Easter Sunday

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” -John 20:19-21

Dear Friends,

Today is Easter; Jesus is risen and the dramas of lent are over. I'm not perfectly sure why you're reading this because today is not the day for solemn reflection; today is a day for parties! Find a party and get started immediately; make it a party befitting the royalty God has made you. Celebrate like a convict who's been released early; rejoice like a soldier who's long final battle has been won. Today is a day to grin like an idiot and hug people because your many sins are completely and finally forgiven; they are taken away and will never be revisited by your saving lover, Jesus Christ.

Challenge: You're still reading? Get out of here and get to a party! This day has been given to us to remember God's magnificent victory over the sin, death, and the devil; so stop reading and go dance, laugh, and eat with your many brothers and sisters. Rejoice! Death is swallowed up in victory!

Holy Saturday & Waiting

 Beth brings you today's post:

Molly Mahoney: Now we wait.  
Mr. Edward Magorium: No. We breathe. We pulse. We regenerate. Our hearts beat. Our minds create. Our souls ingest. 37 seconds, well used, is a lifetime. 
~From Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

I always feel kind of bad for this Saturday. It doesn’t get a special name, doesn’t get a church service. If you practice the Catholic faith you may find yourself at an Easter Vigil on Saturday night, but that’s about as big a deal as today gets, and even that is really just waiting around for tomorrow. Tomorrow there will be trumpets and lilies, perhaps Easter baskets and family dinners. Tomorrow, even if the clouds are grey, will be bright and light and full of rejoicing. But today...What is today?
Today, we wait. We have gotten through the fasting of Lent, reflected on all of what Jesus suffered for us, and now we wait to hear the Good News: that He has risen for us, for our new life. But today we hear nothing. The disciples heard nothing that day. They locked themselves in a room waiting in fear (Luke 24).
God has not designed us for fear. He has designed us for life! Even 37 seconds can be a lifetime of rejoicing, of discovering, of knowing the Truth that you can rejoice in daily, even if it is still Lent. How much more can 24 hours be? Today is not a day to just wait. It is a day to Live.

Challenge: Do something new and beautiful today. Perhaps watch Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium for inspiration. Let God change how you wait.

Maundy Thursday Heartbreak

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” -Matthew 26:26-30

This dinner breaks my heart. Jesus knows. Jesus knows that Peter will deny him, Judas will betray him, the rest will abandon him, and he will be left to face torture and death completely alone. Jesus knows all that and he still has one last dinner with his friends who he knew would desert him. Jesus knows all that and still washes their feet, still encourages them, and still hands them the Cup.  Jesus was not surprised by his disciples’ failings. He came into the world because of their failings, to redeem them and to redeem us.

Challenge: Jesus wants you to know that he loves you no matter what. Go through your day today remembering that because of Jesus’ sacrifice, nothing can ever separate you from his love (Rom 8:38-39).

Holy Wednesday: Looking Out For Number One

“Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.” –Matthew 26:14-16

Who do you depend on to care for you? If your answer is, “myself” then you have something in common with Judas. Like many of us, Judas looked for ways to gain an edge and to turn a profit. He was determined to take care of himself. By betraying Jesus, Judas was simply taking advantage of a money making opportunity. He was so focused on profits that he lost the only real treasure he ever had.

Challenge: Ask yourself how you measure success. Is it in profits, grades, wins, commitment, or intelligence? At times we’ve valued these earthly treasures above the eternal treasures of love, mercy, and hope. We too have betrayed the savior of the world. Mercifully it is precisely this betrayal that he died to forgive.

RE: Holy Thursday By: William Blake

In commemoration of Holy Week, William Blake has prepared a pair of poems for us. The first one is called Holy Thursday, and gives a nice, cute little depiction of some orphans singing about Jesus.

Holy Thursday (Song's Of Innocence) By William Blake

‘Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,

The children walking two and two, in red and blue and green,

Grey headed beadles walk’d before, with wands as white as snow,
Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames’ waters flow.


Oh what a multitude they seem’d, these flowers of London town!
Seated in companies they sit with radiance all their own.

The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,
Thousands of little boys and girls raising their innocent hands.



Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song,

Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of Heaven among.

Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the poor;
Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.

The second is also called Holy Thursday, and it calls shenanigans on the first poem.

Holy Thursday (Song's Of Experience) By William Blake

Is this a holy thing to see
In a rich and fruitful land,
Babes reduced to misery,
Fed with cold and usurous hand?

Is that trembling cry a song?
Can it be a song of joy?
And so many children poor?
It is a land of poverty!

And their sun does never shine,
And their fields are bleak and bare,
And their ways are filled with thorns:
It is eternal winter there.

For where'er the sun does shine,
And where'er the rain does fall,
Babes should never hunger there,
Nor poverty the mind appall.

William Blake wrote in London in the 1700s, a time when the poorest peoples, the widows and orphans, were not treated especially well. It is to a society of inequality that Blake wrote these Holy Thursday poems. Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is the day Jesus ate the last supper with his disciples. Before the meal he washed their feet, a servant's task meant to set an example of service for all Christians. Since then Christians have traditionally used the day to perform humble acts of service for the poor and needy. Over time, acts of true service were warped and replaced with more symbolic acts. One such act was to bring the orphans of London's Foundling Hospital to sing at St. Paul's Cathedral. Allowing the orphans to sing for the parishioners was considered as a treat for such poor children. Blake didn't think, “allowing the poor to sing to you” was quite on par with Christ's example of humble service.

I don't think Blake's 1700s criticisms are irrelevant. I think we have just as much temptation today to engage in symbolic acts of service and neglect real ones. We “like” causes on Facebook, we attend Christian rallies, and Christian concerts, and post Christian articles. There's no inherent problem with any of these activities, just like there's nothing wrong with orphans singing in a cathedral. My challenge to you today is to find a way to serve your neighbor in a tangible way. After all if one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?(James 2:6)

Song's of Innocence and Song's of Experience are for sale on Amazon, and free at Project Gutenberg.