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Bible Readings for Saturday April 9th, 2011 – The 5th Week of Lent *Click on each bible passage to expand the text. Psalm 130 1. [A Song of Ascents.] Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.

2. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

3. If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?

4. But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.

5. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

6. my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.

7. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.

8. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. Ezekiel 36:8-15 8. But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot out your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they shall soon come home.

9. See now, I am for you; I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown;

10. and I will multiply your population, the whole house of Israel, all of it; the towns shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt;

11. and I will multiply human beings and animals upon you. They shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

12. I will lead people upon you– my people Israel– and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance. No longer shall you bereave them of children.

13. Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, “You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,”

14. therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, says the Lord GOD;

15. and no longer will I let you hear the insults of the nations, no longer shall you bear the disgrace of the peoples; and no longer shall you cause your nation to stumble, says the Lord GOD. Luke 24:44-53 44. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you– that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”

45. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,

46. and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,

47. and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48. You are witnesses of these things.

49. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

50. Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

51. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.

52. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy;

53. and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. – Psalm 130:7

See now, I am for you; I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown; – Ezekiel 36:9

and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. – Luke 24:46-47

The Bunny Abomination

Awwwww, isn’t that nice? Jesus rose again on the third day, and there was the giving of colorful Easter eggs and chocolate for everyone!

No, there wasn’t.

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Easter. I love that Christ rose again. I hate that Easter pretty much has stolen the entire impact, importance and meaning away from what should be one of the most important days in a Christian’s life.

Do you know what I mean? No?

Let’s try this on for size:

Do you believe that Jesus the Anointed One rose again on the Sunday following Good Friday? Do you believe that God has attained final victory over death and sin? Do you believe that God loves you, and that you have nothing left to fear? Do you believe that when you die, you will see Heaven (whatever that loving and indescribable experience may be…)?

If you answered “no” or “maybe” to any of the proceeding questions, you have clearly been a victim of the spiritual abomination called Easter.

A heartfelt “YES” to every single last question above is the entire point to Jesus’ death and resurrection! Let us now work to recover the power of Easter:

The Life of Jesus Taught Us “The Way” of the Kingdom

The Word of God, the Lamb of God, the Logos, the Son, became flesh so that God could live fully as a human, and personally demonstrate for us through his life and teachings The Way of love, faith, and peace: The Way of the Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. NOT the way of salvation, but the way of the Kingdom!

Matthew 6 10. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.

The Suffering of Jesus Taught Us Our Capacity to Endure

The Word of God, the Lamb of God, the Logos, the Son, suffered horribly and publicly so that we can never doubt our human capacity to endure these things for the sake of the Kingdom on Earth, the beloved community. His suffering was NOT a price for your salvation, but as a demonstration of the possible price of The Kingdom.

Philippians 1 29. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake

The Blood of Jesus Satisfied Our Desire for Justice

The Word of God, the Lamb of God, the Logos, the Son, offered his loving and selfless blood to be poured out as a final act of atonement for our missing the mark. NOT to satisfy God’s own blood-lust and need for atonement, but to satisfy ours. Alas, we are creatures of retribution, and a price for justice must be paid. In order for us to first begin to comprehend that God’s grace and salvation is even possible, we have to be overtly shown how justice has been met. Meditate on that for a moment: God does not require atonement, we do.

Psalm 40 6. Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Isaiah 1 11. “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.”

The Resurrection Should Free Us From the Fear of Death and Sin

The Word of God, the Lamb of God, the Logos, the Son, did rise again on the morning of the Sunday following his Crucifixion. NOT as some kind of divine reward for a service well done, but as a visible celebration of victory: God’s final and absolute victory over death and sin. This public show of victory was to strip us of the last vestiges of fear, freeing us to live and love free from the inaction and doubt caused by fear: the fear of sin, the fear of death. They no longer hold dominion over us and we are free to love God and each other with abandon!

Isaiah 25 8. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” 1 Corinthians 15 57. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John 4 18. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19. We love because he (God) first loved us.

God’s Salvation is Final and Universal

The Word of God, the Lamb of God, the Logos, the Son lived, taught, suffered, died and rose again to secure salvation. NOT for the sake of a few, but for the sake of ALL of God’s children, for the redemption of all Creation, for the Glory of God. For it is written, “But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.”

This is why The Way is about the Kingdom on Earth, not salvation. Salvation is done. God acted. Focus on redeeming creation, not yourself; you are fine!

Romans 5 12. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned 18. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness (Jesus’) leads to justification and life for all men. 19. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s (Jesus’) obedience the many will be made righteous.

Easter, Redeemed

And that, my brothers and sisters is the true power and meaning of Easter. The day death and sin were defeated, the day that we realized our purpose within living The Way. The day all were made righteous and equal before the Lord so that none may boast.

So let us rejoice and celebrate the mercy the Lord has shown. We are to honor and worship God by leading transformed lives of love, forgiveness and selflessness.

Go forth beloved children of God: our church is now the world, our worship the love and care of each other, our choir the smiles and laughter of children and our sermons the hard lessons of life we encounter each day.

Therefore, enjoy those chocolates and eggs. For Lord is Risen, and no overindulgence in Peeps will take that from us!