The Story Chapter 26 Post sermon

We begin the most sacred week in the church calendar year. Why? Because this is the week that brings the drama for Jesus to fulfill his rescue mission. The full week is explained in this week’s sermon message found here under March 24th.

The week begins with a triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ends on a cross on Golgotha.

Be in this week. Take time to reflect each portion of what has transpired during the life of Jesus. Take time to meditate on the Stations of the Cross, or on the final seven words Jesus spoke on the cross.

You cannot get to Easter without the passion of the cross. The resurrection doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but rather is the result of what happened when Jesus was willing to follow the plan and sacrifice himself for us.

The cross is where the holiness of God and the love of God meet: It is brutal, it is ugly, it is horrible and it is our saving grace. Without the cross we cannot get to Easter.

Take time this week to remember Christ’s passion, remember the Via Doloroso, (The way of suffering.)

The Story Chapter 26 An Introduction

We are preparing for the last week that Jesus spent on earth. How do we prepare for it? How did he prepare for it?

We often want to go straight from the Hallelujahs to the Resurrection. As I have said many times before, we cannot get to Easter and the Resurrection without going through Holy Week–or without the passion or suffering of Christ.

Chapter 26 takes us through this last week. Pay attention as it is a powerful story of triumph and pain; It is a story of joy and defeat; it is a story of despair and of hope. The Good News is that in the end God wins! Jesus has the final victory.

But before that victory comes a great deal of suffering, and anxiety and pain and betrayal. Jesus came for this reason and this reason only, to offer his life in exchange for ours. For that very reason, we cannot skip over Holy Week. We have to face it square on; we have to follow the journey that Jesus followed–and we need to remember. Remember a time that could have been different, but was actually the fulcrum point for the world.

What strikes you most of this sacred week? What catches you off guard in relation to Jesus’ actions? Read, think, pray, remember and give thanks!

Lent

As we continue in our Lenten journey you might be asking yourself, “How can I observe a Holy Lent? What would make this season meaningful for me?”

The entire point of Lent is to prepare our journey for the resurrection of Christ. As I have said many times, we cannot get to Easter without going through Lent and Holy Week.

As we prepare ourselves we might realize that we don’t want to “give up” something. Maybe we have a habit or something that we know we should give to Jesus, but we  just don’t want to do it. (This might be a habit that is not good for our body, or it might be holding onto a grudge or bitterness that we just are not ready to let go of.)

Lent might be just the right time for us to wrestle with these things. What would it look like if this thing holding you down were able to change? What would it look like if you were able to let go of that bitterness? How would your life be more free? How would your relationship with Jesus change? What would it look like for you to have that burden lifted?

Those are the very things that separate us from Jesus, and Lent is the perfect time to enter into the struggle. As you struggle, invite Jesus to be your guide in the midst of that turmoil. After all, Jesus came to set the captives free. (Luke 4.)

If you have not yet found a devotional for Lent, perhaps this one will speak to you.

Ash Wednesday

On Ash Wednesday we burn last year’s palms and use those ashes to remind us to have penitent hearts.  What it is a penitent heart? A heart that is turned around. A heart that is asking forgiveness for things that separate us from God, and a heart that wants to become closer to God.

A great way to look at this day is to use the metaphor of cleaning house. I don’t know about you, but I am a terrible house cleaner. I don’t like dirt, although my dog does leave fur all over the place, but my problem is PILES! I have piles of papers and books and other things, and oh, yes, clean laundry too. The laundry is clean, but it is piled up!

For me, getting rid of all the piles is a good representation of what we need to do on Ash Wednesday. This is the day we clean off the piles, blow off the dust and put things in their rightful places.

So what are those proverbial piles in our lives that need cleaning off, dusting and need to be put in their proper places? It is the sin that separates us from God. It is those little habits that we hold onto that are not Godly, it is the grudge we hold that we don’t want to let go of, but rather would prefer to nurse along. It is the anger at the situations that we are in, it is the judgement we cast on our neighbor, it is the complaining that we just don’t seem to be able to stop doing. Maybe you have some others. Put they all get put together in those piles of things that separate us from God. These are the piles that need to be thrown out or cast away.

Where do we need to put those piles? Most of them we just need to get rid of. They are not helping us or empowering us to grow like Christ. Some we cannot get rid of on our own, so we need to place them at the foot of the cross and beg Christ to take this yoke, so that in turn we can take the yoke of Christ. (Matthew 11:28)

So this day, the first day of Lent is when we go through the piles. We clean out. We turn around, ask for forgiveness and accept the grace that God freely offers.

The remainder of Lent we use the practices called the means of grace, which include prayer, thanksgiving, alms giving, Scripture reading, serving others and fasting to help us grow in our relationship with God. Through the means of grace we are empowered, through the power of the Holy spirit to grow closer to God.

So how are you going to clean house? What piles need to be thrown out?  What is holding you back from casting them out?

If you need a Lenten Devotional this season, I highly recommend this one written by some UMC pastors in the Baltimore area.

Enjoy this Lenten Devotional: Journey to the Empty Tomb.