Easter Monday- Luke 24:35

"Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread." Luke 24:35

It's Easter Monday.  Pastors, musicians, worship leaders, church administrators, altar guild members, church fellowship committees, and everyone else who made the Holy Week and Easter services possible, breathe a sigh of relief.  It's all wonderful, to be sure, but it takes a great effort on the part of so many to make it all possible. And now life continues on.  In the church, Easter is not a single day.  Rather it is a season of 50 days, leading up to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.  In today's Bible verse, when the risen Jesus  appears to two disciples in Emmaus, the food imagery we have seen throughout Lent returns.  Christ is made known to them "in the breaking of the bread."  It is appropriate that we end these devotions with this resurrection appearance and the breaking of the bread.  For the past 7 weeks our thoughts have been on hunger in the world and how we might respond.  It's not an easy topic to think about, but it is important to do so. Thank you for participating.  I hope you have found these devotions, and my personal reflections, helpful. As Jesus made himself known to the disciples in "the breaking of the bread," may he do so for us.  And as we are fed, may we do all we can so that all the world may be fed as well.  God's blessings as you live in the hope of the resurrection each day throughout the upcoming year!

Easter Sunday- Luke 24:1-12

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." Luke 24:1-5

Sing out the alleluias!  Our long Lenten journey has come to an end!  Today we proclaim and celebrate the good news that death could not defeat the Son of God.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Sometimes, however, as Bishop Eaton suggests, we who are on this side of the resurrection may get so comfortable with the idea that we miss the original reactions on that first resurrection morning.  In the Luke account listed above, the women are at first perplexed.  There is mystery about what has taken place.  Then we read that they were terrified when in the presence of the two angelic beings.  If we read on, there is remembrance by the women, as they are told to remember what Jesus had said about his death and resurrection.  We see unbelief, as the disciples did not believe what the women told them, considering it an "idle tale."  But Peter does go and sees for himself the empty tomb, and then there is amazement.  As you celebrate Easter today, take time to recall that first resurrection morning, when all that we are familiar with was brand new.  As Bishop Eaton writes, "Before Easter, we stood in a place of sin and death.  After Easter, we stand in a place of forgiveness and life.  Everything has changed.  We are not the same; the world is not the same....This new reality of forgiveness, life and salvation is and should be unsettling; terror and amazement indeed."  

40th day of Lent- Holy Saturday- Psalm 3:7

"Rise up, O Lord!
    Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you break the teeth of the wicked." Psalm 3:7

Day 40 of Lent is called Holy Saturday, the day between the cross and resurrection where Jesus lies in the tomb.  It is during this time that Jesus "descended to the dead" as referred to in the Apostle's Creed and alluded to in a  few scriptures such as 1 Peter 3:19-20.  Interpretations vary as to just what this means, including the idea that Jesus preached to the righteous who had died, but who had not yet been taken to heaven.  Others suggest the words mean that Jesus truly died, went to the place of the dead as do all people, to show that in the resurrection he truly overcame death.  So, it is a day of mystery to some extent, but is the day we remember the body of Jesus in the tomb.

The selected Psalm anticipates the resurrection with the words "Rise up!" Today's devotion by Dave Scherer hears the verse first of all as a plea to God to "rise up" and do something about the lack of water in Haiti, forcing families to decide if they will send their children  to collect water, or send them to school.  That's not a fair choice.  "Rise up, God.  Do something!"  But then he writes, "I then realized that God was telling me to do the same thing."  God gives the Holy Spirit to all believers, and God uses us to "rise up" "to bring peace and wholeness to the planet."  Hopefully these devotions over the 40 days of Lent have given us all greater insight into hunger and poverty in the world, and provided inspiration for us to "rise up" and do what we can.  Two more devotions remain, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, as the season of Lent concludes and we celebrate that God, in Christ, does "rise up" in victory over sin and death.  

39th day of Lent- Good Friday John 19:28; Revelation 21:6

 ^"After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.”John 19:28

 "Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."

Today we remember the death of Jesus on the cross.  As we stand on this side of the resurrection, we now believe this was more than just the death of a rebel challenging the authority of the Roman occupiers and the Jewish leaders they had set in place.  On the cross, Jesus was saving all of humankind.  It was our sins that placed him there, and for our sins he died.  As he died on the cross he said, "I thirst."  There was the anguish of human thirst, as well as the anguish of spiritual thirst, as he thirsted for God in this horrible time.  Bishop Mark Hanson in today's devotion hears in the cry of Jesus "the cries of those who today are parched from their search for accessible, clean, free water so necessary for life."  In Revelation there is the resurrection promise "To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."  How do we make this promise come true?  By practicing "living out today God's promised future."  We don't wait for God's final act.  We act today "through generous giving, sustainable living, advocacy and accompanying global companions to work for a world in which no one thirsts."  Today we contemplate the cross.  Let us pray for and remember all who thirst, and then work towards a future where all have access to water as a gift.

 

38th day of Lent- Maundy Thursday- Luke 22:19

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

It's no secret that we live in a troubled world.  This year's Holy Week was disrupted by yet another attack of terrorism, this time in Brussels, Belgium.  The grim statistics are all too familiar.  30 dead, 250 injured, innocent people who should not have died or been injured on Tuesday.  Today's devotion speaks about another of the world's ills, discrimination and violence against women.  This can take the form of sexual assault, domestic violence, and lack of leadership opportunities for women.  The author, seminary student Jessie Obrecht, writes of attending a conference on this topic and feeling hungry- "Hungry for justice.  Hungry for a word of hope in this world that can sometime seem so very grim."  I think we all hunger in that way.  

Today is Maundy Thursday.  We remember the Last Supper and Jesus taking bread and wine saying, "This is my body given for you.  This is my blood, shed for you."  As Jessie points out while receiving communion at the conference, "This prayer and breaking of bread did not solve all the ills of the world in the blink of an eye."  If only it were so easy.  But what the meal did do was "fed the weary souls gathered that evening and reminded us that we have an incredible God who has sent Jesus Christ as constant nourishment and strength for us along this journey."  And so it is.  Today we offer prayers for those that died in Brussels, those who were injured, the medical personnel caring for the wounded, law enforcement who seek to keep us safe, and prayers for peace.  We have opportunity to receive Christ in bread and wine.  Through this gift we receive renewed strength for the day.  We do not give in to despair.  With the presence of Christ we continue to proclaim through word and deed the good news of God's love, which our world so desperately needs. 

37th day of Lent- John 13:1

"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."
 John 13:1

The above verse introduces John's Last Supper.  It occurs shortly before Jesus is arrested and crucified.  During the supper, Jesus takes off his outer robe and washes his disciple's feet.  Today's devotion by the Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla focuses on the love of Jesus for his disciples. "He loved them to the end."  The example he gives is a mother and teenage daughter, both of whom have AIDS.  When  Sister Judith asked the mother if she wanted a prayer, the mother replied, "Yes, but I want you to pray that my daughter will die first, because then, I would have cared for her to the end."  Those are powerful words.  It's a mother's love for her child, that she can be there to care for her through the end of her life.  Jesus loved the world to the end of his life.  His death on the cross is another example of self-giving love.  He is willing to die for the world's sins.  But more than that, because God raised Jesus from the dead, we believe God loves us to the end of our lives as well. And when that day comes, God takes us into His love for all eternity.   There is never a time in our lives we are not loved by God, through Jesus Christ.  Perhaps you have days when you wonder if God is present and you are loved.  Today's devotion and Bible passage are words of assurance and hope.  "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end."  

36th day of Lent- John 12:8

^" You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:8

As we've seen, there are various ways to interpret Mary's act of pouring the expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus.  Judas thought it was a waste.  The perfume could have been sold, and the money given to the poor.  But Jesus does not say that or rebuke Mary.  Jesus identified with the poor and was himself dependent upon others for his means of support.  He was an advocate for justice for the poor and the outcast.  Mary's anointing the feet of Jesus was symbolic of giving generously to those in need.  When we  give from our resources to assist those in need, we follow the example of Mary in giving to Jesus.  The Rev. Dr. Patricia Cuyatti writes, "Tending to the poor, who generally go hungry and are deprived of education, health care, jobs and more is a way of spreading the oil on the feet of Jesus."  In addition to reading the World Hunger devotions and offering Wednesday study opportunities, our congregation set a goal of raising $2500 for the ELCA World Hunger program.  I just learned that we have already far surpassed that goal,  having raised $3712.24, with the appeal continuing through Easter Sunday.  Why do people give so generously to this program?  As Dr. Cuyatti writes, "It is in faith that many men and women are moved to share with generosity, surely in the hopes that those actions can help restore the dignity of people that suffer from hunger."  Thank you for spreading the oil on the feet of Jesus in our day and age!

35th day of Lent- Luke 14:12-14

¹² He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:12-14

Today's devotion challenges us to think about our understandings of hospitality.  Hospitality is good, right?  Opening our doors, inviting "the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind," is what Jesus wants, isn't it?  And isn't that what churches do, as exemplified by many examples given in these devotions?  Well, yes, but the Rev. Teresita Valeriano challenges us to take this a step further.  If the powerful (the haves) simply feed the powerless (the have nots), what really changes?  The powerless are fed, which is a good thing, but they will need to come back the next day, and the next, and so on, if nothing else changes.  Rev. Valeriano suggests we need not only to share our food, but ourselves, giving up our exclusive attitudes for the sake of the other.  She quotes Sister Joan Chittester who writes, "Hospitality means we take people into the space that is our lives and our minds and our hearts and our work and our efforts.  Hospitality is the way we come out of ourselves.  It is the first step toward dismantling the barriers of the world.  Hospitality is the way we turn a prejudiced world around, one heart at a time."    Rev. Valeriano concludes, "A good host invites not only because there is food to share but because there is power to share.  Are we ready to do so?"  Challenging thoughts, indeed.

Palm Sunday

²⁸ After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
²⁹ When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Luke 19:28-40

Throughout Lent we've been thinking about hunger, the poor, and poverty.  Where did Jesus fall on the socioeconomic scale while he was on earth?  Well, we know in terms of material possessions, he didn't have much.  He was largely provided for by others.  In last Sunday's lesson, he was fed at the home of Lazarus.  He stayed with others.  He traveled on foot.  In today's reading, as he approaches Jerusalem, he sends the disciples ahead to borrow a colt for his ride into Jerusalem.  He will eat the Passover meal in an "Upper Room" that an unnamed owner provided.  And yet, this man who had very little, was honored as a king as he rode into Jerusalem on the donkey.  Kings have palaces and horses and armies and  robes and servants!  Jesus had none of these, and yet they called him king.  Perhaps they hoped he would be this kind of powerful king and free them from the Roman occupation.  Perhaps some were honoring him for his compassion for the common people, those living on the fringe, the hungry and oppressed among them.  But soon we will see this "king" stripped of all power, arrested, and crucified.  He will be king, but his kingship will not be of this world. He will reign in heaven and on earth, saving  all people, rich and poor alike. 

34th day of Lent- Psalm 34:8

"O taste and see that the Lord is good;
    happy are those who take refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

How do we "taste and see that the Lord is good?"  For me, receiving the Lord's Supper immediately comes to mind.  We "taste" the Lord's goodness in the bread and wine.  We "see" the Lord's goodness in the elements, as well as in the faces of all those who join in the supper.  But today's devotion suggests another way to "taste and see that the Lord is good."  Rev. Wyvetta Bullock describes a ministry of Bethel Lutheran Church on Chicago's west side.  Every third Saturday the church opens its doors to the community to serve a meal to those who need it.  They've joined with other congregations who do the same on the other weekends of the month.  The ministry is called, "Taste and See."  In providing a meal at no cost to the hungry, these congregations are showing the community that "the Lord is good."  They are being a witness to God's compassion and what it means to be a Christian.  As a result, some of those fed come to a Tuesday night service the church offers.  Others come to Sunday morning worship.  Presumably, some of those who attend worship receive the Lord's Supper as well.  The goodness of the Lord comes full circle.  A meal is shared that feeds the body, and a meal is shared that feeds the soul.  "O taste and see that the Lord is good.  Happy are those who take refuge in him!"  

33rd day of Lent- John 12:1-8

⁴ But 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.) ⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸ You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
John 12:4-8

Obviously, Judas had impure motives when he criticized Mary for using her expensive perfume to anoint the feet of Jesus.  Had the perfume been sold, the proceeds would have gone into the common purse, which meant more money for Judas to skim for himself from that purse.   But the question he raises, "could not that money have been  better used by giving it to the poor?" is a common one.  "Why did you take those kids on that mission trip?  Could not that money have been better used by giving it to the poor?"  "Why did you buy that new silver communion set? Could not that money have been better used by giving it to the poor?" These are good questions that make us think about being good stewards of the resources God has given us.  But Jesus does not agree with Judas' criticism.  As Bishop Holmerud says in today's devotion, "Jesus invites Judas Iscariot (and us) to see Mary and her act of love and hospitality in a new light."  Those mission trips I've been on can be life changing, both for myself and the youth.  The cost of the trip pays dividends down the road as a whole group of people see the world differently, see the needs in a new light, and give their time, talents, gifts, and prayers to help others in need.  And how do you place a value on a communion set, which holds Christ's body and blood, giving renewed strength to so many to serve God in the world?  In Mary's extravagant act of devotion,  she models for us generosity for those in need.  May our eyes be opened to new ways of seeing, and new ways of giving, so that God's love may be poured out into the world.   

32nd day of Lent- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

^"16 Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

How often do we sit down for a meal, gulp it down, and then move on to the next thing on our to do list?  Far too often, I'm afraid.  We take the food for granted, and treat it as if it's nothing more than fuel for our bodies, like putting gas in the automobile tank.  Bishop Gonia reminds us of some important things in today's devotion.  First, as it says in 1 Thessalonians, "give thanks."  This food is a gift of God, and many struggle just to have a meal.  But in addition to giving thanks for the food, also give thanks "for hands that have labored in ways seen and unseen for the sake of taking part in God's bounty."  This could include farmers, ranchers, scientists who help develop food products, those that harvest, workers in meat packing plants, truck drivers who transport food, grocery store workers, and cooks, to name just a few.  Within that chain, also remember that some who brought  food to our tables are  working in low paying jobs, "some of whom themselves are dealing with the impact of poverty in their lives."  This is a humbling thought.  And then he suggests that we include a petition for those who do struggle for daily bread.  "I ask that we might be moved as Christ's hands of healing and hope in the world, so that no one will go hungry and all will be filled."  As you sit down at the table for a meal today, perhaps try offering a prayer of thanks as Bishop Gonia suggests.  It reminds us that there are "a grand cast of characters" who have brought this food to us, to be grateful, and to not take our daily bread for granted.

 

Harvesting coffee beans for our morning coffee!