Yearly Archives:

2010

Holy Week

What is so good about Good Friday?

Good Friday?  How about Bad Friday, Black Friday, or Depressing Friday?  If this is the day in which we remember Jesus suffering, bleeding, and dying on the cross, what is so good about it?  The movie, The Passion of the Christ, in many ways, change the way we feel about Christ suffering.  The graphic and bloody movie was a stirring portray of Jesus’ last hours.  For some, Good Friday induces feelings of guilt, depression, and even remorse.  Christians, on this day, truly feel a sense of sadness.

On this day of sadness, we wonder: Where did we get the term “Good Friday?  There is no clear answer, but the word “good” and “God” mixed together in the English speaking world.  For instance, the surname “Goodspeed” derives from “Godspeed”, which comes from the expression “God speed (with you)”  The expression, “good bye” came from the phase, “God be with ye (you).  Despite the origins of the phases, we don’t really feel “good” on Good Friday.

No matter what the origins of the phase comes from we cannot escape our feelings.  Are we meant to feel guilty and depressed on Good Friday? We don’t feel “good” about Christ suffering.  Are we meant to feel the pressure to be grateful of Jesus’ torment?

Christianity Today recently published an article that gives a good take on this day.  John Witvliet explains why we should not punish ourselves:

Continue Reading…

Holy Week

What is Maundy Thursday?

Today, Christians around the world commemorate Maundy Thursday — no, not Monday Thursday, which would be an interesting concept: society could work Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off!  Some Christians misunderstand that this day is only a “Catholic” celebration.   Christians both ancient and modern have remembered Christ’s last supper with his disciples on Maundy Thursday, which begins the great triduum, the three days of the paschal celebration.

The word “maundy” comes from the Latin word maundatum for “commandment”, which comes from Jesus’ words from the last supper: “I give you a new commandment; that you love one another…”   The full Latin phase is maundatum novarum, which means “a new commandment.”  According to Robert Webber (The Services of the Christian Year, #252), these words were translated in the French word mande.  This in turn was anglicized into “maundy.”

During this day, Christians celebrate Jesus’ last supper with his disciples through serving and receiving communion with a special service. Often, all of or some of John 13 is read.  This scripture recalls:

Continue Reading…

Holy Week

Prayer for Holy Week

God whose word cannot be broken:
with Jerusalem we are stunned this Holy Week.
Like a city overcome with sudden devastation,
we are swept up in the confusion and desolation,
wondering what is happening.

Liturgy, Scripture, and song immerse us in the river
that flows to betrayal and the cross.
The gospel we have tried to make manageable
has overturned our tables of control.
The sufferings of Jesus
that we try to avoid engulf us.
The fruitless fig tree withers before the majesty
of one whose mission is
relentless and uncompromised.

Help us with all of your church to watch and pray,
to behold anew the unfolding scandal
and the ragged good news of salvation.
Behold with mercy the agonies of the world
where the suffering of Jesus is being completed,
both then and now.

Let the Via Dolorosa for us
be both acts of devotion and worship
and of compassion and justice,
so that Christ’s abundant sufferings
become the world’s abundant consolations.

Silent prayer and listening

Order of Saint Luke Publications. This prayer, written by Dan Benedict, is from The Daily Office: A Book of Hours for Daily Prayer (Volume II: For Lent and the Triduum).

Holy Week

Palm Sunday Prayer

Call to Worship

Leader: On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered the Holy City, Jerusalem. The crowds cheered and cried out;

People: Hosanna to the Son of David!

Leader: Jesus rode upon a donkey and the crowds spread their garments before him, cheering:

People: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Leader: When the leaders asked, “Who is this?” the crowds said:

All: This is the prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, from Galilee. (Matthew 21:11)

Prayer of Confession

Leader: On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered the Holy City, Jerusalem. The crowds cheered and cried out;

People: Hosanna to the Son of David!

Leader: Jesus rode upon a donkey and the crowds spread their garments before him, cheering:

People: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Leader: But by the end of the week, the crowds were gone and only a few followers remained.

Let the people be silent, offering silent confession.

Leader: The night he was arrested, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, as was his custom.

People: May we pray with Jesus as we remember the night he was arrested; may our faith prove true and sure.

Leader: Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”

People: May we, too, pray not for comfort and ease,
not for the easy road, not for a life without trial or worry;
but, like Jesus, may we pray that we will do the will of the Lord,
no matter the circumstance, not counting the cost.

Let the people pray in silence.

from: Hosanna to the Son of David! A 21st Century Worship Resource for Palm Sunday, The Rev. Dr. Steven F. Plymale

Lent

Lessons from a Donkey

For some unknown reason, my parents never let me have  pets.  Growing up several of my friends had dogs, cats, snakes, and other animals but I could not have one.  My parents most likely did not want the mess, fur, and the waste around the back yard.  I really did not mind the idea of an animal around the house, but I think my parent’s did not like the concept of an dirty animal walking around the house with us.

In ancient times, people and animals lived close together. Throughout the Bible we see animals playing a role in God’s creation and God’s people.  Animals are mentioned from Genesis to Revelation.  For a complete list of animals in the Bible check this out.  What we might not realize is that we can learn valuable insight from these animal stories. Scripture teaches us that:

God created all the animals (Psalm 104).

“Then God commanded, ‘Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life; domestic and wild, large and small, and it was done. So God made them all, and He was pleased with what He saw.” Genesis 1:24, 25

All animals belong to God (Psalm 24:1).

“All the animals in the forest are Mine and the cattle on thousands of hills. All the wild birds are Mine and all living things in the fields.” Psalm 50:10, 11

God cares for the animals (1 John 4:16).

Continue Reading…

Lent

The Sign of Jonah

This is the last week of, “The Sign of Jonah.”  In chapter four, we find Jonah under a bush and angry with God.  As we head toward the end of Lent we ask, “What is the sign of Jonah?”

Saint Patrick

The Top 3 Myths of Saint Patrick’s Day

On March 17th everyone is Irish! We wear green, drink green beer and shamrock shakes for Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick has become a beloved figure in the Western Hemisphere, but where did Saint Patrick come from?  What did he do to become so beloved?

Believe it or not, Saint Patrick is not a canonized saint by the Catholic Church. Patrick was deemed a “saint” before the official canonization process was formed.  Check out the list of officially canonized saints here.  Yes, Patrick was responsible for missionary journeys in Ireland, but there is also a lot of misinformation about Patrick:

MYTH #1 Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland.

Snakes seem to embody everything evil.  We get a lot of distrust of snakes from the book of Genesis because Satan is represented as a serpent.  In addition, snakes are elusive, deadly, and just plain scary.

The Patrick snake myth is dispelled:

Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy ocean waters—much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else. But since snakes often represent evil in literature, “when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age…

Myth #2 Saint Patrick was Irish

Continue Reading…

Culture

The Theology of Lost

For the last few years, I have been a fan of LOST.  I have watched ABC’s hit show with much excitement and also frustration. Unanswered questions and confusing story lines are the main focus of my frustration.  Now that the show is in its final season, I have come to see the show not just as entertainment but also an exercise in story telling, debates in modern moral dilemmas, and reflection upon theological undertones.

Still, the show has been able to hold my attention by using cliff hangers that seem to stick closer to me than Juliet’s puppy love for Sawyer.  In addition, J. Abrams and his crew are clever to used the internet and a gorilla marketing campaign to promote the show.

Clearly there are religious elements.  The themes of good and evil have been present since Jack walked through the airport in episode one.  The concept of “The Others” is almost cultist. Remote communal living, clear rules, secrets, protocol, and unquestionable allegiance to a leader lend to the mystique of the show.  Theologically, the show is rich with symbolism. There are obvious religious references, but there are quiet ones as well.

I’m not the first to make the this connection.  Several bloggers and ministers have commented on the theology connection.  Here are my top 5 fascinating  theological figures or themes in LOST:

Continue Reading…

Lent

Awake, O Sleeper!

I have been preaching on Jonah throughout Lent. It has been a very moving experience for me. The story speaks to us in high moments and our low moments in life. Jonah’s story is often thought of as a children’s story. Nothing could be further from the truth! Jonah’s story has deep spiritual, theological, and biblical currents running through it. I’m preparing for my sermon on Jonah 2 and ran across a music video/short film. I have seen/heard the video/song before, but I could not help be moved by the video’s grittiness.

It’s loud, a little violent, a little bloody, pulls no punches, and is moving:

A Hero comes from the wilderness to cry out to the captives, pleading for them to awaken. This short film from Whitestone was in part inspired by “Plato’s Cave” and depicts the struggle of freeing the captives, whomever they may be. This film is set to the song by the same name originally written for this film by the talented Wright Brothers: Nicholas Kirk and Billy Wilkerson. (Link)

I could not help but see the strong connections between Jonah and this song. The men are held captive, and are in need of help.  Jonah is held captive in the belly of a fish (which, saved his life). Jonah cries for God in chapter 2:

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2saying, “I called to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.

If Jonah knew about this song, he might have sung this line:

There will come a day my God will come
And put me in my place
My God I pray, You’ll call my name
Instead of turn away

The lyrics of this song, “Awake, O Sleeper” are below:

Continue Reading…

On Facebook