tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71720615651667537172024-03-16T17:38:18.938-05:00Elliott's Museselliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.comBlogger1269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-6304054641809427692024-03-16T17:37:00.003-05:002024-03-16T17:37:18.245-05:00 Day 29, (Tuesday) – “Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">When we
recall that Jesus was whipped, and tortured, a crown of thorns was placed on
his head, and he was hit, spit on, and mocked, we might be shocked to hear the
first words that come from the cross – </span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> “Then Jesus said, "Father,
forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus
had taught us in His teaching on the Mount – <i>“You have heard that it was
said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you,
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44)</i>. He rebuked the disciples when they wanted to
call down fire on those who sought to undermine Jesus’ ministry. When it came to “love your enemies”, Jesus
showed us how to do it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Who did
he forgive? He forgave Judas who
betrayed him. He forgave Caiaphas who
manipulated people to get Jesus condemned.
He forgave Pontius Pilate, who tried to excuse himself from
responsibility by washing his hands. He
forgave the soldiers who brutally treated him leading up to and including being
nailed to the cross.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus
forgave us! <i>“But God proves his love
for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. <br />
Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will
we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having
been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Romans 5:8-10<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“All of
us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of
flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. <br />
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved
us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together
with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and
seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (Ephesians 2:3-6).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">One of
my favorite prayers, probably repeated several times a day is “Lord, have mercy
upon me/us”. While I may not be Judas, I have betrayed my Savior. While I may have not beaten Christ with a
whip, I have turned my back on him and sinned against him. Jesus was not just praying for those who had
done these things to him, but for all of us, down through the ages who need
God’s mercy and grace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">At one
point in Jesus’ sermon on the Mount, he reminded us of the great need for
forgiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“For if
you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you; <br />
but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In 1972,
Corrie Ten Boom was a popular speaker who told her story of surviving the Nazi
concentration camp at Ravensbruck. The
prison camp that infamously had exterminated thousands of Jews and other groups
of people, had a garrison of guards that often treated the prisoners
inhumanely. Corrie Ten Boom survived due
to a clerical error that set her free, but her sister, her brother, and her father
did not. Still, she wanted to tell the
story of their suffering from a God-ward point of view, especially in Germany
where – she felt – many Germans had suffered under Nazi terror. In 1947, she spoke at a German church in
Munich. Later she wrote of that night
when her world would forever change:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Many people in the church, hearing that God, forgiving our sins, does
not remember them anymore, silently got up, took their coats, and silently
left… The ruthless war left too many scars and pain in their hearts. After the
service, Corrie was approached by a bald man in a gray overcoat and a brown hat
in his hand. He smiled and bowed politely. Corrie looked at him attentively,
and a blue uniform and a cap with a cockade flashed in front of her eyes, and
on it was a skull and two crossed bones. She immediately recognized him as a
former overseer, one of the most cruel punishers and escorts in the Ravensbrück
concentration camp, an SS officer. She remembered the shame with which she, her
poor sister Betsy, and other women walked naked in front of the guards, and in
front of this man. Corrie writes of a deep inner struggle: “Here he stood
against me with an outstretched hand, and I heard his voice: “Froilian, how
nice it was to hear that God casts all our sins into the depths of the sea, and
remembers them no more.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">He was talking, and I, who had just spoken so confidently about
forgiveness, stood and rummaged in my bag in embarrassment, unable to reach out
my hand to him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“You mentioned Ravensbrück in your speech,” he continued, “and I was a
warden there. But since then I have become a Christian and I know that God has
forgiven me for all the cruelties that I have committed. And yet I would like
to hear a word of forgiveness from your lips, Fraulein. Can you forgive me?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Her sister’s slow, horrific death resurfaced in Corrie’s memory…<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The man stood with outstretched hand, hoping for forgiveness. It only
lasted a few seconds, but to Corrie, they seemed like an eternity. She continued,
“Jesus, help me,” I prayed to myself, “I can reach out to him, and that’s all I
can do on my own, but You give me the right feeling.” Corrie held out her hand
to him – the former prisoner – the former camp guard. “I forgive you, brother…
with all my heart.” She later wrote: “I have never felt God’s love so keenly as
I did in that moment. But even then I understood that it was not my love, but
God’s. I tried to love, but I didn’t have the strength to do so. But here the
power of the Holy Spirit was at work, and His love … “After that, she had every
right to say:” Forgiveness is a volitional decision, and the will can function regardless
of the temperature of the heart” and again: “Memory is the key not to the past,
but to the future.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Father,
forgive them, for they know what they do”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
Peace<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Source Sans Pro",sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"> There are many places that record her story of this
incident. I found this online at
https://www.corrietenboom.com/<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-18785008087591510612024-03-16T17:36:00.000-05:002024-03-16T17:36:05.580-05:00Day 28, (Monday) – “The Seven Words on the Cross”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The
final words that Jesus spoke were from the Cross where he was crucified by the
collaborative efforts of the Jewish rulers and the Romans. Jesus was hung on the cross, according to the
Gospels, at the “</span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">6<sup>th</sup> hour”</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">.
The Jewish measurement of time means Jesus’ crucifixion began at 9:00
a.m. While weakened from the Roman
physical beatings and torture, Jesus was able to speak seven last times before
his physical body succumbed to death.
Over the next few days, leading us to Holy Week, I’d like to think,
ponder a bit, on what these words should mean to us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
seven last words were traditionally part of a Good Friday service. The significance of Jesus’ suffering, and
these words are important for our faith.
One author wrote: <i>“When we
suffer the most … we can cry out and God will save us…Jesus is on the cross;
his nerves, his body, his blood, and his anguish is ours. And in the midst of
this excruciating pain he makes the ultimate confession: There is a God and God
will hear me. How many times have we allowed ourselves to bear the depth of our
soul to God?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It is
here that we understand God’s love and his co-suffering in our sufferings. It is here that we understand how to “offer
up” our pain and suffering to God who adds our sufferings to Christ – even as
the Apostle Paul said…<br />
<i>“I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am
completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body,
that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24).</i><br />
The Apostle is not saying Christ’s suffering lacked completion, but instead, he
is saying that our suffering is added to Christ’s suffering, which in his body,
is added to the Church.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">God used
the number seven throughout the Scriptures to remind us that something is
completed in this. God created the world
in six days, and rested on the seventh day to show it was completed. The Sabbath was declared to be the seventh
day. Seven was the yearly number of
feasts, all in seven days. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus’
words on the Cross, completed his mission – to be God’s eternal Sacrifice for
Sin:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<tbody><tr>
<td style="background: #EAECF0; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Sayings
of Jesus on the cross</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #EAECF0; border-left: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Matthew</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #EAECF0; border-left: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Mark</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Luke</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">John</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
</td>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Father, forgive them; for they know not what they
do.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">23:34</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Truly I say unto thee, This day you will be with
me in paradise.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">23:43</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Woman, behold thy son! <i>and</i> Behold
thy mother!</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">19:26–27</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">27:46</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">15:34</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">I thirst.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">19:28</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">It is finished.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">19:30</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">23:46</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #A2A9B1 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #A2A9B1 .75pt; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt;"></td>
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</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-72576385013643872962024-03-16T17:34:00.000-05:002024-03-16T17:34:07.553-05:00 The 5th Sunday in Lent – “Our Confession of Christ Jesus in Worship”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">On this fifth Sunday in Lent, we
return to the Big Picture of Christ Jesus’ redemption – the Incarnation, His life and
ministry, His death, burial, and Resurrection. All these we confess in the Nicene
Creed.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The Creeds arose out of the early
centuries of the Church when communication took a lengthy time to do.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Many new churches cropped up through the
early Church Father’s efforts to evangelize into new areas.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">By the 4</span><sup style="font-family: trebuchet;">th</sup><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> century, many heresies
had also come into the church that needed to be addressed.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The early Church Fathers sought to
bring an orthodox confession of faith that would be embraced by all of the
Church, whatever their ethnic origin or location. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote – what we
believe – is an early confession of faith within the local parishes he
established. In writing his letter
(Epistle) to the Philippians he writes this creedal formula:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not
count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking
the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. <br />
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to
the point of death, even death on a cross. <br />
Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is
above every name, <br />
so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, <br />
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">There’s uniformity in the creeds
because they are universal communal expressions of faith in Christian
belief. The Creeds brought the church
together, to preserve the orthodoxy of the faith, and to remember the
foundation of the Church in Christ Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. Originally most of the creeds were probably
orally shared. The New Testament often
used the phrase – <i>“received and passed on to you”</i> to make clear these
were beliefs that were of universal certainty.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Some of the early ones were very
basic. In the Apostle Paul’s letter to
the Corinthian church, written early in the decade of 50’s a.d., Paul
writes: <i>“Now I would remind you,
brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you
stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I
preached to you—unless you believed in vain. <br />
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was
buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1
Corinthians 15:1-4).</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Why were they needed? In many Churches, Gnostic heresies had begun
to pollute the clear Apostolic teachings of the early Church concerning the
person and work of Jesus Christ. As the
Apostles died, the second generation of Apostolic leaders, followed by the 3<sup>rd</sup>,
4<sup>th</sup>, 5<sup>th</sup>, etc… maintained the orthodoxy of the Church
across the vast areas of Europe and Asia through the Creeds. When the heresies
came – Gnostic, Docetism, Ebionitism, Modalism, and Arianism – the Church
brought the orthodoxy of the Creeds to witness the truth and expose the
lies. The early Church, after the
persecutions began to die off, tried to address these errors in Church councils
where Bishops, Theologians, and Teachers of the Church came together to
formulate updated creeds. The first of
these was in Nicaea, in modern-day Turkey, and is considered to be the first of
seven worldwide councils of the Church.
The Nicene Creed that came out of this council is a standard for the
Christian faith. The main issue it
resolved was that Christ Jesus was of the same Substance (<i>homoousios), </i>which
in the Creed meant Jesus was “<i>consubstantial”</i>, or “<i>of the same
substance as the Father</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Unfortunately, it did not
permanently stop the growth of Arianism – a group that denied the equality of
Christ with God, the Father, saying God created Christ as his firstborn. In 381 a.d., the second Council of the Church
gathered in Constantinople. It is created
the “<i>Nicene-Constantinople Creed</i>”, which is usually referred to as the
Nicene Creed, and affirms the co-equality of the Godhead as the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">There would be five more major
Councils of the Church before the major confessions of the Church were
resolved…and then, they did not stay resolved!
Still, the next time you say the Creed, remember that our confession of
faith, communally, comes from the 4<sup>th</sup> century Church Fathers. If you can, memorize it, and let it be a part
of your daily confession of faith:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Nicene Creed<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I believe in one God,<br />
the Father almighty,<br />
maker of heaven and earth,<br />
of all things visible and invisible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,<br />
the Only Begotten Son of God,<br />
born of the Father before all ages.<br />
God from God, Light from Light,<br />
true God from true God,<br />
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;<br />
through him all things were made.<br />
For us men and for our salvation<br />
he came down from heaven,<br />
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,<br />
and became man.<br />
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,<br />
he suffered death and was buried,<br />
and rose again on the third day<br />
in accordance with the Scriptures.<br />
He ascended into heaven<br />
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.<br />
He will come again in glory<br />
to judge the living and the dead<br />
and his kingdom will have no end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of life,<br />
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,<br />
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,<br />
who has spoken through the prophets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I believe in one, holy, catholic and
apostolic Church.<br />
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins<br />
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead<br />
and the life of the world to come.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-18126698692098944182024-03-16T08:17:00.004-05:002024-03-16T08:17:44.806-05:00Day 27 (Saturday) – “The Significance of the Cross”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Yesterday
we walked through the events that led up to Jesus carrying his cross to
Golgotha, where he was to be crucified.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Over the next week, we will walk through Jesus’ words on the Cross.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Yet, I wanted to pause to consider the Cross
of Jesus Christ.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">For many Christians,
the significance of the Cross is that it is symbolic.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">That is partially correct.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus had said to his disciples, and others, </span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">“Whoever
does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38).</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">In this sense, Jesus was calling his disciples,
and those who said they wanted to follow him, to be willing to go through
whatever it takes, including suffering and death, to be His believing follower.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">What lay ahead for him in his journey was the
Cross.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Romans
didn’t invent the idea of a cross for crucifixion, but they perfected its use as
a death penalty for those whom they deemed to be a threat to Rome. The Romans hung their victims on a cross of
wooden materials, sometimes in the shape of a T, and sometimes in the shape of
an X. Either way, the cross was meant to
humiliate the victim and warn the populace not to defy Roman authority. The use of the cross and crucifixion as a death
penalty had been a part of the ancient world before Rome, but most historians
agree that Rome made an art out of it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Given
that crucifixion was seen as an extremely shameful way to die, Rome tended not
to crucify its citizens. Instead, slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians,
foreigners, and — in particular — political activists often lost their lives in
this way. The practice became especially
popular in the Roman-occupied Israel. In 4 B.C., the Roman general Varus crucified
2,000 Jews, and there were mass crucifixions during the first century A.D.,
according to the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Romans
began, as they did with Jesus, by whipping their victim with whips made of sharp
bone pieces, and metal pieces, opening up the back to the bone and excessive
bleeding. They wanted the victim to have
no energy to resist, and ultimately to succumb to pain that weakened them. They forced their victim to carry the <i>patibulum,</i>
the upper portion of the cross beam which was tied to their arms and hands to
the place of their execution. Then, the
victim would be tied or nailed to the patibulum. After that, the patibulum was
lifted and affixed to the upright post of the cross, and the feet would be tied
or nailed to it. While the victim
awaited death, soldiers would commonly divide up the victim's clothes among
themselves. But death didn't always come quickly; it took anywhere from three
hours to four days to die. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus
was given a cross beam to carry to Golgotha.
His wrists were nailed to the cross beam, and then he was lifted upright
and nailed his feet to the upright post where he hung for six hours. He suffered beyond our imagination. To the Roman soldiers, and many of the Jewish
people, they looked upon him with derision – Jesus was a trouble-maker, a
nobody from Galilee, a so-called Rabbi, or Prophet, but no more than a commoner
who dared defy Rome and got justice he deserved. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">No one
during that time wore a symbol of a cross around their neck. Yet, the Cross
became a powerful symbol for the early church.
The Apostle Paul writing to the churches in Corinth and Galatia said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“For the
message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“May I
never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the
world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVIj_xYXedB1GAoSW3U3Tb9PD3WA1O0_1U0EoScub7r9TIrUcM3ebmIJMqQEtZWzK52Wj3k5O97JKvokiLZcaZ3Qm9vAcu9E1bjcdmAzDxRW3JJqSmvY1dg5V33BJcMtyEGv3VFUHpbBBB85bktguO_EwmDzB3ReofCZ5W_TWMMAB9IzSle1fgWzbtGw/s251/Alexamenos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="220" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVIj_xYXedB1GAoSW3U3Tb9PD3WA1O0_1U0EoScub7r9TIrUcM3ebmIJMqQEtZWzK52Wj3k5O97JKvokiLZcaZ3Qm9vAcu9E1bjcdmAzDxRW3JJqSmvY1dg5V33BJcMtyEGv3VFUHpbBBB85bktguO_EwmDzB3ReofCZ5W_TWMMAB9IzSle1fgWzbtGw/s1600/Alexamenos.jpg" width="220" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">A famous
piece of early-third-century Roman wall art, the “<i>Alexamenos graffito</i>,” depicts
two human figures, with the head of a donkey, arms stretched out in a T-shaped
cross, with the caption “<i>Alexamenos worships his god</i>.” The caricature
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</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">enos</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">,” offering prayers to this crucified figure
was a way of depicting Christ with a donkey’s head and ridiculing his god.</span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"><br />Christianity
was outlawed at the time in the Roman Empire and criticized by some as a
religion for fools. But for Christians, the cross had deep meaning. They
understood Christ’s death on the cross as confirmation of Christ’s work as a
Paschal sacrifice which was “completed” by God’s raising him from the dead
three days later. This Resurrection was a sign of Christ’s “victory” over sin
and death.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Early Christians, frequently
referred to Christ’s cross as a “</span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">victorious Cross.</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">As Christians,
we are convinced that Jesus’ death on the cross meant that death and Sin were
conquered. The Apostle Peter said it
like this: <br />
<i>“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins,
we might live for righteousness; by his wounds, you have been healed” (1 Peter
2:24).</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">One of
the many symbols for Christians around the world is to make the sign of the Cross
over themselves. Why do it? It is an ancient custom that began in the early
centuries as a way of greeting, as well as praying to God the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. The </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">words in the
Sign of the Cross prayer are…“<i>In the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">While you pray this prayer, you
make a cross on your body starting with your right hand on your
forehead for the word “Father,” in the middle of your chest for the word “Son,”
on your left shoulder for the word “Holy,” and on your right shoulder for the
word “Spirit.” The motion is forehead, chest, left shoulder, and right
shoulder. You can end by saying “Amen” and placing your hands together in
the middle, like traditional “praying hands.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I do it several times a day, for
it reminds me in a prayerful way that I belong to Jesus who loved me by dying
for my Sin on the cross.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
Peace<o:p></o:p></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-48614675948673259232024-03-15T09:10:00.001-05:002024-03-15T09:10:12.659-05:00 Day 26, (Friday) – “Good Friday?”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">On the Friday
of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, Jesus is accused by his own people – mainly by
the religious rulers and is crucified by the Romans under Pontius Pilate.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">On Thursday evening, Jesus had taken his
disciples to the Garden of Gethsemani.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">For
Jesus, midnight did not lead to sleep.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus’ day begins with His arrest following Judas’ betrayal.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Judas leads the band of Jewish authorities to
the garden and there Jesus is arrested.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">They
take Jesus first to the elderly (former) High Priest, Annas. He had turned over His High Priestly duties
to his son-in-law, but he was still the power behind the Jewish leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“So the band of soldiers and their
captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. <br />
First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year. <br />
It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that
one man should die for the people” (John 18:12-14). <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peter, and most likely John,
followed behind, and the unnamed disciple had some standing with the High Priest
and was permitted to enter the courtyard to watch the proceedings. Peter is confronted for the first time when a
servant asks if he is not one of Jesus’ followers, and he emphatically denies
it. John records what he saw next:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“The high priest then questioned
Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. <br />
Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always
taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have
said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I
said to them; they know what I said.” <br />
When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus
with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” <br />
Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but
if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” <br />
Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest” (John 18:19-24).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus’
time there is short, and soon He is passed on to Caiaphas. Caiaphas is not interested in hearing from
Jesus, or learning from him…he wants Him out of the way. The trials, according to Jewish law, are illegal.
They are sham trials because they are not objectively looking for the truth,
but have determined that Jesus must die.
Caiaphas is politically motivated, so he calls an “illegal” meeting of
the council – the Sanhedrin – to whom the Romans had given power to govern
their religious affairs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Now the chief priests and the
whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put
him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At
last two came forward and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the
temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” <br />
And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it
that these men testify against you?” <br />
But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by
the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” <br />
Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see
the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of
heaven.” <br />
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy.
What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. <br />
What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” <br />
Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, <br />
saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” (Matthew
26:57-68).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In all
likelihood, it is early in the morning, and daylight is beginning to emerge. The charge against Jesus is based on his own
words, but taken out of context. When
Jesus declares his authority on earth and in heaven, they have had enough. Of course, Jesus had not threatened to
destroy the Temple, but he spoke of the temple of His body which was about to
be destroyed and would be restored in three days. They didn’t ask what he meant because they
weren’t interested in who he was, or what he was about to do. Who is Jesus?
The Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Messiah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Now begins
the earnest torture of shaming, and humiliating Jesus, even spitting on him and
hitting him. Jesus is the suffering
servant of God as the prophet Isaiah had prophesied 700 years previously. In this humiliation, Peter responds to
questions of whether he was a disciple of Jesus by denying he knows Jesus for
the third time – “<i>and immediately the rooster crowed” (Matt. 26:74).</i> It was of God’s will that none would stand
behind Jesus in His suffering. He alone
had to face the wrath of God for the Sin of the world. Peter, ashamed, and humiliated,
leaves weeping. Now, all the disciples are
scattered…Jesus is alone. Soon, daylight
comes, and the actions begin to move faster.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“When morning came, all the chief
priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to
death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the
governor (Matthew 27:1-2).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTLLwUxSm6NefjGF4fbTQN6761z20zSJIhM0l2oq3ZDKNMn7RsdmNg-m7QFhOXo8jisjqgyfUkIwzdPQwVy_vtsEYQnZdG1FC_TY_4lVQylbZzMD00qCQtWNCjHtvtAr3bCD9-CXgWwCEJbgq8_F2qFoOLbWRBEMUj0KxqG7ix7OW3yBvCx28Nt669B0/s1024/Jesus-Before-Pilate-2-1024x788-2476473602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1024" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTLLwUxSm6NefjGF4fbTQN6761z20zSJIhM0l2oq3ZDKNMn7RsdmNg-m7QFhOXo8jisjqgyfUkIwzdPQwVy_vtsEYQnZdG1FC_TY_4lVQylbZzMD00qCQtWNCjHtvtAr3bCD9-CXgWwCEJbgq8_F2qFoOLbWRBEMUj0KxqG7ix7OW3yBvCx28Nt669B0/w200-h154/Jesus-Before-Pilate-2-1024x788-2476473602.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Now it is Friday morning, and the
Jewish leaders turn Jesus over to the Romans, because, though they had
condemned Jesus, the Jews did not have the authority to crucify Jesus – only Pilate
had that power. Jesus appears before Pilate two times…and once in between before Herod
Antipas. The charge before Pilate is
what the governors were most concerned with…Insurrection.<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Now Jesus stood before the
governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus
said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and
elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate
said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” <br />
But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor
was greatly amazed” (Matthew 27:11-14).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Luke’s
Gospel records that Pilate passed Jesus along to Herod Antipas because Herod
was the Roman ruler in Galilee. Herod
had wanted to meet Jesus, in hopes that he could see him perform one of his
signs, but eventually Herod returned Jesus to Pilate for a second time without
any charges against him. Pilate is not
sure what to do, he vacillates knowing that Jesus is a problem, but Roman law
demands a just sentence, and Jesus is not an insurrectionist. Pilate offers a solution in offering to
release Jesus over the true insurrectionist, Barabbas, but the leaders will not
have any of that. <br /> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Now the
chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and
destroy Jesus” The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you
want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” <br />
Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called
Christ?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">They all
said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But
they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:20-23).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It is
early Friday morning, and Jesus has the whole world turned against him. All
turned brutal and the painful suffering only intensified:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Then the soldiers of the governor
took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole
battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and
twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in
his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King
of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the
head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put
his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27:27-31).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">It was
9:00 a.m. when they arrived at Golgotha – the place of the crucifixion.<br />
</span><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“And they
crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to
decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they
crucified him”(Mark 15:24-25).<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
disciples have all scattered, fearful of their lives that the Jewish leaders
and the Romans would hunt them down and kill them also. Judas had taken the 30 pieces of silver and
returned them to the High Priest. He was
distraught, and though regretting what he had done, he did not repent, but
instead went out and hung himself.
Pilate had washed his hands of the whole incident. He felt no responsibility for ordering Jesus’
death. Caiaphas and the rest of the council thought, “<i>There, now we are rid
of this problem.”</i> Everyone justifies
their actions, and no one understands their guilt, their Sin, and their need
for Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Beloved,
remember this…all of this was done according to God’s will. Sin is not excused or overlooked, it is paid
for…sacrificially…the Passover lamb is to be slain. Jesus is the “<i>lamb of God who takes away
the Sin of the world”.</i> His blood
forever is about to be spilled as the Passover lamb. We remember in our creed… <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“I believe in God,<br />
the Father almighty,<br />
Creator of heaven and earth,<br />
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,<br />
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,<br />
born of the Virgin Mary,<br />
suffered under Pontius Pilate,<br />
was crucified, died, and was buried”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Yes, there
is more, and we praise God for the more.
What is it we should see on this day – today? We should see that there’s a bit of all of
these people in us. We fail to stand up
as Peter did. We fail to take
responsibility as Pilate did. We fail to
repent and blame God as the Council did.
When we remain silent we continue to say “<i>Crucify him</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Over the
next few days, we will return to the cross, for there is much to learn from
what happened there on that infamous Friday, we call Good.<br />
<br />
Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-83328595795469167022024-03-14T10:48:00.000-05:002024-03-14T10:48:04.869-05:00 Day 25, (Thursday) – “Holy Thursday and the Last Supper”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">In Lent,
we come to what the early Church Fathers called the “Tridium”, which comes from
the Latin meaning “three days”.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The
Tridium is considered to be the three most sacred days of the Church year.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It begins on Holy Thursday evening at Sundown.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">This is called “Holy Thursday” because it is
the initiation of the Apostles to the Eucharist, or as is sometimes called “the
Lord’s Supper”.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Good Friday comes next,
then on Saturday, the great Easter Vigil where historically, the new believers –
the Catechists – were baptized and celebrated their first communion.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Sunday is the celebration of the Resurrection
on Easter.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
early church celebrated on Sunday, even though for a while many of the Jewish
believers (the Apostles, Paul, etc…) continued to go to the Synagogue to share
the Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah. After
the Jews banned the Jewish Christians, Sunday developed in the commemoration of
the resurrection of Jesus on that first Easter morning. Easter became tied in the calendar to a date
near the celebration of Passover.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">By the
fourth century pilgrimages to Jerusalem to celebrate what was called “the Great
Week” included Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday. This established a pattern that would continue
to exist, even though changes were made along the way and certain liturgies sometimes
fell out of place. Still, today, in the Church
these four services of the Holy Week – the Great Week – remain. Lastly, while
these four liturgies, or celebrations, seem to be separate, they are not. They represent one continuous celebration of
the passion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">All of the
Gospels recall the events on this Thursday evening when Jesus brought his
disciples, including Judas to an Upper Room…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Now on
the first day of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where
will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the
city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I
will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” <br />
And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the
Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at the table with the twelve. And as
they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” <br />
And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it
I, Lord?” <br />
He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. <br />
The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the
Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not
been born.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to
him, “You have said so” (Matthew 26:17-25)<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qwZ9zOosAPoR-3IsswD1k_Cfa9kCG9jpVN2kSAflMK0ObqR5BdQQEjl1ZsQ3-nNneh_WJr3-4UazUcDzeWqcQxAIvBfVKQjoU1mFfbGhVIzjiFFKUa_7AQRIqu93B-vmoXW-lyNk84V5IZt8jzWNUgKub95rKSCSZFjiKMOo76obYFpRfWq_tdhUyUw/s1650/b4774815223304677ca7f432cb9c22dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1650" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qwZ9zOosAPoR-3IsswD1k_Cfa9kCG9jpVN2kSAflMK0ObqR5BdQQEjl1ZsQ3-nNneh_WJr3-4UazUcDzeWqcQxAIvBfVKQjoU1mFfbGhVIzjiFFKUa_7AQRIqu93B-vmoXW-lyNk84V5IZt8jzWNUgKub95rKSCSZFjiKMOo76obYFpRfWq_tdhUyUw/w200-h133/b4774815223304677ca7f432cb9c22dc.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus
said, <i>“My time is at hand”.</i> From the
beginning, he had made it clear that the Father was in charge of the events
that would lead up to his death. He
comes to Passover, which is the Jewish feast that celebrates – through sacrifice
– the work of God to free the nation of Israel from Egyptian slavery. Jesus is going to free the world from the slavery
of sin. Jesus instructs his disciples to
go into Jerusalem to prepare the Passover meal.
Mark and Luke tell us that they went to a place with an “Upper Room”. The Passover meal began at sundown (evening)
and in a popular manner, Jesus is not sitting at a table, but reclining at a
table with the twelve disciples.<br /><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This is
the first time Jesus reveals that one of them will betray him. The Gospels had recorded that he knew one was
a betrayer, but he shocked them by making it public. They all wondered in their words, <i>“Is it I,
Lord?”.</i> Jesus had a common washing
dish for which they had all participated, and Jesus reminds Judas in words that
only Judas could have known were meant for him - <i>“woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”</i> Judas, I believe disingenuously, replied “<i>is
it I, Rabbi</i>”, and Jesus said, <i>“You have said so”.</i> It’s all so sobering to read. God has purposed and Jesus had carried out the
plan, yet Judas of his own free will had betrayed Jesus to the authorities, and
we are gripped by Jesus’ words of warning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Now the
Passover meal – a Seder – continued. The
other Gospels are unclear, but John seems to say that Judas was still
there. John’s Gospel reminds us that
Jesus washed the feet of his disciples in the Upper Room and taught them about
what it meant to serve one another in love.
The text gives us the institution of the Eucharist – Holy Communion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Now as
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it
to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” <br />
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink
of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this
fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s
kingdom” (Matthew 26:26-29).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
Seder meal was rich in symbols. Food included
lamb, bitter herbs, wine, and unleavened bread.
The book of Exodus records God’s command to the people of Israel to
celebrate with a meal, songs of thanksgiving, and herbs to remind them that God
was redeeming them from the bitterness of slavery. Now, Jesus instituted a “new covenant” meal
which included the unleavened bread – which was bread without yeast, and yeast
was a symbol of sin. This bread is not
just bread, not just a symbol, but something that implies Jesus’ ongoing
presence in the Church of his body – <i>“Now as they were eating, Jesus took
bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take,
eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26). </i>It
was not without precedence. Jesus had
stirred the Jewish crowd when preaching in John 6 when he proclaimed himself <i>“the
bread of life”.</i> Then he said…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“I am
the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This
is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not
die. <br />
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the
world is my flesh.” <br />
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?” <br />
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. <br />
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up on the last day. <br />
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. <br />
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. <br />
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever
feeds on me, he also will live because of me. <br />
This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers
ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” (John 6:48-58).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In the
Upper Room, Jesus gives to the disciples the words of the Eucharist. Jesus’ real presence will continue to be with
His people in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. He adds that the cup – a chalice – will be
filled with wine – already an element in the Passover, (Seder), celebration.
Yet, now the chalice will contain the <i>“blood of the covenant”</i>. What was symbolically pictured in the lamb’s
sacrifice and blood being painted over the door of each Jewish home, is now
focused on Jesus Christ as God’s sacrifice who <i>“is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sin.”</i> The sacrificial
death of Jesus that lay ahead was to be a sacrifice for the sins of many – for the
whole world. The words echo the prophet
Isaiah: <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Yet it
was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul
makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his
days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. <br />
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his
knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted
righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. <br />
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered
with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for
the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:10-12).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This night
that instituted the Lord’s Supper is not just symbolic, it is filled with
sacramental and theological understanding of Christ’s death as the
Messiah. If we did not have this night’s
record, we would have to conclude that Jesus’ death was an unfortunate
tragedy. But, because of this record, we
understand Jesus purposed the Eucharistic words that we celebrate today. Jesus’ body is given to us so that we might
receive the fullness of His broken body for us.
Jesus’ blood is received so that we might know the fullness of Christ’s
expiating sacrifice for our Sin. The
Eucharist established in the Upper Room has continued for about 2100 years and
gives us a long line of celebrating what Christ’s sacrifice has done for us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Before the
evening ends, Jesus will leave the Upper Room, taking his disciples to the
Garden of Gethsemani. Gethsemani means “olive
press”. Here Jesus begins to realize the
weight of the sins of the world. We remember
that Jesus had never sinned, so he did not experience the shame, guilt, and judgment
that Sin carried until now. This was the
“cup” that he had to drink.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“And
going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as
you will” (Matthew 26:39).</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">After
awakening his sleeping disciples, he tells them to look, <i>“See, the hour is
at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Matthew
26:45).</i> Judas is leading a band of
Roman soldiers and temple guards, all carrying their torches up the hill
towards Gethsemani. Judas led them into
the garden, and up to Jesus. <i>“And he
came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus
said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands
on Jesus and seized him” (Matthew 26:49-50).</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The evening
of Thursday was giving way to the dark hours of Friday morning, and Jesus’
suffering was begun…all for us!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-36675263878381139872024-03-13T17:22:00.005-05:002024-03-13T17:22:47.854-05:00 Day 24, (Wednesday) – “A Silent Brewing Storm”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">We begin
the final two weeks of Lent and the journey that Jesus took to Jerusalem, where
he knew he was to be arrested and killed by the complicity of the religious
rulers and the Romans.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">As the
week progressed Jesus retreated from Jerusalem for a day, staying in Bethany
with his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
The storm that was about to occur was quiet – silent. Yet what happened was clearly a picture of
the rest of the week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“When Jesus had finished all these
sayings, he said to his disciples, ‘You know that after two days the Passover
is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.’ <br />
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the
palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in
order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the
feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” <br />
Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman
came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she
poured it on his head as he reclined at the table. <br />
And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this
waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she
has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but
you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done
it to prepare me for burial. <br />
Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole
world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” <br />
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief
priests <br />
and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they
paid him thirty pieces of silver. <br />
And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him” (Matthew
26:1-16).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It’s
Wednesday and these events happen in parallel ways. Jesus is in Bethany at the
home of Simon, who was a leper. At the
same time, he is fully aware of what is going on behind the scenes. The chief priests and elders have had enough
and they are plotting to arrest Jesus…looking for a way and an opportunity.
Their original idea is to do it after the feast is over. It would be easier, and a lot of the pilgrims
coming for the feast would have left to return to their homes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It all
changes when Judas decides that he will betray Jesus to the leaders. It gives them the impetus to put together a
group of soldiers and ambush Jesus and his disciples at a time when they
weren’t with the crowds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">But
first, we see Jesus anointed with oil from “a woman”. It might have been Mary the sister of Martha
and Lazarus, or one of the other women who were part of Jesus’ followers. What is amazing is that she anoints Jesus
“pre” his death. Did she know? Did she see it as an inevitable result of
Jesus’ life? We don’t know. What we know is that her action is in itself
prophetic. She is declaring what is about to happen and the disciples probably
didn’t see it until much later – Judas certainly didn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">No one
probably understood what was going on and what was about to happen. It’s indicative of our Spiritual lives that
we can live day by day and often be oblivious to what God is doing “in” and
“around” us. Maybe that’s why Jesus kept
saying to his followers… <i>“Do you have eyes to see?” </i>The woman was moved
to do the anointing. It was an act of
worship and an act that would serve to be remembered by the disciples after it
was all over. Judas’ accusation is that
it was a waste, but Jesus’ rebuke shows that it is not true – it was
extravagant worship, and one that is forever remembered. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Judas is
the tragic figure…all that time walking with Jesus, watching Jesus, witnessing
Jesus’ words and works…and he never got it.
Why? Lots of reasons, but first
of all, he had a religious agenda that Jesus would not fulfill. He wanted Jesus
to overthrow the Romans and set up God’s Kingdom upon the earth. Jesus did declare <i>“The Kingdom of God is
at hand”…</i>but Judas wanted a revolution that sent the Romans back to Italy,
and that was not Jesus’ work the Father had for him to do. Perhaps when the woman poured the oil, as if
to prepare Jesus for his death, Judas turned from a follower to a traitor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
contrast in the characters on this day could not be starker. The woman poured oil on Jesus’ head as an act
of worship, while the religious rulers plotted to kill Jesus. Judas stood in the middle, and watching his
expectations of Jesus dissolve, decided to take matters into his own
hands. The name of Judas Iscariot always
appears last in the list of the Apostles, and it makes us wonder – mysterious
wonder – about God’s plans and purposes in his betrayal. Did Judas make a choice? Yes!
Did Judas have a choice? Yes!
Still, in the plans and purposes of God, Jesus mentions more than once
that he knew he would be betrayed. The
providential, sovereign purposes of God are mysteriously fulfilled in Judas’
choice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This
Wednesday serves as a pivot point in Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. There is a silent storm that is brewing and
no one, except Jesus sees it. Today is a
day of prophetic actions… and Jesus will rest until tomorrow’s events begin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-35637029217164710562024-03-13T17:21:00.002-05:002024-03-13T17:21:12.065-05:00 Day 23, (Tuesday), “From Bad to Worse and Back Again”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">On
Tuesday, Jesus had several encounters with religious leaders…Scribes,
Pharisees, members of the Sadducees…and none of them turned out well.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It was a day that seemed to go from bad to
worse, until an encounter near the Temple, later in the day, that changed the
tone.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The day
began with Jesus publicly speaking a parable that directly spoke of what the
Jewish leaders were doing to the nation.
Then in a series of encounters, that Luke records, we see Jesus facing
His accusers and with wisdom as he deals with their attempts to embarrass him
in public. While it seems to go from bad
to worse, it is Jesus who is doing the work of exposing the nature of
“religion” without real faith.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“(Jesus) began to tell the people
this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into
another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant
to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.
But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. <br />
And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him
shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one
also they wounded and cast out. <br />
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my
beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they
said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance
may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What
then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? <br />
He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When
they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them
and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders
rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be
broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (Luke
20:9-18).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The plot
thickens as Jesus confronts the leaders of the Temple. The scribes, Pharisees,
religious elders, and Chief Priests controlled the machinery of the Temple and
the Jewish religion. Yet it was not a
Faith they were leading, but an institution where the bottom line of money and
power ruled. They cared about these
things and used their positions to control the rest of the nation – not for
God’s sake, but for their own. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus
was the cornerstone of a New Covenant, a relationship with God through Christ
Jesus, and yet they wanted to control their religion of which Christ Jesus is
the cornerstone. Rejecting Christ
results in stumbling on Christ as the only way.
They had religion, but they didn’t have God. The nature of religion without faith is that
the outside appearances do not match the interior faith. Religion is a substitute for relationships. It is human pride saying – as Adam and Eve
were tempted to say – “<i>If you do this, you’ll be like God.”</i> This pride will always fail. The leaders knew
Jesus was speaking about them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“The scribes and the chief priests
sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had
told this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they
watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch
him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and
jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you
speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of
God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived
their craftiness, and said to them, ‘Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and
inscription does it have?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ He said to them, ‘Then
render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are
God’s’. And they were not able in the
presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his
answer they became silent” (Luke 20:19-26).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
religious leaders and the elders approached him to trap him in choosing between
their religious authority and the Roman religion of Caesar as a god. Would Jesus oppose it – and perhaps be
arrested as a rebel? Or would he uphold it – and lose the support of the
people? Jesus asked his questioners for a coin, not because he did not possess
one, but to demonstrate that they also used Caesar's money. The silver <i>denarius,</i>
which bore Caesar's head on one side and the other the goddess of peace, was
inscribed: <i>'Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus, chief
priest.'</i> If the people used Caesar's coinage, they were under obligation to
pay back what was owed to him. But then Jesus went beyond the original
question. People also have a parallel debt to God for they belong to God as His
people. They had no answer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">There
were a couple more encounters worth reading in this section. First, the
Sadducees try to trick him with a question about the Law and what should happen
upon the death of a husband. According
to the Law, a family was obligated to keep the family line going. Yet, the Sadducees – who didn’t believe in a
resurrection – made up a stupid story of seven husbands and who would be her
husband in the resurrection. Jesus’
answer is to remind them that in the end… <i>“Now he is not God of the dead,
but of the living, for all live to him” (Luke 20:38).</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
scribes responded – seemingly positively – by saying… <i>“Then some of the
scribes answered, ‘Teacher, you have spoken well’. For they no longer dared to ask him any
question” (Luke 20:39-40).</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Now that
Jesus has stopped their trap, he returns to the theme of the ruler's inability
to lead the nation in the faith of knowing God.
Jesus proposed a question to them, that cuts to the heart of the
differences between the scribes who do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the
Son of God, and who Jesus is showing himself to be. It’s not just that they don’t agree, it’s
that they are the force that will move the people and the Romans to later
crucify him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> “But
he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? For David
himself says in the Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my
right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ David thus calls him
Lord, so how is he his son?” <br />
And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the
scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the
marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at
feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They
will receive the greater condemnation” (Luke 20:41-47).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
danger of the scribes is in their pretensions and pride that they believe makes
them better than the rest of the people.
It is at this moment that another event takes place to heighten the
awareness of the scribes and whom God approves of. Unfortunately, we have a chapter division,
but the events are connected. As we turn
to Luke 21, Jesus is still in the Temple, and this is what he sees and says:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Jesus
looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he
saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell
you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed
out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live
on” (Luke 21:1-4).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This is
the final point to be made. The widow
who gives up her last penny is of greater virtue and faith than the scribes and
Pharisees who gave out of their riches and had plenty left over for their
gratification. It is not the quantity of
the gift before God that matters, but the quality of the gift when it comes
from a sacrificial heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
Lenten season asks us to enter into an “examen”, or “examination” of our
hearts, our motives, our attitudes, and our works. We might want to consider a daily examen of
these things. Take some time today,
towards the end of the day, and walk through the day in your mind. Look at the interactions with others, the
times of turning or not turning towards God in prayer. Let God’s Spirit do the work of turning us
back from “hardened hearts” to the living God we can know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">When the
day is over, He returns at night to Bethany.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-77762354752836945202024-03-11T10:45:00.004-05:002024-03-11T10:45:45.126-05:00 Day 22, (Monday) – “A Symbol of Judgment”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Looking at Jesus’ final journey to
Jerusalem is sobering.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">We know he is in
control of the events that will occur.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">We realize that he has come to give himself up as a “Paschal Sacrifice”.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The journey will have some unexpected twists
and this is one of them.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It’s Monday,
the day after the triumphant entry of Sunday.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">On this day, Jesus returns to Jerusalem from his overnight stay in
Bethany, and in the Gospel of Matthew, everyone becomes aware of who he was by
the end of the day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“In the morning, when he returned
to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig
tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but
leaves. Then he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!"
And the fig tree withered at once. <br />
When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, "How did the fig tree
wither at once?" <br />
Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not
doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you
say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done.
Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> When he entered the temple,
the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching,
and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you
this authority?" <br />
Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell
me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. <br />
Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human
origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,'
he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' <br />
But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all
regard John as a prophet." <br />
So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them,
"Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
Matthew 21:18-27 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Piecing together the different
Gospels is not an easy task. Matthew
reminds us that it was the next morning that Jesus returned to Jerusalem. When he came into the city, a parable – so to
speak – unfolded for the disciples, and us to see.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">There was a fig tree by the
wayside…figs grow abundantly in the Mediterranean climate of Israel. It was a fig tree that Adam and Eve sought leaves
to sew together a covering after they had fallen into Sin because they realized
they were naked. God tells the
Israelites when they are going to the Promised Land of Israel that it is “<i>a
land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees…”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The fig
tree seemed to represent God’s care, prosperity, and blessing…and as Jesus
approached Jerusalem he found emptiness instead of fruit. Jesus speaks words of judgment: “<i>And he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come
from you again! And the fig tree withered at once”.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
disciples, perhaps shocked at what Jesus did, ask “<i>How did this happen so
suddenly?</i>” Jesus’ response is to remind them that faith makes all things
possible. Yet, the fig tree is not only a lesson on prayer, it’s also a lesson about
judgment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">As the
fig tree died, so also Israel is dying.
In Jesus’ entry, the conflict with the religious rulers will heat
up. Jesus reminds the disciples that the
Temple will be destroyed. The New Covenant is about to be established in Jesus’
death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">God is
exercising through His son over the nation of Israel and its leaders. Jesus enters the Temple and there is a
confrontation with the elders and Chief Priests of the Temple. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">They
want to know by what authority he claims to speak. Their authority was granted to them by virtue
of their position, often bought and paid for through bribes, or family
patronage, and approved by the Roman leaders – all of it to keep the money
flowing into the Temple and to pay for the lavish lifestyles of all in power.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus
answers that the authority he has comes from God, just as John the Baptist
did…they know he’s dangerous. The fig tree is dead because it bears no
fruit. So also is the nation dying under
the weight of its politics of religion and leaders only interested in lining
their pockets. Near this same time,
Jesus cried out to Israel to see what they were doing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“And when he drew near and saw the
city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day
the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the
days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you
and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the
ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone
upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke
19:41-44).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Within
40 years the nation will lie in ruins – crushed by the Roman army that leveled
the Temple, but also crushed under the weight of its greed and void of any
meaningful relationship with God. They
rejected the Messiah and it took a generation for it all to collapse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">One of
the most frequent pleas of the Psalms fits in this well. The Psalmists often make a simple plea to
their readers, and listeners, imploring most simply: <i>“Harden not your hearts”</i>. Let’s make sure in Lent that we pray for soft
hearts that are willing to hear God in His word.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-40856209441451293792024-03-10T11:01:00.002-05:002024-03-10T11:01:24.397-05:00 Sunday, the Fourth Week of Lent<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">On this Sunday we continue Jesus’
journey to Jerusalem, his entry into the city, and what followed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“When they were approaching
Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of
his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you,
and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never
been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you
doing this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here
immediately.'" <br />
They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As
they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, "What are
you doing, untying the colt?" <br />
They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. <br />
Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on
it. <br />
Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches
that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who
followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name
of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in
the highest heaven!" <br />
Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked
around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the
twelve” (Mark 11:1-11).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In a brief Lenten Sunday
devotional, let us see Christ Jesus, the King, who humbly enters into the place
in which he knows he will die. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">His
humility is demonstrated in the “colt”, not a General’s horse, for Jesus will
conquer sin and death, but not Rome. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">His
humility is demonstrated in the two unnamed disciples who follow Jesus’
instructions to do his will. We will not
know, in this lifetime, which two Jesus told us to go. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Humility is demonstrated in not receiving
acclaim for doing good works when the purpose is to glorify the Lord. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Humility is Jesus entering to the shouts of
“Hosanna” knowing that in a few days, the same crowd will be shouting “Crucify
him”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This is Christ Jesus, our Savior
and Lord, who humbly serves his Father’s will.
May we humbly worship and serve him today and always.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-66464918482967722562024-03-09T12:39:00.006-06:002024-03-09T12:39:46.335-06:00 Day 21 (Saturday) – “A Salvation Story”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Yesterday I wrote about Jesus and
Salvation.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Today, I want to begin that
journey that Jesus spoke to his disciples of and look at how it began.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> “He entered Jericho and was
passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief
tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on
account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. <br />
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he
was about to pass that way. <br />
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus,
hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” <br />
So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. <br />
And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest
of a man who is a sinner.” <br />
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my
goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore
it fourfold.” <br />
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he
also is a son of Abraham. <br />
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">As Jesus set out for Jerusalem he
had to go through Jericho – it was on the way.
I don’t believe that anything Jesus did was coincidental, and thus this
passage through Jerusalem was purposed by Jesus – all because of one person’s
need – a tax collector named Zacchaeus.
We taught our kids the song, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man…” It
probably explains why he climbed up into a sycamore tree to get a glimpse of
Jesus. Luke, writing from the memoirs of
the disciple described him – “<i>He was a chief tax collector and was
rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd
he could not, because he was small in stature”. </i> What Luke does not write is that tax
collectors were hated by the rest of the Jews, who saw them as selling out to
the Romans for money. In Jericho,
Zacchaeus was despised by everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It might be possible that
Zacchaeus climbed the tree to escape the notice of those in the street who
found out, like him, that Jesus was passing through, and perhaps he was
thinking that Jesus would want nothing to do with him. It must have surprised him, even shocked him
that Jesus not only noticed he was up in the tree, but he knew his name and
invited himself to join Zacchaeus in his home.
<i>“If a man loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him,
and we will come and make our home with him.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></i>
The reaction from the crowd that saw both Jesus and Zacchaeus together was as
expected – shock and anger. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Why did Jesus do it? He saw someone who needed to know God’s
love. Zacchaeus was a sinner, to be
sure, but he repented of his ill-gotten riches immediately. In the presence of Jesus, sin cannot
stand. Zacchaeus was well aware that he
had broken God’s law, but he justified it when hated by those around him. Now Jesus comes to him to tell him he is more
than a sinner, he is a child of God, loved by God, even though he sins. The enemy told Zacchaeus he was justified in
stealing, for they hated him, but once Christ showed him love, the enemy lost
his hold on a person who has Jesus as His friend. Now, the sinful Jewish tax collector becomes
a “new creation” in Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We opened the subject of salvation
in yesterday’s blog. Today, we witness
an example as Jesus journeys to Jerusalem.
Zacchaeus is repentant and confesses his sinfulness, and his willingness
to obey the Law. Jesus smiles, and
speaks of what just happened:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Today salvation has come to this
house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and
to save the lost” (Luke 19:9-10). <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This is salvation…Jesus comes
seeking the lost and when he finds them, they are restored in repentance,
redeemed from their lost state, and reminded that they belong to the Son of Man
from God. We should recognize that many
of those who are despised, broken, and unwelcome are desperately in need of the
knowledge of God’s love for them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Source Sans Pro",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> John 14:23<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-29844663289783409402024-03-08T10:10:00.003-06:002024-03-08T10:10:57.654-06:00 Day 21, (Friday) – “The Beginning of the Beginning”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">As we come closer to the final week of Jesus' ministry, before his arrest, I wanted us to look at the events surrounding his journey to Jerusalem.</span></span></p><p><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“And taking the twelve, he said to
them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about
the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.</span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and
shamefully treated and spit upon. <br />
And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will
rise.” <br />
But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from
them, and they did not grasp what was said” (Luke 18:31-34).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We are over the midway period of
the Lenten season. There came a time in
the Gospels when Jesus turned to his disciples and told them where he was going
to lead them – Jerusalem – and what was going to happen when they got there –
His death. We are reminded, they didn’t
understand either the “what” or the “why”.
This Gospel reading represents “the beginning of the beginning”. Did you notice I didn’t write “the beginning
of the end”? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">For Jesus, what lay ahead was a
road to travel, a valley to cross, a mission to accomplish, teaching to be
delivered, suffering and pain, and a doorway to a glorious future – it was the beginning
of the beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Let me try to connect this with
some theology. To begin with, we must see
the connection of both Christology (the study of Christ) and Soteriology (the
study of Salvation) within the Gospels.
When the early Church began after Pentecost, there was a mystery and a
majesty of Christ Jesus’ ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit to the
Church. The Spirit of God empowered the Church but also led the church into the
truth of the mystery of Christ Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What we must understand is that
Christology is never separated from Soteriology. Jesus Christ came through the Virgin’s birth –
the incarnation of God with us as God and Man.
The reason why Jesus Christ can bring salvation to his people is because
he was both human and divine. The Church
needed to affirm and explain this, and so for four centuries the Church Fathers
wrestled with how best to describe both the person of Christ Jesus (Christology)
and the purpose of Christ Jesus – salvation (Soteriology). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If He was not truly God, then he
could not <i>save </i>us. If he was not
truly Human, he could not <i>save</i> us.
The divine and human are not separated, nor alone, but totally united in
the single person of Jesus Christ. In
summary, Christianity defined by the Church through the ages, confesses that
Jesus is the Christ, the Promised Savior of God who died to save us and was
resurrected to prove God is behind it all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus announced to his disciples –
“<i>we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son
of Man by the prophets will be accomplished”.</i> When he told them of his suffering, death, and
resurrection, they could not understand it…what? Why? What they did not understand was that all of
this was the beginning of the beginning.
It would be decades later, in their Apostolic writings that it would be
unveiled. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Apostle Paul may have grasped
it the most as he wrote for one of the last times to Timothy while imprisoned
in Rome, awaiting his execution.<br />
<br />
<i>“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he
judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a
blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I
had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me
with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. <br />
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I
received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might
display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him
for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God,
be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:12-17).<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It is simple – Christ Jesus saves
sinners. To have salvation in Christ goes
beyond any simple rules or phrases. The
word “salvation” came from the Latin word <i>“salus”</i> which meant <i>“health”</i>. It is in our brokenness of sin from the creation
fall that God embarked on a plan that sent His son into the world – the incarnation,
that made redemption, conversion, justification, and sanctification
possible. To be saved is to be fully and
permanently united with God and with one another – the Church – in God through
Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What Christ Jesus began was by traveling
a road towards suffering, and it was just the beginning of the beginning, and it
has not come to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-50906306503736653572024-03-07T10:10:00.000-06:002024-03-07T10:10:07.681-06:00 Day 20 (Thursday) – “Musings On Prayer”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">During my lifetime of reading in the
Church’s history, I’ve never met a Saint who did not have a devotion to
prayer.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Prayer is the lifeblood of our
relationship with Christ in God.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Prayer
unites our heart to God’s heart, our will to God’s will, our desires to God’s
desires.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus taught us to pray through
his disciples when he was asked by them “</span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Master, teach us to pray”.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Pray then like this: “Our Father
in heaven, hallowed be your name. <br />
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. <br />
Give us this day our daily bread, <br />
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. <br />
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:9-13).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Prayer is the language of
heaven. Jesus’ prayer encapsulates the
entire Gospel. We are not just talking
to God, we are listening to God also. Prayer
is raising our minds and hearts to God in humility because humility is the
foundation of prayer. When we pray, we
come as the Apostle Paul said, “<i>We do not know how to pray as we ought…the
Spirit intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26).<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Catechism of the Church
reminds us: <i>“You would have asked him, and he would have given you living
water.<a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Paradoxically our prayer of petition is a response to the plea of the living
God: ‘They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out
cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.’<a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Prayer is the response of faith to the free promise of salvation and also a
response of love to the thirst of the only Son of God.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Why do we pray? Because we need to…for our sake, the sake of
others, but in the end, for the glory of God.
I’ll let the 2<sup>nd</sup>-century great defender of the faith – Saint Tertullian. Tertullian lived during a time of great persecution
of the Christian Church by the Roman Empire.
His people suffered greatly for
being Christians. Tertullian wrote many
letters in defense of the Christian faith, as well as theological treatises in
defense of orthodoxy as heresies arose. Yet, at the heart of his life was his
pastoral role as a Priest to his people in Carthage, North Africa. He wrote this to his people so that they might
be encouraged to pray, even in the face of persecution.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">From the treatise On Prayer by Tertullian, <br />
“The spiritual offering of prayer”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Prayer is the offering in spirit
that has done away with the sacrifices of old. What good do I receive from
the multiplicity of your sacrifices? asks God. I have had enough of
burnt offerings of rams, and I do not want the fat of lambs and the blood of
bulls and goats. Who has asked for these from your hands?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What God has asked for we learn
from the Gospel. The hour will come, he says, when true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. God is a spirit, and
so he looks for worshipers who are like himself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We are true worshipers and true
priests. We pray in spirit, and so offer in spirit the sacrifice of prayer.
Prayer is an offering that belongs to God and is acceptable to him: it is the
offering he has asked for, the offering he planned as his own.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We must dedicate this offering
with our whole heart, we must fatten it on faith, tend it by truth, keep it
unblemished through innocence and clean through chastity, and crown it with
love. We must escort it to the altar of God in a procession of good works to
the sound of psalms and hymns. Then it will gain for us all that we ask of God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Since God asks for prayer offered
in spirit and in truth, how can he deny anything to this kind of prayer? How
great is the evidence of its power, as we read and hear and believe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Prayer cleanses from sin, drives
away temptations, stamps out persecutions, comforts the fainthearted, gives new
strength to the courageous, brings travelers safely home, calms the waves,
confounds robbers, feeds the poor, overrules the rich, lifts up the fallen,
supports those who are falling, sustains those who stand firm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What more need be said on the duty
of prayer? Even the Lord himself prayed. To him be honor and power for ever and
ever. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Peace<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> John 4:10<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Jeremiah 2:13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ellio/Desktop/Lenten%20Reflections.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> 2561, of Part 4 on Prayer
from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2<sup>nd</sup> edition</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-73009870060309900702024-03-06T12:55:00.005-06:002024-03-06T12:55:49.942-06:00Day 19 (Wednesday) – “Faith in Various Ways”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Lent opens up the wisdom of God’s
word to us and challenges us to live by His wisdom.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Such is the nature of “faith”.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Nothing seems more basic than to say “we
believe” which is a statement of faith.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Of course, having faith in anything is based on what is often
unprovable.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">I have faith in God, faith
in Jesus Christ, and faith in the Holy Spirit, but I have not seen God, Jesus, or
the Holy Spirit.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">I can say I’ve seen the
work of God in people’s lives, in miracles, in events that transcend
understanding.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Yet, faith is a mystery.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The writer of the Book of Hebrews gives us a definition
of faith, and many examples of people’s faith in God:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Now faith is the assurance of
things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our
ancestors received approval. By faith, we understand that the worlds were
prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was made from things that are
not visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">For many people, especially people
who claim no belief, faith is a stumbling block. I’ve had people tell me “I don’t believe”,
which always strikes me as an untruth.
They may not believe in God, which means they have no faith in God, but
they do believe and have faith in something or someone, even if it is themselves! <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Faith appears in various forms in
the scripture. For example…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“By faith Noah, warned by God
about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his
household; by this, he condemned the world and became an heir to the
righteousness that is in accordance with faith. <br />
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he
was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was
going. By faith, he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a
foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him
of the same promise” (Hebrews 11:7-9).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Faith surrounds many biblical stories,
as we see in the faith of Noah who listened to God’s warning and built an ark,
while the rest of the world drowned in a flood.
We also see Abraham listening to God’s word to leave his home and go to
a land that God promised to give to his ancestors, and by faith Abraham traveled
to where God showed him. These two stories are two among dozens of stories in the
scripture of people who exercised the faith of believing in God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Yet, there’s another story of what
I call – doubting faith. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“(Jesus) came to the disciples,
they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. When
the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran
forward to greet him. He asked them, "What are you arguing about with
them?" Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought
you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; <br />
and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds
his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but
they could not do so" (Mark 9:14-18).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This is not the “doubting faith”
that I just mentioned. Nevertheless,
Jesus looked at his disciples and said, <i>"You faithless generation, how
much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring
him to me"</i> <i>(Mark 9:19).</i> The disciples certainly had exercised faith
in Jesus just by choosing to answer the call to “<i>follow me</i>”, but being
faithless meant they hadn’t learned how to exercise Jesus’ authority to bring
healing to the boy. In truth, healing
always involves God’s power, and not on the extent of our faith. The father had enough faith to seek Jesus out
for his son’s healing, yet even he had doubts…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“…they brought the boy to him.
When the (evil) spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell
on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, "How
long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. It
has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but <u>if
you are able to do anything</u>, have pity on us and help us" (Mark
9:20-22).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What I mean by doubting faith is
exemplified by the father’s words – <i>“God if you are able to do anything” </i>–
these are not the words of the faith that says “<i>I believe</i>”, but the
human words of “<i>I would love to believe, but I’m not sure I can”</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus’ response and the Father’s
response to Jesus are instructive…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“Jesus said to him, <u>‘If you are
able?—All things can be done for the one who believes</u>.’ <br />
Immediately the father of the child cried out, "<u>I believe; help
my unbelief</u>!" (Mark 9:23-24).</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If you are like me, you have
compassion for the father because you know he had been praying for a miracle
for his son’s healing for years. We all
have moments of doubt; thus, we are like the father in the story. When Jesus asks the father, "<i>How long
has he been like this?</i>", the father's answer is "<i>since
childhood</i>". When we face pain, suffering, and disease, they become
times of disorientation that can last for long periods...days turn to weeks,
weeks to months, months to years...and it can lead us to places of sincere
doubt. We ask, <i>“Does God know? Why
will he not act to change things? What have I done to deserve this? Where is
the faith that leads to healing?”</i> etc...The questions go on and on turning
over in our minds, sometimes minute by minute, and there seemingly are no
answers<i>. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
which is not seen,"</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> says the
writer of Hebrews. There is hope, and there is the “<i>I can’t see God</i>”
aspect of faith, even though I believe in Him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">So, then what do we do with doubt?
In the story, the father says to Jesus, <i>"...If
you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."</i> It is not just
about the boy, it is about "us" too. These kinds of needs for healing
affect everyone around the person who needs healing. When Jesus addresses the doubt he challenges
it – “<i>If you can?</i>" said Jesus.
"<i>Everything is possible for him who
believes</i>." <br />
We say it…everything is possible with God.
Yes, but then we wonder, “<i>Why then?</i>”. Even the disciples struggled and they said, “<i>Why
could we not…?</i>” That is our dilemma…<i>why
could I not</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I don't think Jesus was stern in
his rebuke, but rather, I see a calm, measured confidence that was meant to dislodge
the negative thoughts that had flooded his mind over time, to bring him out of
his desperation, and lead him back to believing faith. There are times when it
is ok to embrace doubt. It can be an act of humility that simply says <i>"I
don't know what to do, and I don't know how to pray this, Lord have mercy".</i>
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">None of us knows all that God has
in mind for us, or anyone else we know. We are seekers of "truth",
not seekers of being right all of the time. So I say, “Embrace the doubt, pray
with Faith, and hang on too!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-76543342893052039882024-03-05T09:22:00.004-06:002024-03-05T09:22:44.341-06:00 Day 18 (Tuesday) – “No Greater Love”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">In Lent, we are reminded of Jesus’
intentionality in going to the cross.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The Gospel of Matthew records that Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea
Philippi – a Roman/Gentile area – and chose that as the spot to ask them the question,
“</span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> (Matthew 16:13).</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It was Peter, the one who stood out as the
leader among the twelve disciples, who confessed Jesus as the Messiah, but also
added another title to Jesus – “</span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">He said to them, “But who do you say that I
am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">” (Matthew
16:15-16).</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">To confess that Jesus was the
Christ was to confess that he was the promised Messiah of God.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">To confess that Jesus is the “son of the
living God” was to confess Jesus’ divinity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Immediately after this, Matthew records
one of the three times that Jesus pulled his disciples aside (that is from the
crowds that often followed him) and he told them very specifically what they would
soon witness – his suffering and death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“From that time Jesus began to
show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be
raised”</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> (Matthew 16:21). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We must ponder what and why Jesus
did this. He did not want his disciples
to think that what was about to happen in his upcoming suffering at the hands
of the religious leaders and the Romans was because they were in control. No, he was intentionally going to Jerusalem
to suffer, die, and be resurrected on the third day. Jesus was in control of his life, and his
death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I think it’s important to
understand that Jesus’ intentionality in suffering was a divine act of mercy –
a sacrifice that is based on God’s divine love for his people suffering under
the slavery of their captivity by Sin.
The Apostle Peter reminds us as he decades later recalls what Jesus did.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be
born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead… knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from
your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with
the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” </span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">(1 Peter 1:3, 18-19).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus turned towards Jerusalem on
purpose. He went to be the lamb who
would shed his precious blood as a sacrifice for our Sin. The Apostle John saw it too: <i>“We know love
by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives
for one another” (1 John 3:16). </i>John,
Peter, the others heard it from Jesus in the Upper Room on Jesus’ last night
with them. Jesus told them: <i>“No one
has greater love than this than to lay down one's life for one's friends” (John
15:13).</i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem was
intentional, purposeful, and without hesitation. To love is to be willing to die for another. To live Christ-like is to live intentionally,
and not just for one’s self.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Raymond Kolbe was born in 1894
into a poor Polish farm family. He was a normal boy who got into trouble and didn’t
always do what he was supposed to do. His
mother grew exasperated with him and one day yelled at him, <i>“Raymond, what
will become of you?”</i> Raymond, even as
a young boy, heard his Mother’s words and they haunted him. One time at Church, he prayed, “<i>What will
become of me?”</i> He had a vision of the
Virgin Mary holding in her hands two crowns, one white, one red. She looked at him with love and told him the
white stood for purity and the red for his life as a sacrifice. She then asked him, <i>“Do you want them?”</i> Raymond Kolbe said “<i>Yes</i>”. Shortly after, Raymond Kolbe decided to
become a Priest. He was ordained to the Franciscans
in 1918 and took the name of Maximilian.
He wore the crown of purity not just in terms of chastity, but also in purity
of intentions – purposes for living and ministering that he intentionally lived.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The red crown first came to him in
1938, when he was arrested by the Gestapo for his anti-Nazi rhetoric. Released, he and his brothers organized a
shelter for Jews fleeing the Nazi persecution.
He was re-arrested in 1941 and eventually sent to Auschwitz prison camp.
In Auschwitz, the Nazi extermination
camp, this Franciscan priest, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, volunteered to take the
place of a Polish soldier, Francis Gajowniczek, who had been chosen to be a
victim of a retaliatory execution for the escape of a prisoner. Fr. Kolbe told
the Nazi commandant: <i>“I am a Catholic priest from Poland; I would like to
take his place because he has a wife and children.”</i> The commandant obliged,
returning Gajowniczek to the camp (in which he survived) and confined Kolbe and
nine other chosen prisoners to a starvation bunker. After being deprived of
food and water for fourteen days, the Nazi’s impatience with Kolbe and the three
others who were still alive decided to finish them off with lethal injections.
Father Kolbe put on his Red Crown as a martyr who died, living Jesus’ words – <i>“no
greater love, than to lay down one’s life for a friend”</i> – even a friend he
did not know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In Lent, we live to die to self,
and to live unto God, serving the people God puts around us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-23976179004367739622024-03-04T09:33:00.006-06:002024-03-04T09:33:33.074-06:00 Day 17 (Monday) – “A Simple Prayer”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">At the beginning of a new week,
let’s pause to consider what we are attempting to do in Lent.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Lent reminds us to “slow”, and even reverse
life if we have to.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">We rush headlong
into a new week, and there are many things to do.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">I have my head full of calendar times, to-do
lists, people to talk to, plans to make.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">We are “to do” people more than we are “have done” people.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Still, in the midst of this, how can we learn
to “slow”…take time to think, ponder, and be intentional so that God is not a
weekend thought, but a daily if not hourly someone on our mind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">When we do this we discover, anew,
that we are neither alone in our earthly sojourn, nor are we on our own on how
to live. Then, we learn to pray…but
what? Certainly, Jesus’ prayer is
foundational. When we pray the “Our
Father”, we come back to God on the most foundational level of our basic
needs. As we go through the day, we
experience all sorts of emotions. We may
feel loved and treated kindly, or we may feel other’s anger and our shame. The Psalms are rich in prayers that range
from good to evil, and we should learn to pray them. For example<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O LORD, make haste to help me! <br />
Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be
turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! <br />
Let them turn back because of their shame who say, “Aha, Aha!” <br />
May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your
salvation say evermore, “God is great!” But I am poor and needy; hasten
to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay! (Psalm
70:1-5).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The psalm of David begins with
that simple prayer. "Please God, deliver me! Come quickly, Lord, and help
me." In our flesh, we resist the urge to say the words. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Perhaps it’s simply that we don’t
want to be dependent upon anyone. But,
we were designed by God to be dependent, not alone, not making it on our
own. This dependence is not a source of
weakness, but rather of strength. Think
of all of the things that others have supplied to you – from Parents,
Relatives, Neighbors, Teachers, Pastors, and Friends. All of us have a rich “well of relationships”
that we can lower our buckets into. But
the Psalmist reminds us of where our dependence first comes from.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">First, our dependence is upon the
Lord himself – “<i>Make haste, O God, to deliver me”.</i> It’s the cry of a child to a loving parent,
“Dad, help me”. When Jesus was asked
what the greatest commandment was, he said, <i>"To</i> <i>love the Lord
your God with all of your heart...."</i> - to love him is to be dependent
upon him for life day by day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sixteen hundred years ago, a
European Christian named John Cassian (5<sup>th</sup> century) published an
account of his conversations with monks living in a Middle Eastern desert. One
older monk, Isaac, had shared this prayer from Psalm 70 with the younger John
on his visit to their monastery. John's
book - and Isaac's prayer - had such an influence that even today many
Christians around the globe begin times of prayer with the Scripture verse
Isaac commended to John Cassian. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It is a simple prayer and one
worth repeating throughout the day. It's not hard to say, even to memorize, but
if we meant it from the depth of our hearts, it would be a way of casting
ourselves in dependence upon God every moment of the day... <i>"Lord, please rescue me. Come quickly
Lord and help me." <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-50574723864387968872024-03-03T09:23:00.002-06:002024-03-03T09:23:36.488-06:00 Sunday, The Third Sunday of Lent – “Drinking the Living Water”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It’s a Sunday in our Lenten
season, and this day is set aside as a day of celebrating the resurrection of Christ Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Today, let’s meditate on Jesus as our “living
water”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“A Samaritan woman came to draw
water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." <br />
The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew,
ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" <br />
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that
is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would
have given you living water." <br />
The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is
deep. Where do you get that living water? Jesus said to her,
"Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, <br />
but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be
thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water
gushing up to eternal life" (John 4:7-14).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“On the last day of the festival,
the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, "Let anyone
who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As
the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of
living water.'" Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers
in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not
yet glorified” (John 7:37-39). <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">A meditation on this living water,
by the 5<sup>th</sup> century great St. Augustine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">A Samaritan woman came to draw water</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">A woman came. She is a symbol
of the Church not yet made righteous but about to be made righteous.
Righteousness follows from the conversation. She came in ignorance, she found
Christ, and he enters into conversation with her. Let us see what it is about,
let us see why a Samaritan woman came to draw water. The Samaritans
did not form part of the Jewish people: they were foreigners. The fact that she
came from a foreign people is part of the symbolic meaning, for she is a symbol
of the Church. The Church was to come from the Gentiles, of a different race
from the Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We must then recognize ourselves
in her words and in her person, and with her give our own thanks to God. She
was a symbol, not the reality; she foreshadowed the reality, and the reality
came to be. She found faith in Christ, who was using her as a symbol to teach
us what was to come. She came then to draw water. She had
simply come to draw water, in the normal way of man or woman.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus says to her: Give me water
to drink. For his disciples had gone to the city to buy food. The Samaritan
woman therefore says to him: How is it that you, though a Jew, ask me for water
to drink, though I am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have nothing to do with
Samaritans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Samaritans were foreigners;
Jews never used their utensils. The woman was carrying a pail for drawing
water. She was astonished that a Jew should ask her for a drink of water, a
thing that Jews would not do. But the one who was asking for a drink of water
was thirsting for her faith.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Listen now and learn who it is
that asks for a drink. Jesus answered her and said: If you knew the gift
of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” perhaps you
might have asked him and he would have given you living water.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">He asks for a drink, and he
promises a drink. He is in need, as one hoping to receive, yet he is rich, as
one about to satisfy the thirst of others. He says: If you knew the gift
of God. The gift of God is the Holy Spirit. But he is still using veiled
language as he speaks to the woman and gradually enters into her heart. Or is
he already teaching her? What could be more gentle and kind than the
encouragement he gives? If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is
saying to you, “Give me a drink,” perhaps you might ask and he would give you
living water.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What is this water that he will
give if not the water spoken of in Scripture: With you is the fountain of
life? How can those feel thirst who will drink deeply from the
abundance in your house?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">He was promising the Holy Spirit
in satisfying abundance. She did not yet understand. In her failure to grasp
his meaning, what was her reply? The woman says to him, Master, give me
this drink, so that I may feel no thirst or come here to draw water. Her
need forced her to this labor, her weakness shrank from it. If only she could
hear those words: Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will
refresh you. Jesus was saying this to her, so that her labors might be at
an end; but she was not yet able to understand.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Today we worship…drink in Christ
as the living water…take and drink for His is the blood of the New Covenant,
given for the remission of our sins…receive him anew, and celebrate His life within you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-36750770662413922442024-03-02T11:33:00.005-06:002024-03-02T11:33:56.576-06:00 Day 16 (Saturday) – “Renewal in Coming and Returning”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Lent gives to us the ability to
think more intentionally about who we are in relation to God, our Father.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">When we begin to think about God, we
recognize that he is uncreated, yet the creator.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The first half of the Nicene Creed speaks of
God and of Jesus Christ:</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, <br />
maker of heaven and earth, <br />
of all things visible and invisible. <br />
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, <br />
the Only Begotten Son of God, <br />
born of the Father before all ages. <br />
God from God, Light from Light, <br />
true God from true God, <br />
begotten, not made, <br />
consubstantial with the Father; <br />
through him, all things were made. <br />
For us men and for our salvation <br />
he came down from heaven, <br />
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate <br />
of the Virgin Mary, <br />
and became man. <br />
For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, <br />
he suffered death and was buried, <br />
and rose again on the third day <br />
in accordance with the Scriptures. <br />
He ascended into heaven <br />
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. <br />
He will come again in glory <br />
to judge the living and the dead <br />
and his kingdom will have no end<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If you look carefully, you’ll
notice that God the Father begins everything as a series of sending, receiving;
of departure, and return; of separation and reunion. The great theologian of the 12 century, St.
Thomas Aquinas spoke of God as creating a big circular movement in which all
things come from God and then, eventually, return to God. There is a sense in which God created a sort
of circuit where all of creation is meant to be in union with him. Think about the simplest illustration of
birth – life – death. We are created as humans, “<i>imago dei”, “in the image
of God”.</i> He gave us life through
birth and thus released us to live, but eventually, every human, including us, will
all come back to him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What does this all have to do with
Lent? Yesterday, I wrote about the
progress of holiness in living. We are
called to a “perfection”, in Christ, that will not be fulfilled until we gain
eternal life. We gain life, live life,
then return to the creator of life – “<i>God, the Father Almighty, creator of
heaven and earth</i>”. In between, we
live our lives. Is there a purpose in
living? I would suggest Yes! God has given us – <i>in his image</i> –
reason, will, and choice, and we have the opportunity to learn how to make all
of those things lead us to God. The
problem is, we live in a world that is “self-love” oriented, which tends to not
reason, or choose God’s will. As a
Christian, I am called to repent when I see that I’ve chosen my own self-love
over God’s will. Many may not do so, but
thanks to God, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be my Savior and Lord. He came from God, co-eternal, of the same
substance as the Father, but was sent through the conceiving of the Holy Spirit
into the Virgin Mary, made incarnate, and became man. All of this reminds us that Jesus’ coming,
living, and returning was for our sake.
That means we are not alone in our pursuit of living a Christ-like, holy
life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I am sent into this world to live
purposefully, and intentionally, with a view of my returning to God, the Father
who sent me. Does that seem
daunting? It need not be, for I am not
abandoned by God as he sent me to live here.
Instead, he told me he would be there for my every need. The writer of the book of Hebrews sums up our
being sent into the world, living within it, and returning to God in a way that
reminds us of what faith in Christ Jesus means.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“Since, then, we have a great high
priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold
fast to our confession. <br />
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet
without sin. <br />
Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> (Hebrews 4:14-16).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-29221679305599180302024-03-01T08:04:00.003-06:002024-03-01T08:04:54.542-06:00 Day 15 (Friday) – “Devotion to Christ Jesus”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Last year, during Lent, I began
reading a book by St. Francis de Sales, a Bishop of the Church in the 16</span><sup style="font-family: trebuchet;">th</sup><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
century.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The book is entitled “An
Introduction to a Devout and Holy Life”.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It might sound out of place in our modern world of “how to and help”
books, but this is not your typical “how to”, or “help” book. In this book,
Francis introduces us to the theme of how to devote our lives to God, and how
to live our lives in ways that reflect both God’s holiness and our desire to
become holy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sadly, we have largely removed
from our ideals for living the word “holy”.
For many, a person who says they want to live holy means they are “holier
than thou” – sort of an uppity, too good-for-you person. Yet the idea of being holy is not beyond our
reach. Jesus used the word “perfect” to describe this holiness: <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I think most of us realize we are
far from perfect. Yet, the devotion of
our lives to live a holy life is one that is marked by progress, not completion. The Apostle Paul does not hesitate to use the
word “holy” to indicate what God has called our living to be, and, he repeatedly
adjoins us to this virtue of holiness inspired by the work of the Holy Spirit within:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“I appeal to
you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“…he chose us
in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before
him in love” (Ephesians 1:4).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“(you are) God's
chosen ones, holy and beloved, therefore, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“He saved us
and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to
his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before
the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I believe we can live our lives in
such a way that we might strive to be holy, recognizing it will never come to
completion in this life, but that it will grow in us as we give ourselves to devotion
to Christ, day by day by day. Will it
look the same for each of us? No, for the
devotion I speak of occurs in our lives according to God’s call upon us. Once
again, I will stop, and allow this great Saint Francis de Sales, to finish this
Lenten reflection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">From the Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis de
Sales, bishop<br />
<i>Devotion must be practiced in different ways</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">When God the
Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each
according to its own kind; he has likewise commanded Christians, who are the
living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each one in
accord with his character, his station and his calling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I say that
devotion must be practiced in different ways by the nobleman and by the working
man, by the servant and by the prince, by the widow, by the unmarried girl and
by the married woman. But even this distinction is not sufficient; for the
practice of devotion must be adapted to the strength, to the occupation and to
the duties of each one in particular.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The bee
collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or
destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he
found them. True devotion does still better. Not only does it not injure any
sort of calling or occupation, it even embellishes and enhances it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Moreover,
just as every sort of gem, cast in honey, becomes brighter and more sparkling,
each according to its color, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting
in his own vocation when he sets his vocation in the context of devotion.
Through devotion your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between
husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince becomes
more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and
agreeable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It is
therefore an error and even a heresy to wish to exclude the exercise of
devotion from military divisions, from the artisans’ shops, from the courts of
princes, from family households. Therefore, in whatever situations we happen to
be in, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> As a note, I finished reading the book last year by late May, but began to read it again at the start of Lent this year - it is a truly remarkable book.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-87178270619161207312024-02-29T10:56:00.001-06:002024-02-29T10:56:16.232-06:00 Day 14, (Thursday) – “Self-Love vs. Loving to Fear”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Lent provides us an opportunity to
re-center our lives…to do some careful examination of what we’re doing in
life.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Look carefully at our work, our
ways of living, our worship, and ask the questions we need to ask – “Am I
purposefully, intentionally living, doing the things I know would please my
God, or am I being moved along in life by a spirit of my self-love?”</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Self-love occurs when we prioritize our will
as the central decision-making of living.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">We live in a culture of self-love, and it is easy to get caught up in
the wind of what everyone else is also doing.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Lent means I get to step back and make
some adjustments to push self-love behind God’s will in life. Is it easy?
No, by no means, in fact, it’s downright difficult. The Apostle Paul knew that and wrote to the
Romans to explain what this looked like:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“For I do not understand my own
actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. <br />
Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So
now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that
nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do
what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the
good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I
do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within
me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies
close at hand. <br />
For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my
members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive
to the law of sin that dwells in my members. <br />
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks
be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God
with my mind, but with my flesh, I serve the law of sin“ (Romans 7:15-25).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Seriously, Paul introduces us to
new language – <i>the flesh</i> – to describe this self-love. My flesh is nothing more than my self-love
choices that are made despite God’s will.
The flesh will always prefer a self-oriented decision-making model. Paul reminds us that God gave his Law as a
check to our self-love. Over against the Law stands our self-love choices and
with that a realization – <i>“O wretched man that I am”.</i> The modernist in us resists this language as
hyperbole – too over the top, guilt-driven.
Yet, Paul has hit the nail on the head.
Then he reminds us that the only solution to this self-love choosing
lies in God’s gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord! Paul is reminding us of
the much-needed thinking that must occur in our hearts and minds if we hope to
re-center – the Fear of the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What do we mean by the Fear of the
Lord? I will turn you over to Saint
Hilary, a doctor of the Church who – in the 4<sup>th</sup> century – lived a
life of faith, rising to become a Bishop of the church, fighting against the
heresy of Arianism to preserve the orthodox doctrine of the human and divine
nature of Jesus. In this particular treatise,
written about one of the Psalms, Hilary wrote about the Fear of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The meaning of “the fear of the Lord”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Blessed are
those who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. Notice that when Scripture
speaks of the fear of the Lord it does not leave the phrase in isolation, as if
it were a complete summary of faith. No, many things are added to it or are
presupposed by it. From these, we may learn its meaning and excellence. In the
book of Proverbs Solomon tells us: If you cry out for wisdom and raise
your voice for understanding, if you look for it as for silver and search for
it as for treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord. We see
here the difficult journey we must undertake before we can arrive at the fear
of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We must begin
by crying out for wisdom. We must hand over to our intellect the duty of making
every decision. We must look for wisdom and search for it. Then we must
understand the fear of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Fear” is not
to be taken in the sense that common usage gives it. Fear in this ordinary
sense is the trepidation our weak humanity feels when it is afraid of suffering
something it does not want to happen. We are afraid, or made afraid, because of
a guilty conscience, the rights of someone more powerful, an attack from one
who is stronger, sickness, encountering a wild beast, suffering evil in any
form. This kind of fear is not taught: it happens because we are weak. We do
not have to learn what we should fear: objects of fear bring their own terror
with them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">But of the
fear of the Lord, this is what is written: Come, my children, listen to
me, I shall teach you the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord has then
to be learned because it can be taught. It does not lie in terror, but in
something that can be taught. It does not arise from the fearfulness of our
nature; it has to be acquired by obedience to the commandments, by holiness of
life, and by knowledge of the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">For us, the
fear of God consists wholly in love, and perfect love of God brings our fear of
him to its perfection. Our love for God is entrusted with its own
responsibility: to observe his counsels, to obey his laws, and to trust his
promises. Let us hear what Scripture says: And now, Israel, what does the
Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God and walk in his ways
and love him and keep his commandments with your whole heart and your whole
soul, so that it may be well for you?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The ways of
the Lord are many, though he is himself the way. When he speaks of himself he
calls himself the way and shows us the reason why he called himself the
way: No one can come to the Father except through me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We must ask
for these many ways, we must travel along these many ways, to find the one that
is good. That is, we shall find the one way of eternal life through the
guidance of many teachers. These ways are found in the law, in the prophets, in
the gospels, in the writings of the apostles, and in the different good works
by which we fulfill the commandments. Blessed are those who walk these ways in
the fear of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-52812506103483543252024-02-28T07:53:00.000-06:002024-02-28T07:53:12.383-06:00 Day 13 (Wednesday) – “Coming Back”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Perhaps the greatest story in the Gospels
is the story Jesus told about the Prodigal Son.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">There are three main characters in the story – The Prodigal Son, The
Father, and the Elder Brother.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Prodigal Son is outrageous in asking
his Father for his share of the inheritance – before his Father’s death. Then
he leaves his home and wastes his life living in debauchery until his
inheritance is gone. It is while he has
sunk to the lowest levels of his humanity that he says the crucial words that
begin his “coming back”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“But when he came to himself, he
said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but
I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to
him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer
worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants”’</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> (Luke 15:17-19).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus’ words seem intentional to
describe what happened. <i>He came to
himself…I will arise and go to my father…I will say to him…I have sinned
against heaven and before you. I am not worthy to be called your son.</i> This is repentance in its clearest form.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Father, of course, is the key
person – and Jesus gives us a picture of His Heavenly Father in this earthly
story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">“And he arose and came to his
father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt
compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him”</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> (Luke 15:20).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The son returned with no certainty
of what he would find, and yet he discovers a father who <i>felt compassion…ran
to him…embraced and kissed him”.</i>
This is our Father in Heaven – that’s what Jesus is reminding us. He does not turn the sinner away but welcomes
him into the arms of his forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Lastly, the Older brother comes on
the scene. Jesus is telling us that the scribes and Pharisees of his day did
not welcome the sinner because they felt they deserved that status alone and
the sinner should be rejected – “<i>he deserved it”</i> – might be the best way
to describe the older brother, and the scribes and Pharisees Jesus was speaking
to. Yet, Jesus makes it clear, the
Father loves them also.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Rembrandt painted the story in his famous work, <i>“The Return of the
Prodigal Son”. </i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbsvnjKp625ubUrD4A2WcsZLLGdLbsRH6ORVEnZjV3qsTHq9voL0cIZ0aT3P0T_lGQ14LRn8nYUd2mmwJ1JoBPL78_SdZXrszDo60BOVrf8Yzl6L3ESb92k5smBR68zMJ5b-e5mxIbSk7FRNeZm396kWKiW_pwg5F62IEQ4hjMUBwkUU8a4_QYRqo3GQ/s3198/rembrandt-return-of-the-prodigal-son.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3198" data-original-width="2536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBbsvnjKp625ubUrD4A2WcsZLLGdLbsRH6ORVEnZjV3qsTHq9voL0cIZ0aT3P0T_lGQ14LRn8nYUd2mmwJ1JoBPL78_SdZXrszDo60BOVrf8Yzl6L3ESb92k5smBR68zMJ5b-e5mxIbSk7FRNeZm396kWKiW_pwg5F62IEQ4hjMUBwkUU8a4_QYRqo3GQ/w159-h200/rembrandt-return-of-the-prodigal-son.jpg" width="159" /></a></i></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Henri Nouwen, a
Dutch-born Catholic priest and author of 40 books on the spiritual life, spent
several days in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia to study,
reflect, and draw out the spiritual significance of the painting. From that, he
wrote, “The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Meditation on Fathers, Brothers, and
Sons”<i>. </i>In one of his chapters, he
wrote this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">"The longer I look at 'the
patriarch', the clearer it becomes to me that Rembrandt has done something
quite different from letting God pose as the wise old head of a family. It all
began with the hands. The two are quite different. The father's left hand
touching the son's shoulder is strong and muscular. The fingers are spread out
and cover a large part of the prodigal son's shoulder and back. I can see a
certain pressure, especially in the thumb. That hand seems not only to touch
but, with its strength, also to hold. Even though there is a gentleness in the
way the father's left-hand touches his son, it is not without a firm
grip. "How different is the father's right hand! This hand does not
hold or grasp. It is refined, soft, and very tender. The fingers are close to
each other and they have an elegant quality. It lies gently upon the son's
shoulder. It wants to caress, to stroke, and to offer consolation and
comfort." <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-30205703116974330452024-02-27T13:34:00.002-06:002024-02-27T13:34:08.761-06:00Day 12 (Tuesday) - “May I Glory in the Cross”<p> <span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">I sat before the cross and felt
the agony of Jesus’ death – for me, for you, for the whole world.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It was the Apostle Paul who wrote, </span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">“But
far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”<b> </b>(Galatians
6:14).</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> Maybe you have thought about this, but the most natural question to
this statement seems to be: “What does it mean to boast in the cross?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">During Lent, we painfully become
aware of our debts, our trespasses, and our sins. If we’re honest, we all recognize our sinful
tendencies and recognize a certain brokenness within – by which I mean, we usually
don’t say, “I think I’ll sin now”, but instead, recognize our actions, or
thoughts are wrong before God. Why did I
do that? Why did I say that? Why did I think that? If we do any kind of self-examination, we
soon realize that we need to be honest about our nature that can not be in line
with God’s word, or commandments. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In our broken world, it is all too
easy for people to resist any kind of self-examination, because they can relegate
their behavior, or thoughts, to others, and soon we find ourselves excusing our
sin instead of dealing with it. One of
my former mentors used to ask the question: “<i>what do you do with your guilt?”
</i>when talking to people who feel they need no self-examination. Yet, the failure
to do anything that is thoughtful does not excuse before God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Here’s where the Cross of Jesus
comes in, and where I learned to “glory in the Cross”. The cross is where Jesus took my sin, and
yours, and dealt with it in a final way.
To glory in the Cross is to know that I don’t have to pay for my sin
since Jesus paid it for me. Once again,
I have little help here to finish this off from an ancient voice of the early
Church Fathers. I spoke of a “Catechesis”
previously, but to remind you, it simply means a teaching for new believers. This writing is from a Catechesis by Saint
Cyril of Jerusalem, a bishop of the Church in the 4<sup>th</sup> century, and it
was written to believers undergoing persecution for their faith in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
<i>Even in times of persecution let the cross be your joy</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Church
glories in every deed of Christ. Her supreme glory, however, is the cross. Well
aware of this, Paul says: God forbid that I glory in anything but the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">At Siloam,
there was a sense of wonder, and rightly so. A man born blind recovered his
sight. But of what importance is this, when there are so many blind people in
the world? Lazarus rose from the dead, but even this affected only Lazarus.
What of those countless numbers who have died because of their sins? Those five
miraculous loaves fed five thousand people. Yet this is a small number compared
to those all over the world who were starved by ignorance. After eighteen years
a woman was freed from the bondage of Satan. But are we not all shackled by the
chains of our own sins?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">For us all,
however, the cross is the crown of victory! It has brought light to those
blinded by ignorance. It has released those enslaved by sin. Indeed, it has
redeemed the whole of mankind! Do not, then, be ashamed of the cross of Christ;
rather, glory in it. Although it is a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to
the Gentiles, the message of the cross is our salvation. Of course, it is folly
to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of
God. For it was not a mere man who died for us, but the Son of God, God made
man.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In the Mosaic
law, a sacrificial lamb banished the destroyer. But now it is the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world. Will he not free us from our sins
even more? The blood of an animal, a sheep, brought salvation. Will not the
blood of the only-begotten Son bring us greater salvation?<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">He was not
killed by violence, he was not forced to give up his life. His was a willing
sacrifice. Listen to his own words: I have the power to lay down my life
and take it up again. Yes, he willingly submitted to his own passion. He
took joy in his achievement; in his crown of victory he was glad and in the
salvation of man he rejoiced. He did not blush at the cross for by it he was to
save the world. No, it was not a lowly man who suffered but God incarnate. He
entered the contest for the reward he would win by his patient endurance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Certainly in
times of tranquility, the cross should give you joy. But maintain the same
faith in times of persecution. Otherwise, you will be a friend of Jesus in
times of peace and his enemy during war. Now you receive the forgiveness of
your sins and the generous gift of grace from your king. When war comes, fight
courageously for him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Jesus never
sinned; yet he was crucified for you. Will you refuse to be crucified for him,
who for your sake was nailed to the cross? You are not the one who gives the
favor; you have received one first. For your sake, he was crucified on
Golgotha. Now you are returning his favor; you are fulfilling your debt to him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />
Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-21162622890589967562024-02-26T09:36:00.006-06:002024-02-26T09:36:49.030-06:00 Day 11, (Monday) – “The Second Moses”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">We come back to the Lenten week,
pausing to worship our Resurrected Savior on Sunday.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Previously we looked at the account of the Transfiguration
of Christ on the mountaintop.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus took
Peter, James, and John to the top of the mountain (probably Mt. Tabor), where
he was “</span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">metamorphoō”</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">, “changed”, into the glorious manifestation of his
divine being.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The disciples witnessed
Jesus as he had been for all eternity, and as he would be after his
resurrection and ascension to heaven.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In that encounter, two Old
Testament heroes of the faith appeared alongside Jesus. Moses and Elijah represented
the Law and the Prophets. Along with
Abraham and King David, no greater figures from the Old Testament can stand
equal to their stature. They were great
men of faith whom God used to accomplish His great purposes in the nation of
Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Moses was born and raised in
Pharaoh’s household, in privilege, with great learning, while the nation of His
people was mistreated as slaves. The
writer of the Book of Hebrews says of Moses' faith:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><sup><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">23 </span></sup></i><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after
his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not
afraid of the king’s edict. <sup>24 </sup>By faith Moses, when he was
grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, <sup>25 </sup>choosing
rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting
pleasures of sin. <sup>26 </sup>He considered abuse suffered for the
Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking
ahead to the reward. <sup>27 </sup>By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the
king’s anger; for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible. <sup>28 </sup>By
faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer
of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel”</span> (</i><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">Heb 11:23–28).<sup> </sup></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Moses led the nation out of Egypt
through God’s marvelous works against the Egyptians. Then Moses led the people
of Israel into the desert of Sinai, where God gave to them the Law that would
serve to define their nation as “the people of God”.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">The Law served the nation and the Ten Commandments
that God gave to them have lasted through the millennium to define the nation’s
laws, including our country.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Yet, Moses was not the culmination
of God’s revelation, he was merely the beginner of God’s revelation of how the
people of God would gain their identity and live that identity out for God. Thus, Jesus, on the mount of Transfiguration,
was met by Moses and Elijah to signify that these two Old Testament heroes were
not the end of God’s revelation, but stood as markers pointing to Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">John Chrysostom was a Bishop in
Constantinople during the late 4<sup>th</sup> and early 5<sup>th</sup> century A.D. John of Antioch was the name he was known by during
his life. A native of Antioch, where the
name Christian was first given to the followers of Jesus, Chrysostom
was elected Patriarch of Constantinople in AD 398. He grew in his office to become one of the
most articulate and influential preachers of the early Christian church. He
was an eloquent and uncompromising preacher who was so extraordinary that 150
years after his death, he was given the surname <i>Chrysostom</i>, meaning
“the golden mouth” or “the golden tongue.” One of his teachings, called a “Catechesis”
because it was used to teach those who were coming into the Church as converts,
was about Christ Jesus and how he fulfilled the life of Moses, and pointed the
way toward the Church.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">From the Catechesis
by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop – “Christ and Moses”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The
Israelites witnessed marvels; you also will witness marvels, greater and more
splendid than those which accompanied them on their departure from Egypt. You
did not see Pharaoh drowned with his armies, but you have seen the devil with
his weapons overcome by the waters of baptism. The Israelites passed through
the sea; you have passed from death to life. They were delivered from the
Egyptians; you have been delivered from the powers of darkness. The Israelites
were freed from slavery to a pagan people; you have been freed from the much
greater slavery to sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Do you need
another argument to show that the gifts you have received are greater than
theirs? The Israelites could not look on the face of Moses in glory, though he
was their fellow servant and kinsman. But you have seen the face of Christ in
his glory... <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In those days
Christ was present to the Israelites as he followed them, but he is present to
us in a much deeper sense. The Lord was with them because of the favor he
showed to Moses; now he is with us not simply because of Moses but also because
of your obedience. After Egypt they dwelt in desert places; after your
departure, you will dwell in heaven. Their great leader and commander was
Moses; we have a new Moses, God himself, as our leader and commander.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What
distinguished the first Moses? Moses, Scripture tells us, was more
gentle than all who dwelt upon the earth. We can rightly say the same of
the new Moses, for there was with him the very Spirit of gentleness, united to
him in his inmost being. In those days Moses raised his hands to heaven and
brought down manna, the bread of angels; the new Moses raises his hands to
heaven and gives us the food of eternal life. Moses struck the rock and brought
forth streams of water; Christ touches his table, strikes the spiritual rock of
the new covenant, and draws forth the living water of the Spirit. This rock is
like a fountain in the midst of Christ’s table, so that on all sides the flocks
may draw near to this living spring and refresh themselves in the waters of
salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Since this
fountain, this source of life, this table surrounds us with untold blessings
and fills us with the gifts of the Spirit, let us approach it with sincerity of
heart and purity of conscience to receive grace and mercy in our time of need.
Grace and mercy be yours from the only-begotten Son, our Lord, and Savior Jesus
Christ; through him and with him be glory, honor, and power to the Father and
the life-giving Spirit, now and always and forever. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">
Peace<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div><div id="ftn1"><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div><div id="ftn2">
</div>
</div>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-3948011970892745032024-02-25T11:41:00.000-06:002024-02-25T11:41:04.976-06:00 Sunday, The Second Week of Lent - “Te Deum”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">It is a Sunday, so we pause in our
Lenten Season to Worship Christ, the Resurrected King.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">One of the more beautiful
expressions of the Christian faith comes from a creed entitled “<i>Te Deum”.</i> I discovered this ancient poem, also probably
a hymn, as well as a Creedal confession, while praying the Divine Hours over
the last year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In the first few centuries of the
Church, many Christians would write elegant poems with the sole purpose of
glorifying God. Quickly these beautiful poems would be used by Christians in
liturgical gatherings and sung in a similar way as the Psalms they chanted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Among these poems was a collection
of verses later called the “<i>Te Deum</i>” (see below for the complete hymn).
The authorship is generally unknown, though modern scholars point to St.
Nicetas of Remesiana as the most likely candidate. He was well known for his
compositions in the 4th century and was praised by his friend St. Paulinus of
Nola, a bishop who is often credited with the invention of church bells.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Throughout history, the hymn has
been ascribed to other prominent spiritual writers, such as Saints Ambrose,
Augustine, and Cyprian of Carthage. Whoever wrote it, the truth is that this
poem was an ancient treasure of the Church that soon after became a staple of
liturgical celebrations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Early on the hymn became a part of
the Liturgy of the Hours, sung in monasteries along with the chanting of the
Psalms. It has also been the recipient
of countless musical settings by Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi, Bruckner, Byrd,
and Handel, to name a few. The more recent hymn, “Holy God, We Praise Thy
Name,” is similarly based on the <i>Te Deum</i> and remains one of the
most popular modern hymns.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The verses also provide a
beautiful meditation and can be used separately as a prayer. It speaks of God’s
numerous glories and asks God to come down and “bring us with your saints to
glory everlasting.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">TE DEUM<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">You are God: we praise you;<br />
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;<br />
You are the eternal Father:<br />
All creation worships you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,<br />
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:<br />
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,<br />
heaven and earth are full of your glory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The glorious company of apostles praise you.<br />
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.<br />
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:<br />
Father, of majesty unbounded,<br />
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,<br />
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">You, Christ, are the King of glory,<br />
the eternal Son of the Father.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">When you became man to set us free<br />
you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">You overcame the sting of death,<br />
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.<br />
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Come then, Lord, and help your people,<br />
bought with the price of your own blood,<br />
and bring us with your saints<br />
to glory everlasting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.<br />
— Govern and uphold them now and always.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Day by day we bless you.<br />
— We praise your name for ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.<br />
— Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Lord, show us your love and mercy,<br />
— for we have put our trust in you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In you, Lord, is our hope:<br />
— And we shall never hope in vain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Peace of Christ be with You!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7172061565166753717.post-16071876309378546232024-02-24T12:49:00.005-06:002024-02-24T12:49:44.006-06:00 Day 10 (Saturday) - “Listen to My Son”<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Among the events of Jesus’ life on
earth, none was more revealing than his “Transfiguration” on the mountain.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus had returned with all of his disciples
from Caesarea Philippi, after the great confession of Peter when he said of who
Jesus was – “</span><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16).</i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">Back in Israel, he took his disciples to Galilee,
and then on to the south of Galilee near Mount Tabor.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;">I have walked on Mount Tabor which is a small
mountain that sticks out of the flat Galilean countryside like a sore
thumb.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">When they arrived, Jesus told nine
of his disciples to stay where they would camp, and he took Peter, James, and John
up the mountain. The three were probably
not prepared for what was to happen. The
scripture records the event:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“…after six days Jesus took with
him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by
themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the
sun, and his clothes became white as light. <br />
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. <br />
And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish,
I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah.” <br />
He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and
a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased; listen to him.” <br />
When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were
terrified. <br />
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” <br />
And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only” (Matthew
17:1-8).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The word “transfigured” comes from
the Greek word, “<i>metamorphoō</i>” – of which I’m sure you can see the English
word “metamorphosis”. While Peter had previously
said “<i>You are the Christ”</i>, he was speaking of Jesus as the human promise
of God to send the Messiah. What they
probably didn’t grasp is that Jesus was not only human but also divine! When
Jesus was transfigured in front of them, they saw what Jesus looked like when
he was in heaven, before coming to earth to be born of the virgin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The transfiguration includes the
appearance of Moses and Elijah – the principal human agents of God’s Law and
the Prophets. Still, it’s the words that
the Father speaks that should draw our attention – <i>“This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”</i> Previously the Father had spoken the
beginning words of “this is my beloved son” at Jesus’ baptism, but now adds the
words “<i>listen to Him”.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In the 5<sup>th</sup> century, the
Church appointed a Bishop who became known as “Leo, the Great”. One of the more memorable things of his
Papacy over the Church is that he negotiated with Attila, the Hun, who was marauding
Europe and persuaded him to leave Rome alone.
He wrote countless treatises, sermons, and doctrinal material to maintain
the orthodox faith of the Church. One
such writing was on this event of the transfiguration of Christ Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“The Lord
reveals his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of
the rest of mankind, but he makes it shine with such splendor that his face
becomes like the sun in glory, and his garments as white as snow. The great reason for this transfiguration was
to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples and to
prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of
those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">With no less
forethought, he was also providing a firm foundation for the hope of the holy
Church. The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation
that it would receive as his gift. The members of that body were to look
forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The Lord had
himself spoken of this when he foretold the splendor of his coming: <i>Then
the just will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.</i> Saint
Paul the apostle bore witness to this same truth when he said: <i>I
consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared with
the future glory that is to be revealed in us.</i> In another place, he
says: <i>You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ, your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in
glory.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">There are several descriptions of
Christ Jesus in the scriptures, but the transfiguration reminds us of where he
came from, and where he was going.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Peace</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>elliott pollaschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010941800436930771noreply@blogger.com0