Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Now we begin the Easter season. May the next weeks of study in the post-resurrection Jesus and the birth of the church be encouraging to your soul. Find ways to explore this season in the post.
This session focuses our attention on the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. We remember this horrible event each year on Good Friday. In this session I begin the story with the Tree of Life planted in the Garden of Delight (Eden). I start there because the Gospels tell us that the curtain that separated the world from the Holy of Holies in the Temple was torn open from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross. The early Christians believed that Jesus’ death re-opened the free access to the Holy Place, the Garden of Delight, the Tree of Life.
It is Good Friday. This is the day that Jesus was executed on a Roman cross. People have been trying to make sense out of this event since the moment it happened. Why did this popular teacher willingly walk into Jerusalem and allow himself to be arrested, mocked, beaten, and executed, unjustly, with no resistance?
It doesn’t make sense.
This morning I decided to meditate on the cross by browsing through my 300 Daily Devo Doodles collection to find all the images that were related to the crucifixion of Jesus. There were a lot.
I invite you to walk through these images and see what the Spirit of God might have to say to you and work in you as we continue the contemplation of this horrific and mysterious event.
We have a weekly practice at Luther Seminary called Lunch Church. Every Thursday we gather in the Dining Room at 11:00am to share good food, good conversation, scripture, and prayer. It is simple, and I love it.
It is ironic that on this Thursday we are not gathering for Lunch Church. It is Spring Break. I’m on vacation. Students are scattered to the wind. Most people are about to launch into the most intense four days of the Church calendar: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.
Here is a collection of images, PowerPoints, and videos to help you tell the story of Holy Week in your study, preaching, and teaching. Enjoy!