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Remembering is the First Step Forward
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is and Read More
Mark W. Stamm | Read Luke 22:14-28
Throughout the Passion narrative we hear witness to God’s gift and call. Today I invite you to meditate on Luke’s version of the institution of the Eucharist. Here it is more First Supper than Last because his commandment—“Do this”—is tied to promises about sharing it in the “kingdom of God,”...
God of the Eucharist, thy kingdom come, and thy will be done. Give all of us this day our daily bread. Amen.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Psalm 118 is a song of rejoicing, yet it also includes the prophecy that the cornerstone must experience rejection. Isaiah speaks of physical suffering, of being beaten, disgraced, and spat on. We see elements of this in the Gospel reading, where Luke describes the final moments of Jesus’ life. Bloodied and beaten, Jesus hangs on the cross and breathes his last. In Philippians, Paul places this drama within the eternal narrative of God’s redeeming work. Jesus leaves his rightful place and becomes flesh. He experiences pain and suffering, even the most humiliating form of death, crucifixion. Jesus can empathize with our suffering because he has suffered. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Read Isaiah 50:4-9a. How does the Suffering Servant speak to your life today?
Read Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29. How do you hear differently the familiar verses of this psalm when you read them together?
Read Philippians 2:5-11. Do you find it paradoxical to live as a beloved child of God and as a servant? If so, how do you live in this paradox?
Read Luke 22:14–23:56. How do you experience the extreme emotional highs and lows of Palm Sunday and Holy Week, even knowing how it will all turn out?
Respond by posting a prayer.
