Preparing for Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010

Take a moment to centre yourself in prayer:

Holy God, you have opened our hearts to hear your Word, and our mouths to proclaim your truth. Open our eyes this day to see in the symbols of our faith the revelation of your love. Through Jesus the healer, the teacher, the savior, the crucified, may we truly become the body of Christ, in our world so full of crosses and broken hearts. We pray in his name, and in you, our Creator, and in the holy Spirit, who gives us the power of faith to overcome all obstacles, Amen.

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The readings for Sunday skip past the realities of Good Friday, and parachute us right into the happy-ending Easter story. To appreciate what choices led Jesus to resurrection, we begin by focussing on some of the scripture readings and symbolism of Holy Week:

1) READ Luke 19:45-48

Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, ‘It is written,“My house shall be a house of prayer”; but you have made it a den of robbers.’
Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

Now imagine a bag of coins scattered on the temple floor...

How desireable money seems in the midst of everyday life, but how inappropriate to make profit our focus in the house of God. What is your focus in God’s house of prayer?
silent meditation

2) READ Luke 22:7-23, 31-34

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.’ They asked him, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for it?’ ‘Listen,’ he said to them, ‘when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, “The teacher asks you, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ” He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.’

So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. ‘

Now imagine a goblet and loaf of bread…

The original communion service was a celebration of Passover, which commemorates the Israelites’ escape from slavery. What is the liberation that Jesus offers us?
silent meditation

3) READ Luke 22:39-53

He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’ Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’
While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we strike with the sword?’ Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!’

Now imagine a flowering branch from a garden…

It is in the most beautiful place that Jesus felt the abandonment of his friends and isolation even from God. Yet, even in that stark experience of aloneness, he did not turn away from his purpose. Where did he find his courage?
silent meditation

4) READ Luke 22:54-23:25

Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, ‘This man also was with him.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ Then about an hour later yet another kept insisting, ‘Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about!’ At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly. Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ‘Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?’ They kept heaping many other insults on him.
When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. They said, ‘If you are the Messiah, tell us.’ He replied, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.’ All of them asked, ‘Are you, then, the Son of God?’ He said to them, ‘You say that I am.’ Then they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!’ Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’ Then Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘You say so.’ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no basis for an accusation against this man.’ But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies. Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.’ Then they all shouted out together, ‘Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!’ (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify him!’ A third time he said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.’ But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

Now imagine a crown of thorns…

It is one thing to have a crowd of strangers turn their coats and welcome Jesus at the beginning of the week, only to condemn him a few days later, but Peter, Jesus’ trusted companion? Should this lack of faith condemn Peter forever? What burdens of guilt do you still carry?
silent meditation

5) READ Luke 23:26-56

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’
Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’ And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Now imagine a candle blowing out…

In moments of deepest despair, what is it that keeps us going?
silent meditation

Easter readings:

READ John 20:1-18

As we shift from the readings of Holy Week to Easter Sunday, it is good to begin with Mary’s story from the gospel of John. There is a good, long transition between grief and joy in this account of the resurrection.

Mary was alone when she came to the tomb, and it was still dark, still somber in the shadow of her grief. She found the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty.
- In the story where Lazarus was raised, the stone needed to be rolled away by human hands, but in this resurrection, the stone was already moved by unseen power.
- Lazarus’ gravecloths needed to be unwound, but Jesus’ cloths never left the tomb.

Question for Reflection: What are your experiences of cemeteries – do you find them peaceful, or unnerving? Does the Easter story influence your thoughts about death?

Mary feared the worst (graverobbers?), and sounded the alarm, bringing Peter and “the beloved disciple” to the tomb. John’s detailed description of who got there first, etc, and gives us an idea of the competition between followers of Peter and John in years to come. They witnessed the empty tomb and each drew their own conclusions.

Verse 9 suggests that neither one understood fully, for they did not know “the scripture”, John implying how Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets.

Mary was left alone at the graveside to witness the arrival of two “angels” who asked her a question, but she was too distraught to seek answers from them. Breaking away from their brightness, she turned away and encountered a very human figure – a gardener, she thought, who might know where Jesus’ body had been taken. When he spoke her name, she recognized him as “rabbouni”, her teacher.
- In John 10:14, Jesus taught that as the good shepherd, he knew his flock by name and that they would recognize his voice.

Rather than trying to hang on to him, Jesus told Mary to go and tell his “brothers” what she had seen. It was important for her to understand this was not the end of the story: he needed to ascend, and he needed ALL the disciples to continue the witness. The story of the resurrection is not just past history, but a commissioning to go forth faithfully into the unknown future.

Question for Reflection: In what ways do you “witness” to resurrection in your life?

READ Isaiah 65:17-25

A passage likely written after the Jews have left their exile in Babylon/Persia and returned to Jerusalem. It reflects their high expectations of what a “faithful people” could become as a nation. In this passage, clearly, God is at the root of the New Creation. This will transform not only the land and their circumstances but the people as well.

In this passage, as in the Easter story, there is a sense of optimism which we read cynically, knowing that their promise has not been fulfilled… yet! They are reminders to all of us that we are still God’s promise in the making.

Question for Reflection: How can we embody this new life in the midst of our day to day realities?

READ Acts 10: 34-43

The setting for this passage is Peter’s response to Cornelius, a Roman who had been convinced in a vision by an angel to speak to Peter and learn from him. Peter had had his own vision, one where God asked him to eat foods that were considered ritually unclean. Because of that vision, Peter has figured out that God did not create the boundaries between different groups that Peter has always observed as a Jew. He then goes on to testify to his understanding of Jesus Christ:
- God anointed Jesus with Spirit and power;
- Jesus healed the sick and exorcized demons;
- He was crucified by Rome;
- God raised him and showed him to some of his followers, even eating and drinking with them to prove it was a physical resurrection;
- They are now commissioned as witnesses;
- Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness through him.

The Christian gospel in a nutshell!

Question for Reflection: If you had to explain your faith to someone who had never heard of it before, what words or images would you use?

Closing Prayer:
based on Psalm 118 – a psalm used in Passover celebrations:

O God, we give you thanks, for you are good; your steadfast love endures forever.
You have always been our strength and our support; but now you have become our hope for all time. We sing glad songs in our homes and on our journeys, for your hand opens to us, and raises us to new life! You have not given us up to death, but open for us the gates of righteousness. We will enter and give thanks to God! For this is your doing, marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that our God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Amen