christianity

by

Holy Week Is Here!

Welcome to Spring in the U.P.! 50 degrees and sunshine one day, snow the next, then comes freezing rain and sleet, and then the wind that tears the heavy-laden branches off the trees. The last few weeks have been “interesting,” haven’t they?

I’ve begun to hear the term “whiplash weather” used more frequently. Those sudden changes and dramatic differences wreak havoc on arthritic joints and sensitive sinuses. We ache for real spring to arrive with singing birds and budding trees, and fewer physical aches and pains.

For those who have journeyed through the Season of Lent, we are also entering into a time of whiplash weather among the faithful. Sunday is Palm Sunday – when we celebrate with great joy and sing hosannas while we wave our palm fronds and greet “the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” We move from this sense of triumph with “peace in heaven and glory in the highest” directly to the Temple, where Jesus grabs a bullwhip and turns over the tables and chases out those who have made it “a den of thieves.”

From the ferociousness of the Temple cleansing, we move into a private upper room where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, showing them how a true leader is a servant; and we hear that his body will be broken and his blood will be shed for the forgiveness of the people’s sins. From the intimacy of this final meal, we head to the garden where sleepy disciples fail to heed Jesus’ call for prayer and where one disciple foreshadows the betrayal and abandonment of all the disciples.

From the sadness of the garden, we watch with horror as Jesus walks alone to his trial and carries his cross to the hill where he dies in agony. With broken hearts and anxious minds, we follow those who bear the burden of his body to the cave-like tomb.

With fear and trembling, with more questions and praises, we gather behind locked doors with the disciples on Holy Saturday – and mark the Sabbath Day. Can we say that we celebrate this Sabbath – this most holy Sabbath of the Passover and the reminders of how God led the people out of bondage in Egypt? Instead, we wonder what will come of us now that Jesus … the one who would be King … is dead.

With first light, with heavy hearts, we accompany the women back to the tomb. Fear and anger leap from the cliff as we see that the tomb has been desecrated! The body of our Lord has been stolen! Startled, we see that Jesus is standing beside us. Confused, happy, stunned – there truly are no words to describe the whirlwind of emotions that roar through our hearts and minds. Rejoice!? Can this really be true?

Joy. Anger. Love. Humility. Sadness. Terror. Grief. Anxiety. Happiness. This is the whiplash weather of Holy Week’s emotions. And we have the advantage of knowing how the story ends. I cannot imagine what it was like for those who lived through it – who experienced it firsthand.

We love because God first loved us. As we look around our world and see the distress and suffering of so many, as we see the anger and frustration and sadness displayed in graphic terms, we walk with the disciples through the whiplash weather of Holy Week.

And we love our neighbor to the best of our ability. We bind up the broken-hearted. We feed the hungry. We offer hope and healing to the suffering. We follow in the footsteps of the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

We love because God first loved us.

We serve because our Lord knelt and washed our feet and then died for our sins.

Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. When we do not love, we do not fully know God, for God is love. Beloved, let us love one another.

Shalom,
Pastor Kay

by

I’m Tired – Article #1

I began my column in the Wakefield News/Bessemer Pick & Axe on April 1, 2019 – no fooling! This is the article that I shared back then; it seems just as appropriate now.

I’m tired. I’m tired of opening my email news feed to stories with blurred pictures, blurred because graphic images have been blocked. I’m tired of staying up late on Saturday night or getting up early on Sunday morning to rewrite prayers for worship. I’m tired of saying, yet again, that the white supremacist agenda is not a Christian agenda. I’m tired of saying over and over that it is wrong when anyone picks up a gun and kills people because they: worship God by a different name, love someone differently, have different color skin, speak a different language, come from a different country, or whatever. This is wrong! I’m tired of the simple fact that I have to respond to these sorts of things at all!

It’s time to act, instead. It’s time to share stories of people working together. It’s time to share images of various faith communities cooperating with one another. It’s time to share how people care for one another. It’s time to tell a new story, such as: the story about the community that helped the farmer whose barn collapsed under the weight of the snow or the story about the people who are helping ranchers in Nebraska whose cattle are drowning in their fields. It’s time to share all of the stories about people who live out the love of God – by whatever name they call God. It’s time to live lives of caring and helping. It’s time to change our world.

You might think, “We’re from little bitty Ewen, Trout Creek, Bruce Crossing, Bergland, Kenton … What can we do?” We can do MANY things. We can let the TV stations know that we want to see these stories of love and cooperation. We can share these stories on FB, Twitter (now called X), etc. We can send articles to local newspapers. We can call or send postcards to our state and national representatives and senators, and even our president. We can show what Christian faith really looks like!

We have a God who loves everyone so much that he was willing to die for them. Luke 13:31-35 tells us that some people said to Jesus, “Get away from here. Herod is trying to kill you.” And Jesus responded, “Tell that fox that nothing is going to change God’s agenda. I’ll be working. I’ll be healing. I’ll be teaching. I’ll be feeding the hungry. I’ll be headed to Jerusalem – knowing full well that I will die when I get there. Herod can’t change that.” Then Jesus compares himself to a Mother Hen who desires to gather her chicks under her wings to give them shelter.

In the battle between a fox and a mother hen, the fox wins. Right? Not according to Jesus. In God’s agenda, the Mother Hen wins. She protects her chicks. She covers them with her wings. She camouflages them. She hides them from the predator. SHE may die in the process, but she saves the chicks.

In the battle between Herod the Fox and Jesus the Mother Hen, Jesus the Mother Hen wins. He protects all people. He covers them with his mother-hen wings. He wipes away their sins. He hides them from Satan’s claim upon them. He dies! But he saves the people. And his victory is even more complete when he defeats death itself – rising from the tomb three days after his death.

This is the God who needs to make the news! This is the Lord whose ways we imitate. This is the teacher whose love we learn and live. We need to stop reacting and start acting. We need to get the word out there. We who believe in a God of love need to stand up to hatred and violence with love and peace.

Only love can conquer hate. Only light can defeat darkness.

It is time that we show God’s love and shine God’s light into our dark and broken world.

Shalom, Pastor Kay