Presby-Musings

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman, here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. 28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is accomplished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Today is Good Friday--the day Christians commemorate the suffering and "passion" of Jesus.  On this day of Holy Week, according to the Gospels, Jesus suffered on the Cross between noon and three o'clock...

"When they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take this is my body." Then he took a cup and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.  He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."  - Mark 14:22-24 Today is Maundy Thursday.  We call it "Maundy" Thursday because the ancient church mothers and fathers connected it to Jesus' "mandate" to his disciples on this day of Holy Week to "love one another as I have loved you."   This is also the day we remember Jesus celebrating Passover with his closest friends--what Christians call "The Last Supper."   Jesus loved a good party.   If you read through the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life you will find that every other chapter he's sitting down to dinner with one group of people or another.   As he gathered with the twelve discipl...

"Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.  When they heard it, they were greatly pleased and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him." - Mark 14:10-11 On Wednesday of Holy Week, according to historic Church tradition, we remember Jesus' betrayal by one of his closest followers, Judas Iscariot.  Throughout the centuries, people have offered a number of theories as to why Judas betrayed Jesus.   Some have claimed that he was poisoned by jealousy and greed, which pushed him to do something that he later regretted. Others have claimed that he wanted to force Jesus' hand, to back him into a corner, so to speak, in order to start an armed revolution.   Still others have asserted that he was part of God's plan, and was simply "doing his duty."   In fact, the first-century Gnostic Christian text The Gospel of Judas  seems to indicate...

Throughout Holy Week we'll be following in the footsteps of Jesus as he leads us to the Cross.   According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus on Tuesday of Holy Week, religious and political leaders came together to try and trick Jesus with a slippery question.  They asked Jesus "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?"   If Jesus had answered "No," they would have reported him to the authorities for sedition.  If Jesus had answered "Yes," he would have been discredited in the eyes of the common people, who flocked to hear him speak.   Instead, Jesus asked them to bring him a Roman coin that was stamped with Caesar's image.  He took the coin, and then asked, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They replied, "The emperor's."   Then Jesus said, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar and to God the things that are God's."   This response forces the crowd to ask two follow-up questions.   ...

It's Tuesday of Holy Week, and my daily readings are filled with the stories of Jesus' Passion, most notably his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane right before Judas betrayed him and he was taken.  When he went to Gethsemane to pray that night, Jesus brought three of his disciples with him:  Peter, James and John.   These same three were with Jesus on top of a mountain when the glory of God shone through him and he was transfigured in front of them.   The disciples were astonished to see a transformed Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah, and hear God's voice exhorting them to listen to His Beloved Son.  At Gethsemane, when Jesus commanded the three to stand watch and pray, they failed to listen to him.  Whatever zeal they experienced because of Jesus revealed glory gave way to weariness and frailty.  "Couldn't you keep watch with me for a single hour?" Jesus asks them when he found them asleep.   In that moment we get...

22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? 22:2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. - Psalm 22:1-2 There are few words in the Bible that are more poignant than the first few words of the first verses of Psalm 22.  Most of us probably know these words from Matthew's account of the Passion of Jesus:   About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"). (Matt 27:46) In the throes of agony, in the worst moment of his life, at the very brink of death--what comes to Jesus' mind is a psalm, one that he had memorized as a child.  And the first words of this psalm reveal the intense feelings of abandonment that Jesus felt in that moment.  "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"   Christians believe that Jesus was fully human and fully ...

13:5 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. 13:6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"13:7 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand."13:8 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." 13:9 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"   - John 13:5-9 I was leading a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico several years ago, and we decided to introduce foot washing into one of the worship experiences we were creating for the teens on the trip.  The idea behind it was to give them an intimate experience of what it's like to both serve and be served.   At the conclusion of one of our worship services one night we told the kids about our plan.  We informed th...

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 12:2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.   - Hebrews 12:1-2 We are in the middle of Holy Week--the middle of our symbolic journey with Jesus to the Cross and the Tomb.  T he cheering crowds of Palm Sunday are behind us, the solemnity of Maundy Thursday and the sorrow of Good Friday awaits us.  So, for the moment we can take a breath, and consider what Jesus might have been thinking and feeling in that same moment.   The writer of Hebrews, our lectionary text for today, has an interesting take.  He writes, that Jesus endured the cross "for the sake of the joy that was set ...

12:24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 1 2:25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. - John 12:24-26 Jesus tried to help his disciples understand the meaning of selfless sacrifice.  He tried to help them to see clearly why his impending death was necessary--as a way to demonstrate the restorative, reconciling power of God through resurrection.   Jesus connects his teaching with the way Creation works--that when something dies in Creation, something else has a chance to live.  When you think about it, everything that you will eat today was created because something died in order to give you life-giving nourishment.  Jesus put it like this, "...unless ...

12:3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 12:5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?"  12:7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.  - John 12:3-5-7 As we enter into Holy Week, our lectionary text for today points us toward an important truth about the Passion of Jesus--namely, that it's marked by extravagant sacrifice.   This story from the Gospel of John is found in all four Gospel accounts, with slight variations in each.  In each of the stories, Jesus is at a dinner party and a woman (she's named only in John's account) enters the room, pours expensive perfume on Jesus and is then roundly criticized by some of the people who ...

Today is Palm Sunday.   Palms have been waved, photos have been taken, songs have been sung with gusto.  And all of this begs the question, "What's up with the Palms?"  Seriously.  Why are there a bunch of kids running into the worship space?  Someone inevitably gets hit in the face with the palms, am I right?  Raise your hand if you got smacked a bit.  But where did all of this begin?  Why do we celebrate Palm Sunday?  And why does it seem, at least on the surface, like an exercise in futility?  I mean, here we are cheering and waving and celebrating...  ... And then on Friday we'll be huddled together, remembering the day that Love died on a cross.   Let's journey together almost 2000 years back in time.  Our guide today will be Luke's Gospel--chapter 19 verses 28-40:  28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called ...

Today is Palm Sunday --the Sunday before Easter, the day when we celebrate the beginning of Holy Week with the waving of palms, singing of songs, and other assorted awesomeness. This is the Sunday--before the  Sunday.  The moment before the moment. Did you know that the moment before the moment is the most important moment? When I say the moment before the moment, I mean the moment before the great moment --the moment of decision, the moment of destiny, the moment that always seems to get all the attention But it's the moment before the moment that's actually the most important---moment. Think about it. Remember the first time you went on the high dive at the pool?  You climbed up that ladder that seemed like it went to heaven.  Then you stood there at the end of that diving board, barely able to walk.  But you did--you stepped forward and then stood there at the end of it looking down.  And then you took a breath. That moment--the moment...

Stones from Herod's Temple in Jerusalem Destroyed: 70 AD This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, and the "home stretch" to Easter Sunday morning.  It's also the day that in my faith tradition (Presbyterianism) we bust out the handbells, crank up "All Glory, Laud and Honor" on the organ and let the kids run around the sanctuary waving palm branches. Which are a heckuva lot easier for us Floridians to obtain this time of year. I thought a bit this week about what it must be like for someone who has never really been to church to walk into the aforementioned spectacle.  They might think it's awesome.  Or weird.  Or both. Christians have funny traditions. But some of these traditions---especially the ones that we celebrate every year---provide us with signs and symbols to remember who we are and why the stories we tell about our faith are so important. Take this week, for example...  The passage of Scripture that I'll be...