CHRIST IS RISEN!!!!!!

Need I say more?







This will be the last post in this blog, at least for this year.  If you want to keep following Sharkbait go to http://sbreef.blogspot.com for Sharkbait's Reef.  It's not as serious as this site, but there are some good comments there. 

Day 40 – Holy Saturday

Sabbatum Sanctum – The last day of Holy Week. 

Christ is still in the tomb. 

In our church, we use this day to clean the church building in preparation for tomorrow.

How do we use this day to clean and prepare ourselves to welcome the risen Christ?

…..

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Day 39 – Good Friday

 

Last night I read Psalm 22 from the back of our church, as they slowly turned out the lights.  For those who have never read - or heard - it before, I include it here in its entirety.

A psalm of David; it speaks volumes about what Jesus had to go through.  But if you read carefully, it is also a Psalm of great hope.

And isn’t that what Good Friday is all about? 

Never forget, today might be  Friday…. but Sunday’s coming!

 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
       Why are you so far from saving me,
       so far from the words of my groaning?

² O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
       by night, and am not silent.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
       you are the praise of Israel. ^[a]

⁴ In you our fathers put their trust;
       they trusted and you delivered them.

⁵ They cried to you and were saved;
       in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
       scorned by men and despised by the people.

⁷ All who see me mock me;
       they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

⁸ "He trusts in the LORD;
       let the LORD rescue him.
       Let him deliver him,
       since he delights in him."

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
       you made me trust in you
       even at my mother's breast.

¹⁰ From birth I was cast upon you;
       from my mother's womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
       for trouble is near
       and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
       strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

¹³ Roaring lions tearing their prey
       open their mouths wide against me.

¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
       and all my bones are out of joint.
       My heart has turned to wax;
       it has melted away within me.

¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
       and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
       you lay me ^[b] in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs have surrounded me;
       a band of evil men has encircled me,
       they have pierced ^[c] my hands and my feet.

¹⁷ I can count all my bones;
       people stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸ They divide my garments among them
       and cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹ But you, O LORD, be not far off;
       O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

²⁰ Deliver my life from the sword,
       my precious life from the power of the dogs.

²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
       save ^[d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my brothers;
       in the congregation I will praise you.

²³ You who fear the LORD, praise him!
       All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
       Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

²⁴ For he has not despised or disdained
       the suffering of the afflicted one;
       he has not hidden his face from him
       but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
       before those who fear you ^[e] will I fulfill my vows.

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
       they who seek the LORD will praise him—
       may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
       will remember and turn to the LORD,
       and all the families of the nations
       will bow down before him,

²⁸ for dominion belongs to the LORD
       and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
       all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
       those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
       future generations will be told about the Lord.

³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness
       to a people yet unborn—
       for he has done it.

Day 38 – Maundy Thursday

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Whether you call it Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday, or any of its other names, tonight is the night we commemorate Jesus last night on earth.  The occasion is usually noted for two things:  Jesus’ washing of his disciples feet; and the institution of the Last Supper.  

But after he had done these things, he went to the garden to pray with his friends.  His last hours before he was betrayed and taken away, and he chose to spend them with his closest human friends and companions.  Who all fell asleep.   Repeatedly.

It’s easy for us to chastise the disciples for their lack of faith, or stamina, but how much better are we?  How are we planning to spend tonight?  I am not suggesting that we keep a prayerful vigil in a cold church (unless you feel called to do so.)  I am suggesting that once we walk out of church today, we should try not to forget why we were there, and should try to spend some time with Jesus.  It might not be his last night of earth, but we never know when it might be ours.