you can control the music by clicking on the above console OR click on the following link to learn more about controlling music/sound <sound> Palm Sunday - 2005 True Sacrifice (back) No ordinary man took our sins away, no ordinary man hung on the cross that day. It wasn't us sinners who took the blame, it wasn't us sinners who bore the shame. Our Savior died for our sins that day. Jesus endured the pain, that gave us a way. Rising, He gave us the way to a new life everlasting Through Him it's there for the asking. How can we give any less than our all, when God promises to be there every time we call. Our Lord promises never to leave or forsake. A mustard seed of faith is all it will take. Jesus died so that we might live. He gave more than we will ever be able to give. Jesus paid a price that day, one that we will never be able to repay. His final words that day, "Father, forgive them..." How can we not give our lives to Him? Jesus is the One that paid the price, that we might live eternally in paradise. I am the Light of the World Oh, Father, up in heaven, We have wandered far away From Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Who arose on Easter Day... And the promise of salvation That God gave us when Christ died We have often vaguely questioned, Even doubted and denied... We've forgotten why You sent us Jesus Christ Your Only Son, And in arrogance and ignorance - It's Our Will, not Thine, Be Done... Oh, shed Thy Light upon us As Easter dawns this year, And may we feel the Presence Of the Risen Savior near... And, God, in Thy great wisdom, Lead us in the way that's right, And may the darkness of this world Be conquered by "Thy Light." Helen Steiner Rice Who Was that Man? When Jesus Christ enters the New Testament in the book of Mark, the author seems intent on painting a similar scene. One came. He was the Son of God. Isaiah had prophesied about him hundreds of years earlier. He was the Christ, the Messiah. He came on schedule, just in time to be introduced by John the Baptist. Yet, he was foreign--inexplicably unfamiliar. Though they crowded around him, the people of Israel could not recognize that Jesus of Nazareth was the one for whom they had waited. They were amazed by his teaching, but baffled by his seeming sense of authority. “What is this?” they asked (Mark 1:27). Though they sought his healing, they chastised him for his attitude. “Why does this fellow talk like that?” (Mark 2:8). His mother and brothers sought to make excuses for his behavior. “He is out of his mind,” they said (Mark 3:21). His enemies, unable to explain his power, reasoned, “‘He is possessed by Beelzebub!’ By the Prince of demons he is driving out demons” (Mark 3:21). His closest friends left all they had to follow him (Mark 1:18, Mark 2:14). They received private tutoring (Mark 4:34) in his presence. Yet they, too, sat on a stilled sea, sharing bewildered glances and whispering among themselves: “Who is this?” (Mark 4:41). Mark shows us Jesus’ bumbling apprentices who never truly grasp the significance of the one they followed. Though Peter proclaims “You are the Christ!” (Mark 9:29) he just as quickly pulls the Lord aside to rebuke him for teaching about the upcoming crucifixion (Mark 9:32). At the story’s end, the women are sent to the disciples, “trembling and bewildered,” messengers of a risen Christ (Mark 16:8 ). Only the demons are convinced of his identity. “I know who you are--the Holy One of God,” cries the evil spirit (Mark 1:24). When the testimonies of these spirits have become an issue of concern, Jesus gives them “strict orders” that they should not tell anyone his identity (Mark 1:34; Mark 3:12). Yet they will not be contained: “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” Legion shouts (Mark 5:7). With so many demons testifying to his identity, no wonder his adversaries rush to condemn his efforts as the work of Satan. Jesus did not seem to fit within the confines of the established Jewish religion. His message was fresh and new. Any truly religious person knows that God never changes. Something was wrong. In their pride, they chose to condemn truth rather than question their own understanding. This Jesus could not be their Messiah! The testimonies concerning Jesus did not make sense. The blind man Bartimaes shouts, “Son of David!” but no one listens to blind men (Mark 10). At Jesus’ baptism, God spoke himself: “You are my son,” but wasn’t that impossible? Near the foot of the cross, the Roman centurion (Mark 15:39) watched Jesus die and testified: “Surely this man was the Son of God!” But he, after all, was a foreigner and who can trust a heathen. With such “poor” witnesses, how could anyone have been expected to understand? In the two thousand years since that time, not much has changed. Like those in Jesus’ day, too many of us, knowing what we know, fail to question our own understanding. We are afraid to back up far enough to evaluate the story of Jesus holistically, to seek the truth anew as it relates to our lives. Too often, when life challenges us to do such introspection, we refuse. When we hear his message fresh and new, we are tempted to disapprove of this messenger just as they did. He is a friend of sinners, an associate of the outcast, and definitely a “non Christian.” We too can gather around Jesus expecting to see his glory, to receive his blessings, to sit near his side. But long ago most of us determined where he belongs in our lives. There is no room for questions, let alone new answers, new ideas, new insights--it might require a change in things, in us. We can become like the people of Nazareth who knew him too well: “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” Some of us have become so saturated in Jesus knowledge that there remains no room for amazement. The story is old and well-known. Like a worn family anecdote, the tale has grown old and lost its novelty. So be careful reading Mark’s story of Jesus. We tend to be critical of the disciples’ slowness because it is so evident. But surely Mark intended us to take note of this. But for what reason? So that we might feel good that we, almost 2000 years later, can see through the plot? Is there not a sense in which we are to be shamed over them? Is it possible that the disciples and Jesus’ mother and brothers, in their disbelief, were more noble than many of us? At least they continued to ask questions. Jesus was awesome in the strictest meaning of the word. Whatever may be argued concerning their lack of faith, no one can argue that they failed to recognize his distinctiveness. They recognized that his message was foreign. No one missed that point. Shouldn’t we reopen the story, read it again, and experience the awe? Or have we grown beyond the experience? Can’t we be honest? Shouldn’t the story leave us with similar wonder? Why not pick up Mark’s story of Jesus and meet him again for the first time. Having heard the message and accepted its truth, shouldn’t we still turn to one another in wonder and ask: “Who was that man?” The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday . . . There is a bit of this type of tension in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Mark 11. For the first time, Jesus seems to be ready to “go public” with his rightful position. For three years he had wandered the countryside of Galilee, teaching and preaching. Yet, with almost every major miracle, he had issued the warning that what he had done was not for publication. With every bold confession of faith, he had warned the believers to keep silent. The entry, therefore, adds a well-placed exclamation point to his teaching. The cadence with which he approaches Jerusalem only one week before his death is to the beat of a different drum. That descent into Jerusalem was not a simple man’s meek statement of humility. It was not the entrance of one bent on maintaining the peace. Rather, Jesus had come to Jerusalem to disturb the peace. When he entered Jerusalem that day, he did so as the King, playing directly (and intentionally) into the hands of his accusers, the expectations of his disciples, and the excited tenor of the people. Zechariah 9:9 had predicted the day: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah’s predicted monarch was not for Israel alone. This King would rule from “sea to sea” (Zecharaiah 9:10). Israel had waited long, in constant expectation, for the fulfillment of this vision. Surely, then, the symbolic message of Jesus’ coming that day could not be missed. Jesus was King; His intent was to rule; His purpose was to reign. He exercised power over all the world and all people. There would be no king before Him. No wonder, then, that the simple entry escalated into such a frenzy. The people rolled out the red carpet—a road paved with cloaks and palm branches. They cheered and shouted to their new-found king for delivery from oppression: “Hosanna!” (literally “Save!”), they shouted. For those who looked on or participated, the acknowledgment of authority was clear. Unlike Luke and John, who mention the Pharisees’ ire, Mark lets the picture of authority stand unchallenged. Yet, it is fair to say that regardless of one’s reaction, everyone saw what they wanted to see. Therefore, the spectacle of the day tended to further solidify beliefs and draw lines in the sand. Some in the crowd, including the disciples themselves, had waited for this definitive declaration of power. The event bolstered their position that Jesus was king. Their master, the one they had given up everything to follow, was about to claim victory. They must have felt triumphant! Others, seeking the thrill of being in the presence of an up-and-coming personality, were not disappointed. And those who suspected him as a tyrant could only marvel at his audacity. His entry had roused the interests of a city, but his intent was not yet clear. Though he had indeed come to rule all the world, it was not Rome he had come to wrestle from power. His immediate destination testified to that. He went to the temple (Mark 11:9). Later the next day, he returned there again, an angry landlord inspecting damaged property. “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,” he quoted (Isaiah 56:7), “but you have made it ‘a den of robbers’” (Jeremiah 7:11). Jesus’ word choice makes clear his emphasis. “My house.” “All nations.” “But you...” If he possessed the temple of God, he could clearly judge its use. The King of all nations had arrived in Jerusalem to represent all his constituents. The temple had been designed to signify God’s place and rule over the world. When Jesus overturned the tables and ran the merchandisers from the temple, he was claiming the authority to act as the landlord. He was also declaring an adversary that was out of line. He had come to restore the kingdom they had destroyed. His authority, of course, was under question. “By what authority are you doing these things,” they asked (11:28)? Though he refused to answer directly (11:33), he told them a parable (12:1f). In the parable, a landlord had sent his son to collect the harvest from his tenants. Recognizing the son as the heir, they had not only refused to pay, they also killed him in order to claim the vineyard as their own. To misuse the gift(s) of God is to steal what is rightfully his. These men were imposters. They had no power. Jesus was claiming it all. His challengers did not miss the meaning. Instead, “they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them” (12:12). Mark’s readers do not miss the meaning here either. The scene is packed with dramatic irony and foreshadowing. Just as Jesus claims his rightful position, the reader recognizes that a dark day approaches. The conflict is building. The climax of the story soon will arrive. The gauntlet has been thrown down. The enemy has been accused. We, like the Pharisees, should guard our hearts. We must remember whose we are. Jesus will return one day to reclaim his temple. He will be coming to inspect our hearts. Easter - 2005 (back) Do You Really Believe in Easter? Many people believe in God. Adults eventually get to the place where it seems logical that life is about something more than being born, living and dying. They believe in God or at least a higher power and may call their deity by one of dozens of names. About 90 percent of North Americans say they believe there is a God. About 56 percent of the world--Muslims, Jewish, and Christian--share belief in a common God. Religion is more in the news today than it has ever been in my lifetime. Once confined to the ghettos of the Saturday "religion" page in the newspaper or the "God" hours on Sunday morning radio and TV, stories where religion is a key player infiltrate the nightly news, the front page, and the lead story on a radio broadcast. The annual religious holidays of various faiths--like Passover, Ramadan, Easter--are presented in (mostly) good taste and with respect. So at least maybe information is getting out there: information without preaching, persuasion, or an attempt to proselytize. But this kind of religion is cold and sterile. It lacks feeling. It lacks the drama and reverence of being in the midst of 500 men all bowing toward Mecca five times a day. It lacks the emotion of a family gathering before Sabbath and hearing the familiar words of blessing chanted by the father as candles are lit. It lacks the mingling of joy and empathy as a new Christian convert emerges from the waters of baptism in a serene mountain lake. Each religion has positive things about it, and to its adherents, benefits that put it over other religions. Hindus point to the fact that their religion isn't based on a specific single leader or charismatic figure like Christians, Muslims, or Buddhists have. Muslims look at Christians' belief in the Trinity (three aspects of God in one) and say Christians are not monotheistic. And so to be a believer is to take one's faith so seriously that you believe it represents the way to find God and true happiness. But many people, even those who consider themselves Christian, have trouble believing everything about Jesus and his resurrection from the dead. And this of course is what the Easter celebration is all about. At Easter, we remember a God who is available in a relationship with us. No other faith that I know of quite offers that kind of opportunity. At the heart of Christianity is a claim that God loved us so much that God came to earth through Jesus, went through temptations just like humans, and ultimately died a terrible death. Jesus was more than a prophet or a great teacher, he was God and the Christian faith offers the teaching that faith is first of all a personal, intimate relationship with the God of the universe. But there is something in the modern mind that doesn't want to limit God. That is because so much damage has been done in times past by people preaching that their way is the only way. Today we have a new form of an old heresy-syncretism, which says that one religion is as good as the next. Christianity does say there is truth and ethical wisdom in all cultures, but at the heart of Christianity is a claim that is different: that God took on the realities of time and place, living on the earth, in the form of Jesus. To believe in God or to be a Christian and not believe in the resurrection of Jesus renders that faith pretty dead and useless. It is not worth practicing. If Jesus is not who he claimed to be, then you have just another religion with a dead leader. But if you believe the indicators that miraculously, Jesus does still live in another form, then there is cause to have serene happiness and peace, even in the midst of suffering, because no matter what happens, you too will have life beyond this body on earth. That doesn't mean you have to preach that your religion is better than others, or that others are going to "hell." But we should attempt to live the love and forgiveness that Jesus taught in such a way that others see the love, peace and happiness and want to have that assurance and security also. How often we fail! God, as the supreme intelligence of the universe and as one far beyond our scrawny imagination, is able to solve the difficult issues regarding "is there more than one way to God?" and "how will God handle those who don't believe?" So, you can have the best celebration possible this Easter no matter what your current frame of mind: Jesus lives, and we will too. Contributed by Melodie Davis from her weekly column ANOTHER WAY (http://www.thirdway.com/aw/awmain.shtml) or email at: Melodie@mennomedia.org Every Day Is Easter "Easter comes but once a year," So many people say, But, to a person saved from sin, It's Easter every day! A man, when saved or "born again" His life, to Christ, will give, And, as a new-born babe in Christ, He's just begun to live. "I am the resurrection, life," The Savior, one day, said; “And he, believing in my word, Shall live, though he be dead." And that well known Apostle, Paul, in Philippi made plain; "For me to live is Jesus Christ, For me to die is gain." So when the Blood of Christ, our Lord, Redeems a soul from sin; Every day is Easter, For Jesus lives within! THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HAD CAME FROM A GRAVEYARD NEAR JERUSALEM! March Bonus (back) The Vision from the Cross The shadow of the cross was spread out below Him, Its arms stretching out…north, south, east, and west, As if trying to embrace the world in entirety, Encompassing all, in His grace, at His rest. As His eyes traveled down on the masses that day, Drawn to witness His death, most with pleasure, He could see past their outward appearance of evil, And sacrifice all for the sake of the treasure. The treasure He saw on that violent hillside, Was the vision first born on the dawn of creation, That man would be joined in a covenant union, With the Godhead, together, the birth of a nation. As He looked to His right, He witnessed repentance, Brought forth in the heart of a once-hardened soul, And He knew that His mission was finally completed; For all generations, He accomplished His goal. Then He looked to His left, and He grimaced with pain, At the heart made of stone that rejected His Word; For him there would be no room in His kingdom, He chose his own ways, even though he had heard. With all of this drama unfolding around Him, Fulfillment of grace was still first in His mind; For He would return, having conquered the darkness, Return for those masses, which once had been blind. We are those masses He died for that day, As He hung on that cross, and the day turned to night, Now the question remains to ask of yourself, Which cross do you hang on, the left or the right? Joy Kelly ( joykelly@pdq.net ) The Woodlands, Texas Copyright 2001 The Best Mathematical Equation The best mathematical equation ever seen: 1 cross + 3 nails ------------------ 4 given That's the whole gospel message simply stated. The song is "Ballad of the Cross." (back) (home)
you can control the music by clicking on the above console OR click on the following link to learn more about controlling music/sound <sound>
Palm Sunday - 2005
True Sacrifice (back)
No ordinary man
took our sins away,
no ordinary man
hung on the cross that day.
It wasn't us sinners
who took the blame,
it wasn't us sinners
who bore the shame.
Our Savior died for
our sins that day.
Jesus endured the pain,
that gave us a way.
Rising, He gave us the way
to a new life everlasting
Through Him it's there
for the asking.
How can we give
any less than our all,
when God promises to be there
every time we call.
Our Lord promises
never to leave or forsake.
A mustard seed of faith
is all it will take.
Jesus died so that
we might live.
He gave more than we
will ever be able to give.
Jesus paid
a price that day,
one that we will never
be able to repay.
His final words that day,
"Father, forgive them..."
How can we not
give our lives to Him?
Jesus is the One
that paid the price,
that we might live eternally
in paradise.
Oh, Father, up in heaven,
We have wandered far away
From Jesus Christ, Our Savior,
Who arose on Easter Day...
And the promise of salvation
That God gave us when Christ died
We have often vaguely questioned,
Even doubted and denied...
We've forgotten why You sent us
Jesus Christ Your Only Son,
And in arrogance and ignorance -
It's Our Will, not Thine, Be Done...
Oh, shed Thy Light upon us
As Easter dawns this year,
And may we feel the Presence
Of the Risen Savior near...
And, God, in Thy great wisdom,
Lead us in the way that's right,
And may the darkness of this world
Be conquered by "Thy Light."
Helen Steiner Rice
Who Was that Man?
When Jesus Christ enters the New Testament in the book of Mark, the author seems intent on painting a similar scene. One came. He was the Son of God. Isaiah had prophesied about him hundreds of years earlier. He was the Christ, the Messiah. He came on schedule, just in time to be introduced by John the Baptist. Yet, he was foreign--inexplicably unfamiliar. Though they crowded around him, the people of Israel could not recognize that Jesus of Nazareth was the one for whom they had waited.
They were amazed by his teaching, but baffled by his seeming sense of authority. “What is this?” they asked (Mark 1:27).
Though they sought his healing, they chastised him for his attitude. “Why does this fellow talk like that?” (Mark 2:8).
His mother and brothers sought to make excuses for his behavior. “He is out of his mind,” they said (Mark 3:21).
His enemies, unable to explain his power, reasoned, “‘He is possessed by Beelzebub!’ By the Prince of demons he is driving out demons” (Mark 3:21).
His closest friends left all they had to follow him (Mark 1:18, Mark 2:14). They received private tutoring (Mark 4:34) in his presence. Yet they, too, sat on a stilled sea, sharing bewildered glances and whispering among themselves: “Who is this?” (Mark 4:41).
Mark shows us Jesus’ bumbling apprentices who never truly grasp the significance of the one they followed. Though Peter proclaims “You are the Christ!” (Mark 9:29) he just as quickly pulls the Lord aside to rebuke him for teaching about the upcoming crucifixion (Mark 9:32). At the story’s end, the women are sent to the disciples, “trembling and bewildered,” messengers of a risen Christ (Mark 16:8 ).
Only the demons are convinced of his identity. “I know who you are--the Holy One of God,” cries the evil spirit (Mark 1:24). When the testimonies of these spirits have become an issue of concern, Jesus gives them “strict orders” that they should not tell anyone his identity (Mark 1:34; Mark 3:12). Yet they will not be contained: “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” Legion shouts (Mark 5:7).
With so many demons testifying to his identity, no wonder his adversaries rush to condemn his efforts as the work of Satan. Jesus did not seem to fit within the confines of the established Jewish religion. His message was fresh and new. Any truly religious person knows that God never changes. Something was wrong. In their pride, they chose to condemn truth rather than question their own understanding. This Jesus could not be their Messiah!
The testimonies concerning Jesus did not make sense. The blind man Bartimaes shouts, “Son of David!” but no one listens to blind men (Mark 10). At Jesus’ baptism, God spoke himself: “You are my son,” but wasn’t that impossible? Near the foot of the cross, the Roman centurion (Mark 15:39) watched Jesus die and testified: “Surely this man was the Son of God!” But he, after all, was a foreigner and who can trust a heathen. With such “poor” witnesses, how could anyone have been expected to understand?
In the two thousand years since that time, not much has changed. Like those in Jesus’ day, too many of us, knowing what we know, fail to question our own understanding. We are afraid to back up far enough to evaluate the story of Jesus holistically, to seek the truth anew as it relates to our lives. Too often, when life challenges us to do such introspection, we refuse. When we hear his message fresh and new, we are tempted to disapprove of this messenger just as they did. He is a friend of sinners, an associate of the outcast, and definitely a “non Christian.”
We too can gather around Jesus expecting to see his glory, to receive his blessings, to sit near his side. But long ago most of us determined where he belongs in our lives. There is no room for questions, let alone new answers, new ideas, new insights--it might require a change in things, in us. We can become like the people of Nazareth who knew him too well: “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?”
Some of us have become so saturated in Jesus knowledge that there remains no room for amazement. The story is old and well-known. Like a worn family anecdote, the tale has grown old and lost its novelty. So be careful reading Mark’s story of Jesus. We tend to be critical of the disciples’ slowness because it is so evident. But surely Mark intended us to take note of this. But for what reason? So that we might feel good that we, almost 2000 years later, can see through the plot? Is there not a sense in which we are to be shamed over them? Is it possible that the disciples and Jesus’ mother and brothers, in their disbelief, were more noble than many of us? At least they continued to ask questions. Jesus was awesome in the strictest meaning of the word. Whatever may be argued concerning their lack of faith, no one can argue that they failed to recognize his distinctiveness. They recognized that his message was foreign. No one missed that point.
Shouldn’t we reopen the story, read it again, and experience the awe? Or have we grown beyond the experience? Can’t we be honest? Shouldn’t the story leave us with similar wonder? Why not pick up Mark’s story of Jesus and meet him again for the first time. Having heard the message and accepted its truth, shouldn’t we still turn to one another in wonder and ask: “Who was that man?”
The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday . . .
There is a bit of this type of tension in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Mark 11. For the first time, Jesus seems to be ready to “go public” with his rightful position. For three years he had wandered the countryside of Galilee, teaching and preaching. Yet, with almost every major miracle, he had issued the warning that what he had done was not for publication. With every bold confession of faith, he had warned the believers to keep silent. The entry, therefore, adds a well-placed exclamation point to his teaching. The cadence with which he approaches Jerusalem only one week before his death is to the beat of a different drum.
That descent into Jerusalem was not a simple man’s meek statement of humility. It was not the entrance of one bent on maintaining the peace. Rather, Jesus had come to Jerusalem to disturb the peace. When he entered Jerusalem that day, he did so as the King, playing directly (and intentionally) into the hands of his accusers, the expectations of his disciples, and the excited tenor of the people. Zechariah 9:9 had predicted the day:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah’s predicted monarch was not for Israel alone. This King would rule from “sea to sea” (Zecharaiah 9:10). Israel had waited long, in constant expectation, for the fulfillment of this vision. Surely, then, the symbolic message of Jesus’ coming that day could not be missed. Jesus was King; His intent was to rule; His purpose was to reign. He exercised power over all the world and all people. There would be no king before Him.
No wonder, then, that the simple entry escalated into such a frenzy. The people rolled out the red carpet—a road paved with cloaks and palm branches. They cheered and shouted to their new-found king for delivery from oppression: “Hosanna!” (literally “Save!”), they shouted.
For those who looked on or participated, the acknowledgment of authority was clear. Unlike Luke and John, who mention the Pharisees’ ire, Mark lets the picture of authority stand unchallenged.
Yet, it is fair to say that regardless of one’s reaction, everyone saw what they wanted to see. Therefore, the spectacle of the day tended to further solidify beliefs and draw lines in the sand. Some in the crowd, including the disciples themselves, had waited for this definitive declaration of power. The event bolstered their position that Jesus was king. Their master, the one they had given up everything to follow, was about to claim victory. They must have felt triumphant! Others, seeking the thrill of being in the presence of an up-and-coming personality, were not disappointed. And those who suspected him as a tyrant could only marvel at his audacity.
His entry had roused the interests of a city, but his intent was not yet clear. Though he had indeed come to rule all the world, it was not Rome he had come to wrestle from power. His immediate destination testified to that. He went to the temple (Mark 11:9). Later the next day, he returned there again, an angry landlord inspecting damaged property. “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,” he quoted (Isaiah 56:7), “but you have made it ‘a den of robbers’” (Jeremiah 7:11).
Jesus’ word choice makes clear his emphasis. “My house.” “All nations.” “But you...” If he possessed the temple of God, he could clearly judge its use. The King of all nations had arrived in Jerusalem to represent all his constituents. The temple had been designed to signify God’s place and rule over the world. When Jesus overturned the tables and ran the merchandisers from the temple, he was claiming the authority to act as the landlord. He was also declaring an adversary that was out of line. He had come to restore the kingdom they had destroyed.
His authority, of course, was under question. “By what authority are you doing these things,” they asked (11:28)? Though he refused to answer directly (11:33), he told them a parable (12:1f). In the parable, a landlord had sent his son to collect the harvest from his tenants. Recognizing the son as the heir, they had not only refused to pay, they also killed him in order to claim the vineyard as their own. To misuse the gift(s) of God is to steal what is rightfully his. These men were imposters. They had no power. Jesus was claiming it all.
His challengers did not miss the meaning. Instead, “they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them” (12:12). Mark’s readers do not miss the meaning here either. The scene is packed with dramatic irony and foreshadowing. Just as Jesus claims his rightful position, the reader recognizes that a dark day approaches. The conflict is building. The climax of the story soon will arrive. The gauntlet has been thrown down. The enemy has been accused.
We, like the Pharisees, should guard our hearts. We must remember whose we are. Jesus will return one day to reclaim his temple. He will be coming to inspect our hearts.
Easter - 2005 (back)
Do You Really Believe in Easter?
Many people believe in God. Adults eventually get to the place where it seems logical that life is about something more than being born, living and dying. They believe in God or at least a higher power and may call their deity by one of dozens of names. About 90 percent of North Americans say they believe there is a God. About 56 percent of the world--Muslims, Jewish, and Christian--share belief in a common God.
Religion is more in the news today than it has ever been in my lifetime. Once confined to the ghettos of the Saturday "religion" page in the newspaper or the "God" hours on Sunday morning radio and TV, stories where religion is a key player infiltrate the nightly news, the front page, and the lead story on a radio broadcast. The annual religious holidays of various faiths--like Passover, Ramadan, Easter--are presented in (mostly) good taste and with respect. So at least maybe information is getting out there: information without preaching, persuasion, or an attempt to proselytize.
But this kind of religion is cold and sterile. It lacks feeling. It lacks the drama and reverence of being in the midst of 500 men all bowing toward Mecca five times a day. It lacks the emotion of a family gathering before Sabbath and hearing the familiar words of blessing chanted by the father as candles are lit. It lacks the mingling of joy and empathy as a new Christian convert emerges from the waters of baptism in a serene mountain lake.
Each religion has positive things about it, and to its adherents, benefits that put it over other religions. Hindus point to the fact that their religion isn't based on a specific single leader or charismatic figure like Christians, Muslims, or Buddhists have. Muslims look at Christians' belief in the Trinity (three aspects of God in one) and say Christians are not monotheistic.
And so to be a believer is to take one's faith so seriously that you believe it represents the way to find God and true happiness. But many people, even those who consider themselves Christian, have trouble believing everything about Jesus and his resurrection from the dead. And this of course is what the Easter celebration is all about.
At Easter, we remember a God who is available in a relationship with us. No other faith that I know of quite offers that kind of opportunity. At the heart of Christianity is a claim that God loved us so much that God came to earth through Jesus, went through temptations just like humans, and ultimately died a terrible death. Jesus was more than a prophet or a great teacher, he was God and the Christian faith offers the teaching that faith is first of all a personal, intimate relationship with the God of the universe.
But there is something in the modern mind that doesn't want to limit God. That is because so much damage has been done in times past by people preaching that their way is the only way. Today we have a new form of an old heresy-syncretism, which says that one religion is as good as the next. Christianity does say there is truth and ethical wisdom in all cultures, but at the heart of Christianity is a claim that is different: that God took on the realities of time and place, living on the earth, in the form of Jesus.
To believe in God or to be a Christian and not believe in the resurrection of Jesus renders that faith pretty dead and useless. It is not worth practicing. If Jesus is not who he claimed to be, then you have just another religion with a dead leader. But if you believe the indicators that miraculously, Jesus does still live in another form, then there is cause to have serene happiness and peace, even in the midst of suffering, because no matter what happens, you too will have life beyond this body on earth.
That doesn't mean you have to preach that your religion is better than others, or that others are going to "hell." But we should attempt to live the love and forgiveness that Jesus taught in such a way that others see the love, peace and happiness and want to have that assurance and security also. How often we fail! God, as the supreme intelligence of the universe and as one far beyond our scrawny imagination, is able to solve the difficult issues regarding "is there more than one way to God?" and "how will God handle those who don't believe?"
So, you can have the best celebration possible this Easter no matter what your current frame of mind: Jesus lives, and we will too.
Contributed by Melodie Davis from her weekly column ANOTHER WAY
(http://www.thirdway.com/aw/awmain.shtml) or email at: Melodie@mennomedia.org
Every Day Is Easter
"Easter comes but once a year,"
So many people say,
But, to a person saved from sin,
It's Easter every day!
A man, when saved or "born again"
His life, to Christ, will give,
And, as a new-born babe in Christ,
He's just begun to live.
"I am the resurrection, life,"
The Savior, one day, said;
“And he, believing in my word,
Shall live, though he be dead."
And that well known Apostle,
Paul, in Philippi made plain;
"For me to live is Jesus Christ,
For me to die is gain."
So when the Blood of Christ,
our Lord, Redeems a soul from sin;
Every day is Easter,
For Jesus lives within!
THE BEST NEWS THE WORLD EVER HAD
CAME FROM A GRAVEYARD NEAR JERUSALEM!
March Bonus (back)
The Vision from the Cross
The shadow of the cross was spread out below Him, Its arms stretching out…north, south, east, and west, As if trying to embrace the world in entirety, Encompassing all, in His grace, at His rest.
As His eyes traveled down on the masses that day, Drawn to witness His death, most with pleasure, He could see past their outward appearance of evil, And sacrifice all for the sake of the treasure.
The treasure He saw on that violent hillside, Was the vision first born on the dawn of creation, That man would be joined in a covenant union, With the Godhead, together, the birth of a nation.
As He looked to His right, He witnessed repentance, Brought forth in the heart of a once-hardened soul, And He knew that His mission was finally completed; For all generations, He accomplished His goal.
Then He looked to His left, and He grimaced with pain, At the heart made of stone that rejected His Word; For him there would be no room in His kingdom, He chose his own ways, even though he had heard.
With all of this drama unfolding around Him, Fulfillment of grace was still first in His mind; For He would return, having conquered the darkness, Return for those masses, which once had been blind.
We are those masses He died for that day, As He hung on that cross, and the day turned to night, Now the question remains to ask of yourself, Which cross do you hang on, the left or the right?
Joy Kelly ( joykelly@pdq.net ) The Woodlands, Texas Copyright 2001
The Best Mathematical Equation
The best mathematical equation ever seen:
1 cross
+ 3 nails ------------------ 4 given
That's the whole gospel message simply stated.
The song is "Ballad of the Cross."
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