SATURDAY, MARCH 30

Truly This Was the Son of God – Matthew 27:50-54

Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

GOOD FRIDAY, MARCH 29

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over...my kingdom is not from here...I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is the truth?”

(John 18:36-38)

Listening to the Right Voice

I recently heard a lecture by Professor James H. Cone, whose most recent book is entitled, “The Cross and the Lynching Tree.” He draws a parallel between the lynching of black Americans and the crucifixion of Jesus. In both situations individuals are seen as “other” and as a threat to society’s structures. Such structures favor some persons but marginalize others. It can be a short step to ignore justice and crucify or lynch someone who poses a threat to the basic structures of society we believe we depend on.

Prof. Cone asks us to listen to the voices of the marginalized persons in our society. Can we see their God and correct our own warped perceptions of who God is? Pilate believed truth was defined by those in power. He couldn’t begin to listen to Jesus’ voice. Can we hear Christ’s voice among the marginalized in society so that they and we become Us – children of God – equal, and equally beloved by God?

Dear Lord, our God, forgive us for placing more trust in structures of power than we place in you. Forgive us for any part we have in crucifying what is good. Forgive us for failing to appreciate your presence in people we ignore or belittle. Amen

Ernest Krug

MAUNDY THURSDAY, MARCH 28

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning with­in us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:31-32)

What must THAT have felt like? Seeing the risen Christ, listening to him, asking questions… Heart burning within! When have I felt my heart burn like that? The disciples saw and spoke with him and then he disappeared; how did that happen? Perhaps he just walked out as a normal person. And in his absence, they recognized what they had experienced as holy.

We have all experienced those pivotal moments; being with a dying parent, standing alone in a breathtakingly beautiful place… moments when the world seems to stop, to pause, in holy expectation. Moments alone or in a crowd when we just know there is something special about the moment. We cannot create it or capture it or hold on to it. And then it is gone. And we remember the burning heart.

Thou shalt know him when he comes,

Not by any din of drums,

Nor his manners, nor his airs,

Nor by any thing he wears.

Thou shalt know him when he comes,

Not by a crown nor by a gown,

But his coming known shall be, the holy harmony

By Which his coming makes in thee.

Thou shalt know him when he comes.

(FPC Choir Anthem, January 13, 2013)

O Lord, You alone are holy. Help me to recognize You in my special moments and my mundane moments; to stop, to take off my shoes, to worship You in my heart. Amen.

Charlotte Fischer

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27

Jesus said to them, (the Apostles), “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)

First Presbyterian’s Vision Statement truly speaks and touches my heart. It is very easy for me to humbly “show off” our church and members to guests that come and visit and want to know more about the beliefs of our congregation.

Allowing ALL that believe in Jesus Christ to participate in communion, having ALL ages of ushers, including families and youth to lead in worship is something FPC almost takes for granted – I know that I have come to expect ALL to be a part of the life of FPC.

Are our children and youth too young to participate? Few people succeed in school work, professions and leadership positions without practice. My mother always told me while I practiced the piano that “practice makes perfect.” I’ve not used this line with my children because it truly grates me – but my mother was right – by practicing, making mistakes and learning from them, you become comfortable and polished in a skill.

I’m proud to be a part of a church that openly welcomes our youth to practice their mission, inclusion, and community skills in a loving and supportive environment. Remember that Timothy became a spiritual leader in his early 30’s and that we at FPC are giving our youth an early start to be bold and confident spiritual leaders either in our FPC community but also then to spread and share these gifts to outside our FPC community.

They will understand Jesus’ teachings of mission and inclusion and impact the world and preach his good news to all!

Lord Jesus Christ, you are alive in ALL that believe in you. Help show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for ALL your children. Amen.

Kim McGlynn

TUESDAY, MARCH 26

The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. (Acts 13:49)

GOSPEL (Webster’s Dictionary): “Absolute truth…any one of the first four books of the New Testament…the Word of the Lord.”

John 3:16 “For.God so loved the world…

                he gave his.Only

                    begotten.Son, that whoever believes in Him

                    shall not.Perish but

                           have.Everlasting

                                    Life.”

I feel we are so blessed to have known so many great pastors with their spiritual knowledge to teach God's Word. FPC has always been our home church despite two out-of-state moves. We were fortunate to find a winter church we've loved as much in Coronado, California.

While there, we had the opportunity to hear Dr. David Jeremiah. This was at the suggestion of Shirley Reece, my husband Bruce's secretary of a dozen years. Shirley was my first angel on earth – always giving us spiritual material, Bible, books – at just the right time.

The title, "God Wrote His Love in Red", is the lead of the fifth chapter of Jeremiah's latest book, GOD LOVES YOU; HE ALWAYS HAS; HE ALWAYS WILL, which is the most important fact of our lives.

In 2001, when Shirley and her husband Claude vacationed in California we attended services at Jeremiah's Community Church in EI Cajon. We were hooked. Bruce comments that he could be this generation's Billy Graham.

Our winter church friends in Coronado introduced us to Jeremiah's Sunday TV sermons We also learned about his radio broadcasts on the Faith channel.

Over the years we have listened to many outstanding pastors. How encouraging it is to know these articulate ministers are broadcasting the Word worldwide.

Dear Awesome, Wonderful, Everlasting, God ... thank you for all your faithful teachers that have spread your Word “to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea ... and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Amen.

Sheryl McCristal

MONDAY, MARCH 25

And even the hairs of your head are all counted. (Matthew 10:30)

In his new book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey Into the Afterlife, Dr. Eben Alexander M.D. describes his encounter with his “guide” during the seven-day coma that took him to the brink of death:

“Without using any words, she spoke to me. The message had three parts, and if I had to translate them into earthly language, I’d say they ran something like this: ‘You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever. You have nothing to fear. There is nothing you can do wrong.’ The message flooded me with a vast and crazy sensation of relief. It was like being handed the rules to a game I’d been playing all my life without ever fully understanding it.”

Dr. Alexander, trained at the best undergraduate and medical schools had devoted his life to studying the brain and our consciousness. Like most scientists, he believed that without a working brain, you can’t be conscious. “Pull the plug, and the TV goes dead. The show is over.” Because of his training, he was uniquely suited to analyze and interpret what happened to him.

And now he is telling his story.

“My experience showed me that the death of the body and the brain are not the end of consciousness, that human experience continues beyond the grave.”

His story affirms much of what we believe, and that Love is the most powerful force in the universe.

Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for loving us, and for all of the ways you demonstrate that love. Strengthen our faith, so that we can live into what you will for us. Amen.

Carl Fischer

PALM SUNDAY, MARCH 24

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:27) And be assured, I am with you always, even to the end of time. (Matthew 28:20)

Not Alone

The first quarter of a new year is a busy time for us, a time of reflection and rededication, of list making and determining what has been accomplished and what needs to be accomplished in the coming months. It can be a delicate time.

The 40 days of Lent stand between us and the joys of Easter. Advent and the Christmas Season are long gone and we look forward to weeks of a late midwinter – that season Christina Rossetti called bleak and hard as iron.

Bills and taxes a wait our attention. Another year has slipped by and not every goal has been achieved. We’re another year older and, as Tennessee Ernie used to intone, possibly deeper in debt. What should we give up? What should we do? How can we make our lives most beneficial for ourselves and for others?

We can choose to look to the future positively, confident that challenges will be met and that all will be done that needs to be done. Or, wrongfully feeling overwhelmed and alone, mindful that some problems resist our choice of solution, we can expect defeat and failure. A popular song lyric says it well: Some days are diamonds, Some days are coal. (John Denver)

When my coal days hit, I recall prayers from two very different men, men who faced trials and tribulations every bit as serious as any I am likely to face. And they faced those trials with full confidence and faith that they were by no means alone and that they had every reason to expect success.

The first prayer is that of Sir Jacob Astley, a Royalist Officer in the English Civil War:

O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day.

If I forget Thee, do not forget me.

The second is that fabulous prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Lent truly is a time of reflection and dedication for all of us. We are not alone. Easter is at hand. Be of good cheer. Thanks be to God.

Mary Kay and Paul Sparre