4-11-23 - On the Road

You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel passage is here.

Today, we hit the road to Emmaus with two of Jesus’ followers. We don’t know why they are going to this village seven miles from Jerusalem, but we are told their conversation is all about the events of the weekend, Jesus’ awful crucifixion and burial, and then the astonishing reports from the women who found his tomb empty and angels announcing that he had risen. How could this be?

Then something more confounding occurs: they are joined by a stranger who asks what they are talking about. Is there anything else they could be discussing at this time? Has this guy been under a rock? They fill him in, and he surprises them further by interpreting all these events in light of their scriptures and what the prophets had foretold about the Messiah. “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” he asks. Perhaps it hadn’t occurred to them to see these events in terms of God’s deliverance? It just looked like God’s failure.

But still they do not recognize their companion as Jesus. it is not until they sit down to supper with him, and he takes the bread, blesses, breaks it, and gives it to them that their eyes are opened – and as soon as they realize who they are supping with, he vanishes. It is that familiar gesture, which he had done just a week earlier at their Passover feast, that reveals Jesus to them, just as his saying Mary’s name had revealed him to her.

We don’t have the advantage of lived experience with Jesus to draw upon. How can we know when he is with us? Sometimes we have an experience of our “hearts burning within us,” as these men had on the road when Jesus explained the scriptures to them. That happens to me more often in prayer or song than in bible study, but all of these are forms of worship. Sometimes we realize we’re in Jesus’ company in an intimate encounter with a friend who sees and knows and loves us. And churchgoers have experience of seeing the bread taken, blessed, broken and given – we too can recognize Jesus in that action.

Could it be that Jesus is always on the road with us, always willing to illuminate scripture for us, always ready to sit at table with us? Maybe we just have to open the eyes of our hearts and name him – invoking his name is like issuing an invitation to him to be right here.

The second verse of my song, “Was That You?" goes like this (the whole song is here):

Met a stranger last night, just outside of town
He didn’t seem to understand why we were so cast down.
But he sure did know where God had been, and he stayed with us to eat;
When he broke the bread and blessed it, the picture came complete:

Was that you coming close when I didn’t have a friend?
Was that you giving me hope when I was facing a dead end?
Was that you blessing me more than I could ever understand?
Don’t know why it always takes a while  for me to open up my eyes and see:
That was you, walking next to me.

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4-10-23 - In the Garden

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

Today, we go to back to Easter morning, to that garden with Mary, distraught and bereft at reports that Jesus’ body has been taken from the tomb in which she saw him laid on Friday. …She turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

We tend to see what we expect to see. Blind is blind. Over is over. Dead is dead. And a man in a garden is likely to be a gardener, right? The man in this garden is solicitous, asking Mary why she weeps. In reply, she speaks her urgent need to locate Jesus’ body, which she assumes to have been stolen, as had been threatened. Answering the angels a few moments earlier, she articulated her deeper pain in these poignant words, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.” Someone she loved deeply, and depended on, and centered her life around has been taken from her; she does not know how she will endure a loss of that magnitude.

Most of us have experienced that feeling, or will. Loss is inevitable when we love; I remember where I was sitting the moment that little insight hit me. But something happened for Mary in this moment where she made herself vulnerable to a stranger, crying out her pain. Jesus revealed himself. And once he spoke her name, she knew without any doubt that it was him, that he was alive.

Could it be that Jesus is with us in our moments of deepest loss and despair, and we don’t know? We can, in prayer, bring to mind some of those times and ask Jesus to show us where he was, even if we couldn’t see him or recognize him. It is a way of praying healing into those wounds.

Some years ago, I wrote a song exploring several of the encounters people had with the resurrected Jesus, in many of which they did not recognize him until he did or said something familiar. You can listen to the first verse, about Mary here; I will share other verses through this week (the last is about us). The whole song is here.

Ran into a gardener, my eyes were blind with tears
Pretty hard to see straight when you’re living your worst fears.
The one I loved the most, gone without a trace -
Then he said my name, I knew that voice… my heart began to race:

Was that you standing next to me when all my hopes were done?
Was that you, alive and breathing, when it looked like death had won?
Was that you loving me more than I could ever understand?
Don’t know why it always takes a while for me to open up my eyes and see:
That was you, standing next to me.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. The readings for Tuesday in Easter Week are here (I skipped Monday). Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

4-7-23 - Mary of Magdala

This week we will look at the gospel reading appointed for each day and reflect from the perspective of one the people on the fringes of the story. We too are on the fringes of this story – and we are invited to come into its heart this week. May these holy men and women draw us closer. Today's gospel passage is John 19:16-30
You can listen to this reflection here.

Mary of Magdala: My name is Mary. I come from Magdala. I’m one of those women, one of those who followed Jesus from Galilee and helped take care of him and the disciples.

This man, this man they killed today? This man healed me. He set me free from the worst kind of bondage you can imagine. He cast out seven demons from me, who tortured me constantly. I didn’t think I’d ever get free of those voices, the incessant chatter inside, telling me to hurt myself, telling me how worthless I was, how I’d be better off dead. He gave me back my life.

After that he was my life. I would have followed him anywhere. He was my Lord. Following him and tending to his needs and those of his disciples – what else could I do? He set me free, and all I wanted to use my freedom for was to serve him.

That’s how it was for all of us – this motley collection of people who had been set free – from demons, from sin and degradation, some from blindness, crippling diseases; some from despair and loneliness and meaningless lives; some from greed and lust. Just a bunch of people who love him because of what he did for us. Selfish kind of love, when you think about it. But it was real, it was real when you were with him. He made it real. He made us all able to love in a way we didn’t naturally know.

And now he's gone. How can that be?

So... now we have to bury him. I hear some guy from the Sanhedrin has given us a tomb to use until we can bury him properly. It’s too late now to anoint him before the Sabbath begins. We’ll have to do it first thing Sunday morning…

I’d better find the others and find out where they’re taking him. Oh, my sweet Lord. My sweetest friend. What have they done to you? What have we done to you?

As you move through this Good Friday, whenever or wherever you will worship, take some time to ponder what Jesus has done for you - what you feel personally he has given you. Reflect on that. Reflect on how worthy you are to receive his gift, not because of anything you've done or will do, but simply because God says so. And then pass it on.

If you would like to join me for the Liturgy for Good Friday online tonight, join here on Zoom at 7 pm, or live on Facebook, here. If you would like to move through an interactive Stations of the Cross, you can find that here.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Today’s readings are here. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

4-6-23 - Andrew of Capernaum - Again

This week we will look at the gospel reading appointed for each day and reflect from the perspective of one the people on the fringes of the story. We too are on the fringes of this story – and we are invited to come into its heart this week. May these holy men and women draw us closer. Today's gospel is John 13:1-17. You can listen to this reflection here.

Andrew of Capernaum - My brother! Jesus sure nailed it with the nickname he gave him, Petros, the rock. Never met anyone so hard-headed. And lovable, ornery, faithful, cowardly – all rolled into one ball of leap-before-you-look, speak-before-you-think energy. He’s been like that since we were kids – got me into trouble more times than I want to remember, and usually all I was doing was watching.

So tonight, when Jesus got up from the table, tied on a towel and started to wash our feet, we’re all looking at each other, mortified – it’s Simon who put into words what a lot of us were thinking. “Lord, you’re gonna wash my feet? Think again!” Jesus just looked at him with that mixture of irritation and love he so often had for Simon, and said, “If you don’t let me wash you, you have no part with me.” But Simon doesn’t let it rest – he has to argue. Argue with our Master! On this night, above all nights. “Okay, wash all of me, then! Why stop with my feet?”

Jesus had an answer for him, of course. He always did. It was their game – Simon pushing as hard as he could, Jesus coming right back at him. How they loved each other. Love each other.

It was hard for Simon to submit to being cared for. Hard for all of us. When Jesus got to me, I didn’t want him touching my feet. They’re not pretty. They were filthy, as feet are in our time and place. But he focused on that task like it was the only thing in the world he had to do. He got them clean, he rinsed and dried them, and I just had to sit there and receive. I think that was the hardest of all the things Jesus has asked us to do in the three years since I met him along the banks of the Jordan. Just sit and receive his gift.

I didn't know that that’s all I would be doing for the next 24 hours – watching him give his life away for me, helpless to help him, nothing left for me but to receive his gift. And if I have trouble being this still and powerless, what on earth must my poor brother be going through?

How are you at receiving the gifts God wants to give to you? How are you at receiving care from others? It’s harder for most people to submit to having someone else wash their feet than it is to wash another’s (unless we’re paying for a pedicure…). Yet arguably our most important spiritual task is learning to receive the love and grace and power of God so we can share it freely with others.

So tonight, if you're going to a Maundy Thursday service (and I hope you are!) - push past your discomfort and allow someone to wash your feet, knowing it is Jesus working through them. It is in receiving that we learn how to give.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Today’s readings are here. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

4-5-23 - The Other Judas

This week we will look at the gospel reading appointed for each day and reflect from the perspective of one the people on the fringes of the story. We too are on the fringes of this story – and we are invited to come into its heart this week. May these holy men and women draw us closer. Today's Gospel reading is John 13:21-32.
You can listen to this reflection here.

Judas, son of James: Why is this night SO different from any other night! The tension at the Seder table is thick enough to cut. Even after the weirdness of the foot washing, it is clear the troubles are getting to him. Jesus can stand pressure better than most, but nobody can take months of rumors and interrogations and death threats and not be affected. Nothing he said or did tonight made sense, not the washing, certainly not the words about the bread and the wine… His body? His blood?

Then he said one of us would betray him. One of us? We love him! We believe in him. We left everything to follow him. Why would one of us turn him in to the authorities? We all looked at each other, at Jesus. He wouldn’t give a name – he just said, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”

I am glad he didn’t say the name – because it was Judas! He handed the bread to Judas Iscariot. The other Judas. Or is it me who is the other Judas? Yes, Jesus had two disciples named Judas. You know a lot about the Iscariot. Me – you only know by name, in a list of those disciples called by Jesus to be among his twelve closest followers. I don’t even make every list – I’m only mentioned in Luke’s story.

But I have been there, day in, day out, traveling with him, helping to heal the sick, proclaim the Good News to those who would listen. I have been with him in the rain, in the mud, in the sunshine, at the dinner parties. We never knew what was going to happen next. Only that he could transform the worst circumstances into something with life and hope.

The other Judas has been with us through it all too. I don’t understand how he could turn like that. Sure, he was really upset a few nights ago at dinner, when Mary poured all this expensive ointment on Jesus’ feet. He looked like a walking thunder cloud. Would that be enough to cause him to sell Jesus out?

Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do,” and Judas left the room. Left our company. We thought maybe he'd gone to pick up some supplies before the Sabbath began tomorrow, but… he was on a different errand.

I still believe Jesus can transform the worst circumstances into something with life and hope. But even this?

You’ve probably been at some tense family meals in your life… you may even have known betrayal. How does it help our faith to know Jesus experienced those things?

Can we spare some sympathy for Judas Iscariot? 

Can we forgive those who have betrayed us? It’s never too late. We can start by asking God to give us the grace to see that person as God sees them, with compassion. And then allow God’s grace to take hold of us, gradually or all at once. New life...

You are welcome to join my congregations for online worship this evening - here is the link. Our Holy Week line-up of services, many online or hybrid, is here.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Today’s readings are here. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

4-4-23 - Andrew of Capernaum

This week we will look at the gospel reading appointed for each day and reflect from the perspective of one the people on the fringes of the story. We too are on the fringes of this story – and we are invited to come into its heart this week. May these holy men and women draw us closer. Today's gospel is John 12:20-26.
You can listen to this reflection here.

Andrew of Capernaum: Wow – this movement of ours is really growing! Philip just came over and told me some Greeks wanted to meet Jesus – they’d heard of him! They’re in town for Passover, and they want to meet Jesus! Our Jesus. I was really excited to go tell him.

But he didn’t seem thrilled – he just got really quiet. He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” – but where you’d think “glorified” was a good thing, he seemed to dread it. And then this cryptic thing about grains of wheat falling into the earth and dying…

We’re all worried about him. And about ourselves – if they arrest him, will they take us too? I can tell my brother Simon is nervous – just makes him more blustery and “Let ’em come for me.” After the thing with Lazarus the rumors got more intense – those leaders at the temple don’t want Jesus getting this kind of attention. And maybe they’re afraid of his power. Because no one has ever seen anything like his power – bringing someone four days dead back to life? Who does that?

“The hour,” he said. Has everything we’ve been doing with him for three years been leading up to one moment? Is something going to happen that will change everything? I thought we’d just keep going as we have been, traveling around with him, preaching and healing, proclaiming freedom and forgiveness, gaining followers. Is this all about more than gaining followers? Is God up to something even bigger? Is that what Jesus means by the seed – “If it dies, it bears much fruit?”

I don’t want to die. And I don’t want him to die! I love that man; I’d give my life for him. I don’t want him to give his life for me… But that’s what he said: “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” What did he mean? Will he be broken open, like a seed? Will I? Am I ready to be broken open?

How about us? Are we willing to let some of our dreams and demands die and fall into the earth like seeds, so they might be transformed into fruit-bearing God dreams? Are we willing to become more fruitful with God?

Let's walk closely with Jesus this week, allowing him to be real in our lives - not the suffering crucified one, but the risen Lord of heaven and earth, bearing abundant fruit through us.

You are welcome to join my congregations for online worship this evening - here is the link. Our Holy Week line-up of services, many online or hybrid, is here.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Today’s readings are here. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

4-3-23 - Lazarus of Bethany

This week we will look at the gospel reading appointed for each day and reflect from the perspective of one the people on the fringes of the story. We too are on the fringes of this story – and we are invited to come into its heart this week. May these holy men and women draw us closer. Today it is John 12:1-11. You can listen to this reflection here.

Lazarus of Bethany: So, they want to kill me – I, who have already tasted death. More than tasted – spent four days in that place where there is no light. Came back to myself in a cold, dark, rancid place; came back to myself at the sound of his voice calling me. Stumbled toward the light beyond the rock they’d just moved to let me out, not sure where I was, or who.

If I hadn’t seen the power and love in this man who became my friend, I might say Jesus was the worst thing that could have happened to my family. His visits caused my sisters to squabble, his friendship drew unwanted attention. But I can say with my whole heart that meeting Jesus was the best thing that ever happened to us. He drew out the gentleness in Martha, who so often uses her intelligence and competence to control events and other people. And I’ve seen our sister Mary show a new boldness and courage since coming to know Jesus.

Like tonight, at dinner at our house – she took a whole jar of nard that must have cost her the earth, and anointed Jesus’ feet with it. Just got on her knees and anointed him and then wiped his feet with her hair. It was extraordinary, and unsettling. Didn’t make his disciples happy – don’t know if it was the extravagance or the intimacy that bothered them most. But Jesus defended her, talking about her having “bought it for the day of my burial.” He knew the end of this life was coming soon; I wonder if he knew how ghastly that end would be? Did he fear it? The suffering? The dying? Did he know what would come next – really know? Or did he have to walk by faith, like all of us?

And now, because so many have come to believe in Jesus because he raised me, they want to kill me. The symbol. The forerunner. You know what? They don’t scare me. Death no longer scares me. Like my sisters, I believe Jesus is who he says he is, the Anointed of God, the Messiah we’ve been awaiting.

And I know that the next time I leave this life, it won’t be to the place of complete darkness. For he will be with me, the Light of the World will illumine even that darkness and make it holy. I just wish he didn’t have to pass through the darkness himself first…

What in Lazarus’ story – or Martha’s, or Mary’s – brings up a story in you? A story of new life returning from dead places? A story of hospitality and service? A story of extravagant sacrifice to honor Jesus or your faith? What do you want to offer Jesus today?

You are welcome to join my congregations for online worship this evening - here is the link. Our Holy Week line-up of services, many online or hybrid, is here.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Today’s readings are here. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.