Again and Again…

Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said,

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Having said this, he breathed his last.

Luke 23:46

Dear Friends,

It is Holy Week… again.

About a year ago, it was Holy Week.

We gathered last Sunday and heard the story of Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem and then the story of his passion… again.

We’ll gather for our Maundy Thursday worship (A Meal with Jesus) and hear the story of that last supper that Jesus had with his disciples again. And we’ll gather again Friday morning to continue our worship by contemplating Jesus’ last words from the cross again.

On one hand, it doesn’t make any sense. We KNOW how the story ends. It reminds me of a conversation I had with Laura after we got married. She had her FAVORITE movies that she would watch over and over again. I thought it was silly. Once you’ve seen a movie and know how the story ends, why watch it again? Of course, since she was watching these movies, I started watching them with her. I was amazed at how—even though I knew what would happen next—how I was sucked into the story each time. I laughed at the same parts. I cried at the really touching moments.

That’s what stories do… they have us re-live and re-experience the story anew.

We are constantly being sucked into stories… in the news… in movies… in conversations… in commercials…in books… We are constantly being inundated with stories. Certain ones really stick and we carry them with us, make decisions based upon them, and pass them on.

Is the story of Jesus one of those stories?

If we’re honest, sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.

That’s why we gather to hear and tell the stories. That’s why we read and reread the biblical stories. We tell, read, recite and focus on these stories so that they may be alive in us… so that the living Word of God is alive in us and isn’t drowned out by all the other stories.

We hear and tell the stories… especially during Holy Week. By living with Jesus the events that happened during that week, we journey with Jesus to and through the crucifixion and experience anew the resurrection.

Again.

New life. Yes, we need to experience that again and again and again.

Peace,

Pastor Phil