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The Unity Table
I never know how I’m supposed to feel today. We know how we’ll feel tomorrow and then the third day. We know how we will feel. How things will be tomorrow. We feel that confusion today. There’s an anticipation to this day we call Maundy Thursday. A day in which the big story’s climax is…
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For Wednesday of Holy Week
Recap of Matthew 21-24 The gospel is building toward its great climax in the Passion, which we’ll cover this weekend. It began in the approach to Jerusalem, in the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday. Then on Monday and Tuesday, we covered three chapters of Matthew, 21-23. After entering Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple, driving…
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For Tuesday of Holy Week
Recap of Matthew 21-22 The climax of the gospel began on Sunday with the Triumphal Entry. Chapter 21 From there, Jesus went to the Temple, drove the tax collectors and dove sellers out, only to find those in need of healing coming in — a kind of exchange which yields far different results than the…
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The Wisdom of Crowds
Hear the excitement in the air, crackling with power and uncertainty, with the anticipatory cries of “Hosanna!” For here is the new king, anointed, blessed successor, and reuniter! The one who would bring the glory of the one kingdom back with its conquering power! He is here and we will be saved! Excitement and confusion…
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A Den of Robbers
I don’t think Jesus cleanses the temple in this morning’s reading. It often goes by that name. But if cleaning is what he’s doing, it is in the full understanding that it will be dirty again the next day. What is cleaning, but wiping away the dirt, scrubbing the scum off of the tub or the grease…
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Jesus’s Love Revolution
Superman isn’t swooping in. The heavens aren’t opening and the army of angels are not going to ride in here in front of you and slaughter all of our enemies. The Triumphal Entry and the incarnating of GOD’s dream Palm Sunday C | Luke 19:28-40 As most of you know, our tradition, beginning in the…
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6 Ways We Made This Easter Special
Every church with whom I’ve ever celebrated has made a lovely to-do about Holy Week and Easter. They all are different, which is part of the joy and excitement for me to celebrate in a new congregation. I am always excited to see how we do things here. This year was my favorite by far. Let me tell…
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Sabbath: Holy Saturday
“The Sabbath” Read the Text: Mark 15:42-16:1 OK, I cheated. There is no text for Holy Saturday. It goes from the evening before the Sabbath to the day after. No Sabbath. Writers and theologians have been searching for the missing day for centuries. One of my favorite apocryphal stories comes from Piers Plowman, a medieval poem that…