Easter IV

The Rev. Martha Frances
Easter IV - 29 April 2007

Text: John 10:22-30. Other readings: Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, & today we have a series of scriptures including sheep & a shepherd. We are nurtured today by the most familiar of all psalms, the 23rd . Jesus becomes the Good Shepherd in John's gospel reading today, telling us that the sheep hear his voice & follow both Jesus & Jesus' heavenly parent since they are one. Many of our songs today call forth the figure of the shepherd caring for the sheep, familiar images to Jesus & his disciples.

Here we are, in the 4 th largest city in the nation, talking about being sheep & following a shepherd. All this language about farm animals was daily life for Jesus' & John's communities, but the closest we come to sheep here on 43 rd Street is those the livestock man brings for Joys of Christmas each year. I saw sheep this past weekend when I visited my mother outside of Kerrville, but I haven't even eaten a lamb chop recently. Sheep are not part of the daily life of city folk.

I have a friend who is a rancher out in West Texas, & he tells us sheep are dumb & goats smell bad. I'm not sure it's a compliment for Jesus to tell us we're the sheep & he's the shepherd. I don't want to admit that I'm a dumb sheep that can't find my way to the water unless I'm led by a shepherd. I'm a pretty independent woman & don't like all this talk about docility & obedience. Sometimes I have to get past the biblical images to the heart of the Gospel for it to be Good News.

The good religious people of Jesus' day challenged him to prove he was the Messiah. Jesus replied, "I have told you, & you do not believe." Our translation says they ask him, "How long will you keep us in suspense?" But the Greek original is really closer to "How long will you continue to annoy us?" It wasn't because they were members of the synagogue that they didn't belong to Jesus' sheep. Jesus is clear about the sequence. He says he has told them & they don't believe. Jesus acts 1 st, doesn't he? Jesus calls his sheep & his sheep hear his voice. Look at the rhythm here: Jesus calls. The sheep respond. Jesus knows the sheep. The sheep follow him. Jesus offers them eternal life & promises that no one will snatch them out of his hand. What a deal! May it's not so bad being a sheep of Jesus' flock!

Those of Jesus' flock are those who believe & follow. In fact, John's vision we call the Revelation is that a multitude from every nation, all tribes, peoples, & languages stand before the throne of God & praise God. We're all part of the flock who worships before the throne of God. It doesn't matter the color of our skin or where we got our clothes or what language we speak. We all belong! Perhaps we can all relate to the people John tells us about because each person in this room has been through her or his own great ordeal. At times, we each want to be wrapped in the white garments of baptism & sheltered by the One on the throne.

When we baptized 5 of our own at the Easter Vigil a couple of weeks ago, they too became sheep of Jesus' flock as we are, regardless of how or when or in what denomination we were baptized. Look at John's vision: we will neither hunger nor thirst no more. I know that Jesus' reign has not yet come fully, & some of the folks we're called to serve are truly hungry & thirsty, some are certainly struck by the sun, & all of us in Houston know about scorching heat.

John's vision gives us hope, however, that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is leading us to springs of living water where eventually, we will have no need for tears. We have only a few Sundays before we have another baptismal Sunday, & several are already planning for baptism at that time. If you have not been baptized & would like to be, or you have a child to present for baptism, make sure to see me as soon as possible.

Notice that Jesus also says that when he calls his sheep, they follow him. What does Jesus call us to at this time in the life of Hope parish? During the past few weeks, I've pondered what Jesus calls us to. Our 4 former senior wardens spent part of their weekend yesterday describing the process of our joining at a diocesan multi-cultural conference at Camp Allen. We are accomplishing a good & fruitful thing at Hope as we come together making community from our various backgrounds. I just have a sneaking suspicion that Jesus hasn't called us together & led us thus far in order for us to fizzle out & rock along as a little church doing the same old thing. There have been comments dropped lately about how we're going to have to tighten up our belts & spend less around here in order to balance the budget. Let me tell you all, the belts have been pretty tight ever since I got here & the two churches have been together. There's not much more belt-tightening we can do.

I'd like to offer a radical suggestion: Jesus is calling us to do a new thing in this parish of Hope, to grow a church that can make a radical difference in this neighborhood & in this diocese. Jesus is calling us to live as Easter people in all our lives—not just on Sunday mornings & not just during the Easter season, but in our whole lives, 24/7, 365 days a year. Jesus is calling us to call others, not just to welcome those who find their way to our door, but to actively & intentionally gather folks up & bring them to church, show them how to find their way through our worship service, walk them over to coffee hour & introduce them to others there, & help them connect to a group or ministry in the church.

If we're not ourselves involved in a small group & an outreach ministry, we need to find a group to become involved in. Each person at Hope needs to be stretching his/her mind & heart with regular scripture study, if not on Sunday mornings, then with a group you develop on your own. We have a great opportunity next Sunday evening to learn about outreach & becoming involved in peace & justice issues at the Comstock's. In a month, we'll be celebrating 56 years of educating of youngsters with St. Michael's Day School, & we'll welcome our new youth minister, Elizabeth Dowell—two opportunities to grow a new generation of Christians ourselves, not to leave it to some mega-church with fancy facilities & programs to attract those who can carry on beyond those of us who are graying.

And it's not ok to look around & say someone else can do it. We're all busy people; we all make priorities in our lives. WE'RE the someone else's. There isn't anyone else. It's you & me, folks! WE are the sheep of Jesus' pasture. It's up to US to contribute—financially, timewise, of our talents, of our hearts. Jesus will guide us to springs of the water of life, & God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, but folks, we've got to drink, to be nourished, to respond, & to join Jesus in renewing the face of the earth. Are we up to the challenge? What are we waiting for?

Feast of the Resurrection

By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C, Easter Day; Feast of the Resurrection
8 April 2007

Text: John 20: 1-18, Other Readings: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2,14-24; I Corinthians 15:19-26


The Sabbath is now past! Jesus has been in the tomb for 3 days, & it is now the 1st day of the week so Mary Magdalene ventures early in the morning to the tomb, finding the stone rolled away. In astonishment, she rushes to Peter & the disciple Jesus loved, we are told, to carry the news. Mary thinks someone has removed the body surreptitiously, & the male disciples rush to the tomb to see for themselves. Sure enough, they see linen wrappings & the head cloth, but no Jesus. What was it that they believe has happened? We aren't told but rather, we know they return to their homes, perhaps to mull over what they've seen.

Which leaves Mary of Magdala outside the tomb. Yes, she's returned, following along behind the male disciples, & she stays at the entrance to the tomb, weeping. The men have sprung into action, at least to leave the garden, & Mary has responded by staying close & crying. Because she has lingered, it is she who sees two angels where Jesus has been lying. She knows where he lay because she had been at the crucifixion & had obviously been with Joseph of Aramathea when he enclosed Jesus' body in the tomb. Mary has been steadfast when all others have abandoned Jesus.

She supposes the man who appears outside the grave is the gardener & cries out to him, "They have taken away my Lord!" Isn't it curious that Mary of Magdala who has accompanied him throughout his life & death now does not recognize him? Perhaps that's because her expectations don't include encountering Jesus alive in the flesh once again. How many times are we blinded to the reality before us because it is different from what we had anticipated? Regardless, Jesus calls her by name & then her eyes are opened. Jesus recognizes her as a precious child of God, & her heart is likewise opened. Jesus also drops a hint as to why Mary doesn't recognize him: "Do not hold on to me because I have not yet ascended to the Father." Jesus' resurrected body must look in some ways different from his earthly one.

Then Jesus does a truly astonishing thing: he sends Mary to announce his resurrection to the other disciples. Now it may be true that he sends Mary because the guys have taken off too soon & she's the only one left, but I suspect Jesus chooses Mary because he trusts Mary to do as he bids her & knows she'll get the story right. Mary has been ever faithful to him, & once again, she makes herself available & does his bidding. No wonder she has earned the name "apostle to the apostles!"

For those of us who have walked in Jesus' footsteps throughout the Holy Week just past, those who have waited & watched & experienced the latter days of Jesus' earthly life, for those whose feet were washed & who witnessed the crucifixion, even at a safe distance, those who stood with children just last night beginning their journey of faith as they were initiated into the body of Christ through the sacrament of baptism, Mary's announcement of the resurrection can only be met with Alleluia! Christ is risen! We sing the Easter carols & hear this year's gospel story of the empty tomb.

One of the children who has come to this altar regularly with his hands crossed over his heart, once he was baptized last night, was eager in anticipation of sharing the other great sacrament of the Church—Holy Eucharist—immediately after his baptism. Though he was disappointed that he must wait even one more night to receive the body & blood for the first time, he will join his church family at the altar to eat & drink of the risen Savior eagerly this morning. Many of us promised with great vigor last night to accompany him in living into the baptismal vows he & five others took last night, to form them after the mind & the life of Christ. What message would Mary Magdalene have for him today about how Jesus Christ has changed her life? What message have you to tell him about your new life in Christ?

Tomorrow afternoon I will preside at the funeral of a longtime member of our parish, Major B. J. Johnson who died on Maundy Thursday. She was a faithful member of the Greatest Generation who served our country during WWII & the Korean War & was the first VIPS volunteer with HISD. She had been ill for a long time & was taken communion from this altar regularly by our Eucharistic visitors. Though she never married, she has a host of relatives who mourn her passing. Our human grief at being separated from her is natural & appropriate, but we will also sing the Easter hymn "Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord" because we know by Jesus' resurrection that B.J. likewise lives now in the nearer presence of God. As the burial rite tells us, her life is changed, not ended.

What difference does Christ's being raised from the dead, overcoming the power of death, make in your life? St. Symeon, "The New Theologian," who lived just about a thousand years ago, expressed exceedingly well the miracle of Easter as it can be personal to us. We are indebted to Stephen Mitchell as quoted in Andrew Harvey's book Son of Man as he translates

We awaken in Christ's body
as Christ awakens our bodies,
and my poor hand is Christ,
he enters my foot, and is infinitely me.
I move my hand, and wonderfully
my hand becomes Christ, becomes all of him
(for God is indivisibly
whole, seamless in his Godhood).
I move my foot, and at once
He appears like a flash of lightning
Do my words seem blasphemous?—
then open your heart to him.
And let yourself receive the one
who is opening to you so deeply.
For if we genuinely love Him,
we wake up inside Christ's body.
where all our body, all over,
every most hidden part of it,
is realized in joy as him,
and he makes us, utterly, real,
and everything that is hurt, everything
seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,
maimed, ugly, irreparably
damaged, is in him transformed
and recognized as whole, as lovely,
and radiant in his light. . .
Alleluia!

Great Vigil of Easter

What an evening! We had 5 baptisms--kids from 3 to 10 or 11--& the lessons were all participatory by all the kids. The first reading was "The Creation" from God's Trombones by James Weldon Johnson danced by 3 praise dancers in white satin--God as 3 little black girls making the world was awesome! We sang "On Tiptoe" & the children were dry bones for the Ezekiel passage & were resurrected during the reading to dance around the altar & then put together their bones with "Dem Bones". We had 80 in attendance despite the cold rainy weather. We await the joy of the morning!


The Reverend Martha Frances
Great Vigil of Easter
7 April 2007

Texts: Genesis 1:1-2:1; Exodus 14:10-15:1; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Ezekiel 37:1-14


This is a night like no other night. After 6 long weeks of Lent, after the institution of the Eucharist & the washing of feet on Maundy Thursday followed by the stripping of the altar, the emptying out of the church of the old, after the Good Friday liturgy yesterday & walking the Stations of the Cross with Jesus one more time this season, having been present with Jesus at his death, tonight we come into the cross-over time, crossing over from the death that we already know into the new life of the Resurrection. Tonight we wait, waiting expectantly for the Easter morning which we are assured will follow in just a few hours.

We have lit the new fire, the light of Christ which will burn through each service for the 7 weeks of the Easter season, & we have carried our own candles for we are Christ-lights in the world. Through scripture & dance & song, we have recounted the history of the Hebrew people—our own rich heritage—from the goodness of creation through the escape from Egypt into a new land. Then we recall that God's people time after time had to be renewed. As their hearts became hardened into stone, God implanted in them a new heart of flesh. Even during their exile in Babylon, when all seemed lost like a valley of dry bones, God renewed the people, stacking bone upon bone until they could stand again, & then when God breathed the Spirit into them, they could indeed dance once again.

Last night I returned to Church of the Epiphany in southwest Houston where my own spiritual life was nourished for 20 years as God was preparing me for ordained ministry. After leading the liturgy throughout the week, I needed to experience the holiest time of the year as a member of the congregation, & through the Good Friday Project as it is called there, musicians & dancers shared reflections on the crucifixion. Those powerful artistic expressions spoke to me, fed me, in a space where Bill & I had exchanged wedding vows, reared our boys, & launched out in the ministry which I continue today. I am grateful for that community which loved me mightily & challenged me to fulfill God's call to me.

But that is no longer my faith family. YOU are my faith family now. I belong to Hope just as you belong to me. Tonight is all about family, about community. Tonight we gather as a family of faith to welcome new members into the universal Christian family with the initiation rite called baptism. Lighting the fire & re-membering the story recalls for us who we are that we may welcome new Christians into our family, this community of Hope. Ours is only one of a myriad of Christian communities, but it is OUR family which we are commissioned to grow in Christ.

As these parents and godparents dare to offer their children for adoption into a larger family so that we may assist them in guiding these children to embrace their name as Christian, we welcome each of these families to grow with us also. We believe that, just as those bones were reconstituted & infused with the Holy Spirit, so do we become filled with Christ's character as we put on Christ in our church family. Just as the Hebrew people had to be renewed so that their hearts would remain supple hearts of flesh, so we must renew our own baptismal vows, both for our own continued formation but also to be legitimate guides to those whom we touch. Thus, we can live up to the expectation that others will know we are Christians by our love.

It is through baptism we are first empowered individually & as a community to be Christ's reconciling presence in the world. We are people with short memories, so we need to experience over & over that empowerment, which is one reason we need from time to time to renew our own baptismal vows. We will join those who are being baptized & their loved ones in recommitting to those promises.

First, we reaffirm our faith by the words one of the oldest creeds, the Apostles', & then we respond to 5 questions regarding our living as Christ taught us to do. The children who are being baptized & their parents have already looked at what they are promising, & if you're around here very often, you know we revisit these 5 promises often. Listen to them again as you agree with God's help to make them central in your life. They're the directions we need to become those people whom God calls us to be.

After the baptisms, we're all ready to proceed to the altar to celebrate the Eucharist, the Holy Communion. But wait! We have to stop ourselves short to remember that those first disciples who huddled in the upper room on that Sabbath day after Jesus' crucifixion did not have the expectation which we enjoy for tomorrow. Peter, James, John, Andrew, Mary Magdalene, Salome, the Mother Mary--all had been through a tremendous shock just the day before, seeing the hopes & desires of the past three years nailed to a cross in what felt like utter defeat. How had this happened? When had it all gone wrong? They had tried to warn Jesus that he was treading on thin ice with the authorities. Hadn't he cared what would happen to himself? To all of them? What were they to do now?

For us to truly experience the joy of Easter, we have to put ourselves in the place of those fearful & despairing disciples closeted away in the upper room so many years ago. We'll have begun the new life in Christ as we leave tonight, but we're not quite to Easter morning yet. We have no real dismissal tonight for this worship continues throughout the night into the morning when the Son rises—Jesus the Son rises to proclaim that God has indeed trampled death with new life. And the Son invites us to partake of that resurrection in the celebration of Eucharist as Easter people. We wait & watch through the night for the Easter light to dawn anew on the morn. Come tomorrow at 7:00 a.m . or at 10:30 for the rest of the story!

Maundy Thursday

by The Reverend Martha Frances
Year C, Maundy Thursday
5 April 2007

Text: John 13: 1-17, 31b-35, Exodus 12:1-4[5-10]11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26


"Anamnesis" is a strange Greek word, but the concept of anamnesis ties the scriptures together on this night so holy in so many ways. Anamnesis is the act of remembering, but this is not the sort of passive memory trip we take with a high school buddy when we meet in the grocery store or a glimpse back at our grandmother's kitchen when at the bakery counter we smell the same kind of cookies she baked.

Anamnesis is the active re-membering/re-embodying which our Jewish brothers & sisters did this past Monday night around their family Seder tables as they re-created in story & action & breaking bread together the first Passover, the story we read from Exodus tonight. Anamnesis is a particularly important experience created anew in each generation as though it were happening in the present.

In the preparation for a Seder, the Jewish family cleans the house thoroughly, prepares the food to be Kosher with special dishes & tableware used only this week of the whole year, sets a special Seder plate with a shank bone, bitter herbs, salt water, a roasted egg, & parsley, & gathers the same Haggadah—the liturgical telling of the story of the first Passover, part of which we heard tonight. Although the original Egyptian slaves had to prepare & consume their Passover meal quickly in order to be on their journey, the Seder meal now takes a whole evening with the prepared liturgy of the story plus games & songs for the children. As Theresa Comstock & I participated in an interfaith Seder last week, we experienced "anamnesis"—the passage from death in Egypt to life as a pilgrim people began again vividly.

This story of God's presence & God's love for the people really defines what it is to be Jewish even today. Further, the Passover story identifies in part the God we worship today, the God whom we know most definitively through Jesus Christ.

Jesus was being a good Jew in celebrating Seder with his family of disciples during his Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Of course, we see the origins of our Eucharist in this familiar Jewish festival meal. Our reading from 1 Corinthians today includes the idea of anamnesis when Jesus mandates his disciples to eat the bread & drink the wine in remembrance of him & of their night together. "Maundy" in the name for this day is taking from Jesus' command or mandate to his disciples to keep the ceremony alive in remembrances—anamnesis.

We remember that Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins in our Eucharist, the sacrament we celebrate twice weekly here at Hope. Tonight we celebrate this meal, awed by the gift Jesus gives us in becoming the body broken & the blood poured out for us. In Holy Eucharist, we re-enact Jesus' actions in taking a loaf of bread, giving thanks & breaking it, & then sharing it with his disciples. Each time we gather for this sacrament, we are creating "anamnesis"—experiencing once again this intimate meal with Jesus & the first disciples. Anamnesis—remembrance.

Notice that the gospel of John has no description of the meal shared but rather a ritual strange to us today: footwashing. Jesus mandated we do this rite in remembrance of him, too, yet only this once a year do we fulfill his commandment.

Jesus washed the disciples' feet in a culture where footwashing was usual, performed by the servants for the guests who had been traveling by foot wearing sandals. Jesus modeled for us servant leadership & then told us that we are called to care for one another in much the same way. In a culture where bathing is a regular & private activity (unless you have preschoolers for whom privacy is severely compromised), we have little reason to perform this particular activity for anyone over the age of 2, yet it is Jesus' willingness to provide the most basic creature-comforts for those who have traveled with him which is most striking. Our footwashing ritual tonight is another instance of anamnesis—recreating Jesus' act of self-giving to his disciples.

Becoming community as Jesus' disciples were community is at the heart of Jesus' mandates on this last night with his disciples. Becoming community so that we may grow & be nourished to pass on God's love to others is what we've been about at Hope for the past 2 years, & our finding ways to strengthen our community so we can follow Jesus' mandate in our lives is how we develop our identity & service in our larger world.

Jesus leaves us with another mandate at the close of this passage, the new commandment to love one another just as Jesus has loved the original disciples and also loves us. Jesus actually says our love for others is what should give away our identity as his disciples. St. Augustine said that a community becomes a community when it is united in love. That love can be life-giving or death-dealing depending on what it is we really love. If we love our own group to the exclusion of others, we are not being Christ-like. What groups are we tempted to exclude in our world today? Jews? Muslims? Homeless people? Those with physical or mental challenges? Homosexuals? Those with a prison record? Folks from New Orleans? Those who hold different political or religious views? There are some folks it's just not comfortable or convenient to love, is it? The realization that Jesus loves that person we most fear or dislike as much as Jesus loves you or me is just plain frustrating. But it's the truth: we're all precious in God's eyes. Who are we called to treat as honored guests in our lives?

Tonight begins the 3-day ritual which we call the Triduum, for we cannot separate this unified set of commemorations beginning tonight & concluding on Sunday, the feast of the Resurrection. Tomorrow our service is ecumenical when we share the reenactment of Jesus' way to the cross, time on the cross, death & burial with other Christians in our own neighborhood. Be here at noon for that powerful service & at 1:00 or at 6:30 for the Stations of the Cross once more this year. Then on Saturday evening, the beginning of the First Day of the Week, we recall the story of our salvation beginning with creation—anamnesis. Then we welcome new Christians into our community as well as the worldwide fellowship of Christians with the sacrament of baptism. The community needs to be present at 6:30 in the evening to welcome new life into the community as the newly baptized. The vigil doesn't really end until sunrise on Easter morning when we complete the vigil with the sacrament of Holy Eucharist once again as Easter people. Our sunrise service on Sunday is at 7:00 a.m., & the complete Easter Eucharist occurs at 10:30. We are a family, a Christian community. Come celebrate as many of our worship opportunities as you can. Then, for 50 days, we will bask in the light of Christ risen & ask ourselves how we can reach out into the world as Easter people.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday (Year C), 1 April 2007
By The Rev. Martha Frances+

Text: Luke 23: 1-56 (Luke 22:14-23:56)
Other readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11


The Church in its wisdom has provided for us an impressive amount of the passion story according to Luke as our Gospel reading today &, tho we only read the last ½ of it [dramatically] this morning, I urge you to carry it home for meditation on the entirety of Luke’s rendition during the week. On Friday we will read dramatically the same story as told by the 4th Evangelist, John at the noon ecumenical service here at Hope. The events of the next week form the core of our identity as Christians, & all 4 evangelists began with the passion story & developed their gospels from this story & this week, so we do well to participate in as many ways as we can, singly & in community, in order to fully immerse ourselves in Jesus’ trip to the cross, tomb, & Easter dawn garden as well as those around him.

[10:30]We began this morning for those who chose to participate with a palm procession, much like the disciples did for Jesus that last week of his life, & joyously sang “Hosanna, Lord” as we paraded into this beautiful church to continue our worship.

Now, however, with the reading of the passion story, our tone has changed to one more somber, recognizing the second emphasis to our day, the Sunday of the Passion, it is called in the prayer book.

At this, the first day of Holy Week, we hear the events we will commemorate each day this week leading us to the Day of resurrection we call Easter. What an amazing story! Of course, we know the outcome, the climax, Jesus risen from the dead, but we must hold back from that celebration until the appointed time. Most gospel stories are short & without much detail, but each gospel writer gives a full account of Jesus’ Passion journey.

In Luke’s telling of the story, Jesus models the way to face crises in our lives & to love one another fully. We enter the story today after Jesus has gone to Gethsemane to pray & where he is arrested. Now, Jesus is led before Pilate where Luke’s emphasis is on who Jesus really is. Those around Jesus mock him with titles which ironically reveal his true identity: Prophet, Messiah, Son of God, King of the Jews. The religious authorities present Jesus to the Roman authorities in political terms, making him sound like an enemy of Rome, but neither Pilate nor Herod believes him guilty of any crime. Here, they show their own cowardice, trying to pass the buck to each other & bending to the will of the religious officials in order to keep peace & appease the locals. Most of these folks weren’t evil people, tho with Pilate we could probably argue that. They were just protecting life as they knew it, afraid to take a chance on anything new, even if it showed promise. Isn’t it peculiar that Pilate’s & Herod’s joint dilemma of what to do with Jesus is what makes them friends? With friends like that, who needs enemies, right?

The insurrectionist & murderer Barabbas is released while the crowd says of Jesus, “Crucify him,” so Jesus is led off to his death. Each Friday this Lent & twice again on Good Friday we are walking the way with Jesus to the place called The Skull as we have prayed the Stations of the Cross. Our ability to walk with Jesus this week is a privilege & informs throughout the year who we are as Christians.

What is Jesus’ response to those who condemn him to death & carry out his sentence? To Herod, the man who had Jesus’ cousin John’s head brought to him on a platter, he says absolutely nothing. Jesus’ response to Pilate’s question, “Are you the kKing of the Jews?” is simply an affirmation, “You say so.” Jesus makes no claims of his own, for, as Paul tells us in the epistle this morning, Jesus humbles himself & experiences the natural consequences of his being obedient to God’s will. Later, he cries from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus’ compassion & commitment to his healing ministry is most touching as the thief crucified next to him pleads, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus’ lavish love to him is the promise of salvation.

Natural phenomena draw attention to Jesus’ death itself. Darkness covers the land & the curtain of the temple is torn in two from top to bottom, revealing the Holy of Holies. Direct access to God is now available to all people. Luke tells us Jesus dies confident of God’s loving care & he says, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Then Jesus, in his ultimate act of obedience, breathes his last, choosing the moment of his own death.

The Roman centurion, not one of Jesus’ followers but an outsider, recognizes Jesus’ innocence. The women who have cared for him throughout his ministry go off to mourn & observe the Sabbath so they can be prepared to minister to his body with their spices & ointments on the 1st day of the week. Even one of the clergy, a member of the Sanhedrin, another outsider, Joseph of Arimathea, places him in a new tomb, honoring him finally in death.

So here we have Luke’s story to ponder thru the week. We haven’t heard the end of the story yet. Thru Holy Week we are in the most poignant tension between the “already” & the “not yet,” present moving into future. Next Sunday, we will gather here to behold the miracle of God’s gracious goodness revealed through Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus won’t love us any MORE if we have been here during the week to walk the Way of Tears with him through the worship services marking the events of his Passion. But neither can Jesus love us any LESS. That’s the nature of Jesus’ love; it is immeasurable. We come together to worship & watch & wait this Holy Week so that this stupendous gift can be real for each of us, so that we can live more fully into our baptism as sisters & brothers of Jesus the Christ, as a community. In particular, let us celebrate our own baptisms & commit once again to our baptismal vows as we incorporate new children into the body of Christ at the Easter vigil at 6:30 next Saturday evening. And then, still, we await the new birth of Easter morning.