April 3, 2021 - Holy Saturday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            From the book of Job, we heard “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant. But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where are they? As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries up, so mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake or be roused out of their sleep.”

April 2, 2021 - Good Friday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            On Good Friday, we are stunned observers. As we heard in the reading from Isaiah, “By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future?” It was not that long ago that we celebrated the birth of Jesus and since then we have seen the glory of God through his teachings, miracles, and healings. He has called disciples to follow him, he has raised the dead, pronounced God’s mercy, and fed the multitudes with just a few loaves. Who could have imagined what we just heard read in the Passion?

April 1, 2021 - Maundy Thursday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            “How is this night different from all other nights?” That is one of the questions that children ask during the Jewish Seder. As an aside, Jesus and his disciples did not celebrate the Seder as we know it, as the form in use today didn’t exist then. Secondly, Christians should not be celebrating a Seder, unless invited to one happening in a Jewish household. The notion of a “Christian Seder” is religious appropriation and leads Christians to erroneous conclusions about their own faith. And thirdly, the way John depicts it, the events we heard about happened on the night before the Passover so that’s not even what we heard about in the Gospel reading. That being said, that question which is a part of the ritual of the Seder is a helpful one for us on Maundy Thursday – how is this night different from all other nights?

March 31, 2021 - Holy Wednesday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Continuing to look at Holy Week through the lens of sacrifice, tonight I want to reflect upon why it is that we use the word “sacrifice” when it comes to the Crucifixion. Yes, it was a death, and we speak of the death of Jesus, but it was more than a death. Jesus’ was a particular kind of death – one that was shameful and painful. This pain and shame were borne for us and so looking upon the horrors of this sacrifice shows us something about the love that stands behind it.

March 30, 2021 - Holy Tuesday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Tonight, we continue to consider Holy Week through the lens of sacrifice and we do so focusing on the phrase from Jesus found in St. John’s gospel, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” I’m sure we all remember from our elementary school days how plants grow – a seed is planted, buried in soil, and then, usually within a few days, a green spout shoots up from the ground. This is basic botany, but Jesus uses it to make a deep theological point about sacrifice and new life.

March 29, 2021 - Holy Monday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Most of us are familiar with the liturgical text of the Agnus Dei: “O Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.” For the sermons of Holy Week, I will be reflecting on the idea that Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. This is the language of sacrifice, and so I’ll be reflecting upon sacrifice throughout this week, and I encourage and invite you to join me in this holy meditation on the theme of sacrifice.

March 28, 2021 - Palm Sunday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            If you knew that you had one week left to live, how would you begin that week? Jesus has been very clear with the disciples – he will go to Jerusalem and be killed. He knows how this week will end, which makes how he chooses to begin the week all the more interesting. He tells two of his disciples, “Hey, do something for me, go into that village over there and find a donkey that’s never been ridden, and bring it to me.” Probably not how I’d choose to begin my last week. And then Jesus adds, “And if anyone gives you any trouble about it, just tell them ‘The Lord needs it.’” In that explanation of “The Lord needs it” we have a lens through which to view not only Palm Sunday, not only Holy Week, but of our entire lives: the Lord has a purpose for this.