EASTER SUNDAY

HOLY SATURDAY

Saturday, April 7  

Lamentations 3:37-58

Psalms 27, 88, 95

Hebrews 4:1-16

Romans 8:1-11  

Hebrews 4:13

“And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”

As we spend this day of waiting for what we know will be the glorious resurrection tomorrow, I have often wondered what state Jesus was in on this Saturday.  We all remember the telling words of Jesus from the cross in Mark’s Gospel -  “Today you will be with me in Paradise” – and I wonder if that is where Jesus was, even if only for a short time.  We too may hope to be for a short time in Paradise but there may be a big difference for us.  Before or perhaps after, we enter Paradise there is, according to St. Paul, a time when we must “render an account.”  This is indeed an awesome prospect.  Can we all explain satisfactorily the things we have done (or left undone), the things we have said or thought throughout our lives?

When I was young I was taught to think of God as omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (present in all things).  This idea is, of course, echoed in the opening collect of the Holy Eucharist service “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known and from you no secrets are hid.”  So God will already know what kind of life we have lived and whether we are worthy.  This should be yet another awe inspiring thought, that we can run but we cannot hide, as the saying goes.

On this Holy Saturday, as we prepare, can we find time to confess our sins, and to ask for forgiveness as if tomorrow was to be our day of our judgment?  We know that when we truly repent we are forgiven and so perhaps the process of “rendering account” may not be so terrifying after all.  That is my hope.

Ron Merrett

GOOD FRIDAY

Friday, April 6                   

Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-33

Psalms 22, 40, 54, 95

1 Peter 1:10-20

John 13:36-38 or John 19:38-42

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

- Traditional Spiritual

MAUNDY THURSDAY

Thursday, April 5  

Lamentations 2:10-18

Psalms 102, 142, 143

1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 11:27-32

Mark 14:12-25

Today is Maundy Thursday.  The passage in Mark describes the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples on the first Maundy Thursday.  What a meal that would have been, a meal that would be remembered forever by Jesus’ disciples.  Even though the real significance of the meal was only revealed once Jesus had risen from the grave on Easter Sunday.  How did Jesus feel on Maundy Thursday?  Scared?  Alone?  Debating another path to take?

At a Bible study one day, we looked at a portion of Psalm 118.  We were told that parts of this Psalm may have been read as part of the Passover meal, the Last Supper.  Imagine Jesus saying these words the evening that He was to be abandoned by his closest friends and handed over to the authorities:  This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it... You are my God, and I will give you thanks: you are my God, and I will exalt you.  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Psalm 118:24, 28, 29

Wow!  That seems impossible to believe.  That Jesus, on that night, knowing the horrible things that would soon happen, could rejoice and be thankful to God.  He had a vision and an understanding of the work that needed to be done.  He could see the big picture.  He knew that His death would give life to all.

Casting Crowns sings a song entitled, Voice of Truth.  When I hear the chorus of that song, I envision Jesus singing these words on Maundy Thursday:

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story

The Voice of Truth says do not be afraid

And the Voice of Truth says this is for my glory

Out of all the voices calling out to me

I will choose to listen and believe

The Voice of Truth

Shari & Ian Watson

WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK

Wednesday, April 4           

Lamentations 2:1-9

Psalms 55, 74

2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11

Mark 12:1-11

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”  Psalm 55:22

It sounds so easy; just cast your burdens to God. He’ll take care of them. But, wait! It really doesn’t say that. It just says to give the burden to God and he’ll sustain you; and, “never permit the righteous to be moved.” There’s nothing there saying you will be relieved of your burden, just that God will help you carry it.  God expects us to labor on, but reminds us that His care can make our burden light.  Even his son, Jesus, was not relieved of his burden as he prayed in Gethsemane, instead He endured the humiliation, and suffering of dying on the cross calling for His Father to forgive His tormentors.

To each of us individually the burdens we are struggling with can feel insurmountable, and in many circumstances they are difficult.  Illness with a poor prognosis, inability to find a job, a marriage falling apart, or a juvenile who seems bent on self-destruction.  There are no easy solutions, and God reminds us of this, but He also reminds us not to turn away from Him.  Instead, He encourages us to follow Jesus’ example by praying for strength and guidance to keep moving forward.

In this season of Lent, the scriptures remind us that God expects us to carry our individual burdens, but to continue to look to Him for strength. Even God’s beloved son was not spared His fate, but died to fulfill the prophecy foretold.

Holy God, we have been blessed with an overwhelming abundance in our lives, but also with burdens we feel we are not able to carry any longer. Give us strength and renewed faith to allow us to carry on.  We thank you for the gift of your most precious Son and all that he taught us about your love.  In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

Lyn Morris