Braving The Waters

A prayer for the Tuesday of Holy Week Giving God as we get closer to the day Christ shared a last meal with his friends; remind us to be thankful for those we gather around the table with this week. Show us opportunities to invite new people to join us at the table Jesus prepared for all. Merciful God, as each step of this day takes us closer to Friday remind us of the steps Christ took with a heavy cross on his back. Give a chance to carry the burden of another so they might know Christ through our actions. As we move ever mindfully into Easter morning remind us that we are forgiven. Help us forgive those who because of your love deserve our forgiveness too. Have mercy on us O God, break into our lives and teach us to live in ways that are pleasing and acceptable to you. Amen.

Here are the last two paragraphs from my sermon yesterday. If you would like to read the rest of the sermon please contact me. “Holy Week, like the 40 days of Lent, forces us into deeper reflection about who we are as children of God, what we have done that has not been Christ like and where we might make changes. We don’t like to think for very long about Jesus on the cross. The longer we focus on him being on the cross the more we start to realize we likely would have been part of the crowd that put him there. We are part of the crowd who put him there; we might not know that we have shouted “crucify him” but because of our sinfulness as humans, we have and we continue to shout it even unconsciously. If I try to put myself into this story- I become torn, I want to be one of the ones waving the palm branch and shouting “Hosanna in the highest”. I want to be brave enough to pull my sword out when the guards come to arrest Jesus. I want to be better than Peter and not deny th...