Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday, the story of the resurrection of Jesus is in the Gospel of John 20: 1 – 9. The story gives some interesting ideas about the first Easter. The first person coming to the tomb is who? Mary of Magdala. Why? She saw Jesus die on the cross. She saw the men take his body down from the cross. She saw them wrap the body in a white cloth. She saw them carry the body and put the body…
Good Friday
On Good Friday the story of Jesus’s suffering and death is the Gospel of John 18:1 -19:42. Notice one very important thing in this story: Jesus is controlling it always. Everything that happens to him, Jesus allows and influences how it happens. There are many important ideas in this story; let me pick a few ideas and talk about them. The story begins in the garden. The soldiers come in and look for Jesus and he says, “I am.” A…
Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday is the special day we remember all the wonderful gifts Jesus gave us. Jesus comes together with his friends, why? To celebrate Passover. (The Gospel is from John 13: 1 – 15.) Passover remembers the time the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt, and the Egyptians made them suffer very much. God wanted to save them; how did He begin to save them? With a special meal, the Passover. Every year the Jewish people celebrate Passover to…
Palm Sunday A (April 5)
Palm Sunday A Today we see the suffering of Jesus from Matthew’s Gospel. Each Gospel is a little different. Today we follow Matthew. The full Gospel story can be found in Matthew 26:14 – 27:66. Focus on one thing: the story is about Jesus giving. Jesus giving, why? He loves us. A person shows love by giving. Jesus copies his Father in heaven. God the Father gives too. Use your imagination: God the Father looks down at the world, all…
Lent Sunday 5 A (March 29)
Jesus raises Lazarus and gives life to all. This Sunday has a beautiful story, a powerful story; and always the focus is on Jesus. Let us see what it tells us about Jesus. (For the words of the gospel reading today, click here. ) Jesus learned that his friend Lazarus was sick and Jesus decided to wait two days before he went to see his friend. Why did he wait? He was fully confident; he trusted that everything would work…
Lent Sunday 4 A (March 22)
Jesus heals the man born blind. Who is Jesus? We learn more about Jesus from the story of the man born blind. Let me tell you the story and make some comments as we go through the story. ( To find the words of the Gospel, click here.) One day Jesus was in Jerusalem and he and his disciples walked past a man who was blind from his birth. He was sitting on the ground asking people for money. His disciples…
Lent Sunday 4 A [2] March 22
Who is Jesus? In this story from the Gospel of John we see Jesus healing the man who was born blind. Let me tell the story and give some ideas to think about. (To see the words of this gospel, click here.) Jesus is with his disciples in Jerusalem. They walk past a blind man who was sitting there begging for money. One of his disciples asked, “Who sinned? This man or his parents to make him blind?” And Jesus…
Lent Sunday 3 A (March 15)
Who is Jesus? The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well gives us some answers. ( For the words of today’s Gospel, click here.) I will tell the story again and give some thoughts as we go through it. Jesus and his followers go through Samaria. Samaria was not a very friendly place for Jews; it was even a little dangerous. But Jesus wants to reach out to all people. So we have Jesus alone in Samaria.…
Lent Sunday 2 A (March 8)
The transfiguration, the disciples see the glory of Jesus. Today we have a very interesting gospel. ( For the words of the Gospel, click here.) Let us look at some of the people who are part of the story. First, look at the three friends of Jesus–Peter, James and John. What is their attitude? I don’t know; but I would like to use my imagination and think that they are tired. It’s been a long day; many people were coming…
Lent Sunday 1 A (March 1)
For Lent — prayer, fasting and helping others Wednesday was a special day–Ash Wednesday. It begins a special time of the year we call Lent. There are three things that people do during Lent: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. First, prayer. There are many ways of praying . One simple way is to think of doing it in four ways, spelling out the word “T A P S.” T for thanksgiving; A for ask; P for praise; S for sorry. Why pray?…