#Mary Magdalene Weeping over the Body of the Dead Christ

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Arnold Böcklin - Mary Magdalene Weeping over the Body of the Dead Christ, 1867.

Siimilar > 1 | 2

[finnismyoriginalsin]

Chapter 5: Show me that Bloody Black Horizon

It was simple enough, at least she kept saying that to herself.

Using the coffin lid, she heaved him up under his shoulders and slowly pried him from the coffins grasp and slid him onto the lid.

Though he was mostly emaciated, decaying clothes starting to fall off as she got him onto the lid, like a life raft, her arms shook with the dead weight.

She dragged the lid to her car, sparks flew from the alloy light metal used for the lid, muscles straining as she then pulled his body up into the car, and laid him down in the back seat.

Then dragged the coffin lid back and put it back on top, as if nothing had ever happened. She didn't question the newness of the coffin, or it's almost lighter than air material, or the fact that it must of been the magic in place that kept it so secure when she'd had to pry the damn thing off in the first place.

------

The house was dark, a large candle and the moonlight from her window all she had to work with. She rightly figured he would not appreciate the brightness of a bulb, being in the dark for so long, before his eyes could adjust.

The bathtub would have been more practical to do this, but a bed was at least more familiar surroundings. Again, more comfortable, more cozy, more safe her mind reasoned. She had put down towels on the mattress, not knowing what would happen, though it hadn't been particularly messy with Elijah, though better to be safe.

She had a bowl of warm water, wash cloth in hand as she slowly wiped the dust from his face.

When finished she took in the handsome features of his face; the delicate cheek bones, the aquiline nose, the dry parched lips...she'd soon make rosy and new.

This man could've been a prince...or a pirate considering his longer hair and clothing from the time period, at least as much was left.

She had covered him with a blanket for modesty's sake. She also didn't know if he'd be cold.

His hair could be washed later, but she slowly combed it out, away from his face. Tangles becoming waves of thick chestnut colored hair.

She lowered the blanket and continued with the wet wash cloth over his neck and chest. She blushed when she caught herself ogling his chest, which she knew would fill out.

Leaving the blanket on his hips, she swears she did not peek, she slowly washes his legs and feet. The intimacy of the act, and remembering reading about how Mary Magdalene had supposedly washed Christs feet, a fleeting thought in her mostly religionless childhood...she had stopped believing when her parents had died.

Once sufficiently dry, she brought the cover back up, her hands straying to briefly touch the planes of his chest. She took a hitching breath just looking at him.

Her breath caught, as she stared in awe of this man. If she had still believed, she might have thought he looked like he could be a fallen Angel, moonlight casting through her bedroom window gave his skin an almost ethereal glow.

He was nothing like Elijah. He was David carved from marble. Davinci would weep to see such exquisite beauty. She could not take her eyes off him.

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she finally came to the decision that it was time to pull the dagger out. She could stall no longer.

-------

Hands once again wrapped around the hilt of the dagger, blood bag ready, water if he was thirsty at hand.

The minute she started to pull the hilt she could feel a shift in the air of the room. Whispering voices echoed in her mind: yes, free him, teach him, and most damning of all...seduce him and be bound as one.

She heard the definite sound of his ribcage cracking as she attempted to pull the dagger out, a pounding headache behind her eyes made her feel nauseous as the voices switched to a different language and chattered on, she barely managed to pull the dagger free and put it on the night stand...before fainting right on top of him.

@vicioux, @katherineholmes, @ryoryeonggu, @lovesomehate, @sevensistersofsussex, @kaizsche, @papatundespainknife, @victoriahughes, @matt-murdick, @livlepretre, @vasilisarheadragomir, @qvnthesia

We bout to get diiirrttyy xtina style soon 😈

[milatherese]

Prayer to St. Mary Magdalene and Our Lord

(by St. Anselm)

St. Mary Magdalene, thou didst come with springing tears to the spring of mercy, Christ; from Him thy burning thirst was abundantly refreshed, through Him thy sins were forgiven; by Him thy bitter sorrow was consoled.

My dearest lady, well thou knowest by thine own life how a sinful soul can be reconciled with its creator, what counsel a soul in misery needs, what medicine will restore the sick to health. It is enough for us to understand, dear friend of God, to whom were many sins forgiven, because she loved much. Most blessed lady, I who am the most evil and sinful of men do not recall thy sins as a reproach, but call upon the boundless mercy by which they were blotted out. This is my reassurance, so that I do not despair; this is my longing, so that I shall not perish.

I say this of myself, miserably cast down into the depths of vice, bowed down with the weight of crimes, thrust down by my own hand into a dark prison of sins, wrapped round with the shadows of darkness. Therefore, since thou art now with the chosen because thou art beloved and are beloved because thou art chosen of God, I, in my misery, pray to thee in bliss; in my darkness, I ask for light; in my sins, redemption; impure, I ask for purity. Recall in loving kindness what thou used to be, how much thou didst need mercy, and seek for me that same forgiving love that thou didst receive when thou wert wanting it. Ask urgently that I may have the love that pierces the heart; tears that are humble; desire for the homeland of Heaven; impatience with this earthly exile; searing repentance; and a dread of torments in eternity. Turn to my good that ready access that thou once didst have and still doth have to the spring of mercy. Draw me to Him where I may wash away my sins; bring me to Him Who can slake my thirst; pour over me those waters that will make my dry places fresh. Thou wilt not find it hard to gain all thou doth desire from so loving and so kind a Lord, Who is alive and reigns and is thy friend. For who can tell, beloved and blest of God, with what kind familiarity and familiar kindness He Himself didst reply on thy behalf to the calumnies of those who were against thee? How He didst defend thee, when the proud Pharisee was indignant, how He didst excuse thee, when thy sister didst complain, how highly He didst praise thy deed, when Judas didst begrudge it.

And, more than all this, what can I say, how can I find words to tell, about the burning love with which thou didst seek Him, weeping at the sepulchre, and wept for Him in thy seeking?

How He cameth, who can say how or with what kindness, to comfort thee, and madest thee burn with love still more; how He didst hide from thee when thou didst want to see Him, and showed Himself when thou didst not think to see Him; how He was there all the time thou didst seek Him, and how He didst seek thee when, seeking Him, thou didst weep.

But Thou, most holy Lord, why didst Thou ask her why she weeps?

Surely Thou canst see her heart, the dear life of her soul, is cruelly slain.

O love to be wondered at; O evil to be shuddered at;

Thou didst hang on the wood, pierced by iron nails, stretched out like a thief for the mockery of wicked men; and yet, 'Woman,' Thou didst say, 'why art thou weeping?' She had not been able to prevent them from killing Thee, but at least she longed to keep Thy Body for a while with ointments lest it decay.

No longer able to speak with Thee living, at least she could mourn for Thee dead. So, near to death and hating her own life, she repeats in broken tones the words of life which she had heard from the living.

And now, besides all this, even the Body which she was glad, in a way, to have kept, she believes to have gone. And can Thou asketh her, 'Woman, why art thou weeping?' Had she not reason to weep? For she had seen with her own eyes---if she could bear to look---what cruel men cruelly did to Thee; and now all that was left of Thee from their hands she thinks she has lost. All hope of Thee has fled, for now she has not even Thy lifeless Body to remind her of Thee.

And someone asks, 'Who art thou looking for? Why art thou weeping?'

Thou, her sole joy, should be the last thus to increase her sorrow. But Thou knowest it all well, and thus Thou didst wish it to be, for only in such broken words and sighs can she convey a cause of grief as great as hers. The love Thou hast inspired Thou didst not ignore. And indeed Thou knowest her well, the gardener, Who planted her soul in His garden. What Thou plantest, I think Thou doth also water.

Does Thou water, I wonder, or does Thou test her? In fact, Thou art both watering and putting to the test. But now, good Lord, gentle Master, look upon Thy faithful servant and disciple, so lately redeemed by Thy Blood, and see how she burneth with anxiety, desiring Thee, searching all round, questioning, and what she longest for is nowhere found.

Nothing she seest canst satisfy her, since Thou Whom alone she wouldst behold, she seest not. What then?

How long will my Lord leave His beloved to suffer thus? Have Thou put off compassion now Thou hast put on incorruption? Did Thou let go of goodness when Thou didst lay hold of immortality? Let it not be so, Lord.

Thou will not despise us mortals now Thou hast made Thyself immortal, for Thou didst make Thyself a mortal in order to give us immortality.And so it is; for love's sake He canst not bear her grief for long or go on hiding Himself. For the sweetness of love He showeth Himself Who would not for the bitterness of tears. The Lord calls His servant by the name she hast often heard and the servant doth know the voice of her own Lord.

I think, or rather I am sure, that she responded to the gentle tone with which He wat accustomed to call, 'Mary'. What joy filled that voice, so gentle and full of love. He could not have put it more simply and clearly:

'I know who thou art and what thou wanteth; behold Me; do not weep, behold Me; I am He Whom Thou seekest.' At once the tears are changed; I do not believe that they stopped at once, but where once they were wrung from a heart broken and self-tormenting they flow now from a heart exulting. How different is, 'Master!' from 'If thou hast taken Him away, tell me'; and, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him,' has a very different sound from, 'I have seen the Lord, and He hast spoken to me.'

But how should I, in misery and without love, dare to describe the love of God and the blessed friend of God? Such a flavour of goodness will make my heart sick if it has in itself nothing of that same virtue.

But in truth, Thou Who art very truth, Thou knowest me well and canst testify that I write this for the love of Thy love, my Lord, my most dear Jesus.

I want Thy love to burn in me as Thou commandest so that I may desire to love Thee alone and sacrifice to Thee a troubled spirit, 'a broken and a contrite heart'.

Give me, O Lord, in this exile, the bread of tears and sorrow for which I hunger more than for any choice delights.

Hear me, for Thy love, and for the dear merits of Thy beloved Mary, and Thy blessed Mother, the greater Mary.

Redeemer, my good Jesus, do not despise the prayers of one who hast sinned against Thee but strengthen the efforts of a weakling that loves Thee.

Shakest my heart out of its indolence, Lord, and in the ardour of Thy love bringest me to the everlasting sight of Thy glory where with the Father and the Holy Spirit Thou livest and reignest, God, for ever. Amen.

[hieromonkcharbel]

Prayer to St Mary Magdalene (Feast July 22nd)

by St. Anselm

St. Mary Magdalene, you came with springing tears to the spring of mercy, Christ; from Him your burning thirst was abundantly refreshed through Him your sins were forgiven; by Him your bitter sorrow was consoled.

My dearest lady, well you know by your own life how a sinful soul can be reconciled with its Creator, what counsel a soul in misery needs, what medicine will restore the sick to health. It is enough for us to understand, dear friend of God, to whom were many sins forgiven, because she loved much.

Most blessed lady, I who am the most evil and sinful of men do not recall your sins as a reproach, but call upon the boundless mercy by which they were blotted out. This is my reassurance, so that I do not despair; this is my longing, so that I shall not perish.

I say this of myself, miserably cast down into the depths of vice, bowed down with the weight of crimes, thrust down by my own hand into a dark prison of sins, wrapped round with the shadows of darkness.

Therefore, since you are now with the chosen because you are beloved and are beloved because you are chosen of God, I, in my misery, pray to you, in bliss; in my darkness, I ask for light; in my sins, redemption; impure, I ask for purity.

Recall in loving kindness what you used to be, how much you needed mercy, and seek for me that same forgiving love that you received when you were wanting it. Ask urgently that I may have the love that pierces the heart; tears that are humble; desire for the homeland of heaven; impatience with this earthly exile; searing repentance; and a dread of torments in eternity.

Turn to my good that ready access that you once had and still have to the spring of mercy.

Draw me to him where I may wash away my sins; bring me to him who can slake my thirst; pour over me those waters that will make my dry places fresh. You will not find it hard to gain all you desire from so loving and so kind a Lord, who is alive and reigns and is your friend.

For who can tell, beloved and blest of God, with what kind familiarity and familiar kindness he himself replied on your behalf to the calumnies of those who were against you? How He defended you, when the proud Pharisee was indignant, how He excused you, when your sister complained, how highly He praised your deed, when Judas begrudged it.

And, more than all this, what can I say, how can I find words to tell, about the burning love with which you sought him, weeping at the sepulchre, and wept for Him in your seeking?

How He came, who can say how or with what kindness, to comfort you, and made you burn with love still more; how He hid from you when you wanted to see Him, and showed Himself when you did not think to see Him; how He was there all the time you sought Him, and how He sought you when, seeking Him, you wept.

But you, most holy Lord, why do You ask her why she weeps? Surely You can see; her heart, the dear life of her soul, is cruelly slain. O love to be wondered at; O evil to be shuddered at! You hung on the wood, pierced by iron nails, stretched out like a thief for the mockery of wicked men; and yet, "Woman," You say, "why are you weeping?" She had not been able to prevent them from killing You, but at least she longed to keep Your Body for a while with ointments lest it decay. No longer able to speak with You living, at least she could mourn for You dead. So, near to death and hating her own life, she repeats in broken tones the words of life which she had heard from the living.

And now, besides all this, even the Body which she was glad, in a way, to have kept, she believes to have gone. And can You ask her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" Had she not reason to weep? For she had seen with her own eyes -- if she could bear to look -- what cruel men cruelly did to You; and now all that was left of You from their hands she thinks she has lost. All hope of You has fled, for now she has not even Your lifeless Body to remind her of You.

And someone asks, "Who are you looking for? Why are you weeping?"

You, her sole joy, should be the last thus to increase her sorrow. But You know it all well, and thus you wish it to be, for only in such broken words and sighs can she convey a cause of grief as great as hers. The love You have inspired You do not ignore,

And indeed You know her well, the Gardener, who planted her soul in His garden. What You plant, I think You also water. Do You water, I wonder, or do You test her? In fact, You are both watering and putting to the test.

But now, good Lord, gentle Master, look upon your faithful servant and disciple, so lately redeemed by Your Blood, and see how she burns with anxiety, desiring You, searching all round, questioning, and what she longs for is nowhere found. Nothing she sees can satisfy her, since You whom alone she would behold, she sees not.

What then? How long will my Lord leave his beloved to suffer thus? Have You put off compassion now You have put on incorruption? Did You let go of goodness when you laid hold of immortality?

Let it not be so, Lord. You will not despise us mortals now You have made Yourself immortal, for You made yourself a mortal in order to give us immortality.

And so it is; for love's sake He cannot bear her grief for long or go on hiding Himself. For the sweetness of love He shows Himself who would not for the bitterness of tears.

The Lord calls His servant by the name she has often heard and the servant knows the voice of her own Lord. I think, or rather I am sure, that she responded to the gentle tone with which He was accustomed to call, "Mary." What joy filled that voice, so gentle and full of love. He could not have put it more simply and clearly:

"I know who you are and what you want; behold Me; do not weep, behold Me; I am He whom you seek."

At once the tears are changed; I do not believe that they stopped at once, but where once they were wrung from a heart broken and self-tormenting they flow now from a heart exulting. How different is, "Master!" from "If you have taken Him away, tell me"; and, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him," has a very different sound from, "I have seen the Lord, and he has spoken to me."

But how should I, in misery and without love, dare to describe the love of God and the blessed friend of God? Such a flavour of goodness will make my heart sick if it has in itself nothing of that same virtue. But in truth, You who are very Truth, You know me well and can testify that I write this for the love of Your love, my Lord, my most dear Jesus. I want Your love to burn in me as You command so that I may desire to love You alone and sacrifice to You a troubled spirit, "a broken and a contrite heart."

Give me, O Lord, in this exile, the bread of tears and sorrow for which I hunger more than for any choice delights. Hear me, for Your love, and for the dear merits of your beloved Mary, and Your blessed Mother, the greater Mary. Redeemer, my good Jesus, do not despise the prayers of one who has sinned against You but strengthen the efforts of a weakling that loves You. Shake my heart out of its indolence, Lord, and in the ardour of Your love bring me to the everlasting sight of Your glory where with the Father and the Holy Spirit You live and reign, God, for ever. Amen.

[traumacatholic]

The Chaplet of St. Mary Magdalene consists of prayers and petitions to this great patron saint of Christian converts and penitent sinners.

"CHAPLET OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE" Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, help me to recognize my sins so that I may seek forgiveness and that I too may be exorcised by Him. Pray for me so that I too may be closer to Jesus and love him as my Divine Savior. Pray for (mention your petition here) so that they too may see our Lord Jesus Christ and seek forgiveness for their sins so that they too may always seek the Lord and follow him. Help us to persevere to the end so that we will be saved.

Act of Contrition... Our Father... Hail Mary...

[Chaplet Bead #1] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, Our Lord cured you of evil spirits and ailments. Pray that we may be delivered from evil.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

[Chaplet Bead #2] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, Our Lord forgave you for all of your sins. Pray that we may truly seek forgiveness for our sins.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus... ​ [Chaplet Bead #3] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, you were so filled with sorrow and remorse over your sins that you anointed Christ's feet with perfumed oil. Pray that our remorse for our sins may be a sweet fragrance to our Lord.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

[Chaplet Bead #4] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, you wept at the foot of Christ and your tears fell upon his feet. You kissed and wiped his feet with your hair. Pray that our tears of sorrow will fall upon the feet of Jesus and that Our Lord will wipe away our sins.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

[Chaplet Bead #5] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, you stood at the foot of the cross and saw Our Lord Jesus Christ being crucified to his death. Pray that we may recognize and witness to others that Jesus did this for us.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

[Chaplet Bead #6] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, you saw his lifeless body taken from the cross and placed in his mother's arms. Pray that Our Blessed Mother will hold us at the hour of death in her arms.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

​[Chaplet Bead #7] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, you saw him being placed in the tomb. When we die, pray that we may be buried on sanctified ground.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

[Chaplet Bead #8] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, when you went back to the tomb and did not find the Lord's body, you thought it had been taken away. Pray that our souls are not taken to hell.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

[Chaplet Bead #9] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, you stood outside the tomb weeping. Pray for our family, relatives, and loved ones so that they may be consoled and comforted when we die.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

[Chaplet Bead #10] Saint Mary Magdalen, friend, and follower of Jesus, upon seeing Our Risen Lord from the dead, you were overwhelmed and filled with joy. Pray that we too may see the Risen Lord and that our final resting place will be in Heaven with God the Father.

Lord, help me to examine my conscience as I pray. O my Jesus...

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because I have offended Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.

[lawrenceop]

Holy Land Retrospective - Day 7

Reminder: clicking on the link for each photo (links are all in red text) will take you to the Flickr page where you can see the photo in larger sizes.

Start with DAY 1, or flip through DAY 2, DAY 3, DAY 4, DAY 5, or DAY 6. Or just read on!

THE LORD’S DAY IN JERUSALEM

“Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre.” – Mt 28:1

This was my first Sunday in the Holy City of Jerusalem, and it was the Third Sunday of Easter. So, on this day, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, I went with a very few other pilgrims, to go and see the Holy Sepulchre. 

We were told it opens at 5 a.m. so we left the hotel at 4:30 a.m., and we walked the short distance to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, pausing three times as we went. At each pause, I read one of the Gospel accounts of the first Easter morning, from one of the Synoptic Gospels. 

“And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?"” – Mk 16:2-3

As we walked in silence, I observed the light in the sky, and felt the coolness of the morning air, trying to imagine what those women saw as they went to the tomb with such devotion, with spices to anoint the body of Jesus, hence the question about how they would gain access to the tomb.

“And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body.” – Luke 24:2-3

The forecourt of the church was silent, all was still, and there were only one or two monks around. Inside, the doors of the Holy Sepulchre were closed as the round of Divine Liturgies were already taking place inside. In fact, the vigils and prayers and liturgies from the various Christian groups do not stop inside this church even when the doors are locked. 

PHOTO 31: Pausing for a quick prayer outside the Holy Sepulchre, we continued to this hidden chapel just a stone’s throw from the Empty Tomb of Christ. Standing in this place, I read from the Easter account from the Fourth Gospel:

“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.” – John 20:1-10

Why had we come here? The photo above shows you what we saw. What is it? This is the entrance to a tomb, from the time of Jesus; a 1st-century Jewish grave cut into the rock. Jesus was buried in a tomb like this, and the Empty Tomb itself, now surrounded by the Aedicule, and covered in marble and silver and silk would once have looked very much like this. Indeed, some say that this is the tomb that Joseph of Arimathea made for himself after he had given away his tomb to Jesus. And the stone that would have covered the opening and sealed it is not here; rolled away. 

So, on an Easter morning, I had wanted to trace the footsteps of the holy women, of St Mary Magdalene, and to stand and pray in front of an empty tomb that looked much like what the disciples would have found that first Easter morning. 

“And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; -- it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him.” – Mk 16:4-6

Some of us went into this tomb, others went away in silence to pray by the Holy Sepulchre itself, and I went to the Catholic chapel of St Mary Magdalene, to that area where it is believed that the Risen Lord met Mary:

“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.” – Jn 20:11-18

Then, like the first disciples, having visited the Empty Tomb early that Third Easter Sunday morning in 2019, we went back to our hotel rooms.

PHOTO 32: As we were about to leave the Holy Sepulchre, just by the door leading out to the courtyard, I noticed this. Typically, these stairs are crowded with people making their way up to Calvary, to the site of the Crucifixion. But at this time, early in the morning, it was possible to see these beautiful stones, ancient and worn by countless pilgrims’ feet; elegantly curved and bathed in golden light. 

Seen in the light of Easter, the Cross becomes a sign of hope; a promise of life after death; a doorway in our ascent as pilgrims to eternal life in heaven. 

“We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” – 1 Cor 1:23-25

PHOTO 33: For the rest of the group, after our early rise on Saturday for the Stations of the Cross, this Sunday was to be a more relaxed day. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked along the outside of the walls of Jerusalem to the Lions Gate which opens onto the Muslim Quarter, and leads to the Via Dolorosa. The minaret of the Al-Aqsa mosque, the most important Muslim holy site in Jerusalem, which was built on the Temple Mount, is visible in the background of this photo. 

The focus of this shot, however, are these deep red poppies. One of the things I did not expect in the Holy Land is the variety and colour and size of the flowers growing throughout the land. These wild poppies grew among the graves that surround the external walls of the city; many pious souls of all three religions want to be buried facing Jerusalem. 

In Britain, red poppies like these are always displayed in November, the month of remembrance, and they are a reminder of our soldiers fallen in battle because they grew in abundance in the fields of Flanders where countless soldiers had died in the First World War. Seeing them growing among the graves around Jerusalem reiterated the point, that these flowers are a summons to remember the dead, and the blood that was shed in war. However, the beauty and vibrance of these blood red poppies are also, it seems to me, a sign of the Resurrection, a promise of life after death through the blood of Jesus Christ which he shed for our salvation.

“But you have come to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.” – Heb 12:22-24

PHOTO 34: Going through the Lions Gate, it was a short walk to the church of Saint Anne which, rather unusually, sits on grounds which belongs to the Republic of France. Within these grounds are the substantial ruins of a Byzantine church that stood over some pools of water fed by springs. This is the Pool of Bethesda where, as told in John 5:1-13, Jesus healed a paralytic: “Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, which has five porticoes.” (Jn 5:1) 

At the time of Christ, the Gate nearby wasn’t called Lions Gate but the Sheep Gate since the sheep from the fields outside the city were driven into the city through this gate, and they were led into this area where there was a cattle market next to the pool where the cattle would have drunk. Here, the cattle would be sold for the Temple sacrifices; the Temple Mount is nearby. However, this place of the healing miracle wasn’t our main destination, for right next to this archaeological site was a large 12th-century church.

For the father of Our Lady, St Joachim, was one of these cattle owners, and his home was next to the cattle market by the pool of Bethesda. So, from the earliest days, a Marian church was built over the site of the cave shown in this photo for this is where St Joachim and St Anne had their home. This is the birthplace of Mary! Hence the Gate nearby has another name in Arabic, the Bab Sitti Maryam, ‘Lady Mary’s Gate’.  

The church that stands on this site is the one that survives from the time of the Crusaders who built it in the early Gothic style, and it is renowned for its acoustics. In fact I found it to be not particularly remarkable, not significantly different from the fine acoustics of any stone medieval church since these buildings were made for sung Masses and the sung Divine Office. However, I couldn’t resist joining the choirs singing in this sacred space so I sang the Dominican ‘Regina Caeli’ which one of our pilgrims recorded. 

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia, Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia, Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia, Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia. O Queen of heaven, be joyful, alleluia, For He whom you have humbly borne for us, alleluia, Has arisen, as He promised, alleluia, Offer now our prayer to God, alleluia.

PHOTO 35: From St Anne’s church, it was a short walk, maybe fifteen minutes, to the Temple Mount, or at least to the site of the Wailing Wall. As it was a Sunday, it wasn’t as busy as it might have been, but there were many families present and celebrating the bar mitzvah of their sons; teenage boys nervously (and even in tears) chanting from the Torah for the first time as their proud parents looked on encouragingly. Jewish cantors led processions to the Western Wall, singing and banging drums, and playing instruments while a canopy was held over the boy at the centre of all this attention as he had reached the age of moral maturity. There’s a video somewhere of my group getting caught up in one such procession, and an enthusiastic cantor grabbed me by the hand and led us in a dance on the street!

I was very moved by these sights and sounds and by these celebrations, and moved to be at the foot of the Temple Mount, at this ancient place of prayer. In the photo above, we see a man in prayer with phylacteries (or tefillin) wrapped around his arms and on his head. 

Jesus and his family and his disciples knew this place well; it was the focus of their prayer and worship, as it still is for so many Jews. I imagined Jesus, as a boy around the age of these boys, coming to Jerusalem with his family for festal celebrations. I thought of him, aged 12, found here at the Temple, teaching his elders from the Torah. And I recalled that as an adult he was frequently in the Temple, observing the people, teaching them, and engaged in debate with others. He was “at home” here, for this was his Father’s house. 

“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.” – Lk 2:46-50

PHOTO 36: From these ancient places of worship, we went for Sunday Mass in a place of significance for Catholics but which is relatively recent. Built in 1869, and beautifully renovated in 1985, we celebrated the Third Sunday of Easter in the Franciscan church of the Holy Saviour (San Salvatore), which is the parish church for Latin rite Catholics in Jerusalem.  

On that Sunday, we heard this reading proclaiming Jesus as our holy Saviour:

“Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."” – Acts 5:29-32

Indeed, standing here in the Holy Land on this Third Easter Sunday, we are witnesses to these things!  

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

This afternoon, the group was taken to lunch by the Dead Sea, and we spent the rest of the afternoon there relaxing in the water, or by a watering hole, baking in the mud, or riding a camel!

Tomorrow: Carmel and Cana.

[firstpresfp]

Easter Sunday Bulletin 4/12/2020

The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection, Eugène Burnand 1898

Prelude

“This Easter Celebration” to the tune of The Church’s One Foundation

This Easter celebration is not like ones we've known. We pray in isolation, we sing the hymns alone. We're distant from our neighbors — from worship leaders, too. No flowers grace the chancel to set a festive mood. No gathered choirs are singing; no banners lead the way.

O God of love and promise, where's joy this Easter Day? With sanctuaries empty, may homes become the place  we ponder resurrection and celebrate your grace. Our joy won't come from worship that's in a crowded room  but from the news of women who saw the empty tomb.

Our joy comes from disciples who ran with haste to see — who heard that Christ is risen, and then, by grace, believed. In all the grief and suffering, may we remember well: Christ suffered crucifixion and faced the powers of hell. Each Easter bears the promise: Christ rose that glorious day! 

Now nothing in creation can keep your love away. We thank you that on Easter, your church is blessed to be a scattered, faithful body that's doing ministry. In homes and in the places of help and healing, too, we live the Easter message by gladly serving you.

Opening Sentences

Do not be afraid: Jesus is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!  This is the good news by which we are saved: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!  The crucified One is risen from the dead. We are witnesses: Christ is risen indeed! 

Litany for Easter 

Jesus came to deliver us and set us free from anything that holds us back from wholehearted service. From chaos and destruction to construction; from vanity and pride, from oppression and our own selfish ways –

Lord of life, deliver us.

From the valley of dry bones and the furnace of blazing fire, experiences like those of Ezekiel and Daniel,

O Lord of life, deliver us.

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Alleluia! The Lord is risen indeed! 

This is the good news we have received:

Christ came and lived, died and rose again to show us possibilities for the future! 

Alleluia! The Lord is risen indeed! 

Prayers of the People

God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for He is alive and the Lord of life. Increase in us the risen life we can share with Christ and help us to grow as Your people, through Your power – in unity with You, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

Light candle as a symbol that we pray for the Lord to illuminate His work for us again this day. 

Prayer before Scripture

Living God, with joy we celebrate the presence of Your risen Word. Light up our hearts by Your Holy Spirit so that we proclaim the Good News of eternal and abundant life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Scripture John 20: 1-18

The Resurrection of Jesus 20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look[a] into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,[b] “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Message Our Hope and Joy by Pastor Tom

After the message:

Blessed be the Lord, who has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Affirmation of Faith

I Cor. 15:1-6; Mark 16: 1-9; Matthew 16:16; Rev. 22:13; John 20: 28 This is the good news which we received, in which we stand and by which we are saved: That Christ died for our sake according to the Scriptures, That He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, And that He appeared first to the women, Then to Peter and the Twelve, And then to many faithful witnesses. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is our Lord and our God. Amen.  

Prayers of Intercession

Draw near to God, who is good, whose faithful love endures forever.  Let us pray to the Lord, our Savior.

God of salvation, hear us as we come to You. 

Thank you Lord for Your grace and mercy toward Your children.  Thank you for Your power to heal and save. We are grateful beyond words.  Holy God, we pray for:

Those who are sick and suffering.

Lord, hear our prayers.

Holy God, we pray for:  Those who grieve loss of loved ones, Medical personnel and others who work to help and heal, Anyone suffering abuse or discrimination. Those whose livelihood is threatened by business closures. Families learning to live, work and learn together in close quarters Those who have no homes and those who are not safe in their homes. Those who struggle with isolation, loneliness or addiction. Churches seeking to implement new faithful forms of ministry. Wisdom for all those in leadership that You would control every decision and action.

Lord, hear our prayers.

Gracious God, keep us strong, working and praying for the coming of Your holy realm of peace, when we will share abundant life with You; through Jesus Christ our risen Lord. AMEN. 

Together we pray the perfect prayer that Your Son taught us: 

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our sins as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. Deliver us from evil because Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Amen. 

The Offering

Deposit in envelopes if you wish and mail to church at 300 Grand Ave., Fort Payne, AL 35967. Easter Sunday is the Sunday we also give a special offering for the One Great Hour of Sharing. Holy Week is when we traditionally take up special love offering for Christian Cares at P.O. Box 681311, 35968,   Please remember and honor these opportunities to give of your time, talents and treasures. 

Acts 2: 44-46 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds[a] to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home[b] and ate their food with glad and generous[c] hearts,

In the spirit of the first believers, we are called to share our goods in common and contribute to the needs of the poor with glad and generous hearts. 

Let us offer our lives to the Lord. 

Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is truly right and our greatest joy to give God thanks and praise.

Eternal God, creator and ruler of the universe, we praise You that Your glory has dawned on us, and brought us into this Resurrection Day 2020.

We rejoice that the grave could not hold Your Son, that He conquered death, rose to rule over all powers of the earth. We praise You that Jesus Christ summons us to new life, to follow Him with gladness. By Your Spirit, lift us from doubt and despair, and set our feet in Christ’s holy way so that our lives are signs of His life, and all we have may be signs of His life and all we have show Your love. Praise, glory and thanksgiving to You, our God, forever and ever. Amen.  

Therefore we praise You, joining our voices with angels and archangels and with all the faithful of every time and place, who forever sing to the glory of Your name. 

Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come again. 

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! 

Blessing and Charge

May the steadfast love of the Lord be yours, this day and forever. Alleluia! Christ is risen! Do not be afraid.

Share the good news that Christ is risen! 

Christ is risen indeed!  Amen! 

Thanks be to God!

This Easter Celebration

AURELIA 7.6.7.6 D ("The Church's One Foundation")

This Easter celebration is not like ones we've known. We pray in isolation, we sing the hymns alone. We're distant from our neighbors — from worship leaders, too. No flowers grace the chancel to set a festive mood. No gathered choirs are singing; no banners lead the way.

O God of love and promise, where's joy this Easter Day? With sanctuaries empty, may homes become the place we ponder resurrection and celebrate your grace. Our joy won't come from worship that's in a crowded room but from the news of women who saw the empty tomb.

Our joy comes from disciples who ran with haste to see — who heard that Christ is risen, and then, by grace, believed. In all the grief and suffering, may we remember well: Christ suffered crucifixion and faced the powers of hell. Each Easter bears the promise: Christ rose that glorious day!

Now nothing in creation can keep your love away. We thank you that on Easter, your church is blessed to be a scattered, faithful body that's doing ministry. In homes and in the places of help and healing, too, we live the Easter message by gladly serving you.

Tune: Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1864 ("The Church's One Foundation")  (MIDI) Text: Copyright © 2020 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com     New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com/ 

This new hymn is a prayer to be used in Easter 2020 worship services, while most churches are closed and people are remaining in their homes because of the pandemic. It can be used for online worship or in online written communications from a church to its members. Permission is given for free use.

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song; This Cornerstone, this solid Ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My Comforter, my All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save: Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied – For every sin on Him was laid; Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain: Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me, For I am His and He is mine – Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand: Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

23rd April >> Mass Readings (USA)

Easter Tuesday

(Liturgical Colour: White)

First Reading

Acts of the Apostles 2:36–41

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people, “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33:4–5, 18–19, 20, 22

R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

or

R/ Alleluia.

Upright is the word of the Lord,

and all his works are trustworthy.

He loves justice and right;

of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.

R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

or

R/ Alleluia.

See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him,

upon those who hope for his kindness,

To deliver them from death

and preserve them in spite of famine.

R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

or

R/ Alleluia.

Our soul waits for the Lord,

who is our help and our shield.

May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us

who have put our hope in you.

R/ The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

or

R/ Alleluia.

Sequence

Christians, to the Paschal Victim

offer sacrifice and praise.

The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;

and Christ, the undefiled,

hath sinners to his Father reconciled.

Death with life contended:

combat strangely ended!

Life’s own Champion, slain,

yet lives to reign.

Tell us, Mary:

say what thou didst see

upon the way.

The tomb the Living did enclose;

I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!

The angels there attesting;

shroud with grave-clothes resting.

Christ, my hope, has risen:

he goes before you into Galilee.

That Christ is truly risen

from the dead we know.

Victorious king, thy mercy show!

Gospel Acclamation

Psalm 118:24

Alleluia, alleluia.

This is the day the Lord has made;

let us be glad and rejoice in it.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

John 20:11–18

I have seen the Lord, and he said these things to me.

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he had told her.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[buggie-hagen]

Sermon for the Day of Easter (4/21/19)

Primary Text | John 20:1-18

Dear People of God,

       In the resurrection Jesus went from being dead to being alive again. What does that mean? It means that God followed us into the depths of despair, but did not leave us there. As he was raised from the dead, so we are raised to hope. And, this is not just any hope. Typically, when we think about hope we think something along the lines of, “I hope can past this test,” or something like, “I hope that she likes me,” or something like, “I hope that my boss isn’t mad at me.” In these cases, we are using the word hope incorrectly. For when we use it in this way, we mean something more along the lines of “It’s probably not going to happen.” But the hope we have through faith is very different. To thwart our shallow understanding of hope it would be better to put the word certain in front of it. So, we speak of a certain hope. When we think of it this way, it means something like, “I am confident this will work out in my favor.” Jesus’ resurrection gives us cause to this certain hope, that things are going to be okay. That we need not live in our fears anymore.

       Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, St. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. While St. Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved figured out about the resurrection, they forgot to tell Mary about it before they left and went back home. Jerks. So, Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. She was already grieving for her Lord because she watched him suffer cruelty at the hands of people, and she watched as he died on the cross. But her grief was aggravated all the more because she came to Jesus’ tomb and found his body to be gone. Thinking that someone moved his body and didn’t tell her where they put it, she felt even more distressed in her great agony. Think of it this way, you’re at the funeral of someone you deeply love—say your own father, and when you get to the wake your father’s body is not in the coffin and no one knows what happened to it. I think you would be especially grieved. You didn’t even get a chance to say your final goodbye. That feeling is something that Mary Magdalene was going through. She was in despair without a sign of hope.

        Mary stood weeping outside the tomb and as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb. After seeing two angels clad in white—not knowing who they truly were, she was approached by another stranger. The man asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Assuming him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” And now here’s the flashpoint of the story, Jesus said to her, “Mary!” This man was no stranger to her, but Jesus himself! And, her world changed in a flash, from grief to deep and living joy! It is so important how Jesus revealed himself to her. Simply calling out her name. It displayed how intimately he cared for her. When Jesus says “Mary!” she says, “Rabbouni!” which means Teacher. And so finally she can declare to others that she has seen the Lord. Jesus had passed from death back to life and the world would forever change.

       Before Mary even knew, Jesus was by her side. She did not recognize him right away, but there he was already—he who is the truest expression of God’s unspeakable love. (pause) A great comfort for me lately has been something God the Teacher has been teaching me. As a new pastor, there’s a lot for me to get used to—which is the case for any new pastor—for as much training as we receive before we start, there is always something more to ministry once you are out of school and on the ground. The comfort is to think that before I even ask the Spirit to guide me when I face the time of trial, the Spirit has already been with me. Before a word is on my tongue, our Father in heaven knows it. This hope is the same certain hope available to you. God is with you and before you realize it. Just as Jesus was with Mary before she realized it.

The Jesus who passed over from death to life is a God who joins you even while you grieve and despair. For in his body Jesus had gone to hell and back that you may never be alone. It is a certain hope. Faith trusts with great confidence that this is true. And, God speaks your name even now—for this is how intimate his love is for you. (pause) Last night God spoke the names of Kelly and Jensen as they were baptized. God’s love is for all of us together—and at the same time God’s love is specifically for you. Baptism, and the sacrament of communion, are both places where this love is made manifest. For in them you, and you specifically, are granted the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. In them you are united to Christ—where you receive forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation. In them you are freed from the devil and the wiles of all the world. God names you in communion— “The body of Christ, given for you. The blood of Christ shed for you. For you for you for you. In the resurrection God has crushed all that hinders you under his feet. In the resurrection God has left no stone unturned to restore you to fullness of life—in relationship to both God and to your fellow human beings. In the resurrection God gives you cause for certain hope just as he did for St. Mary Magdalene. Even before you know it.

[eruanna1875]

4-17-22, Easter Sunday: Running in the Graveyard

Pastor's two high school sports: football & track and field

Cemetery by the high school

Run a mile back thru the cemetery

Felt disrespectful - you don't just thunder through!

Not a lot of running in Bible

It's not dignified, especially for adult males

Not much mentioned until the Resurrection

Why do we run?

Children run for sheer joy, not bc they're afraid or hurried

Nervous energy here

If they understood, they'd be running for joy

Three runners

Young John, who was at the cross

Peter, the disciple always in the middle of everything

Race each other

Not a messy scene they find

Why would robbers unwrap the body & fold the cloths?

John believed, but is washed over with a new belief

Jesus has conquered the grave

Peter's not sure yet

3rd runner is Mary Magdalene

7 demons cast out by Jesus, never leaves His side

Goes @ earliest possible opportunity to mourn

Believes someone has taken the body

Sees two angels (always frightening)

Grief added onto grief - can't they leave Him in peace even dead?

Two questions asked: why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?

Neither answered, crying too hard

The tomb was in a garden, who else would be there so early?

Not far off in her guess of gardener

The New Adam, victorious over serpent, comforting woman

When He says her name, she goes from panicked grief to pure joy

She hugs Him so tight He has to tell her not to cling - she's gonna have to get used to Him not being here

His words are stabilizing

It's all gonna be okay

Source of peace, but not through stoicism

Jesus knows what fear feels like, dread

An upcoming appointment consuming your thoughts - that x1000

Jesus overcame the fear for the joy before Him

In midst of that, source of peace for His people

Fortress of calm after resurrection too

They didn't have silly fears, look what they've been through

Traumatic experience for them, in times of tumult/danger

Jesus comes introducing fearlessness into world of terror

Put death to death

Not in bondage to fear anymore

Peace be with you, do not fear

The worst possible thing is conquered

Jesus reigns, what do you have to fear?

We're constantly assaulted by messages of doom

Jesus still asks His Bride, who are you seeking?

Calls her to calm, for herself & the world

Confident, fearless lives

Triumph over the damage death causes

Romans verse is very comforting:

The Spirit Who raised Christ lives in you

What problem can be more hopeless/ impossible than bringing a dead, battered body to life?

The spirit of resurrection

Nothing in your life can't be redeemed & resurrected

Not that it'll all get fixed on this side of eternity

We live bearing scars, inside and out, tons leaving their marks

Many deaths and resurrections, but the scars remain

Some things will be with you to the grave

But Jesus transforms your wounds

Even He still bore the marks of His suffering

Trophies of a mighty victor

Every beautiful or bitter moment of life

No matter what, it will be good

We can run our race like children, through graveyard of this world

No matter what, we have life

[firstumcschenectady]

“The Richness of the Unknown” based on Isaiah 65:17-25 and John 20:1-18 (Easter)

I am so thankful it is Easter Sunday.  I'm ready to celebrate the goodness of God, the power of life, the unstoppable force of love in the world.  I'm thankful for music that resonates in my SOUL, and functions as a ritual to let my body know this is a time to let go, to be, to savor.

It has been a long, hard trudge to get to Easter.  If I'm really honest, we're still in a long, hard trudge, but Easter feels like a great excuse to step away from the trudge and just be joyous for a bit.

It does seem worth discussion what sort of joy we're talking about though.  By my count, there are 10 Easter stories in the Gospels (Mark has 4, Luke 3, John 2, and Matthew for some reason only 1), 10 different stories trying to make sense of …. something.  The simple fact that there are so many stories suggests to me that what happened on Easter (and throughout the 50 days after it), is hard to put into words and thus a variety of metaphors was the best way people could explain it.  

The stories all point to the idea that the death Jesus suffered on the cross didn't have the final word.  But they struggle to make sense of it.  They did not understand.  In the two Easter stories we heard from John this morning the phrase (did) “not know” came up three times.  There was unknowing in Easter itself and it its early stories!  That makes it OK for us when we come to Easter with some “unknowing” of our own.

Somehow, Jesus' disciples and followers continued to experience his wisdom, his teaching, and the power of his vitality even after he died.

And whatever it was that constituted their experience, it was POWERFUL in their lives.  It changed them.  The students became the teachers.  Those frightened and hidden away came out of hiding and took risks for the sake of sharing Jesus's good news.  The women kept on keeping on.

The ways we explain Easter today continue in the grand tradition of trying to make sense of it all.  Our metaphors abound.  Some stick with the early metaphor of “Easter is the day Jesus was raised from the dead.”  Others will say, “Easter is about the unstoppable power of life, especially life with God.”  Charles Wesley says, “Death in vain forbids him rise,” and asks, “Where's thy victory, boasting grave?”  Marcus Borg gives us the language that Easter is God's YES to the world's NO.

There are a lot of wonderful and powerful meanings to be made from Easter, and I encourage you to savor the ones that bring YOU to life.

In the midst of all I've already offered, for me the greatest power of Easter is in its “always present” quality.  One way or another, when Jesus died, the goal of the Empire was to kill him, to stop his life and his ministry.  It worked, as the story says, Mary was weeping when she showed up that Easter morning.  The power of death worked UNTIL his disciples experienced SOMETHING on Easter, and after that they took up his ministry and in doing so claimed his life energy, and kept it going.  Before Easter, Jesus was the Body of Christ, but on Easter the disciples became the Body of Christ – and this is what really matters to me – and the power of his life-energy, and the importance of his ministry, and the sharing of his God-vision is STILL the work of the Body of Christ.  In important and meaningful ways, when I say, “Christ is alive,” I know that is true because I'm looking at you, the church, doing Christ's work.

In the Gospel of John, the words are in Mary Magdalene's mouth, “I have seen the Lord.”  In the Body of Christ, I too have seen God at work.

And I think that's PLENTY miraculous.

So, then, if this is our work, we want to be as clear as possible about what it means to continued the life, ministry, and God-vision of Jesus.  Because, well, not everyone agrees about this.  #Shock.

This is where I think the Isaiah passage is an incredible EASTER gift to us, even if it was written for a people of a different time who used different metaphors for God's power over life and death.

The most striking thing about the Isaiah passage for me, initially, was its humility.  Isaiah 65 seeks to answer the question, “What SHOULD life look like?” and it starts like I think we'd expect.  It says life should be LONG and ABUNDANT.  There SHOULD NOT BE young tragic deaths.  

Amen.

But then it takes what initially seemed to me to be a sort of weak turn.  In this utopic dream of a “new heaven and a new  earth” that God is creating full of justice and wholeness and goodness, what are the defining factors other than longevity?  “They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (65:21) and also they will be aware of the presence of God.

I get it.  This would sound miraculous to a people who have build houses but not lived in them, planted vineyards and not gotten to eat the fruit, that it is fitting for them that this ends with, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.”

But all of that together suggests that ... universal vegetarianism and an end to all violence seems CONSISTENT with … not having your labor stolen or your home displaced.

Which suggests that not having your home stolen or the fruit of your labor appropriated is a REALLY BIG DEAL.  But, is it?  I mean, why stop with just having people not displaced and able to glean the value of their work.  Why not have everyone live at Disneyland, or apparition, or … I don't know, world peace.

But the longer I thought about it, the more I realize this dream is EVERYTHING.  It actually IS world peace – because world peace looks EXACTLY like people being safe to build homes and live in them without being displaced, and having the consistency to be able to labor and glean the fruits of one's labor without anyone else coming in with violence to take it.

AND this is a dream of an end to world hunger too – because people have access to enough land and resources and the capacity to GLEAN THE FRUIT OF THEIR LABOR.

And the more I think about people being able to glean the fruit of their labor, the more I realize that covers A WHOLE LOT of injustices.  If people can glean the fruit of their labor – then the rich aren't getting wealthier off of the labor of the poor.  So, it is like universal basic income and a living minimum wage rolled into one.  It is also an end to predatory lending.  This is a dream of equity and equality and fairness and justice all at once – with the “simple” means of stable safe housing and people being able to keep the fruits of their labors.

When we hear of atrocities in the world, most of them equate to violations of this dream.  People are killed too young, or displaced from their homes and communities, or the fruits of their labor is stolen from them. Please note that the Bible and I agree that part of being a community with fair labor practices is sharing so that those unable to labor are still cared for.  There have always been those unable to work, and a functional society finds ways to care for them as BELOVED and VALUED members of that society.

It is a good life, indeed, with stable safe housing and the capacity to glean the fruits of our labor, and to have enough at the end of it to share with others.  It may sound simple, but it is AMAZING when it happens.  Far too few people have lived this dream, and the dream is for EVERYONE.

The more I think about this vision, the more I see its power, and the more I see how much it isn't one that is yet here.

How many people are dying too young?  And how many of those deaths would be preventable?

How many members of our city lack stable and safe housing?  How many New Yorkers?  How many US citizens?  And then how many people are migrants and refugees in the world right now?  

Then, how many people see the just fruits of their labor??  In the interest of some brevity, I'll leave that as a thought question for you to ponder.

Isaiah 65 was a vision for newly returned Exiles and the people who had been left behind during the Exile.  It was a reminder of God's wishes for a stable, compassionate, equalitarian society.  It was a dream to aim for, a reminder of how God wants the world ordered, a clarity on what communal holy living looks like.

When we talk about the beloved community, the kindom of God, the Jesus teaching of a God-vision, I don't believe Jesus was breaking with his own Jewish tradition.  This vision of what God wanted for people is another version of what Jesus taught.  This vision of what God wanted for people is a way of talking about what it means to be the Body of Christ building the kindom of God, or what it means to be an Easter people.

Long, good, lives. Stable safe housing.  People able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. People having enough to share.  

Such a simple vision.  

Such a world away from our reality right now.

May God help us to build that future.  Because as Easter people, we believe that love wins in the end and God isn't finished with us yet.  This vision is a vision for us, and for everyone, and God is willing to work with us on it.   Thanks be to God!  Amen

[dfroza]

An act of rebirth that we are to conserve

to share it with all of beautiful earth.

and this is the pure significance of having it written down for all to be able to read and to personally choose for themselves to “believe...”

for only the True illumination of the Son promises us rebirth of the heart (inside, Anew) as well as the rebirth of the body when it will be made eternal. death will no longer exist at some point.

and Love invites us into Light as to not force love to be, since it can never be forced to be True. for we are first chosen as a call of the Spirit that is seen by our own, but we still have to open the heart to reply... to believe inside and to speak through a body of earth and time. it is life’s purest treasure to be known as a child (a son or a daughter) of our heavenly Father.

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the closing chapter of the book of Mark:

At the rising of the sun, after the Sabbath on the first day of the week, the two Marys and Salome brought sweet-smelling spices they had purchased to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. Along the way, they wondered to themselves how they would roll the heavy stone away from the opening. But when they arrived, the stone was already rolled away in spite of its weight and size.

Stepping through the opening, they were startled to see a young man in a white robe seated inside and to the right.

Man in White: Don’t be afraid. You came seeking Jesus of Nazareth, the One who was crucified. He is gone. He has risen. See the place where His body was laid. Go back, and tell Peter and His disciples that He goes before you into Galilee, just as He said. You will see Him there when you arrive.

The women went out quickly; and when they were outside the tomb, they ran away trembling and astonished. Along their way, they didn’t stop to say anything to anyone because they were too afraid.

[After He rose from the dead early on Sunday, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, a woman out of whom He had cast seven demons. She brought this news back to all those who had followed Him and were still mourning and weeping, but they refused to believe she had seen Jesus alive.

After that, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked through the countryside, and again the others did not believe it.

The eleven did not believe until Jesus appeared to them all as they sat at dinner. He rebuked them for their hard hearts—for their lack of faith—because they had failed to believe those witnesses who had seen Him after He had risen.

Jesus: Go out into the world and share the good news with all of creation. Anyone who believes this good news and is ceremonially washed will be rescued, but anyone who does not believe it will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: they will be able to cast out demons in My name, speak with new tongues, take up serpents, drink poison without being harmed, and lay their hands on the sick to heal them.

After the Lord Jesus had charged the disciples in this way, He was taken up into heaven and seated at the right hand of God. The disciples went out proclaiming the good news; and the risen Lord continued working through them, confirming every word they spoke with the signs He performed through them.]

[And the women did everything they had been told to do, speaking to Peter and the other disciples. Later Jesus Himself commissioned the disciples to take this sacred and eternal message of salvation far to the East and the West.]

The Book of Mark, Chapter 16 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 8th chapter of the book of Job where Bildad chimes in:

Then the second of Job’s three friends, Bildad the Shuhite, addressed Job.

Bildad: How long will you say these things,

your words whipping through air like a powerful wind?

Does God corrupt justice,

or does the Highest One corrupt the good?

If your children sinned against Him,

He merely administered the punishment due them for those sins.

But if you search for God

and make your appeal to the Highest One,

If you are pure and righteous,

I have no doubt He will arise for you and restore you to your righteous place.

From your modest beginnings,

the future will be bright before you.

Ask those who have come and gone!

Explore what their fathers learned and taught them.

For we are not of ages past, nor even of years gone by.

We are ignorant creatures of yesterday,

and our time on earth is only a shadow.

But the ancients are not similarly bound, are they?

Won’t they speak to and instruct you?

Won’t they draw up words from deep within?

Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?

Can reeds flourish without water?

Even if they are hardy and unbroken,

without water they will dry up before any other plant.

So it goes with any who forget God.

The hope of the godless soon withers and dies.

His confidence breaks,

for he trusts in the tenuous threads of a spider’s web.

When he leans into his house of silken threads for support,

it won’t hold;

Though his arms grab to steady him,

it will break—he will fall and never get back up.

Still the godless appears to be a hardy plant,

thriving in full sun, sending his shoots across the garden.

The roots twine and grip the stone heap

and search for a home among the rocks.

If he is pulled up, the place will disown him saying,

“I have never seen you.”

See, his sole joy consists of this:

knowing that others will spring from the earth to take his place.

Do you see it? God will not reject the innocent;

He will not reject you or support agents of evil.

He will fill your mouth with laughter;

your lips will spill over into cries of delight.

Those who hate you will don the garment of shame,

and the home of the wicked will disappear.

The Book of Job, Chapter 8 (The Voice)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Thursday, April 15 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about being welcomed by Love:

"The Son of Man came ... and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" (Matt. 11:19). People, especially the religious people, were scandalized by Yeshua because he was a “friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet what sickness of heart is this, to despise those who are sick? It is a sorrow of heart to realize that religion often creates an “in-group” mentality that attains its status at the expense of the “outsider,” the “stranger,” the “sinner,” and so on... The prayer of the self-righteous is always: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector" (Luke 18:11).

The religious leaders of Yeshua's day were offended because he "welcomed sinners" and enjoyed eating meals with them (Luke 15:2). We can almost hear their disapproving whispers and their dismissive accusations: "How could a good Jew behave like this? Does he not understand the call to personal holiness? Does he not know the Torah of "clean" and "unclean"? If a man is known by the company he keeps, we know enough about Yeshua to know that he's not truly pious..." And to this very day the self-righteous find offensive the idea that God welcomes the sinful, the needy, the broken, the despised, and the "outsider" into His presence... As Yeshua said, "those who are well have no need of a physician," and indeed offering them God's cure will always be regarded as a kind of poison...

We greatly rejoice that God indeed is the friend of sinners; He is the Good Shepherd who seeks and saves the lost. Thank the Lord that he comes not for the “righteous” but for those who are brokenhearted, for those mortally wounded by their own sin... Any so-called theology or religion that repudiates or minimizes God’s love for the sinful, the needy, the broken, is little more than a shrine to human pride and vanity... On the contrary: the heart of the Compassionate One always welcomes a sinner who sincerely turns to Him. [Hebrew for Christians]

4.15.21 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

April 15, 2021

The Trumpet of God

“And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.” (Exodus 19:19)

This is the first reference to trumpets in the Bible, and it is significant that the “voice” of the trumpet was coming not from man but from God. The setting was the awesome scene at Mount Sinai, when the Lord gave Moses the Ten Commandments for His people.

The last reference in the Old Testament to trumpets again refers to God’s trumpet. “And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the LORD God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south” (Zechariah 9:14).

The trumpet as used in Israel (Hebrew shofar) was made of rams’ horns and was used on many important occasions. One of the most notable was when the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land at Jericho. “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and...the wall fell down flat,...and they took the city” (Joshua 6:20). These were human trumpets, of course, but they were sounded with the authority of God, and God gave the victory.

We also today can speak with the authority of God if we speak His Word plainly and clearly. But “if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8).

We ourselves may soon hear the trumpet of God, for the return of Christ is drawing near. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven...with the trump of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). As we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, we (like John long ago) will hear a voice “as it were of a trumpet,” saying, “Come up hither” (Revelation 4:1), and then “shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). HMM

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

4/4/2021 DAB Chronological Transcription

Judges 13-15

It's April 4th. Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological. My name is Jill. Come on in. We are reading the Bible together every day for a year until we get through it together chronologically. It's wonderful to be here with you today. We turn the page. We're going to look into the word of God, see what he has to say, and see if we can see the stories of our own lives mirrored in the scriptures just as we do every day. We're in the Book of Judges chapters 13 through 15 today. And we are starting a brand new translation. This week we're reading the Christian Standard Bible Judges, Chapter 13.

Commentary:

We meet an interesting man named Samson today, and Samson's mother has explicit instructions on what not to do to Samson in order for him to keep his strength throughout his life. And all of that seems to be doable until women come into play. And the first woman we read manipulates him to getting Samson to tell the riddle of his secret, of his strength being in his hair. The story will continue tomorrow. Meanwhile, we cannot let this day go by. I know that on Good Friday, I asked us just to sit with a magnitude, sit with the weight of what happened and the intentionality of this weekend, historically speaking, for a believer in Christ is to sit, remember, reflect, feel the weight, what emotions come up when you think that God is dead? We did just that with a group of friends around a table and we sat with the thought that God is dead. What emotions come up, what feeling is evoked inside of you when you think that you might be a man that has followed the son of God and you just witnessed his death. And we talked about it and we were honest and we talked about feeling betrayed and feeling confused and feeling angry and running away like Peter just go fishing. We talked about demanding to know why and how and how could this injustice actually have taken place. And then we left the space in silence, thinking, reflecting, being present with those emotions, because it's really easy to tell the story and graze right past the event and say, oh, but Sunday's comin. And Sunday's coming for sure. And Sunday is now here, however, in the moment of death and brutality, I wonder how hard it must have been to keep hope alive, to remember that he said, oh, but he will come again. I can't imagine too many people walking around exhilarated, hopeful and telling everybody It's OK, don't weep, don't mourn. He's coming back. I think they could only imagine the shock of the events of what happened, but we know, we know that the story is not over. We know that Mary Jesus' mother, Mary Magdalene, went to the tomb to embalm his body, to preserve his body, to do what was culturally expected and culturally relevant to preserve a dead body. Oh, beloved, we know that the tomb is empty. He was not there. Death and the grave could not hold him, could not keep him. It is what makes him set apart. It is what makes him greater than- it is what makes him above any other god that has been worshiped historically speaking, from present day until the beginning of time, no other God laid in slumber and a final resting place. No other God but our God, Jesus Christ. Emmanuel. God with us. Yeshua. You can go to the tomb. He's not there. It's beyond a celebration, it is the most shock to your system, B12 to your faith. Good news, great news, hope for the hopeless, victory for the defeated. It is the greatest response and comeback to death and defeat. It is the greatest surrender act of love and response to mockery. It is all things new and rebirth and renewing and redemption. It's because he lives I can face tomorrow. It's whatever phrase you want to say. The stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty. He's not there. It's the greatest three words ever. He is risen. 

[xtommyxnewt]

Why we have Easter

Heinrich Hoffman’s Christ and the Rich Young Ruler

The history of our Lord Jesus Christ was eloquently recorded by Luke, a physician. In his book in the Holy Bible’s New Testament, the 23rd chapter Luke shares (from LDS.org):

CHAPTER 23

Jesus is taken before Pilate, then to Herod, and then to Pilate again—Barabbas is released—Jesus is crucified between two thieves—He is buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathæa.

1 And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.

2 And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to aCæsar, saying that he himself is Christ a bKing.

3 And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.

4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no afault in this man.

5 And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilæan.

7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.

8 ¶ And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some amiracle done by him.

9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he aanswered him nothing.

10 And the chief priests and ascribes stood and vehemently accused him.

11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and amocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

12 ¶ And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

13 ¶ And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:

15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done aunto him.

16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him.

17 (For of necessity he must arelease one unto them at the feast.)

18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:

19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for amurder, was cast into prison.)

20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.

21 But they cried, saying, aCrucify him, crucify him.

22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found ano cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.

23 And they were ainstant with loud voices, brequiring that he might be ccrucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.

24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they arequired.

25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and amurder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

27 ¶ And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of aJerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the abarren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

30 Then shall they begin to say to the amountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

31 For if they do these things in a agreen tree, what shall be done in the bdry?

32 And there were also two other, amalefactors, led with him to be put to death.

33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

34 ¶ Then asaid Jesus, Father, bforgive them; for they know not what cthey do. And they parted his draiment, and cast lots.

35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them aderided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the bchosen of God.

36 And the soldiers also amocked him, coming to him, and offering him bvinegar,

37 And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE aKING OF THE bJEWS.

39 ¶ And one of the malefactors which were hanged arailed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due areward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in aparadise.

44 And it was about the asixth hour, and there was a bdarkness over all the cearth until the ninth hour.

45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the amidst.

46 ¶ And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I acommend my bspirit: and having said thus, he cgave up the dghost.

47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a arighteous man.

48 And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.

49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.

50 ¶ And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a acounsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:

51 (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathæa, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.

52 This man went unto Pilate, and abegged the body of Jesus.

53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a asepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.

54 And that day was the apreparation, and the sabbath drew on.

55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the asepulchre, and how his body was laid.

56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and arested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

After the women returned to the tomb to annoint Christ’s body for burial, they found that he was not there.

CHAPTER 24

Angels announce the resurrection of Christ—He walks on the Emmaus road—He appears with a body of flesh and bones, eats food, testifies of His divinity, and promises the Holy Ghost—He ascends into heaven.

1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the asepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

2 aAnd they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but is arisen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

8 And they remembered his words,

9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

13 ¶ And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem aabout threescore furlongs.

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15 And it came to pass, that, while they acommuned together and reasoned, bJesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were aholden that they should not know him.

17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

18 And the one of them, whose name was aCleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25 Then he said unto them, O afools, and slow of bheart to cbelieve all that the prophets have spoken:

26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

27 And beginning at aMoses and all the bprophets, he cexpounded unto them in all the dscriptures the things concerning himself.

28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

32 And they said one to another, Did not our aheart bburn within us, while he ctalked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath aappeared to bSimon.

35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

36 ¶ And as they thus spake, Jesus himself astood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, bPeace be unto you.

37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do athoughts arise in your hearts?

39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: ahandle me, and see; for a bspirit hath not cflesh and bones, as ye dsee me have.

40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and awondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be afulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

45 Then opened he their aunderstanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it abehoved Christ to suffer, and to brise from the dead the third day:

47 And that arepentance and bremission of sins should be cpreached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48 And ye are awitnesses of these things.

49 ¶ And, behold, I send the apromise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be bendued with power from on high.

50 ¶ And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and acarried up into heaven.

52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:

53 And were continually in the atemple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Nearly 2,000 years later, the followers of Jesus Christ celebrate His ascendancy over death and wait for His return to reign as King of Kings.

timesofindia.com

from McMurtry Creative Media https://ift.tt/39Ix1vs

[hieromonkcharbel]

Prayer to St Mary Magdalene (Feast July 22nd)

by St. Anselm

St. Mary Magdalene, you came with springing tears to the spring of mercy, Christ; from Him your burning thirst was abundantly refreshed through Him your sins were forgiven; by Him your bitter sorrow was consoled.

My dearest lady, well you know by your own life how a sinful soul can be reconciled with its Creator, what counsel a soul in misery needs, what medicine will restore the sick to health. It is enough for us to understand, dear friend of God, to whom were many sins forgiven, because she loved much.

Most blessed lady, I who am the most evil and sinful of men do not recall your sins as a reproach, but call upon the boundless mercy by which they were blotted out. This is my reassurance, so that I do not despair; this is my longing, so that I shall not perish.

I say this of myself, miserably cast down into the depths of vice, bowed down with the weight of crimes, thrust down by my own hand into a dark prison of sins, wrapped round with the shadows of darkness.

Therefore, since you are now with the chosen because you are beloved and are beloved because you are chosen of God, I, in my misery, pray to you, in bliss; in my darkness, I ask for light; in my sins, redemption; impure, I ask for purity.

Recall in loving kindness what you used to be, how much you needed mercy, and seek for me that same forgiving love that you received when you were wanting it. Ask urgently that I may have the love that pierces the heart; tears that are humble; desire for the homeland of heaven; impatience with this earthly exile; searing repentance; and a dread of torments in eternity.

Turn to my good that ready access that you once had and still have to the spring of mercy.

Draw me to him where I may wash away my sins; bring me to him who can slake my thirst; pour over me those waters that will make my dry places fresh. You will not find it hard to gain all you desire from so loving and so kind a Lord, who is alive and reigns and is your friend.

For who can tell, beloved and blest of God, with what kind familiarity and familiar kindness he himself replied on your behalf to the calumnies of those who were against you? How He defended you, when the proud Pharisee was indignant, how He excused you, when your sister complained, how highly He praised your deed, when Judas begrudged it.

And, more than all this, what can I say, how can I find words to tell, about the burning love with which you sought him, weeping at the sepulchre, and wept for Him in your seeking?

How He came, who can say how or with what kindness, to comfort you, and made you burn with love still more; how He hid from you when you wanted to see Him, and showed Himself when you did not think to see Him; how He was there all the time you sought Him, and how He sought you when, seeking Him, you wept.

But you, most holy Lord, why do You ask her why she weeps? Surely You can see; her heart, the dear life of her soul, is cruelly slain. O love to be wondered at; O evil to be shuddered at! You hung on the wood, pierced by iron nails, stretched out like a thief for the mockery of wicked men; and yet, "Woman," You say, "why are you weeping?" She had not been able to prevent them from killing You, but at least she longed to keep Your Body for a while with ointments lest it decay. No longer able to speak with You living, at least she could mourn for You dead. So, near to death and hating her own life, she repeats in broken tones the words of life which she had heard from the living.

And now, besides all this, even the Body which she was glad, in a way, to have kept, she believes to have gone. And can You ask her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" Had she not reason to weep? For she had seen with her own eyes -- if she could bear to look -- what cruel men cruelly did to You; and now all that was left of You from their hands she thinks she has lost. All hope of You has fled, for now she has not even Your lifeless Body to remind her of You.

And someone asks, "Who are you looking for? Why are you weeping?"

You, her sole joy, should be the last thus to increase her sorrow. But You know it all well, and thus you wish it to be, for only in such broken words and sighs can she convey a cause of grief as great as hers. The love You have inspired You do not ignore,

And indeed You know her well, the Gardener, who planted her soul in His garden. What You plant, I think You also water. Do You water, I wonder, or do You test her? In fact, You are both watering and putting to the test.

But now, good Lord, gentle Master, look upon your faithful servant and disciple, so lately redeemed by Your Blood, and see how she burns with anxiety, desiring You, searching all round, questioning, and what she longs for is nowhere found. Nothing she sees can satisfy her, since You whom alone she would behold, she sees not.

What then? How long will my Lord leave his beloved to suffer thus? Have You put off compassion now You have put on incorruption? Did You let go of goodness when you laid hold of immortality?

Let it not be so, Lord. You will not despise us mortals now You have made Yourself immortal, for You made yourself a mortal in order to give us immortality.

And so it is; for love's sake He cannot bear her grief for long or go on hiding Himself. For the sweetness of love He shows Himself who would not for the bitterness of tears.

The Lord calls His servant by the name she has often heard and the servant knows the voice of her own Lord. I think, or rather I am sure, that she responded to the gentle tone with which He was accustomed to call, "Mary." What joy filled that voice, so gentle and full of love. He could not have put it more simply and clearly:

"I know who you are and what you want; behold Me; do not weep, behold Me; I am He whom you seek."

At once the tears are changed; I do not believe that they stopped at once, but where once they were wrung from a heart broken and self-tormenting they flow now from a heart exulting. How different is, "Master!" from "If you have taken Him away, tell me"; and, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him," has a very different sound from, "I have seen the Lord, and he has spoken to me."

But how should I, in misery and without love, dare to describe the love of God and the blessed friend of God? Such a flavour of goodness will make my heart sick if it has in itself nothing of that same virtue. But in truth, You who are very Truth, You know me well and can testify that I write this for the love of Your love, my Lord, my most dear Jesus. I want Your love to burn in me as You command so that I may desire to love You alone and sacrifice to You a troubled spirit, "a broken and a contrite heart."

Give me, O Lord, in this exile, the bread of tears and sorrow for which I hunger more than for any choice delights. Hear me, for Your love, and for the dear merits of your beloved Mary, and Your blessed Mother, the greater Mary. Redeemer, my good Jesus, do not despise the prayers of one who has sinned against You but strengthen the efforts of a weakling that loves You. Shake my heart out of its indolence, Lord, and in the ardour of Your love bring me to the everlasting sight of Your glory where with the Father and the Holy Spirit You live and reign, God, for ever. Amen.

[traumacatholic]

Andrea Vanni - Scenes from the Passion of Christ: The Agony in the Garden, the Crucifixion, and the Descent into Limbo, 1380s 

[Description of painting in read more]

The altarpiece’s left wing contains several episodes presented in a continuous narrative. In the middle ground, Christ kneels in prayer above a well-tended garden on the Mount of Olives. With his arms folded across his chest in a gesture of humility, he gazes heavenward toward a descending angel who holds out a chalice. The chalice here evidently refers to Christ’s supplication: “Oh my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want,” i.e., his imminent sacrifice upon the cross. The anguish weighing upon Christ’s countenance is physically manifested by the drops of blood that he sweats in accordance with the Gospel account. In the foreground, Jesus is represented a second time, admonishing the disciples for sleeping when he had asked them to stay awake and pray with him. His rebuke is a slight one, however, for Christ pulls Saint Peter up from the ground to signify his selection of that apostle to head his church. In the background, a group of soldiers led by torch-bearers and the traitor Judas Iscariot depart from Jerusalem to arrest Jesus. The villainy of the former apostle Judas is clearly denoted by the black halo surrounding his head.

The central panel, which depicts the Crucifixion, reflects a growing concern among fourteenth-century artists to historicize the Biblical narrative. To accomplish this, the painter attempted to recreate, with the greatest possible accuracy, the details of the events on Mount Calvary. These details, moreover, are carefully arranged to enhance the narrative legibility of what would otherwise be a chaotic scene. Already dead upon the cross, Christ is portrayed amid a large cast of characters and vignettes arranged symmetrically across the picture. On either side of Jesus are the two thieves with whom he was crucified. Groups of soldiers dressed in mail and Pharisees with long beards crowd around these figures to witness their demise. Like Christ, the thief on the left has passed away and his slumped body shares a similar greenish hue. This is the penitent thief mentioned in the Gospel of Luke (23:39–43). Having confessed to Christ as he hung on the cross, the soul of this thief (represented as an infant) is carried to heaven by angels. On the right is the unrepentant thief who taunted Jesus. His ruddy flesh tones and pained expression indicate that he continues to suffer the torments of execution. Only now does he receive the coup de grace: the breaking of his legs, which will hasten his death and relinquish his soul to the black devils that hover above him.

As in all three panels, the painted surface of the Crucifixion scene is exquisitely worked. Each figure’s physiognomy and gestures are individualized so that the two soldiers on horseback that frame Jesus, for example, respond to him in different ways. With his hands clasped in prayer, the figure on the left leans forward as if to see Christ more clearly. His lance identifies him as Longinus, the visually impaired soldier who pierced Jesus’s side and whose vision, according to one legend, was miraculously restored when the blood and water flowing from Christ’s wound fell upon his eyes.The other equestrian is the Good Centurion who recognized Christ’s divinity at his crucifixion despite his debased appearance, exclaiming: “Truly this man was the Son of God.” With his hand placed over his heart, this figure’s gesture suggests that his belief must come from within. At the foot of the cross, Mary Magdalene caresses Christ’s feet as she grieves, while next to her the young Saint John weeps visibly as he stares adoringly at the Savior. In the left foreground, a group of lamenting women in vibrantly colored mantles surrounds the Virgin Mary, who has collapsed at the sight of her son’s lifeless body. To the right of these women, three soldiers grapple over Christ’s blue garment. The Gospel of John states that upon discovering that Jesus’s tunic was woven without a seam (and thus expensive), the soldiers decided to choose a new owner according to lot, rather than cut it into shares. As was common in Tuscan crucifixion scenes from this time, the soldiers draw straws rather than cast dice.

Between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, Christ is said to have descended into the realm of the dead where he liberated the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets. This event, known as the Decent into Limbo, is represented on the right wing of the triptych. The story is not recorded in the canonical Gospels, but comes instead from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, the contents of which were widely disseminated throughout medieval Europe. In Andrea’s interpretation, Christ the Redeemer has descended victoriously into hell, where he has demolished the gateway and crushed the devil beneath it, visualizing the words inscribed on the banderole held by God the Father, who floats overhead: “Destruxit quidam mortes inferni et subvertit potentias diaboli” (He has destroyed the shades of hell, and has overthrown the powers of the devil). The painting also reaffirms an article of the Apostles’ Creed (“he descended into hell”). Here—at the very edge of the underworld (limbus patrum)—the righteous who lived before Christ kneel in a cavern. Foremost among these figures is Adam, with his long, white beard, followed by Eve, and then King David (holding a psaltery). On the far right is Saint John the Baptist with his scroll saying “Ecce Agnus [Dei]” (Behold the Lamb of God). Having overcome death, Christ appears in a transformed state indicated not only by his lustrous mantle and the golden rays emanating from his body, but also by the reactions of Limbo’s inhabitants: several figures shade their eyes from Christ’s radiance. With the standard of victory in his left hand, Jesus reaches forward with his right to grasp hold of Adam in a gesture reminiscent of the one he performs on the triptych’s left wing, where he clutches Saint Peter’s hand. The formal correspondence between these scenes underscores a causal relationship between the two events, for while Christ submitted himself to God’s will in the garden at Gethsemane, the result of his obedience (i.e., his triumph over death) is conveyed in the harrowing of hell. In both scenes, the action of lifting up those overcome by sorrow and regret stresses the charity of Christ.