LENTEN WREATH READINGS 2008

Lent I
Most of us have read Matthews account of the Passion Week. First, Jesus disciples failed
him. Judas sold loyalty for 30 pieces of silver. Then in the upper room Jesus warned all the
disciples they would desert him. Peter blurted, Never me! Within hours, when he was
challenged, Peter denied Jesus three times.
All of our human institutions failed as well. Gods religious people broke their own laws
during a trial by night; in their hatred they used any means to put an end to Jesus. And the
Roman government, which boasted of its system of justice, failed when Pilate gave in to a mob
and condemned a man he knew was innocent.
Jesus was utterly realistic about the weakness of his disciples; nevertheless, he did not
condemn them. He promised, when the terrible time was over, to see them again. And after the
resurrection Jesus drew forth from Peter three professions of love as if to erase the three denials
from Peters heart.
Jesus knows our human weakness. Hes certain we will make mistakes and fail him. That
does not turn his love to contempt. It spurs him toward the cross, for he alone can save us.
Lent II
Renowned biblical scholar William Barclay wrote that we approach the account of Jesus
struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane ... on our knees. Study passes into wondering adoration.
There are struggles that push faith to its limits. Who wants to die a horrible death at 33? Jesus
was no fool, and those of us who read Matthews story of the Lords Passion last Sunday learned
how Jesus was deeply grieved and agitated even to death as he threw himself on the ground and
prayed, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. But then he went on, Yet not
what I want but what you want.
Each of us will have our own Gethsemanes when we struggle to accept what we dont
understand, when we too finally surrender, Thy will be done. That the disciples fell asleep
made little difference; you fight this battle aloneyet never alone when you pray, My Father.
The account ended when Jesus said, Get up, let us be going. Time for prayer in the garden
was over; time for action had come. Barclay concludes in his commentary, We kneel before
God, so we can stand before men.
Lent III
If we didnt have a cross on hand as an instant sign of our faith, a towel would be a good second
choice. For none of the teachings of Jesus about the greatness of servicenot even his words
that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his lifeare as clear as what
he did in the upper room.
The disciples arrived, their sandal-clad feet dusty. The customary basin of water and towel
were available. Cant you picture each pretending not to noticelooking up at the ceiling,
fumbling with a robe. So Jesus picks up the basin and towel and washes their feet. If I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers feet. For I have
set you an example.

Here, instead of Pick up your cross and follow, Jesus calls, Pick up your towel. Not many
of us are asked to die for Christ, but all of us are asked to live for him. Which is harder, to die
for the Lord or live for him? The cross may be the ultimate demand for a few of us, but the
towel of service if the Lords immediate demand on all of us.
Lent IV
Erick Schick wrote that we come to the Table of the Lord as if to meet death, so that one day
we may go to meet death as if we are going to the Table of the Lord.
For as we walk up the altar steps, we meet God as God really is. Of course, God is
everywhere. Luther said God was in his cabbage soup, the sunlight, the farmer, even the
fertilizer. But the Lord designated a few places, like the water of Baptism and the bread and the
wine, where we find God as God really is. We meet our great, forgiving Godthe same God we
will meet at death!
We walk down the altar steps aware that there is no place were going this coming week that
God will not be with us. Even as the bread and the wine are in us, so Christ is in us and we are
in Christ. We are the Body that God uses to care for our families, work for the world, tell of
Gods love. Nothing is trivial; if God can use bread, God can use all we do. A New
Covenantnew relationship with Godis ours.
Lent V
The cross of Jesus reflected what God endured to have us be Gods own. When they hammer
the nails into the hands of those they crucified, the victims cursed and screamed. It was then that
Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them; they dont know what they are doing.
Jesus never stopped loving others. He commended his grief-stricken mother to Johns care.
Even the thief on the cross learned that Jesus arms stretched wide enough to include him... and
us. And Jesus could promise paradise to that sinner... and us.
When Jesus cried, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? he plumbed the depths of
our human despair. He would wait until Easter for his answer. Meanwhile, he still had God to
shout to.
His throat closed shut in thirst; every physical agony was his. Yet he died praying the goodnight prayer he learned as a child, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
At the end he proclaimed, It is accomplished. God took the worst sin, death, and the devil
could do and defeated them. Love did not fail. Love won and would win our trust... and us.
Palm Sunday
Jesus did not choose an armored Humvee; he came in an old Ford Pinto. Shunning the
numerous prophesies of a militant Messiah, Jesus deliberately orchestrated Zechariahs vision:
Look, your king comes to you humble and mounted on a donkey.
St. Paul highlighted this in his epistles:
Christ was truly God.
But he did not try to remain equal with God...
Christ was humble.
He obeyed God and even died on a cross.

Jesus did not exploit what he was but used what he was to love and to serve.
Then Paul says, Let the same min be in you. How?
We dont have to change jobs, family, or community. The carpenter still nails studs 16 inches
on center. The magazine editor continues to plan her pages. To have Jesus mind we put low
value on prestige, prominence, impressing others. Instead we value giving rather than receiving,
serving rather than being served. Whether it be family devotions or energy conservation, to have
the mind of Jesus means that we learn to value what he would value.
As Jesus passes us today, he turns and looks you and me in the eye and says, Follow me.
That is the only praise worthy of Palm Sunday.