I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
Psalm 116:13
While Peter, James and John slept in Gethsemane; Jesus prayed.
Jesus said, ” Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not my will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36
The High Priests used to take the blood of the sacrificial animals into the Holy of Holies, behind the veil, once a year to assure forgiveness of the sins of the Israelites. Here they would sprinkle this blood from the cup onto the cover of the Ark of the Covenant–where God was said to dwell. I’m sure they went with fear and trepidation, knowing if they actually saw God–they would surely die.
Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said “this cup is the New Covenant in my blood,
which is poured out for you.”
Jesus filled this cup for us, not with the blood of animals they chose, but with His perfect blood from the Lamb of God’s choice. Our resurrected Savior, Himself, took His own blood through the torn veil and with confidence of completing His work on Earth, presented it to His Father–our Heavenly Father.
And sat at His right hand.
Jesus said, “It is finished”
And we take the cup, as He did so long ago, to remember what Jesus did for us. The cup of the New Covenant in His blood. We will drink from His saving cup and pray–Return to us the joy of Your salvation.
I look at this photo and the memory comes back. March. A cold, gray, dreary day. My sister loves days like this but I’m solar powered. I crave the warmth and light of the sun. A wintry rain is different from a warm spring rain, an energetic, hot summer thunderstorm or even a gentle autumn rain. These wintry days chill to the bone, bleak, despairing, isolating as we’re driven indoors to shelter. Our focus is on the bareness of the branches. Often, I’ve thought of Lent this way – as a time of loss, of giving up something we enjoy (like chocolate!), of something to endure and get through so that Easter can come.
Yet wintry rains can be cleansing. The Orthodox Church starts Lent not with Ash Wednesday but with Clean Monday. What an interesting thought. During the time of Lent, we can embrace these days and let them wash away old grievances, disappointments, hurts. Clean out the old in preparation for the new. Let go of past mistakes and seek forgiveness of sins.
Rainwater nourishes the seeds planted in the Earth, waiting for spring. April showers may bring May flowers, but March rains bring the cheery yellow daffodils in April that announce the end of winter. These branches may look bare but even now tiny buds are forming.
All in God’s time, all in God’s plan. New life is coming, a renewal of life is coming. We have hope.
…and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so, Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
Genesis 8:11
When the dove came back to Noah with an olive leaf in its beak, Noah knew that the flood waters had receded and life on earth could begin again.
The dove has long been a symbol of the presence of God and God’s peaceful kingdom. The Hebrew word for peace is “Shalom,” which involves the total well-being of God’s creation, human, animal and the whole earth.
God’s covenant with Noah involved God’s promise not to destroy the earth again. The rainbow became the sign of that promise. Noah was also called, like Adam before him, to become the steward of a new creation.
Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has established a new covenant of peace with all creation, and we are called to be stewards of that covenant. In the seventh Beatitude (Matt. 5:9) Jesus proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” In this season of Lent, may we all hear the voice of God calling us to become peacemakers of a new creation.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
There are many Biblical accounts of altars being constructed by people that had journeyed through very trying times. The altars were built as places to worship and thank God as they remembered his presence as they traveled. They placed items on the altar that reminded them of how God had provided for them.
This photo of the altar in Trinity’s sanctuary was taken during the 2019 Lenten services. On the altar one can see the cross—the symbol of the resurrection of Jesus and his triumph over death; and the candles—declaring that Jesus is the light of the world. If you look carefully, you will notice right in front of the candle on the left a pitcher with a towel hanging on it reminding us of the servanthood of Jesus as he washed the disciples’ feet.
There are times when we want to draw closer to God, but we are not at church. Our altar then is of our own design—possibly a quiet place with just a candle or a Bible, a seashell or a flower or maybe just what we see in our mind’s eye. It’s not about the place, it’s about God coming to us where we are and offering us “mercy and grace in time of need.”
…there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.”
Revelation 11:15
Lent is a time for reflection, repentance and studying the gospel to have a greater understanding of its use in our lives. When singing in the choir, I am usually focusing on the notes, when to breathe and using proper diction instead of the meaning of the text. This verse from Revelation 11:15 was composed by Handel in the Messiah; “The Hallelujah Chorus.” The music in the Messiah is so inspired and brilliant. When I think of how this entire collection was written by Handel in only two months it seems to be a miracle. There are times in choir practice when I have the feeling that if we can pull off a piece of music that Charles has chosen that also might be a small miracle. The words from “The Hallelujah Chorus” give me the confidence that the Lord’s kingdom will reign forever and generations to come will continue to sing and give praise and hear the message through this great piece of music.
Christ crucified…. a social disgrace to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.
1 Corinthians 1:23
In short, the Cross is an irrelevant source of meaning standing in opposition to most things that our daily behavior suggests we really value and believe in. To equate the Almighty, Omnipresent, Omniscient Godhead with pain, helplessness, hopelessness, shame, social rejection, career failure, despair and death is illogical. It’s the essence of foolishness. For most of us, including the writer, our Godhead should denote Power, be the embodiment of Beauty and Perfection, and be One who is certainly not vulnerable to the exigencies of this life. To speak of God as helpless in this world and vulnerable to the political, social and religious powers that killed Him when they got the chance is contrary to the way most of us think.
The Cross, that wooden crossbeam draped with a purple sheet that stands vertically in the dirt on the side of our Trinity campus bordering Forest Avenue is, when one thinks seriously about it, an irrelevant symbol for many of us. The cross was originally used for socially disgraced criminals, who, stripped of their human dignity were crucified naked and then were thrown in ditches and left as carrion for wild animals and birds. Not only does this symbol run counter to our general views of God, the Cross also makes no rational sense in a culture valuing winning at all costs, success and fame, personal popularity, entertainment with its omnipresent media exposure, power in all its forms, affluence and personal security.
And yet, this is exactly Who this Loving and Forgiving Godhead is revealed to be in The Cross – a symbol so strange and irrelevant to many.
