Friday of Holy Week

Today’s post is quite different from the others. There are two readings and a hymn as we embrace the full sorrow of this day when our Savior Jesus suffered death upon a cross. We offer no reflective words. We felt they would get in the way.  May we follow Christ’s great humility and the example of Christ’s patience. May the Lord bless and keep you.

Opening Words

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change…. (Psalm 46:1-2a)

Take a moment to pause and gather yourself for worship.

A Prayer of Petition

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm, and not human;
scorned by others, and despised by the people.
All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
“Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

Many bulls encircle me,
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me.
My hands and feet have shriveled;
I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
   Save me from the mouth of the lion!

From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live for ever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.

To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.

The Gospel Reading

John 18:1-19:42

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. 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?”

¹²So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. ¹³First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, ¹⁶but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

¹⁹Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. ²⁰Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. ²¹Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.” ²²When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” ²³Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” ²⁴Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” ²⁷Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

²⁸Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” ³¹Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” ³²(This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

³³Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” ³⁵Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” ³⁸Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. ³⁹But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.

19Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ²And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. ³They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. ⁴Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” ⁵So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁶When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” ⁷The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. ⁹He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” ¹²From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”

¹³When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” ¹⁵They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.” ¹⁶Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus; ¹⁷and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. ¹⁸There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. ¹⁹Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’”  ²²Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” ²³When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says,
“They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
²⁵And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. ³⁰When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

³¹Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. ³²Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. ³⁵(He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) ³⁶These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.” ³⁷And again another passage of scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”

³⁸After 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.

A Hymn to Sing or Read

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Piano accompaniment with vocalist.

Piano accompaniment only.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from His head, His hands, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

Concluding Prayer for the Church

Save us, O Lord, when we are awake,
Keep us when we sleep.
Then we will wake in Christ and rest in peace. Amen.

 

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Title: Crucifixion, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56509 [retrieved April 7, 2020].  Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parroquia_de_la_Asunci%C3%B3n_de_Mar%C3%ADa_(Coatepec_Harinas)_Estado_de_M%C3%A9xico,M%C3%A9xico.jpg. Artwork by is file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License.

The music was played by Tracy and sung by his friend, Emily.

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Thursday of Holy Week

Opening Words

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change…. (Psalm 46:1-2a)

Take a moment to pause and gather yourself for worship.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

What shall I return to the LORD
for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

The Gospel Reading

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Now 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.” ¹²After 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? ¹³You 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.

³¹When 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. ³³Little 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.’ ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Reflection

Listen to Jeffrey and/or read below.

Today marks “Maundy Thursday.” I was unfamiliar with that term for a long time but have since come to associate it with the word “mandate.” “Maundy” and “mandate” not only sound alike, they are related like word cousins. Since “mandate” means command, today is the day we revisit the command that Jesus gave his disciples when he washed their feet. And as John renders the story in his gospel, this happened just before the death of Jesus on that providential Friday.

Jesus gave his disciples a mandate just before his arrest and crucifixion. In John’s gospel it reads like this: “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.”

Almost exactly 25 years ago this week, Tonya and I joined a couple of dozen students and a handful of faculty in the Mullins Lounge at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY for a Maundy Thursday footwashing service. I had never been to a footwashing before and wasn’t sure what to expect. In that setting, with this same gospel reading from John we are using today, the atmosphere in the room turned quickly toward humility and servitude. As a wash basin of water made its way down the row of chairs, and one person after another scrambled to the floor to bathe the feet of their neighbor, a quick glance at the seating arrangements revealed that Molly was going to be washing Michael’s feet. Michael had been working on the facilities crew all day and still had on his muddy work boots. Molly was our beloved, respected, inspiring yet embattled professor of theology. With intention and care, and without a flinch at the grime on his feet, she took the fresh towel handed to her and cleaned his feet. Then Molly looked at him and said, “now you go and do the same to another.” Everyone in the room repeated this simple act. The person sitting beside us got down and washed our feet. They then looked up at us and said “go and do the same.” We immediately did what was asked of us as we turned to wash the feet of the next person. Then we had the chance to tell them to “go and do the same.”  In a literal sense, every person in that Maundy Thursday service both did what Jesus commanded and also asked another to follow Jesus in the same way.

Here is the heart of Maundy Thursday. Serve humbly and ask other Christians to do the same. It is a command that does not require a clear outcome or a calculated procedure. It is a requirement of discipleship that asks us to treat every person we encounter as worthy of our attention and our care. We cannot wash feet with pomp and ceremony. We cannot serve any person in this humble way without recognizing their innate human value to God and their worth in our eyes. Even as Jesus takes up his cross, we are still in need of taking up our towels.

Sometimes we are willing to wash the feet (speaking figuratively now) of the people we care about, or family members, or those who show promise of success or (even worse) who can help us in return. Yet if Jesus, their “Lord and Teacher,” could wash the feet of Judas who would betray him as well as Peter who was going to deny him along with the other ten disciples who would leave him to die alone, then we cannot be like Jesus if we fail to serve others.

The focus of this Jesus-commanded servanthood is always the person in front of us. While that sounds so obviously true, it requires constant self-awareness. We must reflect often on our motivation for care of others. We must check our ego and selfish drive for success, or reputation, or kickback. When care for another becomes what I can get out of it, then we have moved from servanthood to personal embellishment—one of these is a Christian virtue and the other is a millstone that weighs us down. When I help someone so as to check a mark on my account in heaven, then my motivation is clouded by self-promotion rather than genuine compassion for another human created in God’s image. Guess which one Jesus is giving us a mandate to replicate.

Jesus has taught these same truths in other places in the Gospel. And yet now, mere hours before the injustice of his execution, one of his final object lessons is not lost on the disciples. Perhaps we might should linger on the theological implications of the death of God in the crucifixion of Jesus. Or maybe, just maybe, Jesus wanted us to focus on living life after his death with a clear definition of genuine servanthood. Yes, Jesus will die tomorrow. Because of that, we live this day and every day as servants of one another. It is in being a servant that we are being like God. It is our most basic divine task.

On this “Commandment Thursday” we have our orders from Jesus. Apparently he thinks we are up to the task! Wash one another’s feet. Do what Jesus did. Love someone else in the way Jesus loved them. Perhaps we can even edit the “Golden Rule” here and call it the “Holy Thursday Rule” – “Do unto others as Jesus would do for them.” That’s a mandate for all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus.

A Hymn to Sing or Read

Lord, whose love in humble service
bore the weight of human need,
who upon the cross, forsaken,
offered mercy’s perfect deed:
we, your servants, bring the worship
not of voice alone, but heart,
consecrating to your purpose
ev’ry gift that you impart.

Still the children wander homeless,
still the hungry cry for bread.
Still the captives long for freedom,
still in grief we mourn our dead.
As you, Lord, in deep compassion,
healed the sick and freed the soul,
use the love your Spirit kindles
still to save and make us whole.

As we worship, grant us vision,
till your love’s revealing light
in its height and depth and greatness
dawns upon our human sight,
making known the needs and burdens
your compassion bids us bear,
stirring us to faithful service,
your abundant life to share.

Concluding Prayer for the Church

Save us, O Lord, when we are awake,
Keep us when we sleep.
Then we will wake in Christ and rest in peace. Amen.

 

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Artist: JESUS MAFA, a Christian Community in Cameron. Title: Jesus washes his disciples feet, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48299 [retrieved April 6, 2020]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License.

The gospel was read by Meagan. The music was played by Wyatt.  The hymn was written by Albert F. Bayley.

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Wednesday of Holy Week

Opening Words

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change…. (Psalm 46:1-2a)

Take a moment to pause and gather yourself for worship.

A Prayer of Adoration

Psalm 145:3-7

 The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
    God’s greatness cannot be grasped.
 One generation will praise your works to the next one,
    proclaiming your mighty acts.
 They will talk all about the glorious splendor of your majesty;
    I will contemplate your wondrous works.
 They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds;
    I will declare your great accomplishments.
 They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness;
    they will shout joyfully about your righteousness:

 

The Gospel Reading

John 13:21-32

After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus 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. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some 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. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

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.”

 

A Reflection from Tonya

Listen to Tonya and/or read below.

Well, it’s the Wednesday before Easter. Tonight we would have gathered in the Fellowship Hall for dinner and a Seder Remembrance. I would be sending Jeffrey back to the grocery store to get the right kind of horseradish–not the one with the mayonnaise. We definitely would have the leeks again this year so we could hit one another. We would laugh imagining how crazy things must get at a Seder Meal with all those cups of wine to drink. We all enjoy the faces of the children experiencing horseradish for the first time. As we learn how our Jewish sisters and brothers celebrate Passover, the common thread of God’s provisions through time is highlighted for us. We are going to need that reminder because the crucifixion is just a couple of days ahead.

Did you notice the painting at the top of the blog? I love the artist’s vision of the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples. Did you notice how BIG the cup is? We use tiny little glass cups for communion which hold less than 2 ounces of juice. The bowl in the painting looks like my “That’s a Bowl.” It looks like it could hold a gallon or more!  The size of the cup brings to mind the words of Matthew 20.  One of the mothers of two disciples comes to Jesus with her boys. Jesus asks her what she wants. She simply asks that her sons might sit at his side when he comes into his kingdom–one on his right and one on his left. These would be places of great honor. Jesus looks at her sons and tells them they have no idea what they are asking for. Are they able to drink the cup that he is about to drink? Take another look at how big that cup is. Can you drink all that?

The cup Jesus was about to drink was full to the brim with suffering. Jesus and the disciples had come to Jerusalem for Passover and the raw reality of what lay ahead troubled Jesus. They reclined around a low table that night for dinner. As they reclined on carpets and cushions, they could see that Jesus was upset. The suffering was starting to begin. He shares with all of them that one of them will betray him. Which one of them will it be? Simon Peter with a nod of the head tells John to ask Jesus who it will be. John asks. Jesus doesn’t verbally name the disciple. Instead Jesus says it will be the one to whom Jesus gives a piece of bread that has been dipped in his dish. He takes a piece of bread, dips it, and hands the piece of bread to Judas. Judas eats the bread and the deal is done. Betrayal is poured into the cup that Jesus drinks.

After Judas leaves the dinner, Jesus tells his disciples that he will only be with them a little longer. Isolation is poured into the cup. “Where I’m going, you cannot come,” says Jesus. And loneliness is poured into the cup. They don’t get it. Simon Peter says, “Lord, I will lay down my life for you!” Jesus knows better. Disappointment is poured into the cup. Isolation, loneliness, and disappointment. How well we know those three experiences at this moment. Isolated from one another’s fellowship trying to slow the spread of the virus. Some of us alone as we strictly follow “stay at home” orders through at least April 30.  Disappointed that so many much anticipated events have been postponed or cancelled–weddings, graduations, birthday parties, recitals, and Sunday worship. And perhaps there are moments when we feel betrayed. We sing with the psalmist, “God, why have you forsaken us? Why are you so far away?” (Psalm 22)  We are afraid that the things God doesn’t do will outweigh the things God does.

Borrowing words from Howard Jacobsen (found in The Passover Haggadah: An Ancient Story for Modern Times published February 2020), ours is a religion of suspense. Jacobsen writes of the Jewish faith, but the same is true of Christianity. Ours is a religion of suspense. We walk by faith and not by sight. Suspense. We don’t know how things will turn out. All our questions are not answered. Jesus’ response after the meal is fitting for us now as it was then, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” (John 14:1)

The cup the world is drinking right now is big. There’s a lot to swallow–betrayal, isolation, loneliness, disappointment, and death. But don’t you dare forget all of God’s bounty and provisions that have already come. And today remember the cup of salvation which was poured for us which Christ drank for us.

A Hymn to Sing or Read

Accompaniment

What Wondrous Love is This?

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

Ye winged seraphs fly, bear the news, bear the news!
Ye winged seraphs fly bear the news!–
Ye winged seraphs fly, like comets through the sky.
Fill vast eternity with the news, with the news!
Fill vast eternity with the news!

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing–
To God and to the Lamb, who is the great I AM,
while millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing!
while millions join the theme, I will sing!

And while from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And while from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
and while from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be,
and through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
and through eternity I’ll sing on.

Concluding Prayer for the Church

Save us, O Lord, when we are awake,
Keep us when we sleep.
Then we will wake in Christ and rest in peace. Amen.

 

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Artwork by a Christian organization in Cameron called JESUS MAFA. Title: The Lord’s Supper, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48272 [retrieved April 6, 2020]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License.

The Psalm reading is from the Common English Bible. The gospel was read by Robin. The hymn is played by Tessa.

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Monday of Holy Week

Opening Words

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change…. (Psalm 46:1-2a)

Take a moment to pause and gather yourself for worship.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Psalm 36:5-9

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

The Gospel Reading

John 12:1-11

Six 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.”

⁹When 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.

Reflection by Tonya

Listen to Tonya and/or read below.

My Aunt Almedia was an excellent party hostess. (She was the aunt who made sure when I married that I had a silver tea pitcher and platter so I could host my own dinner parties with style.) It wasn’t just the setting Almedia could pull off joyfully and elegantly, but it was also the atmosphere. Her dining room table was always filled with laughter, fun, and joy.

I imagine the dinner party in Bethany was just as exuberant! Lazarus was there–the man who had died and three days later came back to life! That brief empty place at the table filled again through the miraculous power of Jesus. Oh, what a joyful time it would be if we could sit around the table with our loved ones who are no longer with or around us. Sometimes it is death that separates us. But there are other reasons too: incarceration, family squabbles, distance, and now this global pandemic. Just imagine how wonderful it is going to be to sit down at the table with one another again when all this is over.

Who is the honored guest at the party? Yes, Jesus, the miracle worker. Words and actions of gratitude fill the evening. And then the party mood completely changes. Mary walks in and anoints Jesus’ feet with an expensive perfumed ointment. The smell of the perfume and the sight of Mary’s devotion catches everyone’s attention. What is Mary doing? Jesus’ feet have already been washed. And you don’t “anoint” the feet of the living, that’s what you do for the dead to prepare them for burial.

Judas breaks the silence and the mystery of the moment. He judges Mary’s devotion to Jesus as wasteful. That was some expensive perfume, Mary. You should have thought better than to put that stuff on Jesus’ feet! Why, imagine how much money you would have gotten from selling it. The poor sure could use that money. Wasteful woman! The gospel tells us what we cannot know about Judas’ character. He was the treasurer for the group, and he liked to sweeten his own personal wants with the group’s money. Jesus shushes Judas.

Mary of Bethany gets it. This one whom they celebrate tonight, Jesus, will not be with them much longer. Before Jesus puts words to what will become of him, Mary recognizes that the road Jesus must travel will lead directly to death. It is not until after this anointing Jesus will say things like, “The light is with you for a little longer….” (John 12:35) “Little children, I am with you only a little longer….” (John 13:33) “I am going to the Father….” (John 14:12) “A little while, and you will no longer see me….” (John 16:16)

Mary could have sold this ointment and given the money to the poor. She could have saved the ointment for Jesus’ burial. But she did neither of these things. Recognizing that Jesus was soon to leave them, she gave Jesus the best of what she had. Surely such devotion and adoration must have encouraged Jesus in walking the road set before him. He was not alone in his understanding that his Way of life would lead to death. Such an untimely act as what Mary did (anointing the living) would set the disciples’ minds to wondering. Mary’s gift blessed them too. They would not easily forget the fragrance of her service, sacrifice, and devotion.

Oh, that our devotion to Jesus would be so intense and sincere; that our service to the Lord would fill life with a pleasing fragrance; that our sacrifices would bring glory to the name of Jesus.

A Hymn to Sing or Read

 

Were You There?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Concluding Prayer for the Church

Save us, O Lord, when we are awake,
Keep us when we sleep.
Then we will wake in Christ and rest in peace. Amen.

 

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Artwork by Lauren Wright Pittman. Title: Anointed, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57085 [retrieved April 4, 2020]. Original source: http://www.lewpstudio.com – copyright by Lauren Wright Pittman. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Pittman writes of her artwork of Mary of Bethany: “This is the posture that Jesus calls all of us into; a profoundly uncomfortable, shockingly reverent position; coming face to face, intimately engaging with the residue of Christ’s footsteps to smell and almost taste the journey of Christ.”

The gospel was read by Michelle. The music was played by Tonya.

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