Reflections & Meditations

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF HAMILTON • 2015

LENTEN & EASTER THEMES

PSALM 23, MARK 6:30–44, AND JOHN 6

PATRICIA ANDERS

The Bread of LifeThe Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.     He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,     he refreshes my soul. (Psalm 23:1–2 NIV)

In Mark’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, two particular words struck me with a parallel in Scripture I had never noticed before:

“Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.”

“He makes me lie down in green pastures.”

“You prepare a table before me” took on new and deeper meaning as I saw Jesus say to his disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” He then took five loaves and two fish, and what seemed insig-nificant became enough for all—the Good Shepherd prepared a “table” be-fore them as they reclined on the green grass, providing for his sheep in that “quiet place.” God Incarnate acting at a certain time and place in history.

Yet, in John 6, this miracle takes on eternal significance. Soon afterward, the crowds seek out Jesus again for sustenance. When he says that they need to believe in the one God has sent, they ask for a miraculous sign akin to when their “ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness.” But Jesus reminds them that it was his Father who gave them “the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” When they ask for this bread, Jesus declares:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty…. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

As we contemplate this season, preparing for Holy Week and the commemo-ration of the Last Supper and Jesus’ death (and his victory over Death and the promised Wedding Feast of the Lamb), let us dwell on the good news that Jesus is the bread of life—the Good Shepherd who makes us lie down in green pastures and sit on green grass, who leads us to a quiet place, refresh-ing our souls.

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ISAIAH 45:15

PETER D. ANDERS

The Cruciform WayThe way of God is a cruciform way,of self-revelation through hiddenness.Concealing in purpose of revealing under conditions of the contrary, as the way the cross of divine absencereveals the divine presence most sublime.

In weakness and in foolishness hidden are divine power and wisdom revealed,in judgment and in wrathfulness hidden are divine favor and mercy revealed.Divine victory is hid in defeat, and subjection reveals liberation.

A heinous act of violence makes hiddenrevelation of all violence ending.An innocent suffering servant hidesrevelation of all suffering ceased.In the divine self-giving death is hidrevelation of the death of all death.

The way of God is a cruciform way,of self-revelation through hiddenness.Silencing theologians of glory, making foolish the wisdom of this world, and disarming, shaming, and defeatingpowers dark and authorities profane.

The way of Jesus, too, is cruciform,his mission, kingdom, and mountain sermon. The humbled one is the Exalted One, the slain one is the Savior of the world,the one we condemned is the Righteous Judge,and the one who served is the Lord of all. And the way of those disciples who follow? Now are we hidden with Christ in God, thenwill we be revealed as God’s children, whenfrom the tomb of this present perdition is our resurrection glory revealedin resplendent joy and eternal life

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I JOHN 4:18

ELIZABETH BELLUCCI

No Fear in Love “Oh, I just can’t get the brave out of my head!” The sweet voice of our four year old son was unguarded in its expression of joy, gratitude and peace as he exclaimed this earnest phrase from the back seat of our car. We were driv-ing home from his karate class where he had just participated for the first time in months, having struggled with a fear that kept him from doing this thing that he loved. As his mom I felt such thankfulness and relief for him in overcoming his fear. I realized too what a beautiful picture it was of some-thing I have been struck by recently in my walk with Christ.

“Perfect love drives out fear.” It has been incredibly clarifying for me to real-ize that so much of this journey we walk is about love conquering fear. There are times when the all sufficiency of Jesus’ perfect and complete love for me is palpable in the way I am filled with joy, gratitude, peace. I just can’t get the brave out of my head! This changes everything. Decisions, relationships, parenting--my perspective on every external interaction and internal reflec-tion is liberated from the fear of falling short, and I can rest in and act out of love. Perfect love.

But I am so easily distracted. Every moment of every day presents the temp-tation to place someone or something before the truth that Jesus loves me, and that is all I need. And, really, the root of that temptation is fear, isn’t it? Fear of what others will think about me, fear of losing my grip on something I hold too tightly. When these thoughts make their move to redirect my real-ity, it is only the simply stated truth of the gospel that can reclaim them. I see it all around me too--the power of the gospel at work in my brothers and sisters. We share it with one another when we give and receive grace. I see it. Christ’s redemptive work on earth is alive and moving. Over and over again, love conquers fear.

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MATTHEW 23:37

KRISIE BROWN

Waiting “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing" Matthew 23:37

As Jesus sets his face towards the cross he enters Jerusalem with these thoughts in his mind. Longing to gather...desiring...waiting. Waiting sounds like a passive thing. That’s how I viewed it when I was waiting, wait-ing to start a family, waiting to get pregnant. And then complications: an ovarian cyst, a minor procedure, discovering fertility issues, hormone shots, waiting. ‘OK, God,’ I thought, ‘prove yourself. I’ll wait and see if you give me the desire of my heart - a baby.’

God is God and I am not. Waiting, if we choose to grow in it, involves ac-tively letting go of our preconceived ideas and embracing what God has planned: HIS plan, HIS time. He longs for us to turn to Him in our waiting. Even as we wait upon God to reveal Himself, to unfold the plans He has for us, He waits for us. He longs to meet us where we are. We need only turn to Him. He tarries in His second coming to allow us to come to Him in His sav-ing grace. To have time to choose Him.

Isaiah 30:18 “ Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,     and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice;    blessed are all those who wait for him.

I’m not sure I was so good at turning to God during that period of my life, graciously He gifted us with three beautiful children. I hope and pray I am learning to seek more of Jesus and His desires for me in the times of waiting and longing. What helps me to do that is remembering His character, re-counting His goodness and mercy to me over the years, knowing He will an-swer my longings with His best for me. Waiting then is not passive, it is ac-tively expectant. It is full of God, himself, the very best.

If you find yourself in a time of waiting, I pray you find comfort in knowing His presence and feeling the full expectancy of God’s great and gracious plans for you.

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HEBREWS 9:26B

AMY DONOVAN

Once for All But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26b

In my prior job, I traveled to the middle east for several weeks and worked in several countries and territories. During the trip I was provided with a day off to visit Jerusalem. I often think of a site I visited called The Burnt House. It is believed the house was occupied by priestly families during the second temple period until the destruction of 70 AD.

We saw ritual washing areas sunk into the floors of the home. There were stairs for people to enter and immerse in the water. Our guide explained the materials for the vessels were chosen based on purity requirements. I saw firsthand the evidence that the priests of Jesus' era centered their lives around purity.

Throughout Scripture we read about continual ritual washing and the shed-ding of blood through sacrifices. Blood was shed for different forms of sacri-fices and when covenants were cut. We know that, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)

We learn of examples as early as the accounts of the patriarchs in Genesis. God required animals without blemish. During the periods of the tabernacle and temples, priests performed the sacrifices. When Jesus was an infant, his parents brought sacrifices to fulfill the law.

Jesus and the apostles observed the Passover during the time immediately preceding Jesus' death. During the Passover, Jesus said there was a New Covenant in his blood. Shortly after the meal, Jesus was arrested, tortured and crucified. Our Lord's blood was poured out in his suffering and death.

While they appeared without blemish, the sacrificed animals still were under the curse, the result of the Fall. Repeated sacrifices were necessary. Jesus was perfect and without sin. The earthly temples were made by man and con-secrated for God's purposes. The heavenly temple is made by God and pure. Jesus died once and fulfilled all that is needed for righteousness.

I hope you will join me in meditating on our desperate need for blood, for the forgiveness of sins and Jesus as the only perfect sacrifice. His blood was shed once for all.

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ISAIAH 26:1-4

SHARON CARLSON

Rocks vs. Stones Recently I spoke to a group of fifth and sixth graders at a school retreat. The theme for the retreat was Isaiah 26:4, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” What wonderful imagery we have in Scripture for the strength and steadfast nature of our God - the Rock eternal! I was struck by the distinction between rocks and stones. The dic-tionary definition of a rock is “a naturally occurring and coherent aggregate of minerals.” In contrast, a stone is “a piece of rock used for a particular pur-pose.” Interesting. In Scripture, Jesus is described as the rock, but he is also called the cornerstone. Jesus Christ is infinite, eternal, unchangeable God. He was, is, and always will be our rock.. Yet, Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us, fully human, obedient to the will of the Father. He came for a particular purpose, and he is our salvation. His life, ministry, death, and resurrection are the cornerstone of our faith, not only in a corporate sense for the Church, but also for each Christian individually when we are saved by faith and live according to his Word.

As Christians, God’s will for us is to be conformed to the image of Christ (Ro-mans 8:29). The work of Christ on the cross secures our eternal destiny, but also determines our earthly purpose. Isaiah 51:1 says, “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn.” Our iden-tity is grounded in the person of Christ, the Rock. Our purpose is to live as a stone hewn from the rock, refined to reflect his image more and more as we obediently serve and seek to glorify Him. What a delight to know the Lord, and to meet him each day in the Word and in prayer. May each of us come to know Him more intimately and truly seek to fulfill our purpose as image-bearers of the Rock eternal.

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MATTHEW 28:16-20

SARA DOUGHTY

Reading to Know the Heart of God

As a reading specialist, I am in the business of promoting literacy. I believe that Jesus was also in the business of promoting literacy. He and his follow-ers quoted from the Old Testament hundreds of times while they were shar-ing the good news. This approach to sharing the gospel gives the impression that being able to read and understand the sacred texts of the past is vital to grasping God’s plan for the future.

There are other examples of the importance of reading and writing in the Bi-ble. The book of Revelation is filled with references to what had already been written by the prophets, and we see God giving instructions to John to write down what he heard and saw. The prophet Habakkuk was com-manded by God to “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” God intends the transmission of the written word to be a criti-cal part of building his Kingdom.

The Bible tells us that as a boy Jesus went to read in the synagogue. He wanted others to know God’s heart, so throughout his mission, Jesus used scripture to explain God’s plans and purposes. Again, it appears that God designed reading as a key component of the spiritual disciplines, integral to being an effective disciple of Christ.

The task of teaching others to read is a necessary part of the Great Commis-sion. Literate individuals can become strong disciples who have a clear com-prehension of what the Lord commands. Being linguistically literate is a first step to becoming Biblically literate. Equipping others to read first, and then to read and decipher the Bible, can help them to know the heart of our majestic and loving God.

During this season of Lent, we can reflect on the direction of Jesus through the Great Commission to share the gospel, and the importance of literacy and reading as a tool for sharing the good news.

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MATTHEW 26:17-30

CHELSEA KINGSTON

Our RescuerMaundy Thursday commemorates the events of the night Jesus was be-trayed into the hands of the crowds (The chief priests and elders were cow-ards and would not come for him themselves.) It is a solemn night, and all the collects are solemn. We recite the confession together, declaring: "we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition.” And I weep, thinking how desperately I need rescuing.

We take Communion and remember that Jesus prepared this meal for his disciples so that they would have assurance of his grace and his presence with them. Even after his crucifixion. Even after everything had changed.

But this meal is not just any meal—it is inextricably linked to Passover. The Passover meal, the Seder, is an instructive celebration of the heart of God for His people. During the Seder, Jewish families impart the history of Israel's redemption to their children by reenacting the first Passover. In Exodus 3:7-8, God forecasts the Passover rescue to Moses:The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am con-cerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

In the same way, God looks down on you and on me, and He says, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people...I am concerned about their suffering.” And He sends Jesus. Our Rescuer.

Paul puts it this way in Titus 3:3-5: At one time we too were foolish, disobe-dient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.

Like the Israelites, we too have been enslaved. Our passions and pleasures have held us captive to sin. Our Enemy has kept us in bondage. But God has indeed seen our misery, has been concerned about our suffering. And He Himself has come down to rescue us.

In the first Passover meal, God rescued His people from the hand of their op-pressors. In this Passover, He has rescued us from ours.

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REVELATION 7:9-10

TODD M. JOHNSON

Worship Together in Many Tongues

The Lutheran World Federation celebrates both the unity and diversity of Christian worship worldwide in its Nairobi Statement on Worship and Cul-ture, summarized as follows:

Christian worship relates dynamically to culture in at least four ways.

First, it is transcultural, the same substance for everyone everywhere, be-yond culture.

Second, it is contextual, varying according to the local situation (both na-ture and culture).

Third, it is counter-cultural, challenging what is contrary to the gospel in a given culture.

Fourth, it is cross-cultural, making possible sharing between local cultures.

Until recently, most Lutheran liturgy and worship music had originated from German or Scandinavian cultures. With the global spread of Luther-anism, new voices from Tanzania to Papua New Guinea are being heard.

Worship composers are now present in many places where the Christian gos-pel is relatively new. In China, for example, Xiao Min, a peasant woman, has composed over 1,500 songs. These folk songs are known as “The Canaan Hymns” and have spread throughout China and across the world through the diaspora. Her hymn “One Person Cannot Complete the Great Commis-sion” draws heavily on images from nature:

The small grasses never resent the barrenness of the soilThey are able to take deep root wherever they goThe stream never resents the height of many mountains,Flowing and bending, rushing to moisten the soil. . . .We labor together,For one person cannot complete the Great Commission.

This year let’s embrace the beautiful reality that we are part of a worldwide community of believers who praise the same risen Jesus in unison in thou-sands of different tongues!

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This Lenten season it is good to reflect on how the global spread of the gos-pel has resulted in the proliferation of songs, hymns, and choruses in hun-dreds of languages. This diversity of worship music has become the focus of a new area of study, ethnodoxology (closely related to ethnomusicology—the study of music in the different cultures of the world). There is much to study in a world in which the majority of Christians live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and where, globally, Christians are thought to speak at least 3,000 languages. Believers worship best in their mother tongue—the language of the heart.

LUKE 22:24-34, JOHN 13:21-30

FREDERICA JONES

Jesus Prays for UsJesus' prayers are the only thing that differentiates the outcome of the trai-torous actions of Judas and Peter the last day of Our Lord's life. Both of them had heard Jesus clearly state that "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."

One could argue that Judas' act of betrayal was premeditated and Peter's three denials resulted in the pressure of the moment. But what Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33 did not provide any situational exceptions. And so on the night before Jesus crucifixion, Jesus bluntly says to Judas: "What you are about to do, do quickly...he went out. And it was night." Whereas to Peter He said: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you..." Impetuous Peter even denies Jesus prediction - "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." But Jesus persists: "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."

And so Judas goes forward with betrayal and Jesus' last words to him are: "Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?"

Jesus is arrested and taken to trial and Peter, disowns Jesus three times. Af-ter the third denial, Luke tells us that "The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him...And he went out and wept bitterly."

Later when Judas saw the enormity of his actions, "he was seized with remorse...and went away and hanged himself." Peter, no doubt spent an ex-ceedingly miserable three days but lived to be redeemed and restored. I love the detail at the tomb in Mark's Gospel, when the women came to the tomb, there where angels who told them: "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!...go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'" It's as if Jesus couldn't wait for Peter to hear this great good news.

And what about us, what keeps us going? We too are prayed for, not only by the Spirit but Jesus Himself. Romans 8:26-27 and 34 tells us: "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express...Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

Thank you Lord Jesus for your deep, intimate prayerful care of us!

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LUKE 5:31-32

SARAH KELLY

Failing at Lent Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

What have you given up for Lent? Have you given up chocolate? Alcohol? Facebook? Reading meditations on Lent? If it’s the last one, you’ve already blown it, unless you stop reading right now.

I didn’t give up anything for Lent this year. Not because I don’t think it’s a good idea, or don’t need to, but because I’m disorganized, and don’t come from a liturgical background, and forgot to figure it all out before Ash Wednesday rolled around. If you're like me, this has happened to you more than once. You have plans to observe Lent, but then suddenly, the day ar-rives, and you realize Oh no! Today is Ash Wednesday! just after you eat a piece of chocolate, or watch an episode of Brooklyn 99 on TV -- even though you had planned on giving up chocolate and watching television for Lent. Well, then, you think, it’s too late for me.

Why bother, after you’ve already messed up? Ruined your perfect Lent expe-rience by forgetting to be sufficiently sober and mindful? Well, you bother precisely because there is no perfect Lent experience. That’s the point of Lent, really. It leads us to repentance, to the cross, reminds us that being hu-man means messing up, being messed up, and repenting of it. Not that eat-ing a handful of chocolate chips necessarily qualifies for repentance, but it might, for you, in this case. And if this is true, then it’s perfectly fine to re-turn to the spirit of Lent with a renewed desire to be sober and mindful and chocolate-free until the Sunday arrives that commemorates the risen Christ, when all our sorrow and repentance is met with grace and transformed into joy, and we understand: it is not too late for me.

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ISAIAH 53:1-5

KATIE KNUDSEN

Suffering & UnderstandingTrue, many people suffer. Everyone dies, some violently. But it matters that the Creator of the universe took on a real human body, suffered real human pain. From the incarnation through the crucifixion, we are presented with a God who condescended, who emptied Himself and took on human form. He needed his diaper changed. He probably had acne. He ached. He bled.

Why does this matter? His coming in bodily form allows Him to identify with us, to relate to our temptations, our pain. To sacrifice Himself for us. Furthermore, as C.S. Lewis put it, God likes bodies. He created them, after all, and called them “very good.” He instituted sacraments that are physical in nature, not solely spiritual. We are baptized with water. We eat the bread and drink the wine.

Most importantly, we are not promised release from our physical bodies; we are promised new ones. We will not, one day, escape from bodily reality into an ethereal place, but instead we shall live on the new earth in these new bod-ies forever, perfected ones to be sure, modeled after His own body after the Resurrection.

Our bodies are intimately tied to our souls, not prisons for them. Any psy-chology major can tell you the story of Phineas Gage, the man who had a rail-road spike rammed straight through his skull, though his brain. His personal-ity changed, and radically so. Anyone who suffers from an emotional disor-der or who takes neurotransmitters can tell you that the effects of the physi-cal on the spirit are real and profound.

The body matters. It matters to the God who took the time to create a physi-cal universe. So, how we treat our bodies matters. How we treat creation mat-ters. How we treat other bodies matters, too, perhaps most of all.

For how will we be judged at the resurrection, when we are given these new, glorified bodies? The Bible tells us that what God desires, and the basis of His judgment, is our practice of justice and our love of mercy (Micah 6:8), our care for the marginalized (James 1:27, Isaiah 58), and our meeting of their physical needs (Matthew 25).

The Lord who suffered bodily understands the suffering we face, the suffer-ing of an Ebola patient in West Africa, a child bride in the Middle East, an unwed mother struggling to feed and house her children in an American in-ner city. Jesus doesn’t just care about the state of our souls. When He took on flesh, He elevated our physical suffering. It matters, because our bodies matter.

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Jesus suffered. This is no surprise to any reader of Scripture, to any atten-der of Good Friday services. Yet, sometimes, I believe, we fail to recognize the importance of his suffering bodily. We linger over the spiritual suffering, the separation from God the Father, as if this was the moment of real suffer-ing. The curtain was rent, after all. But, if we read the Bible fairly, the body is what is consistently emphasized. It matters that Jesus sweated blood, was whipped, suffered under the crown of thorns, the nails…

ISAIAH 43:19

KAREN LANGLAIS

A New Thing “New and improved” is a promise often claimed by advertisers. We upgrade our technology, load the newest app, and keep up with the latest on the web. We want the newest, the brightest, the latest. So what’s new in your life with Jesus?

In this holy season of renewal and rebirth, what “new thing” is God bringing forth in your walk with Him? Life with Jesus as Lord is a life of transforma-tion, day by day, as we experience the rhythm of obedience that leads to blessing. That blessing, in turn, compels us to love and obey all the more. Have you experienced the “new things” that can result from this obedience?

In this passage, Isaiah delivers God’s promise to do a new thing, but only in the context of Israel’s willingness to turn from sin and the stubborn insis-tence to do life their own way. When I do life my way, stuck in my own self-ish, judgmental ways, I miss the “new thing” that God has in store for me. When I slow down long enough to study God’s written word, to pause in prayer long enough to hear His unspoken voice, I begin to glimpse the change He has in mind for me. We need “eyes to see and ears to hear” the daily entrance of His Holy Spirit into our lives in order to experience the next step, the “new thing” He has in store for us. I recently read these words by C.S. Lewis, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

My Lenten prayer is that I will not miss out on the “new things” awaiting me in my walk of obedience with Him.

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LUKE 23:46-47

HEATHER LABUDDE

Unspeakable Love so Pure Jesus Christ, Love come down, Who came  to serve, to heal; our Pattern and our Guide He was

then gave His life (let's kneel).

Restored blind eyes, fixed legs t'were lame, cast demons into pigs; He fed the crowds from loaves and fish and cursed the tree of figs

He stopped years of bleeding with trusting touch,

made lepers white as snow, He showed the apostles where to cast their nets out .. where to go

He taught in temples, and off from shore, He caused the storm to cease, He walked on water raised the dead, and by His life brings peace.

He suffered for the sake of us, upon the cross He bore,

He hung and bled for what I've done, (His unspeakable love So pure.)

So fixed on Jesus let us be especially in Lent, for God so loved the world, it's true, that Christ is whom He sent.

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LUKE 22:61

DORINGTON LITTLE

When Grace Meets the Ultimate Denial

Luke 22:32 “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail (as in utterly). And when you have turned back (repented!), strengthen your brothers (your role is just beginning!).” There is a subtle play on words between the two texts. Peter will not turn back, until the Lord turns and looks at Him. The latter results in the former.

There is hope for Peter’s soul because of the grace of the looming cross. The very cross Peter argued Jesus should avoid is the cross Peter so desperately needs.

So it is that in the cross, the place of Jesus’ supposed “failure,” condemna-tion and death. As Richard Bauckham reminds us, “God meets us in our real failure, sin, condemnation and death to create for us the new beginning that is in reality our first true beginning after all our false starts.”

Peter cannot pick himself up after his abysmal failure to dust off and move on. That’s impossible – for him or for us. No, he will be brought to see that redemption from sin and self, with the transformation it brings, is only by means of the power of the cross.

Moreover his failure does not disqualify Peter from being a disciple. It rein-forces Peter’s basic never-ending need for Jesus. After Peter’s denial he is not reduced to half the person he once was. Instead, by God’s grace, with his “turning” Peter is on the cross-formed path to become the full person God intends him to be.

And who are we? Like Peter, we live in our own world of denial. Maybe we deny Jesus to avoid the inconvenient or embarrassing or sometimes painful weekday consequences of our Sunday allegiance? Like Peter, we cannot try to remain near/close to Jesus, and simultaneously be incognito. We either unashamedly identify with Him or we don’t. There’s never a halfway cove-nant between Christ and His disciples.

Hence, we really do need to feel the reality of our denials. Even so, we need to bear in mind that Peter’s defection, real and painful and troubling as it is, is temporary, not terminal.

That is what separates Peter from Judas. And the same holds true for us. While in our fallenness we all fail Jesus at some point or another, more than we likely imagine or certainly desire, when genuinely repentant we have something else in common with Peter. Namely, Jesus turns to look upon us with grace! And with that, we turn – as in return – to follow Him.

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Luke 22:61 - “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.”

After his three denials Peter has tunnel vision. A line of sight has been cleared. A sea of bodies parted. His eyes meet Jesus’, whose fixed stare is all knowing and soul penetrating. Peter’s is panicked. For “then Peter remem-bered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows to-day, you will disown me three times.’”

Yes, the rooster’s crow blares the klaxon call signaling the failure of Peter’s soul. Consumed by the pain of instantaneous remorse, Peter left the court-yard, went outside and wept bitterly.

In a totally human world, ruthlessly devoid of any snippet of divine grace, that would likely be the end of the story, wouldn’t it? A story ending with de-moralizing failure. But it is not. Because Jesus’ earlier hinted of coming grace.

HEBREWS 12:2B

LYNN MARCOTTE

The God Who Saves“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2b

Once when our family was on vacation in Acadia National Park, we came upon a bicyclist who had passed out on the side of the road. Tom stayed with him while our kids and I drove off to call the police. This was in the days be-fore cell phones, so we were incredibly stressed as we rushed to find help. Fortunately, this had a good outcome. Emergency workers came, and the man had a treatable condition.

This is still a much-talked about time in our family history. Rarely do we ex-pect to come across a situation like that in our daily routine, unless perhaps we’re doctors or nurses, police officers or fire fighters. But, the average per-son doesn’t expect to find himself giving someone CPR in the middle of the mall or saving someone from addiction. We certainly didn’t expect to come across a man in distress when we were happily on our vacation. We felt pan-icked: Will we be able to help him? Will he make it?

That’s what is so amazing to me when I think of the cross of Christ: Jesus was born knowing that He was going to save the world. In a sense, He has gone and continues to go into each and every burning building, each and every emergency room, each and every hidden place of every single sinner who welcomes His grace. He died on the cross to make sure we each live.

He was born knowing each one of us by name, and on the cross He actually thought of us by name. He lived His days knowing that He’d be faced with the decision to save sinners, by name, from sins that He didn’t commit and even more, that He’d take on those sins as though He Himself had done those things.

If I knew ahead of time that I would have to put my life in jeopardy to help out a stranger, I would likely find myself full of anxiety in anticipation of that moment. I might even ask God to send someone else instead.

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The Cross: is it a place one visits, or is it just a symbol? What if it were a one-time event and I missed it? If it were just something that happened two thousand years ago and mattered only to those who witnessed the pain and suffering, then it is empty. If it’s just a symbol, worn like a peace sign that speaks to the age I grew up in or what my political stance is, it becomes in-visible, like commonplace jewelry. If the Cross is just a place one visits, it would be so crowded that we would never get close enough. We’d get pushed farther and farther back, unable to fight for and keep a spot.

This is where I settle, in such a needy crowd that my face, my posture is lost in the mash of bodies. I easily tell myself that everyone else has more needs, their lives have been tougher, they have lost more, given up more. So, as Christ looks down, it must be them that He focuses on. Why push forward a step or two just to get shoved farther back? But for some reason, I do push a little. I edge my way closer, just a step or two. Sometimes I get a brief glimpse of what is taking place. Something touches me, and I realize that each of us is pushing and shoving a bit, milling around at the foot of the cross and thinking the same things: “The person next to me is more impor-tant, someone else has Christ’s attention.” It is there, in the mash of bodies at the foot of the cross that we need to be. It is there that we need to haul our sin, drop it and lay down in exhaustion and surrender to His gift.

1 PETER 2:24

TOM MARCOTTE

A Song of Confession You know my unforgiving heartYou know my jealous waysYou know my selfishnessAnd you know my prayer-less days.

You know my sinful thoughtsYou know my unrighteous talkYou know my anxious fearsYou know my faithless walk

Don’t leave me thereDon’t leave me thereTake me to the foot of the crossWhere I can lay these burdens downDon’t leave me standing hereWhen it’s at Your feet life is found

You know my hurtful tongueYou know the things I craveYou know my every need And you know the darkness of my grave

You know my lazinessYou know my fantasiesYou know I long for truthAnd You know the evil that’s in me

Don’t leave me thereDon’t leave me thereTake me to the foot of the crossWhere I can lay these burdens downDon’t leave me standing hereWhen it’s at Your feet life is found

You know I sit and judgeYou know my world is meYou know that envy can eatA hole through the center of me

You know my shameful doubtsI question Your love for meYou know I don’t always believeThat your hand is molding me

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MARK 1:35

JASON SCHROCK

Where Can I Find Peace? We do not have enough time. We have so much to do: work all day, or go to school, do our homework, read the books we’ve been meaning to read, shovel the walk, do the dishes, spend time with family, and on and on. There is no time to do everything.

Jesus didn’t have enough time. He had so much to do: teach in the syna-gogue, heal people with unclean spirits, heal a woman sick with fever. There was a never-ending parade of people needing him. There was no time for him to stop. Yet he made prayer and solitude a priority.

As Christians, we know that we ought to find some silent time to pray. God wants to hear our voice and talk with us. As tired people, we certainly know that a few moments of silence can go a long way. But is prayer just another item for the daily agenda? Is silence yet another responsibility? Is there really room for another thing in our day?

Jesus, like you, is overwhelmed by the demands of the day. The whole town coming to him for healing (this early in his ministry) was a big deal. No doubt it was overwhelming. Yet, he met every responsibility, and he made time for silence and prayer. He rose early, and he rested and prayed out in a silent desolate place, alone. Silence, prayer – a break from the daily agenda, rather than another task on the daily agenda – was something he sought out. Many of us can learn from this example to find silence, to pray, to rest.

More than being an example, though, Jesus is a redeemer, not only for our sins but for every good thing we ought to do – including rest, silence, and prayer. When we have failed to fulfill our responsibilities, Jesus has fulfilled his. When we have failed to make time for prayer, Jesus has prayed. He has rested when we have not. He is our redeemer in all things, including our fre-quent inability to rest or to pray. We might work ourselves to the bone; he provides relief.

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MARK 16:4

JANET DOGGETT

The Stones that Keep Us Buried

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. Mark 16:4

What stones are keeping you from God’s will for your life?

Like most people, I was comfortable in my middle-age, just going with the flow. Then God began whispering in my heart, telling me and showing me a vision for his will for me. Over the course of a year, a couple of things hap-pened that knocked me out of my comfort zone. My husband’s 93-year-old grandmother took ill. She suffered from dementia. Since most of the family had moved away I took to helping her, talking with her, getting her in the car when we would take her out, even helping her in the bathroom. I began to realize I got more fulfillment from this than any writing job I'd ever had. But caring for others – becoming a nurse or simply a caregiver – was not in the plans. By now my heart whispers had turned into a bleating in my ear! But an obvious stone was in my way. I had no background or skills. (My master's degree is in English) With two active teens and my writing projects, I had lit-tle time and even less money.

But I prayed for answers, and for a door to open. I read the scriptures and participated in fellowship. Slowly things begin to churn. I found an assistant nursing program I could almost afford, and amazingly, I met the basic re-quirements. I put down half of the money and began going to school at night.

Then, this past October my special grandmother died. A few days later, my father-in-law died at age 68. I mention this because my father-in-law knew what I was trying to do and had encouraged me. That Christmas, in death, he left me enough money to finish paying for my training. The last stone had been removed and I could finish school. Now, a certified nurse assistant, I feel free to use a God given gift that has been hidden behind stone this whole time.

What stones are in your life?

Perhaps they are not as obvious or physical as mine. Maybe there are intangi-ble feelings or thoughts about yourself that are keeping you buried. Regard-less, pray steadily for answers, pray for doors to be opened. Read scriptures. Participate in fellowship. And watch as the stones in your life roll away!

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MARK 10:32-45

LAURI HAUGEN

Great is the Follower Who Serves like Jesus.

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you…Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” James and John wanted thrones, chairs with the power to rule, the best seats in the house. A more blatant, self-centered request would be hard to match, and yet Jesus kindly responds, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” James and John chimed they could, but the cup and baptism they envisioned were the luxuries of a messianic banquet instead of the way of the cross.

When the other ten disciples heard about this incident, they were indignant with James and John, maybe not out of concern for Jesus but out of resent-ment for being upstaged. Jesus gathered all the disciples together for a les-son on his upside down kingdom. “If you want to be great you must be a ser-vant. If you want to be first you must be slave of all.”

Jesus calls us to follow the road of self-sacrifice and suffering as we serve. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23). In the book, The Cross of Christ, John Stott writes, “Where are the Christians who are prepared to put service before se-curity, compassion before comfort, hardship before ease? Thousands of pio-neer Christian tasks are waiting to be done, which challenge our compla-cency and call for risk.” A grand adventure in serving awaits. Am I willing to step up to the risk, or will I miss out as I build my own safe, little kingdom? Great is the follower who serves like Jesus.

Dear Father, show me the tasks which will challenge my complacency and call me to risk. Teach me, today, that true greatness is found in self-giving love – just as “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” Amen.

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