Palm/Passion Sunday, March 24, 2013

If there is anything that we can learn from the passion of our Lord is that God forgives.  Jesus who is God in-the-flesh reveals the heart of God on the cross when he utters words, recorded only in the Gospel of Luke: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

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“On the Night He Was Betrayed” Part 6, March 20, 2013

INTRODUCTION

ON THE NIGHT JESUS WAS BETRAYED . . .

A man was restored to life

 

In a little detail mentioned in all four Gospel accounts, one of the high priest’s servants – part of the contingent that came to arrest Jesus – found himself on the sharp end of Peter’s sword.  John tells us his name and Luke records the healing that Jesus provided.

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“On the Night He Was Betrayed” Part 5, March 13, 2013

ON THE NIGHT HE WAS BETRAYED. . . A kiss exposed a traitor.

 

It seems every great human drama involves a betrayal.  No one who has lived long or experienced much has escaped the heartache of someone we trusted proving disloyal.  “I thought you were my friend” is all we can say.

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“On the Night He Was Betrayed” Part 4, March 6, 2013

ON THE NIGHT HE WAS BETRAYED . . .

 

Jesus was hunted down like a common criminal.  They came at him armed with a vengeance — with swords and clubs, but without cause, without warrant, and without regard for justice.  They came to bind up a man – to silence him once and for all.

 

This gang that came looking for Jesus was mixed company – unlikely allies.  They were made up of Jewish temple guards and Roman soldiers.  Two groups not usually acting in concert with each other.  Remember the Jewish people are under Roman occupation at the time of Christ.

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“On the Night He Was Betrayed” Part 3, February 27

ON THE NIGHT HE WAS BETRAYED. . .

 

Jesus’ friends made great promises to be faithful to him.  “We will not betray you.  We will never deny you.  We will fight for you – even die with you.”

 

You might remember that when Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed, Peter begged to differ.  “Oh no I won’t.”  He said. “If I’m in that situation, I will take a stand and defend you, Jesus.” 

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Lent 5, March 17, 2013

In a scene from the movie Jack the Giant Slayer, Jack and some companions are struggling to climb the giant beanstalk.  On the way up, Jack slips and suffers a terrible fall which renders him unconscious if not, perhaps mortally wounded.   He finally opens his eyes to see one of his cohorts staring back at him.  “Am I dead”  Jack asks?  “Not just yet” is the response.

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Lent 4, March 10, 2013

The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most familiar and well-loved stories in the Bible.  This beautiful, timeless story of reconciliation has inspired artists trying to evoke the depth of love in this reunion of father and son — some of which we’ll see this afternoon at the art exhibit in Minneapolis.

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Lent 3, March 3, 2013

Cats are known to have nine lives, right?  A family in England a couple years ago had a cat hit by a car, buried the cat after confirming it was dead, moved to another part of town and 9 months later the cat showed up at their door.  Here’s an even better story – this one from our own family archives.  Dawn has a cousin in southern MN whose cat had been left outside at their farm in frigid temperatures for days.  They finally found the cat on their porch frozen solid with no signs of life.  The children were devastated when they thought their beloved pet had died. But the mother was willing to try a little resuscitation.  So after pre-heating oven, she place the frozen cat inside and wouldn’t you know it, it revived.  The moral – never give up. 

 

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