Friday, April 18

By: Dona Bunch

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

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I’ve had to stop watching scary movies. As someone who lives alone, I’ve discovered that a Stephen King book before bedtime produces dreams that are straight out of Psycho. The same with scary movies, especially the stalker ones. I wake up at every pop of my heating system, sure that a crazed maniac is coming down the hall. To be blunt, I’m a scaredy-cat. I know, deep down, that there aren’t really monsters under the bed. But still….

I don’t think I’m the only one. It doesn’t take much to instill fear in our hearts, especially if we already feel like we are powerless. In those final, wrenching days of Jesus’s life on earth, surely others were afraid. The disciples could see the atmosphere darkening around Jesus. What started as surprise and amazement had become suspicion and distrust. And there was fear, too, among Pontius Pilate and other officials who cringed when they heard Jesus called Messiah. They feared his miracles and words of power would shrink the mighty Roman Empire. For them, fear turned to hate, and it was hate that ruled Pilate’s heart in the end, even though he knew in his heart that Jesus preached only peace.

For us, Jesus’s final days and crucifixion taught us an important lesson about fear. Jesus knew that fear was an illusion, that as long as God is in charge there is nothing to fear, even the most serious of situations. There is nothing that can really destroy us when we put ourselves in God’s hands. The message of Easter is that we don’t need to fear anything, not the challenges of our world, not the uncertainty all around us, not tyrants like Pilate or monsters under the bed – not even death itself.

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Prayer

All-loving God, help us to remember that, even when we are anxious and shaken by the world, you are there and there is nothing to fear, for you have defeated death and replaced fear with peace. Amen

Wednesday, April 16

By: Rev. Catherine Nance

The Lord GOD has given me a trained tongue, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens, wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.

Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn backward.

Isaiah 50:4-5

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The Old Testament reading for the Wednesday of Holy Week is a portion of the writings we call “Song of the Suffering Servant.” Before Isaiah describes the physical suffering of God’s servant, he describes the strength that God gives to his servant. It is not strength to fight back with violence, but a trained tongue to offer a sustaining word to those who are weary. The servant says that each morning, God wakens his ears to listen!

How do you wake up? What are the first things you hear? I have shared that I begin most mornings with the silent affirmation, “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” That is me beginning the day with talking! I have prepared lots of words for this week … Maundy Thursday sermon, assigned lay readers their parts for Good Friday, the Easter sermon is still being worked on! But how am I listening? To whom am I listening? Isaiah tells us it is a daily discipline to listen. “Morning by morning,” he says. Can you imagine God waking you each morning? What is God whispering in your ear this morning. As Samuel said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

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Prayer

God of the morning, may we tune our hearts to sing your praise and may we turn our eyes to hear your voice. We want to listen to your heart today. Open our ears that we may hear. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Monday, April 7

By: Julie Massie

She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked.

Luke 8:44-45

We live in a world where interruptions are incessant. Through social media, advertising, emails, pop-up notifications, children, coworkers, and a billion other things, we are barraged with interruptions. Jesus was constantly interrupted as well, just in different ways than we are today. In this passage, Luke describes an unexpected interruption which stopped Jesus in his tracks. An unnamed woman, desperate for healing, had reached out and touched his cloak.

As the crowds pressed in around him on his way to heal a dying child, He could have continued walking, but he turned, looked for her, and acknowledged her in a deeply personal way.

Jesus was never too busy for interruptions. Whether it was children clamoring for his attention (Mark 10:13-16), a blind man crying out from the roadside (Luke 18:35-43), or a tax collector hiding in a tree (Luke 19:1-10), he never ignored the people seeking him. His interruptions were often his greatest ministry moments.

In contrast, we tend to see interruptions as inconveniences. A child needing attention when we’re in the middle of something important, a coworker stopping by with a problem just as we’re about to leave, an unexpected phone call when we’re too tired to talk – these moments can leave us exasperated and curt.

But what if, instead of resisting interruptions, we saw them as opportunities for God to work through us?

Lent is a season where Christ-followers slow down, sacrifice, and remember the journey Jesus embarked upon to the cross. What if part of our spiritual practice during this season was to welcome those interruptions we so often find annoying? To pause, be present, and even see them as divine appointments rather than disruptions?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this season of Lent where I can slow down and remember the sacrifices that you made on my behalf. Help me resist the urge to ignore the interruptions and practice patience and presence with the people seeking my attention. Teach me to embrace your divine interruptions in my daily life, even when it is inconvenient. In your name I pray, Amen.

Monday, March 31

By:Pat Bellingrath

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

1 Corinthians 13

As I journey through Lent, I am especially aware of the despair and heartache we are encountering at almost every turn. Anger and sadness have been my constant companions. Using Lent as a time for personal reflection has been difficult for me as I see decisions and policies being made that directly affect my family members, close friends, and those I call sisters and brothers. I was reading a meditation by Diana Butler Bass recently, and she wrote of “loving relentlessly”. My heart has been heavy with a mix of emotions, but I have been thinking of how I might “love relentlessly”. What would that look like for me? I am using my time during Lent to figure out how to love in spite of, in place of, in defiance of. My power will be to love because the power of good and the power of love can be relentless.

Easter awaits us in all its hope and light and beauty. We are the people of God, and so we are the people of love. I will continue to do whatever I can to follow the gospel of Christ and to love my neighbors. I will be a light for others wherever I can. I will be an example of compassion and inclusion, and I will keep my eyes on Jesus. I will put my hands into doing work in small ways: feeding people, supporting others, lifting voices, creating spaces, writing letters, praying for my enemies, holding those who are hurting, reading books to my grandchildren, and singing hymns of praise. I will honor and celebrate those who are Kin-dom builders. I will always stand on the side of justice and with those who have been marginalized. Love outlasts, endures, heals, transforms, and never ceases.

In other words, I will fill my days with loving relentlessly.

Prayer

Lord, fill my heart with love and my days with the vision of your Kin-dom here on earth. May my love for you be evident in all that I do and all that I say. Amen.