We’re gonna start this week’s Deja Vu with something to look forward to. This morning we read Matthew 21, Matthew’s account of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. This next week we will read and discuss the events of the Passion week, ending with Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection. Two Gospels share the story of Jesus’s birth, all four tell about his death, burial and resurrection. After we finish Matthew we will jump back into the Old Testament and read Leviticus.
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The Triumphal Entry is the first event in what we call Holy Week or the week of Jesus’ Passion. We start with Palm Sunday, then see the cleansing of the temple, the curse of the fig tree, questions about his authority, his question about John the Baptist, and the parable of the wicked tenants. It’s a long chapter but filled with good stuff. More good stuff tomorrow.
Matthew 21
When they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
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I know it’s a meme. Sometimes you can look at a meme, appreciate the humor, and then still say some serious things that relate to the topic. It doesn’t mean you didn’t get the joke; it just means the joke made you think.
Jesus did all sorts of things he wasn’t “supposed” to do. He associated with women, tax collectors, touched lepers, ate without washing his hands, FORGAVE people of their sins and picked grain on the Sabbath. He even healed on the Sabbath day! And then when they crucified him, rolled a stone in front of the tomb and set guards, that rascal didn’t even stay in there!!!
April Fool’s – Today is April 1st and you gotta be careful out there folks. The image above is an old post that appeared in my Facebook Memories this morning from all the way back in 2014. The difference is that I had to click through the following warning to see what was behind it:
There was a related article linked from USA Today explaining that no evidence exists that Chick-fil-A will be selling a steak sandwich and that the post was an old April Fool’s prank. Well you’re fact-checking an old post so it is what it is. Zuckerberg forbid anyone should have fun on social media. I feel safer already.
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We opened the skatepark that I wrote about last week. Pictured left to right above is city council member Ray Black, Mayor Jim Miller, council member Clark Bunch, council member Jim Treglown and the namesake of the park Joe Young. The mayor can be seen holding a giant pair of golden scissors, yes there really is such a thing. By the way, I thought everyone would holding onto the ribbon; it was only tied at one end just long enough to take the picture. The day was a qualified success, drawing a huge crowd that hung around all day. Joe’s dad grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and later smoked a few chickens. The skate park is the latest upgrade to our parks and rec center. If you don’t give kids something to do they will find something to do and you might not like it. We will know where the kids at the skatepark are, in a safe controlled environment. If you don’t plan it then you can’t control it. That’s the thought process behind building skateparks, ball fields, creating teams, opening the gym on weeknights… it’s why James Naismith invented basketball. When you invest in the community you get a better community. (The same principle applies to churches.)
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Today is Holy Saturday also known as Black Saturday. The Sabbath was a day of rest, a legal and moral obligation for the Jews. Some Christians believe Jesus was other places doing other things during that period of time; I will not get into whether or not he literally descended into hell and preached to the condemned. Tomorrow is Resurrection Day, Easter Sunday to many although not everyone agrees on that title. If you are in the Calhoun, GA area the Gordon County Christian Ministerial Alliance is having a Sunrise Service at BB&T Park in downtown that begins at 7 AM. We will have prayer, two or three songs everybody knows and a 15 or 20 minute sermon. At 36 degrees I will remind our speaker the shorter the better. Hopefully 2020 taught us not to take so many things for granted, including worshiping together and visiting family.
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Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow is Easter. Most Christians are familiar with those days. Depending on your faith tradition you may not know about the other days of Holy Week. Today is Holy Saturday, also known as the Great Sabbath, Easter Eve or Black Saturday. It is a time to reflect on the marks left on Jesus’s body. This is the day the disciples spent after Jesus was buried and before they were able to fully understand what he had said about resurrection. Continue reading
That’s a very Happy Monday sort of item. We needed to go ahead and share now because we are doing something special all next week.
Holy Week at The Master’s Table – From Palm Sunday through Easter I will not post anything on this blog relating to COVID-19. Look for devotional posts, discipleship, maybe even a few reruns from years past. Happy Monday will look the same but feature none of the coronavirus memes that saturate social media on a daily basis. If you would like a little bit of escape from that particular topic, we will focus on the Passion Narrative of Jesus. That begins tomorrow; today we need to get it out of our system. Continue reading
During certain times of the year I change the cover image of The Master’s Table Facebook page. I switch to the wise men following the star to Bethlehem during Advent and this image of three crosses for Holy Week. I don’t tinker with the banner here for a couple of reasons. One is I’m afraid of messing it up. I know, I know, but I still worry about never getting it to look exactly right again.
There is another reason. Di Vinci’s portrait of The Last Supper is where the idea for The Master’s Table as a title came from. There’s a whole explanation in the About section. That supper took place during Holy Week. It would be totally wrong to take it down this week of all weeks and replace it with something else. That picture is the goal for the Christian life. To eat and drink with the Master, sitting with other followers and listening to his teaching.
He Cannot Save Himself
A poem for Good Friday
Many questions were asked of him,
though no answer was heard.
Pilate pressed him to respond,
but Jesus spoke not a word.
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The Master's Table 