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By way of Introduction
Jesus was nothing like the first disciples expected. Instead of rescuing them from Roman oppression, Jesus died an ignominious death at the hands of the Romans. It seems that we too have problems with Jesus’ identity and try to redefine him to fit our current wishes. It was the prophet Isaiah who helped the early Christians figure Jesus out, and is still a guide for us today. I have, therefore, chosen the Isaiah readings from the 4 Servant Songs for most of Holy Week. All of the readings are known as ‘servant songs’ and outline, in broad strokes the vocation of Messiah. While the identity of ‘servant’ in each of these songs is unclear, the church now reads them through the lens of Jesus and sees in them teaching about Messiah, helping us get Jesus and his mission, then and now, correct. If you’d prefer to read the New Testament lessons from John’s Gospel, scroll down until you come to the devotions for 2016. MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK (April 10) PREPARE TO LISTEN: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you. (Isaiah 42:6) READ: Isaiah 42:1-9 (I have only printed vv1-5; the focus of this devotional.) Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. MEDITATIVE WORDS The passage begins simply: “Here is my servant.” No explanation is given and it’s hard to know the exact identity. It’s up to us to look carefully at the description the ancient prophet gives. The servant in this passage isn’t anything like the images we sometimes conjure up of Jesus—our own conquering hero come to rescue us from our sin and other messes. It’s hard to imagine a Messiah who comes quietly and non-violently, but that’s how Isaiah describes “my servant,” what he does and doesn’t do. We begin with a description of what the servant does not do. He doesn’t engage in any type of self-promotion or self-aggrandizement—his voice isn’t lifted up or even heard in the street (think ‘multi-media sites’). He doesn’t break those who’ve been “bruised” or “quenched”; those so abused they no longer know who they are. The servant comes gently and non-violently. Second, we learn what the servant does do—faithfully bring forth and establish justice in the nations (not just one nation). Justice is a word with several meanings in Scripture. It is used here to mean that God’s servant will bring the truth of God’s Word to all nations, hence we’re told that “the coastlands wait for his teaching,” a word related to justice in this poem. It also means making wrongs right. Jesus as God’s servant, came to do both of these things. Today, we’re God’s servants on earth and these are now our tasks—to bring the truth of God’s Word to all nations and to make wrongs right by attending gently and non-violently to the needs of the “bruised” and the “dimly burning wick”, whoever they are, in our midst. REFLECTIVE WONDERING Who are the bruised and dimly burning wicks in your place today? Name them and seek ways to bring them healing and wholeness. RESPOND TO THE LORD IN PRAYER. Jesus, Servant of the Living God, you always come gently and without violence and thus I often miss encountering you in my space. Help me today to be alert to your ways, be they ever so soft and faint. Amen. BE SILENT AND STILL: For a few moments, simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK (April 11) PREPARE TO LISTEN: Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! (Isaiah 49:1) READ: Isaiah 49:1-7 (I’ve only printed vv5-7, the focus of this devotional.) And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— he says, ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’ Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, ‘Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’ MEDITATIVE WORDS The servant was formed, in the womb, “to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him.” We can excuse Israel for thinking that salvation was only for them. But then the LORD seems to ‘rethink’ the servant’s role. To be for Israel only “is too light a thing” for God’s servant. The task will be much, much bigger—a light to the Gentiles so that God’s salvation reaches to the very ends of the earth. God desires that the servant “should be my [God’s] salvation”. In other words, the servant isn’t merely one who brings salvation, but is the salvation the world needs. God’s salvation agenda is generous and enormous, reaching the whole world through one person. It isn’t narrowly focused on Israel, a single nation. I think we often narrow the scope of salvation just as Israel did. We think of it as a personal and individual thing (‘I’ll go to heaven when I die’) and forget God’s larger agenda that includes all nations and all world leaders, who one day will bow before the Holy One of Israel. Yes, the servant (Jesus) is the salvation we need, and he is the salvation of the entire world. REFLECTIVE WONDERING In Jesus, we (those of us who follow Jesus) are salvation for the world through what we say and how we live. Reflect on ways you could be God’s salvation in your space today. RESPOND TO THE LORD IN PRAYER. Holy One of Israel, thank you for anointing Jesus to be salvation for the world. Thank you that you showed me your way of salvation. Help me today to show, by word and deed, this same salvation to others, for your name’s sake, Amen. BE SILENT AND STILL: For a few moments, simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK (April 12) PREPARE TO LISTEN: Morning by morning he wakens—wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. READ: Isaiah 50:4-9a The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, 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. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION This is the 3rd Servant Song and the only one in which the word ‘servant’ isn’t used. God is addressed 4 times as “the Lord God.” This can be translated, “Sovereign LORD,” where LORD (all upper case) stands for God’s name, Yahweh. MEDITATIVE WORDS “The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards.” We’re not told what the servant was asked to do, just that the servant didn’t rebel. In other words, the servant was obedient to God’s Word. Obedience and a listening ear are often related, even equated in the Old Testament. The obedience came, not because the servant spent time listening to God once in a while, when time allowed. But, the servant claims, it was “morning by morning” that God awakened him to listen. It was this daily discipline of listening that made possible the “sustaining word for the weary,” that is, a word that would energize God’s people to keep faith and hope alive in God’s continual work in renewing the world and bringing in God’s redemption. REFLECTIVE WONDERING This sustaining word is the word we all need to hear today. We live in times where so many world leaders are oppressive, corrupt, even anti-Christ and his way. Who will give the sustaining word? Who will waken morning by morning to listen as those who are taught and are teachable? Will you? RESPOND TO THE LORD God IN PRAYER. Sovereign Lord, awaken my ear to listen as those who are taught that I may be able to sustain the weary, the down-trodden, the oppressed with a word that energizes hope in your sure redemption. In the name of your Servant, Jesus I pray, Amen. BE SILENT AND STILL: For a few moments, simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. THURSDAY OF HOLY WEEK (April 13) Maundy Thursday PREPARE TO LISTEN: READ: John 13:31-35 When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’ SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION Maundy means ‘command,’ and is used to refer to the command Jesus left his disciples with as found in our text today. The command comes shortly after Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during his last Passover meal with them (read John 13:1-17) and immediately after Judas departed with the intent to betray Jesus. Our lesson today picks up immediately after Judas had left. MEDITATIVE WORDS We know this command well. Some of us even memorized it as children, but we’re less familiar with the words that come before it. Five times Jesus uses the word ‘glorified’ and ‘glorify’. He knew what was about to happen to him—arrest, suffering and death thanks to Judas’ betrayal. He looked it full in the face and claimed, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.’ Glory has to do with God’s presence being known and felt. In Jewish thought, God’s glory rested in the temple, the symbol of the very presence of God on earth. Jesus’ death is the means by which God brings God’s space and our earthly space together. God now rules here on earth (humanity’s space) as in heaven (God’s space) because Jesus has been glorified. It is in this context that the disciples were commanded to love one another, the sign to the world that they belong to Jesus; the sign to the world that God now dwells and rules on earth as in heaven. REFLECTIVE WONDERING Reflect on ways you could glorify God today, that is, make God known and felt in your space today. RESPOND TO JESUS IN PRAYER. Jesus, you humbly reached down and washed the disciples’ dirty feet. Help me today to follow your example, to glorify your name by humbly serving those in need around me today. For the sake of your glory, Amen. BE SILENT AND STILL: For a few moments, simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. FRIDAY OF HOLY WEEK (April 14) PREPARE TO LISTEN: Who has believed what we have heard? (Isaiah 53:1) READ: Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (I’ve only printed 53:4-9, the focus of this devotional.) Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION N. T. Wright maintains that this 4th Servant Song is at the very heart of Jesus’ understanding of how his vocation would be fulfilled (The Day the Revolution Began: 189). The Servant in this 4th Song is readily identified as Jesus Messiah. You could use this poem to retell the story of Jesus. MEDITATIVE WORDS The words are very heavy and filled with passive verbs and multiple terms related to sickness. As the writer describes the suffering Servant he also admits how misunderstood he was. The Servant is almost written off because “we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.” Then it becomes clear all the suffering was for a purpose, God’s purpose. He bore the punishment that makes us whole and the bruises that bring us healing. The people’s response? “All we like sheep have gone astray.” This didn’t stop Messiah. He too became sheep-like, but as a sheep that remains silent when being sheared. Twice we’re told “he did not open his mouth.” No one could have imagined this suffering for Messiah, but it happened. Isaiah makes clear that Messiah’s suffering was for the forgiveness of sin; the sin that caused Israel to go into exile and the sin that brought separation between us and God. Jesus has made possible a life free of sin and addiction. REFLECTIVE WONDERING Read the entire poem through slowly and simply be grateful for what God in Christ has done for your healing and wholeness today. RESPOND TO JESUS IN PRAYER. Redeemer God, you made Jesus bear the punishment that sets us free. Help me live today in gratitude for what Christ did on the cross and help me truly live the forgiveness I’ve received. In the name of Jesus, Amen. BE SILENT AND STILL: For a few moments, simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. SATURDAY OF HOLY WEEK (April 15) PREPARE TO LISTEN: See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. (Isaiah 52:13) READ: Matthew 27:57-66 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead”, and the last deception would be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’ So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. MEDITATIVE WORDS Joseph of Arimathea “rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.” I wonder why these two Marys remained on guard at the tomb. Did they have hope in Jesus’ promise to rise again on the third day? Was their plan to remain at the tomb until that happened? We don’t know what motivated them and the writer doesn’t tell us. We can imagine that they were motivated by a certain hope in the words of Jesus that on the third day he would be raised. Joseph, whom Matthew claims, “was also a disciple of Jesus,” shows no faith in the resurrection. He rolled the stone over the entrance of the tomb and walked away. Not being a regular follower of Jesus (as far as we know) perhaps he’d never heard Jesus assure the disciples he’d rise again and therefore didn’t know. He didn’t stick around to find out. The two women did, and, as we’ll discover in tomorrow’s reading, they were rewarded and blessed. REFLECTIVE WONDERING Put yourself in the story. With whom do you most identify; with Joseph who appears to lack hope in Jesus’ assurance to rise again the 3rd day, or with the two Marys who act in a hope-filled manner and are prepared to wait? RESPOND TO JESUS IN PRAYER. Lord Jesus, I believe, but please help my unbelief. Amen. BE SILENT AND STILL: For a few moments, simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. EASTER SUNDAY (April 16) PREPARE TO LISTEN: Again you shall take your tambourines, and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. (Jeremiah 31:4) READ: Matthew 28:1-10 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’ MEDITATIVE WORDS Mary Magdalene and ‘the other’ Mary returned to the tomb on the third day. It was a frightening experience—“a great earthquake” and then an angel with the appearance of lightning that filled the guards with fear so they “became like dead men.” Not the women. They stand their ground and were rewarded—the very first to hear the good news of the resurrection of Jesus, their Lord. Not only that, they were the first to see Jesus alive. Their response to Jesus’ simple word, “Greetings,” was immediate. Without a word “they came to him, took hold of his feet [which means they bowed that low], and worshipped him.” But, they had a task to fulfill. Twice in the story the two women were commanded to “go and tell,” once by the angel and once by Jesus himself. They were being asked to be witnesses of the most momentous act in all of history. Women were being asked to do what women were normally not permitted to do—bear witness and this time it was to witness about Jesus’ resurrection. Their worship of Jesus included accepting the mission Jesus sent them to perform. They were overjoyed, not only at seeing the one they loved alive but also at being accounted worthy to proclaim this good news to the other disciples. Did they dance the dance of the merrymakers as they made their back into the city? I wonder. REFLECTIVE WONDERING Sometimes we take our role as witness to Jesus too casually. Imagine being in the sandals of these two women and let their joy enter your soul this morning. Celebrate the resurrection; go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. RESPOND TO JESUS IN PRAYER. Lord Jesus, all that we can do is thank you and lift our hands in praise. Amen. BE SILENT AND STILL: For a few moments, simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless.
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Prepare to listen (about 5 minutes). Be aware of your thoughts and feelings and distractions. Offer them to Jesus and pray for insight.
Read John 20:1-18, slowly and prayerfully, attending to what the different characters do and say. 20Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 14When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ 16Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her. Reflective words Twice Mary Magdalene was asked, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ It’s a question that suggests compassion for Mary in her obvious deep sorrow. Mary didn’t wait for a response from the ‘two angels.’ I wonder why. Turning from them, she saw Jesus, but thought he was just a gardener. Jesus not only asks about her tears but adds: ‘For whom are you looking?’ The question is one we all must answer. Mary was looking for the body, a dead body (as she supposed) of her Lord. Jesus simply called her by name, ‘Mary!’ I wonder about Jesus’ tone of voice as he called her by name. Reflective wondering For whom are you looking? Respond to Jesus in prayer. Write your prayer response or pray the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I know, deep down, that you are the one I’m looking for. I want to experience you as Mary did, hear you call my name. But, I also know that sometimes I’m hesitant of what that will mean for my life, what changes I’ll need to make. Help look beyond this to the joy of the resurrection—yours and also the hope of my own. Thank you. Be silent and still (for as long as you want). Simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. Then go forth in the dance of the merrymakers (Jeremiah 31) and celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Prepare to listen (about 5 minutes). Pray: “Teach me your way, O LORD.”
Read John 18:1-12 (read slowly as you wonder about the details in the text). 1After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ 5They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus replied, ‘I am he.’ Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he’, they stepped back and fell to the ground. 7Again he asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ 8Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.’ 9This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.’ 10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. 11Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?’ 12 So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. Some background information ‘I am he’ should most likely simply be ‘I am.’ Because this is God’s name, Jews considered it blasphemy (a claim to be God) to say it. Hence the religious police shock when Jesus answered, ‘I am.’ Reflective words ‘After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.’ There is something very ordinary about these words and yet the most momentous event in history took place there that very day. Gardens often conjure up pictures of beauty and peace (think of the Garden of Eden). Jesus chose to enter a garden, ‘knowing all that was to happen to him.’ Violence takes place but Jesus refused to be defended from it. He rejected, outright, an act of violence from his own disciple. He let himself be arrested. Reflective wondering I wonder what Jesus would say to our American culture, especially his Church, that is so pro-guns and violence? What do you think Jesus calls you to and how will you obey his call? Respond to Jesus in prayer. Write your own prayer response or pray the following prayer: Lord Jesus, give to your people in this country wisdom and courage to act with grace and also humility so that we promote peace and love, not violence and hate. Amen. Be silent and still (for as long as you want). Simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. Prepare to listen (about 5 minutes). When ready pray: “Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.”
Read John 13:1-17 (read slowly as you wonder about the details in the text). 1Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ 7Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ 8Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ 9Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ 10Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’ 11For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ 12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you?13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.’ Some background information Today is called Maundy Thursday because it is the day the Church remembers Jesus’ command to his disciples to serve one another as he served them. Maundy is from a Latin term for ‘command’. Reflective words Simon Peter said, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ I like Peter. He’s so real. It never occurred to him that he should have taken up the basin and towel to serve Jesus and the other disciples. It did occur to him that it wasn’t right that Jesus should do servant work. It took a lot of courage to let Jesus wash his feet. I wonder how he felt when Jesus concluded his act of humble service with the command: ‘For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.’ Reflective wondering What do you think Jesus meant by his command? How ready are you to obey it? Respond to Jesus in prayer. Write your prayer response or pray the following prayer: There is something very ordinary about serving basic needs like washing feet. I’d rather let someone else do the ordinary, Lord. I too often fail to live your way of service to others, wanting to do things that will get me recognition. Lord, forgive me and keep working in me to become more like you. In your name I pray, Amen. Be silent and still and receive God’s grace and mercy. Prepare to listen (about 5 minutes). Conclude the silence with a request that the Spirit open the ears of your heart to hear God’s Word for you today.
Read John 13:21-32 (read slowly 2 or 3 times as you wonder about the details in the text). 21 After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ 22The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. 23One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; 24Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’ 26Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’ 28Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.’ Some background information This story takes place at Jesus’ last Passover meal with his disciples and immediately after Jesus had washed their feet (the lesson for Thursday). Reflective words ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ The atmosphere in that room was very tense even before Jesus dropped this bombshell. The disciples all must have felt guilty and unsure of their devotion to Jesus. Peter urged the disciple next to Jesus to ask, ‘Lord, who is it?’ According to Matthew (27:22), they all began anxiously asking, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ If Jesus’ response wasn’t exactly reassuring, his attitude and acceptance of his anxious disciples was. After the betrayer left, Jesus announced his own end, in words charged with the glory of God and of himself. Christ’s death is near and God is glorified in him. Reflective wondering How might you feel if you heard Jesus ask this same question? What response might you give? Do Jesus’ words reassure you or not? Respond to Jesus in prayer. Write your prayer response or pray the following prayer: When the situation is tense, when emotions are heightened, Lord I pray for strength to stay true to you. When my mind is racing and I feel insecure, may your accepting presence be real and may I trust in you even if I feel nothing. I pray in your name so that glory may pour up to you in all I do. Amen. Be silent and still (for as long as you want). Simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless. Prepare to listen (about 5 minutes). Enter your quiet space and be still and silent as you calm down. Invite the Holy Spirit to come and speak. Pray: “Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.”
Read John 12:1-11 (read slowly 2 or 3 times as you wonder about the details in the text). 1Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’ 9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus. Some background information “Six days before the Passover”—begins the last week of Jesus’ life on earth. Bethany was just outside Jerusalem. Jesus is preparing for the end. “Pure nard.” Nard was an expensive oil-based perfume found only in India. One pound is a lot of perfume! “Three hundred denarii” was a year’s worth of wages for a day laborer. Mary’s act was an extravagant and generous ‘waste’. The main characters in the story are Jesus, Judas Iscariot (the only two who speak), Mary, Martha and Lazarus, a curious crowd and angry chief priests. Reflective words I once invited the congregation to imagine auditioning for a part in a movie of this story. I said I only needed two more characters—Mary and Judas; and I needed people who felt that their experience would best suit them for these roles because they could identify with either Mary or Judas in the story. I described the actions of each and left them with the challenge to decide which role best described them. After the service, a seasoned farmer shook my hands with his rough farm hands and said, ‘Sometimes I feel like Mary ready to be extravagantly wasteful in my love for Jesus and other days I’m more like Judas, complaining about wasting things instead of giving to the poor.’ Reflective wondering Which character do you most identify with and why; Mary who ‘wasted’ expensive perfume in an extravagant gesture of love for Jesus, or Judas who complained about such waste? Imagine what Jesus might say to you and what you would like to say to him. Respond to Jesus in prayer. Write your own prayer response or pray the following prayer: Lord Jesus, you set an example of extravagant, generous love, a love that cost your all. Forgive me for so often behaving more like Judas, complaining about wastefulness instead of being like Mary, giving my all in a generous gesture of gratitude for your sacrificial love. Lord, in your mercy, hear and answer my prayer to be more like you in all I do today. Amen. Be silent and still (for as long as you want). Simply be in the presence of Jesus, who loves you, regardless.  By way of introduction
Holy Week begins the Monday before Easter Sunday. It is a week designed to prepare us to fully celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with great joy. During Holy Week, I invite you to pray with Jesus by reading about Jesus’ last week, from his arrest to his crucifixion and resurrection. All the lessons are from John’s Gospel, following the Revised Common Lectionary scheduled readings. The goal is to read in order to experience real and personal encounters with the Living God in Christ Jesus. The reading format isn’t designed for a quick read. I urge you to set aside about 20 minutes a day at a time that best suits you and diarize the time. Designate a quiet place where distractions will be minimized. Each prayer time begins and ends with a short period of silence and stillness. The opening stillness is to prepare to listen ‘with the ears of the heart’. The closing stillness is to bathe in the presence of our loving God regardless of our feelings. In between, the format follows the same basic pattern—reading the assigned text, some background information that may be helpful (you can skip this if you want), some reflective words on the lesson, questions and thoughts for you to reflect and wonder about, ending with a prayer response to Jesus. The readings and reflections will be posted each day of Holy Week. I have included the Gospel text for each day, using the New Revised Standard Version. Check this site, beginning on Monday of Holy week, March 21. Prepare to listen (about 5 minutes). Conclude your silence with: Enlighten my heart and mind, Lord Christ, to the meaning of your death and burial for the world today.
Read John 19:38-42 (read slowly as you wonder about the details in the text). 38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Reflective wondering Sit with this passage and imagine the scene. Identify with a character and imagine what you might have done. Feel the pain of the loss the disciples experienced then. Response Today, end with silence. Stay with the pain of loss as you prepare for the celebration of the resurrection story on Easter Sunday. |
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