Easter

Holy Saturday: What If Jesus Had Never Been Raised?

1 Comment / Anxiety, Easter, Holy Week, Lent, Spiritual Disciplines / By /

As a teenager, I played the organ weekly for my large Catholic parish. Steeped in the rituals of Holy Week, my musical participation was the means for experiencing the events we were commemorating. One particular year, after the demands of Holy Week had run their course through Good Friday, I came into the church on Saturday to practice my pieces for Easter morning. In the Catholic tradition, at the conclusion of the Good Friday service the church sanctuary is stripped of all ornamentation. The candles are extinguished and the Sacrament is removed from the building. Empty of worshipers on Holy […]

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The Lord of Loose Ends and Second Chances

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Great narrators have a way of keeping the audience’s attention all the way to the end of the story, and gospel writer John is no exception. His carefully organized account of Jesus’ life and ministry left some loose ends. The great climax of the story is the resurrection, of course, and afterwards John breaks our suspense with satisfying details. In chapter 21, John relates Jesus’ appearances to his disciples in various settings. Late in the day of his resurrection, he visited his closest associates to confirm what they had heard after finding his tomb empty. Thomas (the Twin) missed the

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Jesus Gives a Fishing Lesson

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As we inch forward in John 21, I wanted to look at the developing story from the point of view of the Man on the Beach. 9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples

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The Risen Christ Shows His Competence

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4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he

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How Can Jesus Top That?

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For fifty days following his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ continued to interact with his disciples and appeared to hundreds of people. More detail is given in the gospel of John than in the synoptic gospels, so I am going to take a leisurely pace through the last chapter of the fourth gospel. I’m interested to know how our Teacher and Lord could possibly top his “performance” on Easter Sunday. What can disciples expect after such an amazing feat, Jesus’ mic drop moment of all time? 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which

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Living in an Age of Anxiety

3 Comments / Anxiety, Death & Dying, Easter, Lung Cancer / By /

The original impetus for writing on anxiety came in the form of an invitation from the Lung Cancer Alliance folks, to share on the topic for a webinar in December 2017. In preparation, I am keeping a personal anxiety journal, just for the heck of it, so that I have plenty of current illustrations! Okay, I admit I am feeling a little anxious these days. I am looking forward to my April 26 CT scan, a routine image every six months to check for signs of a cancer reoccurrence. One is said to have “scanxiety” in anticipation of one’s periodic

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Does the Resurrection Make a Difference in Our Level of Anxiety?

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Thanks for the little breather there, around Easter. It was a busy weekend, including leading worship for a group of about 35 staff and patients at John Muir Hospital. It matters not if the congregation is 35 or 3500, a lot of energy goes into a service! So for all my friends resting after the Day of Resurrection, may Jesus refill your hearts and souls with his love and strength. Picking up on the theme of anxiety from last week, the question is whether Jesus’ resurrection from the dead should make a difference in our tension/worry level. We can get

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