MAUNDY THURSDAY

How many of us, as children, used to think today was “Monday Thursday” and wonder how come we knew our days of the week but all the adults got confused this time of year?

The word maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning command. It refers to the commands made by Jesus Christ on the Thursday he spent with his disciples at the Last Supper—celebrating Passover and telling them to be a servant to others, just as he—represented by his washing of their feet—came to serve.

It was at the Last Supper, that Jesus instituted the Eucharist—what many modern Christians call “communion” whereby we eat bread and drink wine or grape juice in remembrance of Jesus’ life on earth and his sacrifice for our sake.

We are reminded not only of Jesus’ life and death through the partaking of communion, but we are also reminded more so of his resurrection and the eternal life we have through him.

Jesus gave us this reminder and then commanded us to remember him each time we eat and drink bread and wine.

Do we?

We remember Jesus throughout the day—beginning and ending our day in prayer. We even begin our meals saying grace. But as we’re eating and drinking; as we’re stressing and stewing; as we’re living our daily lives, do we remember him?

Three commands: Love others in my name. Serve others in my name. Remember me.

We can remember Jesus’ commands, not only on Maundy Thursday but also on Monday, Thursday and every other day of the week.

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for your life, your death, your resurrection and for loving us so much that you would include us in your plan of salvation. Thank you for the reminders of your life and love you place around us daily. Help us to remember you in the big things today and in the small things every day. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have a special observance you partake in on Maundy Thursday?

PASSING OVER AND SETTLING IN

The Last Supper by Leonardo de Vinci depicts Jesus and his disciples partaking in Passover

Yesterday at sundown began the Jewish observance of Passover, remembering the time when The LORD, through the Holy Spirit, protected the Jews living in Egypt from the tenth plague—the striking down of every first born. 

On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and—I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (Exodus 12:1-2, 6-7, 11-13).

In Genesis we see that the Spirit hovered over the waters. At Passover, the Spirit passed over Egypt.

The Holy Spirit does a lot of  flying and hovering, doesn’t He?

It didn't end at Passover. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit hovered over the believers and then settled above them “something like a flame.” Then the Holy Spirit indwelled in those early Christians, just as He does in each of us today.

The Holy Spirit  hovered and flew. Then after Jesus returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit settled and indwelt. 

This past Sunday began the Christian Holy Week—the celebration of God’s plan through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

As Jews observe Passover today and celebrate the protection of God’s people from the evil plans of Pharaoh, I praise God that His Spirit has not passed over me but is living and working in and through me even today.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, thank you for being so active in this world. Thank you for what you do to protect your people. Thank you for indwelling in me today. Please attune my heart and mind to listen to your leading and then to obey. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? How do you perceive the Holy Spirit living in you?

NOTE: I will be guest blogging on the site of my writing colleague, Eileen Knowles tomorrow, March 27. Please visit me there tomorrow at The Scenic Route. But come here tomorrow too to visit another of my writing colleagues, Jon Stolpe who will share his thoughts about courage.

JOY REMEMBERED

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s blog chain. This month, our theme is “Joy.” Please visit my friends’ blogs by clicking on the links in the right-hand column. 

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This past Sunday was Palm Sunday—a remembrance of that joy-filled day when Jesus entered Jerusalem; met by crowds of followers who understood that he was their source of joy. They celebrated his entry by waving palm branches (think flags and pom-poms) and shouting “Hallelujah! Hosanna!”  

They, as yet, did not understand the full extent of the joy to come.  

Tomorrow as we eat dinner, we can remember Jesus and his disciples partaking together in the Passover meal. We can remember them going to Gethsemane where Jesus prayed over the ordeal he was to endure.  

We can look back to the joy that was about to fill heaven and earth because of the events that took place that night and throughout the days leading to Easter Sunday. 

• Tomorrow, Maundy Thursday: the day Jesus was arrested, tried, and tortured

• Good Friday: the day Jesus died a criminal’s death on a cross

• Holy Saturday: the day Jesus’ body lay in a borrowed tomb

• Easter Sunday: the day Jesus was resurrected, ensuring that we could spend eternity with Him

Joyful, joyful, we adore Him!  

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the joy we find through Jesus. Thank you, Jesus for becoming human and being a sacrifice for our sake. Holy Spirit, please fill us with the joy we can have through you. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Share a thought about this Easter week.

FRESH AIR FROM THE SPIRIT

This blog post is part of the ChristianWriters.com blog chain. This month our theme is “fresh air.” See the links to the right and enjoy what my friends have to say about fresh air.

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This Sunday, June 12 marks the end of the Easter season on the Christian liturgical calendar.  Specifically, this Sunday, we celebrate Pentecost. Scripture tells us that Pentecost is the day Jesus’ disciples received the Holy Spirit. This supernatural event is recounted in Acts 2:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

PENTECOST

The word Pentecost comes from the Greek word pentekoste meaning 50 days. Fifty comes from the root word “pent” for “five” as in pentagon, a geometric shape with five sides.

Easter Sunday marked Day One of the 40 days the risen Christ walked among us before taking his place in heaven. Fifty days after his resurrection, on Pentecost, he gifted his believers with the Holy Spirit.

The day we observe as Christian Pentecost was also celebrated before Jesus’ time by Jews as the Feast of the Harvest or Pentecost. For the 49 days after Passover, farmers set aside first fruits of their wheat harvest.

On the 50^th day, they would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem to present their offering  and to celebrate the receipt of the 10 Commandments and the Torah—the first five books of our Christian Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch or Books of Moses. The Feast of the Harvest, the Jewish Pentecost, was one of the most important holy days in Judaism.  

Even after Paul’s conversion, return to Jerusalem for Pentecost was an important event in the lives of the Jewish people. Acts 20:16 tells us:

Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

COINCIDENCE?

Notice anything interesting about these two important Jewish holy days?

Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed during the celebration of Passover, when Jews sacrificed lambs to remember the preservation of the Hebrew people. Jesus’ sacrifice was for the eternal preservation of all mankind.

One of Jesus’ first instructions to his 12 disciples reported in Matthew 9: 37-38: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

This was followed immediately by Jesus’ instructions to the disciples to drive out spirits and heal in His name. To harvest people for salvation.

The Jewish harvest celebration of Pentecost coincided with the arrival of the Holy Spirit to the early Christians, which promised empowerment of all believers for God’s spiritual harvest.

Does God do coincidences?

FRESH AIR

Take a look at Acts 2 again:

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

The followers of Jesus were inside a house and yet the house was filled up with sound from heaven. It got everyone’s attention. After that, they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is given to all of us when we receive Christ into our hearts. I’ve not seen a flame over anyone’s heads when they marched down the aisle during altar call, though. Nor have I heard the sound of a mighty wind within a closed room.

But when I am still, I can almost hear the sound of God; sometimes as a gentle whisper; sometimes as a mighty storm. I am reminded that He is in control, and that He is working in and through me, by the Holy Spirit.

Just as He did more than 2000 years ago with the new Christians shut inside a house.

To the early Christians, holding on to a fragile new faith, the Holy Spirit flowing through the house and settling upon them, must have been the very breath of fresh air they needed. Whisking away doubts and literally filling them with the power of God.

The Holy Spirit in us is fresh air to the soul. When we are open to its presence, it can flow as a gentle whisper or a mighty wind. Let us open the windows of our heart and let it flow.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your power. Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit and for the power you instill in us. Remind us that you, Holy Spirit, as spirit, are fresh air to our souls, to our minds and to our faith. Use us, dear Lord, for your purpose. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you think it was a coincidence that the Holy Spirit was given to early Christians first on the day Jewish people celebrated both the harvest and the giving of the law? Do you even believe in coincidences when it comes to God?