RCL:  Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32 Accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time? Don’t you wish you could be the kind of person who could do what our collect says? You know, the kind of person who turns the other cheek, who never gets pulled into the petty, who responds to…

[RCL]: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32 And it was night. Wednesday in Holy Week marks an inflection point between light and dark: halfway from dusk to dawn, midway between two resurrections.  Yes, two resurrections: because you cannot understand Jesus’ resurrection in the Gospel of John without first knowing about Lazarus’ resurrection. Jesus…

Suffering is not something we do well, generally speaking. Suffering is not something we seek out, not something we cultivate, not something we practice so we can do it even better. No, suffering is something we avoid—or try to avoid—as best we can. And, when you come right down to it, suffering is not something…

“Little children, where I am going you cannot come.”From John 13:33 In one sense, all that is about to happen is well known to us. For the events that unfolded during the first Holy Week are parts of our common story as members of the church. The solemn account of Christ’s betrayal, crucifixion, death, and…