As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Keith Phillips):

The near universal response to the crucifixion scenes from movies such as Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth or Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is: “How he must have loved me to suffer so much!” And most certainly, the love of God for humanity is supremely witnessed in the agony and death of God’s only begotten on Good Friday. But then, like we generally deal with death in our culture, we move as quickly as we possibly can to the resurrection of Easter Sunday.

Romans 6:5 reads: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like us.” And just a couple of chapters later, Paul writes: “…and if children [of God], then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we might be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:17). Seems to me that’s an awful lot of “ifs” (my emphases).

I remind the families of dying patients that all of us face losses or “little deaths” every day. How we deal with those “little deaths” determines the “reward” we receive. Attempting to avoid or resist them can result in continued pain and suffering; and it’s sheer illusion to believe we have the power to dispel all the pain and suffering in our lives. However, I’ve seen that, contrary to popular opinion, accepting and embracing the “little deaths,” as we trust God, can result in great spiritual growth and a powerful sense of well-being, peace, and contentment. I am convinced that what we understand as pain and suffering can be part of God’s plan in our transformation to become more like Christ.

Maybe a paradigm shift would help. Since Christ’s pain and suffering on the cross is universally recognized as a sign of God’s great love for us, why can’t our faithful, trusting response to the pain and suffering in our lives be recognized as a sign of our great love for God? We may just find a beautiful transformation, a resurrection on the other side, being brought through the pain and suffering.

Thought for the day: God, today I thank you for your great self-giving love for me. I want to love you in the same way. Amen.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts on this passage (Tyler Connoley):

There’s been a lot of interest in Mary Magdalene in the popular culture lately. Readers of The Da Vinci Code imagine she was the Holy Grail, chosen to carry Jesus’ child. Watchers of The Jesus Family Tomb talk about “Mary, also called Master,” and say she was a teacher of secret knowledge later silenced by the patriarchy. But we don’t need to look to legends and myths to give Mary Magdalene an exalted place among the Apostles.

For centuries, scholars have looked to this text and said Mary Magdalene was Apostola Apostolorum, which means Apostle to the Apostles. Mary was the one chosen to take the message to the other disciples that Jesus had risen, so they could then take that message to the rest of the world. In a real sense, Mary is first among the Apostles — the beginning of Christianity as we know it, post-Resurrection.

What I find personally most inspiring about Mary’s story is how she found this high calling at what must have been the darkest time in her life. And she found it just by doing what came naturally to her.

Imagine how Mary Magdalene must have felt that morning. She was already devastated by Jesus’ death, and then she came to the tomb to find someone had stolen his body. Jesus was a street preacher with “nowhere to lay his head” (Matt 8:20). He certainly wouldn’t have had any possessions to leave to those he loved. Even his clothes were taken from him and given to the soldiers who crucified him. The only tangible thing Mary had to hold onto as a remembrance of Jesus was his dead body, and now even that was gone. She must have been utterly destroyed by the loss.

Peter and the other disciple seemed to have better heads on their shoulders that morning. They were the ones able to handle a crisis, immediately running to tell the rest of the disciples — and probably plan what to do next. Mary, on the other hand, crumpled in grief. She was at the end of her rope. She could do nothing but weep.

And that was where Jesus found her.

While the other disciples rushed around trying to manage the situation, Jesus comforted Mary and gave her the mission that would make her first among the Apostles. She became the Apostolora Apostolorum, by simply being true to her own grief, and doing what seemed right in that moment.

Thought for the day: On Easter, we affirm that when things seem the darkest, the Resurrection is right around the corner. With the story of Mary Magdalene, we remember that God will give us our highest calling when we are simply being ourselves.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

Isaiah 53:4a: “Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…”

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Brent Walsh):

As a preacher’s kid, I’ve heard today’s scripture many times in sermons and Sunday school. I’ve always known the context of the passage, but I had never really stopped to contemplate the meaning of it until it was practically played out before my eyes.

My wife Julie Benson and I drive an 18-wheeler. One day last summer I awoke from a deep sleep to find Julie pulling the rig off to the side of a busy, three-lane highway. I had taken cold medicine the night before, so I felt disoriented coming out of drug-induced sleep. I had been sleeping in the back of the cab where it was completely dark, so with the opening of the curtains, my eyes were desperately trying to adjust to the bright intrusion of daylight. What I saw through squinted eyelids was Julie jumping out of the cab and running along the side of our truck against three lanes of traffic. This was such an odd thing to wake up to that I didn’t know for sure if I was indeed awake or having a bizarre dream.

Yet there we were on the side of the road, our truck rocking with the passing of other vehicles driving at dizzying speeds. Julie was behind our truck now, perched on her toes like an athlete in a relay race, ready to leap into action at just the right moment. When traffic cleared, she bolted into the roadway with her hand in the air, in an attempt to make herself as visible as possible to any additional traffic. The next cluster of cars and trucks was about a half mile down the road, so she was not in any immediate danger as long as she kept moving.

In an attempt to make sense of everything, I thought she might be trying to retrieve something from the median. But then she stopped in the far left lane and bent down. As she did, a tiny figure darted away from her, across the lanes the Julie had just crossed. The oncoming traffic was still approaching fast. I was to find out later that a tiny kitten had been crouching down, injured, helpless, and petrified, on the dotted line of this interstate, and Julie was trying to rescue it! When she bent down to scoop it up, it fled from her in a panic.

The kitten was able to make it across the road before the oncoming traffic reached it, but Julie was not so lucky.

She only made it back across one lane before traffic reached her, which meant she was trapped between lanes. Watching from the truck, my heart stopped. I suddenly forgot about my drowsiness and the sunlight as I saw traffic overcome her and she disappeared between two speeding semi trucks. Essentially, Julie had just traded places with a terrified, wounded kitten on the dotted line of a busy highway!

When the two trucks passed, I was almost afraid to look. But there she was, still standing resolute on the dotted line with her hand at her brow, blocking the light from her eyes as she tried to keep track of the kitten. She seemed unphased by the traffic that had just swallowed her! I, on the other hand, was in the truck pulling on clothes any way they would fit in an effort to get out to where she was. I swore that if the traffic didn’t get her, I would surely strangle her when I got my hands on her!

When traffic cleared, she rushed across the remaining lane and crouched down on hands and knees. When the kitten had darted across the road, it hid itself in a small gap under a concrete barrier. The kitten hissed and spat in fear, clawing and scratching, but Julie would not give up. She clutched the shivering animal around the torso and, as gently as possible, maneuvered it out from under the barrier. When Julie stood and turned around with the kitten in her arms, I was running up to her with another motorist who had seen the commotion and stopped. The other man was from the area and offered to take the kitten to a local vet to be examined. Julie handed him the kitten and we breathed a sigh of relief that everyone was safe. We exchanged numbers, and the man sped away with his frightened cargo.

When we got back into the truck, I sat in the passenger seat and just stared out the window. Julie was fine, but I was in shock. My mind replayed the whole scene over and over, attaching different endings to the scenario. I wasn’t angry, but I couldn’t get over how much danger she had just put herself into for the sake of a kitten! I love kittens, but I was not willing to trade Julie’s life for that of any creature!

When I got over wanting to strangle her, I started to reflect more clearly on what she had done. I kept thinking about how Jesus essentially did the same thing for us. He saw us, helpless, wounded, and trapped, and without regard to the danger, he put himself on the dotted line. We may not know or recognize him. We may run away in panic. We may hiss and spit, claw and scratch, but Jesus will never give up trying to rescue us.

Thought for the day: How do I respond to the love of God? Do I welcome it, or, like the kitten, fight and run in fear?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

Epilogue: We received a phone call later that day from the man who had taken the kitten. The x-rays showed that a front leg was dislocated at the shoulder. There were also some cuts and scrapes, but no internal bleeding or other serious injury. The kitten was going to be just fine, thanks to Julie, and the man would make sure the kitten got a good home.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Robert Ferguson):

I am struck by the reaction of the disciples as Jesus shares that one of them will betray him. They were perplexed and confused. Surely no one within this tight knit circle would be capable of such a horrible act. Not one of them pointed a finger at Judas. According to the Gospel of Matthew, they were sorrowful and asked, “Is it I, Lord?”

We encounter two very different characters sitting at the table with Jesus. For the first time we are introduced to the beloved disciple, and we are witnesses as Jesus hands the dipped bread to Judas.

Tradition has long held that the beloved disciple was John. This same disciple was at the cross, and it was this John whom Christ entrusted with his very own mother. In our reading John laid in the bosom of Christ, a position of honor.

At the heart of this text stands Jesus. He controls this meal and sends the disciples in the direction that God wants them to go. As we move through this Holy Week we simply must ask ourselves, “Are we more like Judas or the beloved disciple?” Perhaps, we are related to both of them.

Let’s start with Judas Iscariot. We know that Judas betrayed Jesus when he brings soldiers to the garden. Judas has been vilified as the most heinous sinner in history. But take a closer look at how the gospel describes him. Judas is accepted as one of the twelve. Even after Jesus identifies Judas as the one to betray him, the other disciples are not alarmed, thinking that Jesus had said to Judas: “Go, buy what we will need for the Passover meal tomorrow night” or “Go, give something to the poor.”

Surprisingly, I think Judas represents us good faithful church folk. We want to follow Jesus — just as did Judas. But like many of the disciples, Judas seemed to believe that Jesus would soon be setting up an earthly kingdom. Perhaps Judas became a little dismayed when he realized that his plans were not the same as God’s plans.

So often we believe we are following Jesus, when we are actually following our own image of Jesus. We believe that we are authentically living lives influenced by the life of Christ, when — if we are being honest — our lives are largely influenced by the world around us. Individually and collectively, we do betray Jesus often. We may even feel betrayed by the good news of Jesus, especially when it fails to provide the instant gratification we expect or fails to remove our struggles in sufficient time. If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us will realize that we’re a great deal like Judas.

But notice how Jesus responds. Jesus takes a morsel of bread and dips it in a dish and hands it to Judas. The offer of salvation and forgiveness is not extended on the premise that we are capable of being perfect. Even in the midst of our sin, Jesus offers forgiveness and salvation. In giving the dipped morsel of bread to Judas, Christ is offering the gospel to him and to us. It’s the good news that God loves us — not on the basis of our lives, but on the basis of God’s love.

Now, let’s turn to the beloved disciple: What significance does the beloved disciple play? He seems to function in our text today as one who sees when others are blind, believes when others doubt. In our passage he reclines in the bosom of Jesus: a position of honor next to Jesus. I believe that this image is presented to us as an illustration of a personally intimate Jesus. Surely Christ loved all the disciples, as he loves all of us. But John the beloved is presented as having a uniquely special and trusting relationship with Christ, something that we are all capable of having. We are invited, as a gift offered under the new covenant, to relationship with God.

Our reading today invites us to claim Judas and the beloved disciple both as a part of who we are. If we forget that we are like Judas, then we forget sin which always distorts our reality. If we forget that we are like the beloved disciple, we are blocking the Spirit who forgives us, supports us, and makes everything new. As forgiven sinners and God’s beloved children, we can live in Christ’s freedom knowing that these two represent very different parts of who we are.

Thought and prayer for the day: Who will I be today — Judas, or the beloved disciple? God, help me to recognize that both of these can live within me. Keep me aware of the things that can separate me from You. Help me to trust You — to be at peace in your presence.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Kay Olry):

“Did you hear about Jesus of Nazareth? They say he was in Bethany the other day, and raised some guy from the dead!”

“No way!”

“It’s incredible, the things He’s been doing. I was there with around 5,000 others one day when he was speaking. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and everyone was getting hungry. He borrowed some kid’s lunch basket, and fed us all! How’s he doing these things?”

“No idea… Some say He could be the Messiah! The Scribes and Pharisees are trying to shut that kind of talk down real quick! Oh look — He’s coming! Grab some of those palms and hand them out! Maybe today’s the day the revolution begins!”

It’s hard to know exactly what people were thinking when they welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem with an impromptu parade on that first Palm Sunday. The scene had to have been pandemonium. Families with kids, Roman soldiers trying to keep order, religious Jews of all stripes, merchants selling their wares — a crazy scene made even crazier by Jesus riding in on a donkey, and people waving palms in the air and celebrating his arrival. What a triumphant moment!

The disciples of Jesus were probably convinced that this was when Jesus was going to show His great power, raise an army, and send the Roman soldiers packing! If it were happening today it might have looked a little bit like this:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I find it incredible that in one short week, we humans went from recognizing Jesus as King to crucifying Him on a cross. Surely, if I had been alive then, I would have recognized Jesus for who He was, and would have tried to stop it!

I’m sure of it!

Uhhmm, I think?!

Uhmm, I don’t know for sure…

Time and again we humans go back and forth with God. We praise Jesus as Savior and Lord; then we turn around and crucify him all over again. We act selfishly, or hurt each other, or ignore the least among us. We so often find ways to deny each other love and forgiveness.

The Good News is that God knew we were never going to be able to save ourselves, and so out of love, mercy, compassion, and grace, did it for us. Now that’s a miracle.

Thought for the day: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Tom Chittenden):

We’re now through the emotional ups and downs of Holy Week — from the hopefulness of Palm Sunday, to the sorrow and pain of Good Friday, to the joy of new life on Easter morning. And it’s easy to think, “Well, that’s over for another year,” and not let it reach down inside us and make a difference. But right in the middle of the drama, Jesus tells us exactly how we’re to proceed on Monday — and all the following days.

He makes time during these tense days to gather with His followers for “last minute instructions” — the distillation of His ministry and message.

When was the last time you can remember deeply loving someone?

Or the stirring inside caused by the mere touch of his or her hand in yours making you feel safe and protected?

Or the connection at the deepest level of your soul that came when you shared a deep passionate kiss with him or her?

I suppose I should stop here or this could become the first Be Still with a content advisory sticker.

To seriously consider the words of Jesus spoken to His circle of friends on Commandment Thursday — also known as Maundy Thursday — I began searching my feelings and emotions around my personal experiences with love in order to begin to put into context the meaning of this radical new commandment. Here’s what I believe to be true (at least for me).

Whether it be the love you and I feel for our children, or as a son or daughter for our parents, as a spouse or life partner for that “special one”, or even as a friends for one another, Jesus is teaching a new and life-altering way of interacting with each other. It’s a call to much more than romantic or platonic love. It’s a call to a “holy relationship” kind of love.

In the Old Testament we learn of the call to love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul, and to also love our neighbor as we would ourself. But on this night, Jesus commands a new reality and relationship when he says, “Love one another. . . . AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. . . so you are to love one another!” If the disciples didn’t get what He was teaching them at that moment, within hours He would be demonstrating to them (and to you and me) just what He meant when He said, “As I have loved you.”

Taking off His outer garment Jesus, the Son of God, kneels in front of each of His chosen ones to wash their feet. I bet you could have heard a pin drop during those holy moments. Here is a sample of this new commandment in action. Here is a visual, living job description for each of us. God is Love. We are the children of God, created with the very same nature — in God’s image. Therefore the command transcends even acts of love. The new command is to be love.

And by this all people will know you are my disciples.

Thought for the day: Holy Spirit, remind me how to be Love to everyone who comes into my life today. So be it!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.