“Consider those first few days after you’ve lost someone and the liminality between their death and funeral. There’s no closure yet, and mornings are reminders that the nightmare is real. It’s hard to imagine how you’ll face the day. … Again and again, the sun rises on a new day, often without embrace or acknowledgment….
“’A MAN WAS LYNCHED YESTERDAY’ These words were stitched onto a flag that flew outside the Manhattan headquarters of the NAACP between 1920 and 1938. When a Black person was lynched, the flag was raised the following day… You should understand that what happened to Jesus was a lynching. …Do not look away and do…
“As crucifixion nears, Jesus gives his remaining disciples a commandment related to the time they’ve spent together. They’re to love one another as Jesus has loved them… How did Jesus love them? They’ll have to draw from their encounters. The acts of love and healing, the teaching, the signs and wonders—all of it needs to…
“Maybe by the time you’re reading this,The day will have comeFor all God’s people to be gathered at Table.Maybe by the time you’re reading this,We will be eating together.Maybe we’ll be hugging.Hopefully there will be dancingAnd laughing and kissingAnd leaning in to tell stories,And throwing our heads back to laugh.But until that day,I will wiggle…
“I wonder if Jesus could feel his heartbeatIn his throat, the way I do when I’m afraid.I wonder if he had to take deep breaths,In through his nose, out through his mouth,Tricking his body into a state of calm.I wonder if he was nauseous, like I amWhen I’m headed into a hard conversation.I wonder if…
“‘Courage’ derives from Latin word ‘cor,’ which means ‘heart.’ When we consider the full Palm Sunday picture, these are frightful times. So much is happening that is both hopeful and terrifying. Tensions and tears are plentiful. But the Word will remind us to ‘take heart.’ Again and again, we take heart amid the drama. The…
Palm available, worship video, stations of the cross.
“Great teacher, you rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. It was a peaceful protest, but it was risky. You had to have known that this would end in violence, for who could stand against the state and survive? I imagine your bravery, and pray: Grant me a portion of that courage. I want to love…
“Creator God, you invited the Israelites to build houses, to build gardens, to build relationships; so there is something holy about building. Help me survey my life to imagine what you might be calling me to build today. Is it community? Is it a home? Is it new relationships? Is it deeper relationships among the…
“Despite humanity’s constant breaking of covenants, God continues to seek reconciliation and pours out grace upon grace. Why not let this grace transform us? It is in receiving God’s grace, responding in gratitude, and offering grace to others that God forms us into who we were made to be. God saves us from ourselves, writing…
