Daily Lectionary Readings for Year A
I hope and pray that you had a meaningful Holy Week. It is a complicated, emotional journey from the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem to the burial of Jesus. There are many parts of the story that seem to relate so closely to our own experiences (politics, betrayal, suffering, fear). There are also parts of the Holy Week story that cause us to reflect deeply on God (love, power, faith, hope). Think about what you experienced during Holy Week and how it brought you closer to the Jesus and the cross. Yesterday was a joy! Nothing can stop Easter! We stay with Psalm 118 for three days this week, and it feels so appropriate. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His steadfast love endures forever. How can we not look back on Easter without hearts filled with thanksgiving? We are thankful to God, who is bigger than all our sins. We are thankful for Jesus, who overwhelms suffering with love. We are thankful for incredibly gifted and loving musicians like Dave, Adrianne, Sara, and her brother Ben. Imagine creating music together while never being in the same room. Wasn't the music beautiful? We are thankful for a Bishop with a kind heart. Did you know people who do not have internet received Bishop Bard's sermon in the mail? We are thankful for people finding a way to worship and be the church. We are thankful for life in the midst of death. God is good, and God's steadfast love gives us hope for the days to come. This week the lectionary texts will form us as a new community. We are the people of the resurrection, saved by God. That means we have new opportunities to love and serve one another. We carry God's story as we assemble as new people in new ways. It's the story of God showing a way when there was no way and saving God's people. Read the story of Moses parting the waters to save the Israelites from certain death. Appreciate the humor of the people in the face of such certain doom ("what, were there no more graves available at home? You had to bring us out here to die instead?") Sometimes we have to laugh to keep from crying. But always, we are humbled by the saving acts of God. Again and again. We carry with us the story of women and men singing and worshiping God. The story is one that reminds us that there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! I look forward to the ways that God will meet you this week and bring you closer together, even though we are staying a distance apart. Peace, Dean
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REv. Dean N. PrentissI am blessed to be the Pastor at Wesley Park UMC. Find Daily Lectionary Readings Here. Archives
February 2021
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