Apr. 19, 2014

Luke 23:55-56

The woman who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

It’s Holy Saturday. We’ve tasted the Holy Communion. We’ve heard the hammer pound the nails. We’ve watched the Roman soldiers role dice. We heard Jesus’ last words. Finally, a violent storm. And now we wait.

This Holy Week, I’ve been able to participate in a variety of services. For the first time in many years, I was able to take in some services which I didn’t have to organize. As much as I love planning Holy Week, it is nice to see how other folks interpret the events.

At one service, it ended with a man portraying Luke and something like this: “The story has been given to us. What are you going to do with the story?” He’s right. We have heard the story many, many times. The Bible provides lots and lots of witnesses. Do we choose to believe? And if we believe, does the story change how we live our lives?

Even the thief changed how he lived his life in his last moments. One thief continued to be arrogant. The other thief chose humbleness and humility. Jesus promised him a great reward.

I pray we don’t have to wait until the last moments of our lives to recognize the need for change in how we live and the choices we make. I am confident God can allow many, many good things to happen in our lives … if we are humble enough and accept a role of humility to let this be our chosen path.

When the UW-Madison men’s basketball team made it to the Final Four, a sports reporter asked Frank Kaminski, the UW’s 7” center, to describe his team in two words. He chose, “White boys.” Rick and I got a huge chuckle out of this.

Pick two words to describe the events of Holy Week. Right now. Pause and write them down before reading any further. OK. Look at your words again. Cement them into your brain and heart. In your heart of hearts, this is what you believe the Easter story is about. Pray these words to God, over and over, thank God for these two words.

Now, here are my words: God’s love.

Lord God – thank you for your amazing love. Thank you for all the minute details of this story and how each one helps us get a wider picture into who are and the great depth of love you have for us. As we wait tonight, grant us patience to see your love.  Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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