Posted on April 10, 2009 at 7:26am.
I find it strange how the worst day in the life of one person can forever be called - good. This day that we celebrate, that paved the way for us to have an eternal relationship with God was one awful day. Jesus bore unspeakable physical suffering, public humiliation, the turning away of friends, the weight of sin and more than anything else the abandonment of the Father. We will continue to call it Good Friday but I hope we never loose sight of the price that was payed for that to be true.
Posted on April 9, 2009 at 5:54am.
The scene that Matthew records in chapter 26 of Jesus praying in the garden, is so moving and on many levels. He is feeling the vastness of the cross and so in a time when life is overwhelming he asks the three disciples who are closest to him to bear the load he feels. Peter, James and John promptly fall asleep. Jesus pleads with the Father to let there be another way, a different path - but he ultimately yields to the Father’s wisdom and will. Then facing the Father’s way and the disappointment of sleeping friends he is immediately met by Judas his betrayer and arrested. All of this for you and me. What a savior!
Posted on April 8, 2009 at 4:53am.
“You believe at last!”
They finally got it. After three years of listening to him and seeing him perform miracles - they got it. The Gospel of John records one of the last conversations between Jesus and the disciples. The disciples say “Now you are speaking clearly…This makes us believe that you came from God.” Jesus must have had a smile on his face, even as he faced the weight of the looming cross. They believed his message but more than that they believed in him. My prayer is that you believe in the message of Easter and that you believe in the Son of God.
Posted on April 7, 2009 at 9:05am.
I was thinking today of what it must have been like for Jesus with the thought of leaving the disciples. How did he feel as he walked each of those days during his final week on earth and looked into their faces. It is hard to leave people and to say good-bye. What Jesus knew and could see was the bigger picture and what the future held. I don’t have that perspective and so saying good-bye also brings increased uncertainty. He tells the twelve (in John 14) to trust him. Seems to me it almost always comes back to a matter of trust.
Posted on April 6, 2009 at 6:26am.
We remember this week as the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. As I think about this, my mind wonders what it would be like to know that I was living the last week of my life. What would I do with my time, who would I want to see and what would I want to say to people. My plan is to use my blog to explore the last week of Christ and how it might possibly impact how I live.
