When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the [Judean authorities], Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20)

You notice here, no doubt, that Jesus says to all the disciples, twice, ‘Peace be with you.’ He says it to the disciples – except for Thomas, who is out – who are afraid, even though they’ve been told he’s alive, and are hiding in their terror. So why has Thomas been singled out through the centuries as ‘doubting Thomas’?

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20)

You notice here too, no doubt, that Thomas, ‘doubting’ Thomas, asks only what the other disciples have already been given: Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So why exactly is Thomas called ‘doubting’ when he asks only for the same gift?

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20)

Again the words come, the words full of grace and truth, full of life and light, this time to Thomas himself, along with all the rest, “Peace be with you.” A week later they’re still in hiding, still afraid, even after their encounter with the risen Christ himself. But now Thomas is back, and Jesus turns to him and speaks directly to him, gifts him with same opportunity the others had already been given. Thomas replies with an astounding confession of faith (“My Lord and my God!”) which nobody else had yet mustered, except perhaps the Apostle to the Apostles, Mary Magdalene, First among the Faithful, after her encounter in the garden with Jesus risen. Thomas sees, he hears, he believes, and he confesses, that is, he makes public proclamation, a statement of faith which others can hear.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (John 20)

What’s at stake here, finally, is not the faith of Thomas, or other first century disciples, it is our faith, the faith of twenty-first century disciples. The testimony is given, the witness shared, the Gospel proclaimed, so that hearing the Good News of Jesus crucified and risen, we may experience the living Word of God, Jesus Christ who is life and who gives life, who, in his resurrection, begins a whole new creation, even if we are still afraid, hiding, doubting, confused. But he also, gracefully, patiently, gently, and peace-fully, offers us and all the gift of faith. This gift is offered and given so that we too may share day by day in the new creation, in the power of his life, in the living hope of God’s love which is stronger than death in every form.

Thanks be to God!

COME YOU ALL:  ENTER THE JOY OF YOUR LORD.  YOU THE FIRST AND YOU THE LAST, RECEIVE ALIKE YOUR REWARD; YOU RICH AND YOU POOR, DANCE TOGETHER; YOU SOBER AND YOU WEAKLINGS, CELEBRATE THE DAY; YOU WHO HAVE KEPT THE FAST AND YOU WHO HAVE NOT, REJOICE TODAY.  THE TABLE IS RICHLY LOADED…  LET NO ONE GO AWAY HUNGRY.  ALL OF YOU ENJOY THE BANQUET OF FAITH; ALL OF YOU RECEIVE THE RICHES OF [GOD’S] GOODNESS.

                        LET NONE GRIEVE OVER THEIR POVERTY, FOR THE UNIVERSAL KINGDOM HAS BEEN REVEALED; LET NONE WEEP OVER THEIR SINS, FOR PARDON HAS SHONE FROM THE GRAVE; LET NONE FEAR DEATH, FOR THE DEATH OF OUR SAVIOUR HAS SET US FREE…

Paschal Homily, St. John Chrysostom

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”        Isaiah 53:12

This morning we hear the Passion of Our Lord read from the Gospel of Saint John, and as the reading progresses the light diminishes, and we move into the Darkness (Tenebrae) of Death, as Jesus suffers and dies.

During the carrying in of the large, wooden cross, and the Adoration of the Crucified, we are reminded that the King is enthroned upon his holy cross, glorified, and we are awestruck at the redemption of the whole world. We gather on Good Friday to celebrate the depths and riches and wonder of God’s love, not to hold a funeral service for a long-dead Jesus. This is Act Two and the Liturgy concludes Saturday night when we gather in the evening gloom at 8 p.m.

And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name…

(From St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, a very early Christian hymn, often called ‘the Christ hymn’.)

Now it begins again, with Palm Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord, and beyond waits the rest of Holy Week, as we walk with Jesus through his final days, join him at the Last Supper, have him wash our feet, follow, perhaps at a distance, to the trial, see him humiliated, stripped naked and nailed to the tree, then, finally, taken down and laid in a dark tomb of stone. Then we wait…  After sunset on Saturday, the beginning of the new day for Jews (And you will remember, no doubt, that Jesus and all his first disciples were Jews…), we come together in the darkness, especially that darkness within, afraid to hope, and yet, somehow, daring to look for light shining in the darkness.

We will not be disappointed. But, that’s next week, the first day of the first week of the Easter Season, the Eighth Day of Creation. First, the pilgrimage which began for us on Ash Wednesday must be completed. Why miss out, sisters and brothers? Come and join us for these highest Holy Days in our life of faith together as disciples of the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
The Great Three Days (Triduum): Three liturgies, one service of worship

Maundy Thursday: The word “Maundy” is an English form of the Latin word for commandment, mandatum. The over-arching theme of the day is Jesus’ new commandment to “love one another even as I have loved you,” a love sharply focused by the contrast of the betrayal which followed the meal that night before he died. Jesus’ great love is demonstrated both in his example of the footwashing (service) and in his gift of himself in the first Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist (thanksgiving). This is part one, or Act One, of the greatest worship drama in the life of the church, the three days (triduum), which begins Thursday evening and comes to dramatic conclusion at the Easter Vigil, THE Celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord. The Liturgy continues on Friday morning, so there is no blessing or benediction to conclude the worship.
Thursday, April 17th, 7 p.m.

Good Friday: Seen as part of the larger mystery of salvation, it is appropriate for Good Friday to be an austere time of reflection and intercession, as well as of the adoration of Christ the crucified, the sacrificial Lamb of God. This note of austerity does not, however, preclude the note of triumph which the final hymn tomorrow will indicate: The King is enthroned upon his holy cross, glorified, and we are awestruck at the redemption of the whole world. We gather on Good Friday to celebrate the depths and riches and wonder of God’s love, not to hold a funeral service for a long-dead Jesus. This is Act Two and the Liturgy concludes Saturday night.
Friday, April 18th, 10:30 a.m.

(Much of the material above is taken, with gratitude, from Manual on the Liturgy: Lutheran Book of Worship, Augsburg, 1979)

“It is ourselves that we must spread under Christ’s feet, not coats or lifeless branches or shoots of trees… But we have clothed ourselves with Christ’s grace, with the whole Christ – ‘for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ’ – so let us spread ourselves like coats under his feet.”
(Andrew of Crete, 8th century)

Thanks be to God!

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  (John 11:23-26)

Before the fruit is ripened by the sun,  

~ Thomas H. Troeger

Coming soon to us, and us to them, are the highest and holiest days of the Christian year, the year which began with a time of hopeful contemplation on the mystery of the Incarnation, a time we call Advent, a time of wondering at the wonder of the Word become flesh and dwelling among us, anciently and presently and fully and forever at the end of time, whether the end of my personal kronos or at the end of cosmic kronos, the ultimate kairos, or perfect time/ing of God.

Months, if not the winter, have gone by quickly; the 13^th of April will be the Sunday of Palm and Passion, the beginning of Holy Week, completed with the Triduum, the single service which takes place in three parts over three days (triduum in Latin):  Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter on what we now call Saturday night, but which, for Jesus’ first disciples, and all observant Jews to this day, is the beginning – with sunset on Saturday – of the new day called Sunday.  Easter Sunday, that day called The Resurrection of Our Lord, continues the celebration, and gets us into the party groove for the next seven weeks – a week of weeks – through the third of the great high Holy-Days of our Christian calendar, the Day of Pentecost.

Sunday of Palm and Passion:  Sung Eucharist at 10:30 a.m., including Procession with Palms

Maundy Thursday, Triduum, Part I:  Footwashing and Eucharist, 7 p.m.

 
‘Holy Saturday’ and Triduum Part III:  The Great Vigil of Easter, 8 p.m., with Service of Light, Word, Baptism, and Meal of Thanksgiving (Eucharist)

Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of Our Lord, Sung Eucharist. 10:30 a.m.

Thanks be to God!

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4-5)

Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’  John 4:13-14

++Oscar Romero was martyred on March 24^th, 1980, gunned down at the altar while he celebrate the Eucharist, by the military dictatorship of the time.  He had argued relentlessly, fearlessly for the rights of the poor and the oppressed of El Salvador, and was seen as a clear and present danger to those in power, the wealthy few families of the country, who controlled the military also.  Archbishop Romero followed his Lord Jesus to the cross, and died for the love of God, for the love of human beings.  Thirty four years later his own passion/suffering and death bear clear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus; death has not silenced him any more than it silenced his Lord and Master.

“For the church, the many abuses of human life, liberty and dignity are a heartfelt suffering.  The church, entrusted with the earth’s glory, believes that in each person is the Creator’s image and that everyone who tramples it offends God.  As the holy defender of God’s rights and of God’s images, the church must cry out.  It takes as spittle in its face, as lashes on its back, as the cross in its passion, all that human beings suffer, even though they be unbelievers.  They suffer as God’s images.  Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being abuses God’s image, and the church takes as its own that cross, that martyrdom.”

Thanks be to God!

KAREN IDA BEATTY Fighting with all she had, Karen died on March 12, 2014 at the Concordia Hospital. She is survived by her best friend and husband, Wayne, sister Marlene (Dieter) Klein, her favourite nieces Kaitlin (fiancé Wyatt), Adrienne, and her favourite nephew Curt Fraser (Rhonda) and their three sons, Casey, Jesse and Luke of St. Louis. She was predeceased by her parents Gus and Ida Wagner, and her in-laws Gilmour and Thelma Beatty, Barry and Paul Beatty. Karen was born in Winnipeg and attended East Kildonan schools. She trained at Success Business College and then worked for CP Rail for 35 years. She enjoyed spending time at the cottage in Matlock. She travelled extensively and always had a wonderful group of close-knit friends. She was a member of St. John’s Cathedral, serving ten years as envelope secretary, and two years as secretary to vestry. Karen was diagnosed with cancer on October 11, 2013 and after many tests to find the source, had her first and only chemo on February 3, 2014, which was far too late. Cremation has taken place, and burial will follow at a later date.

A Requiem Eucharist will be held in St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, 135 Anderson Ave. on Saturday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m. The Very Rev. Paul N. Johnson will preach and officiate; The Rev. Brian Ford will preside at the Eucharist. A light lunch will be served immediately following the worship service, downstairs in the John West Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wayne and Karen Beatty Fund (for the Cemetery Fund at St. John’s Cathedral) at The Winnipeg Foundation 1350, One Lombard Place, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0X3. 204-586-8044
“He giveth his beloved sleep”

http://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-211562/name-Karen_Beatty/min-run-date-1394686800/order-publish_date%7CDESC,last_name%7CASC/