Easter Morning 2024

 

This morning's Gospel Reading:

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back--it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mk 16:1-8 (ESV)

We read the Story, and we considered much of those moments leading up to the resurrection of our Lord.  Yet Easter Sunday isn't the coda in this great aria, its the beginning of the next movement, a continuation of our Lord's great symphony where He is now beginning to: 

…wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be moCurning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Rev 21:4-5 (ESV)

Come along for the journey, there's plenty of room on the bus.

Holy Week 2024 -- Holy Saturday

 From this morning's Gospel reading:

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, `After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, `He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. Mat 27:57-66 (ESV)

Yesterday was a day like none other.  Outside the city walls of Jerusalem, a cosmic collision of the temporal and eternal took place, affixed to a cruel Roman cross. In the eyes of some, it may have appeared as the death of a desperate hope of throwing off the yoke of Imperial Rome. To others, it represented the messy death of a wide-eyed troublemaker. Still to others, it appeared as the timely demise of a troublesome meddler who was bent on usurping a culture and religious system. Irrespective a body, now still and lifeless, hung between heaven and earth. The eyes that stare in from outside of our timeline saw something completely apart. To these eyes, there on Golgotha's hill hung the only propitiatory offering that could satisfy a Holy and Just God. Just moments prior, this God-man suspended above the earth cried out "Tetelestai"! The debt for sins ancient and future were paid. The God-man then stepped out of our timeline and willingly yielding his life back into the hands of the Father. 

Those followers of the master, who hadn't abandoned him, now had approximately three hours to see to the matter and in doing so, would render themselves ceremonially unclean for the coming feast Yet in their devotion, they sought the body of Jesus who might have otherwise been cast into the burning garbage dump outside of the city walls, Gehena. Instead of becoming food for carrion' birds, the remains of the Christ were lovingly laid in the tomb of Joseph, a leader among the Sadducee's.

A day later, the Jewish priestly aristocracy was nervous. They knew that in spite of the Christ's resounding declaration, that this was far from over. With the Roman governor's approval, the tomb was sealed with the signet of Imperial Rome. This seal was a dire warning to would be hoaxers that should they attempt to steal Christ's remains, they would suffer the same fate as the one lying on the other side of the stone.

From the standpoint of the Apostolic band, this had to be a crushing day. One of their own had handed Jesus over to the authorities and was now dead by his own hands. Their "class president" made a profanity-laced denial of their Master and was now living with the disgrace. The rest were hiding somewhere in the city, for fear that perhaps after the feast, they would be next.

Yet, we'll soon learn just how one day changes everything.

Holy Week 2024: Good Friday -- Tetelestai!

From the Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for Good Friday:

Almighty God, we beseech you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the Cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today's Gospel passage is extremely long, recapturing the Passion narrative that was read from a great group of Lay Readers at All Saints' this past Sunday.  I'm sharing a portion of that large passage to accompany our thoughts in this moment.

While I'd seriously doubt that many reading this today have actually witnessed a Crucifixion, yet most have seen one or more theatrical or cinematic dramatization of the event. Many of these dramatic recreations are relatively sterilized while some are extremely graphic and visceral.  But the bloodiest depiction fails to capture the horrors of a roman crucifixion, an execution engineered to inflict one of the worst deaths a human may endure.  The Gospels capture a sense of this in their description of how the Roman execution detail broke the legs of two of the sufferer's in order to accelerate their end.

Our portion of Saint John 19 captures the Christ, in the moments leading to His death upon the cross:

"When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:26-30 (ESV)

It was approaching 3:00 PM in Jerusalem.  It could easily have been 68 Degrees Fahrenheit or 20C and fair on any given day, but this was an afternoon like no other.  Three hours prior, an unnatural darkness enveloped Jerusalem that held the city in the grip of twilight.  in this gloom, each breath taken by the master took the full measure of his strength as he strained against the nails to fill his lungs.  No doubt, he was dehydrated and in shock from being beaten and awake for 33 hours.  For all of this, the Christ WOULD NOT die until his mission was complete.  

In these moments, Jesus scans the perimeter, and sees his Disciple John son of Zebedee with Mary, his Mother.  He commends his mother into John's care while comforting his mother that John would care for her.  Now, his thirst slaked by the sour wine, Jesus was able to cry out in a loud voice that the redemption of the Creation was complete. His words captured the sense that our sin debt at that moment was now paid in full.

Holy Week 2024: Maundy Thursday

 

From the Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for Maundy Thursday:

Almighty Father, whose most dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it in thankful remembrance of Jesus Christ our Savior, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

When I first became aware of the word "Collect", it had a strange ring to it.  But simply put, a "Collect" is simply a prayer meant to gather the intentions of of the people and the focus of the worship into a succinct prayer.  Anglican Collects seem to follow a certain meter and have been a part of historic Anglican since the time of Archbishop Cramner.  Today's fitting prayer calls to mind the Sacrament that was first instituted over two millennia this evening.

Today, we read in the Gospel of Saint John:

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean." When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. ... When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:1-17, 31-35 (ESV)

Perhaps its our aversion to the baring our feet in in church to be washed by a nodding acquaintance that drives many to place the focus of Maundy Thursday on the institution of the Eucharist rather than the call to the humility of washing a possible stranger's feet. I inwardly cringe at the thought of someone being confronted by my gnarly, middle-aged feet.  But its at this moment that I'm reminded that it was the composer and conductor of the Aria of Creation who stripped down to his underwear to wash the dirty fallen feet of his Apostles, feet he conceived in Eternity past.

I continue to be arrested by this moment. The Christ is mere hours away from enduring the most hellish ordeal ever endured by one clothed in human flesh. The spotless Passover lamb would soon have the sins of the vilest offenders laid upon his shoulders.  It's weight may have felt like the shattering blow from a pile driver. It's at moments of reflection, such as now, my careless sins and betrayals become a foul, wretched stench in my own nostrils.

In this unfolding moment. Christ, in demonstrating this love that loves someone to the end, strips down to his inner garments and girds himself with a towel in preparation to wash the feet of his disciples. Try to imagine a dinner where the host suddenly strips down to his boxers and tee-shirt; it would be an awkward moment at the very least. The Christ of God is now seen as the servant of all; transformed from High King of Heaven to lowly house slave. All were shocked, but Peter seems to have been scandalized as seen in his reaction. Jesus doesn't mince words; without this "washing" St. Peter would have no share in the Kingdom. Peter suddenly gets it, and all but asks for a bath.

For a visual learner, this moment in the Gospel packs a powerful punch. It teaches volumes about the Kingdom and how it will unfold. It shows us that the Kingdom looks far more like a tiny sunbaked Albanian nun cradling the dying than a slick, polished preacher trying to sell you your best life now. Its self-emptying rather than self-aggrandizing. Our Lord has no need or use for strutting popinjays who seem to pervade the vast spiritual and cultural wasteland. The "No Fear" Crowd does little more than stir His holy wrath. He saw all of these traits in His onetime anointed cherub and threw both him and his company of fallen angels down from Heaven. No, He seeks something quite to the contrary. 

Consider on this Maundy Thursday... Our Lord seeks those who've grasped the concept that in the greater scheme of things, they're truly of no account. They've got nothing to bring to the table. These are the ones whom the Master can fill with His power and may well use them mightily in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom in both word and action.

Holy Week 2024: Spy Wednesday

 

From today's Gospel reading:

14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. 17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?" 18 He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, "Is it I, Lord?" 23 He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, "Is it I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You have said so." Mat 16:13-25 (ESV)

Our Gospel takes us today us to a pivotal moment, an inexorable point events are locked in, and destinies become fixed: 

From the moment of the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve and the works of the flesh supplanted the fruits of the Spirit, treachery became an indelible stain on humanity. Treachery, in its most basic, is defined as a violation of allegiance, or of faith and confidence by Webster.  It is carried out in shadows. It occurs through the furtive actions of cowards unable to face the recipients of their actions.  In Dante's Inferno, the deepest depths of Hell were reserved for history's worst traitors.  But at this moment, this man remembered in infamy is seated at the same table with the Christ of God.

A deep scene is unfolding as Saint John, the beloved disciple of God, hears his Master uncover the conspiracy.  Eleven of the Apostles are instantly thrown into a tangle of anxiety while the twelfth was now doubtlessly experiencing a surge of fear and adrenaline as his plan is unmasked and exposed to all.  Even the youngest of the band was now enmeshed in self-examination.  Jesus would momentarily answer all of their questions.

The sop, a hard piece of unleavened bread softened by wine perhaps, was handed to the man from Kerioth.  In the unseen realm of this moment, the sop hit Judas' hand with all of the force of a firing pin striking a primer cap.  The Holy Spirit which had once rested upon this man was gone, and Lucifer himself entered him.  At once, any fellowship he may have enjoyed with The Christ was irrevocably severed.  He was now compelled by the command of God to depart and set his plan into motion.

Many have offered up theories as to why. Judas did as he did.  For now, I won't offer my opinions on that here.  Still it is important to remember that there would be two betrayals over the next several hours.  Each would have completely different outcomes.

Lent, and Holy Week both compel us to look deep into the mirror.  It demands that we too ask, "Is it me Lord?"

Holy Week 2024: Tuesday

 

From this morning's Gospel reading:

"Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.  So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.  "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."  The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."  Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine.  Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."  He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.  So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"  So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them." John 12:20-36 (ESV)

So much had happened in a few dozen hours; a man dead four days was walking among the living, the words of Zechariah 9:9 had been fulfilled:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 In my own story, I can recall days in what was then West Germany when the Sonic Booms of NATO warplanes would shake our home.   They were sudden, and impossible to ignore. Like those sonic booms, the voice of God the Father exploded in the atmosphere and rolled like thunder.  Doubtless, many of those gathered in Jerusalem for the passover may have sensed in their hearts that they were on the cusp of something epic, something that was paradigm-shifting. Yet for all of this, the Christ is standing center stage, with a heart growing heavier with each beat.

A heavy heart is not an enviable possession and I suspect that most reading this this morning have the sense of a heavy heart.  Even so, our heaviest of hearts could never even approximate what Jesus was experiencing.

What weighed on Christ's heart? Was it the knowledge that in less than 72 hours, he would become the recipient of 15 hours of hell on earth? Was it knowing that the city where he stood would be leveled and her residents the recipients of imperial genocide? I suspect that what was occurring at present was certainly a cause for sorrow. At this point, the city was swelling and surging as pilgrims filled Jerusalem in preparation for the Passover. The lion's share of those coming for the Lamb of Passover would ultimately reject the Lamb of God.

Holy Week 2024: Monday in Jerusalem

 

From the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Omniscience is not one of our strong suits as Humans. Often times, we're far closer to being bricks than approaching anything close to omniscient, not being able to see the impending consequences of our own shortsightedness. This I suppose is a divine gift, given our fallen natures. Omniscience would probably drive us insane or make us suicidal. For instance, consider what it would be like after receiving a welcome fit for a king just yesterday, you knew that in four days you'd be betrayed, tortured to the point of death, and finally dying on a Roman cross in abject humiliation? 

Consider further the omniscience of the Almighty in light of today's Gospel reading. In the passage we see Jesus at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus along with the apostolic band. We could infer that this may have been a feast, celebrating the return of their Humans to the living, or not. What is fact is the fact that there was a deep friendship between Jesus and the three siblings. It was here that Mary, in an act of devotion broke open an alabaster jar of the finest perfume and anointed the feet of the Master. I'm confident that many in the room were stunned by Mary's action, knowing that the perfume flowing out and filling the room was in fact her old age pension. Judas became indignant, wrapping himself in faux-righteous indignation, rebuked Mary for her supposed waste of such a precious commodity. 

 Had it been you or I there and possessing the gift of omniscience, we'd have torn into Judas like a hot knife through butter in our otherwise faulty human nature. We'd have called him out for his hypocrisy and the fact that he was an embezzler. Or worse, we may have confronted him over what he would do in the next few days. But not Jesus. In his love, he only gently rebuked Judas and turned the attention to Mary's act of worship.

 The Master loved the traitor as much as he loved the tender-hearted Mary. This is incredible and our frail human minds can't comprehend the heights and depths of the pure agape love of the savior. We must however, apprehend own this truth.

Drawing Near to Bethpage

From the Gospel of Saint Luke:

 "When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,saying, "Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.'" So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" And they said, "The Lord has need of it." And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near--already on the way down the Mount of Olives--the whole multitude of his disciples began rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Luke 19:29-40 (ESV) 

It was a cool, bright, and windy morning here in Suburbia Majora. As its our parish custom, out Palm Sunday began.  Following the Liturgy of the Palms, the assembled processed into the sanctuary for the remainder the celebration.

 Consider the Christ's entry into Jerusalem. Jesus, the Son and very expression of the Father, was King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He had every right to ride into Jerusalem on a fiery steed that was draped in battle array. The sound of horseshoes grinding against stone and the snorts of a warhorse could have filled the streets. It was his, and his prerogative to exercise. But no, rather than entering Jerusalem as a conquer, he entered as a King on a mission of peace. The Prophet Zechariah captures it well:

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." 

History recalls how rulers would mount Donkeys or Mules when engaged in peaceful diplomatic missions. And if ever their was a peace mission, it was occurring here in the pages of the Gospels. The Christ entered into the Eternal City, the site of God's Holy Temple. A place where daily sacrifices had been offered for a millennia as an atonement for sin and transgressions. A place where five more sin offerings would be made by the Aaronic order of Jewish Priests before the once and final offering would be made for all of mankind. 

 We can pause, and ask how many of these who were crying out "Hosanna" would bitterly shout "Crucify him" in a few short days.

Holy Week 2024: Moments of Reverie before entering Jerusalem

 

From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Saint John:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." John 12:1-8 Esv

Saint John, in this moment, pulls back the curtain and allows us to see an intimate moment in the earthly life of our Lord before executing His mission to redeem all humanity. 

Mary, the sister of Lazarus, was the one who for whatever reason, seemed to be far more spiritually attuned to the Christ as seen from the Gospel narratives.  While her sister Martha was seen as busy preparing for Jesus, Mary was commended for listening and sitting at the feet of the Master.  So, in this scene, we see a devoted, grateful Mary, in a moment of unbridled devotion to her Lord, in taking a very expensive perfume and anointing the feet of the master.  The very feet the next day, that would set off for Jerusalem.  I find a few moments in which to latch onto in these moments.

The Humanity of Jesus.  The "very God of very God" was also very human.  And like us, he enjoyed the company of friends.  I believe that we can reasonably conclude that this family group (Lazarus, Mary, and Martha) were personally known by the master.  He clearly loved them, as witnessed by his reaction to the death of Lazarus.  Now, before the consummation of his mission to Redeem fallen man, he comes to Bethany to rest an enjoy the fellowship of friends.

The Devotion of Mary. The discussions during that visit are known only to time and eternity.  Did the Master share with the siblings, what was to unfold in the coming hours?   We don't know. What we do know, is that Mary took the most treasured object in the home and anointed her friend and Savior.

Those who love and know Jesus of Nazareth will someday share in that same closeness as did this family in Bethany.  As for me, I long for that moment.