Alive to die no more

The following is this past Tuesday's God Pause devotion from Luther Seminary. The associated text is Psalm 16. It's been making me think. I hope you enjoy it:

Jesus Christ raised from the dead is an unsolvable problem for us. The reality of Easter is an omnipresent threat to our security and way of life. It means, in the words of author Philip Yancey, that "He's out there somewhere." What makes this matter all the more dire is that "He cannot die again ... " (Romans 6:9).
Consequently, Jesus has us cornered, without any possibility of us getting rid of him, pushing him out to Golgotha and crucifying him all over again. He can't die again, and this means that his unyielding will to forgive sinners cannot die either. What are we to do with such a God? It seems as if there is only one option available. In the end we may just have to look to him in faith, realizing that he is Lord of all things, including us!
Lord Jesus, create us anew in faith, content to be your creatures. Amen.

Daniel Shaw, chaplain
Camp Gargoyle, Al Asad, Iraq
Master of Divinity, 2002

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Good thing for me that the season of Easter lasts for 50 days. Plenty of time for alleluias.



We had a good day of celebration here at SOV on Sunday. We had to start the sunrise service a little later than the 6am scheduled start: the sun wasn't up enough yet for us to see. So, we got to start "early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark." All good. Even for those of us who are most definitely NOT early birds.


Resurrection day is my favorite day of the year, and gives meaning and purpose to the rest of the days.


I hope you had a blessed Resurrection day yourself, and that the joy of Easter is lingering into the week.


Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

80 degrees and sunny. And somber.

"Happy death day" was the salutation in an email from my brother-in-law today. I think the irony was intended. (He's a pastor, too).
It's Good Friday, which seems to be a pretty difficult day for a lot of people. The fact that it's 80 degrees and sunny and spring break don't make it any easier.
I know, you're thinking, "What - they're not clamoring to fill the pews and hear about Jesus' trial and sentence to death, and then his gruesome dying on the cross?"
But today matters. I so wish that everyone who's planning to be here on Sunday morning would make it to worship tonight. Easter doesn't make sense without Good Friday. In fact, the "Great Three Days," or Triduum, began at sundown yesterday and end tomorrow night (when Easter begins), and they are all one service, liturgically speaking. There's no resurrection without the cross, without death, first. Hard, but true.

Lord Jesus Christ,

as we kneel at the foot of your cross,

help us to see and know your love for us,

so that we may place at your feet

all that we have and are.

Crucified savior, naked God,

you hang disgraced and powerless.

Grieving, we dare to hope,

as we wait at the cross

with your mother and your friend.

The night of betrayal

Today is Maundy Thursday - when we remember how Jesus took the role of a servant and washed his disciples' feet, then gave them a new commandment (mandatum, hence "Maundy") to love one another. It's also when Jesus told his disciples to eat the bread- his body- and drink the cup - his blood of the new covenant- "in remembrance of me."

Here at SOV we've got a "Living Lord's Supper" tonight, thanks to our Liturgical Drama team. It's always interesting to see "regular" congregation members play the parts of Jesus and his disciples: Peter-the-denier, Judas-the-betrayer, etc..

After all, tonight is "the night in which he was betrayed." Even though I say or hear those words weekly during Holy Communion, I don't often stop to think about what they're saying. In the night in which Jesus was betrayed... He was betrayed, after all. And it was an inside job.

Watch this!

Have you watched the Story of Stuff yet? If not, sit back, turn up the sound, and watch this20-minute video. Please.

And then, after you watch the video, check out their blog, too.

Listening

A wise member of my congregation told me on Sunday that she's trying to listen more. Really listen. I don't know if this is a Lenten discipline for her, or a New Year's resolution that's lasting, but it is a worthy goal, either way.
My latest coffee cup from Starbucks agrees. (Their cups have "The Way I See It" - thoughts on various aspects of life from a whole bunch of different folks - printed on the side. Of course they've also got this disclaimer: This is the author's opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks.) Anyway, this made me think:

You can learn a lot more from listening than you can from talking. Find
someone with whom you don't agree in the slightest and ask them to explain
themselves at length. Then take a seat, shut your mouth, and don't argue back.
It's physically impossible to listen with your mouth open. - John Moe, Radio host and author of Conservatize Me.

I wonder how different the world would be if we all actually listened to each other, so everyone would be heard.

I got an email today from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Here it is:

Dear Friends:
An important vote is going to take place tomorrow, Wednesday, February 13.
The Senate will decide whether we stop the CIA's use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" -- or as we would call them, torture.
Section 327 of the Intelligence Authorization Conference Report (H.R. 2082), would prohibit the CIA from using abusive interrogation techniques (such as waterboarding) by requiring the CIA to comply with the Army Field Manual while conducting interrogations.
The Army Field Manual prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.Please call your Senators now -- and urge them to support Section 327 of the Intelligence Authorization conference report. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators' offices. You can also go to the NRCAT website (http://www.tortureisamoralissue.org/) and click on the link in the upper right red box. It will take you to a page that makes it easy to email your Senators.
This is the most important anti-torture legislation now before Congress with a real chance of passage. (The House has already passed this bill.) Every phone call counts.Thank you for all that you do to end U.S.-sponsored torture.
Sincerely,
Linda Gustitus, NRCAT President

PS - I'll be emailing my senators.