40th Day of Lent

There was deep rest around the grave of Jesus. On the seventh day, when the work of creation was completed, God rested. “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating” (Genesis 2:3). On the seventh day of the week of our redemption, when Jesus had fulfilled all he was sent by his Father to do, he rested in the tomb, and the women whose hearts were broken with grief rested with him. Of all the days in history, Holy Saturday – the Saturday during which the body of Jesus lay in the tomb in silence and darkness behind the large stone that was rolled against its entrance ---is the day of God’s solitude. The Paschal Sabbath is the day on which the whole creation waits in deep rest. It is the day on which no words are spoken, no proclamations made. The Word of God through whom all had been made lies buried in the darkness of the earth. This Holy Saturday is the most quiet of all days. Its quiet connects the first covenant with the second, the people of Israel with the not-yet-knowing world, the Temple with the new worship in the Spirit, the sacrifices of blood with the sacrifice of bread and wine, the Law with the Gospel. This divine silence is the most fruitful silence the world has ever known. From this silence, the Word will be spoken again and make all things new.
Henri Nouwen from Walk with Jesus 1990 Orbis Books

Today is the last day of Lent. During this season we have been reflecting and examining what kind of inward transformation we need in our lives. As we wait expectantly on the verge of Easter celebrations, what kind of new life do you long for? What difference, what change do you want to be resurrected in your life?

Prayer:
Oh God, breathe your new life into me! As I have looked deep inside myself, I know that so much needs to change; but I look to you for help and the power to live differently. I wait for you. Come Lord Jesus!

Good Friday

Mark 15:22-39
22The soldiers took Jesus to Golgotha, which means "Place of a Skull." 23There they gave him some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain, but he refused to drink it.
24They nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. 25It was about nine o'clock in the morning when they nailed him to the cross. 26On it was a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, "This is the King of the Jews." 27-28The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.
29People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and shouted, "Ha! So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days. 30Save yourself and come down from the cross!"
31The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said to each other, "He saved others, but he can't save himself. 32If he is the Messiah, the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross! Then we will see and believe." The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.
33About noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until around three o'clock. 34Then about that time Jesus shouted, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you deserted me?"
35Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, "He is calling for Elijah." 36One of them ran and grabbed a sponge. After he had soaked it in wine, he put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus. He said, "Let's wait and see if Elijah will come and take him down!" 37Jesus shouted and then died.
38At once the curtain in the temple tore in two from top to bottom.
39A Roman army officer was standing in front of Jesus. When the officer saw how Jesus died, he said, "This man really was the Son of God!"

Good Friday is traditionally a day for focusing on sin and its impact on the world, as we consider Jesus’ passion and death. As followers of Jesus, we are called not just to look outside of ourselves and condemn the evil that is “out there,” but to begin by looking inside and acknowledging that we, too, have played a part in the horrible consequences of sin on God’s beautiful creation.
As we reflect on Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice - his willingness to become weak, his willingness to become helpless, his willingness to become as one of us -- we imitate him and share in his passion by accepting our own weakness and helplessness.
It’s in this weakness that we can enter more deeply into His work of love and redemption as we ask God to transform us—to purge us of our errors and to break the chains of our self-inflicted oppression, recognizing that resurrection and Life follow the cross.
Take some time today to sit and reflect on where you have been in error or where you have been weak. Ask God to show you something about yourself that is in need of changing. Let yourself feel the wrong of it without giving in to guilt or self-condemnation. Allow yourself to acknowledge fault and God’s unconditional for you, together. Feel that you are sinful AND dearly precious to God. Know that Jesus’ resurrection power is at work in you even now. Spend time in prayer, talking and listening to God.