Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Today is Holy Wednesday, the day during Holy Week when a woman anointed Jesus with expensive perfumed oil (Matthew 26:6-13) and Judas agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). On Thursday and Friday of Holy Week, Jesus would share the Passover meal with his disciples and wash their feet and then be tortured, tried, and crucified. Just a reminder, our worship schedule this week is as follows:
Maundy Thursday - services in the chapel at 1:30 pm (with communion) and in the sanctuary at 7:00 pm (with foot washing)
Good Friday - services in the chapel at 1:30 pm and in the sanctuary at 7:00 pm
Easter Sunday - services at the canal (behind the library) at 7:00 am and in the sanctuary at 8:30 am and 10:30 am
In our one-year Bible readings from Sunday, we read in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, in which the apostle Paul said, “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”
What Paul meant by these words is that the message of the Gospel does not make sense to the rational mind. Jews expected the Messiah to be a conquering war hero. Gentiles would have perceived suffering and death as a display of weakness. How could the death of the Son of God bring about the salvation of the world? But, in fact, it did.
The crucifixion of Jesus is tragic. It is something to grieve. Yet, the story of Jesus’ death is not the end of the story. It ends in resurrection. Through his death and resurrection, not only did Jesus pay our ransom to our former master named Sin, but he also showed us that the way to salvation is through taking up our own cross.
This Holy Week, as you worship on Thursday and Friday, I encourage you to think not only of Jesus’ sacrifice but also the sacrifice that we are each called to offer. Jesus calls us to lay down our own lives - our own ambitions, our own life goals, our own hopes and dreams. In doing so, we find the only thing we have ever needed - the love, wisdom, security, and resurrecting life of God.
Blessed Holy Week,
Pastor Aaron