With loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. (Luke 23:23-24) No law can withstand human demands. No governor forestalls foregone conclusions. We stand amidst the crowd, shouting For the death of our God to satisfy Our anger. With no words for the …
Maker Unmade
The man who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. (Luke 22:63) The mouths made by Him through whom all things were made - The mouths in which the gift of language was given to bless - Those mouths now rage against their Creator with cruel curses. The hands held by Him from the …
10 Reasons Holy Week Can Become More Powerful during the Time of the Virus
Holy Week is the pinnacle of our Lenten journey, drawing us into the Passion of Jesus. This year, our Holy Week journey finds us simultaneously facing into one of the worst crises of our lives with the COVID-19 pandemic. This past weekend I reflected on the significance of this intersection of Holy Week and COVID-19, …
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Unseeing in Sleep
Pray that you will not fall into temptation (Luke 22:40) Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation (Luke 22:46b) the disciples unseeing and tired eyes sagging, bodies sore, sleep surges up, engulfs vigilance at the vital hour. Jesus' question, 'Why are you sleeping?', sounds strange to sleepwalkers, whose ears fail …
Malcolm Guite, Palm Sunday
Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. (Psalm 118:25-27) "The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that …
Matthew Erickson 