It’s been one week since Easter, one week since all the chaos and excitement. One week since the empty tomb or the first shouts of “Christ is risen—Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia.” It’s one week after the resurrection and the disciples are in the same place they were that Easter night—In the same room behind the same locked doors. (John 20:19-31) So, if the resurrection is such a big deal,
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!" So Peter and the other
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, a day in which Christian worshippers around the globe celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem—The crowds praised Jesus enthusiastically because they believed he would overthrow Rome—The promised Messiah foretold in the writings of Zechariah. On this Sunday of celebration, the excitement quickly spread throughout the whole city, hitting a fever pitch. People even threw down their cloaks on the path where Jesus
The Gospel lesson for this week has Jesus telling his disciples: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it simply will remain a grain. It will not produce any wheat!” (John 12:24) The grain is essential. However, the process of being put into the ground and dying to its current state is what allows the grain to become much more than its present form. The grain
God provides just what we need when we need it. Our need may not be what we want, but God attends to our needs. God provided manna to the Israelites until He had seen them through their ‘wilderness’. Then they no longer needed manna, yet God would continue to be with them in the ways they needed in the new land. This is why we pray for our daily bread
“You are sent into this world to believe in yourself as God’s chosen one and then to help your brothers and sisters to know that they also are beloved sons and daughters of God who belong together.”—Finding My Way Home The Bible is unambiguous about God’s concern for those in need. “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your
Peter would never forget that terrible moment when their eyes met. Did he see in Jesus’ gaze some hint of disappointment or reproach? We cannot venture so far; the inspired record says only that “the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.” (Luke 22:61) But in that one glance, Peter saw the depth of his own failure. He realized that he had just done the very thing that Jesus had foretold,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego firmly refused to bow to the king. Could we stand as firmly? It is easier when in church, but how about on other turf? They trusted God’s deliverance. Do we have that kind of faith – especially if we are struggling to see where God is at work? And even if God didn’t do what they hoped, they’d still refuse to worship any other god. The
As believers, we are called on a journey with Christ—and even those who may not yet know Jesus, are called as well. For believers, this journey began early in life with Baptism. Our parents and families made sure we were raised in the church, learning about God through life in the community of faith. And along the way on this journey, you and I hear the Lord calling us, saying,
