At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink saying, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.” Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.. (Lk. 23:44-46) “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” begins Holy Week. If it has been a while since you have experienced all of the services of Holy Week, consider doing so this year. Commemorating the events of the Lord’s Suffering and Death help us to have a greater understanding of the importance … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2015
From the Pastor – March 22, 2015
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jer. 31:34) What does Jeremiah mean that the law will be “written on our hearts”? We don’t have to go far to find out. In Paul’s Letter to the Romans he says: “For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people’s hidden works through … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – March 8, 2015
Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. (Mk. 9:2-3) Last week Jesus was out in the desert, hungry and thirsty. And this week, He’s on top of a mountain, transfigured in dazzling white before Peter, James and John. This transfiguration has traditionally been interpreted as a preliminary revelation of the glory of Jesus given to Hisclosest collaborators so that they might bestrengthened in advance of the scandal of the cross. And in this moment of mystical experience, they also hear a voice from heaven: “Listen to Him.” During Lent, there is something comforting about the transfiguration for us, too. It reminds us that … [Read more...]
