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preacher31
HOLY THURSDAY - Subscribe
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Readings: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15 Scripture: "But if I washed your feet then you must wash each other's feet." (John 13:14) Reflection: People often say "Seeing is believing." But on Holy Thursday, Christ turns it all around. On Holy Thursday, believing is seeing. Today the Lord establishes His greatest gift to His disciples, the Eucharist, the gift that has carried the Lord's Presence to His followers throughout the centuries. Here in the Eucharist we humble human believers see and taste God. If you go to the Holy Land and visit the room of the Last Supper, you will probably be surprised at how plain it is. No great church surrounds it, and nothing in the room would give a hint of the majestic event that occurred there. It is a simple upper room. This simplicity reflects our gospel reading that calls us to be servants of one another. Jesus' act of washing the disciples' feet was a sacred rite that prepared and purified them for the bread of life. If they did not serve one another as Jesus was serving them, then they could not receive the bread of life. The poor of Jesus' day did not wear sandals, so their feet needed to be washed before entering a house. The poor of our day do not have sandals, food, a home, or political power. Once we have seen Christ in the Eucharist, we also see the poor who need us to wash their feet, call them into our home, lead them to the bread of life. Prayer: Dear God. On this day when you were turned over to face death on the cross, let us remember that only you are God and only you can say what is bad or good. Help us to remember the evil done this night lead to the greatest good that mankind could ever have wished. That it is only our ignorance which makes us condemn those who killed you instead of praising them as the heroes who made Easter possible. Only you know how you perceive them, and us. So help us to know that we are here to love you and one and other. Not condemn, just love. The love that Jesus showed us every day of his life and death. Amen. |
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preacher31
GOOD FRIDAY 4/02/2010 01:41 - Subscribe
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Readings: Isaiah 52:13-53: 12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19, 42 Scripture: "Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured." (Isaiah 53:4) Reflection: Jesus stretches out His Hands between heaven and earth. The curtain in the Temple that separated the people from God is ripped in two. A new bridge has been established between God and us. The bridge is Jesus Who, now crucified, will never die again. He lives forever as our passageway to the living God! From His cross we discover that the nature of the Church is to be a spiritual family. And in that spiritual family of the Church are the values of humility, joy, interior peace, and simple piety. The readings present us with the end of a stage of history. No longer must humanity be dragged by its fears, sit in unforgiven sins, and live at the mercy of the evil spirit. Now begins the era of the New Covenant of God with humanity marked by the Spirit of God. When Jesus gives up His Spirit, the Spirit doesn't die but instead fills the Church. As Isaiah prophesies: "See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted." (Isaiah 52:13) In this year of the new creation make forgiveness and peace hallmarks of your life. Prayer: Christ Jesus you hung upon a cross and died for us So that we might live for you Your body was broken and your blood shed So that we might be healed and made whole You were faithful unto death So that we might be faithful unto life Your last command was that we might love one another One family together from every tribe and nation A new creation united through your sacrifice Redeemed by your blood Healed by your love United by your covenant of peace In your death may we find life Amen |
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preacher31
HOLY SATURDAY 4/03/2010 08:31 - Subscribe
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Readings: Genesis 1:1-2: 2; Genesis 22:1-18; Exodus 14:15-15:1; Isaiah 54:5-14; Isaiah 55:1-11; Baruch 3:19-15, 32-4:4; Ezekiel 36:16-28; Romans 5:3-11; Mark 16:1-8 Scripture: "He has been raised up; He is not here." (Mark 16:6) Most families gather together after a funeral. It is a time to console one another, share memories of the deceased one, and offer one another support during the healing days ahead. So today the Christian family gathers after the death of Jesus. The nine readings used in the Easter Vigil call us to remember the great deeds of God that prepared the way for Jesus. Over and over again we hear how God dramatically intervenes in human affairs to create, to save, to reprimand, and to form covenants. As we listen to stories of the pervasive presence of God in our lives, we know that we will never be abandoned. In this comfort we turn to one another and give our support to whatever healing we might need in the days ahead. We can only love one another because God has first and continuously loved us! The Easter Vigil memories carried through the readings end with Mark's quiet Resurrection gospel. It was early in the morning, the dawn was just breaking. In the faintness of that first light, we hear of the resurrected Jesus Who already has moved ahead into Galilee. Yes, God again has dramatically intervened! The young man in the white robe asks the disciples to follow Jesus once more. Our vigil is over, the night has ended. It is time to put on the armor or day and join Christ in His mission to be the Light of the World. Prayer: O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen |
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preacher31
HE IS RISEN 4/04/2010 07:21 - Subscribe
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Acts 10:34,37-43; Psalms 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9 "He saw and He believed" (John 20: .A true story recounted by a man who celebrated Easter Sunday in a big cathedral ... It was a beautiful Spring day and a sense of peace stayed with me as I left the Cathedral. I paused on top of the steps leading to the Avenue, now crowded with people, and there, sitting in her usual place under a small archway was the elderly woman know to many of us Church-goers as the "Flower Lady." At her feet were corsages and boutonniere spread out on an open newspaper. The flower lady was smiling, her wrinkled old face alive with some inner-joy. I started down the stairs, and on an impulse, I turned and picked out a flower. As I put it in my lapel, I said to the woman, "You look happy this morning." She replied, cheerily, "Why not? Everything is good." She was dressed so shabbily and she seemed so very old, that her reply startled me. "You've been sitting here every Sunday for many years," I said to her, "and you're always smiling, you wear your troubles well." "You can't reach my age and not have troubles," she replied, "only it's like Jesus and Good Friday." She paused for a moment, then added, "You see, when Jesus was crucified on Good Friday that was the worst day for the world. And when I get troubles I remember that. And then I think of what happened only three days later. Easter, and Our Lord, arising. So, when I get troubles, I learn to wait three days. And, somehow, everything gets all right again." And she smiled "Good-bye," and her words still follow me whenever I think I have troubles. CHRIST IS RISEN! |
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preacher31
WONDERFUL GRACE 4/06/2010 07:56 - Subscribe
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For God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. Ephesians 2:4 NLT Amazing grace! how sweet the sound— That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, Was blind but now I see. Amazing Grace , John Newton (1725-1807) The gift of forgiveness is often best appreciated by those who need it the most. The Reverend John Newton experienced this truth firsthand. His tombstone tells the story: "John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had so long labored to destroy. " These words were written by Newton himself, a testimony to God's transforming power. After years as a hardened slave trader, that "wretch" met Jesus Christ and abruptly turned to defend the gospel he had so long despised. Throughout Newton's years of ministry, God's amazing grace remained central to Newton's thinking. When it was suggested he retire (at age eighty-two!) due to poor health and a failing memory, he responded, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior!" adapted from The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House Publishers (1995), entry for March 17 When a friend makes a mistake, don't rub it in. Rub it out. AUTHOR UNKNOWN |