Today, There is Silence (Good Friday)

As a child, I didn't have the luxury of checking weather.com or The Weather Channel for forecasts ... I had my mother to call attention to the weather on Good Fridays.  My earliest memories of this day leading up to Easter were of her telling us to notice the weather.  "There will be clouds on this day ... maybe even rain or a storm if only for a brief moment."  There was a heaviness in her forecasting as if she knew something that I didn't know.  She continued by saying,"It is God's reminder."  Mom left it at that.  She left me moving about through the rest of my Good Fridays with a heaviness on my heart that I couldn't explain away.    She left me to dwell in these Fridays without jumping into my Easters.

I believe that it was Barbara Brown Taylor who once said to preachers, "Stop two paragraphs shy of a good Presbyterian sermon."  That is what Mom did ... and that is what God does on this day when Jesus' last words from the cross were "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit" and then falling into the silence of death. God stopped two paragraphs shy of what we so want to know.  Today is Good Friday and Jesus is crucified.

THE END ... or is it?

"Do This In Remembrance ..." (Holy Thursday)

(As we think of this night, Holy/Maundy Thursday, so long ago, we realize that Jesus not only washed the feet of the one who would betray him, but he prepared a place at the table for him as well. It is the same today. He still prepares the table ... for all)

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

It was when you asked me to help,

O God, that I truly understood ...

or at least understood

in the way that you asked me

to understand.

You handed a chalice to me

from the table you prepared

and whispered, "For all."

I gulped. "Oh God... really?

For all?"

You whispered again,

"Look into their eyes,

offer to them what I have prepared,

Some might be your enemies,

but none are mine."

And so I stood,

at the end of an aisle,

with chalice in hand

and wept at the thoughts

of my enemies welcomed

to the table

that was prepared for me

in such a generous way.

The table was not mine;

the guest list was not mine;

the chalice never ran dry ...

nor did the grace and mercy.

Once again, I heard,

"Do this in remembrance ...

and remember,

these are not my enemies."

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies,

and then you say, "All sit ... together."

And still the chalice never runs dry

for those around the table -

not even for me.

"Questions of the Day" (Wednesday of Holy Week)

The palm branches are no more

and the garments have been gathered -

the dust of a Jerusalem road

no doubt still on them.

The question of the day

brings about more thought

than answers ...

"Who do you say that I am?"

The question is clear ....

the disciples have seen

and heard

and walked with this man

and yet one among them

wants a messiah

of his own desires,

not the Messiah

who entered into lives

with teachings of justice

and healings of spirit and body ...

not the One who resolutely

walked toward Jerusalem

with dust-covered sandals

and approached the city

riding on a lumbering donkey.

"How many coins? Thirty?"

There are plans and preparations today ...

A room is being prepared.

Coins are being counted.

Crosses are visible 

only on the horizon

of thoughts.

"What is happening on this day?

What should we make of it all?”

"Let There Be Nothing Left Behind"

Beside of my laptop lies a stack of worship bulletins from Palm Sunday ... found abandoned on pews and rescued from the recycling bin. It seemed much like the day of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, doesn't it? Palm branches torn from the trees and waved at this man who is riding through the streets of Jerusalem on a gentle donkey. Hosannas being shouted. And yet, the hosannas stopped and the palm branches were left behind, dropped along the roadside.

As I look at the stack of bulletins and glance at my own palm branches, I realize that we have a choice to do the same. Some of us choose to shout our hosannas for only a moment and drop our palm branches when the hour of worship is over.  Some of us continue to journey with our Lord during these days. Yes, some leave the branches and scriptures and desire to be present with our Lord behind ... tossed on the floor ... left in the sanctuary ... out of their thoughts as they walk away until Easter morning while others make a cross from both their palms and their prayers to carry with them during this most holy of weeks.

" O God, let there be nothing left behind or tossed away by me in these coming days."

"Waving the Palms"

I have wonderful memories of the Palm Sundays of my childhood.  Small children dressed in white robes with huge black bows, waving palm branches that seemed much bigger than we were tall.  It was a grand sight.  We proudly led the choir down the aisles of the sanctuary.  After it was all over, my palm branch always found itself in a place of honor in our home… on our old upright piano that was once my Granddaddy Murdock’s piano.  And, I insisted that my mother keep it watered for I wanted it to remain green for as long as possible.  Did we know why we were waving the palm branches then?  I'm not sure that we did.  We were caught up in the excitement of the day.  And to be honest, do we as adults know why wave the palms?  Do we just consider Palm Sunday the beginning of Holy Week without looking closely at the kind of messiah the crowds of Jerusalem were expecting to see… or the type of messiah that we expect or desire ourselves?

Perhaps as we begin our journey with Palm Sunday and into Holy Week, we should question ourselves as to who this Jesus is who has come riding into our lives?  Have we molded him into what we expect him to be and then become confused or dismayed as he doesn't fit our ways or agendas?   Have our traditions become so anticipated that we don't take the time to look beyond the palms and into the heart of Jesus?

 Holy Week is a challenge for us all, as Easter people, to rediscover the emotions, the teachings, the intimacy of the last meal with Jesus and the disciples, the betrayals and denials, the suffering and the darkness of grief.  This is the final leg of our journey before the tremendous joy of Easter and the brilliance of its promise.  We should take every opportunity to follow Jesus’ same path into Jerusalem beginning with the quest to find out why we wave the palms.

May you experience Palm Sunday with fresh eyes!

"Just Days Before ..."

We aren't quite there yet, are we?   The palms and hosannas as we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the passion of Holy Week will soon be upon us, but we aren't quite there.  For now, we are just days away from Palm Sunday.  May God give you strength to journey through these last days of Lent and an open heart to experience all that Holy Week will bring your way.  Let us join together and pray for our pastors, worship teams and leaders, and all in music ministry who clear a path to Jerusalem for each of us even if their own palm branches are a little bent or broken by now.    anna

Along the way,
sitting in the dirt
by the side
of a well-travelled road,
a blind man shouts,
“I want to see”
and there is healing …
yes, there is sight.

THIS IS THE DAY
THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

In the fields
on the outskirts
of Jerusalem,
a weary one sighs
and whispers,
“You are my God.”
Bending down,
he picks up a palm branch…
broken and bent,
much like his spirit.
For that reason alone,
he holds onto it,
dragging the branch along
as he walks,
making what looks like
to anyone else
a path
in the dirt
outside of Jerusalem.

THIS IS THE DAY
THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

There is a growing crowd,
whispering,
murmuring,
shouting,
hopeful,
angry,
confused ....
waiting and watching
for a messiah.

THIS IS THE DAY
THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

Among those
in the crowd,
is the one with the
bent branch
and the broken spirit.
Yes, caught up in the crowds,
I can be found ...
and you as well,
tightly holding onto
our own palm branch.

We wait …
for some unknown reason
we wait.

The path
into Jerusalem
remains,
drawn in the dirt
by a palm branch.

Why are we waiting?

Shhh…
THIS IS THE DAY
THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

"Dancing and Waving and Working"

He is always danc’n 

on the street corner …

danc’n as a drum major

in a high stepping band

would dance …

danc’n in the 

rain or snow

or heat of the day…

holding a sign that reads,

“We Buy Gold”.

Another sign-bearer

a mile or two away

is dressed like “Lady Liberty”

(although this bearded one 

is definitely no lady).

I have seen him, 

holding a sign that

begs people 

to prepare their Caesar’s portion

through their tax service.

He waves at passersby

(danc’n isn’t much of an option

in a flowing gown).

He, too, finds himself

in the rain or snow

or heat of the day …

holding a sign that reads,

“Taxes Done While You Wait”.

“Lady Liberty” often finds 

that he has a fellow sign-bearer

as a companion … 

one who dances and waves

as cars pass by.

Yes, this woman holds her sign high

in the rain or snow

or heat of the day.

The placard reads

“Hot-N- Ready Pizza Here”.

I never think

“There but for the grace of God, go I.”  

My thoughts are more akin to, 

“There I am, with countless others.”

There is a faithfulness in their jobs

and need for that income

that places them 

on the very curb of life,

waving and dancing and working

in the rain or snow

or heat of the day.

I will always 

tap my car horn

and wave …

or look their way

and smile.

An acknowledgement 

goes a long way in the hearts

of a person who is

“dancing” for wages.

Many do that, you know …

do their jobs well,

with a faithfulness

and a smile -

holding a sign high

that reads,

“You Have Bought Gold in Me.” 

(and in fine print …“my job has been done well today”).

We are all sign-bearers 

standing on the very curb of life -

dancing and waving and working …

hoping for a smile,

or the beep of a horn,

or an acknowledgement 

or a

 “Thank You.  You Shine Like Gold!”