Good Friday

The Meek Shall Praise Him

 PSALM 22:22-30 KJV

I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.

All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

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Did our Lord Jesus not tell us in his sermon on the mountain that those who are poor in spirit are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is theirs? Did he not say that the meek shall be blessed for they shall inherit the earth?  (Matt 5:3,5)

When things are looking down then rejoice and praise the Lord for God has a good plan for all who love Him. (Rom 8:28)  The Lord of heaven and earth is with you always with a plan for your good; with a plan for peace and not for evil. (Jer 29:11)

The persecution and crucifixion of Jesus was not the end of him. He was raised from the dead and lives and reigns at the right hand of God the Father. If by the hand of God the dead can be raised then trust that it is but a little thing for Him to be able  to raise up the one who has fallen down!

Look to the good and not for the bad. Keep your head up. Keep your chin up and praise the Lord for all that he has done and continues to do!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Were You There: Are You There?

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

                                                                                     (Isaiah 53:3-8 KJV)

Who was there? Were you there when they crucified our Lord? Who had the courage to witness the crucifixion of Jesus? The two criminals who were crucified with Jesus were with him. The soldiers who nailed him to the cross were there. Many of the Jews may witnessed his crucifixion, from a distance, as Golgotha was not too far from the city. Were they were able to read the sign? Did they read the words "JESUS OF NAZARETH. THE KING OF THE JEWS" as he struggled to carry his cross to his death?

The three Mary's were there to witness his death; Jesus' mother, Mary, and her sister Mary and Mary Magdalene were there. Where were the close disciples whom he had called? Was Peter there or was he still in hiding? But, John was there. John, the disciple who loved Jesus, was there.

As Jesus was being tried and brutalized and killed, he was pretty much alone. The majority of his flock had deserted him to protect themselves. In these days when the majority of the country has been told to shelter in place; I wonder if we are there, if we are even able to be there for those who are suffering and dying.

Just a reminder on this Good Friday of something that Jesus told us: 

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."

                                                                                           (Matt 25:41-45)

On this Good Friday as we recall that the sheep deserted the shepherd when he was put to death for the very sake of the sheep, let us consider if we are truly there for Christ in our fellowman today? Do we continue to desert him?

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Weary Wait Upon The Lord

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

                                                                                     (Isa 40:28-31 KJV)

I am waiting. I am waiting for the Lord to renew my strength. I can walk. I can still kayak. But, running is pretty limited! Recently retired; having grown faint and weary of having to spend so much time and effort with so many issues  that had nothing to do with proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus the Christ.

The church on earth must return to the main thing: proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To do otherwise only makes for faint and weary children of God. To do otherwise will cause the various congregations and denominations to fall. And, rightfully so if they will not trust the Lord.

After the Christ's crucifixion, the disciples hid out in an upper room. They waited in fear for the authorities to come after them. They continued to wait even after they saw the resurrected Lord. They waited to be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would come. The Holy Spirit came and they were lifted up. Their strength was renewed and they were dispersed to spread the news that Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Savior of the world. They were empowered, even in the face of death, to spread the news that Jesus lives.

Most of us do not face death for sharing that Good News. I often wonder if  the reason that we are not more energetic in sharing that Good News might be  because we aren't really persecuted. After all, here in the United States, we are not in danger of dying for sharing the love of God in Christ Jesus. 

Consider the Christians around the world who are persecuted; who are imprisoned; who are put to death for their faith. Have they not been strengthened to confess Jesus as Lord in the face of their oppressors? 

What will it take for those who claim to be Christians to stand up with their brothers and sisters around the world and without fear enthusiastically tell others that Jesus died so that they might live; that they might be reconciled to our Father; our Creator, in heaven? 

I confess, I have grown weary. I long to see the day when Christians are empowered in this country to not just worship out of obligation on Sunday mornings; but, let the world around them know that Jesus is Lord every day of the week.

We live in a beautiful world. God has created it most magnificently. But; I confess, that on too many days I feel very weary of this world and particularly the lack of faith in the one true God that I witness around me. But, I also trust that "...they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Our Strength; Rock; Fortress; Deliverer

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
  my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
  my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
  so I shall be saved from my enemies.
                                            Psalm 18:1-2 NRSV

The Lord is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. There is no other who can or will save us from the destruction that is often brought upon by our own sinful ways.

It seems that as the years go by the world has gotten more evil, more sinful. But, I am not sure that it has. When I think about the medieval ages and the cruelty that was inflicted upon humankind by humankind, I am quite sure that the world is not worse. When I consider the arena and the  punishments of Jesus' day that included crucifixion, I am convinced that that cruelty has always existed in its evilest forms. It may seem like the world has gotten worse; but, has it really?  

But, when I consider that many would think that killing children moments before their birth; or that there are leaders and rebels who have no qualms against committing genocide against their neighbors for their personal goals, I am pretty confident that the world hasn't gotten any better, either. 

Who can we turn to in a world so fueled by ego and the desire for personal gain? There is none other than the Lord who is our strength; our rock; our fortress; our deliverer; the One in whom we can take refuge.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy upon us all.

God's Peace - Pr. J

No Easter Without Good Friday

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 NIV

What a gift! In exchange for our sins, we have received eternal life through the sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus. Tomorrow is celebrated as either Palm or Passion Sunday in many congregations. I prefer to celebrate both the final entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem and the events following up to and including the crucifixion.  

It is important that we remember that even as everyone welcomed and honored Jesus when he entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, many turned their backs on him by Friday.

He died, an innocent man. As he hung on that cross he carried the weight of our sins upon himself. He bore them so that all who believe in him might be forgiven our sins and receive the gift of eternal life through the shedding of his blood. Without the events of Holy Week; without the death of Jesus; there would be no resurrection; there would be no gift of eternal life for us.

And, this is why we remember the entire Holy Week on Palm/Passion Sunday: way too many people have the mistaken notion that if they show up on Sunday (some believe Christmas and Easter is enough) that they are saved. The reality is: we are saved by God's grace alone by faith in the one who lived and died and lives again for us.

What a gift! We have eternal life because he suffered and died for us. Wherever you are, please, make the effort to attend worship throughout this Holy Week so that you might better grasp why it is that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and our eternal life on Easter Sunday. The resurrection and the gift of eternal life to us came at great cost. It cost Jesus his life. Hearing what he has done for you ought not be too great a cost to you.

There would be no Easter without the events prior to Jesus' resurrection. Without Good Friday; without the execution of Jesus, there would be no Easter morning. Remember, all that he has done for you.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Would You Be There?

  

   Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

   Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of The jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city,  and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

   Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

   When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

   “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

   This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.

   Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.  (John 19:17-27 NIV)

  

Who was there? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Who had the courage to witness the crucifixion of Jesus? The two criminals who were crucified with Jesus witnessed it. They had no choice. The soldiers who nailed him to the cross were there. They had no choice. Many of the Jews may have witnessed his crucifixion, from a distance, as Golgotha was not too far from the city. They were able to read the sign. They could read the words "JESUS OF NAZARETH. THE KING OF THE JEWS" that were written on the instrument of his execution. 

The three Mary's were there to witness his death; Jesus' mother, Mary, and her sister Mary and Mary Magdalene were there. Where were the close disciples whom he had called? Was Peter still in hiding? But, John was there. John, the disciple who loved Jesus, was there. The crowd of Jesus' followers was not quite as large as the crowd that had followed him around looking for healing, looking to be delivered from multitudes of maladies. He had been there for them. Where were they now?

I began this Holy Week with the reading of the entire "Passion" on Sunday. I always do because I know that by Maundy Thursday and Good Friday the crowd of worshippers will be off doing other things. They will not be there to remember our Lord's death; the giving up of his body, his life, for them, for you.

Tonight we will remember our Lord's death with a Tenebrae Service. We will sing a verse of "Were You There?" with the snuffing out of each candle. I expect, as it has been in years past for multitudes of Christian churches, the crowd will be small. Many will be missing. It causes me to wonder how many would have been there at his death. Would we have made it to his crucifixion had we been there? Would we have been too afraid of being found a sympathizer to be found near him at his death? Or, would we have found something more pleasing to ourselves to attend instead?

Remember, there is no Easter with out Good Friday! There can be no resurrection if death does not occur. Will you be there with your brothers and sisters in Christ when times are not going according to your will; when they are not so joyful, or will you be there only when the remembrance and celebration might lift you up? 

May God help us to rightly and reverently observe the lifting up of Jesus on the cross for us.

God's Peace - Pr. J