8
[8] Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
He saw — That the body was not there, and believed - That they had taken it away as Mary said.
Verse 9
[9] For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
For as yet — They had no thought of his rising again.
Verse 10
[10] Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
They went home — Not seeing what they could do farther.
Verse 11
[11] But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
But Mary stood — With more constancy. Mark 16:9.
Verse 16
[16] Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith to her, Mary — With his usual voice and accent.
Verse 17
[17] Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Touch me not — Or rather, Do not cling to me (for she held him by the feet,) Matthew 28:9. Detain me not now. You will have other opportunities of conversing with me. For I am not ascended to my Father - I have not yet left the world. But go immediately to my brethren - Thus does he intimate in the strongest manner the forgiveness of their fault, even without ever mentioning it. These exquisite touches, which every where abound in the evangelical writings, show how perfectly Christ knew our frame.
I ascend — He anticipates it in his thoughts, and so speaks of it as a thing already present. To my Father and your Father, to my God and your God - This uncommon expression shows that the only - begotten Son has all kind of fellowship with God. And a fellowship with God the Father, some way resembling his own, he bestows upon his brethren. Yet he does not say, Our God: for no creature can be raised to an equality with him: but my God and your God: intimating that the Father is his in a singular and incommunicable manner; and ours through him, in such a kind as a creature is capable of.
or Mark 16:1-8
Verse 2
[2] And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
At the rising of the sun — They set out while it was yet dark, and came within sight of the sepulchre, for the first time, just as it grew light enough to discern that the stone was rolled away, Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1. But by the time Mary had called Peter and John, and they had viewed the sepulchre, the sun was rising.
Verse 3
[3] And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Who shall roll us away the stone — This seems to have been the only difficulty they apprehended. So they knew nothing of Pilate's having sealed the stone, and placed a guard of soldiers there.
Verse 7
[7] But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
And Peter — Though he so oft denied his Lord. What amazing goodness was this!
Verse 34
[34] Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
I perceive of a truth — More clearly than ever, from such a concurrence of circumstances.
That God is not a respecter of persons — Is not partial in his love. The words mean, in a particular sense, that he does not confine his love to one nation; in a general, that he is loving to every man, and willeth all men should be saved.
Verse 35
[35] But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
But in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness — He that, first, reverences God, as great, wise, good, the cause, end, and governor of all things; and secondly, from this awful regard to him, not only avoids all known evil, but endeavours, according to the best light he has, to do all things well; is accepted of him - Through Christ, though he knows him not. The assertion is express, and admits of no exception. He is in the favour of God, whether enjoying his written word and ordinances or not. Nevertheless the addition of these is an unspeakable blessing to those who were before in some measure accepted. Otherwise God would never have sent an angel from heaven to direct Cornelius to St. Peter.
Verse 36
[36] The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
This is the word which God sent — When he sent his Son into the world, preaching - Proclaiming by him-peace between God and man, whether Jew or Gentile, by the God-man. He is Lord of both; yea, Lord of and over all.
Verse 37
[37] That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
Ye know the word which was published — You know the facts in general, the meaning of which I shall now more particularly explain and confirm to you.
The baptism which John preached — To which he invited them by his preaching, in token of their repentance. This began in Galilee, which is near Cesarea.
Verse 38
[38] How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
How God anointed Jesus — Particularly at his baptism, thereby inaugurating him to his office: with the Holy Ghost and with power - It is worthy our remark, that frequently when the Holy Ghost is mentioned there is added a word particularly adapted to the present circumstance. So the deacons were to be full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, Acts 6:3. Barnabas was full of the Holy Ghost and faith, Acts 11:24. The disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost, Acts 13:52. And here, where his mighty works are mentioned, Christ himself is said to be anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power. For God was with him-He speaks sparingly here of the majesty of Christ, as considering the state of his hearers.
Verse 41
[41] Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
Not now to all the people — As before his death; to us who did eat and drink with him - That is, conversed familiarly and continually with him, in the time of his ministry.
Verse 42
[42] And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
It is he who is ordained by God the Judge of the living and the dead — Of all men, whether they are alive at his coming, or had died before it. This was declaring to them, in the strongest terms, how entirely their happiness depended on a timely and humble subjection to him who was to be their final Judge.
Verse 43
[43] To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
To him give all the prophets witness — Speaking to heathens he does not quote any in particular; that every one who believeth in him - Whether he be Jew or Gentile; receiveth remission of sins - Though he had not before either feared God, or worked righteousness.
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Verse 14
[14] The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
Salvation — My Saviour.
Verse 15
[15] The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
Doth valiantly — These are the words of that song of praise now mentioned.
Verse 16
[16] The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
Exalted — Hath appeared evidently, and wrought powerfully and gloriously.
Verse 19
[19] Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
Open — O ye porters, appointed by God for this work.
The gates — Of the Lord's tabernacle: where the rule of righteousness was kept and taught, and the sacrifices of righteousness were offered.
Verse 20
[20] This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
The righteous — As David was a type of Christ and the temple of heaven, so this place hath a farther prospect than David, and relates to Christ's ascending into heaven, and opening the gates of that blessed temple, both for himself and for all believers.
Verse 22
[22] The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
The builders — The commonwealth of Israel and the church of God are here and elsewhere compared to a building, wherein, as the people are the stones, so the princes and rulers are the builders. And as these master-builders rejected David, so their successors rejected Christ.
Head stone — The chief stone in the whole building, by which the several parts of the building are upheld and firmly united together. Thus David united all the tribes and families of Israel: and thus Christ united Jews and Gentiles together. And therefore this place is justly expounded of Christ, Mark 12:10; Acts 4:11;Romans 9:32; Ephesians 2:20. And to him the words agree more properly than to David.
Verse 24
[24] This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Made — Or sanctified as a season never to be forgotten.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Verse 2
[2] By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
Ye are saved, if ye hold fast — Your salvation is begun, and will be perfected, if ye continue in the faith.
Unless ye have believed in vain — Unless indeed your faith was only a delusion.
Verse 3
[3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
I received — From Christ himself. It was not a fiction of my own. Isaiah 53:8,9.
Verse 4
[4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
According to the scriptures — He proves it first from scripture, then from the testimony of a cloud of witnesses.Psalms 16:10.
Verse 5
[5] And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
By the twelve — This was their standing appellation; but their full number was not then present.
Verse 6
[6] After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Above five hundred — Probably in Galilee. A glorious and incontestable proof! The greater part remain - Alive.
Verse 7
[7] After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
Then by all the apostles — The twelve were mentioned 1 Corinthians 15:5. This title here, therefore, seems to include the seventy; if not all those, likewise, whom God afterwards sent to plant the gospel in heathen nations.
Verse 8
[8] And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
An untimely birth — It was impossible to abase himself more than he does by this single appellation. As an abortion is not worthy the name of a man, so he affirms himself to be not worthy the name of an apostle.
Verse 9
[9] For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
I persecuted the church — True believers are humbled all their lives, even for the sins they committed before they believed.
Verse 10
[10] But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
I laboured more than they all — That is, more than any of them, from a deep sense of the peculiar love God had shown me. Yet, to speak more properly, it is not I, but the grace of God that is with me - This it is which at first qualified me for the work, and still excites me to zeal and diligence in it.
Verse 11
[11] Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
Whether I or they, so we preach — All of us speak the same thing.
John 20:1-18
Verse 3
[3] Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
Peter went out — Of the city.
Verse 6
[6] Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
Peter seeth the linen clothes lie — and the napkin folded up - The angels who ministered to him when he rose, undoubtedly folded up the napkin and linen clothes.
Verse 8
[8] Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
He saw — That the body was not there, and believed - That they had taken it away as Mary said.
Verse 9
[9] For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
For as yet — They had no thought of his rising again.
Verse 10
[10] Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
They went home — Not seeing what they could do farther.
Verse 11
[11] But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
But Mary stood — With more constancy. Mark 16:9.
Verse 16
[16] Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith to her, Mary — With his usual voice and accent.
Verse 17
[17] Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Touch me not — Or rather, Do not cling to me (for she held him by the feet,) Matthew 28:9. Detain me not now. You will have other opportunities of conversing with me. For I am not ascended to my Father - I have not yet left the world. But go immediately to my brethren - Thus does he intimate in the strongest manner the forgiveness of their fault, even without ever mentioning it. These exquisite touches, which every where abound in the evangelical writings, show how perfectly Christ knew our frame.
I ascend — He anticipates it in his thoughts, and so speaks of it as a thing already present. To my Father and your Father, to my God and your God - This uncommon expression shows that the only - begotten Son has all kind of fellowship with God. And a fellowship with God the Father, some way resembling his own, he bestows upon his brethren. Yet he does not say, Our God: for no creature can be raised to an equality with him: but my God and your God: intimating that the Father is his in a singular and incommunicable manner; and ours through him, in such a kind as a creature is capable of.
or Mark 16:1-8
Verse 2
[2] And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
At the rising of the sun — They set out while it was yet dark, and came within sight of the sepulchre, for the first time, just as it grew light enough to discern that the stone was rolled away, Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1. But by the time Mary had called Peter and John, and they had viewed the sepulchre, the sun was rising.
Verse 3
[3] And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Who shall roll us away the stone — This seems to have been the only difficulty they apprehended. So they knew nothing of Pilate's having sealed the stone, and placed a guard of soldiers there.
Verse 7
[7] But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
And Peter — Though he so oft denied his Lord. What amazing goodness was this!
____________________________
Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Global Board of Discipleship
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
____________________________
Sermon Story "He Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 5 April 2015 with Scripture Text: Mark 16:1 When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. 2 Very early the next day, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Then they looked up and saw that the stone, even though it was huge, had been rolled back already. 5 On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right; and they were dumbfounded. 6 But he said, “Don’t be so surprised! You’re looking for Yeshua from Natzeret, who was executed on the stake. He has risen, he’s not here! Look at the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his talmidim, especially Kefa, that he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Trembling but ecstatic they went out and fled from the tomb, and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
As I was sitting in the synagogue and worshipping God, I heard the Scriptures read from the Tanakh and could not help remember after Jesus was dead from crucifixion and buried in a borrowed tomb and the reponse of the women who went to the tomb to annoint Jesus body for proper burial according to the Jewish rites of burial. At first, they came back and told us that the body was not in the tomb, but was gone. I remember Peter and John running to the tomb to check out what the women told them while the women were going back to the tomb, at least Mary Magdalene did, Peter and John returned and repeted that His body was not there, but was risen as He said He would. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene went back to the tomb and so two Angels where Jesus' body should have been asking them where Jesus' body was and they responded that He was not there but was rsen from the grave. As Mary Magdalene turned, she saw a man who she thought was a gardener. She asked the man if he took Jesus body please tell her where it is and she would bring it back to the tomb. The man spoke Mary's name and Mary recognized the voice of Jesus and called Him Teacher and clung to Him. Jesus responded to Mary to not cling or touch Him because He has not ascended to the Father because there would be other times that she could touch Him. Jesus, then, asked her to go to His brothers and Galilee and tell them that He would meet them there. When she returned to the Upper room, we were excited that Jesus truly arose from the dead. There were other stories like the two men who walked to Emmaus and met a stranger on the road who asked them what wrong. They told the stranger about what happened to Jesus from Nazareth and what the women saw3 as well as Peter. As they came to their house in Emmaus, they invited the stranger in and he broke bread telling him from the Tanakh what Jesus had to go through and be raised from the dead on the third day. As He broke the bread and gave to them, there eyes were opened and they realized the stranger was Jesus but He disappeared from them. They went back to Jerusalem and told everybody what happened and Jesus appeared to them and ate fish while a few days later He appeared to them when Thomas was with them. He appeared by the lake after a long night of fishing with no luck with fish frying on the fire and He commanded and many fish appeared and He called them in restoring Peter to the fellowship by asking Peter three times if he love Him. Then, Jesus told Peter how he would die. Then on a mountain He ascended to Heaven and the Father when two men standing in the clouds saying do down stare up but go and obey His commands to you because He will return just as He left. How would have responded to what you saw and heard? What character in this story do you relate to? How do you understand His teachings these 2000 years later? May we come and receive His grace as we take and eat His Body and drink His blood through the participation of the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist singing the Hymn "He Lives, I Serve a Risen Savior" by Alfred Ackley
Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California 92104-1844
_____________________________
Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Global Board of Discipleship
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
____________________________
Sermon Story "He Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 5 April 2015 with Scripture Text: Mark 16:1 When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. 2 Very early the next day, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Then they looked up and saw that the stone, even though it was huge, had been rolled back already. 5 On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right; and they were dumbfounded. 6 But he said, “Don’t be so surprised! You’re looking for Yeshua from Natzeret, who was executed on the stake. He has risen, he’s not here! Look at the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his talmidim, especially Kefa, that he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Trembling but ecstatic they went out and fled from the tomb, and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
As I was sitting in the synagogue and worshipping God, I heard the Scriptures read from the Tanakh and could not help remember after Jesus was dead from crucifixion and buried in a borrowed tomb and the reponse of the women who went to the tomb to annoint Jesus body for proper burial according to the Jewish rites of burial. At first, they came back and told us that the body was not in the tomb, but was gone. I remember Peter and John running to the tomb to check out what the women told them while the women were going back to the tomb, at least Mary Magdalene did, Peter and John returned and repeted that His body was not there, but was risen as He said He would. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene went back to the tomb and so two Angels where Jesus' body should have been asking them where Jesus' body was and they responded that He was not there but was rsen from the grave. As Mary Magdalene turned, she saw a man who she thought was a gardener. She asked the man if he took Jesus body please tell her where it is and she would bring it back to the tomb. The man spoke Mary's name and Mary recognized the voice of Jesus and called Him Teacher and clung to Him. Jesus responded to Mary to not cling or touch Him because He has not ascended to the Father because there would be other times that she could touch Him. Jesus, then, asked her to go to His brothers and Galilee and tell them that He would meet them there. When she returned to the Upper room, we were excited that Jesus truly arose from the dead. There were other stories like the two men who walked to Emmaus and met a stranger on the road who asked them what wrong. They told the stranger about what happened to Jesus from Nazareth and what the women saw3 as well as Peter. As they came to their house in Emmaus, they invited the stranger in and he broke bread telling him from the Tanakh what Jesus had to go through and be raised from the dead on the third day. As He broke the bread and gave to them, there eyes were opened and they realized the stranger was Jesus but He disappeared from them. They went back to Jerusalem and told everybody what happened and Jesus appeared to them and ate fish while a few days later He appeared to them when Thomas was with them. He appeared by the lake after a long night of fishing with no luck with fish frying on the fire and He commanded and many fish appeared and He called them in restoring Peter to the fellowship by asking Peter three times if he love Him. Then, Jesus told Peter how he would die. Then on a mountain He ascended to Heaven and the Father when two men standing in the clouds saying do down stare up but go and obey His commands to you because He will return just as He left. How would have responded to what you saw and heard? What character in this story do you relate to? How do you understand His teachings these 2000 years later? May we come and receive His grace as we take and eat His Body and drink His blood through the participation of the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist singing the Hymn "He Lives, I Serve a Risen Savior" by Alfred Ackley
1. I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.
Refrain:
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
2. In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And tho' my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading thro' all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.
Refrain:
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
3. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.
Refrain:
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
_____________________________Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California 92104-1844
_____________________________
John 20:1-18
That first Easter experience is somewhat lackluster, especially in the lives of those first responders. The story involves three persons who were followers of Jesus. Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the beloved disciple are the first to the tomb that morning. John doesn’t tell us why Mary comes. Maybe she is there to grieve. Maybe she comes to remember and give thanks for the life of this savior who had changed her life forever. Maybe Mary comes because she needs some time alone to think and to sort out what the past few days’ events mean to her. John doesn’t tell us.
As Mary arrives she sees that the stone is rolled back from the entrance of the tomb. Immediately she leaves without further investigation. Mary tells Peter and the beloved disciple. Once they know they too run to the tomb, with the beloved disciple getting there first. Peter looks in and sees the place where Jesus had been, and nothing is there. The beloved disciple looks at the same scene, and the Scripture tells us he believes. Then, they go home.
Mary now encouraged by the boldness of the other two wants to take a look for herself. She too sees the place, only now there are two angels, one sitting at the foot of where Jesus had been and the other at the head. “Who are you looking for?” asks one of the angels. Mary begs him to tell her where they have taken Jesus’ body. As she turns around she sees Jesus but does not recognize him. She supposes he is the gardener and asks him if he knows where they have taken the body. If he will but tell her she will go and get the body. Jesus then calls her by name, and immediately she recognizes him. Jesus then instructs her not to touch him and to go and tell his followers, which she does.
What a strange and mysterious story. The greatest event in human history is dramatically unfolding, and the first three eye-witnesses have very strange and mixed responses at best. Mary reduces it to grave robbing, the beloved disciple sees and believes, Peter sees and nothing. After witnessing the empty tomb, Peter and John just go home. Where is all the hype, the celebration, the reality of the fact that what Jesus predicted happened— no party, no ticker tape parade, no news coverage, nothing. Isn’t this just like God? It seems God has God’s way of working in human history. This story sounds very familiar. Just several years earlier in the evening, the Son of God was born into the world in a stable. A few folks showed up but, in light of the magnitude of the event, not much response from the world really. Again God does what God does in the time and way God deems necessary.
Maybe the message in this Easter season is for us to allow God to be who God is, to do what God does, and in the time God deems necessary in our lives. Maybe that is the real power of this story. God acting in history to change the shape and movement of the world, and people just responding in such different ways trying to grasp all that God is doing. The older I get the more comfortable I become with allowing God to be God. I say now—more than I ever would admit when I was younger— that I just don’t know. I am coming to realize that maybe knowing isn’t what this faith business is all about in the first place.
Maybe what this is really about is what God is doing and the power of my just trusting it and giving it the freedom to do what it needs to do in my life and to lead where it needs to lead.
My family and I went white water rafting a few years ago in the Taos Box in New Mexico. Before we climbed in the boat, the guide gave us some instructions about what to do if we found ourselves in the water. He told us to keep our feet up, trust the buoyancy of the life vest, and to enjoy the ride. The movement of God in the world seems to be like that. God is moving and working at God’s pace, in God’s time, and in God’s direction. Maybe our response needs to be to keep our heads up, trust what God is doing, and just enjoy the ride!
John saw and believed. Peter looked in and nothing. Mary recognized Jesus only after he spoke her name. God loves no matter what our response is. That is the good news of this story. God brings resurrection because of who God is. The reality of the empty tomb reminds us God is at work in the world doing what only God can do. In all humility, without much fanfare, and certainly not dependent on the response of people, God goes about God’s business; our lives and the life of the world will never be the same again.
Mary came looking for the Jesus who had died. Peter and John came looking in response to news of a possible grave robbing of Jesus’ body. Why have we, you and I, come today? As we enter this sacred space, who is it we came looking for?
Color: White
Scripture Readings: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8
Theme Ideas
Resurrection—new life! This is the heart of the Christian message and what we are called to witness to at all times. On this glorious feast day, we celebrate God’s steadfast love, God conquering fear and death, and the fact that this message is for everyone. With Paul and Peter, this day is a chance to affirm the basis of our beliefs. We need also to recover that sense of grief and despair that brings Mary to the garden in order to fully understand and participate in the astonishment and joy at finding her beloved, risen from the dead. This possibility of encountering the Risen Christ is there for all of us to experience. It is this active, risen presence that needs to come through our liturgies for today.
Call to Worship (John 20)
Out of the darkness of grief and despair
comes a message of hope. Christ is risen.
Christ is risen, indeed.
We run to the tomb to see for ourselves.
And it is true. Christ is risen.
Christ is risen, indeed.
We hear a voice call our name,
and we know our risen Lord
is with us now and always.
Christ is risen.
Christ is risen, indeed.
Thanks be to God.
Call to Worship (Psalm 118)
Come, give thanks to our God.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
God is our strength and might and salvation.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Because of this love, we shall not die.
This is God’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that our God has made,
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Call to Worship (Acts 10)
We have a message to preach to all.
Christ is risen.
Christ lived and preached love and liberation among us.
We are witnesses to his mighty acts.
Christ rose from the dead and appears to us still.
We rejoice in the living Savior.
Come; let us worship the God of love and life.
Contemporary Gathering Words (John 20, Easter)
Why have you come this morning?
We come to experience the Risen Christ.
How will you know him?
Through the love and life we feel present
in this gathering of the Body of Christ.
What will you do with this experience?
We will go forth, witnesses to this amazing act of love.
Come, then, people of God, let us worship our Easter God.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 118)
This is the day that the Lord has made,
let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Praise the God of this day,
whose steadfast love endures forever.
Praise the God of salvation who does marvelous things.
Praise the God of everlasting life.
Opening Prayer (John 20, Easter)
O God of all our days,
we come this morning with eager anticipation.
We seek to know you, to see you, to touch you.
Open our hearts,
that we might experience you anew.
Open our lives,
that we may be faithful witnesses
to your resurrection.
May we, with shouts of joy,
proclaim your steadfast, liberating love
to all people, everywhere. Amen.
Opening Prayer (John 20, Easter)
O God,
bless us this morning with resurrection rampage—
a rampage that summons us to shout yes
to the birth of new creation in our midst.
May we experience the birthquakes of new life
in our lives and in our congregation.
The Son is up!
And we are up with the Son,
despite all those things
that seek to pull us down to despair.
We are your Easter people. Amen.
Unison Prayer (Easter)
O God of Easter joy,
we come this morning
with glad shouts of acclamation.
Christ is risen.
Christ is risen, indeed.
May this time of worship
help us to truly and fully experience this Risen Christ.
May we be transformed.
transformed into your butterfly people,
winging through the earth
with messages of beauty, hope and life.
Amen.
Benediction (John 20)
Go forth as God’s chosen witnesses, to proclaim all you have heard and seen and experienced.
We go forth in the name of the Risen Christ.
Go forth sustained by God’s steadfast love.
We go forth transformed and transforming.
Go forth with shouts of joy.
Christ is risen, indeed.
Benediction (John 20)
We have come from darkness and despair
to hope and joy.
We have been transformed by new life.
Go forth to witness and to testify to the message of hope
we have received this day.
Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Amen.
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2005 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2015” is now available.
Easter Sunday
Scripture Readings: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1:
L: Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
P: CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!
L: Darkness has been vanquished!
P: THE BRILLIANT LIGHT OF HOPE HAS COME!
L: Come let us worship and celebrate the Good News!
P: ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! AMEN!!
Call to Worship #2:
L: The darkness is gone!
P: Bright light floods into this new day of hope.
L: Those who went to the tomb received good news.
P: Christ was not there!
L: Christ is risen in our hearts and our spirits!
P: Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! Amen!
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2115, “Christ Has Risen!”, offer the following call to worship as directed]
L: Come quickly to the tomb to see the place where He was laid.
P: Look! The stone is rolled away! He is not here!
Choir: singing verse 1 of “Christ Has Risen!”
L: Just as He said, He would conquer death.
P: We can see for ourselves this awesome sight.
Choir: singing verse 2 of “Christ Has Risen!”
L: Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
P: Christ is Risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen!
Call to Worship #4:
L: This day dawns brightly!
P: Hope is restored!
L: Christ is Risen!
P: He has conquered death!
L: Come, open your hearts and spirits to the joyous Good News!
P: Let us celebrate the greatest victory of all time. Christ is Risen! Amen!
Call to Worship #5:
L: Rejoice! There is great news! Christ is risen!
P: Christ is risen, indeed!
L: Let all the earth proclaim the joy!
P: Let all heaven show forth in praise.
L: Alleluia!
P: Alleluia!
Call to Worship #6:
L: Welcome! Run with us toward the place of sorrow!
P: Jesus is not there! Christ is risen!
L: Shout the good news!
P: Sing, praise God, for the promise has been fulfilled.
L: Christ is risen!
P: Christ is risen. Alleluia!
Call to Worship #7:
[Using the UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 310, refrain only, have the choir and the congregation sing as directed below]
Choir: He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives. He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!
L: It’s true. Christ Jesus lives! He is risen from the dead!
P: The greatest foe has been overcome. Christ is risen!
L: The journey through the darkness is over.
P: This brilliant light of this morning floods our hearts and spirits.
L: Jesus lives!
P: Jesus lives forever!
All: He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!
Call to Worship #8:
L: Our long journey through the darkness is over!
P: We have danced into the light of Jesus’ resurrection!
L: No more do we need to fear!
P: No more will we feel that we are alone and lost!
L: Jesus lives in our hearts and our spirits!
P: Jesus calls us to be a source of hope and joy for others!
L: Alleluia!
P: Alleluia!
PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer Option 1:
Loving, Powerful God, joy floods over our souls on this day! Christ is risen! Fear is vanquished! Open our hearts and our spirits to receive fully the joy which has been given for us! Let us celebrate the victory of Christ and the hope for the future! Amen.
Opening Prayer Option 2:
Lord, this Lenten journey has been filled with the unexpected. You have asked us to look deep within ourselves, to identify the many ways in which we have turned away from you. Again this day we ask that you open our hearts to receive your word of healing and hope. The cross of Good Friday looms in our future and we face it with fear. Bring us through this time with confidence and trust in your guiding love. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession Option 1:
Gracious God, you have walked patiently with us throughout our Lenten journey. You have celebrated our successes and our growing understanding of your love; and you have mourned our failures and rejections of your healing mercies. This day, as we have gathered to celebrate the joy of Easter, let us remember that we are to become “Easter People”, people of the Resurrection; people who know that what was thought to be impossible has been conquered. Forgive our stubbornness and fears. Fill us with your healing love and help us to become the disciples that you need to serve in this world. For we ask this in the name of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession Option 2:
Gracious and Patient God, we come before you with so many things which weigh us down. We would like an "easy" faith, one that doesn’t cause us to look within ourselves, to identify those many ways in which we have forsaken you. But faith is never easy. It requires our very souls. Forgive us, God, for all those things which we have neglected to do that would have helped someone else to be closer to you. Heal our hearts from the wounds which have been inflicted upon us by the anger and misunderstandings which occur in relationships. Prepare our lives to be of service to you. In silence we wait. We long for your presence and your healing touch. AMEN.
[Offer a brief period of silence following this prayer]
Words of Assurance Option 1:
Darkness is gone! Light floods into our souls! Christ is Risen! His love and mercy are poured out for you. Rejoice! You have been saved through the gift of Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Words of Assurance Option 2:
God is merciful. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Feel the healing, loving power of God in your lives, for it is given to you through Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer Option 1:
God of Awesome Joy, be with us this day as we celebrate the resurrection of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Let the light of your love flood into our lives and through us to all those who have been captured by darkness, that the light may give them healing, freedom and hope. As we witness the surprise of the women at the tomb, the appearance of the Savior to Mary, and her good news brought to the disciples, let us remember that this good news exists for us today. Darkness does not win. Death is not victorious. Christ is Risen, for us, for you and for me. We are raised with Christ to a new life of hope and service. Let the joy of this good news swirl around in our hearts. Let excitement for service and ministry burst forth from us. Let us truly be the “Easter People” that you have called us to be. For we ask these things in the name of the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer Option 2:
Why is it, Lord, that we rush headlong into holidays? Thestore shelves have been filled with bunnies, eggs, candy, and all the trimmings of the secular Easter, and we are drawn to planning for that day. We feel a sense of urgency, and yet you have called us to be on this journey, gradually coming with Christ to the Cross and beyond. Slow us down. Help us to look more closely at our own lives, at the many ways in which they are driven and demands are placed upon them. Remind us again of the ministry and mission of Christ, who came that we might have life. We have offered prayers for family and friends, for situations near and far. We have asked for your help, healing and blessing. Make us ready to receive these precious gifts. Walk with us on this pathway. Help us look at the barriers that have prevented us from following Christ and guide us through them that we may become stronger in our faith and our service to you, for we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Litany:
L: God knows us, inside and out!
P: Have mercy upon us, O God, according to your steadfast love.
L: We can’t run and we can’t hide. God is with us at all times.
P: Have mercy upon us, O God.
L: Don’t be afraid. God will heal your wounds and bind up your broken hearts.
P: Have mercy upon us, O God.
L: From the very beginning, God has known and loved us.
P: Open our hearts to receive your love, O God.
L: Through all our stumbling and bumbling, God has lifted and carried us.
P: Open our hearts to receive your love.
L: Rest easy in the Lord, for God’s healing presence is here.
P: Restore us and give us peace, O God.
L: Place your hand in Christ’s hand. He will lead and guide your life.
P: Bring us into your presence again, O God.
L: Be at peace. God’s love is with you.
P: Thanks be to God for God’s mercy, love, and grace. AMEN.
Reading:
[Note: Using THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 314, “In the Garden”, offer this Easter reading. You will be using a soloist and a person to deliver a monologue for this reading. The reader may wear traditional costume or just appear in normal contemporary apparel.]
Soloist: Singing verse 1 of “In the Garden”
Reader: The burial was so hurried. We were not allowed to finish the preparation of our Lord’s body, and they hastened to bring him to the tomb, given by Joseph of Arimethea, for his burial. I wanted to complete the burial ritual, and so I decided that early in the morning, before others awoke, I would take the spices and go to the tomb. But when I got there, I saw that the stone had been rolled away. I was frightened and ran back to tell Simon Peter and the others about this. When they heard the news they ran to the tomb. John reached the tomb before Peter and he looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not see Jesus’ body. He didn’t go into the tomb, but when Peter arrived he entered the tomb and he also saw the linens and noticed that the cloth which had been placed on Jesus’ head had been rolled up in a place by itself. John then entered the tomb and they both were mystified. Had someone taken the body? Who? What had they done with it? Their questions unanswered, they went back to that upper room in which they had spent a last meal with the Lord. But I couldn’t leave! I couldn’t! My heart was broken! He had healed me! And now I could not do the last thing for him, to complete his burial. And I wept, sobbed. I had to look into the tomb to see for myself what the others had seen. But a surprise awaited me, for inside the tomb sat two angels in white, one at the place where Jesus’ head had laid and the other where His feet had been. “Woman, why are you weeping?” Why? Why? Did they not know? I blurted out “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him?” I turned around, and there was the gardener, at least I believed him to be the gardener. And He spoke to me:
“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” “Sir,” I said through my tears, “If you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” And then He spoke to me……He said, “Mary!”
Soloist: singing verse 2 of “In The Garden”
Reader: “Rabbouni!” There, before my eyes, stood the Risen Lord. He spoke to me. He called my name, me, Mary, a nobody, just one of the many He had healed! He spoke my name! Mary! Mary! And then instructed me to go and deliver his incredible message, :”I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” And I did exactly as he asked. I went, running, flying, my feet barely touching the ground, arriving breathlessly with the news that “He is Risen”!
Soloist: singing verse 3 of “In The Garden”
Reader: You are witnesses today, for just as surely as Christ was raised from the dead over 2000 years ago, He is Risen today! You do not have to fear! Place your trust in Him! Listen as He calls your name! It is Christ who brings healing and hope; it is Christ who banishes the darkness and pours the light into our lives; it is Christ who calls each and every one of us to “trust”, “follow”, “serve”. Rejoice, dear people of the Easter Faith! Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed!
Benediction Option 1:
Dance, celebrate, sing, and shout for joy! Christ is Risen and He goes before us, into this world of fear and pain. He has called us to bring the Good News of healing and hope, of redemption. Go in peace, and feel the presence of the Risen Lord with you, now and forever. AMEN.
Benediction Option 2:
As God has forgiven our sins, let us go joyfully into God’s world, offering God’s love, forgiveness and peace. Go in peace and the peace of God goes with you. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is: White and Gold
THE THEME FOR LENT: TAKING STEPS TOWARD THE CROSS
Although the traditional color for this night is purple, I am asking you to consider covering the worship center with the brown landscapers’ burlap, so that the coarseness of the fabric will set the tone for the weeks which are coming. The movement throughout Lent this year will be taking step toward the cross. Each week, there will be a representation on each step concerning the gospel message for that Sunday (also including Holy Thursday and Good Friday). Each week will be built upon the previous week. moving upward from the bottom step toward the cross. Follow the prompts in the directions below to see the suggestions for each step. The Sunday in Lent will be in italics and bold print.
LENT 1: This is the first step (Ash Wednesday begins with the display on the floor of the worship center, in front of the steps). The journey upward toward the cross begins here. Today’s representation will be THE WILDERNESS.
LENT 2: This is the second step. Today we move forward in commitment, being willing to deny ourselves, and take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Today’s representations will be THE CROSSES of DISCIPLESHIP
LENT 3: Our greed and selfishness have become the focus of today’s representation. Jesus’ overturns the tables of the money changers, for they have been cheating the people for their own profit, they have corrupted the house of worship by their avarice. Today’s representations will the COINS.
LENT 4: We often want God’s purpose for sending Jesus to be that of retribution for all the hurts and alienation we have felt; however, Jesus came to heal and restore us to a right relationship with God….”for God sent Jesus into the world so that the world through him might be saved….God did not send him into the world for condemnation…”
Today’s representation is A SMALL GLOBE or A PARTIALLY UNFOLDED MAP.
LENT 5: Discipleship requires a willingness to give totally of one’s self to the Lord. Holding nothing back, our deeds of mercy, justice and peace will bear a great witness to all, long after we have moved on in our journey. Today’s representation is a bundle of WHEAT.
PASSION/PALM SUNDAY or PALM SUNDAY: Although churches may choose to celebrate this as either Palm Sunday or Passion/Palm Sunday, the artistic representation may vary only slightly. Today’s symbol are THE PALM BRANCHES and CLOAKS (for those specifically celebrating Palm Sunday only). If you are celebrating PASSION/PALM SUNDAY, you may want to add A CHALICE, CROWN OF THORNS, BLACK FABRIC (however, you may add some palm fronds, if you choose)
HOLY THURSDAY: There is no change in the “journey” scene, however follow the directions for the Table, etc. at the beginning of the worship service.
GOOD FRIDAY: All artifacts are removed from the worship center. See the directions listed in the beginning of the worship service.
EASTER SUNDAY: The final step on the journey is today. Dramatic changes have occurred in the worship area. Dark colors are removed and the whole worship area, including the risers in front of the worship center are covered in WHITE CLOTH. If you have a large cross available, preferably a wooden one about 5’ tall and painted white, you will want to drape it inGOLD FABRIC. EASTER FLOWERS AND PLANTS should adorn the worship center, being placed near the cross, but leaving a pathway up to the cross to symbolize the completion of the Lenten Journey.
SURFACE: All risers remain in place.
FABRIC: Remove the dark cloth and replace it with white fabric, covering the entire worship center. If you have gold fabric available, drape it over the large cross and down the center of the “path” to the cross, so that it puddles out onto the floor.
CANDLES: Large white pillar candle should be in front of the cross. Other candles may be placed on stands in the floral setting and on the “pathway”. However, be careful near the plants.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: Fill the worship area with Easter Flowers, place plants and flowers on either side of the “pathway” toward the cross. The worship center should fairly burst with color.
ROCKS/WOOD: none are needed for this setting.
OTHER: If you have a large white wooden cross at your disposal, it would be good to use it at the top of the “pathway”, draping it with gold fabric.
From a Child's Point of View
Gospel: John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8.According to Mark, when the women found the tomb empty and heard what the angels said, they were not happy but frightened. According to John, Peter scratched his head and slowly walked away, Mary Magdalene sat down and cried (thinking that Jesus' body had been stolen), and only John "believed." All this skepticism makes sense to elementary-aged children who want to know "what really happened." They need to be told that nobody knows what really happened or how it happened. All we know is that Jesus was dead and buried on Friday evening, but was alive in a new way on Sunday morning. Exactly what happened and how it happened is God's secret. But we do know why it happened. Easter is God's proof that love is more powerful than selfishness, hate, and all other evils. (God would not let the evil that killed Jesus win in the end.) Easter is also God's way of showing us that we are forgiven no matter what we do.
First Reading: Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9. In its context in Acts, Peter's sermon focuses on God's salvation of the whole world, not just Jews. In its Easter liturgy context, it is a summary of the good news about Jesus. Unfortunately, its generally stated list of categories of stories about Jesus for example, "He went about doing good and healing," is difficult for children to understand. To help them, cite specific, familiar examples in each category.
Isaiah's prophecy, with its references to obsolete mourning garb and a symbolic feast on a mountain, is beyond the understanding of children. Read it for the adults.
Psalm: 118-2, 14-24. Children will hear this psalm as a jumbled collection of praises, several of which make special sense on Easter. Verse 24 is probably the best known.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or Acts 10:34-43.Children can follow, but do not appreciate Paul's "Easter Creed" in I Corinthians until the setting and the meaning of each phrase is explored.
They must be reminded of Paul's story as an outsider, who, though he had met the risen Jesus, was not an eyewitness to Jesus' life on earth. He learned about what happened from others. (It helps to compare the way Paul learned the stories of Jesus' life with the way we learned the same stories, and to emphasize that we and Paul are in the same situation.)
One helpful way to translate "Christ died for our sins" for children is to say, "Christ died because of our sins." When all the sins of the disciples and Jesus' enemies are recalled, children agree that those sins caused Jesus' death. In other words, the bad that other people did hurt and killed Jesus. Similarly, the sinful things we do hurt other people and God.
In the resurrection appearances that Paul highlights, Jesus forgives. After Peter had denied that he knew Jesus, the resurrected Jesus gave him a chance to admit that he really loved Jesus, and then put him to work. After Paul persecuted the church, the resurrected Jesus appeared to him, forgave him, and sent him out as a missionary. The creed suggests to children that the resurrected Jesus is willing to forgive them also and put them to work.
Watch Words
Resurrection is a word used only at church and usually during Easter. So use it frequently today to build familiarity. Use it to refer to what happened to Jesus, rather than to describe what will happen to us at death.
Alleluia is another word to use frequently and to invite worshipers to use in response to the Easter story. Alleluia means "Hurray for God!"; "Look what God has done now!"; "Thank you, God"; and more.
Let the Children Sing
Both "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today!" and "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today!" follow every phrase with "Alleluia." Non-readers can join on the Alleluias. Readers will understand more of the phrases each time they sing them. The phrases of "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today!" are, however, easier.
The simple words and ideas of "Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing!" make it child-accessible. If you are reluctant to try a possibly unfamiliar hymn on Easter Sunday, save it for another Sunday of this Easter season.
The Liturgical Child
1. Young children respond more to the mood of Easter than to its meaning. So fill the sanctuary with sparkling white and gold paraments, fresh flowers, and joyful music. Then be sure that all children participate at least briefly. There is no way to reproducethe feel of the Easter sanctuary in a classroom or children's chapel. Kindergartners may come only long enough to hear an anthem (especially if it is the "Hallelujah Chorus"). If children'schoirs sing, they should spend a little time there before they sing or remain afterward, to take in the Easter sanctuary.
2. Children participate more readily in services that are held at unusual times and in unusual places. Easter suggests early morning and outside worship.
—For an early service, dramatize the change from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Begin the service with the sanctuary stripped of paraments (except possibly the Good Friday black drapes). Briefly recall the events of Good Friday and sing "Were You There?" Then read the Easter Gospel for the day. Follow the reading immediately with a trumpet fanfare and an Easter hymn. During the hymn, have the Easter paraments and flowers carried in and arranged appropriately. (Adults may receive and arrange paraments brought in procession by older children.)
—Sunrise services that are outside, story-oriented, and brief can be the best Easter worship for children. If an Easter breakfastfollows, instruct worshipers to greet one another with the traditional Easter greetings:
Greeting: Christ is risen!
Response: Christ is risen, indeed!
3. Ask a young trumpeter to play a simple fanfare for a responsive Call to Worship with the congregation:
FANFARE Christ is risen!
FANFARE This is the day the Lord has made!
FANFARE Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Sermon Resource
Show the congregation a large beautifully decorated egg-shaped container. (This could be a stocking-container "egg" that has been decorated for Easter by an artistic adult.) Describe different ways we present Easter candy and gifts in egg-shaped packages. Range from the plastic eggs that contain jelly beans to the delicate jeweled eggs of the Russian czars.
Then open your egg to produce a small New Testament. Point out that the first Easter gift is the Easter story. Whether it is a great gift or a disappointment depends on what we do with it. Then proceed to tell how different people responded to the Easter story. Include some, like Temple priests, who ignored it or decided it was a lie, and others like Peter and Paul, who let it change their whole lives. Finally, ask worshipers of all ages what they are going to do with their gift.
Easter is Here!
Isaiah 25:6-9
From the earliest times men and women have looked beyond their present sorrows to a hoped-for future. Death and despair just did not seem right as the final word. The prophet Isaiah looked at such a time. He painted a picture of a future in which a banquet would be spread by the Lord. All who sorrowed would be invited. What a spread it would be!
We Christians gather today, Easter Sunday, and remember that death and despair are not the last words. Good Friday and silent Saturday seemed to be the end. But as Tony Campolo puts its: “It was Friday. The cynics were lookin at the world and sayin’, ‘as things have been so they shall be. You can’t change anything in this world, you can’t change anything. But those cynics didn’t know that it was only Friday. Sunday’s comin’!”
I. Easter Is the Sign That Life Is Greater Than Death
Isaiah spoke of a banquet for all of those who love God. The past, present, and future all come together in that moment. Life, through Christ, is more enduring than death. The “shroud” will be destroyed. He will “swallow up death.”
On Easter Sunday, Christ broke out of the seeming permanence of death. That breakthrough was a sign of what lies in store for any who will come to Christ as a follower. It was also a sign of the ability of God to break through every form of barrier, hindrance, and grave that stands in his way. This happens in our lives when we accept him. It happens when God gets “under the skin” of even the most outward pagan.
When George Bush was vice president of the United States, one of his official duties was to represent our country at the funeral of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. The entire funeral procession was marked by its military precision. There was a coldness and hollowness that enveloped it. Since the Soviet Union was officially atheistic, no comforting prayers or spiritual hymns were sung. Only the marching soldiers, steel helmets, and Marxist rhetoric were offered. There was no mention of God. Mr. Bush was close to the casket when Mrs. Brezhnev came for her last good-bye. Bush said, “She walked up, took one last look at her husband and there—in the cold, gray center of that totalitarian state—she traced the design of the cross on her husband’s chest. I was stunned. In that simple act, God had broken through the core of the communist system” (Christianity Today, October 16, 1986, p. 37).
II. Easter Is the Sign That God Was Willing to Sacrifice on Our Behalf
Isaiah rejoiced in the fact that we could “trust in him” and he “saved us.” We are his because he gave his Son to save us from our sins. That called for incredible sacrifice.
Humans can hardly imagine that sort of sacrifice. We get it confused. For example, in 1977 a man named Jean Bedel Bokassa, a former French paratrooper, proclaimed himself emperor of the Central African Republic. This new nation was founded in 1960 and had a population of two million people. It is listed among the twenty-five poorest nations. The average annual income was $155 when Bokassa took over, yet he held a $30 million inaugural gala! He had a six-foot diamond-encrusted scepter and a two-ton gold-plated throne. His 2,000 guests were served hundreds of pounds of caviar and 24,000 bottles of champagne, all flown in by chartered plane from France. Despite the poverty of “his people” and the extravagance of his coronation, Bokassa was quoted as saying, “One cannot create a great history without sacrifices.” True enough, but who made the sacrifice?
III. Easter Is a Day of Celebrating the Triumph of Christ
“Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” That is Isaiah’s conclusion. And why not? The light has come to scatter the darkness. We need no longer live in fear and dread.
Robert Louis Stevenson looked out of his window one evening many years ago. Those were the days before electric lights. Stevenson saw the town lamplighter coming along. As this lamplighter lit the street lamps in succession, Stevenson was impressed at the sight. He wrote about the lamplighter who went along “punching holes in the darkness.” Jesus Christ came into this world as a light, and he punched holes in the darkness.
That is reason for celebrating. Easter is here! (Don M. Aycock)
The Problem with Easter
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Paul writes to a troubled church at Corinth. He has already dealt with questions of marriage, morality, Christians taking each other to court, factions within the church, misuse of the Lord’s Supper, and now he addresses the most devastating question the troublemakers in that congregation can possibly raise: the reality of the Resurrection. This is the bedrock of his gospel, for we are the Easter people; Jesus is the firstfruits of the Easter harvest from the dead, and we are the rest of that glorious harvest.
The gospel, the good news, is this: Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose on the third day. Such a gospel may seem too good to be true, and so Paul marshals not only his own experience but also that of other Christians in Christ before him to deal with the unbelievable nature of Easter.
I. Paul Didn’t Make It Up
Paul reminds them he didn’t make this gospel up. First, he stressed that “This is what I received.” He says the same thing when he is discussing the misuse of the Lord’s Supper. Paul doesn’t claim he was the first or only one to receive the revelation of the gospel; there were those in Christ before him. Paul was merely the first to put the Resurrection on paper; he had heard it often, passed down in the preaching of men like Peter, reaffirmed in the teaching ministry of the church, and marvelled upon around the table in humble homes of those “of the Way.” Second, Paul says the amazing facts of the gospel—the death and resurrection of Jesus—are “in accordance with the scriptures” (vv. 3, 4).
II. The Witnesses Didn’t Make It Up
Not only does Paul pass along the gospel handed down to him by those who were eyewitnesses to those things, and the truth according to the Scriptures, he also appeals to the testimonies of those who saw the resurrected Lord. These early Christians didn’t make that experience up; they saw him after the Resurrection.
First, says Paul, Cephas (Hebrew for Peter) saw him. According to the Gospels, Mary Magdalene was the first witness to the Resurrection, but Paul passes on the testimony known to him about the witnesses. Jesus appeared to Peter first and in a private way, possibly because Peter needed forgiveness and reassurance after the heartbreaking denial. Then Jesus was seen by all the Twelve; obviously, literally, the eleven, since Judas has taken his life and no replacement had been made.
Lest anyone think this little band of disciples fabricated the whole Resurrection story, Paul goes further—Jesus was seen alive after his crucifixion by a crowd of more than 500 at one time, most of whom were still alive when Paul penned these words! What an honored group; and how they must have treasured the sight of the resurrected Jesus all their lives!
Last of all, says Paul, Jesus appeared to him. Unworthy, unexpected, in the blinding light of the Damascus road, Jesus granted this mercy to Paul (v. 8). And with that blessing, Paul felt he was elevated into the original band of disciples.
The good news of Easter comes on the wings of grace. The gospel—the death and resurrection of Jesus and the appropriation of the grace provided there—is the result of God’s grace; it is nothing we deserve. We are unworthy people, sinners who deserve death, not life. Paul, even in this context of the proclamation of Easter, cannot get away from his feelings of guilt and sin. God’s grace brought about Easter, God’s grace preaches Easter, and God’s grace alone is able to stir human hearts to believe and accept the good news of the Resurrection. (Earl C. Davis)
Making Sense of It All
Mark 16:1-8
Being confused about life’s events is easy. A family struggles with broken relationships, yet the situation does not seem to get much better. A couple wrestles with chronic illness, knowing that the future holds more health problems. Victimized by crime, a family strives to overcome the haunting feelings that linger after the incident. How does one make sense of it all?
If years of familiarity have dulled the sense of awe at Easter, read again Mark’s account of that incredible morning. The Easter story reminds us:
I. God’s Ways Are Different from Our Ways
The Pharisees did not understand this truth, and neither did the apostles. They waited for the messiah to come on their terms. When Jesus entered their lives, even those who called him “Lord” were not certain who this Christ was. Judas apparently wanted a military leader, or at least someone who could lead them out from under Roman domination.
After Jesus death, the apostles were hidden, shaking in their sandals behind bolted doors and shuttered windows. The faithful women, rising early that first dawn of what would become the new Sabbath, went to a cemetery expecting to find a corpse. What they found was a messenger of God. Grief turned to fear and wonder. Could it be that Jesus was alive? Is that what he had meant when he spoke of rising on the third day?
II. We Begin to Make Sense of Life When We Ask, “Who?”
Perhaps our pattern has been to ask, “How?” or “Why?” Most often, however, the Bible addresses the question, “Who?” The creation accounts of Genesis are not intended to give the formula for how God created the universe. Genesis tells who created everything and whose we are. The Gospels do not detail the method of Mary’s conception of Jesus. They simply state that the Holy Spirit came upon her and she conceived. The message of the Gospels emphasizes whose son Jesus is and who Christ is for us.
Scripture does not describe the physiology of Christ’s resurrection. Not one human witness was present at that precise moment. We do not have a clue as to the details of how it occurred. What we have are witnesses to the empty tomb and to the risen Christ. Who is risen is what matters! Christ arose!
III. It Is Our Acceptance of God’s GraceThat Helps Us to Make Sense of It All
The Rev. Kelly Clem and the congregation of Goshen United Methodist Church in Piedmont, Alabama, will never forget Palm Sunday 1994. A tornado destroyed their sanctuary during the worship services on that day, injuring ninety people and killing twenty. Six of the dead were children, including the pastor’s four-year-old daughter. At the time the storm hit, the children were singing “The Lord Will Provide.”
We cannot say that God’s will causes everything that happens. The God revealed through Christ does not send tornadoes to kill young children who are singing God’s praises. The same God behind the creation of the universe is at work even now, wherever there is crisis or sorrow or pain. God is at work bringing comfort, hope, and resurrection.
It is faith that bridges the gap. Faith steps in when we cannot understand yet choose to believe in the gracious God who is about the work of redemption. Only God can take the tragedy of the cross and turn it into an Easter celebration. The church dares not forget the incredible grace we have to celebrate. It is grace that rolls away the stones from the tombs of our existence and helps to make sense of it all. (Gary G. Kindley)
If you’ve ever been to a Bible study that I’ve led, then you know that I have a lot of favorite scenes in the Gospel according to John. But John 20:1-18 is easily in the top three. What always strikes me about the scene is the movement from Mary’s desolation when she weeps at the empty tomb to her utter elation when she recognizes the resurrected Christ. John paints the scene with a special tenderness he reserves for only the most intimate of moments between Jesus and his followers. John focuses our attention on this intimate moment, the first reaction to Jesus’ resurrection, because the moment of the resurrection itself is far too mysterious and far too momentous for John to attempt to narrate. That moment belongs to God alone. And so John gives us a sliver of Mary Magdalene’s story – her move from desolation to elation when she realizes that Jesus is still with her as he promised he always would be. And the pivotal moment of this story is Jesus calling her by name.
Names are rare in the Gospel according to John. I went back and counted, and in the entire 21 chapters of the Gospel, Jesus calls exactly four people by name. There’s Simon Peter, first among the disciples. There’s Lazarus, whom Jesus brought back to life. There’s Philip, who had been with Jesus from the beginning. And then there’s Mary, who heads to the tomb before dawn on the first day of the week. In each of the special moments when Jesus calls these four people by name, he is somehow affirming or strengthening his relationships with them.
The first thing Jesus does when he meets Simon is give him the nickname “Peter,” which means “Rock,” which is a pretty cool nickname. We invest all kinds of theological motivation to this name because of Peter being the “rock” on which the church is built. But if they were any two people besides Jesus and Peter, we would see the nicknaming as a sign that their relationship is moving into the territory of good friendship. At the end of the Gospel, Jesus says Peter’s name three times, and this naming reasserts the relationship that Peter had denied three times during Jesus’ trial. In the end, their relationship is repaired because Jesus calls Peter by name.
The Gospel describes Lazarus as “one whom Jesus loves.” When Lazarus dies, Jesus is days away, and Lazarus’s sisters make the faithful accusation that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus wouldn’t have died at all. So Jesus goes to the tomb and shouts out, “Lazarus, come out.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Lazarus, I raise you from the dead.” Rather, he says, “Come out.” Jesus calls Lazarus by name, but does not give Lazarus the option of remaining in the tomb. The naming is joined to Jesus’ command to return to his family and his friendship with Jesus.
Jesus calls Philip by name after Philip says to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.” Jesus replies, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus calls Philip by name in the midst of wondering how Philip could possibly not know him yet after being with him from the beginning. With this, Jesus calls Philip into deeper, more committed relationship with him.
And then there’s Mary Magdalene, who is weeping at the empty tomb. She is desolate, thinking that her Lord’s body had been stolen and possibly desecrated by the people who put him to death. With tears and the fog of despair clouding her vision, she sees the gardener, who asks her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Could this gardener be in collusion with the body-snatchers, she wonders? And she accuses him of being in on the plot. But then he says the all-important word: “Mary.” And she turns and the desolation vanishes in an instant of delight. And new elation, new hope, new life surges in to fill the void. “Teacher!” she shouts, and I imagine her jumping into his arms. Then Jesus gives her a task – to be the first toproclaim his resurrection.
So why does Jesus saying her name change the story? Why is this the pivotal word? As with Peter, Lazarus, and Philip, saying Mary’s name proves Jesus’ relationship with Mary. Her name is the outward sign of her inward identity. In this way, names are quite sacramental. Know a name and you know something of the person. Who among us didn’t feel elation when we found out our high school crush did, in fact, know our names? On the flip side, take away a name and you begin to take away the humanity of the person. How many Jews had their names erased and exchanged for numbers in the concentration camps?
Saying Mary’s name is Jesus’ shorthand for saying that he has returned just as he promised and that life would never be the same again because their relationship would never end. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus foreshadowed this when he said, “[The shepherd] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice.” Later in the same passage, Jesus talks about the command from his Father that he “give up” his life in order to “take it up again.” Thus, Jesus links the power of the resurrection with the power of naming, which is really shorthand for the power of relationship.
This is the good news of the resurrection: Christ rose from the dead to show us that nothing, not even death, has the power to keep him from remaining in relationship with us. Christ knows each of our names. They are written in the book of life. They are written on his heart, just as his name is written on ours. As Jesus called Peter, Lazarus, Philip, and Mary to deeper relationship by saying their names, he calls to each of us. He calls to each of us, speaking our names, and thus ourselves, into being.
These names of ours are special things – they carry within them the promise of eternal relationship with God in Christ through the power of the resurrection. So the next time you find yourself in a moment of silence, a moment of peace at the center of the maelstrom of busyness that marks our lives today, just be still. Be still and listen. Be still and listen for the resurrected Christcalling you by name.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 (16-23); John 18:1–19:42
THEME IDEAS
Good Friday is the most somber day of the Christian year. It has only one theme and only one event in mind: Jesus’ death. The flow of the service should systematically emphasize the progression toward death at Golgotha with the service finally ending on the proclamation that the world got what it wanted. Resist the temptation to point toward the hope that comes at Easter. That is for another day. Today is about the Christian doctrine that Jesus did indeed die, and that his death was painful.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
(With each repetitive phrase, the worship leader should get progressively louder, until the last question is almost a demand.)
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight (today)?
To tell what Jesus did in the midst of our brokenness.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To give our praise in the midst of our pain.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To seek the Lord and give God our praise.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To join with the families of the earth
as we worship the Holy One.
Opening Prayer (Hebrews 10)
Almighty God,
we would be lying to you and deceiving ourselves
if we pretended to be joyful and satisfied tonight (today).
We are not.
The violent pain that our friend Christ Jesus endured
makes us want to hide and wait until it is over;
it makes us wish to ignore his wounds altogether.
Yet in the miracle of grace, you have drawn us here,
along with millions of others around the earth,
that we might remember Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice
and covenant of grace.
As we worship you tonight
and undertake the ancient work of remembering,
we ask that you open our hearts to feel anew
exactly why this is called “Good Friday.”
In the name of Christ our Lord, amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
(This is designed for two readers. Reader 1 on the chancel and Reader 2 on the sanctuary floor, preferably in the midst of the people.)
He has borne and carried the evil of our hearts.
He has borne my evil.
Because of our transgressions, he was wounded.
Because of my hate, prejudice, immorality,
greed, lying, intolerance, and blasphemy,
he was wounded.
Our iniquities crushed him and . . .
(cutting off Reader 1)
I crushed him! I drove the nails.
I wove the thorny crown. I pierced his side.
I shouted “crucify him.”
The Lord laid it all on him—
all our iniquity, punishment, and guilt.
He heaped the ugliest part of us
onto his amazing beauty.
With every puncture, each whip stroke,
at every cry of anguish
and innumerable flinch of pain,
in every wound and bruise,
he was healing the brokenness
of my sinful soul.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10)
We are guilty, but God is faithful.
In this faithfulness, God chose to remember
our lawlessness no longer.
Through Christ, our sins—yours and mine—
are not only forgiven, they are forgotten.
Christ blotted out the ledger book with his love.
Response to the Word (Isaiah 52-53, John 18-19)
The Word hung between heaven and earth
on a splintery cross. At the place where two wooden
beams intersected, sin and salvation also intersected.
It astonishes us—why would Christ do this?
The Word bled, shouted, and died.
He startled us—what kind of love is this?
The Word has broken our hearts.
The tragic sorrow marks our faces with shame.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Hebrews 10, John 18–19)
Was there anything Jesus did not give, as he died on Calvary? Did he withhold anything as he set our spirits free from fear? The answer is no, he gave it all. Now, what will you give, in light of one who died on a tree?
Offering Prayer (Hebrews 10)
As your love brought us healing,
may our gifts be used to heal.
As your sacrifice brought us salvation,
may our sacrifices be used to save.
As your offering feeds our souls,
may our offering feed the hungry.
As you willingly gave yourself,
may we give faithfully of ourselves.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (John 18–19)
“Crucify him,” they scream,
and crucify him they do.
Pierce his side and watch him bleed.
Make certain he is dead.
They murder an innocent man on the cross.
We murder him with our sins.
We walk away from here with stained hands
and bruised hearts.
But it does not matter who did it.
It is Friday. He is dead.
Jesus is dead.
God is dead.
Did we get what we really wanted?
(W. H. Auden’s Poem, “Stop All the Clocks” may also be read at the end of this service.)
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (Isaiah 53)
Come, behold the man of suffering.
We have come.
Come, look at his appearance.
We have come.
Come, gather around the cross to see him.
We have come.
Come, weep as the curtain falls
over the light of the world.
We have come.
We see.
We behold.
We weep.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 22, Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
The ironic plaque said it all:
The King of the Jews.
The King of the Jews:
The Lord of the Church.
The King of Kings:
The Lord of Creation,
exalted and lifted up.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
THEME IDEAS
Good Friday is the most somber day of the Christian year. It has only one theme and only one event in mind: Jesus’ death. The flow of the service should systematically emphasize the progression toward death at Golgotha with the service finally ending on the proclamation that the world got what it wanted. Resist the temptation to point toward the hope that comes at Easter. That is for another day. Today is about the Christian doctrine that Jesus did indeed die, and that his death was painful.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
(With each repetitive phrase, the worship leader should get progressively louder, until the last question is almost a demand.)
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight (today)?
To tell what Jesus did in the midst of our brokenness.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To give our praise in the midst of our pain.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To seek the Lord and give God our praise.
Sisters and brothers, why are we here tonight?
To join with the families of the earth
as we worship the Holy One.
Opening Prayer (Hebrews 10)
Almighty God,
we would be lying to you and deceiving ourselves
if we pretended to be joyful and satisfied tonight (today).
We are not.
The violent pain that our friend Christ Jesus endured
makes us want to hide and wait until it is over;
it makes us wish to ignore his wounds altogether.
Yet in the miracle of grace, you have drawn us here,
along with millions of others around the earth,
that we might remember Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice
and covenant of grace.
As we worship you tonight
and undertake the ancient work of remembering,
we ask that you open our hearts to feel anew
exactly why this is called “Good Friday.”
In the name of Christ our Lord, amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
(This is designed for two readers. Reader 1 on the chancel and Reader 2 on the sanctuary floor, preferably in the midst of the people.)
He has borne and carried the evil of our hearts.
He has borne my evil.
Because of our transgressions, he was wounded.
Because of my hate, prejudice, immorality,
greed, lying, intolerance, and blasphemy,
he was wounded.
Our iniquities crushed him and . . .
(cutting off Reader 1)
I crushed him! I drove the nails.
I wove the thorny crown. I pierced his side.
I shouted “crucify him.”
The Lord laid it all on him—
all our iniquity, punishment, and guilt.
He heaped the ugliest part of us
onto his amazing beauty.
With every puncture, each whip stroke,
at every cry of anguish
and innumerable flinch of pain,
in every wound and bruise,
he was healing the brokenness
of my sinful soul.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10)
We are guilty, but God is faithful.
In this faithfulness, God chose to remember
our lawlessness no longer.
Through Christ, our sins—yours and mine—
are not only forgiven, they are forgotten.
Christ blotted out the ledger book with his love.
Response to the Word (Isaiah 52-53, John 18-19)
The Word hung between heaven and earth
on a splintery cross. At the place where two wooden
beams intersected, sin and salvation also intersected.
It astonishes us—why would Christ do this?
The Word bled, shouted, and died.
He startled us—what kind of love is this?
The Word has broken our hearts.
The tragic sorrow marks our faces with shame.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Hebrews 10, John 18–19)
Was there anything Jesus did not give, as he died on Calvary? Did he withhold anything as he set our spirits free from fear? The answer is no, he gave it all. Now, what will you give, in light of one who died on a tree?
Offering Prayer (Hebrews 10)
As your love brought us healing,
may our gifts be used to heal.
As your sacrifice brought us salvation,
may our sacrifices be used to save.
As your offering feeds our souls,
may our offering feed the hungry.
As you willingly gave yourself,
may we give faithfully of ourselves.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (John 18–19)
“Crucify him,” they scream,
and crucify him they do.
Pierce his side and watch him bleed.
Make certain he is dead.
They murder an innocent man on the cross.
We murder him with our sins.
We walk away from here with stained hands
and bruised hearts.
But it does not matter who did it.
It is Friday. He is dead.
Jesus is dead.
God is dead.
Did we get what we really wanted?
(W. H. Auden’s Poem, “Stop All the Clocks” may also be read at the end of this service.)
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (Isaiah 53)
Come, behold the man of suffering.
We have come.
Come, look at his appearance.
We have come.
Come, gather around the cross to see him.
We have come.
Come, weep as the curtain falls
over the light of the world.
We have come.
We see.
We behold.
We weep.
Praise Sentences (Psalm 22, Isaiah 52–53, John 18–19)
The ironic plaque said it all:
The King of the Jews.
The King of the Jews:
The Lord of the Church.
The King of Kings:
The Lord of Creation,
exalted and lifted up.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1–19:42
Theme Ideas
“Undying love.” Today is the day when this overused cliché holds concrete truth for the followers of Christ. While it wasn’t as evident to those who stood beneath the cross on that Friday we call “good,” it is clear to us today. In the death of Christ, there is evidence of the undying love of God. A search of the true disciple’s heart will reveal the branding of God’s redeeming love. Christ was forsaken for love’s sake. Such love is for our benefit, calling us to draw near to the throne of God’s grace. This sacrificial love is unrelenting, irresistible, never ending, and undying. We will not be forsaken. God enters humanity and dies. God’s undying love in Christ is both universal and specific—it is a love for humanity in general and for each individual in particular.
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before God.
For dominion belongs to the Lord.
God rules over the nations.
All peoples on the earth will feast and worship.
Those who cannot keep themselves alive
will kneel before the Lord.
Posterity will serve God.
Future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim God’s righteousness
to a people yet unborn.
Call to Worship (Hebrews 10)
This is the covenant I will make with them, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts
and I will write them on their minds.
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart,
in full assurance of faith.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for the One who promised is faithful.
Let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together
as some are in the habit of doing.
But let us encourage one another,
as we see the Day of the Lord approaching.
Call to Worship (John 18, John 19)
Come, let us gather again in the shadow
of the Cross of Christ.
We gather to remember the overwhelming evidence
of Love’s ultimate sacrifice.
Who would have guessed that the height and depth,
the length and width of God’s love might look like this:
a forsaken savior on a cross?
Certainly not us. Not us, who are too often lost
amid the world’s distractions and responsibilities.
Not us, for whom such love was offered without cost.
Let us gather again in the shadow of the Cross of Christ
and commit ourselves to remember the price paid.
Let us live our lives in a way that indicates why
this Friday is called “Good.”
Thanks be to God, who opened the gates of heaven,
that we might have the faith, hope, and love,
witnessed in Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation.
Contemporary Gathering Words
(Referencing Charles Wesley’s hymn “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”)
Who is the victim of this terrible thing?!
Who is the scapegoat of this horrific thing?!
An innocent man has been ruthlessly killed.
An innocent man has been senselessly sacrificed.
For whom has this man been sacrificed?
For whom has this man been slain as an offering?
For a guilty man he has been hung on a cross.
For a guilty woman he has been pierced.
What kind of man is this?
Who would die in the place of the guilty?
What kind of man is this?
Who would suffer for one who has done evil?
Amazing Love! How can it be
that Thou, my God would die for me?
Amazing Love! How can it be,
that Thou, my Christ would die for me?
Praise Sentences (Hebrews 10)
Thanks be to God, who remembers our sins
and our lawless deeds no more.
Thanks be to God, whose forgiveness is now sure
and who no longer demands any offering for sin.
Praise be to God, who has removed the veil,
drawing us near to the throne of grace and mercy.
Let us honor and glorify God, by gathering together
and encouraging us to love one another,
as Christ has loved us.
Praise be to God!
Opening Prayer (John 18, John 19, Good Friday)
O God of infinite love and power,
we gather together on this Good Friday
to reflect on the passion of the Christ.
We are utterly humbled
in the presence of such love and mercy.
Open our hearts this day
to the goodness of Good Friday,
and fill us with your love
and powerful Spirit of Holiness.
Remove from us all sin.
Offer us anew this Life in Christ
that makes all things new. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Psalm 8, Hebrews 2, Good Friday)
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Who are we that you are mindful of us?
Yet, you consider us only a little lower
than the heavenly angels.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
We who need you desperately each day,
have come to you on this Good Friday
to acknowledge the endless love
you have demonstrated on the Cross of Christ.
Inspire us to live each and every day,
in the fullness of your eternal life.
In the name of the love incarnate,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Unison Prayer or Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 53, Psalm 51)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray.
We have all turned to our own way.
We have sinned and have been the cause
of Christ’s suffering.
Please forgive us, we pray.
Remove the sins that distance us from you
and from those we love and care about.
Remove our selfishness, our pride, our envy,
and our greed.
Remove from us our thoughtless acts
and words that hurt one another.
Remove from us the tendency to hurt others
out of revenge and anger.
Forgive us please.
Create in us a clean heart, O Lord.
And renew in us a right spirit. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10, Jeremiah 31)
In the name of the compassionate Christ,
you are forgiven.
For God has declared, “I forgive your evil ways
and remember your sins no more!”
Benediction (Hebrews 10)
May you leave this place with the assurance
of forgiveness that is made possible
through the sacrifice of Christ.
Go forth in hope and anticipation
of the ultimate victory that comes with Easter.
Go forth! Be Easter people!
Benediction (1 Peter 2, Good Friday)
By his stripes we are healed.
By his wounds, we are made whole.
Go in the name of Jesus Christ
and live in the salvation made possible
by the Goodness of this Friday. Amen.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2005 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
Theme Ideas
“Undying love.” Today is the day when this overused cliché holds concrete truth for the followers of Christ. While it wasn’t as evident to those who stood beneath the cross on that Friday we call “good,” it is clear to us today. In the death of Christ, there is evidence of the undying love of God. A search of the true disciple’s heart will reveal the branding of God’s redeeming love. Christ was forsaken for love’s sake. Such love is for our benefit, calling us to draw near to the throne of God’s grace. This sacrificial love is unrelenting, irresistible, never ending, and undying. We will not be forsaken. God enters humanity and dies. God’s undying love in Christ is both universal and specific—it is a love for humanity in general and for each individual in particular.
Call to Worship (Psalm 22)
All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before God.
For dominion belongs to the Lord.
God rules over the nations.
All peoples on the earth will feast and worship.
Those who cannot keep themselves alive
will kneel before the Lord.
Posterity will serve God.
Future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim God’s righteousness
to a people yet unborn.
Call to Worship (Hebrews 10)
This is the covenant I will make with them, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts
and I will write them on their minds.
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart,
in full assurance of faith.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for the One who promised is faithful.
Let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together
as some are in the habit of doing.
But let us encourage one another,
as we see the Day of the Lord approaching.
Call to Worship (John 18, John 19)
Come, let us gather again in the shadow
of the Cross of Christ.
We gather to remember the overwhelming evidence
of Love’s ultimate sacrifice.
Who would have guessed that the height and depth,
the length and width of God’s love might look like this:
a forsaken savior on a cross?
Certainly not us. Not us, who are too often lost
amid the world’s distractions and responsibilities.
Not us, for whom such love was offered without cost.
Let us gather again in the shadow of the Cross of Christ
and commit ourselves to remember the price paid.
Let us live our lives in a way that indicates why
this Friday is called “Good.”
Thanks be to God, who opened the gates of heaven,
that we might have the faith, hope, and love,
witnessed in Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation.
Contemporary Gathering Words
(Referencing Charles Wesley’s hymn “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”)
Who is the victim of this terrible thing?!
Who is the scapegoat of this horrific thing?!
An innocent man has been ruthlessly killed.
An innocent man has been senselessly sacrificed.
For whom has this man been sacrificed?
For whom has this man been slain as an offering?
For a guilty man he has been hung on a cross.
For a guilty woman he has been pierced.
What kind of man is this?
Who would die in the place of the guilty?
What kind of man is this?
Who would suffer for one who has done evil?
Amazing Love! How can it be
that Thou, my God would die for me?
Amazing Love! How can it be,
that Thou, my Christ would die for me?
Praise Sentences (Hebrews 10)
Thanks be to God, who remembers our sins
and our lawless deeds no more.
Thanks be to God, whose forgiveness is now sure
and who no longer demands any offering for sin.
Praise be to God, who has removed the veil,
drawing us near to the throne of grace and mercy.
Let us honor and glorify God, by gathering together
and encouraging us to love one another,
as Christ has loved us.
Praise be to God!
Opening Prayer (John 18, John 19, Good Friday)
O God of infinite love and power,
we gather together on this Good Friday
to reflect on the passion of the Christ.
We are utterly humbled
in the presence of such love and mercy.
Open our hearts this day
to the goodness of Good Friday,
and fill us with your love
and powerful Spirit of Holiness.
Remove from us all sin.
Offer us anew this Life in Christ
that makes all things new. Amen.
Opening Prayer (Psalm 8, Hebrews 2, Good Friday)
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Who are we that you are mindful of us?
Yet, you consider us only a little lower
than the heavenly angels.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
We who need you desperately each day,
have come to you on this Good Friday
to acknowledge the endless love
you have demonstrated on the Cross of Christ.
Inspire us to live each and every day,
in the fullness of your eternal life.
In the name of the love incarnate,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Unison Prayer or Prayer of Confession (Isaiah 53, Psalm 51)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray.
We have all turned to our own way.
We have sinned and have been the cause
of Christ’s suffering.
Please forgive us, we pray.
Remove the sins that distance us from you
and from those we love and care about.
Remove our selfishness, our pride, our envy,
and our greed.
Remove from us our thoughtless acts
and words that hurt one another.
Remove from us the tendency to hurt others
out of revenge and anger.
Forgive us please.
Create in us a clean heart, O Lord.
And renew in us a right spirit. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Hebrews 10, Jeremiah 31)
In the name of the compassionate Christ,
you are forgiven.
For God has declared, “I forgive your evil ways
and remember your sins no more!”
Benediction (Hebrews 10)
May you leave this place with the assurance
of forgiveness that is made possible
through the sacrifice of Christ.
Go forth in hope and anticipation
of the ultimate victory that comes with Easter.
Go forth! Be Easter people!
Benediction (1 Peter 2, Good Friday)
By his stripes we are healed.
By his wounds, we are made whole.
Go in the name of Jesus Christ
and live in the salvation made possible
by the Goodness of this Friday. Amen.
From The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006, edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu
Copyright © 2005 by Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.
The 2015 edition of The Abingdon Worship Annual is now available.
Good Friday
Good Friday
Order of service written by Rev. Nancy Townley
[Note: Good Friday is the time of remembrance of Jesus' Crucifixion and Burial. The following service focuses on the "Approaching Darkness", before the dawn of Easter. Liturgy, Music, and Visual arts reflect the darkening time. There is no closing music - the people leave in silence]
[Begin the service with full lighting in the sanctuary. Follow the prompts in the service for the gradual dimming, or shutting off of the electric lights, so that darkness may approach the worship center]
GATHERING MUSIC:
"Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed" UMH 294
"Thou Didst Leave thy Throne" FWS 2100
Call to Worship:
L: We gather tonight in the shadow of the Cross.
P: Evil abounds. Jesus goes forth to suffer and die.
L: How we tremble with fear!
P: How we weep.
L: Why have we forsaken Him?
P: Why have we betrayed and run from his Passion?
L: Lord, have mercy upon us.
P: Christ, have mercy upon us.
READING: Portions of Psalm 22
Reader in the back of the congregation:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
**Song: "Ah, Holy Jesus" UMH 289 Verses 1 & 2
[Dim a few lights, but leave sufficient lighting for the people to easily read their music]
Reader from the right side of the congregation:
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled; I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the Dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
**Song "Ah, Holy Jesus" UMH 289, verses 3 & 4
PRAYER:
Lord, we come before you in the approaching darkness of our souls. We have traveled this Lenten journey, overcoming and conquering barriers that have kept us from serving you. We gathered at the gates of joy on Palm Sunday, and feasted at the Lord's Table yesterday. But today is a different story. We witness the arrest and trial of the Innocent Savior. We watch as he is moved brutally from place to place, to be judged by people who have hardened their hearts against you. The sorrow that we feel lies heavy upon us. Lift us, Lord. Comfort us. Help us get through this time of darkness. AMEN.
[Gradually shut off the sanctuary lights. All the sanctuary lights should be off following the singing of "Were You There" leaving only the candles of the remaining readers. The readers may have pen lights (small flashlights. Each reader will extinguish the candle after their speech. The readers should be able to move from their speaking place to a chair, and remain there until most of the congregation has left at the end of the service. There is to be no talking until they have left the sanctuary]
THE SEVEN CANDLES AND THE APPROACHING DARKNESS
a dramatic presentation of the Crucifixion
[Note: these monologs are meant to be read by very good readers. It is important for them to have an opportunity to rehearse together, so that they can sense each other's timing]
[Note: Extinguish one candle after each speech is given, with the exception of the large white pillar candle in front of the cross]
A member of the Sanhedrin:
This is not a good time. This Jesus came, proclaiming a new law, said he was the King of the Jews. That's dangerous talk. We have a very tentative peace with the Romans. They let us alone to practice our faith and we obey their laws. It is uncomfortable and we long for the avenging Messiah, but it isn't this wilderness preacher. He makes me nervous. He is chipping away at what little peace we have. If he destroys this peace, he will destroy God's people. We can't risk it, no matter how the crowds love him. We just can't risk it.
[the 1st candle is extinguished]
Woman disciple:
I can't believe this. He has done nothing wrong. He healed people, he taught them the lessons of life; he gave new hope. What is wrong with that? How is that a threat to our faith? How is that a threat to the Roman authority? I was at the table, bringing the food for the supper last evening. He was so serious, sad. The disciples didn't know what to make of his actions. He washed their feet and told them that they had to be like servants if they wanted to serve the Master. He took the loaf of leftover bread and broke it and gave it to them to eat, telling them it was representing his body which was broken for them. He didn't know it, but we women in the background also took bread as he was speaking. He passed the cup to them and reminded them of the new covenant, a new relationship between each of them and God, and said that it was like his blood which would be poured out for them. They dipped their bread in the cup and ate it. So did we. It was awful. I wanted to run, but I couldn't leave. I followed him to the garden of prayer, but at a respectful distance. Hidden in the dark of the bushes, I witnessed the parade of soldiers, the torches, and his capture. My God, my God, what has happened! How could this be?
[the 2nd candle is extinguished]
Song: "Go to Dark Gethsemane" UMH 290 verses 1 & 2
Soldier:
I do what I'm told. They assigned us to go and bring back this wilderness rabble-rouser, Jesus from Nazareth. So I went. I didn't see anything particularly threatening about him. His buddy, Judas, was the one who told the authorities where we could find him. He got paid - in silver. I don't like that business - paying for a life. He didn't seem surprised, but he did seem disappointed when this Judas kissed him on the cheek. One of his disciples drew a sword and cut off the ear of one of the servants who accompanied us. I've got to tell you, I could hardly believe what I saw. Jesus put his hands on the man's ear and it was healed. Healed! I shook my head - must be the night air, I thought. It really couldn't have happened. No matter. My job was to bring him in. He didn't struggle and we shuttled him back and forth between the religious authorities, Annas and Caiaphas, and Pilate, the procurator, the Roman law in these parts. After that, we were dismissed for a while.
[Extinguish the 3rd candle]
Woman in the courtyard:
I knew who that tall, muscular man was, all right! I'd seen him with the others who followed this Jesus. I heard the whisperings from the others all around, but I was the only one who was brave enough to speak up. "You're one of his disciples, aren't you?" I said to him. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know him", he growled at me. I knew that I was right and I wasn't going to let it be. I challenged him again, and again he told me that he didn't know this Jesus. Okay, one more try. "Are you not one of this man's disciples?" "I am not". And then a strange silence fell over the area. You could hear a rooster crowing. The man turned ghastly white and ran away. He was guilty of something. Probably more guilty than anything these authorities can drum up against the one they captured tonight.
[Extinguish the 4th candle]
**Song "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" UMH 286, verses 1 & 2
Pilate:
These people are going to drive me crazy. They are in an uproar because of some wilderness preacher. I examined him, asked him pointed, direct questions. His answers puzzled me, but I really could not find any reason why he should be brought before me. He did not commit a crime against our Roman government. He was just a thorn in the hide for the Jewish religious authorities. They wanted to have him killed and by their law, they couldn't do it. They wanted to take care of the matter for them. Scapegoat! That's what he was! I asked him if he was the King of the Jews, a charge the religious people were trying to pin against him so that I would do something. You know Caesar is our king. Anyway, he said "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice". Doesn't sound too treasonous to me. I had him flogged, thinking that would placate their blood lust. The soldiers played a little game with him. They stripped him, flogged him, put an old purple cloak on him and someone made a crown out of thorn bushes and jammed it on his head. They shouted "Hail, King of the Jews!" and spit at him. Well, they were just having a little jest with him. I finally had to do something. The crowds were getting out of hand, demanding the extreme punishment, crucifixion. I gave them a choice, Barabbas, a murderer in our custody, or this flogged and bleeding Jesus. To my surprise, they chose Barabbas, and I had to wash my hands of the whole deal. They made their choice. It was over. But, is it? Is it really over? I think not.
[Extinguish the 5th candle]
Woman at the crucifixion:
The crowds that had cheered at his entrance to Jerusalem, now jeered him as he dragged his heavy cross to the place of crucifixion. It was Golgotha, the Skull, a place where the vilest criminals were nailed to a cross and died a slow and agonizing death. My God, it was so horrible. How could they do this to him? He had done nothing wrong? How could God let this happen to this kind healer? My heart was breaking. He had healed me of a host of diseases when all others had given up. He looked at me, smiled, and told me of God's love for me......for me? And I could feel that love, God's love, pouring over me. It was unlike anything I had known before. I left everything and followed Jesus, like so many others. The words of compassion, the healing love, the reminders of how God wants us to live - I could listen to Jesus forever. My soul was healed; my spirit was restored. But now, now it was being dragged with him to Golgotha. He stumbled and fell. A strange man was grabbed from the crowd and forced to carry the heavy cross when Jesus could no longer do it. I couldn't break away. I followed. My God, I followed...... I stood near his mother, and Mary Magdalene, and John. And we watched and wept. But no one made us leave.
[Extinguish the 6th candle]
**Song "Were You There" UMH 288 verses 1-3
[Shut off all sanctuary lights, leaving only the candles of the readers' for lighting]
[Note: the person who reads the part of Jesus should pause between each phrase. The very last phrase should be shouted. ]
Jesus:
"My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?"
"Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing?
"Woman, here is your son. Here is your mother"
"I am thirsty"
"It is finished!"
" Father, Into your hands I commend my spirit!
[Someone other than Jesus extinguish the Christ Candle. Thunder, or loud crashing sound at the same time the candle is extinguished should be heard]
[In the darkness have someone read the following:]
Reader:
Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and their bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this had testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled. "None of his bones shall be broken." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, tough a secret one because of his fear of the authorities, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial customs of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
[SILENCE - the people can leave as they are moved to do so]____________________________
Ministry Matters: Preach. Teach. Worship. Reach. Lead. "Nobody likes change | Blood moons and resurrection | How to avoid anti-Jewish preaching" for Tuesday, 7 April 2015Share this:
Nobody likes change.
When people claim that they love change, what they really mean is they love to be the implementers of change. Nobody likes change sprung upon them.
When Facebook rolls out a new layout or changes in policy, people flip.
When Apple rolled out the Lightning charger for their iPhones and iPads, people flipped because they had to upgrade/change all their accessories.
When Marvel introduced us to Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man, people were upset because Miles wasn't Peter Parker. (Read: white.)
When rumors of Idris Elba possibly being James Bond surfaced, people went ballistic because James Bond is white, not black. People were also upset with Daniel Craig as James Bond because Bond has brown eyes, not blue.
The point is — nobody likes change. But change is necessary for survival.
One of the reasons why many of our churches are in decline is because of our inability to change and adapt to the changing times and culture. Some of our local United Methodist Churches serve as time capsules — you walk in and all of a sudden you're transported back into the 70s and 80s. Don't get me wrong, the message of the gospel is universal and timeless. But we can't deliver that message in the same style, manner and method we used in the 70s, 80s, and/or 90s. For the most part, you won't reach young folks with camp songs that were sung in the 80s. So why do we insist on doing that and calling it our "contemporary service?" But I digress.
While change is necessary for survival, it's also scary. Change confronts us with the uncertainty of the future. If everything changes, the thing that I’ve held as familiar, as comfortable, as safe will be gone. Then what am I left with?
One of the biggest hurdles for change in our local churches is the fear of not knowing what that future holds or what it will look like. So while we may acknowledge the need to change, we're afraid to change. And one of the negative effects of that fear is that we cling tightly to what was. We create sacred cows of things not really sacred: the color of the carpet, the church furniture; that banner with the Lord's Prayer which has 100 years worth of dust caked on. I'm reminded of the Israelites after they crossed the Red Sea.
The Israelites said to [Moses and Aaron], "Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death." (Exodus 16:3)
The Israelites are basically saying they'd rather be slaves in Egypt than free and uncertain of the future — even though God is literally guiding them; even after the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea.
At least in Egypt, we had food, they lament.
I find it interesting how they so easily remember the meat and the bread but neglect to mention that they were slaves in Egypt.
Oftentimes the unknown future can be so frightening to people that they'd rather be stuck in the past — no matter how awful that past may be — because at least they're familiar with it. They'd rather face the enemy that they know than face a future of endless possibilities.
Instead of focusing on the promised land where milk and honey flows, they can't look beyond their current situation. So they turn to the past.
I wish I could give you answers on how to deal with congregations that are lamenting like the Israelites when changes need to be made. Like many of my colleagues, I'm navigating through the tension and fear of past and future, and many days I’m not doing a very good job at it.
I'm reminded of Andy Stanley's words: "Vision leaks."
While it's important to have a clear and concise mission/vision statement, it's important that everyone buys into the vision/mission statement and not just the pastor and leadership team. It's our job to continue to point to the bigger purpose that God has for our churches and to remind folks that God is always faithful. And it's up to us leaders to discern whether we need to gently remind them of our purpose and mission with a loving nudge or knock them over the head with it (in a loving and grace-filled way, of course).
God provided for the Israelites. God is always faithful.
May you find strength, courage, wisdom, and grace in God — who is our source for everything — as you continue to lead your people to live out God's vision for them.
I’m honestly not all that familiar with blood moon theology. I’ve never much cared for John Hagee and his odd antics. But from the little bit I understand about his teachings on this subject, he’s arguing that the recent blood moons are indicators that the end of the world, the eschaton, is upon us. For Hagee’s theology, this means in all likelihood that the rapture is near and judgment is about to fall on the earth.
He’s derived all this from a few isolated Bible verses and a couple of lunar oddities.
As the Easter season begins in the church year where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, I think it’s only appropriate to give a brief, yet more comprehensive view of the “end of the world” as described in the Bible.
But it won’t look like what you think.
You see, the ancient Jewish expectation was that the end of the old age would be marked by resurrection. That is, when the righteous martyrs were raised from the dead, that meant that God was ushering in a new age, a new world, where he would dwell with his people and bring judgment and justice on the wicked.
This was the theological, eschatological expectation of many Jewish people prior to Jesus. So when Jesus, the “king of the Jews,” was killed by the Roman authorities, he would have been seen as one of those righteous martyrs that would one day resurrect from the dead as an indicator that God’s rule was coming on earth as it is in heaven.
But notice the "one day" aspect of that statement. The belief was that that day was still in the future. Resurrection marked a new age (and the passing of the old age) which is still yet to come. As long as righteous martyrs are still being killed, so they thought, then we are still the old age.
But then everything gets thrown in the air when three days after Jesus’ death he comes out of the grave. All of the sudden, the end wasn’t one day in the distant future, the end is now. The end is present among us. The last days have begun because one of the righteous martyrs has resurrected from the dead.
In other words, in Jesus’ resurrection, he ushers in the end of the world. He rings the bell indicating the death of the old, sinful world. In his death and resurrection, he has defeated death and chaos. He has defeated Satan and the forces of evil. He has defeated unjust powers — like the Roman Empire.
Of course, we know that Satan still rages (Revelation 11), but the point is that death and empires, Satan and evil still rage because they know their time is short. They are the rulers of the old age which is defeated but still fighting. They are the representatives of broken creation, while Christ represents God’s work to restore creation. Evil forces and death war against God’s holy church, but the church is the new creation people — the people of the end — living in old creation as it gasps its final breaths.
The end of the world is not something Christians wait for. We understand that in the resurrection of Jesus, God’s new creation has broken into the old creation. We understand that the end of the world is already upon us; God is currently dwelling with his people and the kingdom is coming on earth as it is in heaven.
We don’t need blood moons and lunar oddities to warn us that the end is upon us. The resurrection of our dead Messiah, Israel’s truly righteous martyr, is God’s word to the world: The end is upon you, now is the time to seek life.
Of course, this is not to say there’s no talk in the Bible that refers to the “last days.” There certainly is. But our discussion of those last days is blown out of proportion because we fail to see how Jesus’ resurrection has already set us on course with those last days. We fail to see those last days texts in their particular social and biblical contexts because we can’t help but imagine the end of the world without reference to the resurrection of Jesus.
Our misunderstanding of the clear connection between the resurrection and the end of the world leads us to default theologies that reinforce a disembodied notion of the afterlife. We beat the drum of escapist theology (rapture) and repeatedly fail to see that the resurrection is God’s affirming word to our physicality and our this-worldliness. And in this, we lose the central storyline of Scripture and reduce our beliefs to silly speculations of lunar spectacles.
The true “end times” for the Christian has nothing to do with blood moons and raptures. It has everything to do with living resurrection life right now by the power of the Holy Spirit, who inspires victorious resurrection living in the day-to-day lives of the people of God. Let us not be torn away from sound resurrection theology by the fear-mongering, dramatic doctrine of a few weird Christians. Let us remember that the resurrection of Jesus changes the world. It ends the old world of sin and death. And it indicates that God is on mission to restore this world and every human within it.
Tom Fuerst blogs at Tom1st.com. You can subscribe to his blog via email here.
“Don’t preach something that gets my kids bullied on the bus.” That’s what our guest lecturer, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, said to our preaching class over a decade ago. I’ve never forgotten her admonishment.
That’s not to say that I’ve always lived up to it. As a preacher, I will confess that I’ve uncritically repeated anti-Jewish ideas in sermons and writing without ever realizing they were anti-Jewish. It’s too easy to equate Pharisees with legalistic or hypocritical Christians. It’s too simple to buy into the theology that Jesus represented grace while Judaism represented law, that Jesus replaced an oppressive “Old Covenant” with a freeing “New Covenant,” substituting a relationship for rules.
It’s easy to portray Judaism as a religion obsessed with ritual purity — ignoring that the usual consequence for ritual impurity is simply not going to temple. As Dr. Levine told our class, “Being ritually unclean was generally not a big deal — most people were probably unclean most of the time.” Being ritually impure is an important part of life. Although handling a corpse might make you ritually unclean, burying an unburied body is an ethical imperative and an act of love. Having sex or menstruating might make people unclean, but it is a necessary part of being fruitful and multiplying. Judaism did not consider ritual impurity a sinful state! It was simply part of life. Conversely, one could be a jerk, fail to do justice and righteousness, and still go to worship — just as Christians do today.
Another version of this anti-Judaism says Jesus’ culture was patriarchal, but Jesus was a feminist, that first-century Jews were obsessed with money and privilege but Jesus, radical that he was, showed love to the poor and marginalized.
We often assume that for the Christian narrative to work, we have to make Jesus opposed to his own religion. Instead of locating him firmly within Jewish tradition, we make him an Other. The gospels themselves make it easy to do so: We read Jesus’ polemic against the Pharisees in Matthew 23, or about how “the Jews” rejected Jesus in John. Historically, it’s just as accurate to say that the early church rejected Judaism!
Dr. Levine’s recent book, “Short Stories by Jesus,” not only examines Jesus’ parables by placing them in a Jewish context, but also reviews some of the ways anti-Judaism gets perpetuated in Christian books, periodicals and commentaries. Christians often rush to make parables clear-cut allegories with heroes and villains, to extract a tidy preachable moral from each story. Even when we take the view that parables are meant to unsettle, rather than simplify, we have very particular views about who is meant to be unsettled. As Levine says, “Clergy actually do think they are presenting a challenging message when in fact they are, unintentionally, repeating anti-Jewish stereotypes” (p. 20).
In the parable of the widow and the judge (Luke 18:1-8), for example, we usually read with the assumption that the widow is a victim in need of rescue. Christian preachers often claim that in her first-century Jewish setting, she had no rights and was doomed to a life of poverty. Levine’s close linguistic reading of the text reveals that the widow is a dangerous woman: She desires revenge on an enemy, and the judge is afraid she will punch him the face!
Levine also gives us a view of biblical widowhood that is at odds with our usual reading of helpless victims in need of rescue. Although the Bible is full of admonitions to care for widows, and although biblical authors talk of society’s obligations to widows, widows clearly could own property — otherwise, why would villains be after their houses (Luke 20:46-47)? If they were helpless, why would Paul feel they needed to be regulated (1 Timothy 5)? In Jewish tradition, women without husbands are often strong protagonists who act decisively, like Judith, Ruth, Tamar (Genesis 38), and the Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17).
It is not only our characterization of heroes and villains that reveal our anti-Jewish tendencies. When we describe Jesus’ audience as being offended by the lavish love of the prodigal Father, or indifferent to the suffering of Lazarus, or scandalized by a woman hiding leaven in bread, we reinforce the idea that his listening Jewish audience embodied everything wrong with us. (These are also sloppy readings of Scripture, often contradicted by evidence in the story itself). By extension, we make Judaism into a broken religion in need of correction — a correction that can only happen through Jesus.
We don’t need to call Jews “Christ-killers” to promote anti-Judaism. Both conservative and liberal Christians, liberation theologians and evangelicals express this kind of anti-Judaism. It is perpetuated by Christians on both sides of the modern Israeli/Palestinian debate. It is deeply rooted in our Christian rhetoric. It means Christians in the pews seldom receive an accurate picture of either historical or modern Judaism, and that Jewish kids get bullied.
Here are some ways to avoid expressing anti-Judaism in our preaching:
Refer to the “Hebrew Bible” instead of the “Old Testament.”
Remember that most of what Jesus said about Pharisees and Jews of his day can be applied to committed religious people in any time and place. When Jesus talks about “Pharisees,” he often means it the same way that I mean “Christians” when I use it in this article — as a critique of a group to which we belong.
Be careful about referring to “what Jews believe(d) or practice(d).” It’s often more accurate to say “some Jews.” Remember that like Christianity, Judaism has never been homogenous or monolithic. There are multiple ways of reading, interpreting and living out Torah. In Jesus’ day there were at least four major Jewish factions, and even within those factions, people disagreed.
Remember that real live Jewish people exist in your community. Christians often talk about Judaism as if it is in the past, or somewhere over in the modern state of Israel, and that it stopped developing 2,000 years ago. Learn about contemporary Judaism in your own community.
Take every opportunity to show how Jesus’ message echoes the major themes of the Hebrew Bible. Jesus did not invent concern for people at the margins, nor did he introduce an entirely new understanding of grace and sin. Connect what Jesus said to other Jews who lived around his time period, like Hillel, who said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to another.”
Avoid attributing legalism, violence or other negative qualities to the Jewish faith or the Hebrew Bible. It is not the case that Jews of the first century, or today, believe in stoning adulterers or disobedient children. Christians often assert that our “New Covenant” supplanted the Old. But Jewish parents love their kids, spouses and neighbors just the way Christians do — imperfectly, passionately and with a measure of grace. Jews manage to avoid stoning adulterers and disobedient children because they have a mature and nuanced understanding of how the Bible should guide their lives.
We do make definitive and distinctive claims about the person and character of Christ, and Christians have a unique theology of incarnation, atonement, and salvation. We do not need to stop lifting up the name of Jesus. But we need to learn to do so without denigrating — or making exotic — Jesus’ own faith.
“Don’t preach something that gets my kids bullied on the bus.” It’s a good principle for preachers to remember.
For further reading:
“The Jewish Annotated New Testament” Ed. Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
“The Misunderstood Jew” by Amy-Jill Levine
“The Jew Named Jesus” by Rebekah Simon-Peter
“Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching” by Matt Skinner
“6 Ways to Avoid Unintentional Anti-Judaism” by William F. Brosend
“Preaching Without Contempt: Overcoming Unintentional Anti-Judaism” by Marilyn Salmon
Dave Barnhart is the pastor of Saint Junia UMC in Birmingham, Ala. He blogs at DaveBarnhart.net.
by Mark Lockard“I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” — John 13:34
Maundy Thursday, in a sense, moves the major narrative of Holy Week into high gear. Jesus and the disciples gather into the upper room to share Passover together. They partake in the symbols of their ancestors, remembering the long arc of Jewish history reaching out to them from the days of their Egyptian captivity. But Jesus adds something new to the meal; he gives his disciples the bread, his body, and the cup, his blood. These symbols end up extending beyond the Seder and become for Christians the communion we share together. They also embody the communion we have together in loving community. In other words, Maundy Thursday is a pretty big deal. We’re remembering “in remembrance of me.”
If we read a little farther in John’s Gospel, past the symbols of new life Jesus offers, there’s something just as crucial: Jesus gives a new commandment. In fact it's so crucial, it's where Maundy Thursday gets its name ("maundy" is generally thought to derive from the Old French "mandé" and from the Latin "mandatum,” the first word in the Latin translation of John 13:34). The bread and wine are how we know ourselves to be followers of Christ. This new commandment is how others will know us as we know ourselves. “Love each other,” Jesus says. “This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
It’s a tough commandment. Taking the bread, dipping it in the cup, and eating it are symbols and motions we learn early on in our church-going lives. We have a grasp of what they mean, and we grow that knowledge as we grow in our lives as Christians. But this new commandment … that’s one that so few of us every really grasp. We read the words, we understand them intellectually, but that’s not what Jesus is telling us to do. He’s pushing us to get to the root of what it means to follow his teachings. And, because we’re human, we mess that up. A lot.
I wonder if Christians pushing for an agenda through new Religious Freedom Restoration Act legislation would see this new commandment fitting into the language of their RFRA efforts. Though even that question is tricky, as public laws in the U.S. aren’t for Christians, or Christians with certain beliefs, only. This is only one reason why trying to dictate religious ideals in very specific terms gets muddy; there’s usually the unintended consequences of such language working against those who supported it in the beginning.
Still, we have this new commandment. It’s a big one. It’s supposed to guide our lives and actions as the primary marker to let others know us as followers of Jesus. Loving others is the mark of a disciple. If we’re not loving others, we’re not being disciples. It’s a heavy task laid upon us by Jesus, one we remember specifically on Maundy Thursday when we study the origin of the Lord’s Supper.
The idea that religious people should be able to pick and choose their business transactions based on their religious ethic is a touchy subject, obviously. The latest RFRA efforts in both Indiana and Arkansas are currently on rocky ground after widespread public pushback. The debate rages all around us. But in the midst of Holy Week, in the lead up to our revealed identity as Easter people, we should be especially aware of how our words and actions are either life-giving or death-dealing.
We should also be aware of how our public support for an issue lines up with this commandment which gives us the identity we present to the entire world. Respect and dignity are wrapped up in and essential to the idea of love Jesus is talking about. This fact makes it a hard sell to imagine any scenario where respect and dignity appear in an effort to discriminate, to set yourself above your neighbor.
Love isn’t about posturing. As Jesus showed us again and again, and as he reminds us this holy day, love is about humility. Sharing a meal with those you love. Sharing a meal with those who will betray you and cause your death. Forgiving those who kill you a day later. This kind of love, this marker of a disciple of Christ, is our inheritance and our call. It doesn’t mean that we’ll always agree with the moves of society or with the beliefs of our neighbor. But it does mean that we love them as deeply as Christ loved us.
So here are the Maundy Thursday questions this year: when we think of the intent behind new RFRA legislation, does it sound like the commandment to love? Or does it sound like placing ourselves before our neighbor, keeping ourselves comfortable and superior? Are efforts like expanding RFRA bills about gaining power, or are they about sharing the bread, the cup, the body and the blood? Answer those, and you'll have an idea of how Christian such efforts actually are.
by Ron EdmondsonOne of my pet peeves in leadership is the controlling leader. Because of that, I have written extensively on the subject on my blog.
Controlling leaders are in every type of organization — including the church. Some of my ministerial friends who have encountered this would say especially in the church. It could be a pastor, a committee chairperson, or a deacon who glories in their own power.
And, sometimes, just being fair, leaders control because they believe they are doing what’s best for the organization. Not every controlling leader, in my opinion, is controlling from a power trip. Granted, some are, but many just naively believe if they don’t control things will fall apart in the organization.
I recently worked with a church where I witnessed a controlling leader firsthand. Talking to members of the staff it reminded me of the main reason I’m so opposed to controlling leaders — because it is counter-productive to creating organizational health. And I love healthy organizations.
But, I would even go so far as to say controlling leadership violates some important Biblical principles — especially in the church. The Body is not comprised of one — but many ones — who work together to build the ONE local church. To do it any other way tramples on a lot of truth.
In terms of organizational health, there are some common disruptions from controlling leadership.
Here are three results of controlling leadership:
Leaders leave – You can’t keep a real leader when you control them — at least not for long. I find that especially true among the younger set of leaders entering the work world. Leaders need room to breathe, explore and take risks. Controlling leadership stifles creativity. A genuine leader will soon look for a place they can grow.
Followers stay – The flip side is equally true. You can keep those who follow the rules many times under controlling leadership. They will stay because of loyalty, a sense of responsibility or just because they don’t realize there is any other kind of leadership. But their fear of venturing out on their own keeps them under the leader’s control. And most often their work life is unfulfilled and they are often miserable.
Organizations stall - The real detriment of controlling leadership is that it always limits the organization to the strengths, dreams and abilities of the controlling leader. One person — one leader — can only control so much — so many people or tasks. It’s one reason we see churches plateau and a business’s growth stagnate.
Dear leader, take it from a leader who has to discipline himself not to control — controlling leadership simply doesn’t work.
Have you learned that principle, perhaps the hard way?
Have you worked for a controlling leader?
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
By Rabbi Evan MofficWhen he hosted the first White House Passover seder in 2009, President Obama was reflected a growing trend: Christians hosting a Passover celebration. Soon thereafter, I began to receive invitations to speak at local churches about Passover. I realized a book was needed. What was written was either overly-simplistic, unnecessarily complex or just plain wrong.
Having already built a decent platform, I worked with an agent to find a publisher. The most attractive offer came from Abingdon Press, also known as The United Methodist Publishing House. I'm not sure this dry church knew that the Passover meal involved four glasses of wine! Yet, the match was a good one from the start.
Seeing why it works gives us insight into how the spiritual landscape has changed, and highlights new ways we can grow spiritually. Here's what I learned:
1. We look for inspiration from many sources: Gone are the days when a Baptist wouldn't read a book by a Catholic, or a Jew wouldn't read a book by Presbyterian. Two of the most popular religious voices of the last century are Father Thomas Merton and Rabbi Harold Kushner.
Many of us might agree with an eloquent prayer included in the Jewish prayerbook, "Open our eyes, that we may see and welcome all truth — whether shining through the wisdom of ancient revelations, or reaching us though the Prophets of our own time ... for You, God of love, of justice and of peace, continue to shed Your light on every generation that yearns for You and seeks Your guidance."
2. Christians are open to the Jewish roots of their faith: In speaking and teaching at churches, I have seen an unprecedented openness — even eagerness — among many Christians to explore the Jewish roots of Christianity.
Knowledge of Jewish texts and traditions can bring Christians closer to their faith. It can deepen the experience of prayer, expand the meanings of biblical passages, and open our eyes wider to the role of God in our lives.
3. Jews no longer speak only to themselves: For many generations Jews wrote and studied primarily with other Jews. We let profound wisdom remain hidden in texts accessible only to those who spoke Hebrew or Aramaic. That wisdom, however, can speak to people of all faiths.
The last few decades have witnessed attempts to make that wisdom more inviting and accessible. The Talmud has been translated into English. Hebrew is taught at many universities. Simply put, Judaism is not only for Jews.
This change does not mean all religions are the same. The founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, is credited as the first person to use the phrase "agree to disagree." As people of faith, we will not always agree, but we can agree to disagree. And we can continue to learn from one another.
by Bill MeffordWhen Mo’ne Davis starred last summer as a pitcher with an 80 mile-an-hour fastball in the Little League World series, I was, like everyone else, impressed. As impressive as her play on the field has been the grace and ease with which she has handled her fame off the field. She is poised in her interviews and genuinely low key. And now we can credit her with one more attribute: graciousness.
After it was announced that Disney was planning on making a film about her, a baseball player from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania sent out an offensive tweet that was followed by an apology and the deletion of his Twitter account. The university responded by immediately removing him from the team.
What Mo’ne did next should serve as an example to those of us in the church. She sent an email to the president of the university and asked that the player be reinstated on the team. When asked about it in an interview she said, “Everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance. I know he didn’t mean it in that type of way, and I know a lot of people get tired of like seeing me on TV but just think about what you’re doing before you actually do it. I know right now he’s really hurt and I know how hard he worked just to get where he is right now.”
She not only advocated for his reinstatement, she empathized with him and humanized him to the many people who were angered and offended by his tweet. Because of Mo’ne, the baseball player is no longer a sexist jerk who cruelly mocked a teenage girl. He is a young man who has worked hard to become one of the leading hitters on his college team. He is someone who made a mistake and has paid dearly for it for, as she claims, he is hurt even more than she is. And he is a young man who deserves a second chance because, as we all should be reminded, everyone makes mistakes.
When I read Mo’ne’s comments I am reminded of how I wish our approach to crime could reflect more of Mo’ne’s comments that our current insatiable thirst for retribution. Fortunately, more and more people are seeing the length of some of the sentences that are being handed down, particularly for nonviolent drug offenses, as unnecessary and unduly punitive. And it may even surprise a few folks who share this view: Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Rand Paul and former Speaker Newt Gingrich to name a few.
But we still have the problem of demonizing certain people and claiming that they are beyond redemption or restoration. I see death row inmates in this class as well as people who have committed sexual crimes. We rightly find these crimes repugnant and devastating to the victims and their families. Approaching criminal justice from a restorative justice lens means first and foremost working for healing for the victims of crime.
At the same time, I think we have a tendency to define a person by the worst thing they have done. We see the detestable actions they have committed and they become those actions incarnate. Yet, Jesus, throughout the Gospels, repeatedly reaches out and makes an example of faith those deemed deviant by the rest of society, particularly those within the confines of his faith. Jesus humanizes them and makes it impossible for his followers to combine faith in him with demonization of those on the margins.
Our criminal justice system would be radically different – and far more effective, if we manifested this same kind of emphasis on restoration, even and perhaps especially on those who have committed the most heinous of crimes. All people are made in the image of God. All of us have sinned and fallen short. Those are truths whose ethical impact could very well transform our criminal justice system if we took them seriously.
The invitation is ours to extend to the most hardened of criminals, the most unreachable of people. Jesus is already there and bids us to join him to humanize those who would be demonized by the rest of society and locked away forever or even put to death. Whether it is a baseball player in Pennsylvania or someone who has committed an unspeakable crime, may we follow first the example of Jesus and even that of Mo’ne Davis and may we recognize the imago dei within them beyond the deed or deeds they have committed and then may we seek to restore them to a place of contribution once again.
Bill Mefford blogs at Jeremiah Weeping.
by Adelle M. Banks / Religion News Service 
B. Denise Hawkins(RNS) The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor, widely considered the dean of the nation’s black preachers and “the poet laureate of American Protestantism,” died Sunday (April 5) after a ministerial career that spanned more than six decades. He was 96.
The Rev. Carroll Baltimore, past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, confirmed that Taylor died on Easter Sunday.
“Dr. Taylor was a theological giant who will be greatly missed,” he said of the minister who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
PNBC President Rev. James C. Perkins said Taylor “transformed America and the world for the better. How appropriate it is that God called Dr. Taylor home on Resurrection Sunday. In both life and death Dr. Taylor gave a clarion call to the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Concord Baptist Church of Christ, the imposing, block-long, brick church Taylor pastored for 42 years, became a beacon of hope and vitality for many African-Americans in Brooklyn, N.Y., and a model for the nation. When the church was destroyed by fire in 1952, Taylor defied naysayers by not only rebuilding the edifice, but also doubling its size.
Concord, one of New York City’s largest churches, operated its own elementary school, nursing home, credit union and million-dollar endowment used to invest in the community. But for more than four decades, it was Taylor who made Concord’s pulpit “the most prestigious in black Christendom,” proclaimed author and scholar Michael Eric Dyson.
Dyson described Taylor’s preaching style as a blend of technical aspects, brilliant metaphors and an “uncanny sense of rhythmic timing put to dramatic but not crassly theatrical effect.”
The tall, charismatic pastor was renowned for the memorable sermons he spun from tales, anecdotes and Scriptures, but rarely captured in manuscripts. Taylor, a preacher’s preacher, kept his thoughts in his head before ushering them forth, and kept a black pocket Bible handy when he wanted to refer to the sermon’s Scripture reading for the day.
“When you talk about Gardner Taylor, it’s more than just the words,” said the Rev. Bernard Richardson, dean of Howard University’s Rankin Memorial Chapel.
Richardson, who first heard Taylor preach when he was a student at Yale Divinity School in 1984, said, “It’s his presence and I mean, everything about him preaches … his mannerisms, his sincerity, his love of God, love of Scripture. … When he mounts the pulpit, one immediately feels they’re in the presence of someone who is truly gifted.”
This gifted clergyman appreciated the accolades and honors he received during his ministerial career, but relished humility. “I’m appreciative that people take notice of me,” he once said, “but when I go to worship, I’m not looking for that.”
There is a divinity school series, the Gardner C. Taylor Lectures in Black Preaching at Duke Divinity School, and a street in Brooklyn named for Taylor.
Taylor also will be remembered for a thorny page in black Baptist history struck by his allegiance to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., during a tense time in the National Baptist Convention, USA. In 1960, Taylor, King and other black ministers split from the denomination after a fierce debate over King’s civil rights agenda, which many black clerics of the day thought was too politically liberal. As a result, Taylor and other King supporters seceded from the convention and formed the Progressive National Baptist Convention, of which Taylor was once president.
Those were troublesome days for Taylor, who said he lost friends as a result of the split, but his fervent preaching and ministry never waned.
When he was asked during an interview about what makes a great preacher, Taylor responded, “In the Book of Ruth, Naomi says, ‘I went out full, and I’ve come back empty.”’
For Taylor, “That was the story of life. It’s also the story of preaching; we must keep ourselves full so we can empty ourselves in the pulpit.”
In 2011, Taylor described what principles contribute to someone being a great preacher.
“I think the secret of preaching is a deep religious conviction, a knowledge of the Bible and the attempt to express it as well as one might,’’ he said. “I think that is the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary.’’
by Adelle M. Banks / Religion News Service 
Lisa Singh(RNS) Televangelist Robert H. Schuller, who attempted to integrate the teachings of John Calvin with the positive thinking of Norman Vincent Peale, and lost his famed Crystal Cathedral to bankruptcy, died Thursday (April 2) at age 88, according to the Hour of Power ministry he started.
He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the summer of 2013.
After becoming one of the nation’s best-known pastors, Schuller watched his megachurch empire — started in a drive-in theater — crumble amid huge debt and family squabbles over leadership.
In 2011, a bankruptcy proceeding reached a $57.5 million deal to permit the Catholic Diocese of Orange to purchase the iconic glass sanctuary in Garden Grove, Calif. The remaining Protestant congregation, Shepherd’s Grove, moved to a Roman Catholicchurch building with half the seating capacity of its former home, led by Schuller’s grandson, Bobby Schuller.
“I have the incredible honor of carrying on my grandfather’s legacy by teaching people that they are not what they do, not what they have, and not what people say about them. They are the beloved of God,” Bobby Schuller said in a statement.
In 2012, Robert H. and Arvella Schuller resigned from the ministry they began more than 50 years before, citing differences with its board. Their only son, Robert A. Schuller, onetime heir apparent, had served as senior pastor for two years, resigning in 2008 after disputes about the ministry’s direction. Sheila Schuller Coleman, their oldest daughter, then took on the pastoral role, but she left in 2012 and started a church nearby.
Despite the “tragedy” of family dissension that marked the end of Schuller’s career, evangelical scholar Richard Mouw said Schuller was “one of the great church leaders in the 20th century.”
“The very idea of the original congregation in Anaheim, of a drive-in church, was very innovative,” said Mouw, former president of Fuller Theological Seminary. “It was, I think, motivated in great part by a desire to reach people who ordinarily would not come to a church.”
But as other large church leaders took megachurch ministries and religious broadcasting in new directions, Schuller had a devotion to the Protestant tradition and maintained the “dignity of worship,” wearing a clerical robe on international television and having a renowned choir and “one of the finest organs in the world,” Mouw said.
The author of more than 30 books, including five New York Times best-sellers, Robert H. Schuller was best-known for his four decades of televised Sunday services, “Hour of Power.” From his soaring Crystal Cathedral, Schuller’s program was broadcast in five languages and 50 nations, with a worldwide audience of 20 million per week. Along the way, his popularity in America surpassed the likes of Oral Roberts and Pat Robertson.
It was a distinction that Schuller wore well. Earlier in his career, he had emerged largely unscathed from the “earthquake,” as he called it — the Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals of the late 1980s that had rocked the world of televangelism.
Schuller was also one of the most touted leaders of the Reformed Church in America, which sometimes identified itself as “the denomination of Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller.”
But like Peale, Schuller had his share of critics. Some Christians were scornful of his celebration of “possibility thinking” and attacked his “theology of self-esteem,” saying that it muted biblical warnings of sin and evil through a blend of gospel and psychology. That combination, they said, treated morality as merely a relative code of values.
Schuller dismissed the charges. “I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and un-Christian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition,” Schuller told Christianity Today.
This view surfaced notably in 1998, when — at the height of then-President Clinton’s sex scandal — Schuller tempered criticism of Clinton by saying “we all share part of the shame.” Schuller argued that the nation’s stubbornly high approval ratings of Clinton had enabled the president to avoid confronting his behavior. The year before, Schuller had been thanked by Clinton in a State of the Union address, in which the president credited the evangelist with advising him to read Isaiah for strength in leading America.
Born in 1926, Schuller was reared in a religious Iowan family of Dutch descent. He later said he knew he wanted tobe a minister. As part of his seminary studies, he wrote an index of Calvin’s four-volume “Institutes of the Christian Religion.” In 1950, after receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hope College and a Master of Divinity from Western Theological Seminary, he was ordained by the Reformed Church in America.
He soon entered the pastorate at one of the denomination’s churches in Chicago, which over the next five years grew from 38 members to 400. In 1955, he was sent to Orange County, Calif., to establish a church.
After trying unsuccessfully to rent a facility, Schuller — with his wife, Arvella, as organist and $500 in assets — finally settled on a drive-in theater, where he held Sunday services from a snack bar’s roof. While attracting worshippers, Schuller gravitated toward the teachings of Peale, pastor of New York’s Marble Collegiate Church, whom he credited with fine-tuning his faith and laying the foundation for the “possibility thinking” that was to come. Schuller’s congregation grew steadily.
By the 1970s, Schuller was a widely televised preacher whose Garden Grove Community Church in Orange County became a pioneering megachurch, and in the years ahead, he solicited New York architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee to design a modern cathedral. The result, a huge sanctuary with thousands of windows of reflective glass, became known as the Crystal Cathedral and opened in 1980. With the exception of Disneyland, the church — which eventually drew more than 10,000 members — became the most famous architectural work in Orange County.
Robert Schuller in 1986. RNS file photo
In the late 1980s, reports of Bakker’s and Swaggart’s misdeeds caused greater media scrutiny of televangelists — and their finances. Schuller was among them. A former employee accused him of deceiving followers in a fundraising letter. Then, in 1988, Schuller announced that his church was facing money shortages stemming from the “shock waves” echoing through American evangelism.
“That’s what happens when you become high-profile,” Schuller said. Still, by decade’s end, the public esteem of Schuller, along with Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, was far less affected than that of Bakker and Swaggart.
In 1997, Schuller was again publicly shamed when an airline flight attendant sued Schuller and his church for more than $2.5 million for what the man claimed were injuries suffered during a flight between Los Angeles and New York. The flight attendant said Schuller grabbed his shoulder and repeatedly shook him, causing physical and psychological damage.
Schuller denied trying to hurt the man and said he was only trying to get his attention. “My actions were inappropriate, considering the circumstances, and wherever he might be I want him to know that I apologize for any portion of my conduct which he found offensive. … I am 70 years old, but I am not too old to learn or be taught new lessons.”
Through the years, Schuller’s congregation grew, with a $25 million structure built on the Crystal Cathedral complex in 1989. Celebrities and politicians — from Maya Angelou to Mikhail Gorbachev — visited the church.
In 2003, Schuller opened a new visitors’ center, the International Center for Possibility Thinking.
Thousands of individuals were shaped by his message over the years, said Mouw, who said he mocked Schuller’s “possibility thinking” when he arrived at the seminary in the mid-1980s until several students asked him to stop.
In the late 1980s, reports of Bakker’s and Swaggart’s misdeeds caused greater media scrutiny of televangelists — and their finances. Schuller was among them. A former employee accused him of deceiving followers in a fundraising letter. Then, in 1988, Schuller announced that his church was facing money shortages stemming from the “shock waves” echoing through American evangelism.
“That’s what happens when you become high-profile,” Schuller said. Still, by decade’s end, the public esteem of Schuller, along with Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, was far less affected than that of Bakker and Swaggart.
In 1997, Schuller was again publicly shamed when an airline flight attendant sued Schuller and his church for more than $2.5 million for what the man claimed were injuries suffered during a flight between Los Angeles and New York. The flight attendant said Schuller grabbed his shoulder and repeatedly shook him, causing physical and psychological damage.
Schuller denied trying to hurt the man and said he was only trying to get his attention. “My actions were inappropriate, considering the circumstances, and wherever he might be I want him to know that I apologize for any portion of my conduct which he found offensive. … I am 70 years old, but I am not too old to learn or be taught new lessons.”
Through the years, Schuller’s congregation grew, with a $25 million structure built on the Crystal Cathedral complex in 1989. Celebrities and politicians — from Maya Angelou to Mikhail Gorbachev — visited the church.
In 2003, Schuller opened a new visitors’ center, the International Center for Possibility Thinking.
Thousands of individuals were shaped by his message over the years, said Mouw, who said he mocked Schuller’s “possibility thinking” when he arrived at the seminary in the mid-1980s until several students asked him to stop.
“’That’s how we became Christians,’” the students told Mouw, now a professor of faith and public life at Fuller. “That’s why we are in seminary, because we were really touched by his ministry.’ … These are people who have gone on to very solid ministries but they credit their initial sense of God’s very personal presence in their life and their call for ministry to the influence of Robert Schuller.”
Robert H. Schuller, left, with his son, Robert A. Schuller
The Rev. Wes Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary emeritus of the Reformed Church in America, said Schuller was the most widely known minister of his denomination.
“As international television broadcasting opened up new markets, the ‘Hour of Power’ was often there, and watched by those — including church leaders, kings, generals and prime ministers — who now had access to satellite TV,” he said. “While his actual ministry eventually crumbled in tragedy, the Cathedral — now Christ Cathedral — still stands, and is a testimony to Schuller’s imaginative vision.”
After dealing with bankruptcy and his resignation, Schuller made occasional appearances at his daughter’s church.
When Schuller read Scripture at Coleman’s church on Easter Sunday 2013, she recalled how he trained her as the family read the Bible around the table after dinner.
“More often than not, I’d just get started reading and Dad would say, ‘Stop. Do it again, Sheila. This time with feeling,’” she said, imitating her father’s deep voice. “So you can blame him if you think my messages have too much feeling.”
That Easter, he read from 1 Corinthians: “Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Schuller is survived by five children and more than a dozen grandchildren. His wife, Arvella, died in 2014.
The war against Christians must end 
by Jeffrey Salkin / Religion News Service
(RNS) Last week, al-Shabab militants, aligned with al-Qaida, stormed the campus of Garissa University College in Kenya, asking students about their religion. They spared the lives of Muslims and killed the Christians. By the time the mayhem was over, almost 150 students lay dead.
A spokesman for the terrorists boasted: “There are many dead bodies of Christians inside the building. We are also holding many Christians alive.”
This is not the first time that this has happened in Kenya. In 2013, at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, 67 people were killed in cold blood. Muslims were allowed to go free.
The dead were all Christians.
In Libya in February, Islamic State militants beheaded 21 men on the beach. Their blood freely flowed into the Mediterranean Sea.
The victims were all Coptic Christians.
The Middle East contains proud remnants of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Their churches have been in flames. ISIS has demanded that the Christians convert to Islam, pay extra taxes or be killed. In Syria in February, ISIS militants abducted scores of Assyrian Christians.
Just because they are Christian.
In his Easter message, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby hailed those murdered students as “martyrs.” On Good Friday, Pope Francis prayed for those who were killed, along with other persecuted Christians around the world.
Several years ago, a teenager was reading a prayer in my synagogue: “In a world torn by violence and pain … ” In one of the holiest malapropisms ever uttered, it came out as: “In a world torn by violence and prayer.”
He was right. The world is being torn apart by violence and prayer.
Muslims are victims. Many critics take savage delight in promiscuously denigrating Islam. And, yes, Muslims have been murdered because they are Muslims. Most recently, three Muslim students in North Carolina were gunned down in their apartment.
Jews are victims — recently, murdered in a kosher grocery store in Paris. Jewish institutions have been attacked in France, Denmark, Holland, Belgium. Jews have been wondering whether they even have a future in Europe. In the U.S., there has been a 21 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents. A recent study revealed that 54 percent of American Jewish college students have experienced anti-Semitism on campus.
And yet, if we were to do a body count, it would be hard to escape this conclusion: The most endangered faith in the world today is Christianity.
I know how American Jews would be reacting if it had been Jewish students who were killed. We can only hope that Christian priests and pastors will do the same: Speak out about the lethal persecution of Christians.
Within a few weeks, Jews and others will be marking Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Even as we mark the horror, we lift up the stories of those righteous Christians (and Muslims) who jeopardized their own lives, and the lives of their loved ones, to rescue Jews. We weep that there weren’t enough of them.
Seventy years later, shall Jews imitate and echo the silence of so many in the Christian world — with their own silence?
As the Jewish writer Julius Lester once said: “We Jews hold out our suffering to humanity as a long-stemmed rose.”
It is now time for rabbis and American synagogues to join in solidarity with our Christian neighbors and partners in faith. This past summer, during Israel’s Operation Protective Shield, the Jewish community of Hudson County, N.J., gathered together in solidarity with the Jewish State.
The honored guest was the Rev. George Greiss, pastor of St. Abanoub & St. Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church in Bayonne, N.J.
In the midst of the reign of terror against Coptic Christians in his native Egypt, Father Greiss added his prayers for peace. Temple Beth Am in Bayonne, N.J., invited Father Greiss to Yom Kippur services so that we could stand with him in solidarity.
If Jews expect and hope that Christian leaders will speak out when Jews are endangered, how can Jews do any less when Christians are endangered?
I have an odd Easter habit. Days before the holiday, I call a close friend, an Episcopalian priest, and I utter a prayer that I devised just for him: “May Christ arise for you.”
He always responds with his own Passover wish: “May you get out of Egypt, as well.”
That is the joint hope that unites Jews and Christians at this season — an emergence from Egypt, life victorious over death, hope transcending despair.
As Christians despair all over the world, let Jewish hands and hearts reach out to them.
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Am of Bayonne, N.J.
Americans split on businesses turning away gay weddings by Lauren Markoe / Religion News Service
(RNS) A host of governors, CEOs and church leaders call Indiana’s new religious freedom law a backdoor opening to anti-gay discrimination, but Americans appear more divided on whether a wedding-related business should have the right to turn away a gay customer.
The law, which critics say would allow owners of small businesses to invoke their faith to refuse service to LGBT customers, applies most apparently to wedding vendors — bakers, photographers and florists, for example — who cite their faith in opposing same-sex marriage.
Where is the American public on this debate? It depends on how the question is asked.
A February Associated Press poll found that 57 percent of Americans believe a wedding-related business should have the right to refuse service to a gay couple on religious grounds, as opposed to nearly 4 in 10 Americans (39 percent) who said that religious exemption — which Indiana’s new law explicitly allows — is wrong.
In addition, 50 percent said that local magistrates shouldn’t have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if it contradicts their religious beliefs.
Days after Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on March 26, Arkansas lawmakers passed a similar law, despite the national outrage provoked by Indiana’s. The Indianapolis-based Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have vowed to move its 2017 General Assembly out of state, and the governors of Connecticut, New York and Washington have barred state employees from traveling on official business to Indiana.
On Thursday (April 2), Indiana lawmakers unveiled a new bill to clarify that the religious freedom law cannot be used to deny services to anyone, but the language has angered supporters of the religious freedom law, who call the new bill a retreat, and some business leaders who say the new measure doesn’t go far enough. Meanwhile, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, also a Republican, has asked for changes before he signs his state’s bill.
Other polls show less sympathy for business owners who support RFRA laws.
A survey on wedding services and gay couples, released last September by the Pew Research Center, found that 47 percent of respondents thought it should be legal for businesses to turn away gay brides and grooms on religious grounds, compared with 49 percent who said they should be required to accept them as customers.
But Americans register far different attitudes about service to gay customers when the question does not mention a wedding. Then, there is little sympathy for those who would invoke religion to turn away gay customers. A 2014 Public Religion Research Institute survey found a mere 16 percent of Americans supporting small-business owners who would turn away a gay customer for religious reasons, and 8 in 10 said it should be legal.
Asking specifically about turning away gay couples headed to the altar does seem to make a difference to Americans, who in general come out strongly against anti-gay corporate discrimination, said Dan Cox, PRRI’s director of research.
Americans don’t like the government telling people what to do when it comes to religion, Cox said, but they also strongly reject discrimination against gays in the marketplace.
“But when these two values conflict,” he said, “and the question is so narrowly constructed, they may answer it narrowly, and reason that allowing a small subset of businesses to turn away gay customers would not have such sweeping discriminatory effects.”
Easter: Taming the wild beasts 
by Allan R. Bevere
After the Sabbath the women make their way to Jesus' tomb to lovingly finish their obligations toward their Lord. In haste, they could not complete the anointing of Jesus' body before burial. Now that the Sabbath is over, they make their way toward the tomb, just after sunrise, to do just that.
Their main concern is who will assist them in removing the massive stone that has sealed Jesus' body in its burial cave. The male disciples remain in hiding, either nowhere to be found, or they simply refuse to put themselves at risk by venturing out into the light of day.
To their shock the women discover that the stone, for some unknown reason, has been moved. The entrance to Jesus' grave is open. Creating a sense of fear they encounter a "young man" dressed in white. They are not prepared to meet the living in a place reserved only for the dead.
They then receive the bewildering and unbelievably incredible news. Jesus is no longer in the grave because he is no longer among the dead. He has risen. The "young man" then gives the women a message to his disciples and Peter. Why is Peter singled out separately from the rest? Could it be that, because of his denial, Peter is, for the moment, out of the band of men who had followed Jesus? Could it more likely be that in mentioning him by name, the "young man" hopes to comfort Peter in the knowledge that his Lord still wants something to do with him, even though he had denied publicly he wanted anything to do with the Lord?
"He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." That is the message to the disciples. "He is going out ahead of you." The disciples could not keep up with Jesus in life, and now he has gone out ahead of them into new life. Not even death could slow Jesus down. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah cannot be tamed. Instead, Jesus has tamed the principalities and powers. Jesus has entered into the jaws of death itself and pulled its teeth. As he entered into death and has now emerged out the other side into new life, Jesus remains on the move. All the disciples can do is follow him doing their best to keep up. All they can do is obey the command of the "young man"... Go and tell.
Allan Bevere blogs at AllanBevere.com.
Racial reconciliation demands Christians reconsider the death penalty 
by Antipas L. Harris / Religion News Service
(RNS) A new report by the Equal Justice Initiative documents in horrific detail the nation’s widespread practice of lynching and points to a link between lynching and a practice that persists today: capital punishment.
In the Jim Crow South, lynching declined as officials turned to executions as an alternative method for killing blacks in disproportionate numbers.
This report challenges us to confront our nation’s legacy of racial violence. Sadly, too many Christians were complicit in this violence, which has prompted Christian denominations to apologize and emphasize racial reconciliation. Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention held a two-day race summit in which it urged pastors to do more to diversify their churches.
These are important steps. But they only mark time if important actions don’t follow. Denominations must overcome institutional inertia that hampers efforts to tackle today’s systemic injustices. The death penalty is a case in point. At the same time that the Southern Baptist Convention apologizes for its complicity in racial oppression and urges racial reconciliation, the denomination remains a vocal proponent of capital punishment.
This position is difficult to justify on several levels. The history of the death penalty is paved with inequities along racial lines. It continues to have a negative impact upon communities of color. During Jim Crow, for certain crimes the death penalty was reserved almost entirely for blacks. The following statistic is particularly telling: From 1930 to 1967, 90 percent of those executed for rape in the U.S. were black men convicted of raping white women — whether they actually did it or not. Analyst Edwin Grimsley of the Innocence Project points out that when black defendants faced all-white juries, which were infected by prejudice, too often skin color, not evidence of guilt, condemned them to death.
Racial disparities in the death penalty’s application unfortunately did not end with Jim Crow. University of North Carolina’s Professor Frank Baumgartner did a comprehensive study of executions between 1977 and 2013. Aptly titled “#BlackLivesDon’tMatter,” the study reveals that executions are significantly more likely when murder victims are white. During the period studied, 47 percent of all murder victims in the U.S. were black. But only 17 percent of the victims were black in cases ending in execution.
These disparities, caused by a criminal justice system that imposes more severe sentences for the murder of whites, reflects a criminal justice system that emerged from a national history in which black lives don’t matter.
Christians cannot ignore this reality. The death penalty consistently puts communities of color at greater risk of wrongful execution. Of the 150 individuals in the U.S. sentenced to death and later exonerated after new evidence of innocence emerged, 60 percent are black or Latino.
Some SBC leaders recognize that racial bias mars the death penalty, but their steadfast support for the practice in the absence of clear solutions to its injustices betrays a lack of concern on an issue important to communities of color (notably, a majority of blacks and Latinos oppose capital punishment).
In a podcast defending capital punishment, Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, concedes that Christians might object to the death penalty in practice due to injustices in its application, such as “racial bias.” He does not pursue this point, simply noting, “Those are different conversations.”
Moore’s bracketing the racial issue marginalizes its importance. At what point does capital punishment, which devalues black life in a systemic fashion, warrant these conversations and meaningful action to confront its injustices?
The tension between the SBC’s emphasis on racial reconciliation and support for capital punishment brings to mind Jesus’ parable of the wineskins. Denominations run into problems when they pursue racial healing without rethinking theological and ideological perspectives that have helped sustain practices plagued by racial bias. It is like trying to put new wine into old wineskins. Inevitably, as Jesus teaches us, the wineskins break.
As Christians engage in the process of racial reconciliation, we must be open to new wineskins. If we are, we will not only apologize for the injustices of the past, but will also recognize theological blind spots that stand in the way of working to end the injustices of today.
Holy experimentation 
by Steve Harper
Years ago, I heard Richard Foster say that prayer is to the spiritual life what experimentation is to science. In early Christianity, the monastic communities understood this, and they practiced prayer in an “ask, seek, knock” spirit. We have come to call this kind of praying discernment.
As schools of love, the early Christian communities knew that the principle of love had to be applied, and that it could be done in a variety of ways. So, prayer became the means for deciding what the life of love would look like in a particular location. As one community gave birth to others, these expressions became a rule which gave the quality of common life to the larger fellowship without eliminating the necessity of specification.
Holy experimentation was born in a realization that there is no one-size-fits-all pattern to the Christian spiritual life. It was practiced in a spirit of humility that acknowledged there was no guru who could know in advance of praying what the life of love would look like in every detail. And it was a discernment process which left open the likelihood that even good decisions would need further refinement, including the confession of error and the requisite amendments that get individuals and communities back on track.
We need holy experimentation in our prayer life today as much as ever. We are too much given over to having to get something “right,” which only forces a perfectionism on discernment that is too heavy to bear. The way of love calls for a recovery of purity of intention, which includes the honoring of desire to glorify God while acknowledging that such glorification will always be a work in progress.
This kind of praying is liberating, and in such liberation we always make better decisions than when we feel we must be “right” from the outset. That only puts undue pressure on us, and it erodes our ability to confess where we got it wrong and our need to do further work. Holy experimentation creates a team of respectful colleagues, not camps of resentful competitors. And in that atmosphere, the way of love survives and thrives.
Steve Harper is the author of “For the Sake of the Bride” and “Five Marks of a Methodist.” He blogs at Oboedire.
This Sunday April 12, 2015
Second Sunday of Easter: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1–2:2; John 20:19-31
The Rev. Wes Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary emeritus of the Reformed Church in America, said Schuller was the most widely known minister of his denomination.
“As international television broadcasting opened up new markets, the ‘Hour of Power’ was often there, and watched by those — including church leaders, kings, generals and prime ministers — who now had access to satellite TV,” he said. “While his actual ministry eventually crumbled in tragedy, the Cathedral — now Christ Cathedral — still stands, and is a testimony to Schuller’s imaginative vision.”
After dealing with bankruptcy and his resignation, Schuller made occasional appearances at his daughter’s church.
When Schuller read Scripture at Coleman’s church on Easter Sunday 2013, she recalled how he trained her as the family read the Bible around the table after dinner.
“More often than not, I’d just get started reading and Dad would say, ‘Stop. Do it again, Sheila. This time with feeling,’” she said, imitating her father’s deep voice. “So you can blame him if you think my messages have too much feeling.”
That Easter, he read from 1 Corinthians: “Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Schuller is survived by five children and more than a dozen grandchildren. His wife, Arvella, died in 2014.
by Jeffrey Salkin / Religion News Service(RNS) Last week, al-Shabab militants, aligned with al-Qaida, stormed the campus of Garissa University College in Kenya, asking students about their religion. They spared the lives of Muslims and killed the Christians. By the time the mayhem was over, almost 150 students lay dead.
A spokesman for the terrorists boasted: “There are many dead bodies of Christians inside the building. We are also holding many Christians alive.”
This is not the first time that this has happened in Kenya. In 2013, at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, 67 people were killed in cold blood. Muslims were allowed to go free.
The dead were all Christians.
In Libya in February, Islamic State militants beheaded 21 men on the beach. Their blood freely flowed into the Mediterranean Sea.
The victims were all Coptic Christians.
The Middle East contains proud remnants of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Their churches have been in flames. ISIS has demanded that the Christians convert to Islam, pay extra taxes or be killed. In Syria in February, ISIS militants abducted scores of Assyrian Christians.
Just because they are Christian.
In his Easter message, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby hailed those murdered students as “martyrs.” On Good Friday, Pope Francis prayed for those who were killed, along with other persecuted Christians around the world.
Several years ago, a teenager was reading a prayer in my synagogue: “In a world torn by violence and pain … ” In one of the holiest malapropisms ever uttered, it came out as: “In a world torn by violence and prayer.”
He was right. The world is being torn apart by violence and prayer.
Muslims are victims. Many critics take savage delight in promiscuously denigrating Islam. And, yes, Muslims have been murdered because they are Muslims. Most recently, three Muslim students in North Carolina were gunned down in their apartment.
Jews are victims — recently, murdered in a kosher grocery store in Paris. Jewish institutions have been attacked in France, Denmark, Holland, Belgium. Jews have been wondering whether they even have a future in Europe. In the U.S., there has been a 21 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents. A recent study revealed that 54 percent of American Jewish college students have experienced anti-Semitism on campus.
And yet, if we were to do a body count, it would be hard to escape this conclusion: The most endangered faith in the world today is Christianity.
I know how American Jews would be reacting if it had been Jewish students who were killed. We can only hope that Christian priests and pastors will do the same: Speak out about the lethal persecution of Christians.
Within a few weeks, Jews and others will be marking Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Even as we mark the horror, we lift up the stories of those righteous Christians (and Muslims) who jeopardized their own lives, and the lives of their loved ones, to rescue Jews. We weep that there weren’t enough of them.
Seventy years later, shall Jews imitate and echo the silence of so many in the Christian world — with their own silence?
As the Jewish writer Julius Lester once said: “We Jews hold out our suffering to humanity as a long-stemmed rose.”
It is now time for rabbis and American synagogues to join in solidarity with our Christian neighbors and partners in faith. This past summer, during Israel’s Operation Protective Shield, the Jewish community of Hudson County, N.J., gathered together in solidarity with the Jewish State.
The honored guest was the Rev. George Greiss, pastor of St. Abanoub & St. Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church in Bayonne, N.J.
In the midst of the reign of terror against Coptic Christians in his native Egypt, Father Greiss added his prayers for peace. Temple Beth Am in Bayonne, N.J., invited Father Greiss to Yom Kippur services so that we could stand with him in solidarity.
If Jews expect and hope that Christian leaders will speak out when Jews are endangered, how can Jews do any less when Christians are endangered?
I have an odd Easter habit. Days before the holiday, I call a close friend, an Episcopalian priest, and I utter a prayer that I devised just for him: “May Christ arise for you.”
He always responds with his own Passover wish: “May you get out of Egypt, as well.”
That is the joint hope that unites Jews and Christians at this season — an emergence from Egypt, life victorious over death, hope transcending despair.
As Christians despair all over the world, let Jewish hands and hearts reach out to them.
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Am of Bayonne, N.J.
by Lauren Markoe / Religion News Service(RNS) A host of governors, CEOs and church leaders call Indiana’s new religious freedom law a backdoor opening to anti-gay discrimination, but Americans appear more divided on whether a wedding-related business should have the right to turn away a gay customer.
The law, which critics say would allow owners of small businesses to invoke their faith to refuse service to LGBT customers, applies most apparently to wedding vendors — bakers, photographers and florists, for example — who cite their faith in opposing same-sex marriage.
Where is the American public on this debate? It depends on how the question is asked.
A February Associated Press poll found that 57 percent of Americans believe a wedding-related business should have the right to refuse service to a gay couple on religious grounds, as opposed to nearly 4 in 10 Americans (39 percent) who said that religious exemption — which Indiana’s new law explicitly allows — is wrong.
In addition, 50 percent said that local magistrates shouldn’t have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if it contradicts their religious beliefs.
Days after Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on March 26, Arkansas lawmakers passed a similar law, despite the national outrage provoked by Indiana’s. The Indianapolis-based Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have vowed to move its 2017 General Assembly out of state, and the governors of Connecticut, New York and Washington have barred state employees from traveling on official business to Indiana.
On Thursday (April 2), Indiana lawmakers unveiled a new bill to clarify that the religious freedom law cannot be used to deny services to anyone, but the language has angered supporters of the religious freedom law, who call the new bill a retreat, and some business leaders who say the new measure doesn’t go far enough. Meanwhile, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, also a Republican, has asked for changes before he signs his state’s bill.
Other polls show less sympathy for business owners who support RFRA laws.
A survey on wedding services and gay couples, released last September by the Pew Research Center, found that 47 percent of respondents thought it should be legal for businesses to turn away gay brides and grooms on religious grounds, compared with 49 percent who said they should be required to accept them as customers.
But Americans register far different attitudes about service to gay customers when the question does not mention a wedding. Then, there is little sympathy for those who would invoke religion to turn away gay customers. A 2014 Public Religion Research Institute survey found a mere 16 percent of Americans supporting small-business owners who would turn away a gay customer for religious reasons, and 8 in 10 said it should be legal.
Asking specifically about turning away gay couples headed to the altar does seem to make a difference to Americans, who in general come out strongly against anti-gay corporate discrimination, said Dan Cox, PRRI’s director of research.
Americans don’t like the government telling people what to do when it comes to religion, Cox said, but they also strongly reject discrimination against gays in the marketplace.
“But when these two values conflict,” he said, “and the question is so narrowly constructed, they may answer it narrowly, and reason that allowing a small subset of businesses to turn away gay customers would not have such sweeping discriminatory effects.”
by Allan R. BevereAfter the Sabbath the women make their way to Jesus' tomb to lovingly finish their obligations toward their Lord. In haste, they could not complete the anointing of Jesus' body before burial. Now that the Sabbath is over, they make their way toward the tomb, just after sunrise, to do just that.
Their main concern is who will assist them in removing the massive stone that has sealed Jesus' body in its burial cave. The male disciples remain in hiding, either nowhere to be found, or they simply refuse to put themselves at risk by venturing out into the light of day.
To their shock the women discover that the stone, for some unknown reason, has been moved. The entrance to Jesus' grave is open. Creating a sense of fear they encounter a "young man" dressed in white. They are not prepared to meet the living in a place reserved only for the dead.
They then receive the bewildering and unbelievably incredible news. Jesus is no longer in the grave because he is no longer among the dead. He has risen. The "young man" then gives the women a message to his disciples and Peter. Why is Peter singled out separately from the rest? Could it be that, because of his denial, Peter is, for the moment, out of the band of men who had followed Jesus? Could it more likely be that in mentioning him by name, the "young man" hopes to comfort Peter in the knowledge that his Lord still wants something to do with him, even though he had denied publicly he wanted anything to do with the Lord?
"He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." That is the message to the disciples. "He is going out ahead of you." The disciples could not keep up with Jesus in life, and now he has gone out ahead of them into new life. Not even death could slow Jesus down. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah cannot be tamed. Instead, Jesus has tamed the principalities and powers. Jesus has entered into the jaws of death itself and pulled its teeth. As he entered into death and has now emerged out the other side into new life, Jesus remains on the move. All the disciples can do is follow him doing their best to keep up. All they can do is obey the command of the "young man"... Go and tell.
Allan Bevere blogs at AllanBevere.com.
by Antipas L. Harris / Religion News Service(RNS) A new report by the Equal Justice Initiative documents in horrific detail the nation’s widespread practice of lynching and points to a link between lynching and a practice that persists today: capital punishment.
In the Jim Crow South, lynching declined as officials turned to executions as an alternative method for killing blacks in disproportionate numbers.
This report challenges us to confront our nation’s legacy of racial violence. Sadly, too many Christians were complicit in this violence, which has prompted Christian denominations to apologize and emphasize racial reconciliation. Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention held a two-day race summit in which it urged pastors to do more to diversify their churches.
These are important steps. But they only mark time if important actions don’t follow. Denominations must overcome institutional inertia that hampers efforts to tackle today’s systemic injustices. The death penalty is a case in point. At the same time that the Southern Baptist Convention apologizes for its complicity in racial oppression and urges racial reconciliation, the denomination remains a vocal proponent of capital punishment.
This position is difficult to justify on several levels. The history of the death penalty is paved with inequities along racial lines. It continues to have a negative impact upon communities of color. During Jim Crow, for certain crimes the death penalty was reserved almost entirely for blacks. The following statistic is particularly telling: From 1930 to 1967, 90 percent of those executed for rape in the U.S. were black men convicted of raping white women — whether they actually did it or not. Analyst Edwin Grimsley of the Innocence Project points out that when black defendants faced all-white juries, which were infected by prejudice, too often skin color, not evidence of guilt, condemned them to death.
Racial disparities in the death penalty’s application unfortunately did not end with Jim Crow. University of North Carolina’s Professor Frank Baumgartner did a comprehensive study of executions between 1977 and 2013. Aptly titled “#BlackLivesDon’tMatter,” the study reveals that executions are significantly more likely when murder victims are white. During the period studied, 47 percent of all murder victims in the U.S. were black. But only 17 percent of the victims were black in cases ending in execution.
These disparities, caused by a criminal justice system that imposes more severe sentences for the murder of whites, reflects a criminal justice system that emerged from a national history in which black lives don’t matter.
Christians cannot ignore this reality. The death penalty consistently puts communities of color at greater risk of wrongful execution. Of the 150 individuals in the U.S. sentenced to death and later exonerated after new evidence of innocence emerged, 60 percent are black or Latino.
Some SBC leaders recognize that racial bias mars the death penalty, but their steadfast support for the practice in the absence of clear solutions to its injustices betrays a lack of concern on an issue important to communities of color (notably, a majority of blacks and Latinos oppose capital punishment).
In a podcast defending capital punishment, Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, concedes that Christians might object to the death penalty in practice due to injustices in its application, such as “racial bias.” He does not pursue this point, simply noting, “Those are different conversations.”
Moore’s bracketing the racial issue marginalizes its importance. At what point does capital punishment, which devalues black life in a systemic fashion, warrant these conversations and meaningful action to confront its injustices?
The tension between the SBC’s emphasis on racial reconciliation and support for capital punishment brings to mind Jesus’ parable of the wineskins. Denominations run into problems when they pursue racial healing without rethinking theological and ideological perspectives that have helped sustain practices plagued by racial bias. It is like trying to put new wine into old wineskins. Inevitably, as Jesus teaches us, the wineskins break.
As Christians engage in the process of racial reconciliation, we must be open to new wineskins. If we are, we will not only apologize for the injustices of the past, but will also recognize theological blind spots that stand in the way of working to end the injustices of today.
by Steve HarperYears ago, I heard Richard Foster say that prayer is to the spiritual life what experimentation is to science. In early Christianity, the monastic communities understood this, and they practiced prayer in an “ask, seek, knock” spirit. We have come to call this kind of praying discernment.
As schools of love, the early Christian communities knew that the principle of love had to be applied, and that it could be done in a variety of ways. So, prayer became the means for deciding what the life of love would look like in a particular location. As one community gave birth to others, these expressions became a rule which gave the quality of common life to the larger fellowship without eliminating the necessity of specification.
Holy experimentation was born in a realization that there is no one-size-fits-all pattern to the Christian spiritual life. It was practiced in a spirit of humility that acknowledged there was no guru who could know in advance of praying what the life of love would look like in every detail. And it was a discernment process which left open the likelihood that even good decisions would need further refinement, including the confession of error and the requisite amendments that get individuals and communities back on track.
We need holy experimentation in our prayer life today as much as ever. We are too much given over to having to get something “right,” which only forces a perfectionism on discernment that is too heavy to bear. The way of love calls for a recovery of purity of intention, which includes the honoring of desire to glorify God while acknowledging that such glorification will always be a work in progress.
This kind of praying is liberating, and in such liberation we always make better decisions than when we feel we must be “right” from the outset. That only puts undue pressure on us, and it erodes our ability to confess where we got it wrong and our need to do further work. Holy experimentation creates a team of respectful colleagues, not camps of resentful competitors. And in that atmosphere, the way of love survives and thrives.
Steve Harper is the author of “For the Sake of the Bride” and “Five Marks of a Methodist.” He blogs at Oboedire.
Second Sunday of Easter: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1–2:2; John 20:19-31
This Week's Lectionary:
2nd Sunday of Easter – White or Gold
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1 – 2:2
John 20:19-31
Acts 4:32 All the many believers were one in heart and soul, and no one claimed any of his possessions for himself, but everyone shared everything he had. 33 With great power the emissaries continued testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and they were all held in high regard. 34 No one among them was poor, since those who owned lands or houses sold them and turned over the proceeds 35 to the emissaries to distribute to each according to his need.
2nd Sunday of Easter – White or Gold
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1 – 2:2
John 20:19-31
Acts 4:32 All the many believers were one in heart and soul, and no one claimed any of his possessions for himself, but everyone shared everything he had. 33 With great power the emissaries continued testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and they were all held in high regard. 34 No one among them was poor, since those who owned lands or houses sold them and turned over the proceeds 35 to the emissaries to distribute to each according to his need.
Psalm 133: (0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) Oh, how good, how pleasant it is
for brothers to live together in harmony.
2 It is like fragrant oil on the head
that runs down over the beard,
over the beard of Aharon,
and flows down on the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
that settles on the mountains of Tziyon.
For it was there that Adonai ordained
the blessing of everlasting life.
1 John 1:1 The Word, which gives life!
He existed from the beginning.
(1) Oh, how good, how pleasant it is
for brothers to live together in harmony.
2 It is like fragrant oil on the head
that runs down over the beard,
over the beard of Aharon,
and flows down on the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
that settles on the mountains of Tziyon.
For it was there that Adonai ordained
the blessing of everlasting life.
1 John 1:1 The Word, which gives life!
He existed from the beginning.
We have heard him,
we have seen him with our eyes,
we have contemplated him,
we have touched him with our hands!
2 The life appeared,
and we have seen it.
We are testifying to it
and announcing it to you —
eternal life!
He was with the Father,
and he appeared to us.
3 What we have seen and heard,
we are proclaiming to you;
so that you too
may have fellowship with us.
Our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Yeshua the Messiah.
4 We are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.
5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him — none!
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we are lying and not living out the truth. 7 But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.
10 If we claim we have not been sinning, we are making him out to be a liar, and his Word is not in us.
2:1 My children, I am writing you these things so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Yeshua the Messiah, the Tzaddik, who pleads our cause with the Father. 2 Also, he is the kapparah for our sins — and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
John 20:19 In the evening that same day, the first day of the week, when the talmidim were gathered together behind locked doors out of fear of the Judeans, Yeshua came, stood in the middle and said, “Shalom aleikhem!” 20 Having greeted them, he showed them his hands and his side. The talmidim were overjoyed to see the Lord. 21 “Shalom aleikhem!” Yeshua repeated. “Just as the Father sent me, I myself am also sending you.” 22 Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Ruach HaKodesh! 23 If you forgive someone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you hold them, they are held.”
24 Now T’oma (the name means “twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Yeshua came. 25 When the other talmidim told him, “We have seen the Lord,” he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into the place where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe it.”
26 A week later his talmidim were once more in the room, and this time T’oma was with them. Although the doors were locked, Yeshua came, stood among them and said, “Shalom aleikhem!” 27 Then he said to T’oma, “Put your finger here, look at my hands, take your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be lacking in trust, but have trust!” 28 T’oma answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Yeshua said to him, “Have you trusted because you have seen me? How blessed are those who do not see, but trust anyway!”
30 In the presence of the talmidim Yeshua performed many other miracles which have not been recorded in this book. 31 But these which have been recorded are here so that you may trust that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by this trust you may have life because of who he is.
John Wesley's Notes-commentary for
Acts 4:32-35
Verse 32
[32] And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And the multitude of them that believed — Every individual person were of one heart and one soul - Their love, their hopes, their passions joined: and not so much as one - In so great a multitude: this was a necessary consequence of that union of heart; said that aught of the things which he had was his own - It is impossible any one should, while all were of one soul. So long as that truly Christian love continued, they could not but have all things common.
Verse 33
[33] And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
And great grace — A large measure of the inward power of the Holy Ghost, was upon them all - Directing all their thoughts, words, and actions.
Verse 34
[34] Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
For neither was there any one among them that wanted — We may observe, this is added as the proof that great grace was upon them all. And it was the immediate, necessary consequence of it: yea, and must be to the end of the world. In all ages and nations, the same cause, the same degree of grace, could not but in like circumstances produce the same effect.
For whosoever were possessors of houses and lands sold them — Not that there was any particular command for this; but there was great grace and great love: of which this was the natural fruit.
Verse 35
[35] And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
And distribution was made — At first by the apostles themselves, afterward by them whom they appointed.
[2] It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
Ointment — It is no less grateful and refreshing than that oil which was poured forth upon Aaron's head at the time of his consecration to the priestly office.
Skirts — Not to the lower skirt or bottom of his sacerdotal garment, but to the upper skirt of it, or the mouth of it, as the Hebrew word properly signifies.
Verse 3
[3] As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Zion — It is as desirable as the dew which falls upon mount Hermon, nay, as desirable as that heavenly dew of God's ordinances and graces which he hath commanded to fall upon the mountains of Zion and Moriah, and others which are round about Jerusalem.
There — Where brethren live in peace and unity.
[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
That which was — Here means, He which was the Word himself; afterwards it means, that which they had heard from him.
Which was — Namely, with the Father, verse 2, before he was manifested.
From the beginning — This phrase is sometimes used in a limited sense; but here it properly means from eternity, being equivalent with, "in the beginning," John 1:1.
That which we — The apostles. Have not only heard, but seen with our eyes, which we have beheld - Attentively considered on various occasions.
Of the Word of life — He is termed the Word, John 1:1; the Life, John 1:4; as he is the living Word of God, who, with the Father and the Spirit, is the fountain of life to all creatures, particularly of spiritual and eternal life.
Verse 2
[2] (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
For the life — The living Word.
Was manifested — In the flesh, to our very senses.
And we testify and declare — We testify by declaring, by preaching, and writing, 1 John 1:3,4. Preaching lays the foundation, 1 John 1:5-10: writing builds there on.
To you — Who have not seen.
The eternal life — Which always was, and afterward appeared to us. This is mentioned in the beginning of the epistle. In the end of it is mentioned the same eternal life, which we shall always enjoy.
Verse 3
[3] That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
That which we have seen and heard — Of him and from him.
Declare we to you — For this end.
That ye also may have fellowship with us — May enjoy the same fellowship which we enjoy.
And truly our fellowship — Whereby he is in us and we in him.
Is with the Father and with the son — Of the Holy Ghost he speaks afterwards.
Verse 4
[4] And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
That your joy may be full — So our Lord also, John 15:11; 16:22. There is a joy of hope, a joy of faith, and a joy of love. Here the joy of faith is directly intended. It is a concise expression.
Your joy — That is, your faith and the joy arising from it: but it likewise implies the joy of hope and love.
Verse 5
[5] This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
And this is the sum of the message which we have heard of him - The Son of God.
That God is light — The light of wisdom, love, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye.
And in him is no darkness at all — No contrary principle. He is pure, unmixed light.
Verse 6
[6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
If we say — Either with our tongue, or in our heart, if we endeavour to persuade either ourselves or others. We have fellowship with him, while we walk, either inwardly or outwardly, in darkness - In sin of any kind.
We do not the truth — Our actions prove, that the truth is not in us.
Verse 7
[7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
But if we walk in the light — In all holiness. As God is (a deeper word than walk, and more worthy of God) in the light, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another - We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God. The imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him.
And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son — With the grace purchased thereby.
Cleanseth us from all sin — Both original and actual, taking away all the guilt and all the power.
Verse 8
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we say — Any child of man, before his blood has cleansed us.
We have no sin — To be cleansed from, instead of confessing our sins, 1 John 1:9, the truth is not in us - Neither in our mouth nor in our heart.
Verse 9
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But if with a penitent and believing heart, we confess our sins, he is faithful - Because he had promised this blessing, by the unanimous voice of all his prophets.
Just — Surely then he will punish: no; for this very reason he will pardon. This may seem strange; but upon the evangelical principle of atonement and redemption, it is undoubtedly true; because, when the debt is paid, or the purchase made, it is the part of equity to cancel the bond, and consign over the purchased possession.
Both to forgive us our sins — To take away all the guilt of them.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness — To purify our souls from every kind and every degree of it.
Verse 10
[10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Yet still we are to retain, even to our lives' end, a deep sense of our past sins. Still if we say, we have not sinned, we make him a liar - Who saith, all have sinned.
And his word is not in us — We do not receive it; we give it no place in our hearts.
Verse 32
[32] And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And the multitude of them that believed — Every individual person were of one heart and one soul - Their love, their hopes, their passions joined: and not so much as one - In so great a multitude: this was a necessary consequence of that union of heart; said that aught of the things which he had was his own - It is impossible any one should, while all were of one soul. So long as that truly Christian love continued, they could not but have all things common.
Verse 33
[33] And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
And great grace — A large measure of the inward power of the Holy Ghost, was upon them all - Directing all their thoughts, words, and actions.
Verse 34
[34] Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
For neither was there any one among them that wanted — We may observe, this is added as the proof that great grace was upon them all. And it was the immediate, necessary consequence of it: yea, and must be to the end of the world. In all ages and nations, the same cause, the same degree of grace, could not but in like circumstances produce the same effect.
For whosoever were possessors of houses and lands sold them — Not that there was any particular command for this; but there was great grace and great love: of which this was the natural fruit.
Verse 35
[35] And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
And distribution was made — At first by the apostles themselves, afterward by them whom they appointed.
Psalm 133
Verse 2[2] It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
Ointment — It is no less grateful and refreshing than that oil which was poured forth upon Aaron's head at the time of his consecration to the priestly office.
Skirts — Not to the lower skirt or bottom of his sacerdotal garment, but to the upper skirt of it, or the mouth of it, as the Hebrew word properly signifies.
Verse 3
[3] As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Zion — It is as desirable as the dew which falls upon mount Hermon, nay, as desirable as that heavenly dew of God's ordinances and graces which he hath commanded to fall upon the mountains of Zion and Moriah, and others which are round about Jerusalem.
There — Where brethren live in peace and unity.
1 John 1:1-2:2
Verse 1[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
That which was — Here means, He which was the Word himself; afterwards it means, that which they had heard from him.
Which was — Namely, with the Father, verse 2, before he was manifested.
From the beginning — This phrase is sometimes used in a limited sense; but here it properly means from eternity, being equivalent with, "in the beginning," John 1:1.
That which we — The apostles. Have not only heard, but seen with our eyes, which we have beheld - Attentively considered on various occasions.
Of the Word of life — He is termed the Word, John 1:1; the Life, John 1:4; as he is the living Word of God, who, with the Father and the Spirit, is the fountain of life to all creatures, particularly of spiritual and eternal life.
Verse 2
[2] (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
For the life — The living Word.
Was manifested — In the flesh, to our very senses.
And we testify and declare — We testify by declaring, by preaching, and writing, 1 John 1:3,4. Preaching lays the foundation, 1 John 1:5-10: writing builds there on.
To you — Who have not seen.
The eternal life — Which always was, and afterward appeared to us. This is mentioned in the beginning of the epistle. In the end of it is mentioned the same eternal life, which we shall always enjoy.
Verse 3
[3] That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
That which we have seen and heard — Of him and from him.
Declare we to you — For this end.
That ye also may have fellowship with us — May enjoy the same fellowship which we enjoy.
And truly our fellowship — Whereby he is in us and we in him.
Is with the Father and with the son — Of the Holy Ghost he speaks afterwards.
Verse 4
[4] And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
That your joy may be full — So our Lord also, John 15:11; 16:22. There is a joy of hope, a joy of faith, and a joy of love. Here the joy of faith is directly intended. It is a concise expression.
Your joy — That is, your faith and the joy arising from it: but it likewise implies the joy of hope and love.
Verse 5
[5] This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
And this is the sum of the message which we have heard of him - The Son of God.
That God is light — The light of wisdom, love, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye.
And in him is no darkness at all — No contrary principle. He is pure, unmixed light.
Verse 6
[6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
If we say — Either with our tongue, or in our heart, if we endeavour to persuade either ourselves or others. We have fellowship with him, while we walk, either inwardly or outwardly, in darkness - In sin of any kind.
We do not the truth — Our actions prove, that the truth is not in us.
Verse 7
[7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
But if we walk in the light — In all holiness. As God is (a deeper word than walk, and more worthy of God) in the light, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another - We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God. The imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him.
And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son — With the grace purchased thereby.
Cleanseth us from all sin — Both original and actual, taking away all the guilt and all the power.
Verse 8
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we say — Any child of man, before his blood has cleansed us.
We have no sin — To be cleansed from, instead of confessing our sins, 1 John 1:9, the truth is not in us - Neither in our mouth nor in our heart.
Verse 9
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But if with a penitent and believing heart, we confess our sins, he is faithful - Because he had promised this blessing, by the unanimous voice of all his prophets.
Just — Surely then he will punish: no; for this very reason he will pardon. This may seem strange; but upon the evangelical principle of atonement and redemption, it is undoubtedly true; because, when the debt is paid, or the purchase made, it is the part of equity to cancel the bond, and consign over the purchased possession.
Both to forgive us our sins — To take away all the guilt of them.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness — To purify our souls from every kind and every degree of it.
Verse 10
[10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Yet still we are to retain, even to our lives' end, a deep sense of our past sins. Still if we say, we have not sinned, we make him a liar - Who saith, all have sinned.
And his word is not in us — We do not receive it; we give it no place in our hearts.
Verse 1
[1] My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
My beloved children — So the apostle frequently addresses the whole body of Christians. It is a term of tenderness and endearment, used by our Lord himself to his disciples, John 13:33. And perhaps many to whom St. John now wrote were converted by his ministry. It is a different word from that which is translated "little children," in several parts of the epistle, to distinguish it from which, it is here rendered beloved children. I write these things to you, that ye may not sin - Thus he guards them beforehand against abusing the doctrine of reconciliation. All the words, institutions, and judgments of God are levelled against sin, either that it may not be committed, or that it may be abolished.
But if any one sin — Let him not lie in sin, despairing of help.
We have an advocate — We have for our advocate, not a mean person, but him of whom it was said, "This is my beloved son." Not a guilty person, who stands in need of pardon for himself; but Jesus Christ the righteous; not a mere petitioner, who relies purely upon liberality, but one that has merited, fully merited, whatever he asks.
Verse 2
[2] And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And he is the propitiation — The atoning sacrifice by which the wrath of God is appeased.
For our sins — Who believe.
And not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world — Just as wide as sin extends, the propitiation extends also .
[1] My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
My beloved children — So the apostle frequently addresses the whole body of Christians. It is a term of tenderness and endearment, used by our Lord himself to his disciples, John 13:33. And perhaps many to whom St. John now wrote were converted by his ministry. It is a different word from that which is translated "little children," in several parts of the epistle, to distinguish it from which, it is here rendered beloved children. I write these things to you, that ye may not sin - Thus he guards them beforehand against abusing the doctrine of reconciliation. All the words, institutions, and judgments of God are levelled against sin, either that it may not be committed, or that it may be abolished.
But if any one sin — Let him not lie in sin, despairing of help.
We have an advocate — We have for our advocate, not a mean person, but him of whom it was said, "This is my beloved son." Not a guilty person, who stands in need of pardon for himself; but Jesus Christ the righteous; not a mere petitioner, who relies purely upon liberality, but one that has merited, fully merited, whatever he asks.
Verse 2
[2] And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And he is the propitiation — The atoning sacrifice by which the wrath of God is appeased.
For our sins — Who believe.
And not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world — Just as wide as sin extends, the propitiation extends also .
John 20:19-31
Verse 19
[19] Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36.
Verse 21
[21] Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Peace be unto you — This is the foundation of the mission of a true Gospel minister, peace in his own soul, 2 Corinthians 4:1.
As the Father hath sent me, so send I you — Christ was the apostle of the Father, Hebrews 3:1. Peter and the rest, the apostles of Christ.
Verse 22
[22] And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
He breathed on them — New life and vigour, and saith, as ye receive this breath out of my mouth, so receive ye the Spirit out of my fulness: the Holy Ghost influencing you in a peculiar manner, to fit you for your great embassy. This was an earnest of pentecost.
Verse 23
[23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Whose soever sins ye remit — (According to the tenor of the Gospel, that is, supposing them to repent and believe) they are remitted, and whose soever sins ye retain (supposing them to remain impenitent) they are retained. So far is plain. But here arises a difficulty. Are not the sins of one who truly repents, and unfeignedly believes in Christ, remitted, without sacerdotal absolution? And are not the sins of one who does not repent or believe, retained even with it? What then does this commission imply? Can it imply any more than, 1. A power of declaring with authority the Christian terms of pardon; whose sins are remitted and whose retained? As in our daily form of absolution; and 2. A power of inflicting and remitting ecclesiastical censures? That is, of excluding from, and re-admitting into, a Christian congregation.
Verse 26
[26] And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
After eight days — On the next Sunday.
Verse 28
[28] And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
And Thomas said, My Lord and my God — The disciples had said, We have seen the Lord. Thomas now not only acknowledges him to be the Lord, as he had done before, and to be risen, as his fellow disciples had affirmed, but also confesses his Godhead, and that more explicitly than any other had yet done. And all this he did without putting his hand upon his side.
Verse 30
[30] And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Jesus wrought many miracles, which are not written in this book — Of St. John, nor indeed of the other evangelists.
Verse 31
[31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
But these things are written that ye may believe — That ye may be confirmed in believing. Faith cometh sometimes by reading; though ordinarily by hearing.
Verse 19
[19] Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36.
Verse 21
[21] Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Peace be unto you — This is the foundation of the mission of a true Gospel minister, peace in his own soul, 2 Corinthians 4:1.
As the Father hath sent me, so send I you — Christ was the apostle of the Father, Hebrews 3:1. Peter and the rest, the apostles of Christ.
Verse 22
[22] And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
He breathed on them — New life and vigour, and saith, as ye receive this breath out of my mouth, so receive ye the Spirit out of my fulness: the Holy Ghost influencing you in a peculiar manner, to fit you for your great embassy. This was an earnest of pentecost.
Verse 23
[23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Whose soever sins ye remit — (According to the tenor of the Gospel, that is, supposing them to repent and believe) they are remitted, and whose soever sins ye retain (supposing them to remain impenitent) they are retained. So far is plain. But here arises a difficulty. Are not the sins of one who truly repents, and unfeignedly believes in Christ, remitted, without sacerdotal absolution? And are not the sins of one who does not repent or believe, retained even with it? What then does this commission imply? Can it imply any more than, 1. A power of declaring with authority the Christian terms of pardon; whose sins are remitted and whose retained? As in our daily form of absolution; and 2. A power of inflicting and remitting ecclesiastical censures? That is, of excluding from, and re-admitting into, a Christian congregation.
Verse 26
[26] And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
After eight days — On the next Sunday.
Verse 28
[28] And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
And Thomas said, My Lord and my God — The disciples had said, We have seen the Lord. Thomas now not only acknowledges him to be the Lord, as he had done before, and to be risen, as his fellow disciples had affirmed, but also confesses his Godhead, and that more explicitly than any other had yet done. And all this he did without putting his hand upon his side.
Verse 30
[30] And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Jesus wrought many miracles, which are not written in this book — Of St. John, nor indeed of the other evangelists.
Verse 31
[31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
But these things are written that ye may believe — That ye may be confirmed in believing. Faith cometh sometimes by reading; though ordinarily by hearing.
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Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
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Sermon Story "Trusting to Receive Life" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 12 April 2015 with Scripture: John 20:19-31
scripture text: John 20:19 In the evening that same day, the first day of the week, when the talmidim were gathered together behind locked doors out of fear of the Judeans, Yeshua came, stood in the middle and said, “Shalom aleikhem!” 20 Having greeted them, he showed them his hands and his side. The talmidim were overjoyed to see the Lord. 21 “Shalom aleikhem!” Yeshua repeated. “Just as the Father sent me, I myself am also sending you.” 22 Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Ruach HaKodesh! 23 If you forgive someone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you hold them, they are held.”
30 In the presence of the talmidim Yeshua performed many other miracles which have not been recorded in this book. 31 But these which have been recorded are here so that you may trust that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by this trust you may have life because of who he is.
24 Now T’oma (the name means “twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Yeshua came. 25 When the other talmidim told him, “We have seen the Lord,” he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into the place where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe it.”
26 A week later his talmidim were once more in the room, and this time T’oma was with them. Although the doors were locked, Yeshua came, stood among them and said, “Shalom aleikhem!” 27 Then he said to T’oma, “Put your finger here, look at my hands, take your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be lacking in trust, but have trust!” 28 T’oma answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Yeshua said to him, “Have you trusted because you have seen me? How blessed are those who do not see, but trust anyway!”30 In the presence of the talmidim Yeshua performed many other miracles which have not been recorded in this book. 31 But these which have been recorded are here so that you may trust that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by this trust you may have life because of who he is.
As we read these Scriptures, we realize that the disciples still was afraid of the authorities even though they have heard that Jesus has been raised from the dead for they remained behind closed doors. Jesus comes into the room while the doors are still locked saying to them that Peace should be upon them. As He breathed, He spoke that they are to receive the Holy Spirit for the work He has for them to do. Them Jesus mentioned to them that when they have forgiven sins, they will be forgiven while if they do not they will remain. what is meant by this has been interpreted many different ways, but if we understand these words as He taught them in the Model or Lord's Prayer that if we do not forgiven others, we will not be forgiven brings us to realize what Jesus is really saying. After Jesus left and Thomas was not with them, the ten of them told Thomas, but Thomas did not believe saying that unless he sees the nailed pieced hand and feet and place is hand into the side that the soldier pieced with his sword he would not believe. Some ten later when all eleven of the disciples which included Thomas was in the same locked room, Jesus appeared saying to Thomas to touch His hands, feet, and side. Thomas immediately said My Lord and My God whereas Jesus responded to Thomas and the others that he believed because he saw while those who do not see and believe will be blessed. Scripture concludes with the writer of this Gospel saying that there were many other signs, wonders, and miracles that were done by Jesus but were not written down. These signs, wonders, and miracles were written down that those who hear and read these words will believe that Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews as well as the whole world and all people in the world living and who will live. We come to believe in all of Jesus as we come and eat His Body and drink His Blood through the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist singing the Hymn "There is a Redeemer, Jesus God's own Son" by Melody Green
Gary Lee Parker
1. There is a Redeemer -
Jesus, God’s own Son;
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
Holy One.
Refrain:
Thank You, O my Father,
for giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit
till the work on earth is done.
2. Jesus, my Redeemer,
name above all names;
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
Hope for sinners slain.
Refrain:
Thank You, O my Father,
for giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit
till the work on earth is done.
3. When I stand in Glory,
I will see His face;
There I'll serve my King forever
in that holy place.
Refrain:
Thank You, O my Father,
for giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit
till the work on earth is done.
____________________________
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States
____________________________
I spoke with someone not long ago about our ever changing world and the challenge that is set before us as believers to keep up with the times. It often has been asked, What would be different in the world if you were in charge? For some the desire would be to eliminate crime, hatred, and prejudice. For others it might be the removal of pain and sickness. Still others might desire a world of peace and forgiveness.
In a world where wrong seems right and right seems wrong, unity among believers will help us keep our perspective. Our hearts will be in tune with God, as will our goals, in the desire that the entire world may know God. The psalmist knew of that when he wrote, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1 KJV). There was indeed a unity between Jesus and God, and we know that Jesus never lost sight of his purpose; that is, to die that we might live. Jesus was bold in his instruction to us to follow him, because to follow Jesus means more than traveling with him; it means being like Jesus. Our purpose as well is to die to self that we might live for Jesus. This is evident in the church of Acts, and is our model for how the church should conduct itself. Once we are clear on what unity means, all the other goals of the church become clear.
Luke, the physician and the writer of the book of Acts, gives us a glimpse of the New Testament church immediately following Pentecost. It was indeed a church of unity, love, and compassion. Luke makes it clear that the early church made unity a priority. They did not just talk about their love for one another, their love was evident according to verse 32, “The believers were one in heart and mind” and “shared everything they had” (NIV).
As we think back to our original question, What would I change if I were in charge of the world? I would like to see that degree of unity demonstrated among the church today. To be like-minded, having the same love, and being of one accord—such a commitment to unity within the body of Christ would only increase the impact of the church on the world, and perhaps create a newfound interest in the church.
One only has to read the headlines of the newspaper or turn on the television to see that the world is in search of something to believe in and somewhere to belong. People hunger for love and acceptance, and the church is called to be a haven of hope for those who are lost. The context from which our passage is found today reflects this very principle. Peter tells the crowd in Acts 2 that forgiveness through Jesus Christ is available, that the promise is for them, “for you and your children.” Our text tells us that more than three thousand people received Christ as a result (Acts 2:41). Out of this gift of the Holy Spirit came a unity that was evident to all, to the extent that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47 NIV).
Beyond the impact such unity would have on the world, we must realize the impact it would have on the church itself. Luke tells us that no one lacked anything because no one claimed ownership of any possessions— everything was shared and therefore everyone’s needs were met. Never do we look more like Christ than when we are giving. The church would benefit from accountability, consistency, and stability, all as a result of unity.
When unity is our goal, we find that our priorities will be correct as well; we will love the right things, do the right things, think the right thoughts, and dwell on things above. How often in the world do we lose sight of our priorities and emphasize the wrong things in life? With unity we find not only purpose and priorities but also a passion to please God. We will love a lost world, we will love one another, and we will love God with fervency. When unity becomes the driving force in our lives, the church will once again be all that God intended.
In a world where wrong seems right and right seems wrong, unity among believers will help us keep our perspective. Our hearts will be in tune with God, as will our goals, in the desire that the entire world may know God. The psalmist knew of that when he wrote, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1 KJV). There was indeed a unity between Jesus and God, and we know that Jesus never lost sight of his purpose; that is, to die that we might live. Jesus was bold in his instruction to us to follow him, because to follow Jesus means more than traveling with him; it means being like Jesus. Our purpose as well is to die to self that we might live for Jesus. This is evident in the church of Acts, and is our model for how the church should conduct itself. Once we are clear on what unity means, all the other goals of the church become clear.
Luke, the physician and the writer of the book of Acts, gives us a glimpse of the New Testament church immediately following Pentecost. It was indeed a church of unity, love, and compassion. Luke makes it clear that the early church made unity a priority. They did not just talk about their love for one another, their love was evident according to verse 32, “The believers were one in heart and mind” and “shared everything they had” (NIV).
As we think back to our original question, What would I change if I were in charge of the world? I would like to see that degree of unity demonstrated among the church today. To be like-minded, having the same love, and being of one accord—such a commitment to unity within the body of Christ would only increase the impact of the church on the world, and perhaps create a newfound interest in the church.
One only has to read the headlines of the newspaper or turn on the television to see that the world is in search of something to believe in and somewhere to belong. People hunger for love and acceptance, and the church is called to be a haven of hope for those who are lost. The context from which our passage is found today reflects this very principle. Peter tells the crowd in Acts 2 that forgiveness through Jesus Christ is available, that the promise is for them, “for you and your children.” Our text tells us that more than three thousand people received Christ as a result (Acts 2:41). Out of this gift of the Holy Spirit came a unity that was evident to all, to the extent that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47 NIV).
Beyond the impact such unity would have on the world, we must realize the impact it would have on the church itself. Luke tells us that no one lacked anything because no one claimed ownership of any possessions— everything was shared and therefore everyone’s needs were met. Never do we look more like Christ than when we are giving. The church would benefit from accountability, consistency, and stability, all as a result of unity.
When unity is our goal, we find that our priorities will be correct as well; we will love the right things, do the right things, think the right thoughts, and dwell on things above. How often in the world do we lose sight of our priorities and emphasize the wrong things in life? With unity we find not only purpose and priorities but also a passion to please God. We will love a lost world, we will love one another, and we will love God with fervency. When unity becomes the driving force in our lives, the church will once again be all that God intended.
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1–2:2; John 20:19-31
THEME IDEAS
Fellowship is a term we toss around frequently in church life, but too often we simply mean chatting with friends during coffee hour. True Christian fellowship is a radical concept, as the communal life outlined in Acts illustrates. Notice that the power of the community lies in the willingness of its members to testify to Christ’s resurrection. In the gospel reading, the disciples are gathered together, but their focus is fear and doubt. Only when each one (including Thomas) is willing to testify to the resurrection is the stage set for the “great grace” that flows so freely in the Acts story—the story of a community gathered in one heart and soul.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Easter, Acts 4)
We gather in the name of the risen Lord.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
We gather as sisters and brothers of the resurrected one.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
We gather to share our faith and to worship God.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
We gather to proclaim the good news of Easter!
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Opening Prayer (Easter, Acts 4)
God of the resurrection,
we gather this morning
as a community of believers.
We come with joy to greet one another
and to tell again and again the amazing news:
Christ is risen!
Love is victorious over death!
You have given us new life
in the name of your Son!
May our singing, praying, listening, and proclaiming
be a testimony to the power of your love
to make us a new creation
as a community of faith.
We pray in the name of the risen Christ. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession
God of mercy,
we come celebrating our unity,
but we confess the many ways
that we are divided.
Our nationality, ethnic origin, economic status,
gender, age, and musical preferences
all too often obscure the common calling
we share in Christ’s name.
May our common identity as your children
and our communal witness to Christ
bind us together in your name.
Forgive our tendency toward separation and division,
and remind us that we are your Easter people.
Words of Assurance (1 John 1–2)
When we walk in the light of Christ,
we have fellowship with one another.
When we confess our sins,
the One who is faithful and just forgives our sins
and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
For in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
God has showered mercy upon the entire world. Amen.
Passing the Peace of Christ (Psalm 133)
Teach the refrain (by rote) to “O Look and Wonder (¡Miren Qué Bueno!)” and instruct the congregation to move about to pass the peace as they sing. While a soloist or small group sings the stanzas, people greet one another, then move about while singing the refrain. Continue for several minutes. Have a few people prepared ahead of time to model this.
Invitation to the Word
Dear God,
as we hear your word,
may we be transformed
into a true community of believers,
ready to go into the world
to testify that Christ is alive
and active in our lives today. Amen.
Response to the Word
In view of scripture’s emphasis on testimony and faith, a unison reading of a church creed or statement of faith would be an appropriate response to the word.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering
All that we have belongs to God. As we celebrate our unity as a community of faith and focus our hearts on the risen Christ, we joyfully lay our possessions at the altar [Lord’s table]. Through the grace of God and the bounty of this church, we have the ability to share our gifts so that all may have what they need to live. We thank God for the opportunity to truly be in fellowship with one another and with the world through our offerings today.
Offering Prayer
Generous and surprising God,
when we thought that death
had claimed your only Son,
you amazed us with the resurrection.
Surprise us again
with your ability to turn these humble offerings
into gifts that will transform the world
through our witness to your love.
We lay our very lives at your feet, O God,
knowing that you will use us
to proclaim and embody the gospel. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction
Go now with the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Go to share your faith and your lives.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Go to proclaim the good news of Easter.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (John 20:29)
We are people of the twenty-first century,
far removed from the upper room.
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
We have put away the festive trumpets,
the fancy clothes, the chocolate bunnies of Easter Sunday.
Must the message of Easter be put away for another year?
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
We still seek the One who offers victory over death,
whose love conquers evil.
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
We gather to worship the risen Christ,
who offers us new life.
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
Praise Sentences (Psalm 133)
How very good and pleasant it is
when we all live together in unity!
It is like precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard.
It is like young children
sitting side-by-side with seniors in worship.
It is like corporate executives
picking in the fields next to farmhands.
It is like Jews, Christians, and Muslims
living in peace in Jerusalem.
How very good and pleasant it is
when we all live together in unity!
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2009,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2015” is now available.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1–2:2; John 20:19-31
THEME IDEAS
Fellowship is a term we toss around frequently in church life, but too often we simply mean chatting with friends during coffee hour. True Christian fellowship is a radical concept, as the communal life outlined in Acts illustrates. Notice that the power of the community lies in the willingness of its members to testify to Christ’s resurrection. In the gospel reading, the disciples are gathered together, but their focus is fear and doubt. Only when each one (including Thomas) is willing to testify to the resurrection is the stage set for the “great grace” that flows so freely in the Acts story—the story of a community gathered in one heart and soul.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Easter, Acts 4)
We gather in the name of the risen Lord.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
We gather as sisters and brothers of the resurrected one.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
We gather to share our faith and to worship God.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
We gather to proclaim the good news of Easter!
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Opening Prayer (Easter, Acts 4)
God of the resurrection,
we gather this morning
as a community of believers.
We come with joy to greet one another
and to tell again and again the amazing news:
Christ is risen!
Love is victorious over death!
You have given us new life
in the name of your Son!
May our singing, praying, listening, and proclaiming
be a testimony to the power of your love
to make us a new creation
as a community of faith.
We pray in the name of the risen Christ. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession
God of mercy,
we come celebrating our unity,
but we confess the many ways
that we are divided.
Our nationality, ethnic origin, economic status,
gender, age, and musical preferences
all too often obscure the common calling
we share in Christ’s name.
May our common identity as your children
and our communal witness to Christ
bind us together in your name.
Forgive our tendency toward separation and division,
and remind us that we are your Easter people.
Words of Assurance (1 John 1–2)
When we walk in the light of Christ,
we have fellowship with one another.
When we confess our sins,
the One who is faithful and just forgives our sins
and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
For in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
God has showered mercy upon the entire world. Amen.
Passing the Peace of Christ (Psalm 133)
Teach the refrain (by rote) to “O Look and Wonder (¡Miren Qué Bueno!)” and instruct the congregation to move about to pass the peace as they sing. While a soloist or small group sings the stanzas, people greet one another, then move about while singing the refrain. Continue for several minutes. Have a few people prepared ahead of time to model this.
Invitation to the Word
Dear God,
as we hear your word,
may we be transformed
into a true community of believers,
ready to go into the world
to testify that Christ is alive
and active in our lives today. Amen.
Response to the Word
In view of scripture’s emphasis on testimony and faith, a unison reading of a church creed or statement of faith would be an appropriate response to the word.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering
All that we have belongs to God. As we celebrate our unity as a community of faith and focus our hearts on the risen Christ, we joyfully lay our possessions at the altar [Lord’s table]. Through the grace of God and the bounty of this church, we have the ability to share our gifts so that all may have what they need to live. We thank God for the opportunity to truly be in fellowship with one another and with the world through our offerings today.
Offering Prayer
Generous and surprising God,
when we thought that death
had claimed your only Son,
you amazed us with the resurrection.
Surprise us again
with your ability to turn these humble offerings
into gifts that will transform the world
through our witness to your love.
We lay our very lives at your feet, O God,
knowing that you will use us
to proclaim and embody the gospel. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction
Go now with the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Go to share your faith and your lives.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Go to proclaim the good news of Easter.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words (John 20:29)
We are people of the twenty-first century,
far removed from the upper room.
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
We have put away the festive trumpets,
the fancy clothes, the chocolate bunnies of Easter Sunday.
Must the message of Easter be put away for another year?
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
We still seek the One who offers victory over death,
whose love conquers evil.
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
We gather to worship the risen Christ,
who offers us new life.
“Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe.”
Praise Sentences (Psalm 133)
How very good and pleasant it is
when we all live together in unity!
It is like precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard.
It is like young children
sitting side-by-side with seniors in worship.
It is like corporate executives
picking in the fields next to farmhands.
It is like Jews, Christians, and Muslims
living in peace in Jerusalem.
How very good and pleasant it is
when we all live together in unity!
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2009,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2015” is now available.
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1–2:2; John 20:19-31
Call to Worship #1:
L: What great joy we have!
P: Our Lord is risen!
L: Believe with your whole heart in the miracle of resurrection.
P: We open our hearts to the good news of God’s faithfulness to us.
L: Hallelujah!
P: Hallelujah!
Call to Worship #2:
L: This is the good news which we proclaim to you.
P: Jesus Christ is raised from the dead!
L: Walk in the light of his love.
P: Live in the light of his teachings and healing mercies.
L: Come, let us worship the One Who overcame death.
P: Let us celebrate the triumph of our Lord. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2149, “Living for Jesus”, offer the following call to worship as directed]
L: We climbed the hill to Calvary.
P: The dark and foreboding skies dominated the scene
L: Then when all seemed lost.]
P: The good news came to us.
L: Now we live for Jesus, serving others in his name.
Choir: singing verse 1 and refrain of “Living for Jesus”
L: Let our hearts ring with the song of love for our Savior
P: May our lives be a testimony to all that He has taught us. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4:
L: We have been freed!
P: Fear and death have no claim on us!
L: Christ the Lord is risen!
P: Even though we have not touched his wounded hands, yet we believe.
L: Even though we have not heard him speak our names, yet we believe.
P: Let us celebrate God’s love through the life of Jesus Christ. AMEN.
PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer:
Lord of Resurrection surprises, open our hearts this day to the presence of Jesus Christ. Erase our excuses for unbelief, and exchange them for strong witness to the power of your mercy and love. Give us courage and challenge us to walk the path of discipleship, knowing that Jesus goes before us, leading and guiding our steps. In his name, we pray. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession:
Patient Lord, you wait for us to understand. You wait for us to remove the blinders of prejudice, fear, unbelief, confusion. You have offered to us the greatest miracle of all time, the resurrection of Your Son Jesus Christ. We sang and celebrated last Sunday, but a week has passed and we have slid back into our old ways of perceiving your presence and love. Shake us up, Lord! Shake us up and cause us to look with new eyes on our Savior, who came that we might have life, abundantly serving all who are in need. Forgive our stubbornness and our complacency. Reach out to us so that we may reach out with healing love to others, for we pray this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance:
Let the stone of ignorance, stubbornness and fear be rolled away from your heart. Celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Know that his love is poured out for you, for your healing. Be at peace and Rejoice! AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer:
Lord of mercy, it has been a week since the Easter celebration. Our church was beautified with flowers, lovely decorations, banners, lots of people, beautiful music. It was the kind of Easter in which we could celebrate. But during this week we have slumped back to our old ways. The world, which seems to be too much with us, has claimed our souls. Our resurrection faith has become dim. Let the story of Thomas who wanted more than anything else to see the risen Lord, pour into our hearts, reviving our spirits, giving assurance to our souls. Let fear subside! Replace our doubts with certainty in your love and healing mercies. As we have brought names before you this day, asking for your healing touch, be with us as we also receive that same healing love. Give us joy and courage for all the times ahead; for we offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord. AMEN.
Reading:
Reader 1: That story of Thomas, the doubter, always gets me. Why did he doubt? He had walked with Jesus; he saw the healing miracles; he heard Jesus telling about his own death and resurrection……but he doubted. What a failure he was as a disciple!
Reader 2: Wait a minute! Maybe you are being a little harsh in your judgment. Imagine, just as you said, that you had walked the streets with Jesus. You saw the healings and heard the wonderful life giving stories. You saw the way Jesus was with people, how he accepted them, just the same way that he accepted and loved you. Then suddenly everything changed…..Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified. And, like most of the other disciples, those who called themselves faithful to the end, you turned and ran for cover. You feared for your own life. You did not believe. Now it is a few days after the burial and the women who went to the tomb have come back to say that He was risen, that the stone had been rolled away. It sounded too incredible for you to believe. And so you went about your business - you were gone when Jesus himself came to the others; when he shared with them his good news of resurrection. And when you got back to the room, they all had a story to tell you. But fear had claimed your life. “Unless I can see the wounded hands and his side, I will not believe”! It sounded to preposterous to you. Well, how do you think Thomas must have felt? Wouldn’t you have reacted the same way?
Reader 1: I don’t know…….maybe……perhaps…..
Reader 2: I think Jesus was very patient with him. He gave to him a special gift of insight. Jesus challenges us to believe where we have not seen. He challenges us to place our complete trust in him.
Reader 1: I know that you’re right……it’s just hard to do, that’s all.
Reader 2: Of course it is. That’s what faith is all about. Trusting, Believing, Hoping, Loving.
Benediction:
Lord of mercy, be with us as we go from this place today. Fill our lives with your love. Help us to bring the good news of hope and peace wherever we go. Let us truly be people of the Resurrection - the Easter people! AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is: White
[Note: If you have not completely dismantled the art work from Easter Sunday, you may want to leave the Resurrection Cross, with its gold drape, and some flowers or plants near the base of the cross.]
SURFACE: Place one riser on the worship center.
FABRIC: Cover the worship center with white fabric, so that the fabric “puddles” down to the floor in front of the worship center. Place gold fabric, trailing down from the cross, across the worship center and “puddling” onto the floor.
CANDLES: In front of the Cross, place a 10” white pillar candle (the Christ Candle). Place two 6” white pillar candles on either side of the 10” candle.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: You may use flowers from Easter, other plants on either side of the 6” pillar candles and in front of the worship center.
ROCKS/WOOD: None necessary for this setting
OTHER: If you have been using a special resurrection cross, you may leave it in place. If you have removed it, you may place a brass cross on the riser on the worship center.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1–2:2; John 20:19-31
Call to Worship #1:
L: What great joy we have!
P: Our Lord is risen!
L: Believe with your whole heart in the miracle of resurrection.
P: We open our hearts to the good news of God’s faithfulness to us.
L: Hallelujah!
P: Hallelujah!
Call to Worship #2:
L: This is the good news which we proclaim to you.
P: Jesus Christ is raised from the dead!
L: Walk in the light of his love.
P: Live in the light of his teachings and healing mercies.
L: Come, let us worship the One Who overcame death.
P: Let us celebrate the triumph of our Lord. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2149, “Living for Jesus”, offer the following call to worship as directed]
L: We climbed the hill to Calvary.
P: The dark and foreboding skies dominated the scene
L: Then when all seemed lost.]
P: The good news came to us.
L: Now we live for Jesus, serving others in his name.
Choir: singing verse 1 and refrain of “Living for Jesus”
L: Let our hearts ring with the song of love for our Savior
P: May our lives be a testimony to all that He has taught us. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4:
L: We have been freed!
P: Fear and death have no claim on us!
L: Christ the Lord is risen!
P: Even though we have not touched his wounded hands, yet we believe.
L: Even though we have not heard him speak our names, yet we believe.
P: Let us celebrate God’s love through the life of Jesus Christ. AMEN.
PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer:
Lord of Resurrection surprises, open our hearts this day to the presence of Jesus Christ. Erase our excuses for unbelief, and exchange them for strong witness to the power of your mercy and love. Give us courage and challenge us to walk the path of discipleship, knowing that Jesus goes before us, leading and guiding our steps. In his name, we pray. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession:
Patient Lord, you wait for us to understand. You wait for us to remove the blinders of prejudice, fear, unbelief, confusion. You have offered to us the greatest miracle of all time, the resurrection of Your Son Jesus Christ. We sang and celebrated last Sunday, but a week has passed and we have slid back into our old ways of perceiving your presence and love. Shake us up, Lord! Shake us up and cause us to look with new eyes on our Savior, who came that we might have life, abundantly serving all who are in need. Forgive our stubbornness and our complacency. Reach out to us so that we may reach out with healing love to others, for we pray this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance:
Let the stone of ignorance, stubbornness and fear be rolled away from your heart. Celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Know that his love is poured out for you, for your healing. Be at peace and Rejoice! AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer:
Lord of mercy, it has been a week since the Easter celebration. Our church was beautified with flowers, lovely decorations, banners, lots of people, beautiful music. It was the kind of Easter in which we could celebrate. But during this week we have slumped back to our old ways. The world, which seems to be too much with us, has claimed our souls. Our resurrection faith has become dim. Let the story of Thomas who wanted more than anything else to see the risen Lord, pour into our hearts, reviving our spirits, giving assurance to our souls. Let fear subside! Replace our doubts with certainty in your love and healing mercies. As we have brought names before you this day, asking for your healing touch, be with us as we also receive that same healing love. Give us joy and courage for all the times ahead; for we offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord. AMEN.
Reading:
Reader 1: That story of Thomas, the doubter, always gets me. Why did he doubt? He had walked with Jesus; he saw the healing miracles; he heard Jesus telling about his own death and resurrection……but he doubted. What a failure he was as a disciple!
Reader 2: Wait a minute! Maybe you are being a little harsh in your judgment. Imagine, just as you said, that you had walked the streets with Jesus. You saw the healings and heard the wonderful life giving stories. You saw the way Jesus was with people, how he accepted them, just the same way that he accepted and loved you. Then suddenly everything changed…..Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified. And, like most of the other disciples, those who called themselves faithful to the end, you turned and ran for cover. You feared for your own life. You did not believe. Now it is a few days after the burial and the women who went to the tomb have come back to say that He was risen, that the stone had been rolled away. It sounded too incredible for you to believe. And so you went about your business - you were gone when Jesus himself came to the others; when he shared with them his good news of resurrection. And when you got back to the room, they all had a story to tell you. But fear had claimed your life. “Unless I can see the wounded hands and his side, I will not believe”! It sounded to preposterous to you. Well, how do you think Thomas must have felt? Wouldn’t you have reacted the same way?
Reader 1: I don’t know…….maybe……perhaps…..
Reader 2: I think Jesus was very patient with him. He gave to him a special gift of insight. Jesus challenges us to believe where we have not seen. He challenges us to place our complete trust in him.
Reader 1: I know that you’re right……it’s just hard to do, that’s all.
Reader 2: Of course it is. That’s what faith is all about. Trusting, Believing, Hoping, Loving.
Benediction:
Lord of mercy, be with us as we go from this place today. Fill our lives with your love. Help us to bring the good news of hope and peace wherever we go. Let us truly be people of the Resurrection - the Easter people! AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is: White
[Note: If you have not completely dismantled the art work from Easter Sunday, you may want to leave the Resurrection Cross, with its gold drape, and some flowers or plants near the base of the cross.]
SURFACE: Place one riser on the worship center.
FABRIC: Cover the worship center with white fabric, so that the fabric “puddles” down to the floor in front of the worship center. Place gold fabric, trailing down from the cross, across the worship center and “puddling” onto the floor.
CANDLES: In front of the Cross, place a 10” white pillar candle (the Christ Candle). Place two 6” white pillar candles on either side of the 10” candle.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: You may use flowers from Easter, other plants on either side of the 6” pillar candles and in front of the worship center.
ROCKS/WOOD: None necessary for this setting
OTHER: If you have been using a special resurrection cross, you may leave it in place. If you have removed it, you may place a brass cross on the riser on the worship center.
Second Sunday of Easter
From a Child's Point of View
During their elementary years, children join clubs, teams, and other groups. They know that members of each of these groups share a common interest or experience that holds the group together. Today's texts describe the Christian church as a group that shares the experience of God's love and forgiveness in Jesus' resurrection. Each passage describes how the church lives in response to God's Easter work.
Gospel: John 20:19-31. (The Gospel text for the Second Sunday of Easter is the same in all three years of the lectionary cycle. Review other years of this series for further ideas.) This is one of the most appealing of the resurrection stories for children because it deals with questions about what Jesus' body was like after the resurrection. It was different. He could walk through locked doors. But it also was the same. He was recognized by his friends and still carried the wounds from his crucifixion. Children can understand that for the disciples (including Thomas) seeing was necessary for believing. It is reassuring to them that Jesus understood this need to see, and he knew that in many ways it would be harder for us to believe than it was for the disciples, who did see.
Unless they are pointed out, children will overlook the two Easter gifts (peace and the Holy Spirit) and the Easter task (forgiving) described in verses 21-23. Both the gifts and the task are given to the disciples as a group (the church).
First Reading: Acts 4:32-35. To children, this passage says simply that God's people took care of one another. Because children do not become entangled in adult concerns about finances, they are free to identify ways the church responds to all kinds of needs. Just as Barnabas sold land and brought the money to help those with financial needs, children can spend time and effort befriending those without friends, taking care of younger children, and helping others with special needs.
Epistle: 1 John 1:1-2: 2. The "children of darkness" and the "children of light" are best presented as two very different groups. Light and darkness are symbols for the way each group lives. Children of darkness do sneaky things and hide them so they will not be seen. Children of light try to do loving things. Sometimes they fail, but when they do, children of light do not try to hide their sinful deeds. Instead, they confess them, because they know that they can be forgiven. The church is meant to be the "children of light."
Psalm: 133. The Good News Bible's "How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God's people to live together in harmony" makes it the best translation for the day. Children hear clearly the value placed on the joys of living together as God's people. They enjoy hearing about times when their church enjoyed that kind of unity (maybe on a retreat, on clean-up days, or during baptisms, weddings, or funerals).
Both of the psalmist's descriptions of "how good it is" are strange to children. So briefly describe the old treat of being anointed with sweet smelling oil, admit that it sounds pretty awful to us today, and point out that several hundred years from now, some of the things we consider treats (e.g., swimming pools and ice cream sundaes) probably will seem just as undesirable. Next, ask worshipers to remember some of the beautiful places they have visited. Explain that the psalmist thought the dew on Mount Hermon was just as beautiful.
Watch Words
There are no central words in today's texts or themes that require special explanations for children.
Let the Children Sing
"O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing" includes verses which tell today's Gospel stories, interspersed with lots of Alleluias. The Presbyterian hymnal offers an especially good arrangement of the verses. Older children will try harder to keep up if they are told in advance that this is a storytelling hymn. Younger children catch some of the story and join in on the Alleluias.
The words of "Blest Be the Tie That Binds" are not easy for children. To help them learn the meaning of the song, illustrate it by instructing worshipers to hold the hand of, or put a hand on the shoulder of, their neighbor while singing this hymn.
If the focus is on Jesus' gift of peace, sing "I've Got Peace Like a River" or "Dona Nobis Pacem." For the anthem, a children's choir or class might sing the latter as a round.
The Liturgical Child
1. Base a prayer of confession on the differences between the children of light and the children of darkness:
Lord, you have called us to be children of light, and we want to be, but sometimes we act more like children of darkness. Children of light love and care for others, but too often we love ourselves most and take care only of ourselves. Children of light are honest in all things, but we sometimes twist the truth to get our own way. Children of light admit it when they are wrong, but we try to cover up our sins or pretend that they are only mistakes. Forgive us.
Assurance of Pardon: Because we are children of light, we know that we are not perfect. We also know that God loves us. Indeed, Jesus lived, died, and has risen so that we might know that God forgives us. When we admit our sins, God promises to forgive us. Thanks be to God. Amen.
2. Highlight the offering. Just before it is collected, speak specifically about how the money is used to care for those in need. Name institutions and projects with which children as well as adults are familiar. If you gathered a special Easter offering, tell how much was given and describe how it will be used. In the prayer of dedication, mention some of the ways the church cares for those in need, and pray for their effectiveness.
Sermon Resources
1. To explain Jesus' Easter peace, compare rolling down a hill or spinning in circles until you are dizzy to the spins and tricks done by dancers, skaters, gymnasts, or divers. Athletes learn to focus on a single point, around which their movements revolve. Dancers focus their eyes on one spot, to which they keep returning as they spin. Divers and gymnasts find a balanced position, to which their bodies return after each trick. These focus points make their movements possible. Without them, the athletes would become dizzy and fall. On Easter, God gave us a focus point the knowledge that we are loved and forgiven by God. No matter where we go or what we do, if we keep reminding ourselves of that fact, we will keep our balance. That balance is the peace that Jesus promised.
2. Try writing, and challenging worshipers to write, new versions of Psalms 133 which describe "how wonderful it is, how pleasant when God's people live together in harmony." Suggest that they write about images that make sense today, or descriptions of the times they have sensed that harmony in your congregation. Display worshipers' psalms on a bulletin board.
Note: If you focus on the giving of the Spirit, consult Pentecost for additional liturgical and sermon resources.
Adapted from Forbid Them Not: Involving Children in Sunday Worship © Abingdon Press
From a Child's Point of View
During their elementary years, children join clubs, teams, and other groups. They know that members of each of these groups share a common interest or experience that holds the group together. Today's texts describe the Christian church as a group that shares the experience of God's love and forgiveness in Jesus' resurrection. Each passage describes how the church lives in response to God's Easter work.
Gospel: John 20:19-31. (The Gospel text for the Second Sunday of Easter is the same in all three years of the lectionary cycle. Review other years of this series for further ideas.) This is one of the most appealing of the resurrection stories for children because it deals with questions about what Jesus' body was like after the resurrection. It was different. He could walk through locked doors. But it also was the same. He was recognized by his friends and still carried the wounds from his crucifixion. Children can understand that for the disciples (including Thomas) seeing was necessary for believing. It is reassuring to them that Jesus understood this need to see, and he knew that in many ways it would be harder for us to believe than it was for the disciples, who did see.
Unless they are pointed out, children will overlook the two Easter gifts (peace and the Holy Spirit) and the Easter task (forgiving) described in verses 21-23. Both the gifts and the task are given to the disciples as a group (the church).
First Reading: Acts 4:32-35. To children, this passage says simply that God's people took care of one another. Because children do not become entangled in adult concerns about finances, they are free to identify ways the church responds to all kinds of needs. Just as Barnabas sold land and brought the money to help those with financial needs, children can spend time and effort befriending those without friends, taking care of younger children, and helping others with special needs.
Epistle: 1 John 1:1-2: 2. The "children of darkness" and the "children of light" are best presented as two very different groups. Light and darkness are symbols for the way each group lives. Children of darkness do sneaky things and hide them so they will not be seen. Children of light try to do loving things. Sometimes they fail, but when they do, children of light do not try to hide their sinful deeds. Instead, they confess them, because they know that they can be forgiven. The church is meant to be the "children of light."
Psalm: 133. The Good News Bible's "How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God's people to live together in harmony" makes it the best translation for the day. Children hear clearly the value placed on the joys of living together as God's people. They enjoy hearing about times when their church enjoyed that kind of unity (maybe on a retreat, on clean-up days, or during baptisms, weddings, or funerals).
Both of the psalmist's descriptions of "how good it is" are strange to children. So briefly describe the old treat of being anointed with sweet smelling oil, admit that it sounds pretty awful to us today, and point out that several hundred years from now, some of the things we consider treats (e.g., swimming pools and ice cream sundaes) probably will seem just as undesirable. Next, ask worshipers to remember some of the beautiful places they have visited. Explain that the psalmist thought the dew on Mount Hermon was just as beautiful.
Watch Words
There are no central words in today's texts or themes that require special explanations for children.
Let the Children Sing
"O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing" includes verses which tell today's Gospel stories, interspersed with lots of Alleluias. The Presbyterian hymnal offers an especially good arrangement of the verses. Older children will try harder to keep up if they are told in advance that this is a storytelling hymn. Younger children catch some of the story and join in on the Alleluias.
The words of "Blest Be the Tie That Binds" are not easy for children. To help them learn the meaning of the song, illustrate it by instructing worshipers to hold the hand of, or put a hand on the shoulder of, their neighbor while singing this hymn.
If the focus is on Jesus' gift of peace, sing "I've Got Peace Like a River" or "Dona Nobis Pacem." For the anthem, a children's choir or class might sing the latter as a round.
The Liturgical Child
1. Base a prayer of confession on the differences between the children of light and the children of darkness:
Lord, you have called us to be children of light, and we want to be, but sometimes we act more like children of darkness. Children of light love and care for others, but too often we love ourselves most and take care only of ourselves. Children of light are honest in all things, but we sometimes twist the truth to get our own way. Children of light admit it when they are wrong, but we try to cover up our sins or pretend that they are only mistakes. Forgive us.
Assurance of Pardon: Because we are children of light, we know that we are not perfect. We also know that God loves us. Indeed, Jesus lived, died, and has risen so that we might know that God forgives us. When we admit our sins, God promises to forgive us. Thanks be to God. Amen.
2. Highlight the offering. Just before it is collected, speak specifically about how the money is used to care for those in need. Name institutions and projects with which children as well as adults are familiar. If you gathered a special Easter offering, tell how much was given and describe how it will be used. In the prayer of dedication, mention some of the ways the church cares for those in need, and pray for their effectiveness.
Sermon Resources
1. To explain Jesus' Easter peace, compare rolling down a hill or spinning in circles until you are dizzy to the spins and tricks done by dancers, skaters, gymnasts, or divers. Athletes learn to focus on a single point, around which their movements revolve. Dancers focus their eyes on one spot, to which they keep returning as they spin. Divers and gymnasts find a balanced position, to which their bodies return after each trick. These focus points make their movements possible. Without them, the athletes would become dizzy and fall. On Easter, God gave us a focus point the knowledge that we are loved and forgiven by God. No matter where we go or what we do, if we keep reminding ourselves of that fact, we will keep our balance. That balance is the peace that Jesus promised.
2. Try writing, and challenging worshipers to write, new versions of Psalms 133 which describe "how wonderful it is, how pleasant when God's people live together in harmony." Suggest that they write about images that make sense today, or descriptions of the times they have sensed that harmony in your congregation. Display worshipers' psalms on a bulletin board.
Note: If you focus on the giving of the Spirit, consult Pentecost for additional liturgical and sermon resources.
Adapted from Forbid Them Not: Involving Children in Sunday Worship © Abingdon Press
_The Pristine Church
Acts 4:32-35
The text from Acts depicts a church that is almost too good to be true. It describes a group of people of “one heart and soul” (v. 32). The church’s love and trust are reflected by the phrase “everything they owned was held in common.” This is how the Christian faith ought to look, but in practice some of what we see in the church is ugly by comparison to this pristine picture of primal Christianity.
I. Money Can Corrupt
Economics and materialism tear at the fabric of our nation as few things do. Economics and materialism are not strangers to the church either, as the story of Ananias and Sapphira will soon brutally demonstrate (Acts 5:1-11). Economics and materialism seem at the root of many conflicts. This is why 1 Timothy 6:10 states plainly, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith.”
Most pastors can nod in agreement with my Liberian friend’s assessment of pastoral care in the African context. He quipped, “Most of my counseling has to do with business—woman business or money business.” I would guess that my friend speaks for many pastors in the United States, too.
II. Competition Can Kill
We all are familiar with the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Some workers go out at sun-up, others at three-hour intervals throughout the day. A few work about an hour. Yet at the moment of payment, all workers—the early and the late—receive the same wage. It seems unfair to our way of understanding equity! The prodigal son is the same way. Where is the justice in the way the owner of the vineyard or the prodigal’s father deals with those who do less than their share? And from our point of view, we surely understand the grumbling.
In our families, in our places of work, in our schools, in our neighborhoods—even in our churches—our tendency as groups of people is to compare ourselves with one another. One of the most accurate and devastating measures happens to be cash. We all know how to quantify someone’s hourly or annual wage quickly to size up the person. Unfortunately, this proclivity to compare also puts us at odds with one another. Most of us are geared for competition, not cooperation.
III. The Church Can Transform
Verse 33 says it all: “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” This community of early disciples was empowered by a vision of power that was virtually unknown. Neither jail time, nor fear of the government, nor fear of the religious authorities made these early disciples afraid. They were so overwhelmed by the spirit of Jesus resurrection, that no longer were money or competition the driving forces in their lives; serving the Lord cooperatively was. Each contributed what he had and took only what he needed. What made the difference? The transforming power of Christ in their lives!
About a year ago my two little boys were discovering the trials and tribulations of a seesaw. The younger kept yelling at his mother to make his older brother get off, but he soon discovered that one person riding a seesaw was less than satisfying. When a four-year-old realizes he cannot play the game alone, but he needs a cooperative partner, there is a seed for the kingdom of God. (David N. Mosser)
The Path to Salvation
1 John 1:1–2:2
Do you know what it’s like to desperately want to shower? You’ve been working in the garden or on the car on a hot day. You’re dripping with sweat and coated with grime. Just thinking about it makes you want to go wash up, doesn’t it?
But I’ve seen little boys and girls who are covered with nearly their weight in dirt and grime, and it doesn’t seem to bother them. No matter what their dirt quotient, they still don’t want a bath!
People can be the same way when it comes to sin. Sin corrupts, pollutes, makes a life filthy, but often we don’t even see it—like children merrily playing away while they become progressively dirtier. But we are not children, and sin cannot be washed away from our lives like dirt from a child’s body. How can we deal with sin in our lives?
Jesus Christ came to reveal God to us, and to provide for us a means to be reconciled to the Father—to overcome the barrier our sin has created between us and God. In these verses, we receive insight into how Jesus Christ can transform our lives.
I. Recognition of Sin Leads to Confession (vv. 8-9a)
Doctors tell us that some forms of pain are actually beneficial, because they alert us to medical conditions we might otherwise overlook. A problem is rarely solved before it is recognized as a problem. That is why the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin—so that we realize our own need and will be open to a solution.
And the solution to the sin problem begins with confession—acknowledging our own sin, our own weakness. Confession requires laying aside pride and recognizing our own unworthiness next to God’s holiness.
II. Confession of Sin Leads to Forgiveness (v. 9)
God is eager for us to confess our sins because he is eager to forgive. Jesus gave us a wonderful picture of God’s forgiving nature when he told the parable of the prodigal son. The watching, waiting father stands ready to receive and forgive the wandering son, if only the young man will take that first step back home.
When we acknowledge our sin and confess it, God is ready to forgive our sin and transform our lives.
III. Forgiveness of Sin Leads to Cleansing (v. 9)
No matter what your sin, no matter how great or small, God is willing to forgive you and to cleanse your life. God’s cleansing is not superficial but complete. If you have surrendered your life to Christ as Lord and Savior, from that point forward when God looks at you, he does not see the sinful acts you have done, but he sees the sinless purity of Jesus Christ who stands in your place.
Christ removes the power of sin. Before sin held us in bondage, but Christ has freed us from that slavery. Sin has no dominion over us, except what we allow it to have. And as we walk day by day with Christ, sin has less and less place and influence in our lives.
Christ removes the penalty of sin. In the Letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “the wages of sin is death”—utter and total separation from God. But through the power of Christ, we have been released from that inevitable penalty, and have been set on a new path that leads to the eternal presence of God.
Here is one of the great promises in all of Scripture, but it demands a response. Are you willing to reach out in faith and allow Christ to transform your life? (Michael Duduit)
Fact and Faith
John 20:19-31
It’s commonly understood that the church began at Pentecost. But as I see it, that’s when the church was empowered by the Holy Spirit for its life and ministry (see Acts 1 –2). I contend the church was born when Jesus rose from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. Or as Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” ( 1 Cor. 15:14 NIV).
Christian apologetics (the theological discipline of highlighting the credibility of Christianity’s claims) has provided an intellectually irrefutable case for the Resurrection. The existence of the church, the shift of the worship calendar from the Jewish sabbath (seventh day of the week) to Sunday (first day of the week), the New Testament, the transformation of the disciples from cowards at Jesus arrest and crucifixion into crusaders in less than three days, and the continuing testimonies of people who claim a personal relationship with him have been cited as overwhelming witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. It has even been said there is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus than the birth of George Washington.
John 20:31 makes the connection between the fact of the Resurrection (“these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah”) and the saving faith inspired by the Resurrection (“and that through believing you may have life in his name”).
I. The Fact of the Resurrection
Belief (pisteuo) in the resurrection of Jesus is more than two feet planted firmly in the air. It is the conviction and confidence enabled by the fact of the Resurrection.
John refers to the resurrected appearances of Jesus to Mary Magdalene (vv. 10-18), the disciples (vv. 19-23), and Thomas (vv. 24-29) as “written so that you may come to believe” (v. 31a). They provide proof for the profession.
II. The Saving Faith Inspired by the Resurrection
When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas how he could be saved, they replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (see Acts 16:30-31). The resurrection of Jesus inspired the belief in Jesus, which enables salvation through Jesus.
John’s understanding of salvation includes existential and eternal dimensions. Existentially, Christians are happy, whole, joyful, and secure. Eternally, Christians say with David A. Redding, “Anyone who feels sorry for a dead Christian, as though the poor chap were missing something, is himself missing the transfiguring promotion involved” (Getting Through the Night, 1972).
Of course, the greatest apologetic proof for Jesus resurrection is not what we say about it but rather how we look as a result of it. Referring to John’s Gospel, Rudolf Bultmann noted: “Its purpose is to awaken the faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God” (John, 1964). In other words, the fact of Jesus resurrection inspires animated faith.
The only gospel that some folks will ever hear or see is the gospel according to you. Do you look saved?
That’s the connection between fact and faith. Or as the song goes, “If you’re happy and you know it, then you really ought to show it.” (Robert R. Kopp)__________________________________
Ministry Matters: Preach. Teach. Worship. Reach. Lead. "What if my congregation is a bad fit? | Confusing Jesus with Daredevil | 7 common elements of a healthy team" for Tuesday, 14 April 2015Share this:
One Sunday morning a wife is all dressed and ready to go to church. She says to her husband, “Honey, why aren’t you ready for church?”
“I’m not going,” he said, “and I’ll give you three reasons why. One, the sermons are boring. Two, no one likes me, and three, I don’t want to go.”
The wife replied, “I’ll give you three reasons to go. One, the sermons aren’t that bad. Two, some people do like you. And three, you’re the pastor. So let’s go.”
What do you do if the congregation is a bad fit? Well, you could quit, ask for a transfer, request a new appointment or tough it out. But these options aren’t always possible or desirable. Besides, what if God has called you to these particular people? Then what? It’s time to maximize the strengths of a bad fit.
In this post, I’d like to share a five-step process for doing just that.
1. Begin by getting some good independent feedback. Ask one or two people you trust if your sermons are boring or your personality is tough to get along with or you seem to lack passion. If you get any yeses, that’s the place to start. Take a good look in the mirror, sign up for some continuing education, work on your communication style, rediscover your passion. Now this is never a bad idea. After all, who couldn’t benefit from some fine-tuning? Likely, though, there’s more to it than that. If so, move on to step two.
2. Write out exactly what feels like a bad fit. Get a big piece of paper, lay out three-columns and put “Bad Fit” at the top of the first column, “My Preference” at the top of the second and “Good Fit” at the top of the third. Start by listing the behaviors that rub you wrong the way in the first column and how you wish things were in the second.
4. Ask God what their “Bad Fit” behaviors mask, and what values and commitments underlie these behaviors. For instance, getting easily bent out of shape when change is proposed may be a sign of resistance to the Holy Spirit. More likely, though, it’s a reverence for the traditions of the church, a fondness for the people who brought them to life, and a desire to feel stability. The second situation is actually easier to deal with than the first.
5. In the first situation, keep on praying. In the second situation, apply the Platinum Rule. In other words, treat others the way they want to be treated. While this is counterintuitive compared to the Golden Rule, it’s actually not that hard.
Leaving political conservatism aside, let’s take a look at the other Bad Fit behaviors from the Platinum Rule perspective.
They sing too slow. They may appreciate a slower pace than you. Notice what else they like to do slower than you. Are they are slower to take risks, try new things or implement new ministries? If so, take time to build relationships, listening more than speaking. When the time comes to take risks, be the one who steps out front with assurance and confidence. They’ll be more likely to follow your lead.
King James is the translation of choice. Perhaps they appreciate the grandeur of the text, the traditions of the past or they just didn’t know it was okay to embrace a new translation. Have them share with you the key traditions of their faith. Discover what’s truly important to them, and what is just habit. Habits can be changed. Key traditions need to be preserved, somehow, even if just on special occasions.
Hard to get a decision made. They don’t want to leave others out, or make an incorrect decision, or take a risk that may prove unwise. Present a multiple choice decision, i.e. We are either going to begin an outreach to the Veterans or the Middle School is better than voting on: Should we do a Middle School outreach or not? Multiple choice decision-making insures forward movement. Then, set a deadline for making the decision and stick to it. Also, tell people that together you will evaluate the ministry in six months, but no sooner. That gives people a chance to get used to it first.
Surprisingly low (or high) Christology. Either one can signal a certain hopelessness or helplessness. Either Christ can’t do anything for us, or Christ won’t do anything. They may feel they lack agency or the ability to make changes, and even Christ seems distant or unable to help. In this case, help them delve into their sources of hope, and remember times they have felt close to God. Talking about changing the world probably isn’t going to get you far in this setting. But seeing how you can adapt to changing circumstances will. Look for small wins, and build on those. Two new kids in youth group? Celebrate! One new baptism? Rejoice! A family who is now joining you on Sunday mornings? Give God the glory… and point out how their efforts helped these changes come to pass.
Easily bent out of shape. They may be reacting to a pace that’s too fast, an approach that ignores their sense of decorum or aprogram that turns their sacred cows out into the back pasture. Look at yourself: Are you moving too fast? Proposing too many changes? Not giving them facts but relying too much on emotion or vice versa? Take time to listen to them first. Then adjust your pace and style of delivery and see what happens.
To sum up, begin by supporting and dignifying the Bad Fit behavior. This actually maximizes your ability to introduce change. When you dignify who people are, it signals acceptance of them. When people feel accepted, they feel safe. When they feel safe, they are more likely to be open to new possibilities. When they are open to new possibilities, then you have a chance to show them how the changes you are suggesting actually honor the past while drawing upon God’s dream of the future.
Rebekah blogs at RebekahSimonPeter.com. If you'd like to learn more about how to navigate these types of situations, check out Rebekah's program Creating a Culture of Renewal.
Like many comic book fans, I spent the weekend binging on "Daredevil," Marvel’s newest release. The entire first season was created for Netflix, and it dropped in its entirety on Friday. I waited until Saturday night to dig in (longer than some friends of mine), and I was hooked from the opening scene.
It's a scene that opens with Matt Murdock (lawyer-by-day alter ego of the masked vigilante Daredevil) sitting in a confessional. He begins by telling the priest about his father, a boxer who fought harder than his record could ever show. He ends the conversation by asking not for penance, but for future forgiveness. Forgiveness for what he’s about to do. “That’s not how this works,” the priest says.
Yet so much of how Murdock as Daredevil works in this latest iteration of the character is how we want it to work. Based closely on Frank Miller’s writing of the character, Daredevil proves to be someone who deals justice unflinchingly. This isn’t someone who hesitates when the situation allows for a grim, overly-firm hand. Contrast this with Batman, a character who struggles to commit severe violence even when it seems to be the only option.
Blinded when he was a boy, Murdock both learned and inherited his fighting spirit from his father, an old-school boxer now long deceased. He tells the priest of something his grandmother used to say: “Be careful of the Murdock boys; they got the devil in 'em.” He remembers watching his father “let the devil out” in the ring. Matt carries this family rage, too, strengthened by time and his experiences. It surfaces in the show’s violent fight scenes. Using his other heightened senses, Daredevil dismantles enemies, many at a time if necessary. It’s a brand of justice done in the shadows, done mercilessly, done bloodily.
And yet, while many of us might say that such things aren’t how we’d describe justice, that’s actually how we encourage it to be done. Well, maybe we wouldn’t string a guy up and cut him until he told us where to find a kidnapped boy, but hey, if Daredevil is the one doing it, more power to him. Right? When he goes to save the boy, he could have rescued him stealthily. But that’s not Daredevil. Instead, the boy is carried out over the bodies Daredevil left broken and bloodied all along the hallway. I relished in that scene as much as anyone could. I liked watching it. And hey, who’s to say he shouldn’t have busted open the doors along that hall to 'take care of business' first? They were bad guys anyway, right?
Right? Isn’t that our reality, our current climate? We are still so close to the revelations of widespread CIA torture that it might take a few years before we can understand all that was heinously done. But what we do know is that justice was categorized as “anything goes” by one of the most powerful organizations in the U.S. for a long time. And this attitude centered around the ends justifying the means didn’t come out of thin air; it came from the people, willing to not ask questions in exchange for assurances that the justice was being done.
The huge problem with all this for Christians is that our compliance in such a model of justice is terribly removed from the teachings of Christ. It’s sinful. Jesus was certainly focused on living justly and righteously, both in terms of Jewish law and in ways deeper than the law, into what he called the fulfillment of the law. But we like to imagine Jesus as the masked crusader in the night, doling out eternal punishment that we cannot. Most of us have been comforted at one time or another by the thought, “Well, they’ll get theirs in the end.” Many Christians support this model in our civil judicial system. The death penalty is the clearest example. Our system executes, it crucifies, and there are Christians who justify this type of retributive justice. But to do so, you have to ignore some pretty key teachings of Christ.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. When they force you to go one mile, go with them two. Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you.’” — Matthew 5:38-44, CEB
That is hard. That is so incredibly hard, we can almost not be blamed for sticking to the law of retaliation set up before Christ came along to amend it. Almost. For Christians, this 'law fulfilled' must be our guiding principle when it comes to our participation in societal justice. We cannot confuse Jesus for Daredevil. We cannot mangle and mold the teachings of Christ into a script for "Pale Rider." We must not take comfort in a divine vigilante, or in a God who smiles on brutal human justice. Instead, we have to trust in the love and mercy of Christ. We have to turn the other cheek. We have to love our enemies. It’s hard work, gritty work. It’s the work to which we are called.
What fosters team spirit? What makes a healthy team?
All of us want that. I would even say especially leaders.
Most of us understand that progress towards a vision is more possible if a healthy team is working together.
Also, all of us want to go home at night feeling we’ve done our best, were appreciated for our efforts and are ready to go at it again tomorrow. That’s part of serving on a healthy team.
How do we get there?
I’ve served — and led — many teams through my career. Some I would say were healthy, some weren’t and some were “under construction.” I take complete ownership of each of those. Team spirit — healthy teams — are greatly shaped by the leadership of the team. (And that’s a hard word when, as a leader, we know the team isn’t as healthy as it should be.)
Among the healthy teams on which I’ve served, there have been some common elements.
Here are seven common elements of a healthy team:
Clear strategy. To feel a part of the team, people need to know where the team is going and what their role is on the team. An understanding of the overall goals and objectives fuels energy. When the big picture objective is understood, each team member is more willing to pull together to accomplish the mission because they know the why and can better understand where they fit on the team.
Healthy relationships. For a team to have team spirit it needs to be filled with team members who actually like each other and enjoy spending time with one another.
Celebratory atmosphere. Laughter builds community. A team needs time just to have fun together. And there needs to be a freedom for spontaneous (and planned) celebration. People need to feel appreciated for their work and that their participation is making a positive difference.
Joint ownership. This one is huge, because without it the team won’t be completely healthy. Some people are not team players. Period. They checked out years ago and are now just drawing a paycheck — or continuing to hold onto a title. They may be great people, but they aren’t building team spirit anymore. They don’t want to be on the team or they don't want to be in the position they’ve been asked to play. Team spirit is built by people who are in it for the common win of the team.
Shared sufferings. A healthy team spirit says, “we are in this together” through good times and hard times. In addition to laughing together, a good-spirited team can cry together through difficulties of life. Healthy teams are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.
Shared workload. There are no turf wars on a healthy team.Silos are eliminated and job descriptions overlap. Everyone pulls equal weight and helps one another accomplish individual and collective goals.
Leadership embraces team. This may be the biggest one. As a leader, it’s easy to get distracted with my own responsibilities — even live in my own little world. And let’s be honest. Some leaders would prefer to lead from the penthouse suite. They give orders well, but do not really enjoy playing the game with the team. A healthy team spirit requires involvement from every level — especially from leadership.
It’s a challenge, leaders. Why don’t you use this as a checklist of sorts to evaluate? How’s your team doing? Let’s build better teams.
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
by Clifton StringerJohn Wesley statue in Savannah, Georgia
If the report below is correct, John Wesley is a mystic who hated “mysticism.” Further, he offers a rigorous and transformative mystical spirituality that guards against unbiblical distortions sometimes associated with mysticism.
Of course, the trick is figuring out what mysticism is in the first place.
Since becoming excited last year about Elaine Heath’s works on mysticism and evangelism (see here and here), I’ve been pondering continuities between Wesleyan Christianity and pre-modern mysticism. (Heath is an evangelism professor at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas.
Amy Hollywood
I just ran into the work of Amy Hollywood of Harvard Divinity School. Hollywood was a student of Bernard McGinn, the great historian of Christian mysticism. Part of what Hollywood is up to is trying to figure out how to tell the story mysticism in modernity. Prior to the Protestant Reformation, there are various mystical theologies, many indebted to the early sixth century works of the Syrian monk known as Dionysius the Areopagite. Post-Reformation, mysticism is, on the Protestant side, a loaded term, usually a negatively loaded term. So where does all the mysticism go in lands and Christians marked Protestant?
To investigate this requires observing premodern mysticism at other levels besides the sheerly intellectual and theological, since the theologies of many Catholic mystics are strenuously rejected in Protestant circles. Bernard McGinn pointed out that we must “remember that mysticism is always a process or a way of life” and that “everything that leads up to and prepares for this encounter [between God and the human] … is also mystical.” In short, mysticism is not just certain experiences or certain theologies. It is also the spiritual disciplines and practices that prepare one to experience God.
Do the practices and spiritual disciplines employed by the ancient mystics continue in Protestant circles even while thoseProtestants explicitly reject (what they think of as) “mysticism”? Indeed they do. Enter Amy Hollywood with her theory about how to trace the Christian mystical tradition into modernity.
Hollywood's theory is that in Protestant circles, “mysticism” becomes re-described as “enthusiasm.” And “enthusiasm” itself becomes a slur and epithet in many contexts. The upshot? Imagine Protestants who (sometimes unwittingly) continue the desires and practices of the ancient mystics while strongly opposing (Catholic) “mysticism.” Their Protestant peers then deride them as “enthusiasts.”
A brief run through Richard Heitzenrater’s book “Wesley and the People Called Methodists” reveals that Amy Hollywood’s theory fits John Wesley exactly. (Look up “Mystic(s)” in Heitzenrater’s index and read those pages. It is fascinating!)
Wesley, searching for an authentic Christianity while a young man, is attracted to the writings of many (Catholic, often French) mystics. However, he soon enough becomes very anti-mystic due to what he perceives as the antinomianism and unbiblical heterodoxy of some of the mystics he is reading. Yet at the same time as Wesley rejects what he knows as the theology of the mystics, he wholeheartedly endorses and practices the ascetic and semi-monastic life commended in the mystical tradition, the kind of life McGinn says both is mystical and prepares one for experiencing God. Hence Wesley embraces and spreads a rigorously disciplined and ascetic devotional path, pursuing Christian perfection, continuing spiritual disciplines used by mystics and monks over the course of the tradition. For this, in his own 18th century English church context, he is derided and opposed for — you got it— “enthusiasm”.
So, what do you think? John Wesley the mystic? John Wesley the anti-mystic mystic?
Note that Elaine Heath shows that the same kind of thing as is true of Wesley is true of the great Methodist holiness preacher, Phoebe Palmer. See Heath's book “Naked Faith: The Mystical Theology of Phoebe Palmer.”
I just ran into the work of Amy Hollywood of Harvard Divinity School. Hollywood was a student of Bernard McGinn, the great historian of Christian mysticism. Part of what Hollywood is up to is trying to figure out how to tell the story mysticism in modernity. Prior to the Protestant Reformation, there are various mystical theologies, many indebted to the early sixth century works of the Syrian monk known as Dionysius the Areopagite. Post-Reformation, mysticism is, on the Protestant side, a loaded term, usually a negatively loaded term. So where does all the mysticism go in lands and Christians marked Protestant?
To investigate this requires observing premodern mysticism at other levels besides the sheerly intellectual and theological, since the theologies of many Catholic mystics are strenuously rejected in Protestant circles. Bernard McGinn pointed out that we must “remember that mysticism is always a process or a way of life” and that “everything that leads up to and prepares for this encounter [between God and the human] … is also mystical.” In short, mysticism is not just certain experiences or certain theologies. It is also the spiritual disciplines and practices that prepare one to experience God.
Do the practices and spiritual disciplines employed by the ancient mystics continue in Protestant circles even while thoseProtestants explicitly reject (what they think of as) “mysticism”? Indeed they do. Enter Amy Hollywood with her theory about how to trace the Christian mystical tradition into modernity.
Hollywood's theory is that in Protestant circles, “mysticism” becomes re-described as “enthusiasm.” And “enthusiasm” itself becomes a slur and epithet in many contexts. The upshot? Imagine Protestants who (sometimes unwittingly) continue the desires and practices of the ancient mystics while strongly opposing (Catholic) “mysticism.” Their Protestant peers then deride them as “enthusiasts.”
A brief run through Richard Heitzenrater’s book “Wesley and the People Called Methodists” reveals that Amy Hollywood’s theory fits John Wesley exactly. (Look up “Mystic(s)” in Heitzenrater’s index and read those pages. It is fascinating!)
Wesley, searching for an authentic Christianity while a young man, is attracted to the writings of many (Catholic, often French) mystics. However, he soon enough becomes very anti-mystic due to what he perceives as the antinomianism and unbiblical heterodoxy of some of the mystics he is reading. Yet at the same time as Wesley rejects what he knows as the theology of the mystics, he wholeheartedly endorses and practices the ascetic and semi-monastic life commended in the mystical tradition, the kind of life McGinn says both is mystical and prepares one for experiencing God. Hence Wesley embraces and spreads a rigorously disciplined and ascetic devotional path, pursuing Christian perfection, continuing spiritual disciplines used by mystics and monks over the course of the tradition. For this, in his own 18th century English church context, he is derided and opposed for — you got it— “enthusiasm”.
So, what do you think? John Wesley the mystic? John Wesley the anti-mystic mystic?
Note that Elaine Heath shows that the same kind of thing as is true of Wesley is true of the great Methodist holiness preacher, Phoebe Palmer. See Heath's book “Naked Faith: The Mystical Theology of Phoebe Palmer.”
by Dave Barnhart"Samson and Delilah," by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)
“Tell me how you may be bound.” These would be kinky words on the lips of any lover, but the fact that they are in the Biblemakes them especially scandalous.
Conventional readings of the Samson and Delilah story (Judges 14-16) paint Samson as a strong but stupid and gullible man who is undone by Delilah’s conniving and feminine wiles. “Don’t give your strength to women,” has been the moral of the story preached from more sexist pulpits. Women are dangerous, and a hero can be undone by his lust. A more creative reading might come away with “Loose lips sink ships.” Samson should have known from previous experience that sleeping with the enemy is dangerous business (see the story of his ex-wife in Judges 14:15-17).
A more careful reading, though, provides us with some very different takeaways. Some scholars point out that Delilah is completely above-board in her request. At no point does she lie. “Tell me how you may be bound” is a straightforward statement. “The Philistines are upon you!” is likewise true.
Samson, on the other hand, loves riddles and deception. Instead of being a dumb and honest brute, he is a clever boy, perhaps in love with his own cleverness. Some readers assume his fatal flaw is pride; being both strong and intelligent, he may believe he is invulnerable. I do not think that is his failure.
Samson submits to being tied up by the woman he loves. Multiple times. He can’t be under any delusion that she won’t follow through. What are we supposed to make of this, except that he wants to be bound?
But let’s back up a bit. What do we really know about Samson? Conventional depictions of him are of a hyper-masculine Hercules, with bulging muscles and long (but never long enough) hair on his head and face.
But why should he have bulging muscles? His strength comes from God, not from pumping iron; it is supernatural in origin. Samson may not be a man mountain at all, but a 5-foot, 150-pound guy wearing a turban (the best way to manage that much hair in a combat situation). Samson’s body may look less like a wrestler’s and more like Danny DeVito’s.
Our perceptions of masculinity have changed, along with image of Superman in the 80 years he has been around. When he was first introduced in comics in 1933 and played by George Reeves in 1951, Superman had a normal gut. Now, he’s ripped. Our changing ideas of masculinity affect Samson the same way.
ur stereotypes point to the fact that masculinity and femininity are things we perform. They are pictures we try to live into. Feminist and queer theologians also point out that these pictures don’t always fit. Is it significant that when Samson loses the one thing “feminine” about himself — his long hair — he loses his strength? In popular understanding, a man’s “masculinity” is located in a very different part of his anatomy. If Samson’s strength is in his hair, and not in his muscles or his genitals, doesn’t this turn our understanding of masculinity on its head?
I have a different theory about why Samson submits to being tied up and eventually tells the secret of his strength.
Even though Samson can kill 1,000 men with the jawbone of an ass, what if he gets tired of doing the strong man schtick all the time? Being the strongest man in the world — and performing masculinity all the time — may be exhausting. Perhaps it isn’t surprising that he looks for intimacy in the arms of a woman from the enemy camp, and that his taste in lovers or prostitutes (we don’t really know if Delilah is one or the other) tend toward a dominatrix who asks, “Tell me how you may be bound.” What he’s after may be just a few moments of feeling vulnerable, to let down his pretense for awhile, to be “naked and unashamed” with someone he can trust with his powerlessness. Isn’t this what intimacy is: to trust another person with our vulnerability? Would it be torture if we couldn’t? Does Samson prefer Philistine women because he doesn’t feel he can let his guard down with Hebrew women?
I don’t think it’s stupidity or pride that undoes Samson. I think it’s his lack of self-knowledge and his failure to recognize the difference between his performance and reality. His defining trait is his mistrust of others. From this perspective, his failure is not that he trusts Delilah, but that he doesn’t actually take her seriously. Isn’t this a typical male problem?
This reading raises all kinds of uncomfortable questions about masculinity and femininity, male anxiety, fear of intimacy, power inequality and racial and gender politics — too many to explore here.
Of course, I have no idea if the author meant any of this, but that’s one of the wonderful things about claiming that the Bible is inspired by God. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit at many points: in the first tellings of the story around campfires, in writing the words on the page, in the way editors and compilersput it together in our canon, in the way we read and interpret it, in the way we proclaim it and in the way hearers or readers receive it and live it out. This is why the words of Scripture seldom have only one meaning, and why rabbis have often said that “the Torah has seventy faces.” Authorial intent may have been that the story of Samson and Delilah is a tale with a sexist moral — but we don’t have to read it that way. I believe that the conventional reading is untrue not only because it is sexist, but because it is boring. The Word of God is a fountain of life; the conventional reading of Samson and Delilah is a stagnant pool of blah.
It would be fair to ask if I’m reading modern notions (like BDSM, feminist and queer theory) back into the text. But it’s equally fair to ask if we honestly think modern people invented those things. If we believe that there is nothing new under the sun, why would we be surprised if Samson seeks out a lover who will tie him up? And why would we be surprised for it to be included in the Bible — when stories with even more risqué flavor make the cut?
I think reading this text against the grain of conventional interpretation not only gives us a better perspective on the Bible, but it also allows us to resist abusive and exploitive modern culture. While I have not read “50 Shades of Grey,” the reviews I have read do not indicate that it asks critical questions about masculinity, femininity, ethnic prejudice, power, sexuality or intimacy. I think Bible stories often ask such questions.
It’s fascinating to me that most commentaries steer well clear of this reading of Samson and Delilah, preferring to couch Samson’s fatal flaw in more prosaic terms like “pride.” If we have a choice between a reading that is boring and doesn’t actually take the text seriously and a reading that is interesting and pays closer attention, why would we choose the boring reading? We often give lip service to the fact that biblical characters are “real people,” but tiptoe around the actual implications of that realness and avoid the kind of critical reading and introspection that would open us to personal and social change.
Reading against the grain frees us from that bondage.
For further reading:
Danna Nolan Fewell’s chapter on Judges in the “Women’s Bible Commentary”
Lori Rowlett’s “Violent Femmes and S/M: Queering Samson and Delilah” in “Queer Commentary and the Hebrew Bible”
Susan Ackerman’s “What if Judges Had Been Written by a Philistine?” in “Biblical Interpretation,” 8 no. 1 2000, p 33-41.
Karen Lebacqz’s “Appropriate Vulnerability” in “Sexuality and the Sacred.”
Dave Barnhart is the pastor of Saint Junia UMC in Birmingham, Ala. He blogs at DaveBarnhart.net.
by Sam Hodges / United Methodist News Service"A Collection of Cases and other Discourses lately written to recover Dissenters to the Church of England," published in London in 1694, is one of the rare books found in the archives of UMPH. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications
NASHVILLE (UMNS) The Rev. Brian Milford has been donning protective gloves lately, not something he expected to be doing as chief content officer for the United MethodistPublishing House and book editor for The United Methodist Church.
But Milford’s work with books-in-progress has been interrupted by work with books centuries old. So he puts on his gloves, and brings other tools to bear.
“I was standing over a book printed in 1521 with an iPad in my hand as I entered the author’s name into the search engine,” Milford recalled. “That essentially said it all in terms of the changes in publishing.”
The United Methodist Publishing House will soon move within Nashville to smaller office space designed to be essentially paperless. It’s another step into the digital future, along with the closing of the Cokesbury bookstores in 2013.
But the move has been complicated — in a good way — by a collection of rare books and hand printing presses that found their way to the publishing house over generations.
The oldest books, including the one Milford was researching, date to the 16th century. The collection includes what’s believed to be a 1611 first edition of the King James Bible.
Getting a better handle on the old stuff and deciding what do with it are punch list items for Milford and others as they prepare for the big move.
“What we want to do is know all that we have and its current value,” said Neil Alexander, president and publisher. “There’s financial value, but there’s also relevancy and interest in the life of the church.”
Rich bequests
From John Wesley forward, Methodists have shared the Christian message by publishing Bibles, sermons, tracts, Sunday school materials and more.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was established in the United States in 1784, and within five years had a publishing house in Philadelphia. The Methodist Book Concern, as it was called, was led by clergyman John Dickins. He had the title “book steward.”
The Book Concern would soon move to New York. Under another important early leader, Nathan Bangs, it would open a branch in Cincinnati — the Western Book Concern.
With the 1844 split of the Methodist Episcopal Church over slavery, a publishing operation in Nashville was created by the Methodist Episcopal Church South. When the Northern and Southern churches reunited in 1939, joined by the Methodist Protestant Church, Nashville became the denomination’s publishing center.
Known first as The Methodist Publishing House, then as The United Methodist Publishing House after the 1968 merger creating the current denomination, the Nashville headquarters has long had a substantial library.
Many of that library’s rare books came from the Western Book Concern at its 1939 closing. Other Methodist-affiliated publishing operations, as they shut down, also bequeathed books, printed sermons and tracts, and even hand printing presses to the publishing house.
‘You must come see this!’
Milford has lately led staff in photographing and writing descriptions of about 80 old books.
The large, ornately printed 1611 King James Bible (missing its title page) is among them, as is a 1610 edition of St. Augustine’s “Of the Citie of God.” The group includes a 1640 edition of William Chillingworth’s “The Religion of Protestants; a Safe Way to Salvation,” and a 1521 edition of Tertullian’s “Opera.”
It’s unclear who sent the books to Nashville. But there’s a clue in so many of them having a bookplate or some other marker from the Western Book Concern.
“Our speculation is that there was an editor there who had a specific interest in collecting these old theological books,” Milford said.
Working with Milford has been the Rev. Richard Heitzenrater, emeritus professor of church history and Wesley studies at Duke Divinity School, a former seminary librarian and an authority on early printing and book binding techniques.
T
The Rev. Brian K. Milford. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications
Milford said interruptions by Heitzenrater have been common.
“He would often say, You must come see this!’ and then point out a handwritten side note or a wear mark or special lettering,” Milford said.
Heitzenrater pleads guilty.
“The whole collection caught my eye,” he said. “There are scads of beautiful examples of printing.”
The publishing house library has about 1,000 newer — but still old — items related to John Wesley and early Methodism, including sermons, tracts and hymnals. One early ordinationcertificate was signed by Methodist leader Francis Asbury.
The collection includes seven hand presses, some dating to the 1800s.
“We’ve had some consultation with a Nashville hand printer, who’s been giving us some guidance about what we have,” Milford said.
Moments of reflection
The publishing house, a self-sustaining part of The United Methodist Church, has sold two of four parcels in downtown Nashville, where it has long been based. A third — including the main office building — is under contract and set to close in mid-May.
By May’s end, operations should be fully moved to Nashville’s MetroCenter, about five miles away. The combined sales are about $45 million, with the purchase of the MetroCenter property and renovations costing about $27 million.
Much of the difference will go toward funding pension obligations to current and past employees, Alexander said.
But the move also is an effort to stay agile and relevant in an era when online book sales, e-books and e-readers have claimed a big part of market share.
“Our whole impetus in the move is to go digital as much as possible,” Alexander said. “We’re moving to what they call apaperless office. There’s no such thing yet, but it’s largely paperless.”
Even so, plans call for an editorial library in the new headquarters, which will be called John Dickins House. The Publishing House will still sell and distribute new books made of paper and ink.
Some of the older books and the printing presses will be kept and likely exhibited. Other materials may end up with the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, or perhaps another United Methodist-related library or archives.
Alexander said the current inventory must be followed by a professional assessment of the value of the older books. (The King James Bible needs to be authenticated as a first edition.) After that, the publishing house’s board must decide what to do with the books.
That may all happen before the move. If it doesn’t, Milford said there’s a plan for taking good care of the older materials in the interim.
Milford’s life has been hectic with the move looming, but he’s also had moments of reflection, particularly when he dons gloves and holds one of the old books.
“They are incredible reminders of our past and the tools that have carried us thus far, not only in our faith journey but also in the history of religious publishing.”
Sam Hodges, a United Methodist News Service writer, lives in Dallas.
by Ron EdmondsonI write a lot about introversion, because I’m an introvert.
Introversion is a personality preference based on the way a person has been shaped by experiences and life.
In very broad terms, it means we are fueled more by our inner thoughts and reflections than by social engagements and interactions with others. Alone time fuels us. Our idea of “fun” might be reading a book in a room — or field — all by ourselves.
It’s not that we don’t like people. You can read some of my other posts about that. It’s that if we had a preference of how to use our free time, many times we would spend it in quieter or more controllable environments.
Chances are you have lots of introverts on your team, in your church, your workplace, as your customers — even in your family. You’ll even find that some people who appear very extroverted are actually introverts.
I will often get requests to write about extroversion, specifically how extroverts can better understand introverts. (Extroverted people are seldom shy about asking for what they want!)
This is generalized. No two introverts are the same just like no two extroverts are the same. Just like no two people — period — are the same. We are all uniquely made by our creator! And, that’s intentional on his part!
But, this is an attempt to help you understand some of the introverts in your world. And, if you want clarification if it applies to them — simply ask. We can express ourselves — often quite eloquently.
Here are seven ways that extroverts can better engage introverts:
Give us advance warning. Don’t put us on the spot for an answer or opinion. We have one, but often need time to formulate our thoughts. If you want our best answer, then you’re best not to demand it immediately from an introvert.
Don’t assume we don’t have an opinion. We do — and it may even be the best one — but we are less likely to share it surrounded by people who are always quick to have something to say and tend to control the conversation.
Don’t assume we are unfriendly or antisocial. We may not be talking, but that doesn’t mean we don't love people or that we don’t want to communicate with them. The opposite is probably more true. We just prefer to do it in less extroverted ways. Plus, we talk one at a time, so if there’s someone always talking, we may not get a chance or take the opportunity.
Give us time to form the relationship. Introverts don’t usually form relationships quickly. We may appear harder to get to know, but when we do connect, we are loyal friends with deep, intimate connections. And we can actually be quite fun — even silly at times — once you get to know us.
Allow us time alone. All of us need personal time, but we require even more time alone than an extrovert usually does. We energize during these times — not just relax — and there’s a huge difference.
Don’t expect us to always love or get excited about extroverted activities. The social activities where you get to meet all the cool people you do not know — yeah — that’s not always our idea of fun. It may even be a little scary. It might make us nervous at the thought of it. We’ll find excuses not to go, even if we know we need the experience or will have fun once we do them. (Cheryl helps me so much with this one. She stays by my side until I acclimate to the room. And that’s usually what it takes for the introvert to really enjoy these type settings.)
Allow us to use written communication when available. We often prefer email or text over phone calls. We are usually more engaging when we can write out our thoughts ahead of time.
Are you an introvert? What would you add to my list?
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
by Scott Christian / Religion News ServiceNEW YORK (RNS) If someone offered you the chance to live in a world designed to look and feel like the real one, but is actually a tidier, more ordered Stepford-ish facsimile, would you take it? For many Christians today, the answer appears to be yes.
Call it Newton’s Third Law of modern Christianity, but for every event, there appears to be an equal and opposite corresponding Christian event. There are Christian music festivals and book festivals; Christian versions of TED Talks; the upcoming International Christian Film Festival in Orlando, Fla.; and earlier this month, even a Christian Fashion Week.
While it might seem tempting for Christians to lock themselves away in anti-secular bubbles, where they could wear nothing but Christian clothing and eat nothing but Christian food (Chick-fil-A, I’m guessing?), the ramifications of doing so are polarizing at best, and deeply destructive at worst.
Just look at the recent spate of religious freedom laws being passed around the country. Regardless of whether you view the RFRAs as discriminatory or necessary, the nut of their existence essentially boils down to separateness. At their core, they are laws designed to keep one group of people from being forced to interact with another.
It doesn’t matter whether they are being sold as religious freedom, LGBT discrimination or Rick Santorum’s hypothetical of protecting gay T-shirt makers from Westboro Baptist Church, the fact of the matter is that RFRAs construct a legal wall between two potentially opposing camps. And while on the surface this may appear to have nothing to do with Christians’ creating their own versions of things, the truth is, they are much closer than you think.
Christian film festivals, fashion weeks, rock festivals, etc., may seem harmless enough, but in reality they are a way to create distance between Christians and the secular world. Much the same as RFRAs do, Christian-specific events foster the idea that separation is a necessity. The problem with this is that separateness, no matter how you slice it, is always going to end badly.
This may seem a spurious claim, but look at the example of Christian Fashion Week, as profiled recently inThe New York Times. The very existence of a separate Christian version of Fashion Week suggests that there is an unbridgeable ideological gap between what Christians perceive as “appropriate” fashion and what the secular world does.
Most would likely attribute that gap to the issue of modesty. But the founders of Christian Fashion Week, to their credit, see it instead as an issue of industry ethics and environmental responsibility. As Jose Gomez, one of the four founders of CFW, told The New York Times, the central philosophy behind Christian Fashion Week is the acronym CARE, which stands for contextual modesty, affordability, responsible use of natural resources and ethical hiring and casting.
Considering that the secular fashion industry is rife with abusive practices toward models and irresponsible manufacturing practices for both labor and the environment, it seems odd that such a positive world philosophy would be restricted to a Christian-only event. In this case, the enforced separateness of a Christian Fashion Week is depriving the secular fashion world of something it desperately needs: people who care aboutbasic human justice.
The problem with Christian-specific events — especially those run under the best of intentions, as Christian Fashion Week appeared to be — is that they hermetically seal off any good intentions from reaching the secular world. But worse than that, they often foster feelings, between both Christians and non, that when it comes to “goodness,” there will always be a battle of us vs. them.
For as long as man has contemplated his existence, he has contemplated the problem of the “other,” a problem that, more often than not, devolves into outright fear. And encouraging the separation of Christians from the secular world — for instance, by instituting a Christian Fashion Week — stokes rather than mitigates those fears.
Christians should not be afraid of the world, nor of its varying moral codes. Rather, they should be compelled — in truth, they are commanded — to bring light into it. Christian versions of secular events don’t bring light. Instead, they are the starting point of a spectrum that includes discriminatory laws and, at its darkest, the type of extremist violence currently seen in Libya against Coptic Christians. That may seem overly dramatic, but fear of the “other” is only ever really bound by context.
The question, then, is why start the ball rolling on an already difficult existential divide by creating Christian versions of things? Why not just bring Christian ideas of love and human goodness to a collective, worldwide conversation? If that tactic sounds familiar, it’s probably because Jesus was the first one to do it.
by Jacob Lupfer / Religion News ServiceWASHINGTON (RNS) The limiting of religious freedom is a perpetually contested question in American public life. Most recently, as states consider new laws and the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on same-sex marriage, gay rights supporters and traditionalist Christians appear to be on a collision course.
To make matters worse, whenever disputes betweengay couples and conservative Christian wedding vendors arise, a well-funded professional grievance industry sends lawyers and media handlers out to convince the public that this is the great civil rights issue of our time.
As a new prevailing cultural consensus on homosexuality displaces a former one, it remains to be seen how the winnerswill treat the losers. From laws that impose punitive fines to rhetoric that places “religious liberty” in quotation marks so as to diminish it, the culture war’s apparent victors have not accorded religious freedom its due place of prominence in our public life.
The present tension between religious liberty and LGBT rights is unsustainable, but it is not insurmountable. Activists on both sides have been short on empathy for each other. Leaders have every incentive to portray their opponents as evil retrogrades hellbent on destroying society.
One reason each side talks past the other is that the religious and legal debates are oriented around different poles. The gay rights movement — which conservative Christian agitator Bryan Fischer derisively termed “Big Gay” — focuses on civil rights, including legal marriage and anti-discrimination laws. In this framework, it does not matter what religious people believe about sexual orientation or behavior.
In religion, the debate is primarily about affirmation. Regardless of civil law, religious organizations either affirm same-sex unions or they don’t. Legal debates are secondary to arguments over whether and how the church will amend its long-standing prohibitions against sex outside of monogamous, heterosexual marriage.
Disputes over wedding photographers, bakers and florists engender strong feelings because they embody the personal nature of the conflict. It is hurtful to be told by a local businessman that your upcoming wedding is so hopelessly immoral that the very idea of arranging flowers or baking a cake sickens him to his core.
Do wedding vendors who oppose same-sex marriage necessarily “participate in” or “celebrate” these unions? I’m not sure. I find photographers’ objections to be the most compelling and caterers’ arguments to be the least valid, with bakers andflorists somewhere in between.
But I do know this: To the greatest extent possible, people should not be compelled against their conscience to provide services for an event they do not support.
I was married and divorced at a young age. When I got married again, a traditionalist wedding vendor might have declined my business, which is their right. I would have found someone else. I might have felt sad or angry that my neighbor judged my relationship to be immoral or unworthy. But I respect his conscience more than I need his flower arrangements. Religious liberty is inviolable. Affirmation is not a civil right, and it cannot be coerced.
By any measure, the gay rights movement has prevailed in the arenas of law, culture and public opinion. Still, millions of Americans will continue to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. These people are not moral monsters.
Rhetoric about cultural conservatives’ hate-based discrimination is not only inflammatory, but also largely untrue. New researchshows that exposure to religious liberty arguments actually makes evangelical Christians more tolerant of their ideological opponents.
I have qualms about expanding religious identity onto corporations. And many religious liberty claims made by businesses and people acting as government representativesare questionable. But we should not force private individuals and small-shop owners to violate their consciences when it is clearly not necessary to do so.
In the early republic, Baptist preacher John Leland spoke of “the rights of conscience inalienable.” In law and custom, conscience rights are sacrosanct. The success of the gay rights movement does not depend on the government’s compelling wedding vendors against their consciences. If stragglers eventually abandon their religious opposition to homosexuality, it will be because of persuasion, not coercion.
by Matt RawleJesus is alive! He has risen. He has risen indeed … So what am I supposed to do now? Although they shared grief and sorrow (and fear) when Jesus was in the tomb, at least the disciples had a sense of closure. There is great sadness when a loved one dies, and yet when they breathe their last, sometimes you feel like you are exhaling for the first time. There is an odd grace in goodbye.
But Jesus is alive! This is certainly good news, but now our relationship with God is lovingly a bit more complicated. Paul writes in Romans 12 that Christians are to be a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” A sacrifice is usually something finite and concrete, something you might offer for one particular need. The Jewish people would sacrifice an animal at the temple as a means of thanksgiving or pardon or in celebration (or continuation) of blessings. Today we might make a special monetary gift or volunteer our time or take on a leadership rolein the community or open our home to a friend in need. These sacrifices are a great thing, but they are all temporary.
The resurrection complicates our understanding of sacrifice. No longer is sacrifice a one-time offering toward a special cause or a temporary agreement to serve with a foundation. The tomb is about closure, but Jesus is alive. We are to be a living sacrifice, which means that we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving to always be in service to God’s kingdom. In other words, a sacrifice is no longer something we do, it is who we are. We no longer volunteer at church. We are the church. We no longer serve the body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. As difficult as it may be to die for what you believe, it is more difficult (and more blessed) to live for what you believe. You only die once. You have to live every day. Jesus is alive, and through grace, so are we.
Matt Rawle blogs at MattRawle.com.
The connection between poverty and illiteracy
Poverty often has a dramatic impact on children’s literacy. Research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that 82 percent of fourth graders from low-income families were not able to reach the “proficient” level in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Being unable to read well in the elementary grades is often a signal of lifelong problems that lie ahead. Sociologist Donald Hernandez reports that “children who are not able to read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma” than their peers who are proficient in reading.
What are some of the barriers to literacy that children who are poor face? One major problem is a lack of access to books at home and sometimes at school as well. In "Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance," authors Susan B. Neuman and Donna C. Celano found that in one neighborhood of poverty in Philadelphia, there were only 358 reading resources available for about 7,000 children. A well-to-do neighborhood in the same city had 16,453 reading resources for only 1,200 children.
Foundations for literacy are laid in the language that infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children hear every day. Low-income families tend to engage in less conversation with their children and often use smaller vocabularies in conversation. “By age three, children from affluent families have on average heard 30 million more words than children from low-income families.” Neuman explains that books are essential to expanding children’s vocabulary because “even very rudimentary … board books have vocabulary that tends to be outside the parent’s normal, day-to-day interaction. So that child is learning words that he or she is likely not to see in any other place.”
Of course, families who can’t afford books aren’t able to share them with their children. The lack of access to books at home is compounded by the fact that 80 percent of preschool and afterschool programs that serve low-income children do not have children’s books either, usually because of a lack of funds to purchase them. “A poor child goes from a home without books to a preschool situation without books,” Neuman says. “That creates serious problems for literacy later on.”
Getting books into the hands of children who need them
Can something as simple as having more books in the home have a significant impact on children’s reading abilities? A large study of 70,000 students in 27 countries found that having many books in the home was as good a predictor of educational success as the family’s income or the father’s occupation.
There are many charitable organizations working to get books into the hands of children who are poor, including the Imagination Library founded by Dolly Parton. The program began in Parton’s East Tennessee home in the mid-1990’s, where she committed to provide a new, age-appropriate book each month to every preschool-aged child. Through partnerships with local communities, more than 750,000 children from birth to age five now receive a free book each month in more than 1,600 local communities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
The First Book Marketplace provides schools and nonprofits serving children in need the chance to buy books at 50 to 90 percent off the retail price. First Book’s cofounder Kyle Zimmer says they sell the books to “virtually anybody serving children in need, from zero to 18 years of age. It can be a homeless shelter; it can be a formal classroom; it can be [an] abuse refuge; it can be really anyplace where kids are gathered.” Sometimes, daycare centers and schools purchase books to stock their bare bookshelves, and many other books are given to children to take home and keep.
At the National Children’s Center in Washington, DC, children had the chance to pick out two books each to keep after a recent story time. Andrea Brunk, a physical therapist at the center, says the variety of ageappropriate, culturally diverse books available from First Book is greatly appreciated.
Early intervention programs equip parents for success
Access to books is key in improving literacy, but in many cases families can also benefit from programs that address the needs of the whole child from a very young age. For example, the antipoverty organization Save the Children has a home visitor program in many US communities. The program trains local community members to visit with low-income parents beginning during pregnancy and continuing until age three to help them develop many different kinds of parenting skills.
A 2012 New York Times article followed home visitor Courtney Trent as she visited mothers and fathers to encourage parents to read to their children, talk to them, touch them and tell them stories. She brought a small collection of books families could borrow on each visit. If parents had trouble reading themselves, Trent encouraged them to look through the picture books with their child and talk about what they saw.
Ron Combs, the principal at an elementary school in a Kentucky community where Save the Children works, said that “when the kids come to us through this program, we can see a big difference. They’re really ready to go. Otherwise, we have kids so far behind that they struggle to catch up.”
Creating a passion for reading at school
Jim Trelease, author of "The Read Aloud Handbook," points to two big habits teachers can cultivate in the classroom to help their students fall in love with books: reading aloud to the class, even to older students, and having daily time for sustained silent reading.
Trelease points not only to the vocabulary that is built when children regularly hear books read aloud, but also to the “background knowledge” that they build over time. Especially for impoverished children whose parents aren’t able to take them on regular visits to museums, the zoo, historic sites or on trips around the country or across the world, Trelease says, “the best way to accumulate background knowledge is either by reading or being read to.”
Reading aloud can also help children become excited about moving up to the next level of reading, as they’re able to comprehend more complex words and stories when heard aloud than they are able to read themselves. In order for children to become better readers, they must read frequently. For children to read more frequently, they need to want to read.
Sustained silent reading is a practice of setting aside specific time each day (for example, ten minutes) for all students and the teacher to read silently whatever books they choose for pleasure. No reports are required on the book, and no tests are given. High school English teacher Kay McSpadden says that since implementing sustained silent reading years ago, “I haven’t tracked reading scores or gathered any formal data, but I can see that the vast majority of students enjoy reading this way — and getting reluctant students to enjoy reading goes a long way to making them more successful in school.”
What can people of faith do?
There are many ways that people of faith and churches can support efforts to increase literacy among poor children: conducting book drives, contributing to organizations that provide free or low-cost books, volunteering as tutors and more. Churches can also create programs to help prevent the “summer slide” in which many students lose some of the reading and math knowledge they’ve gained. In addition to hands-on efforts around literacy, in some cases, advocacy by people of faith may be needed. As state budgets tighten, some literacy and parenting programs have been on the chopping block. For example, the Alaska Legislature and the governor recently voted to cut $3.2 million from social service programs for infants and toddlers, including cuts to the Parents as Teachers program and to “Best Beginnings, which administers the Dolly Parton Imagination Library” throughout Alaska.
The witness of Scripture shows us over and over again that God uplifts those who are vulnerable and in poverty, and that we are called to pay special attention to the needs of those who live in poverty. Ensuring that all children are able to become active readers is one way to respond to this call.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
A fraternity house in Ann Arbor, Mich. Photo: Dwight Burdette / Wikimedia Commons
A video released in early March shows members of a University of Oklahoma fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, chanting a racist proclamation that African-Americans would never be allowed to join the group. The video touched off a storm of condemnation and apologies, and it resulted in the banning of the fraternity from the school. Other fraternities were banned from other colleges within the next few weeks for racist and/or sexually exploitative behavior.
According to an NPR interview with opinions editor Emily Chappell, one of those fraternities, Kappa Delta Rho at Penn State University, was linked to private Facebook pages where pictures of naked women were posted, some of whom appeared to be passed out. This event caused Eric Barron, president of Penn State, to ask “if a re-evaluation of the entire fraternity system is required.”
Barron is not the only one asking these kinds of questions in light of all the media reports of bad fraternity behavior. The same thoughts have been expressed from an unlikely source: comedian and actor Will Ferrell. In an interview with the New York Times at SXSW last month, Ferrell stated that the incident at Oklahoma University “is a real argument for getting rid of the system altogether, in my opinion.” He made this statement even though he had been part of a fraternity in college and more recently played the comedic role of Frank “the Tank” in the 2003 movie "Old School," about older men who start a fraternity on a college campus. Ferrell pointed to the exclusionary aspects of fraternities, which, to his understanding, have been a change from the original aims of such groups. “Fraternities were started as academic societies,” he said, “that were supposed to have a philanthropic arm to them.”
History of fraternities
With some frats being banned from colleges and a call from some to dismantle the entire system, it might be beneficial to step back and examine the history that Will Ferrell cited in his interview. Where and when did college fraternities originate? How might reclaiming some of this history redeem the organizations?
According to an article featured on the San Jose State University website, “The first Greek letter organization [on an American college campus] was Phi Beta Kappa, which was founded on December 5, 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.” It was a secret society because the meetings often included discussions about “taxation and freedom,” which were not allowed in those days. According to Phi Beta Kappa’s website, the first president of that fraternity, John Heath, “was determined to develop a student society that would be much more serious minded than its predecessors at the college, one devoted to the pursuit of liberal education and intellectual fellowship.”
The trappings that we often associate with fraternities were there at this beginning period, including secret rituals, mottoes and ideals that the group wished to spread to other colleges. Yale and Harvard established chapters of Phi Beta Kappa in 1780 and 1781, respectively. Similar organizations for women began to be established in the mid-19th century.
Benefits of fraternities on campus
The reasons why people join fraternities may have not changed much over the centuries, even if the perception of what fraternities do has changed. According to Patrick Daley’s book "The Fraternity Leader: The Complete Guide to Improving Your Chapter," quoted on the author’s website, The Fraternity Advisor, there are six reasons why males join fraternities. These are (1) to find acceptance, (2) to build their resumes, (3) to gain leadership experience, (4) to be with their friends, (5) to meet girls and (6) to attend parties.
These six reasons are the opinion of the author, of course, but they do provide a glimpse of at least some of the reasons someone would join a fraternity. There are other reasons why people might join that do not involve parties and girls. There are fraternities, for example, that are dedicated to community service. Alpha Phi Omega is one such organization.
If the recent scandals involving fraternities have caused some to question the benefit of these organizations, are there good reasons for keeping them around? Besides providing the positive outcomes for members described previously, what benefits are there for the entire campus community? First, graduation rates among fraternity members are 20 percent higher than those who do not join. Many fraternities require a certain number of hours of community service, and members participate in fundraisers for other nonprofit organizations.
Kelci Lynn Lucier, a college life expert for About.com, compiled some of the benefits of joining a fraternity. Lucier says that one of the greatest benefits is “the chance to prove stereotypes wrong.” At a time when fraternities are getting lots of press for all the wrong reasons, now would be a good time to highlight some of the stereotype-busting behaviors Lucier describes.
Campus ministries and fraternities
On college campuses around the nation, there are other organizations that exist to serve some of the same needs listed as reasons why people join fraternities. Campus ministries from a variety of denominations exist to reach out to college students. In The United Methodist Church, these ministries are often housed at places called Wesley Foundations.
There are some Greek organizations that are explicitly Christian. Alpha Gamma Omega fraternity, founded in 1927, is one such group. Sigma Phi Lambda is a sorority founded on the same principles. (Sororities consist of mostly female students, whereas fraternities consist of mostly male students.)
Some Christian ministries exist specifically to reach out to fraternities. Greek InterVarsity, under the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA umbrella, is an organization with the expressed mission of “[seeing] the lives of fraternity and sorority members transformed, the Greek systems on their campuses renewed and [seeing] leaders who will go on to change the world for the sake of the Kingdom emerge from these settings.”
Babies and bathwater
The original intentions in founding fraternities as places of intellectual dialogue and social fellowship are benign, surely, and the benefits of increased graduation completion, social service hours and fundraising that come along with fraternities now seem sufficient to ask if the baby ought to be thrown out with the bathwater. Do the alleged bad behaviors outweigh all of the good that these organizations might accomplish? Can the problems that are illuminated by the stories of scandals be minimized in the future? The light that is being shed on these issues and the scrutiny that has followed have caused some national fraternities to act and crack down on particularly nefarious houses. So, simply making sure the stories about the behaviors are told is an important step in eliminating them.
A recent article in Time, written by Eliza Gray, offers three ways that colleges might work to “fix” fraternities. The first suggestion is that fraternities take alcohol out of the equation. Gray says that national fraternity organizations might be in a better position to make this change than the schools themselves, and she cites the example of Phi Delta Theta, which “announced plans to ban alcohol in every chapter house across the country by 2000.” Though there were fears that this would keep the fraternity from growing, it actually has grown, and so has the average grade point average (GPA) of fraternity members. The only thing that has shrunk is their insurance premiums — by half!
The other two suggestions Gray lists are to increase adult supervision at the houses and to allow for integration — meaning, in this case, allowing women to join fraternities traditionally only allowing male pledges. She doesn’t explain why she feels this will cut down on bad behavior, but diversity is certainly an antidote to the homogeneity that led to the racist chanting at the University of Oklahoma. As described earlier, the Christian church can play a role in helping reform fraternities. Campus ministries can be intentional about reaching out to those groups, while also making sure students are aware of the ways that these ministries can meet some of the same needs that are met by joining fraternities. By modeling good behavior, campus ministries would go a long way toward forming safe and inclusive communities at our colleges and universities.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
by Trevin Wax / Religion News Service(RNS) Whenever people today say that Christianity needs toupdate and adapt its moral standards for the 21st century, I hear echoes from 100 years ago. Back then, the calls for change had less to do with morality and more to do with miracles. But the motivation was similar, and the results are instructive.
What rocked the early 20th century was the call of manychurch leaders to adapt the Christian faith to the scientific age of discovery. One could not expect thinking men and women to accept at face value all the miracles in the Bible, the thinking went. The biblical testimony of the miraculous was embarrassing to an educated mindset.
In order to rescue Christianity from superstitious irrelevance, many church leaders sought to distinguish the kernel of Christianity (the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man) from the shell of Christianity (miracle stories that came from another cultural vantage point). One could still maintain the moral center of Christianity while disregarding the events that required suspension of disbelief.
As this adaptation spread, belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus was reinterpreted and given a solely spiritual meaning (he is alive in the hearts of good people). Miracle stories such as Jesus’ feeding the 5,000 were given a moral twist (the true miracle is that suddenly everyone shared). The Virgin Birth was rejected altogether.
Meanwhile, churches outside the West were appalled to hear “Christians” reject the clear testimony of Scripture and what the church had always believed. In North America, the rise of the evangelical movement was due, in part, to a desire to reclaim the center of Christianity and refuse to allow contemporary sensibilities to alter the faith “once for all delivered to the saints.”
Presbyterian minister and theologian J. Gresham Machen made the case that this refashioning of Christianity was no longer Christianity at all, but a substitute religion with a Christian veneer.
Over time, the effort to save the kernel of Christianity and leave aside its shell had the opposite effect. The distinctiveness of Christian teaching disappeared, and the shell of church rituals was all that remained. This is why, even today in somedenominations, bishops and pastors and parishioners openly reject the core tenets of the faith but continue to attend worship and go through certain rites. The denominations that followed this course have since entered a sharp and steady decline.
One hundred years later, the church is once again being rocked. This time, many Christians are calling for us to rethink the “embarrassing” parts of Christianity — specifically, our distinctive sexual ethic. After all, many of the moral guidelines we read in the New Testament were written from another cultural vantage point and are no longer authoritative or relevant today. If Christianity is to survive and thrive in the next century, many of our ancient prohibitions (sex outside of marriage, homosexual practice, the significance of gender, etc.) must be set aside.
Outside the West, this enthusiasm for rejecting Christian moral precepts that have been accepted by all Christians, everywhere, for 2,000 years is mind-boggling.
Churches that accept society’s dogma on marriage and sexuality may think of themselves as “affirming,” but the global church sees them as “apostate.” Meanwhile, it is the height of imperialistic narrowness for a rapidly shrinking subset of white churches in the West to lecture the rest of the world — including those places where Christianity is exploding in growth or where Christians are being martyred — on why they are wrong and how everyone else in Christian history has misread Scripture regarding the meaning of marriage.
Nestled within our own times, it is easy to think the trajectory of history will lead to an inevitable change within the global Christian church. But history’s lesson is the opposite. A century ago, the modernists believed that the triumph of naturalism would lead to the total transformation of Christianity.
It must have seemed thrilling for these leaders to think they were at the vanguard of reformation, that they were the pivot point of Christianity’s inevitable future. But such was not the case. Traditional stalwarts like Machen and G.K. Chesterton (who were criticized as hopelessly “backward” back then) still have books in print. The names of most of their once-fashionable opponents are largely unrecognizable.
It’s commonplace to assume that contemporary society’s redefinition of marriage, gender and the purpose for sexuality will eventually persuade the church to follow along. But if we were to jump forward into the 22nd century, I wonder what we would see.
Most likely, we would see a world in which the explosive growth of Christians in South America, China and Africa has dwarfed the churches of North America and Europe. And the lesson we learn from a century ago will probably still be true: The churches that thrived were those that offered their world something more than the echo of the times.
Third Sunday of Easter: Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
Scripture Texts:
Acts 4:32 All the many believers were one in heart and soul, and no one claimed any of his possessions for himself, but everyone shared everything he had. 33 With great power the emissaries continued testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and they were all held in high regard. 34 No one among them was poor, since those who owned lands or houses sold them and turned over the proceeds 35 to the emissaries to distribute to each according to his need.
Psalm 4: (0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David:
2 (1) O God, my vindicator!
Answer me when I call!
When I was distressed, you set me free;
now have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
3 (2) Men of rank, how long will you shame my honor,
love what is vain, chase after lies? (Selah)
4 (3) Understand that Adonai sets apart
the godly person for himself;
Adonai will hear when I call to him.
5 (4) You can be angry, but do not sin!
Think about this as you lie in bed,
and calm down. (Selah)
6 (5) Offer sacrifices rightly,
and put your trust in Adonai.
7 (6) Many ask, “Who can show us some good?”
Adonai, lift the light of your face over us!
8 (7) You have filled my heart with more joy
than all their grain and new wine.
9 (8) I will lie down and sleep in peace;
for, Adonai, you alone make me live securely.
1 John 3:1 See what love the Father has lavished on us in letting us be called God’s children! For that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it has not known him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now; and it has not yet been made clear what we will become. We do know that when he appears, we will be like him; because we will see him as he really is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in him continues purifying himself, since God is pure. 4 Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. 6 So no one who remains united with him continues sinning; everyone who does continue sinning has neither seen him nor known him.
7 Children, don’t let anyone deceive you — it is the person that keeps on doing what is right who is righteous, just as God is righteous.
Luke 24:36 They were still talking about it when — there he was, standing among them! 37 Startled and terrified, they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But he said to them, “Why are you so upset? Why are these doubts welling up inside you? 39 Look at my hands and my feet — it is I, myself! Touch me and see — a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you can see I do.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 While they were still unable to believe it for joy and stood there dumbfounded, he said to them, “Have you something here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 which he took and ate in their presence.
44 Yeshua said to them, “This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds, so that they could understand the Tanakh, 46 telling them, “Here is what it says: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day; 47 and in his name repentance leading to forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to people from all nations, starting with Yerushalayim. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
Scripture Texts:
Acts 4:32 All the many believers were one in heart and soul, and no one claimed any of his possessions for himself, but everyone shared everything he had. 33 With great power the emissaries continued testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua, and they were all held in high regard. 34 No one among them was poor, since those who owned lands or houses sold them and turned over the proceeds 35 to the emissaries to distribute to each according to his need.
Psalm 4: (0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David:
2 (1) O God, my vindicator!
Answer me when I call!
When I was distressed, you set me free;
now have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
3 (2) Men of rank, how long will you shame my honor,
love what is vain, chase after lies? (Selah)
4 (3) Understand that Adonai sets apart
the godly person for himself;
Adonai will hear when I call to him.
5 (4) You can be angry, but do not sin!
Think about this as you lie in bed,
and calm down. (Selah)
6 (5) Offer sacrifices rightly,
and put your trust in Adonai.
7 (6) Many ask, “Who can show us some good?”
Adonai, lift the light of your face over us!
8 (7) You have filled my heart with more joy
than all their grain and new wine.
9 (8) I will lie down and sleep in peace;
for, Adonai, you alone make me live securely.
1 John 3:1 See what love the Father has lavished on us in letting us be called God’s children! For that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it has not known him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now; and it has not yet been made clear what we will become. We do know that when he appears, we will be like him; because we will see him as he really is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in him continues purifying himself, since God is pure. 4 Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. 6 So no one who remains united with him continues sinning; everyone who does continue sinning has neither seen him nor known him.
7 Children, don’t let anyone deceive you — it is the person that keeps on doing what is right who is righteous, just as God is righteous.
Luke 24:36 They were still talking about it when — there he was, standing among them! 37 Startled and terrified, they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But he said to them, “Why are you so upset? Why are these doubts welling up inside you? 39 Look at my hands and my feet — it is I, myself! Touch me and see — a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you can see I do.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 While they were still unable to believe it for joy and stood there dumbfounded, he said to them, “Have you something here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 which he took and ate in their presence.
44 Yeshua said to them, “This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds, so that they could understand the Tanakh, 46 telling them, “Here is what it says: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day; 47 and in his name repentance leading to forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to people from all nations, starting with Yerushalayim. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
John Wesley's Notes-commentary for
Acts 4:32-35
Verse 32
[32] And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And the multitude of them that believed — Every individual person were of one heart and one soul - Their love, their hopes, their passions joined: and not so much as one - In so great a multitude: this was a necessary consequence of that union of heart; said that aught of the things which he had was his own - It is impossible any one should, while all were of one soul. So long as that truly Christian love continued, they could not but have all things common.
Verse 33
[33] And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
And great grace — A large measure of the inward power of the Holy Ghost, was upon them all - Directing all their thoughts, words, and actions.
Verse 34
[34] Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
For neither was there any one among them that wanted — We may observe, this is added as the proof that great grace was upon them all. And it was the immediate, necessary consequence of it: yea, and must be to the end of the world. In all ages and nations, the same cause, the same degree of grace, could not but in like circumstances produce the same effect.
For whosoever were possessors of houses and lands sold them — Not that there was any particular command for this; but there was great grace and great love: of which this was the natural fruit.
Verse 35
[35] And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
And distribution was made — At first by the apostles themselves, afterward by them whom they appointed.
Psalm 4
Verse 1
[1] Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
O God — The witness and defender of my righteous cause.
Verse 2
[2] O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? /*Selah*/.
My glory — By his glory probably he means that honour which God had conferred upon him.
Vanity — Wickedness.
Lying — Those calumnies which they raised against him, to make him odious to all the people.
Verse 3
[3] But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
Godly — Me, whom, though you traduce as an hypocrite, God hath pronounced to he a man after his own heart, 1 Samuel 13:14.
For himself — In his stead, or to be his vicegerent, as all kings are, and especially the kings of God's own people.
Verse 4
[4] Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. /*Selah*/.
In awe — Be afraid, if not of me, yet of God, who hath engaged in my cause.
Sin not — By prosecuting your rebellion against God's authority.
On your bed — Calmly consider these things in the silent night, when you are at leisure from distracting business.
Be still — Compose your tumultuous minds.
Verse 5
[5] Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
Offer — Unto God, that he may be reconciled to you.
Righteousness — Righteous sacrifices; which requires that the persons offering them be righteous and do righteous things, and offer them with an honest mind, with faith and true repentance. Without which, he intimates, that all their sacrifices were of no esteem with God, and would be wholly unprofitable to them.
Verse 6
[6] There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Many — Of my followers, who are weary of waiting upon God.
Who — Who will put an end to our troubles, and give us tranquility.
Lift up — Upon me and my friends. Give us an assurance of thy love, and evidence it by thy powerful assistance.
Verse 7
[7] Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
Thou hast — Whatsoever thou shalt do with me for the future, I have at present unspeakable satisfaction in the testimonies of thy love to my soul; more than worldly persons have in the time of a plentiful harvest.
Verse 8
[8] I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
In peace — In tranquility of mind, resting securely upon God's promises.
1 John 3:1-7
Verse 1
[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
That we should be called — That is, should be, the children of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not - They know not what to make of us. We are a mystery to them.
Verse 2
[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
It doth not yet appear — Even to ourselves.
What we shall be — It is something ineffable, which will raise the children of God to be, in a manner, as God himself. But we know, in general, that when he, the Son of God, shall appear, we shall be like him - The glory of God penetrating our inmost substance.
For we shall see him as he is — Manifestly, without a veil. And that sight will transform us into the same likeness.
Verse 3
[3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
And every one that hath this hope in him — In God.
Verse 4
[4] Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Whosoever committeth sin — Thereby transgresseth the holy, just, and good law of God, and so sets his authority at nought; for this is implied in the very nature of sin.
Verse 5
[5] And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
And ye know that he — Christ.
Was manifested — That he came into the world for this very purpose.
To take away our sins — To destroy them all, root and branch, and leave none remaining.
And in him is no sin — So that he could not suffer on his own account, but to make us as himself.
Verse 6
[6] Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Whosoever abideth in communion with him, by loving faith, sinneth not - While he so abideth. Whosoever sinneth certainly seeth him not - The loving eye of his soul is not then fixed upon God; neither doth he then experimentally know him - Whatever he did in time past.
Verse 7
[7] Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Let no one deceive you — Let none persuade you that any man is righteous but he that uniformly practises righteousness; he alone is righteous, after the example of his Lord.
Luke 24:36b-48
Acts 4:32-35
Verse 32
[32] And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And the multitude of them that believed — Every individual person were of one heart and one soul - Their love, their hopes, their passions joined: and not so much as one - In so great a multitude: this was a necessary consequence of that union of heart; said that aught of the things which he had was his own - It is impossible any one should, while all were of one soul. So long as that truly Christian love continued, they could not but have all things common.
Verse 33
[33] And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
And great grace — A large measure of the inward power of the Holy Ghost, was upon them all - Directing all their thoughts, words, and actions.
Verse 34
[34] Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
For neither was there any one among them that wanted — We may observe, this is added as the proof that great grace was upon them all. And it was the immediate, necessary consequence of it: yea, and must be to the end of the world. In all ages and nations, the same cause, the same degree of grace, could not but in like circumstances produce the same effect.
For whosoever were possessors of houses and lands sold them — Not that there was any particular command for this; but there was great grace and great love: of which this was the natural fruit.
Verse 35
[35] And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
And distribution was made — At first by the apostles themselves, afterward by them whom they appointed.
Psalm 4
Verse 1
[1] Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
O God — The witness and defender of my righteous cause.
Verse 2
[2] O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? /*Selah*/.
My glory — By his glory probably he means that honour which God had conferred upon him.
Vanity — Wickedness.
Lying — Those calumnies which they raised against him, to make him odious to all the people.
Verse 3
[3] But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
Godly — Me, whom, though you traduce as an hypocrite, God hath pronounced to he a man after his own heart, 1 Samuel 13:14.
For himself — In his stead, or to be his vicegerent, as all kings are, and especially the kings of God's own people.
Verse 4
[4] Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. /*Selah*/.
In awe — Be afraid, if not of me, yet of God, who hath engaged in my cause.
Sin not — By prosecuting your rebellion against God's authority.
On your bed — Calmly consider these things in the silent night, when you are at leisure from distracting business.
Be still — Compose your tumultuous minds.
Verse 5
[5] Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
Offer — Unto God, that he may be reconciled to you.
Righteousness — Righteous sacrifices; which requires that the persons offering them be righteous and do righteous things, and offer them with an honest mind, with faith and true repentance. Without which, he intimates, that all their sacrifices were of no esteem with God, and would be wholly unprofitable to them.
Verse 6
[6] There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Many — Of my followers, who are weary of waiting upon God.
Who — Who will put an end to our troubles, and give us tranquility.
Lift up — Upon me and my friends. Give us an assurance of thy love, and evidence it by thy powerful assistance.
Verse 7
[7] Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
Thou hast — Whatsoever thou shalt do with me for the future, I have at present unspeakable satisfaction in the testimonies of thy love to my soul; more than worldly persons have in the time of a plentiful harvest.
Verse 8
[8] I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
In peace — In tranquility of mind, resting securely upon God's promises.
1 John 3:1-7
Verse 1
[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
That we should be called — That is, should be, the children of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not - They know not what to make of us. We are a mystery to them.
Verse 2
[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
It doth not yet appear — Even to ourselves.
What we shall be — It is something ineffable, which will raise the children of God to be, in a manner, as God himself. But we know, in general, that when he, the Son of God, shall appear, we shall be like him - The glory of God penetrating our inmost substance.
For we shall see him as he is — Manifestly, without a veil. And that sight will transform us into the same likeness.
Verse 3
[3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
And every one that hath this hope in him — In God.
Verse 4
[4] Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Whosoever committeth sin — Thereby transgresseth the holy, just, and good law of God, and so sets his authority at nought; for this is implied in the very nature of sin.
Verse 5
[5] And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
And ye know that he — Christ.
Was manifested — That he came into the world for this very purpose.
To take away our sins — To destroy them all, root and branch, and leave none remaining.
And in him is no sin — So that he could not suffer on his own account, but to make us as himself.
Verse 6
[6] Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Whosoever abideth in communion with him, by loving faith, sinneth not - While he so abideth. Whosoever sinneth certainly seeth him not - The loving eye of his soul is not then fixed upon God; neither doth he then experimentally know him - Whatever he did in time past.
Verse 7
[7] Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Let no one deceive you — Let none persuade you that any man is righteous but he that uniformly practises righteousness; he alone is righteous, after the example of his Lord.
Luke 24:36b-48
Verse 36
[36] And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Jesus stood in the midst of them — It was just as easy to his Divine power to open a door undiscernibly, as it was to come in at a door opened by some other hand. Mark 16:14,19; John 20:19.
Verse 40
[40] And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
He showed them his hands and his feet — That they might either see or feel the prints of the nails.
Verse 41
[41] And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
While they believed not for joy — They did in some sense believe: otherwise they would not have rejoiced. But their excess of joy prevented a clear, rational belief.
Verse 43
[43] And he took it, and did eat before them.
He took it and ate before them — Not that he had any need of food; but to give them still farther evidence.
Verse 44
[44] And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
And he said — On the day of his ascension.
In the law, and the prophets, and the psalms — The prophecies as well as types, relating to the Messiah, are contained either in the books of Moses (usually called the law) in the Psalms, or in the writings of the prophets; little being said directly concerning him in the historical books.
Verse 45
[45] Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Then opened he their understanding, to understand the Scriptures — He had explained them before to the two as they went to Emmaus. But still they Understood them not, till he took off the veil from their hearts, by the illumination of his Spirit.
Verse 47
[47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Beginning at Jerusalem — This was appointed most graciously and wisely: graciously, as it encouraged the, greatest sinners to repent, when they saw that even the murderers of Christ were not excepted from mercy: and wisely, as hereby Christianity was more abundantly attested; the facts being published first on the very spot where they happened.
[36] And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Jesus stood in the midst of them — It was just as easy to his Divine power to open a door undiscernibly, as it was to come in at a door opened by some other hand. Mark 16:14,19; John 20:19.
Verse 40
[40] And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
He showed them his hands and his feet — That they might either see or feel the prints of the nails.
Verse 41
[41] And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
While they believed not for joy — They did in some sense believe: otherwise they would not have rejoiced. But their excess of joy prevented a clear, rational belief.
Verse 43
[43] And he took it, and did eat before them.
He took it and ate before them — Not that he had any need of food; but to give them still farther evidence.
Verse 44
[44] And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
And he said — On the day of his ascension.
In the law, and the prophets, and the psalms — The prophecies as well as types, relating to the Messiah, are contained either in the books of Moses (usually called the law) in the Psalms, or in the writings of the prophets; little being said directly concerning him in the historical books.
Verse 45
[45] Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Then opened he their understanding, to understand the Scriptures — He had explained them before to the two as they went to Emmaus. But still they Understood them not, till he took off the veil from their hearts, by the illumination of his Spirit.
Verse 47
[47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Beginning at Jerusalem — This was appointed most graciously and wisely: graciously, as it encouraged the, greatest sinners to repent, when they saw that even the murderers of Christ were not excepted from mercy: and wisely, as hereby Christianity was more abundantly attested; the facts being published first on the very spot where they happened.
__________________________________
Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
___________________________________
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Sermon Story "Seeing the Resurrected Jesus" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 19 April 2015 with Scripture: Luke 24:36 They were still talking about it when — there he was, standing among them! 37 Startled and terrified, they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But he said to them, “Why are you so upset? Why are these doubts welling up inside you? 39 Look at my hands and my feet — it is I, myself! Touch me and see — a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you can see I do.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 While they were still unable to believe it for joy and stood there dumbfounded, he said to them, “Have you something here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 which he took and ate in their presence.
44 Yeshua said to them, “This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds, so that they could understand the Tanakh, 46 telling them, “Here is what it says: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day; 47 and in his name repentance leading to forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to people from all nations, starting with Yerushalayim. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
The two men who came back from Emmaus after Jesus revealed who the stranger was that walked and talked with them then broke bread with them were telling their story, Jesus appeared to them again behind locked doors and windows. Jesus again said to them Peace be with you. Jesus again shared that tehy should look at His hands, feet, and side to see the hole made by the nails and sword yet they still doubted. Even when Jesus stated that a ghost does not have flesh and blood as He has. Then, Jesus asked if there was anything to eat that He may eat the food to show another sign that He is truly raised from the dead because dead people or angels do not eat food. They were still astonished at the Presence of Jesus alive and well even after seeing Him tortured and killed on the stake or cross until there was no breathe or even blood remaining in Him. They surely bean to believe in what He taught and is and the Mission He has given to them to go into the whole world that the Jews and the Non-Jews could be saved through their beleif and living Holy Lives as Jesus did Himself. We come to realize that Jesus truly is The Messiah of the Whole World startin with the Jews first and ending with the Jews as we come singin the Hymn to receive the Holy Eucharist as we eat His body and drinks His Blood in remembering all He has done and is doing for us singin "There is a Redeemer, Jesus God's own Son" by Melody Green
44 Yeshua said to them, “This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds, so that they could understand the Tanakh, 46 telling them, “Here is what it says: the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day; 47 and in his name repentance leading to forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed to people from all nations, starting with Yerushalayim. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
The two men who came back from Emmaus after Jesus revealed who the stranger was that walked and talked with them then broke bread with them were telling their story, Jesus appeared to them again behind locked doors and windows. Jesus again said to them Peace be with you. Jesus again shared that tehy should look at His hands, feet, and side to see the hole made by the nails and sword yet they still doubted. Even when Jesus stated that a ghost does not have flesh and blood as He has. Then, Jesus asked if there was anything to eat that He may eat the food to show another sign that He is truly raised from the dead because dead people or angels do not eat food. They were still astonished at the Presence of Jesus alive and well even after seeing Him tortured and killed on the stake or cross until there was no breathe or even blood remaining in Him. They surely bean to believe in what He taught and is and the Mission He has given to them to go into the whole world that the Jews and the Non-Jews could be saved through their beleif and living Holy Lives as Jesus did Himself. We come to realize that Jesus truly is The Messiah of the Whole World startin with the Jews first and ending with the Jews as we come singin the Hymn to receive the Holy Eucharist as we eat His body and drinks His Blood in remembering all He has done and is doing for us singin "There is a Redeemer, Jesus God's own Son" by Melody Green
There is a redeemer,
Jesus, God's own Son,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
Holy One,
Jesus my redeemer,
Name above all names,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
Oh, for sinners slain.
Thank you oh my father,
For giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit,
'Til the work on Earth is done.
When I stand in Glory,
I will see His face,
And there I'll serve my King forever,
In that Holy Place.
Thank you oh my father,
For giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit,
'Til the work on Earth is done.
There is a redeemer,
Jesus, God's own Son,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
Holy One,
Thank you oh my father,
For giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit,
'Til the work on Earth is done.
And leaving Your Spirit,
'Till the work on Earth is done.
____________________________
Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States
____________________________
____________________________
Could it really be true, we wondered? All day we had been hearing reports that Jesus was alive—but we were afraid to let ourselves believe it. After all, we had seen what they had done to him just two days before: the trials, the beating, and then the horrible death. We had watched from afar as they took his body down and gave it to Joseph for burial. But then, this morning, when Mary and Joanna and the others went to anoint Jesus’ body with spices, Jesus’ body was gone! Instead, the women saw two men in dazzling garments who told them Jesus had risen. They came running back to tell us, the disciples, and the others who were hiding in the upper room with us. At first, it seemed like an idle tale and we didn’t believe them, so Peter got up and ran to the tomb himself. Peter, too, saw the empty linen cloths and came back amazed.
Later that day, two from among us were walking to Emmaus talking about all that happened. Suddenly, another person joined them on the road, asking them about what they were discussing. Our friends told him of Jesus’ deeds and teachings, and then how Jesus had been handed over and put to death. They also told him about the strange events of the morning. Then, the man surprised them. Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted the scriptures to them. When they arrived in the village, the person turned to go, but my friends invited him to stay the evening with them. They sat down to eat and the guest took the bread, blessed it, and broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they realized that it was Jesus who was with them! Although it was late, they got up and hurried back to Jerusalem to tell us what they had experienced.
“The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon!” they cried.
I wanted to believe so desperately that it was true, but I still had my doubts. While we were still talking about this, suddenly Jesus appeared among us—right there before us! He spoke so calmly and gently: “Peace be with you.”
Peace be with us, hardly! We were startled and terrified—we thought it was a ghost! Some of us still didn’t understand that he had truly resurrected, others thought it was another spirit trying to deceive us. We couldn’t say a word.
Jesus continued, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” As if he knew what we were thinking, as if he knew we needed proof, he said, “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
None of us had the courage to touch him to know for sure, but a sense of joy and amazement was beginning to dawn among us. Yet still we wondered, could we believe? Sensing this, Jesus spoke again.
“Have you anything here to eat?”
We gave him fish—and he ate it right in front of us. Surely a spirit couldn’t eat bread with Simon and fish with us. Jesus proved to us he was real, and in that simple act, he reminded us of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Jesus had performed that miracle, could this be another one?
Then, just like Jesus had done with our friends on the road to Emmaus, he opened our hearts and minds to understand the scriptures. It was amazing. First he looked backward, talking about how everything written about him in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled. But then, Jesus also looked forward. He told us that repentance and forgiveness of sins through him was to be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem and spreading from there. When I thought about it later, Jesus’ words made perfect sense. After all, the annunciation of his birth had occurred here, as had his presentation in the temple. What better place for the church to begin than here as well. Although the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all, it was to begin with Israel then spread to others. Jesus told us it was our calling to tell everyone what we had seen and experienced. The responsibility for such a task seemed overwhelming, but then Jesus said, “You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
By this time, we had learned to listen to Jesus, so we went back to Jerusalem to worship him and to reflect on what God was calling us to do. We knew that believing in his resurrection would change our lives and the lives of all of those who were touched by it.
As I’ve thought back on our time with Jesus, I’ve realized how fortunate we were. We heard him teach, saw the miracles, saw him resurrected from the dead. I don’t know if I would ever have believed if I hadn’t seen it for myself. I know many of you struggle to believe, wishing you had proof like we did. Your belief and obedience call for even greater faith. But know that you are blessed. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” My prayer for you this morning is that you will receive Jesus’ blessing with great joy, that in response you will worship God with all your hearts, and that you will be open to doing what God instructs you to do. Know that the same Spirit that empowered us empowers you today. And may you go in peace as you continue on the journey.
Later that day, two from among us were walking to Emmaus talking about all that happened. Suddenly, another person joined them on the road, asking them about what they were discussing. Our friends told him of Jesus’ deeds and teachings, and then how Jesus had been handed over and put to death. They also told him about the strange events of the morning. Then, the man surprised them. Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted the scriptures to them. When they arrived in the village, the person turned to go, but my friends invited him to stay the evening with them. They sat down to eat and the guest took the bread, blessed it, and broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they realized that it was Jesus who was with them! Although it was late, they got up and hurried back to Jerusalem to tell us what they had experienced.
“The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon!” they cried.
I wanted to believe so desperately that it was true, but I still had my doubts. While we were still talking about this, suddenly Jesus appeared among us—right there before us! He spoke so calmly and gently: “Peace be with you.”
Peace be with us, hardly! We were startled and terrified—we thought it was a ghost! Some of us still didn’t understand that he had truly resurrected, others thought it was another spirit trying to deceive us. We couldn’t say a word.
Jesus continued, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” As if he knew what we were thinking, as if he knew we needed proof, he said, “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
None of us had the courage to touch him to know for sure, but a sense of joy and amazement was beginning to dawn among us. Yet still we wondered, could we believe? Sensing this, Jesus spoke again.
“Have you anything here to eat?”
We gave him fish—and he ate it right in front of us. Surely a spirit couldn’t eat bread with Simon and fish with us. Jesus proved to us he was real, and in that simple act, he reminded us of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Jesus had performed that miracle, could this be another one?
Then, just like Jesus had done with our friends on the road to Emmaus, he opened our hearts and minds to understand the scriptures. It was amazing. First he looked backward, talking about how everything written about him in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled. But then, Jesus also looked forward. He told us that repentance and forgiveness of sins through him was to be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem and spreading from there. When I thought about it later, Jesus’ words made perfect sense. After all, the annunciation of his birth had occurred here, as had his presentation in the temple. What better place for the church to begin than here as well. Although the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all, it was to begin with Israel then spread to others. Jesus told us it was our calling to tell everyone what we had seen and experienced. The responsibility for such a task seemed overwhelming, but then Jesus said, “You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
By this time, we had learned to listen to Jesus, so we went back to Jerusalem to worship him and to reflect on what God was calling us to do. We knew that believing in his resurrection would change our lives and the lives of all of those who were touched by it.
As I’ve thought back on our time with Jesus, I’ve realized how fortunate we were. We heard him teach, saw the miracles, saw him resurrected from the dead. I don’t know if I would ever have believed if I hadn’t seen it for myself. I know many of you struggle to believe, wishing you had proof like we did. Your belief and obedience call for even greater faith. But know that you are blessed. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” My prayer for you this morning is that you will receive Jesus’ blessing with great joy, that in response you will worship God with all your hearts, and that you will be open to doing what God instructs you to do. Know that the same Spirit that empowered us empowers you today. And may you go in peace as you continue on the journey.
Third Sunday of Easter
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48
Call to Worship:
L: Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Christ, our Redeemer—
P: Who was anointed by the spirit of God to bring good news to the poor.
L: Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Christ, our Redeemer—
P: Who was crucified by the keepers of order for heeding the summons of God.
L: Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Christ, our Redeemer—
P: Who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit for bringing the reign of God to earth.
A: Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Christ, our Redeemer!
Invocation:
O God, who chased the gloom of the disciples with the gospel of Easter and drowned their desert of despair in a sea of grace, surprise us this day. Take from us the presumption that leans on our strength instead of yours, that mistakes our wisdom for yours, and equates our will with yours. Assure us once again that our Lord's promise to be with us always still holds good. And be present with us now, as in the days of Jesus, to make us whole and to make us holy.
Litany:
L: O God, who through your power at work in Jesus made the old feel young and the young feel mature, we pray for the outpouring of your power upon our generation.
P: Baptize our generation in the spirit with which Jesus baptized his.
L: Instead of lamenting our inability to work miracles of healing, make us supporters of the medicine that can make the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the blind see.
P: Baptize our generation!
L: Instead of lamenting our inability to turn children into geniuses, make us backers of the education that can inspire the gifted to care, the average to think, and the slow to try.
P: Baptize our generation!
L: Instead of lamenting our inability overnight to rid the world of poverty, make us shapers of the programs that will provide food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and clothing for the deprived.
P: Baptize our generation!
L: Instead of lamenting our inability to tame hardened criminals, make us designers of plans that can turn anger into resolve, despair into hope, and aimlessness into ambition.
P: Baptize our generation!
L: Instead of lamenting our inability to make our neighbors take notice of us, make us doers of deeds that will turn their attention to you.
A: Baptize our generation in the spirit with which Jesus baptized his. Pour out your power upon us!
Prayer for One Voice:
O God, who in Jesus revealed the love that endows life with significance, the purpose that gives direction to humanity, and the power that spells death for evil, you are our Lord and a great God above all gods. We worship you, for your revelation in Jesus will not permit us to offer you anything less than our worship.
For this manifestation of your grace, we thank you, dear Lord. From this storehouse of riches we have continually drawn, yet the treasury has not been depleted. For like all the spiritual capital with which you have entrusted us, it is something we can lose only by failing to use it. This truth you have written deep into the heart of us all. We thank you, gracious Lord, for thus ordering our existence. Not only does it mean that we can find purpose for our life. It also demands that we respect the lives of others.
Yet we cannot ponder your gift without asking forgiveness for its abuse. We may be quick to hail the power of Jesus' name, but we are slow to spread our trophies at his feet: we are as apt to expect him to crown us as we are to crown him. He has opened our minds that we may understand the Scriptures, but we have hardened our hearts against his interpretation of them. He has enacted the role of the Lord's suffering servant, but our faith becomes skeptical when "bad" things happen to "good" people. We sing that there is a cross for everyone, but we wait for Jesus to carry not only his but ours.
Paul proclaimed "Christ and him crucified," but we proclaim a gospel of ecstasy without agony. Whereas for Jesus Calvary was a way of life, we have turned it into a way of death. And whereas Easter marked your stamp of approval on Jesus' way of life, we have reduced the resurrection to a proof of the immortality of the soul. Forgive us, O God, for thus mocking the meaning and message of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We pray, O Lord, that you will so rule our hearts that we will make you known not only in the breaking of the bread but in the sharing of the bread: that we shall shoulder the cross you carried for the poor and oppressed; that we shall recogruze that repentance, like charity, must begin at home; that we shall accept the forgiveness of Christ, not merely as a revelation of the divine character, but as a model for human behavior; and that we shall bring into being the fellowship of kindred minds for which Jesus prayed.
O God, let us not lose sight of the connection between Easter and Good Friday. Let us remember that, if Easter demonstrates your ability to work the divine will without our help, Good Friday confirms that your victories do not come without cost to us. Deliver us from the lure of cheap grace. Make us as willing to pay the cost of your victories as we are to claim them for ourselves.
Benediction:
O Lord, as you have made disciples of us, now you send us into the world to make disciples of others. Go with us and be our guide, that the witness of our lives may confirm the testimony of our lips.
From "Litanies and Other Prayers: Year B." Copyright © Abingdon Press
Acts 3:12-19
On the heels of Peter’s healing of a man lame from birth is one of several sermons Peter preaches in the early part of Acts. There is nothing quite like a miraculous healing to get people’s attention, and Peter certainly had got their attention! The text says, “they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened” (Acts 3:10) .
The content of Peter’s sermon is like many sermons in Acts. First, the sermon addresses the historical reality of how people who should have received Jesus as messiah, instead handed him over to the authorities to have him murdered. Second, Peter’s sermon addresses the question: “[W]hy do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” (v. 12).
How is it that ordinary people like Peter or John—or even us—can do miraculous works? It is a good question, and one that haunts people who, aside from following Christ, are about as ordinary as anyone else.
I. The Resurrection Makes the Difference in Our Lives
At the end of Luke’s Gospel, Peter and the other disciples are discouraged and feel alienated, abandoned by Jesus. Peter knows all too well that he denied Jesus three times, just as Jesus predicted he would. In Luke 23:49, the scene is summarized like this: “But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance.” Jesus was entirely alone—all had fled, or at least had kept their distance out of fear and shame. Yet, from the empty tomb of Jesus resurrection the church was born at Pentecost.
The book of Acts is filled with stories of the disciples being, in a sense, reborn and becoming more Christlike than they could have ever imagined. Acts 5 tells us: “Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by” (vv. 14-15). Clearly, Peter has come out of the shadows of denial to cast a healing shadow of his own.
II. The Resurrection Can Make a Difference in Your Life
Peter’s sermon urges others to partake of this same grace that dramatically changed his own life. This is the primal call of the gospel, calling us into a relationship with Christ, which recreates us in God’s own image. Peter exhorts the people to “repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out” (v. 19), and this will give new life—whole and complete in God.
Max Dupree tells a powerful story about people’s identity. A young physician had a patient who owned a small business. The doctor had gone beyond normal expectations in helping this businessman, and in gratitude the man invited the physician and his wife to dinner and a symphony concert. During the concert, the orchestra presented a premier performance of a new composition. After the piece was performed and the audience applauded, the conductor turned to the young businessman and introduced him to the audience as the composer—much to the shock of the physician, who had not known of his patient’s musical talents.
The physician wondered whether his patient was an amateur composer whose primary identity was running a business, or whether he was actually a professional composer who also operated a business for the sheer enjoyment of it. “Did his experience with balance sheets help his orchestration? Or did his knowledge of harmony enable him to listen for the music in a well-run organization?” (Max Dupree, Leadership Jazz [Dell, 1992], 186-87).
Each of us has the choice, by God’s grace, to become a Peter of Acts rather than a Peter of the gospel, because Christ can and does work in human life. (David N. Mosser)
Becoming His Children
1 John 3:1-7
The famous writer George Bernard Shaw received a unique proposal from dancer Isadora Duncan. She believed that the two of them should have a child together. As she explained it: “Think what a child it would be, with my body and your brain!”
Shaw declined the offer, sending this response: “Think how unfortunate it would be if the child were to have my body and your brain!”
Parents are justly proud of their children, and often point to physical or emotional characteristics in their children that correspond to similar characteristics in themselves. That’s what we mean when we call little Junior a “chip off the old block.”
But what if your father is God? John says that in Christ we have become children of God. What does it mean for you and me to be children of God?
I. Being a Child of God Produces a New Lifestyle
When we become part of the family of God, we experience a transformation that produces a new lifestyle.
Purity becomes a priority (v. 3). We live in a culture in which purity is not so much an asset as a liability! For example, a generation ago, the loss of one’s sexual innocence before marriage carried a stigma; today, many of our young people try to hide the fact of their virginity because their peers will look down on them for it. What a devastating indictment of a society, when purity is not honored but ridiculed!
For the child of God, however, purity is a priority to be sought. We want to be fashioned in the image of God—to share in his holiness and righteousness. That does not mean we will achieve such purity in this life; but for the children of God, purity is the desire of their hearts.
Sin no longer dominates (vv. 4-7). Before we knew Christ, we were controlled by sin. The apostle Paul says we were “slaves” to sin—it held us in bondage, it dominated our lives. But Christ has freed us from bondage to sin, and we no longer allow sin to dominate our lives as it once did.
Does that mean Christians don’t sin anymore? Not at all. The difference is that once Christ has come to reside in your life, sin is now an unwelcome visitor. You are no longer “at home” in a sinful lifestyle. And as you grow in your Christian walk—through prayer, studying God’s Word, sharing your faith with others—then sin has less and less influence in your life.
One of the ways we recognize the child of God is through a transformed lifestyle. There is another important characteristic John cites here:
II. Being a Child of God Produces a New Hope
Have you attended the funeral of someone who is not a Christian? It is altogether different than the funeral of a child of God. For the non-Christian, the funeral service is really an ending, a ceremony marked by tragedy and loss. For the Christian, however, the funeral ought to be in some sense a celebration. For the child of God, death is not a tragic ending but an incredible beginning of an eternity with God.
We do not know all that we would like to know about that future, but we know that it is filled with hope and expectancy. As John says, “What we will be has not yet been revealed,” but we do have the promise of something special. “What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (v. 2). We will one day have the privilege of seeing Almighty God in all his glory and power, and we will have the even greater privilege of in some way sharing in that divine experience with the Father.
What a hope! What a Savior! (Michael Duduit)
Getting Up by Looking Around
Luke 24:36b-48
Trust in our Lord is inspired when we look around; Psalm 121 says, “I lift up my eyes.” Trust in our Lord is completed when we look up to him; in the scripture text from Luke we read, “Look at my hands and my feet. . . . Touch me and see . . . .”
I. Getting Up by Looking Around
I’ll never forget a scene from an episode of “The Three Stooges.” Curly cried, “Moe! Moe! I can’t see!” Moe asked, “What’s the matter?” And Curly replied, “I’ve got my eyes closed.”
God’s handiwork is all around us “from sea to shining sea.” All we have to do is look around—open our eyes—and we’ll see Someone very sovereign is running the show. Only the emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually blind of this world cannot see our Lord is in control and will ultimately prevail.
The psalmist was being rhetorical when he asked, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come?” He knew God is in control. He quickly sang out, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Therefore, he concluded, “The LORD . . . will keep your life” (Ps. 121).
The psalmist was saying that if God can create a world, he can most certainly conserve us here and now and hereafter.
Are you down? Look around!
II. Looking Around Doesn’t Always Work
Unfortunately, there’s always enough pain and suffering in our world to keep us down. There are intentional tragedies precipitated by nasty people. There are natural tragedies like fire, floods, earthquakes, disease, and so on.
Looking around doesn’t always inspire us. Sometimes it gets us down to look around.
III. Staying Up by Looking Up
When the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, their trust was completed as their potential for confident living and eternal life was assured. That’s why Jesus said, “Look at my hands and feet . . . Touch me and see.” Getting in touch with Jesus—entering into holy communion with him through the spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, fasting, Bible study, sacrament, and fellowship—enables a person to live triumphantly amid the meanness, madness, and misery of life in the modern world.
When Larry King asked Chuck Colson how he has avoided the pitfalls of so many church leaders who can never live up to human expectations, Colson said, “I tell people, ‘Don’t follow me! Follow Jesus! ”
That’s why our church has rearranged the chancel furniture. Our pastors don’t sit in the kingly high-backed seat. We’ve reserved it for our Lord. Only Christ is king! We’ve even put a sign on it: “This seat reserved for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus!”
It’s like we read in Hebrews: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (12:2 NIV). To put it another way, the only way to stay up is to look up to Jesus.
When we’re getting down, we must remember the gospel. We must remember Jesus. We must remember how he conquered death and assured the same for you and me through faith. We must remember his resurrected greeting to the disciples, which is the experience of all who trust in him: “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36 b).
That’s how we stay up: we look up to Jesus. (Robert R. Kopp)
On the heels of Peter’s healing of a man lame from birth is one of several sermons Peter preaches in the early part of Acts. There is nothing quite like a miraculous healing to get people’s attention, and Peter certainly had got their attention! The text says, “they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened” (Acts 3:10) .
The content of Peter’s sermon is like many sermons in Acts. First, the sermon addresses the historical reality of how people who should have received Jesus as messiah, instead handed him over to the authorities to have him murdered. Second, Peter’s sermon addresses the question: “[W]hy do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” (v. 12).
How is it that ordinary people like Peter or John—or even us—can do miraculous works? It is a good question, and one that haunts people who, aside from following Christ, are about as ordinary as anyone else.
I. The Resurrection Makes the Difference in Our Lives
At the end of Luke’s Gospel, Peter and the other disciples are discouraged and feel alienated, abandoned by Jesus. Peter knows all too well that he denied Jesus three times, just as Jesus predicted he would. In Luke 23:49, the scene is summarized like this: “But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance.” Jesus was entirely alone—all had fled, or at least had kept their distance out of fear and shame. Yet, from the empty tomb of Jesus resurrection the church was born at Pentecost.
The book of Acts is filled with stories of the disciples being, in a sense, reborn and becoming more Christlike than they could have ever imagined. Acts 5 tells us: “Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by” (vv. 14-15). Clearly, Peter has come out of the shadows of denial to cast a healing shadow of his own.
II. The Resurrection Can Make a Difference in Your Life
Peter’s sermon urges others to partake of this same grace that dramatically changed his own life. This is the primal call of the gospel, calling us into a relationship with Christ, which recreates us in God’s own image. Peter exhorts the people to “repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out” (v. 19), and this will give new life—whole and complete in God.
Max Dupree tells a powerful story about people’s identity. A young physician had a patient who owned a small business. The doctor had gone beyond normal expectations in helping this businessman, and in gratitude the man invited the physician and his wife to dinner and a symphony concert. During the concert, the orchestra presented a premier performance of a new composition. After the piece was performed and the audience applauded, the conductor turned to the young businessman and introduced him to the audience as the composer—much to the shock of the physician, who had not known of his patient’s musical talents.
The physician wondered whether his patient was an amateur composer whose primary identity was running a business, or whether he was actually a professional composer who also operated a business for the sheer enjoyment of it. “Did his experience with balance sheets help his orchestration? Or did his knowledge of harmony enable him to listen for the music in a well-run organization?” (Max Dupree, Leadership Jazz [Dell, 1992], 186-87).
Each of us has the choice, by God’s grace, to become a Peter of Acts rather than a Peter of the gospel, because Christ can and does work in human life. (David N. Mosser)
Becoming His Children
1 John 3:1-7
The famous writer George Bernard Shaw received a unique proposal from dancer Isadora Duncan. She believed that the two of them should have a child together. As she explained it: “Think what a child it would be, with my body and your brain!”
Shaw declined the offer, sending this response: “Think how unfortunate it would be if the child were to have my body and your brain!”
Parents are justly proud of their children, and often point to physical or emotional characteristics in their children that correspond to similar characteristics in themselves. That’s what we mean when we call little Junior a “chip off the old block.”
But what if your father is God? John says that in Christ we have become children of God. What does it mean for you and me to be children of God?
I. Being a Child of God Produces a New Lifestyle
When we become part of the family of God, we experience a transformation that produces a new lifestyle.
Purity becomes a priority (v. 3). We live in a culture in which purity is not so much an asset as a liability! For example, a generation ago, the loss of one’s sexual innocence before marriage carried a stigma; today, many of our young people try to hide the fact of their virginity because their peers will look down on them for it. What a devastating indictment of a society, when purity is not honored but ridiculed!
For the child of God, however, purity is a priority to be sought. We want to be fashioned in the image of God—to share in his holiness and righteousness. That does not mean we will achieve such purity in this life; but for the children of God, purity is the desire of their hearts.
Sin no longer dominates (vv. 4-7). Before we knew Christ, we were controlled by sin. The apostle Paul says we were “slaves” to sin—it held us in bondage, it dominated our lives. But Christ has freed us from bondage to sin, and we no longer allow sin to dominate our lives as it once did.
Does that mean Christians don’t sin anymore? Not at all. The difference is that once Christ has come to reside in your life, sin is now an unwelcome visitor. You are no longer “at home” in a sinful lifestyle. And as you grow in your Christian walk—through prayer, studying God’s Word, sharing your faith with others—then sin has less and less influence in your life.
One of the ways we recognize the child of God is through a transformed lifestyle. There is another important characteristic John cites here:
II. Being a Child of God Produces a New Hope
Have you attended the funeral of someone who is not a Christian? It is altogether different than the funeral of a child of God. For the non-Christian, the funeral service is really an ending, a ceremony marked by tragedy and loss. For the Christian, however, the funeral ought to be in some sense a celebration. For the child of God, death is not a tragic ending but an incredible beginning of an eternity with God.
We do not know all that we would like to know about that future, but we know that it is filled with hope and expectancy. As John says, “What we will be has not yet been revealed,” but we do have the promise of something special. “What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (v. 2). We will one day have the privilege of seeing Almighty God in all his glory and power, and we will have the even greater privilege of in some way sharing in that divine experience with the Father.
What a hope! What a Savior! (Michael Duduit)
Getting Up by Looking Around
Luke 24:36b-48
Trust in our Lord is inspired when we look around; Psalm 121 says, “I lift up my eyes.” Trust in our Lord is completed when we look up to him; in the scripture text from Luke we read, “Look at my hands and my feet. . . . Touch me and see . . . .”
I. Getting Up by Looking Around
I’ll never forget a scene from an episode of “The Three Stooges.” Curly cried, “Moe! Moe! I can’t see!” Moe asked, “What’s the matter?” And Curly replied, “I’ve got my eyes closed.”
God’s handiwork is all around us “from sea to shining sea.” All we have to do is look around—open our eyes—and we’ll see Someone very sovereign is running the show. Only the emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually blind of this world cannot see our Lord is in control and will ultimately prevail.
The psalmist was being rhetorical when he asked, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come?” He knew God is in control. He quickly sang out, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Therefore, he concluded, “The LORD . . . will keep your life” (Ps. 121).
The psalmist was saying that if God can create a world, he can most certainly conserve us here and now and hereafter.
Are you down? Look around!
II. Looking Around Doesn’t Always Work
Unfortunately, there’s always enough pain and suffering in our world to keep us down. There are intentional tragedies precipitated by nasty people. There are natural tragedies like fire, floods, earthquakes, disease, and so on.
Looking around doesn’t always inspire us. Sometimes it gets us down to look around.
III. Staying Up by Looking Up
When the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, their trust was completed as their potential for confident living and eternal life was assured. That’s why Jesus said, “Look at my hands and feet . . . Touch me and see.” Getting in touch with Jesus—entering into holy communion with him through the spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, fasting, Bible study, sacrament, and fellowship—enables a person to live triumphantly amid the meanness, madness, and misery of life in the modern world.
When Larry King asked Chuck Colson how he has avoided the pitfalls of so many church leaders who can never live up to human expectations, Colson said, “I tell people, ‘Don’t follow me! Follow Jesus! ”
That’s why our church has rearranged the chancel furniture. Our pastors don’t sit in the kingly high-backed seat. We’ve reserved it for our Lord. Only Christ is king! We’ve even put a sign on it: “This seat reserved for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus!”
It’s like we read in Hebrews: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (12:2 NIV). To put it another way, the only way to stay up is to look up to Jesus.
When we’re getting down, we must remember the gospel. We must remember Jesus. We must remember how he conquered death and assured the same for you and me through faith. We must remember his resurrected greeting to the disciples, which is the experience of all who trust in him: “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36 b).
That’s how we stay up: we look up to Jesus. (Robert R. Kopp)
By Ministry Matters
What Makes the Difference? Acts 3:12-19 On the heels of Peter’s healing of a man lame from birth is one of several sermons Peter preaches in the early part of Acts. There… read more
From a Child's Point of View
First Reading: Acts 3:12-19. Children need to hear the preceding story of the healing of the lame man (vss. 1-11) to make sense of Peter's sermon. Once they know what had happened, they are impressed by Peter's refusal to take any credit for the healing. They need some adult help to follow Peter's subtle series of accusations and promises.
Psalm: 4. The complex progression of speakers and general language of this psalm make it an interesting puzzle for adult Bible scholars, but a confusing jumble for children. It is, however, possible to explore the last three verses as a prayer we can pray during Easter. In that prayer, we praise God for the invaluable gift of Jesus' resurrection, and we put our trust in God's care whether we are awake or asleep, alive or beyond death.
Epistle: 1 John 3:1-7. John is dealing with an obsolete Greek heresy that is beyond the understanding and interest of children. What they can glean from this passage is that to be Christian is to be like Jesus. We are like Jesus in two ways we will be resurrected, and we can fight sin. John's point about obedience in the fight against sin is particularly clear to elementary children, who tend to understand sin as "breaking the rules."
If you worked with "the children of light" last week, children will be ready to hear "children of God" as another name for God's people and think about the privileges (resurrection) and responsibilities (fight against sin) of being one of "the children of God."
Gospel: Luke 24:36 b-48. Few children recognize their own mortality or respond with the relieved joy of adults to the promise of resurrection. But most children are curious about what happens to people when they die and what happened to Jesus' body on Easter. Luke speaks concretely to their curiosity. He insists that after the resurrection, Jesus' body was totally new and different. He could appear inside a locked room, but was not a ghost. He had skin the disciples could touch, and his body functioned in some of the old ways for example, he could eat, and it still bore the crucifixion wounds. His friends recognized him (most of the time) by the way his body looked. In short, Jesus' resurrected body was unique, something totally new and different. Because we know about Jesus' resurrected body, we know the answers to some of our questions, but not to all of them.
As another tack to take with children, explore Jesus' explanation of the meaning of his Easter resurrection. Adults, aware of the brevity and vulnerability of life, appreciate the Easter promise of life beyond death. Children, struggling to learn how to live in this world, appreciate more deeply Jesus' explanation in verse 47 that his resurrection means we are forgiven (even when we desert Jesus) and can try again (repent). For them, resurrection is a fresh start, another try.
Watch Words
Today, speak either of resurrection of the body, or of resurrection to forgiveness and new life. If you explore both on the same day, children are overwhelmed and confused.
Introduce repent and forgiven as an Easter word pair. Describe how and why the words go together.
Let the Children Sing
"The Day of Resurrection!" ties in closely with John's demands for obedience. Before singing it, walk through the verses, putting them into your own words and connecting them to the day's message. Downplay the Passover references in the first verse to emphasize the prayer request in verse 2 and the praise in verse 3. Children follow such walk-throughs better with their hymnals open.
If you focus on resurrection of the body, sing "Thine Is the Glory" or "Up from the Grave He Arose." "Thine Is the Glory" is a song the disciples could have sung after the events and discussion in today's Gospel story. You might suggest that worshipers imagine themselves singing it with the disciples. Children enjoy the dramatic change from the somber verses of "Up from the Grave He Arose" to the upbeat chorus that celebrates Jesus' victory over death.
The Liturgical Child
1. To clarify the events in Acts 3, ask a group of costumed clowns to pantomime the whole story (vss. 1-19) as it is read. Peter should be an adult who can dramatize what is said with both body and face. The lame man, John, and two or three crowd clowns may played by older children or teenagers. Peter and John pull their empty pockets inside out when the lame man begs. Peter points up, with assurance, to speak of God; points accusingly at the crowd, which cowers; turns a thumb to himself, as a witness, and nods his head. As verses 17-19 are read, Peter uses inclusive arm gestures, then raises the crowd clowns from their cowering positions, dusts them off a little, and turns them to face the worship center. The reading ends with Peter standing with his arms around them, facing the worship center. (If you have never involved clowns in presenting Scripture, this is a good text with which to begin. Clowns can make clear what a story suggests, but which many hearers fail to catch.)
2. In this Affirmation of Faith, the congregation's response is, "We Believe in the Resurrection of the Body." (If your congregation recites the Apostles' Creed frequently, point out this line.)
When people die, we bury or cremate their bodies. Some of us have decided to donate parts of our bodies when we die, to save others. And some of us will give our bodies to be used in medical studies or research, but . . . (RESPONSE) No one knows exactly what happens after we die, but . . . (RESPONSE) On Easter, three days after he had been killed on a cross, Jesus was alive again. His friends saw him, ate with him, and talked with him. So . . . (RESPONSE) His body was different. He could appear and disappear. But he was the same Jesus. He still loved and cared for people. He explained to his friends what had happened. And though they never really understood it all, the disciples began to say . . . (RESPONSE) Jesus promised that we too will experience resurrection of our bodies, so . . . (RESPONSE) None of us knows exactly what will happen after we die, but we do not need to be afraid. We know that God will be with us and take care of us . . . (RESPONSE)
Sermon Resources
1. Today's Gospel suggests a sermon focused on bodies. Some children get the idea from Christian adults that God is not interested in our bodies, or even that our bodies are dangerous and can get us into trouble. The biblical message is that God created us with bodies, and part of God's plan is the resurrection of our bodies. This means that we are to respect and care for our bodies. The beginning of spring sports opens the way for talking about the joy of using our bodies and the importance of disciplining them. The end of the school year often involves sixth-graders in their first "teenage" parties, at which they may face pressure to try alcohol or drugs.
2. Mary Poppins tells about a father who has a "resurrection," or fresh start. When he loses his bank job because his children Jane and Michael accidentally start a run on the bank during a visit, he repents and plans to pay more attention to his family. Try creating a next chapter which describes the changes he made. What would he look for in a new nanny? What problems might he encounter back at work?
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