Where Did You and Jesus Meet This Week?

 Where did you and Jesus meet this week?

Garden of Gethsemane, 2014

Did you sit with him… pray with him…eat with him…follow him, perhaps?  Watch while his friends denied and betrayed him…while he was crucified…buried?   

Jesus and I went to Gethsemane. We went with hopes that our friends would support us and pray with us. Unlike Jesus, I was not disappointed.  Tears of joy for me, while Jesus sank into a pit of suffocating darkness. (Mark 14:33)

Today, on this Holy Saturday, will you sit perhaps with his mother, Mary…or one of his friends?  It is hard, isn't it, when we know the end of the story, to stay in that place, with the memory of horrific events.  We want so badly to move on to Easter. 

I'm reflecting on the time Jesus and I shared during Lent.  How did he help me?  How did he help you?  Did we spend enough time with him?

Easter brings more questions of its own…What does Christ's resurrection mean to each of us individually? To CVC?  To the world?  Tomorrow will be a time of discovery and yet more mystery, as we continue the story:

John 20 (excerpts) NRSV

Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance.

Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept,  she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus’ body had been laid. They said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?”

 “They took my Master,” she said, “and I don’t know where they put him.” After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.

 Jesus spoke to her, “Woman, why do you weep?  Who are you looking for?”

 She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, “Mister, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him.”

Jesus said, “Mary.”

Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” meaning “Teacher!” 

Jesus said, “Don’t cling to me…

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

I hope you can join us as we celebrate the joy of this Easter discovery in true CVC style - with singing!

What Image Comes to your Mind When Palm Sunday is Mentioned?

The image that comes to me is not a palm branch, but Jesus riding on a colt. 

Painting by James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum

In my imagination, the crowd welcoming him shouts “Hosanna in the Highest!

Hosanna is an Aramaic word meaning "Save us, we beseech you".  The phrase "in the highest" suggests a plea for divine intervention and salvation from heaven.

As we near the end of our Lenten journey, we come to Palm Sunday, the day when all of those contradictory names for Jesus begin to come to a climax in a grand yet humble, celebratory yet weeping mystery…a triumphant(?) entry into Jerusalem. In one short story we see the demonstration of the King and Servant, Shepherd and Lamb.  If ever there was a mystery story, this is it…so much contradiction…a king on a colt.

Luke 19. 28-48 MSG (excerpts)

Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you’ll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden.   Untie it and bring it.If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”

 

The two left and found it just as he said.

 

They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street.

Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

 

Blessed is he who comes, the king in God’s name! 

All’s well in heaven! Glory in the high places!

Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”  

But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

When the city came into view, he wept over it.  “If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you!”

I hope you can join us on Sunday to tell the Palm Sunday story. Please come 10 minutes early for a "Story Rehearsal."  We are going to enter into the Palm Sunday parade as full participants.  (We've sung all the music we'll be singing before, but some is not super familiar.)

We will also continue to share our Joys and Concerns with each other.  As we greet each other before worship, celebrating and checking in with friends we haven't seen for a week, remember that the news we share are joys and concerns that we can all pray for!  Simply pause, make a note on the slip provided and drop it in the plate.

How Has God Helped You Let Go of Something During Lent?

As we move closer to Palm Sunday, I'm beginning to ask myself this question.  Have I made any progress on letting go of control and independence?

Tax season in our house is always a bit busy with phone calls and visitors.  This past week we have added the chaotic, stressful mess of big and small plumbing leaks and a broken dryer.  The plumbers have been here twice; the dryer repairman once.  

Throughout this process, God has been teaching me something about the control that I prayed I could let go of this Lent.  He is teaching me that control is a complete illusion.  I’m realizing how little control I have, and I'm praying every day for the grace to let go of this illusion.  I’ve learned that I can’t give this up alone - I need God’s help.

In the midst of the chaos, I have also experienced the peace of the Holy Spirit.  The truth of Psalm 62:5-6 has never been more evident:

In GOD alone is my soul at rest.

God is the source of my hope.

In God I find shelter, my rock, and my safety.

I have also learned how dependent I am on other people and that receiving help to solve serious problems calls for tremendous gratitude.  We hear this in the scripture reading for this Sunday:

Luke 7:36-50  MSG

One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal.     He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.”

Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Oh? Tell me.”

“Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”

“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”

Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”

That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!”

He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

I’d love to hear your stories of “Letting Go for Lent”. 

Susan

“Lent is a time of returning to God. It is a time to confess how we keep looking for joy, peace, and satisfaction in the many people and things surrounding us without really finding what we desire. Only God can give us what we want. So we must be reconciled with God… The season of Lent helps us in a special way to cry out for God’s mercy.” –Henri Nouwen

Image by Freepik