Today's Word
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Salisbury PlainClimb a Hill, Look at a Rock Day
Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.
The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.
(Click for enlarged)
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘“As I live,” says the Lord, “every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14, 1-12, WEB
We had a huge Eggstravaganza at our church on Saturday. We invited children from our church, school, and community to come and play, eat, craft, and then hunt Easter eggs. I know there are some who are bothered by this practice. As a matter of fact, a man approached me as we were getting ready to go inside and eat our lunch. He asked, “What’s going on here?” I wasn’t sure about his purpose, but I said, “We are about to go in for lunch. Would you like to join us?” He didn’t seem to have children with him, but we are always open to visitors, and who wouldn’t enjoy a corn dog on a fun and lovely Saturday?
He became verbally aggressive and said, “You know you are celebrating a pagan holiday, right?” I have heard this many times in the past. Yes, some of the theories of the name “Easter” seem to point to some pagan celebration at the spring solstice, but there is actually no real evidence of this being true. I have seen several theologians talk about this very question several times, and I’ve done some research myself. I answered, “No we are not.” He said, “Do the research. You are.” I repeated, “I have done the research, and we are not,” because eggs and bunnies or not, we were celebrating our faith in Jesus Christ by sharing love and grace with our neighborhood. We were reaching out to the community, feeding them, welcoming them, sharing the story of Jesus in story time and with gifts. We invited them to come back on Sunday to hear once again the glorious story of Jesus’ resurrection and the life we have in Him. I wish I had said more, but the man turned around and left us to our pagan ways.
I don’t want to make this devotion about justifying our practices, but I read something interesting about coloring Easter eggs. There was a time when eggs were forbidden during Lent, along with certain other foods, like meat products such as milk, lard, and butter. Fruit was also forbidden because it was sweet. Isn’t it interesting that Lent falls at the end winter when many of these foods were not readily available? Chickens stop laying eggs. Fruit doesn’t grow. Even milk production can go down. So, the Lenten fast not only promoted sacrifice in spiritual and devotional ways but also gave the source of those foods a rest until springtime. It helped store foods until spring when fresh ingredients were becoming available again. We don’t understand how difficult it was at the end of winter for them because we can go to the grocery store and buy everything we need, but most people in the old days suffered from hunger by April because there was not enough food left in their cupboards. Coloring eggs became a way to celebrate the first eggs of spring; the colored eggs were cracked open and eaten on Easter. This was a fun way to break the Lenten fast and it symbolized the emergence of Jesus from the tomb.
I have to admit that I have the same struggles with Easter Egg hunts as I have with Halloween. Sometimes these events bring out the worst in our children. Some become aggressive and greedy. They overindulge. And no matter how much we focus our attention on Jesus being the reason for the season of Easter, many of the families were there on Saturday just for the fun. The best we could do was share God’s grace and pray God’s Spirit would plant seeds and work in the hearts and minds of our visitors. The man who approached me may have had a point about the origins, but we were not celebrating a pagan holiday during our Eggstravaganza. We were celebrating Jesus with fun and laughter and love. And if just one more family came on Sunday to hear the Gospel, then it was worth it all.
This is not a new problem. Paul had to deal with the question in the churches he established and encouraged through his letters. Many of the Christians in Rome were former pagans. They knew that the meat that was purchased in the marketplace had most likely been sacrificed as part of the ritualistic worship of the pagan community. They did not feel they could eat that meat because they knew where it had come from and why it had been slaughtered. They did not want to support the worship and ministry of the pagan communities, so they chose to avoid eating that meat. Paul knew that though the meat was slaughtered as part of a ceremony that the meat itself was still good and acceptable to God. He also knew that it would weigh on the conscience of those former pagans. So, he treated the issue with grace.
Paul called the community to join together not based on what they would eat, but on the Christ they worshipped. Eating meat or not eating meat is not a salvific issue. Hunting eggs or not hunting eggs is not a salvific issue. Instead of rejecting or judging one another, the Romans were encouraged to see Christ in their brothers and sisters and to live together in a way in which both could do the work they were called to do as a community of faith. The meat-eaters and the vegetarians all had gifts, gifts that are needed to do the work of God in the world. To reject or judge others means cutting off a part of the Church that Christ has called together. Like those Christians who reject the celebration of Easter, especially with bunnies and eggs, we tend to think the world must conform to our vision of what the church is meant to be. But God has a much greater vision in mind, a vision that includes all those who believe using their gifts for His sake.
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“Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a good person someone would even dare to die. But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:1-8, WEB
The events of Maundy Thursday meld into Good Friday. After praying in Gethsemane, Jesus was arrested and taken to be tried. He was given over by the hands, and kiss, of His friend Judas. The next few hours were chaotic, and the world seemed to be in control. Jesus was lead before the chief priest and the Roman governor. He was questioned, mocked, and beaten.
It had been approximately thirty-three years since the birth of Jesus. He spent His last three years sharing the Kingdom of God with the people. He did many incredible things: He healed the sick, cast out demons, and fed thousands. He even raised the dead. He preached a lost truth to the people: that God is merciful, full of forgiveness and love. He also taught that following Him would not be easy, that He demands much from our lives.
Peter tried to stop the arrest by swinging his sword; a guard was injured but Jesus healed the wound. The will of God would not be hindered by the desires of men. Jesus appeared before Caiaphas, the chief priest, so that the Sanhedrin could find some crime worthy of death. They found him guilty of blasphemy, but by Roman law, they could not carry out the sentence.
The disciples scattered. They hid in the crowds, trying to see each moment, but afraid of being discovered. Peter warmed himself over a fire, trying to fit into the crowd. Three people approached him and claimed they had seen him with Jesus. Three times, Peter denied knowing him, just as Jesus said. After the final denial, a rooster crowed, and Jesus looked directly at Peter. Peter wept bitterly because he knew that he had betrayed his Lord.
Jesus was taken before Pilate, the Roman governor, but Pilate could find nothing that Jesus did against Rome that would be punishable by the death penalty. When Pilate discovered Jesus was from Galilee, he sent him to be tried by Herod. Pilate was anxious to get rid of this problem. His wife had a dream in which Pilate was be blamed for the death of this innocent man. Leaders from the temple were scattered in the crowd that watched the proceedings. He was taken to Herod who was quite excited about seeing Jesus face to face. He’d heard so much about the man that he wanted to see some mighty miracle performed before him. When Jesus would not prove himself, Herod humiliated Him and sent Him back to Pilate.
Pilate saw no reason for the death penalty, so he took the question to the crowd. He first tried to get past the problem by offering to set a prisoner free for Passover. They insisted on Barabbas, a notorious prisoner guilty of murder. Pilate was shocked, after all Jesus had done nothing wrong. But Barabbas’ name means “the son of the Father,” so the crowds cried for his release at the instigation of the crowds. When Pilate asked what he should do with Jesus, someone yelled, “Crucify him!” The crowd that yelled, “Hosanna” just days earlier were so agitated that Jesus refused to be their warrior king, that they turned into an angry, fearful, and violent mob. They yelled, “Crucify him!” and Pilate had no choice. The final betrayal came when the people said, “We have no king but Caesar,” rejecting the Lord God Almighty as their King.
Through all this, Jesus was humiliated, beaten, and stripped of everything. They took His clothes and His dignity. They forced a cross onto His already sore and bleeding back and pushed Him on to Golgotha. He walked His final footsteps on this earth; along the way He faced the women who were weeping over His fate. He told them to weep for themselves, because the time would come when they would face great suffering.
It was difficult for Him to carry the cross; He fell under the heavy burden. A man named Simon was ordered to carry it for Him. Other condemned prisoners were taken to the hill. The world went dark for three hours, from the sixth hour to the ninth hour. One thief begged Jesus to save them, but the other humbled Himself in repentance and accepted responsibility for the wrongs he had done. Jesus welcomed that prisoner to His kingdom. The soldiers mocked Jesus and tried to serve Him a poison that would bring death more quickly, but Jesus refused. He saw His mother at the foot of the cross, standing with John, the only disciple who did not disappear. He asked John to care for Mary as if she were his own mother and asked Mary to take John as her son, ensuring their welfare even in the midst of His pain. He controlled every moment, even the moment when He cried out “It is finished,” and breathed His last breath.
The dramatic account of the death of Jesus Christ ends rather abruptly: it is finished, Jesus Christ is dead. There is such finality to that statement. Jesus died at the ninth hour, 3:00 PM. The earth rocked with the anger of God. The ground shook and the rocks split. A centurion pierced Jesus in the side, and His blood spilled into the earth. The curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. This curtain was not some flimsy piece of material like lace, easily ripped. It was thick, a wall like protective covering over the Most Holy Place, the dwelling place of God Himself. The curtain covered the room where the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat were kept. This was the Throne of God. When Jesus died, God ripped the curtain from top to bottom, opening the way into His presence for all people, not just the High Priest. God would no longer live in a box, and we would be called the priesthood of all believers able to approach the throne of grace.
The rest of the day was spent dealing with the aftermath. Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for His body. The hour of the Passover Sabbath quickly approached, and it was necessary to take care of the body as soon as possible. Pilate was shocked that He died so quickly, but when the death was confirmed, Pilate agreed. Joseph was one of the few Sanhedrin that believed in Jesus, although he did so privately; he refused to consent to the condemnation of Jesus. He took the body, wrapped it, and laid it in his own newly hewn tomb. Joseph rolled a heavy stone in front. The women watched where Jesus was laid, expecting to return after the Sabbath to anoint the body properly for burial. Then they went away to mourn.
Sometime during the day, Judas was seized with remorse and tried to return the blood money to the priests, but they refused to take it or offer him comfort in his repentance. They laid the responsibility entirely on him. He threw the money at their feet, went away, and hanged himself.
During the Easter Vigil on Saturday, we mourn alongside the disciples as they reflected on Jesus’ life. They probably gathered in the Upper Room, waiting anxiously for the knock at the door that would take them to be tried and crucified. The disciples hid in fear and confusion. Can you imagine the things they must have thought about, and talked about? Who was Jesus? Why did He die? Why did we spend these years following Him? What will happen to us? Had we truly wasted three years of our lives? Is this really the end? We, too, consider these questions as we journey with Jesus. Why me, why now, why this? Is this really the end?
Along with their grief, however, let us consider our own place in this story. Jesus Christ died on that cross for me a terrible, awful sinner. It is hard to say the words because in general we think we are pretty good people. I do good things for my neighbor. I’ve never committed any significant crimes. I go to church, pray, and read the scriptures. I am a Christian, and I think the world can see that in my words and deeds.
Easter Vigil is a time for us to remember the role we played in Jesus’ death. I was among the religious who missed God’s presence manifest in Jesus Christ. I was among the crowds who were easily manipulated by lies to believe whatever I was told. I was among the Romans who beat, humiliated, and crucified our Lord. I was among the disciples who were afraid and confused, who betrayed and denied their master, teacher, and friend. We are all Barabbas, undeserving of grace, but granted life anyway because Jesus took our place. We were all there, sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus saw us; He took upon His own shoulders the very sins that put Him on the cross and died to save us from the wrath that we deserve. We mourn His death, but today it would do us well to mourn our own fault as well.
We know the end of the story. We know that it is finished, but Good Friday finish is really just the beginning. We know that there is hope and forgiveness. We know that there is eternal life in Christ. We know that Easter Sunday will be a day of jubilation as we rejoice with the disciples that their story was not over. There would still be reason to fear; they would be persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and humiliated. Some would even follow Jesus to crosses. Christians throughout history and the world live with the same fears. But we have a hope that can’t disappoint; a hope that came to us on the cross. We put Him there, but only because He chose to be there for our sake. We can’t know His grace without knowing our sin. So, while we wait for Easter, let’s pray and ponder the reason He died: to win for us forgiveness of sin and the victory over death, guaranteeing our place in God’s Kingdom forever.
The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Savior Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honor Him today. Thanks be to God.
The Story of our Savior's Passion
The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective
When researching, I use several versions of the bible, including the New International Version and English Standard Version. Due to copyright restrictions, I have not included quotes for the scriptures on some of the archives, but highly encourage you to open your own bibles to read the scripture passages for yourselves. Where scripture is quoted, it is usually the American Standard Version or World English Bible which belong to the public domain. Any other versions used in quotes are identified.
The devotion posted on Wednesday is based on the Lectionary texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The Lectionary consists of four texts: an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text and follows the church calendar. Archives for these writings are found at Midweek Oasis.
You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes
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