Braving The Waters

This picture is from the Maundy Thursday service last night but, I think it is fitting for today as well. Good Friday, a day of reflection, a day of sorrow, a day like no other. What does this day mean to you?

Meditation from Maundy Thursday service. The bread and cup, two symbols that mean a great deal especially to us as Disciples. The Lord’s Supper is a central part of who we are, each week when we gather we find ourselves celebrating this symbolic meal. I invite you to hear(read) our scripture for tonight found in the Gospel of Luke. Luke 22: 7-23 Perhaps the greatest symbols of Jesus sacrifice are right in front of us, at least on a weekly basis. We often take them for granted. They simply become just “part of what we do” and can begin to lose their meaning over time. Which is why Maundy Thursday is such an important service for us to celebrate. It is a chance to be reminded what the symbols of the bread and cup mean to us, individually and corporately. The Table - fellowship, friendship, nourishment, unity...what are other things you think of when you think of the table, communion or otherwise? Bread - work of so many hands. Those who prepare the ground and plant...

The turning point I often catch myself think “what if” when I reflect on major turning points in my life. What if I had chosen Hiram over Mount Union when I was deciding what college to go to? What if I had stayed home the summer of 2003 instead of working at Camp Cedar ?  What if I had gone to United Seminary instead of Lexington ? What if…what if… What if the disciples had gotten it the first time Jesus tried to tell them what was going to happen to him? What if God had decided there was another way when Jesus prayed in the garden? Perhaps you, like I, spend a good bit of time on the “what ifs” when we really don't need to. When we find ourselves at a turning point and we have weighed all the what if’s and might be’s and make the decision to go left, right, forward, backward, or stand still…that then becomes the known, not the what if. The turning point has past and we are now headed in a new and different direction than before. For me, Wednesday of Holy Week...