Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida

I was eight years old. In my Easter basket was a novelty toy–a rubber elephant head pin. It connected to a tube with a bulb at the end. When you squeezed the bulb, the elephant’s trunk unfurled. That Easter Sunday my father attached the pin to my sports jacket, concealed the tubing and put the bulb in my pocket. As soon as I got to Sunday School, I demonstrated the toy. Everyone was delighted, except for Mrs. Sherman my Sunday School teacher. She instructed me sternly, “We must keep this very still in Sunday School.” I remember her exact words and tone of voice, but nothing else about that Easter–not the lesson nor the worship service. 

How easy it is to be distracted even at important moments. We have difficulty focusing on what is important. Mary Magdalene found the tomb of Jesus open empty. After fetching two disciples she remained at the tomb weeping. The risen Jesus spoke to here, but she didn’t recognize him. She thinks he is the gardener. This has puzzled reader for centuries. Why doesn’t she recognize him? I think it’s because her mind is focused on a dead body. But that is a distraction.

I’m probably the worst example of one who concentrates on what is important, but I encourage you to concentrate in the Easter season on what is important–Jesus is risen from the dead. Sin, death, and the devil have lost. Human life can never be the same.

Focus on Jesus. Don’t let yourself be distracted by trivialities. Christ is truly risen! Alleluia.

Read 1 Peter 1:3 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

I’ve always liked the Breton’s Fisherman’s Prayer, and there have been a number of times in my life when I’ve felt the need to pray it. There are several versions and proposed sources for the prayer, but they contain the same core plea: “Dear God be good to me. The sea is so wide, and my boat is so small.”

Admiral Hyman Rickover served for many years as the head of the U. S. Navy’s nuclear submarine force. Whenever a new captain was appointed for a nuclear submarine, Rickover would give him a plaque engraved with the prayer. He also gave one to President Kennedy, who kept it on his Oval Office desk.

There are times when we feel battered by the huge waves of the sea of life. We think that we can’t survive the seemingly crushing problems we face. The Breton’s Fisherman’s Prayer seems perfect for these times. First, it is a humble plea that acknowledges that our own efforts are not enough. Second, by asking God’s help, it is a statement of faith. Praying it will give us comfort, but I would like to suggest that we extend it by the last line of the wonderful hymn “You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore” (ELW #817): “On the sand I have abandoned my small boat; now with you, I will seek other seas.”

When we face overwhelming problems, praying this little prayer can help us remember that God loves YOU and me unconditionally.

Jim

The Easter resurrection story features an angel. Like all who came before and have come since, his message was one of reassurance. “Do not be afraid.” “Everything’s going to be okay.” Along with the momentary fright there is a longer, lingering feeling of JOY! We are never the same. It’s a powerful connection between heaven and earth.

The witness to the resurrection took off as if launched from a rocket pad (how about the ongoing Artemis II space mission?!) At once it was thrilling and terrifying, immediately replaced with the JOY! And peace. From two women to the disciples to all of Jerusalem and Galilee came the testimony: “Our Lord is risen!” Hundreds, then thousands in the next fifty days. Fifty days. That’s it, but so much more from the initial igniting message. The fact, the truth, could not be contained! Our faith takes care of the rest, if we are bold enough to let it.  Do not disparage anyone who tells you an incredible story of an angel encounter. God always finds powerful ways of getting our attention. He delivers amazing, sometimes unexpected answers to prayer.

Sunday afternoons and evenings are often a bit of a letdown for me. Church is over, and the oftentimes tediosity of Monday morning creeps in. The overriding peace and JOY! That is what gets me through. The reality that is the ongoing, continuous Easter event. Even as the last of our “snowbirds” are departing and church attendance will also dwindle from the 300+ we had last Sunday. The whole reason it happened on that glorious resurrection dawn was the cornerpiece of God’s perfect plan for us and our salvation. It is nothing other than an unconditional love poured out for us.

Pastor Art

Yesterday we celebrated Easter, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, a day of joy and new beginnings.
“He lives, he lives who once was dead!”  The greatest news we could receive.   Because he lives, we too can live. 

How fitting that the date of Easter falls in the springtime.  While it may not be so evident here in Florida,  you who have come from a more northern part of the country, have experienced the joy of new beginnings in the spring.  Trees show buds that will bring forth green leaves.  Purple crocus push through the earth.  Bright yellow daffodils burst from their bulbs beneath the ground.  Colorful tulips are soon to follow.  Forsythia bushes are aglow in yellow. 

Spring brings signs of rebirth.  Easter brings evidence of new life.  What an amazing time of the year.  What a perfect time for us to lift up our heads, to reach out to the promise of new life, to begin anew to serve our Savior in our best way. Jesus didn’t promise just survival, he promised abundance:  a life marked by peace, a joy that runs deep, freedom from the weight of sin.   

There’s a hymn by composed by John W. Peterson in 1963 called, “New Life in Christ.”  The lyrics to the chorus follow:

“New Life in Christ! Abundant and free!
What glories shine, what joys are mine,
What wondrous blessings I see!
My past with its sin,
The searching and strife,
Forever gone, there’s a bright new dawn!
For in Christ I have found New Life!”

May the unconditional love of our God spur us on to a New Life of living in his love.

Judy

Prayers. Tears. Arrest. Denial. Shock. Trial. Mocking. Beating. Crucifying. Forgiveness. Grace. Sorrow. Such a Holy week, yet so much stress. The agony and pain insufferable.

Would we like to embrace our departed loved ones again? Most definitely I would love to sit with my parents and dear family. With uplifting praise, today is the gift of the soul’s embrace. Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia.  How blessed are we as believers! Can our hearts be fuller? Lent, reflection and introspection for 40 days have passed, then commemorating the King-ly entrance into Jerusalem, followed by the arrest, sentencing, shock, loss and incomprehensible pain.  All of this is over. It is now Easter and we know our dear Lord’s resurrection was beyond description. What a gift! He is risen, and we rejoice. On this triumphant, holy day, we sing out Alleluia.

Christ our Heavenly King, endured the pain and suffering of the crucifixion, took our sins to that cross, saved and redeemed us and on this day, HE IS RISEN, indeed! Happy Easter. May your soul embrace the gift of Jesus’ unconditional love and sacrifice for YOU!

Jill

 Maple Springs Methodist Church was on an arterial street near our home in Winston-Salem, so we often passed by it. It was always pleasant to do so, but two times of the year were special. The first was in the days leading up to Halloween, when they brought in a couple of semi-truck loads of pumpkins and laid them out across their lawn. Their youth then sold them to raise money for their activities and missions. Little children loved it, and you would see them running around all over the yard with parents trying to keep up. A lot of children who grew up in town had their picture taken at Maple Springs hugging a pumpkin as big as they were.

 The second time was at Easter. On Good Friday they planted a large, very rugged cross in front of the church (I think they did this at the conclusion of a Cross Walk). It looked heavy and reminded those who saw it of the procession to Golgotha when the soldiers impressed Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus (Luke 23:26). The cross was bare, but it nevertheless also reminded the viewers of the crucifixion over 2000 years ago and how Jesus suffered for us.

 For Easter Day the members of Maple Springs decorated the cross with flowers, and it was completely and densely covered. They used spring flowers such as Azaleas, Dogwoods, Jonquils and tulips, all of which are evidence of the earth coming to life again after the passing of winter. They also used Easter Lilies. Christian tradition has it that lilies were found blooming in the Garden of Gethsemane after the crucifixion, and they must have been a favorite flower of Jesus for He explicitly mentioned them in the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 12:27, KJV). I loved the Maple Springs Easter Cross. It was a glorious and joyous symbol of the resurrection, while at the same time reminded us of the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. What a witness it was to all who passed by the church.

 To learn about the first reports of the resurrection read Luke 24:1-10, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Jim

Holy Week has been a part of my life since I was an infant. I know that my mother probably brought me to the Good Friday service at church when I was less than a year old. This week is an important time for Christians who wish to honor and glorify Jesus Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for His people. I cannot imagine missing any of the sacred services that will take place this week. 

Today is Good Friday. A day filled with “edge of the seat” drama from morning until late afternoon. A day of trial, testimony, accusation, torture and finally the death of Jesus. A death not at the hands of the Jewish people, but the local rulers, trying to calm the angry crowds. I want to be there not for the ritual but for the emphasis that it gives to me of God’s enduring and unconditional love for me and you. 

The theory of why Jesus had to die for us to gain life everlasting is one that I learned over years of catechism and courses. I want to acknowledge that Jesus the Man, willing gave his life for me and for you so that we would have eternal life with Him. Alleluia! 

It was a horrible task, made worse by the human cruelty of cowardly men and shamed by his own supporters who went into hiding after his arrest. Only the women, his mother and her friends and relatives walked with her during this arduous journey to Calvary. The Apostle John was at the cross; he was the favorite of Jesus and there Jesus asked him to care for his mother. 

There was another person at the cross who offered a silent tribute to Jesus. The Centurion. The soldier who refused to break the Jesus’ legs because he was already dead. Instead, he slashed Christ’s side with a spear. Thus, fulfilling the prophecies of old (Zechariah 12:10 and Exodus 12:46) and confirming that Jesus is the true Passover Lamb (no bones shall be broken). 

I will spend some quiet time today reflecting on the gift the Jesus gave us today and on his human suffering. Then tonight, I will join with others at church to hear the Passion read and sing “The Centurion’s Song.”

Please join us. 

Terri 

I am always drawn to Maundy Thursday worship, to hear the lesson from John where Jesus gives the Mandatum, the command, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” A commandment to love; was that necessary? Did Jesus have to command people to love? Isn’t it obvious that’s what we are supposed to do? Sadly, no.

I heard a news commentator remark that there was a time when people ran for public office by appealing to bright aspirations–to hope, to the promise of a better future. Today that doesn’t work. Politicians now use the dark threats of fear and hatred. An appeal to love, compassion, mercy, kindness, care is dismissed as weakness. Lord, have mercy!

Around 1200 years ago people began singing a chant during the foot washing ceremony in the Maundy Thursday worship. In Latin the words are: “ Ubi cáritas et amor, Deus ibi est” translated as “Where there is charity and love, there is God.” About 50 years ago French composer Jacques Berthier set the words to music for the Taizé Community, an ecumenical Christian monastic community in France. I have been to a service where this was sung hundreds of times over 20 minutes. It’s a moving, inspirational experience.

Lord, let us hear your commandment to love one anther. Let it fill our hearts and minds so there is no room for the dark oppressiveness. Let us be bold in speaking your command and even bolder in living it.

Read John 13:31-35 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

I grew up in Chicago so what do I know about sheep? For goodness sake, they had sheep in the zoo so we deprived city kids would know what real sheep look like.  Fortunately, I had a seminary professor, Dr. Walter Michel, who had been a shepherd as a boy in Yugoslavia. He explained sheep to us urban dummies. As I recall, this is what he said.

“Sheep are the dumbest creatures God ever made. One will be eating some grass and then sees another bit that looks greener over there so he goes to it. Then he sees another bit a little further on. He just wanders from clump of grass to another until he looks up and doesn’t see another sheep. Does he try to find his way back again? No! He lets out a few baaahs, then lays down on the ground and waits to be found.”

Matthew compared people to sheep. “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Is that some kind of insult? Are we being compared to the dumbest creatures God ever made? Yep. Like sheep we flit from one thing to another always thinking we’re getting something better. We wander off from God and if it were left to us, we’d remain lost. So Jesus, the Good Shepherd, seeks us out to bring us home.

I’m really grateful that Good Shepherd found me. How can I thank him? Maybe this is the best I can do: Baaah!

Read Matthew 18:10-13 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

Most of you know the spelling for a certain place or condition. My title is based on that, but in a more positive way. Instead of the familiar “h-e-double hockey sticks”, I’m thinking about one of God’s free gifts, that of will. You might not consider that anything about Holy (Hell) Week contains an aspect of free will. And yes, ministers have been known to call this Holy Hell Week, with all the sermons, services, music, and sanctuary preparations making for a busy week, to say the least.

God’s will always finds a way. Even through the worst of humanity. His Son had all of that horror inflicted upon him. It was God’s will, in fact the only way to completely conquer the power of sin and death. He let the circumstances that were worldly play out – religious and political authorities on a mission, assisted by the betrayal of one of Jesus’ own. Their free will went unchecked. How quickly they forgot everything Jesus has prophesied; they even turned that against him during the week. 

Our free will can certainly get us into heaps of trouble. But no matter how badly we think we have sinned and fallen astray, God always has the perfect will and intention. What mercy He has for us, by giving us the freedom to live lives that can be used for good. By letting us be in charge of everything from the simple and mundane to the very dominion and stewardship of all that He has entrusted to us. His unconditional and perfect love that helps us through the h-e-double-hockey-stick we sometimes encounter, so that we give thanks for the perfect w-i-double-hockey-sticks that takes us from cross to grave to sky.

Pastor Art