A Daily Lent

John 20:1 - 9 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the...

Matthew 27:57 - 66 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tom...

John 19:17 - 30 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture...

John 13:3 Jesus knew that he had come from God and would go back to God. Jesus knew who he was. He knew his origins in God. He did not need success to tell him who he was, nor did he need great accolades or diplomas on his wall or financial security to confirm his identity. He knew who he was deep within himself. He lived out of the abundance of his core identity in God. When a person is fully in touch with who they are, every possibility opens up before them. They are not threatened with tasks that seem beneath them, nor do they get inflated when given responsibility or position. They are able to be at ease with every kind of person and in every kind of situation, because they don't spend their time thinking, "I'm glad I'm not so-and-so," or "I wish I were that person." The complete text for today is John 13:1 - 15. In it, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus was able to strip down and then kneel at the feet of his followers to wa...

Matthew 26:14 - 25 One of the Twelve went to the chief priests. His name was Judas Iscariot. He asked, "What will you give me if I hand Jesus over to you?" So they counted out 30 silver coins for him. From then on, Judas watched for the right time to hand Jesus over to them. It was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The disciples came to Jesus. They asked, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?" He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man. Tell him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover at your house with my disciples." ' " So the disciples did what Jesus had told them to do. They prepared the Passover meal. When evening came, Jesus was at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, "What I'm about to tell you is true. One of you will hand me over to my enemies." The disciples became very sad. One after the other, the...

John 13:21 After he had said this, Jesus' spirit was troubled. Here is the witness he gave. "What I'm about to tell you is true," he said. "One of you is going to hand me over to my enemies." Years ago I listened to a Henri Nouwen cassette tape series in which he noted that during the week of Jesus' Passion, he no longer acted, but rather he was acted upon. He no longer took the initiative; instead, things were done to him. In other words, in this week of "Passion," Jesus was passive, not active. From the time he was "handed over," until he was crucified and buried, he was at the mercy of others. It is really a remarkable insight, that Jesus, who had been so strong and in authority in every encounter of his life, now was at the mercy of others. So many of us have significant issues with control, management, and manipulation. We want to be the actors, not the acted upon. To be "passive" is equated with being lazy. Th...

John 12:1 - 8 It was six days before the Passover Feast. Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived. Lazarus was the one Jesus had raised from the dead. A dinner was given at Bethany to honor Jesus. Martha served the food. Lazarus was among those at the table with Jesus. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard. It was an expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot didn't like what Mary did. He was one of Jesus' disciples. Later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, "Why wasn't this perfume sold? Why wasn't the money given to poor people? It was worth a year's pay." He didn't say this because he cared about the poor. He said it because he was a thief. Judas was in charge of the money bag. He used to help himself to what was in it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "The perfume was meant for...

Mark 11:9 "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" On Palm Sunday Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the acclamations of the crowd. They shouted the blessing of Psalm 118:25, 26: "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" To come with the name of another is to come as that one's emissary. To come in the name of the Lord is to come as the ambassador of God . . . and an ambassador or emissary comes with the full authority of the one he or she represents. For instance, the ambassador of the United States to Japan represents the President of the United States of America to the government and people of Japan. He or she acts with the voice and authority of the President and government of the United States. The ambassador comes in the name of the United States government and President. Yes, Jesus came in the name of the Lord. You may, also. As I may. Think about "blessing" for a moment. The "blessing" to the one w...