Take courage

"Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the Lord."

Psalm 31

Today is a tough day. We left church in silence last night and today continues the silence. Joy is far from us as we read and reflect upon the Passion of Our Lord according to St. John (John 18:1-19:42). But, unlike the followers of Jesus in his time, we know the rest of the story. Unlike those who fled Jesus at his darkest hour in fear, we know that good news will come soon. We can be stouthearted and hope in the Lord because we know this has a happy ending. But, before that happiness can be celebrated, we need to walk with Jesus through this tough day. This is my favorite Good Friday scripture:

 

"Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,

our sufferings that he endured,

while we thought of him as stricken,

as one smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins;

upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,

by his stripes we are healed."

Isaiah 53:4-5

Let us walk with him this day...love, heidi

Close your eyes...

"Close your eyes, close your eyes and forget all about us tonight..."

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, "Jesus Christ Superstar"

While this phrase lingered long in the musak of my mind, long after I watched the movie, I realized the impossibility of it all. Jesus Christ could never "forget all about us" for one minute, let alone a whole night. More than any human being who ever lived, Jesus remembered each one of us--each person who ever lived or will ever live--as he moved through the last days of his life. Tonight we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper, which is such a rich and wonderful ceremony. Tonight we will see right up close, Jesus' humility in washing his apostles' feet, and beckoning us to do the same for each other. Tonight we will enact the Last Supper, as we do at every mass, where Jesus says "Take and eat...this is my Body." But tonight is special. Tonight begins our Lord's Passion. Love, heidi

Not I! Surely!

"'Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.' Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after the other, 'Surely it is not I, Lord?'"

Matthew 26:21-22

Can't you almost see them, one by one, putting their fingers on their noses and saying, "Not it!" And don't we do the same whenever confronted with Who did this? Who made this mess? Who missed this call? Who forgot the deadline? By this time Jesus must have been reeling from frustration dealing with these guys. His love for them was great, but his frustration must have been brewing to a boil. That is why, this Wednesday of Holy Week, we must--today--own the responsibility of our faults. It was me, Lord, who didn't do right by you. I was the one who led the gossip at lunch. I was the one who pouted, ignoring the apology of another. I was the one who spewed all kinds of negative stuff out there into the universe. It was me. And I'm so sorry. Jesus needs us beside him this week and not the "us" that is sputtering that it is not our fault! Let us walk with Jesus, knowing that his love for us heals all of our failures. Love, heidi

A Hero

"There he goes, a hero, a Savior to the world.

Here he stands, with scars in his hands...

With love, he gave his life so we could be free,

The Savior of the world..."

Bryan Fowler, Christopher Stevens, "Hero"

We sang this song at mass yesterday and I really teared up. It is a wonderful song and describes this week perfectly. This is such a beautiful, moving time for us as a people, to recognize our Savior--the Savior of the world. I invite each of you to listen to this song (I will include the link to YouTube for it) each day this Holy Week. And please share the events of this week. "There he goes..." but we must be with him! Love, heidi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyv1jUDLY3s&feature=player_detailpage

Our Champion needs us!

"The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion."

Jeremiah 20:11

I love the image of God as my Champion! Sadly, in our world, many "champions" have fallen mightily and proved themselves very human in their faults and failings. They may taint our view of a champion. But, God as our champion will never let us down! The trick for us is to turn to God, our Champion, continuously through our days. This Sunday, Palm Sunday, begins such a holy and spiritually rich time for us. God, who is always in our corner, needs us to accompany Jesus all through this Holy Week. Our Champion needs us to celebrate the triumphant ride into Jerusalem, attend the Last Supper feast, stay with Jesus through the agony in the garden, walk with him along the sad road to Calvary, and stand watch with him as he suffers on the cross. God is our Champion...and God needs us. Let's make plans to spend a very holy Holy Week! Love, heidi

Free from ourselves!

"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8:31-32

Free from what? That is the interesting question I asked myself when I read this today. From what do I need to be set free? What ties me up? The answer I keep coming back to is fear. Fear can really bind us up, can't it? We get fearful of the future: will I have enough retirement? Will I be ailing in my old age? We can be fearful of the present: are my kids on the right path? Am I doing everything "right"? We can even get tangled up in the past: was that past sin really forgiven? Good grief! So much wallowing in ourselves is the real ball and chain here, isn't it? We can barely move, we are so bound up in ourselves! So the freedom that Jesus gives us is to trust that God loves us and God is with us constantly. We can let go of ourselves and think about someone else for a change. It is not about what I do, but about what God can do, if I just get out of the way. And that is a lovely sense of freedom! Love, heidi