LENTHOLY WEEK2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LENTAsh Wednesday (February 10) Luke 4:1-13 Jason Edwards..............5First Sunday of Lent (February 14) Luke 2:1-21 Steve Smith...................6Second Sunday of Lent (February 21) Luke 5:12-16 Luda Teterina................7Third Sunday of Lent (February 28) Luke 8:26-39 Jeff Langford................8Fourth Sunday of Lent (March 6) Luke 7:36-50 Kim Halfhill....................9Fifth Sunday of Lent (March 13) Luke 18:35-43 Neita Geilker...............10
HOLY WEEKPalm/Passion Sunday (March 20) Luke 23:32-47 Jim Tanner..................11Monday (March 21) Luke 16:19-31 John Howell................12Tuesday (March 22) Luke 17:20-37 Debbie Blanton...........13Wednesday (March 23) Luke 18:15-30 Connie McNeill...........14Maundy Thursday (March 24) Luke 24:25-32 Linda Cain..................15Good Friday (March 25) John 18:1-19, 42 Becky Gossett.............16 Holy Saturday (March 26) Luke 24:50-53 Karen Rogers..............17Easter Sunday (March 27) Luke 24:1-12 Laura Rodgers............18
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTERSunday (April 3) Luke 24:36-40; 46-49 Elliott Yoakum....19
Schedule of Services/Events............................20
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Feb. 10 Luke 4:1-13 Feb. 11 Luke 1:26-35 Feb. 12 Luke 1:36-45 Feb. 13 Luke 1:46-56 Feb. 14 Luke 2:1-21
Feb. 15 Luke 3:15-23 Feb. 16 Luke 4:14-28 Feb. 17 Luke 5:1-11 Feb. 18 Luke 6:12-26 Feb. 19 Luke 6:27-38 Feb. 20 Luke 6:43-49 Feb. 21 Luke 5:12-16
Feb. 22 Luke 8:4-15 Feb. 23 Luke 8:22-25 Feb. 24 Luke 9:18-27 Feb. 25 Luke 14:15-35 Feb. 26 Luke 10:38-42 Feb. 27 Luke 11:1-13 Feb. 28 Luke 8:26-39
Feb. 29 Luke 12:22-31 March 1 Luke 15:1-2; 11-26 March 2 Luke 18:1-8 March 3 Luke 22:14-23 March 4 Luke 22:39-46 March 5 Luke 22:54-62 March 6 Luke 7:1-17
March 7 Luke 7:18-35 March 8 Luke 23:44-56 March 9 Luke 19:28-44 March 10 Luke 20:9-19 March 11 Luke 2:22-40 March 12 Luke 3:1-6
March 13 Luke 18:35-43 March 14 Luke 21:25-38 March 15 Luke 7:36-50 March 16 Luke 11:37-44 March 17 Luke 12:1-12 March 18 Luke 13:10-17 March 19 Luke 13:22-30
HOLY WEEK March 20 Luke 23:32-47 Palm Sunday March 21 Luke 16:19-31 March 22 Luke 17:20-37 March 23 Luke 18:15-30 March 24 Luke 24:25-32 Maundy Thursday March 25 John 18:1-19, 42 Good Friday March 26 Luke 24:50-53 Holy Saturday March 27 Luke 24:1-12 Easter Sunday
GOSPEL OF LUKE READING SCHEDULE
3
In Great Britain, itâs said doctors write âLOBNHâ in the charts of patients they deem, âLights on but Nobody Home.â My first reaction upon learning this was to be critical of such diagnostic shorthand. It seemed far too glib to me. Then, musing further, Iâve realized I, too, put people in acronymic boxes. Of course, itâs not only me. Throughout history, weâve loved labeling people different from ourselves. Not just as LOBNH, either, but worseâas LOBNC: âLights On But Nobody Cares.â LOBNC and their plight burn bright as flares in the dark, but even the best of us resist noticing them beyond the time it takes to assign a âcoin.â When, by chance, their needs require more serious pause, we frequently shrug in pious resignation.
After all, the LOBNC is, by condition, status, and caste, a person of no importance to you and me; he or she is a zero; a lightweight; a no-hoper; a loser. A ânobodyâ with no authority, no influence, no power. Thatâs Websterâs definition of a ânobodyâ and plenty enough reason for us to set them aside, despite the fact that we ourselves may have suffered similar categorizations. Think about it. Havenât you also felt dumb or rejected on occasion? Experienced that proverbial cockroach in the punchbowl at a lawn party sensation?
To inspire us beyond our hurtful and unproductive responses to othersâ foibles and the insecurities forever lurking in our deepest inner selves, Secondâs Lenten Season and Holy Weekâas well as the devotionals contained in this bookletâfocus this year on The Gospel of the Nobodies. From Ash Wednesday through the second Sunday of Easter, weâll read the book of Luke and be reminded how Jesus, by His example, turned the way we treat one anotherâespecially the undervaluedâand our own personal feelings of unworthiness upside down.
Thank you, Nicole Swanson, my co-editor, for giving the words in this booklet organization, design, and life. In addition, our joint thanks to Neita Geilker and Maggie Henderson for sharing their grammatical expertise. Most of all, we thank each writer who took time from his or her busy schedule to pen these pages and bring the Easter message home again.
Sue Wright
PREFACE
4
Luke 4: 1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempt-ed by the devil (Luke 4:1-2a).
This is the quintessential Lenten story. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to see what He was made of.
And who was supposed to see? His Father? Us? Jesus Himself? All of the above? Maybe. Itâs hard to say for sure, but by the end of this 40-day season of fasting, prayer, and testing, all of us should have a better sense of Jesusâ nature, character and capacity. By the end of these 40 days, all of us should see Jesus a bit more clearly than before.
Likewise, by the end of these 40 days, we should see ourselves more clearly as well. Lent calls us to step into that desert with Jesus. Lent calls us to engage in a season of fasting with Jesus. Lent calls us to choose some form of sacrifice that will test our mettle and open us up to personal spiritual review so that when the day of the Lord comes (read Easter), we will be better prepared.
This year, as we move through the 40 days of Lent, we will journey with Jesus beyond the desert as he lives His mission to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressedâa time of Godâs great Jubilee (Luke 4:14-21). And as we accompany Him, weâll see that He does just that. All of that.
By the end of this Lenten season, we will hopefully find ourselves learning to see this lifeâand every soul we encounter within itâthrough the eyes of the one who came to proclaim Godâs Good News to everyone in this world, especially those who feel invisible, worthless, helpless. Hopefully, by the end of these 40 days, we will all have become better equipped ambassadors for the Gospel of the Nobodies.
What might that mean for you?
Jason Edwards
February 10 Ash WednesdayAll-church service | 6:30
Reflections
5
SunDAY February 14
LENT
Luke 2:1-21
THE NIGHT SHIFT WORKERS
In my 20-plus years at Liberty Hospital, I was on call almost all the time; this included being on call overnight to respond when something bad was happening in the lives of other people. I am a night person and being called at 02:00 was no big deal for me. I enjoyed the quietness of the hospital during those early morning hours. I soon learned that there was a different âbreedâ of people who worked the night shift. They, too, enjoyed the quietness and did not miss all the hubbub that came with the daylight hours and the multitude of people who populated the other departments.
I am wondering if the same was true of the shepherds who were taking turns in shifts, watching over the sheep in the same fields where David must have watched his sheep. Tradition has these shepherds as poor humble folks; however, research shows a different picture of these shepherds. Rabbinic literature depicts shepherds as the lowest of the low in their society. They could not be trusted to even serve as a witness, according to some rabbinic traditions. Some non-Biblical literature equates the shepherds with politicians and unscrupulous leaders. So my idyllic picture of these shepherds was shattered as I read the background.
Then, too, this not-so-pretty picture of shepherds fits in with the type of population to which Jesus ministeredâthe âpublicans and sinners.â It was not the wealthy and high-born to whom the angels first appeared. It was these ruffians! The coming of Jesus was to everyone, not a particular class of peopleâeven me!
In the Greek, the angel âstood by them.â (Again, my tradition of hovering was shattered.) After the initial message was given, there was a âflash mobâ of other angelic beings saying: In heaven, Godâs glory, and on earth, Godâs peace. The shepherds then hurried (not in pace, but in their enthusiasm) to find the childâas some Bible scholars believeâin the very stable where the shepherds had kept their sheep.
But, most importantly, the shepherds returned to work and told others what they had seen and experienced!
Steve Smith
Reflections
6
sunday February 21
LENT
Luke 5:12-16
Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, â⊠Be cleanâ (Luke 5:13, The Message).
Jesus touched him ... Jesus is a healer. In chapters 4 and 5, Luke âa skilled healer himselfâtells us story after story about Jesus healing the disabled, crippled, and sick. It wasnât simple heartburn or a muscle sprain that Jesus helped. In fact, some of the condi-tions that Jesus healed were extremely challenging even by todayâs modern medical scientific standards: schizophrenia, quadriplegia, unexplained fever. Leprosy.
Jesus touched him with His bare hands. The body ravaged with the disease, wounds seeping with infection. Touched him? A man with leprosy? Like Luke, I, too, have been called to a healing profession and have spent most of my life as a professional nurse helping heal the disabled and sick. There is power in a nurseâs hands. There is mighty power in a healing touch. But to touch a man with a highly contagious disease with my bare hands? I donât think so! Iâd take gloves, a mask, and a gown, please. I have never taken care of peo-ple with Hansenâs disease, commonly known as leprosy, but I have been trained to protect myself and others in similar situations. In Jesusâ days, they simply shunned the afflicted from the community â a primitive infection control technique. Jesus touched him. Just as He once touched me, because I, too, needed His healing touch. I, too, was infected with sin that was contagious and spreading. And, if I am completely honest with myself, I need His healing touch every single day, because I am still infected with anger, envy, pride, and selfishness. My prayer for each of us this Lenten season is that the greatest Healer of all may touch us and cleanse us from whatever âinfectionâ might be poisoning our hearts and our lives today.
Luda Teterina
Reflections
7
SunDAY February 28
LENT
Luke 8:26-39
The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened (Luke 8:35).
Iâll always remember my momâs prayer: âGod, protect him from the demons.â
I was 18 and about to undergo surgery to have my wisdom teeth removed. My momâprompted by something Hal Lindsey had written in Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earthâbelieved that satanic forces might take over my mind while under general anesthesia.
While my view of demon possession certainly differs from my momâs, stories like the one in Luke 8 make it difficult to brush aside worldviews that include demons. Bible stories like these seem to take for granted the existence of supernatural forces that are dark, powerful, and destructive.
The passage describes a man whose mind and body are out of control, abandoned to the wild. His life is governed by a will not his own. He is as dead as someone alive can be: naked, alone, in the tombs.
While many movies put a horrific spin on demon possession, I suspect we all know someone with demons. Someone pushed to the edge of polite society by their problems. Or someone living in a self-destructive way. Perhaps drug addiction, violence and crippling credit card debt are Americaâs modern forms of demon possession.
What I find most compelling about this story is the fearful reaction of the townspeople, the people like you and me. They seem to have come to terms with the destruction of the demons. But what they couldnât get their minds aroundâwhat really scared themâwas the authority and healing of Jesus. When Jesus healed this man, he disrupted their theology, their community, and their economy. Jesus scared them.
To be honest, Christâs grace scares me a little bit, too. And it prompts my own prayer: âGod, protect me from myself.â
Jeff Langford
Reflections
8
sunday march 6
LENT
Luke 7:36-50
And he said to the woman, âYour faith has saved you; go in peaceâ (Luke 7:50).
When I was a junior, my university choir was asked to perform at an exclusive event for a couple hundred university VIPs. Follow-ing the concert, we joined them for a formal dinner. For this girl from a working class family, the prospect of âfancyâ food and a place setting with more than one fork (in the company of strang-ers, no less) was overwhelming. I vividly remember the rising panic that overtook me as we entered the room. Just when I was hoping the ground would open up and swallow me, I heard a bright, familiar voice. A university employee who had become a mentor and friend was calling my name. She had saved me a seat. I was quickly shuttled off to her table and introduced to the other dinner guests like I was the VIP.
As you might have guessed, I donât like feeling out of place. In Luke 7, we meet a woman who had likely spent much of her life feeling like an outcast. As she edged her way to the table to en-counter Jesus, her actions were anything but proper for the time in which she lived. Itâs not hard to imagine how the Pharisees might have reacted to this unwelcome visitor. Jesusâs reaction, however, creates a stark contrast. Rather than pushing her aside, ignoring her, or even mocking her, Jesus greeted the woman with warmth and compassion.
This isnât the first time weâve seen a story like this play out in the Gospels. I donât know about you, but I am beginning to get the feeling that Jesus has a thing for these unsavory characters. Although each encounter is a little different, the message from Jesus is the same. I love you. You belong to me.
College has come and gone, but sometimes I still find myself feeling like I donât quite belong. When I do, itâs as if I can hear a reassuring voice whisper, âYou have a place at MY table. Go in peace.â So, if youâre feeling out of place, like a total outcast, or even a little unsavory, remember: Jesus is saving a seat for you. Go in peace.
Kim Halfhill
Reflections
9
SunDAY march 13
LENT
Luke 18:35â43
Lord, let me see again (Luke 18:41b).
Several years ago, Don and I were effectively blind for several hours when an entire neighborhood in Tucson lost electricity during the night. Nothing in our hotel worked, and we were des-perate to get packed and make our early flight. Our reliable little flashlight cut the dark a bit, but in my haste, I became disoriented and slammed my head into a sharp corner of the wall. It was very distressing, and it is horrifying to imagine living that way the rest of my life.
The beggar in Luke who cried out for Jesus to restore his sight had been blind much of his life. It was no doubt why he was a beggar, sitting along the roadside when Jesus paused to heal him. What a fortunate individual! In the ancient world, there was no cure for blindness.
Today, many suffer the tragedy of blindness. And of the 39 million blind, 1.4 million are children. Without intervention, they face a lifetime of suffering. According to âVision 2020âthe Right to Sight,â each year 500,000 children become blind, and in devel-oping countries, over 60 percent die within a year of becoming blind. SightSavers asserts that for 81 percentâthe needlessly blindâtheir blindness could have been prevented or could be cured.
Jesus healed the beggarâs physical blindness, doubtless followed by healing his spiritual blindness. He can also heal our spiritual blind-nessâcausing us to see the many needs in the world and to be among those who, when the least of these are hungry, give them food; when they are thirsty, give them clean water; when they need clothing, provide it; and, by extension, support the many organizations dedicated to preventing and treating blindness.
Neita Geilker
Reflections
10
Palm /Passion sunday march 20
Luke 23:32-47
Jesus, remember me when you come to your throne (Luke 23:42, Revised English Bible).
Lukeâs account of Jesusâ crucifixion is a very spare one: âthey crucified him there, and the criminals with himâ (v.33). There is none of the brutal detail, for example, of the movie The Passion of the Christ from a few years back. Yet the passage is full of striking implications. Jesus speaks three times, twice in a spirit of forgive-ness, âFather, forgive themâ (v. 34) and âtoday you will be with me in Paradiseâ (v. 43), and finally in the full certainty that He has fulfilled His commission from God, âFather, into your hands I commit my spiritâ (v. 45).
He offers no response at all to the hateful, bullying, self-indulgent jeer of the first criminal who, dying on a Roman cross, is taunt-ing Jesus along with the crowd and the soldiers. Even in his own agony, he continues his criminal career of asserting himself at the expense of another. It is the kind of egotistical selfishness which, by implication, offers a striking contrast with the attitude of the other criminal and, of course, with the loving, forgiving selfless-ness of Jesus.
The second criminal seems to have examined himself, accepted personal responsibility for his own actions, and come to terms with his own need for reconciliation with a God whose laws he has flouted: âHave you no fear of God ... this man has done noth-ing wrongâ (vs. 40-41). At this point, in this spirit, he turns to Jesus, âJesus, remember me ...â It is, in the end, the plea that each of us must offer: âI am guilty, Lord. Remember me.â
Jim Tanner
Reflections
holy week11
MonDAY march 21 Luke 16:19-31
But Abraham replied, âSon, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agonyâ (Luke 16:25).
The central figure in Jesusâ parable of Lazarus and the rich man is Lazarus. He was homeless, crippled, covered with sores and hungry to the point of eating bread thrown under the table when a sumptuous meal was served in the rich manâs house. Tradition declared that bread was used as a napkin during the meal and was thrown under the table after serving its purpose. Lazarus was obviously one of the nobodies in Jesusâ stories of people for whom nobody cares.
Now suppose we turn away from Lazarus to visit an elderly Lakota Indian grandmother in North Dakota. She is facing a typical winter while living in a shack with a leaking roof, walls blackened by soot from a malfunctioning coal stove and no family to protect her. She is one of the nobodies in that northern culture.
Suddenly members of a tribal repair group come to her shack with repair materials, money, and skills to change her living quarters. Now she will be warm, dry, and clean for the winter, even in her one-room shack.
What happens to Lazarus? He and the rich man, who was given the name Dives, will die and go to Sheol, the Jewish place of the dead. But now circumstances are changed. Lazarus has entered the Paradise section of Sheol, while Dives is assigned to the punishment section. Why the difference?
Father Abraham explains, âSon, remember in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.â Throughout the times of Lazarusâ agony, Dives could have obeyed the instructions of the Torah, âLove your neighbor as yourselfâ (Leviticus 19:18), but he ignored his neighborâs need for care.
The difference between the Lakota grandmother and Lazarus is that someone cared for her while Dives did not care for Lazarus. This is the challenge of Jesusâ story. Dives in Sheol may eventually express some concern for his brothers, but it comes too late to warn them. Abraham says if they have not obeyed the Torah, âthey will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.â The failure of many today to trust in the risen Christ proves that to be true.
Dr. John C. Howell
Reflections
holy week12
Tuesday march 22
Luke 17:20-37
Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it (Luke 17:33).
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was com-ing, He answered them, âThe kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, âLo, here it is!â or âThere!â for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.â
The Pharisees saw themselves as religious experts and likely expected the Messiah to come from their âeliteâ group. Jesusâ humble ministry surely didnât fit their expectations of an earthly kingdom. They refused to change their expectations and rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
Jesus warns His disciples that He must suffer and be rejected before the second coming. He compares His return to the days of Noah and Lot, when God brought swift judgment on those who refused to follow him. Were they so busy that they lost sight of Godâs kingdom? Are we so pre-occupied with âlife as usualâ that sharing Christ is not a priority? Jesus warns in verse 33, âWhoev-er seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.â
Last year our son and daughter-in-law decided to give up life as they knew it. They felt called to a new culture in a region of un-rest to be obedient to Godâs call to make disciples of all nations.
This is but one example of obedience to God. There are other ways we are called by God. As mentioned in verse 21, âThe king-dom of God is in the midst of you.â Are we listening to Godâs call for our lives? What are we doing to further Godâs kingdom?
I pray that God will help each of us to be faithful in carrying out the tasks which He has given us in order to advance His kingdom.
Debbie Blanton
Reflections
holy week holy week13
wednesday march 23HOly week lunch | noon evensong service | 6:30
holy week
ReflectionsLuke 18:15-30
We continue to move toward Easter Sunday. In fact, it comes this week, along with a text that reminds us that our relationship to God isnât simply about what we donât do, but also what we choose to do.
The rich man in Lukeâs story was seemingly a person of high moral character who had kept the commandments. Evidently, he had tried to please God and âinherit eternal life.â No wonder, then, that Jesusâ response was not what he expected to hear. It was instead about something he would need to do rather than something he needed to cease doing. Making the choice to do what Jesus asked was not doing something normal for him. He had always held tightly to his wealth. It provided a level of security, safety, and comfort of which most around him could only dream. He substituted all of itâall he hadâfor a relationship with Jesus that would have relied on God instead of on what he could do for himself. This is idolatry in its most personal, subtle, and real form.
As we think about the Gospel for the Nobodies, letâs not forget to pray for and care about those who have so much, they are in danger of losing the most important thing they could ever haveâ a relationship with God. Letâs pray for those who fastidi-ously work at not doing things and fail to do. Jesus tells us to hold on to those things He places in our hands and hearts and let go of those things we accumulate as substitutes for our being in relationship to God. Let us pray for all of us who struggle with various forms of idolatry and its many disguisesâpray we let go of cheap substitutes for the precious treasure of a relationship with God through Christ. It may just be the thing we donât have.
Connie McNeill
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maundy thursday march 24communion service | 7:30p
holy week
Luke 24:25-32
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him . . . (Luke 24:30-31).
While walking to Emmaus, two men were discussing the recent death of Jesus and the mysterious disappearance of His body from the tomb. Unrecognized, Jesus joined them and entered into their conversations. After chiding them for their hesitation to believe, Jesus reviewed what the prophets and Scripture had to say about Himself. Confused and grieving, the men had lost hope that Jesus had been the promised One who would redeem Israel. They certainly did not expect to see Jesus that day!
When they reached the village of Emmaus, the men invited Jesus to stay with them. During the meal, Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread with nail-scarred hands and gave it to them. Through these simple and reciprocal acts of selfless service, the light was revealed, and the men recognized Jesus at last!
As Easter people, we have the light of the resurrected Christ within us. This light reflects Godâs love, grace and forgiveness to those who are living without hope and do not expect to see Godâs intervention in their lives. More often than not, those persons who need Godâs love most are the ones most hesitant to believe they deserve it. Simple acts of selfless service have the power to turn on the light and reveal Godâs love to hurting people.
My prayer today is that those persons, walking in the hopeless-ness of Maundy Thursday, experience a vision of the resurrected Christ reflected through simple acts of selfless service performed in our faith community and beyondâespecially beyond.
Linda Cain
Reflections
holy week15
Good Friday march 25service of the cross | 7:30p
holy week
ReflectionsJohn 18:1-19, 42
Iâm hooked on the posts in social media that make up Humans of New York (HONY). The site began a few years ago when a man named Brandon, who had recently lost his job, set about the city of New York with a camera, taking barely-posed pictures of people on the streetsâ rich, poor, young, old, happy, sad, clean, dirtyâ whomever. The people were photographed, then asked to say something about themselves or their lives; usually these comments are honest and express vulnerability.
Millions of people follow this incredibly simple but compassion-ate work. Even more amazingly, thousands comment on the pictures, usually with supporting words or affirmations for the pictured person. To be clear: these pictures of ordinary, typical people are posted with only a sentence or two, to which thou-sands of strangers respond, usually kindly toward the picture and situation. Compassion, acceptance, affection, and forgiveness is expressed in these brief comments. In some cases, people set up ways to provide financial support for those whose stories are of hardship. I seek out HONY when I need a fix of goodness and compassion myself!
Now, hereâs what I wonder: if someone had been able to walk around Jerusalem during Jesusâ last days with His disciples using todayâs technology to photograph Judas, or Peter, or a soldier in the garden, what honest sentence or two would those people have given about their life or situation? What comments would be made by those who see their pictures when posted on social me-dia? Would it be hateful criticism or loving acceptance? Or both? There probably would be a variety of responses. Then I wonder: what if Jesus responded with a comment? Unfortunately, we donât have Jesusâ comments on social media (or do we?), but ...
Our Jesus, whose example we claim to follow, forgave them.
Becky Gossett
16
holy saturday march 26
holy week
Luke 24:50-53
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:51 NIV).
I have a number of bad habits. One of them is that I frequently anticipate what someone is going to say next and, even while he or she is still speaking, I begin considering what I think of his or her message and how I might respond. Among the closest of friends, it sometimes works out okay because we are frequently able to finish each otherâs thoughts with some accuracy. Most of the time, however, my rushing into response mode does a dis-service to the speaker. I risk missing the fullness of what I should be hearing and may even miss the mark completely, preparing to respond to something that was not communicated.
I wonder how I would have responded had I been present at the ascension of Jesus. âWhile he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heavenâ (Luke 24:51 NIV). Would I have allowed my mind to stray from hearing the full measure of Jesusâs blessing as I began to wonder what was happening in that mo-ment? Would I have shifted my attention to how the miracle of his ascension could be happening or the reactions of the disciples near me? Very likely so.
My prayer for this Holy Saturday is that I will have the patience to linger in the quietude of this day. That my mind will abide in con-sideration of the sacrificial love demonstrated on that first Good Friday and that my heart will be listening for Jesusâs voiceâfor the instructions, admonitions and blessings that have already been spoken and for those that are yet to come.
Karen Rogers
Reflections
holy week17
Easter Sunday march 27Services at 8:30 and 11:00
holy week
ReflectionsLuke 24:1-12
Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them (Luke 24:10). The Underestimated. Today we read about a group of women, three of whom are named and therefore assumed to be key fig-ures in Jesusâ life, who made the biggest discovery in the Chris-tian faith, arguably the biggest discovery in history. The discovery that the tomb was emptyâthat our Savior rose from the dead as predicted by scripture. The discovery that their friend, leader, family member, preacher and teacherâwhom they had watched die on the crossâwas alive!
They ran to tell the apostles, but they did not believe them. The passage says they thought their words to be an idle taleâbut the apostles would later see for themselves that they were wrong. Jesus even appeared first to the women, these lower class and di-minished people of that culture and time. But the testimonies, the voices, the stories of women in Bible times were underestimated.
So who do we underestimate? Whose message are we missing because we give their voices less value in our culture or society? Perhaps it is people who have less education than we do. Perhaps it is those who speak softly or choose their words carefully rath-er than being celebrated public speakers. Perhaps we miss the messages of the smallest around usâchildren. Maybe the under-estimated include all those we have read about during the season of Lent in this devotional guide.
As we celebrate the risen Christ today, may we open our ears, our minds and hearts to truly listen to the underestimated voices around us. Imagine the wondrous truths we might learn.
Laura Rodgers
18
Second Sunday of Easter APril 3
holy week
Luke 25:36-40; 46-49
As an outsider to the situation, itâs hard to understand the disbelief with which the disciples viewed the newly-risen Jesus. Jesus had, on multiple occasions, spoken of a time when he would die and rise again, and there are many other instances of Jesus preparing his followers to be without him. Why then, are the disciples so disbelieving?
The effect of the disciplesâ incredulity is two-fold. First, it serves to remind us that even Jesusâ closest followers were humanâdoubts and all. This uncertainty can be disconcerting, but with it comes the company of every believer, despite what some say to the contrary. The disciplesâ suspicion of Jesus also serves to highlight the importance of the resurrection. Humanityâs understanding of life and death is too limited to grasp the gravity of the resurrection; that Jesusâa day before dead in the tombâstood in a room with his disciples was unfathomable, and remains so. Thereâs a strange paradox: the resurrection, so widely discussedâcommonplace in our faithâis often underrated. That someone actually came back to life is insane! Not to mention, it was done out of love for us. We donât stop to take in the awesomeness of it as much as we should.
Starting in verse 46, Jesus issues a kind of commission. It is an urgent call for the disciples to start preaching about the call to repentance and the offer of forgiveness. The message, says Jesus, is to be proclaimed to ALL the nations. Jesus then tells His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they are âclothed with power from on highââan odd request given the urgency of the commission. William Barclay writes: âThe quiet times on which we wait on God are never wasted; for it is in these times when we lay aside lifeâs tasks that we are strengthened for the very tasks we lay aside.â
Elliott Yoakum
Reflections
holy week19
SUNDAYS DURING LENT (Services at 8:30 & 11am)Sunday, February 14| First Sunday in Lent The Night Shift WorkersSunday, February 21| Second Sunday in Lent The Disabled and SickSunday, February 28| Third Sunday in Lent The Demon PossessedSunday, March 6| Fourth Sunday in Lent Prostitutes and ProdigalsSunday, March 13| Fifth Sunday in Lent The Homeless Beggars
WEDNESDAYS DURING LENTWednesday, Feb. 10 | All-Church Ash Wednesday service | 6:30-7:15pmWednesdays, Feb. 17-March 16 | Evensong | 6:30-7:15pm
Saturday, March 19 | Easter Egg Hunt
HOLY WEEKSunday, March 20 | 8:30 & 11am | Palm/Passion SundayâThe Thief on the CrossWednesday, March 23 | Noon | Holy Week Lunch with speaker Dr. Doyle Sager, Pastor, FBC Jefferson City, MO Thursday, March 24 | 7:30pm | Maundy ThursdayâCommunion ServiceFriday, March 25 | 7:30pm | Good FridayâService of the CrossSunday, March 27 | 8:30 & 11am | Easter SundayâThe Underestimated
Sunday, April 3 | Second Sunday of EasterâThe Discouraged and Disbelieving
LENT2016Schedule of
services/events
A Lenten service of worship, prayer and song.
202/9/16 | Run 1 (75)