RoboPreacher

& we were wrong The scripture for Maundy Thursday is John 13 This has easily been one of, if not the most disastrous Lent. Hasn’t it? Truth be told, though, for me and Amanda it actually started way by in Advent . When her beloved grandmother, Jean, died.   I remember how Jeans death put our Advent into a tailspin … And at first, I fought against it. Even though our schedule was upside-down, I struggled to make sure we kept the house in order, got gifts, and even took time to read our Advent devotional… But as time went on, it got to be too much . By the time Christmas rolled around, we were doing everything we could just to keep up…   After Christmas, New Years and Annual Meetings, though , life seemed to have returned to a semblance of normalcy… …But then; well, you know what happened… If I had thought Advent was a mess, this Lent made Advent seem like something straight from Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.” Take ...

all we got it us Before the betrayal and the arrest. Before the horror of the cross. Before the emptiest sabbath. Before that morning no one anticipated.  Before any of it, Jesus gathered together the twelve who had stuck with him through thick and thin. Over a meal he had been longing to have with them for some time, Jesus gives the twelve one last Word. Thickheaded though they could be, they knew these words Jesus was leaving them with mattered .  Yes ; like you, they would be shocked by the sheer terror of the cross. And yes, like you, they would be utterly astounded by the tomb that morning. But make no mistake, even they could sense that night was the quiet before it all went down.  So they, like you are right now, payed attention to what Jesus said as if everything else depended on it… And it does…  Make no mistake, Jesus’ last word is no mere piece of advice . It is no warm sentiment , either. In fact, when you consid...

Palm / Passion Sunday Preparation for Holy Week: Palm / Passion Sunday: Combination of Palm Sunday and The Passion Done for folks who can’t attend Holy Week Service PLEASE TRY TO ATTEND AS MUCH OF THE SERVICE AS YOU CAN, THOUGH Almost feels “Schizophrenic”  but it’s actually, combining these two moments, makes a similar point Matthew is trying to make in his Gospel… Now onto Matthew: Matthew’s Passion is the most “ordinary,” or all too ordinary… Leaders stir up crowd (control crowd) Ignore Prophetic Dream (how Joseph warned) Sham trial Crowd gets swept up in the drama “Crucify Him” Sports crowds… Consequences / outcome of all this: Betrayal (kiss) Deception Boasting Denial of Friendship Desertion Arrest Mocking Suicide  Murder  That all is at the heart of our faith… It’s heart-breaking, but Matthew won’t look away from this reality… So, where’s God in all this? “This took place to fulfill scri...