Mark 14:12-26

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.“Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mark 14:43-50

Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.

Reflection

Maundy Thursday, we are faced with that well known account of Jesus and his friends, those who are closest to him, gathered around a table of fellowship as they share together and pray together. As we come to this story so come he comes us. As we remember and revisit his anguish in Gethsemane. Journeying with him in as he faced the awful, awesome cost of his calling. As we come to this story so he comes to us. As we remember and revisit his arrest and brutal interrogation, we try to imagine how and why you dealt with such sorrow and humiliation.

Jesus said earlier in the Gospels that no one knows the hour or the day. Well now he knows his time has come. Now he knows he must return to the Father. He knows that the time has come for one who sits around this table to betray him. One whose name will from this night on will be used as an insult to taunt and ridicule people.

Wrestling with this, one can only imagine, must have been tearing him apart inside. A wrestling and a torment that he carried with him as together they continue out into the garden. A wrestling and a torment that he carried with him and it would continue throughout the whole episode of being arrested. We can try to put ourselves in the shoes of those who witnessed these things but will we ever really get the depth of the pain or the shock of the disbelief.

This man who loved talking to people, who spent many hours listening and encouraging those whom society had no time for, a man of healing and forgiveness, who sought nothing in return.

All of a sudden this man who many said was not worth much became of some value.

How would we feel if we knew that very soon, before the meal is over, someone who shares with us will turn on us and become the one that will forever be recorded in history as the betrayer?

Selling him on?
What do you think that might be worth?
Enough to buy a wee retirement place by Lake Galilee?
Enough as to never worry about working again?
Selling him on?
What do you think that might be worth?

Maybe there could be a silver penny or two. Or maybe there could be thirty pieces of silver in it.

Reading: Mark 14:1-11 Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wagesand the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.The poor you will always have with you,and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Reflection

As we journey through the week we turn our attention to the cost. The cost that Jesus paid, and the value that God places on each one of us, a cost that would ultimately result in the death of Jesus. We witness the response of love poured out for him and over him. The impact he has had on one woman’s life that would drive her to openly display, in such a sacrificial action, an outpouring of emotion. The cost of the perfume is great, a year’s wages gone on this one gift, this one moment in time.

The disciples see that it could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

Surely, it was a waste. Surely, it is better to help someone than to have a luxury wasted.

Jesus calls what she does a beautiful thing. And all too often we are made to feel guilty of wanting something beautiful. It is always compared to having something less.

The cry goes up continually “Why this waste – the money could be spent on hospitals,

it could be spent on the schools, it could be spent on the poor.” And who would argue against such things but likewise who would argue that when love overpowers us then extravagance can be the outcome. It is not to deny anything but for that moment love is all consuming. I think Jesus recognises and affirms the woman’s spontaneous and extravagant devotion to him. At this moment some cold hearted approach to worship is just not possible.

It has to be all or nothing for this woman, a beautiful or noble act does not count the cost. It desires of us to be generous, yes it sometimes even desires us to be a bit over the top.

This woman desired to show her extravagant devotion to Jesus, she desired to give him not only her best but her everything. Jesus affirms that we will always have the poor with us.

Jesus, I think, is throwing out a reminder to us all. Eradicating poverty does not have an easy solution. Our devotion to Jesus will drive us to work for and with the poor, it will always lead us to seeing the humanity of the poor, we cannot pass by on the other side, we can never see people as objects, our devotion to Jesus will help us see everyone as loved by God and worthy of respect and care. We can become so devoted to a cause that the cause begins to overlook the people involved, making them nothing more than statistics or numbers to be played around with.

The First Minister every day is reminding us that the deaths she reports are not simply statistics they are the lives of human beings who leave behind grieving friends, family and neighbours. In a week that encompasses all the joys and all the pains of life’s journey we take a moment as we wonder at such love poured out, both given and received. We begin to understand that the cost was indeed high but the reward is greater still.

Mark 11:27-33

After upsetting the money changers and the merchandisers, Jesus goes back to the temple the next day. Now that he’s got their attention, he figures he’ll teach them a thing or two. 

As we know when we think we have put somebody ‘in their place’ we succeed in making enemies. Those who Jesus upset yesterday are ready today with a whole host of questions. We’ll teach that Jesus a thing or two. “By what authority are you doing these things?” 

He answers them by asking a question. Since they can’t answer his question, Jesus says he won’t answer theirs. Later, others try to trap him with clever questions and scenarios. 

He is asked, “Should we pay taxes to Caesar?” 

Now they’ve really got him: if he says “yes”, he’s a traitor to the Jewish cause; if he says “no” he’s a traitor to the Roman cause and they’ll turn him in.

The Sadducees, who don’t believe in the after-life, decide to box clever: they ask Jesus a question on the existence of an after-life to find out what he thinks about it. 

Jesus sees right through their trickery, reads their minds and directly confronts their misconceptions about heaven and the resurrection.

The Bible tells us there was one man there who witnessed Jesus’ wisdom. ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’  He really wanted to know, he wasn’t just asking Jesus this to trick him.

The intellectual sparring match had come to an end as Jesus answers,

“The most important one is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbour as yourself.” 

There’s a lot more that goes on at the temple that day, Jesus sparred with brilliant minds concerning politics, the after-life, the finer points of the Mosaic law, and other puzzles.

This year, possibly more than any other year, we are looking at the events of Holy Week

through very different eyes. Our focus more than ever is about what happens next. As we find ourselves addressing questions such as these: Is Jesus an authority in my life? 

Or, like the teachers of the law, do I scoff at his wisdom and power, questioning him? 

Do I love God with my whole being? 

Is Jesus coming back this year? 

Could he come back this week? 

What would that be like?

The questions we have to ask go so deep as to reveal the heart of our being, so deep as to reveal the nakedness of our soul which stands in need to be clothed as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6, ‘in the full armour of God.’

In that week leading up to the cross Jesus felt the rollercoaster of the emotions of human life. He wrestled, just as we wrestle with the complexities, pressures and temptations. We do not know how we would have been if placed in his shoes. As we remember this week the quiet acceptance of human evil that was directed against him, the one who had done no evil and knew no hate. This Holy Week many are struggling as they or someone they know and love are falling or have fell victim to the coronavirus. Now more than ever the church need to be place of hope.

The outer court of the temple was a massive area.

Out of town pilgrims needed somewhere to change their money into local currency, they needed somewhere to buy the sacrificial animals, there were businesses that were trading legitimately.

Even this trading had fallen into the hands of the profiteers who held more to profit than worship. The kind of people who find opportunity in every situation to rip people off and overcharge with extortionate prices.

Have you ever wondered where are the disciples in all this?

They are mentioned as having arrived with Him in Jerusalem but they aren’t mentioned in this episode, not a word about what they were doing whilst Jesus was driving out those who were buying and selling.

What were they thinking?

Were they waiting to see if “this was it”. If this was the moment that Jesus would declare that he was the Messiah.

That the revolt would finally start?

Get ready lads it’s time for the revolution. With the Temple cleansed the people will rise up against the hated Romans. Often the emphasis has been on Jesus wanting reform of the system, wanting to purify the Temple.

Jesus’ problems with the Temple were so much bigger and more fundamental. In the Temple he “acts out” a parable of judgement. A judgement on what the Temple has turned into.

Jesus challenges the religious authorities by telling them that they are wrong. That they have gone down the wrong route. The charge against the Temple is that it has forgotten what it was there for.

The Temple was never intended by God to be exclusive. It was never intended to feed a clique. Rather the people of God were supposed to feed the world.

The Temple was supposed to be there for the whole world.

People who would be welcoming, not just welcoming people who were seen as “acceptable”.

No wonder the disciples were confused.

No wonder they kept quiet.

Today, Palm Sunday, we traditionally look to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

These are different times and this morning we did something different as we read Mark’s Gospel chapter 15 split into three sections. I wanted to concentrate not so much on the Sunday but rather look to the week that lay ahead for Jesus and discover something of those who witnessed his passion. There can be a risk of travelling from one joyful Palm Sunday to another joyful Easter Sunday with nothing between them for us to think on.
Every day we all witness something and our accounts of events differ, we enjoy the experience or find it traumatic.
If we know the people involved these things can cloud our judgement. And of course when our emotions run high, very often our logic runs low.

Three very different people from very different backgrounds, all are witnesses to the same events of this amazing week. All see them through very different eyes and with agendas, chosen or imposed, that affect their account of the week. Witnesses to the Passion of Christ:

Pilate – is a Roman who believed the Emperor was divine who believed in a whole host of different gods who controlled various situations of life. A politician who has 3,000 soldiers under his command.

His financial duties included the collection of taxes. Was this week enjoyable or traumatic for him?
He certainly would not have enjoyed these religious festivals.
When brought before Pilate Jesus made no reply. 
Pilate was not comfortable in the face of Jesus’ dumb response and appeared to look for a compromise as he invited the crowd to let him release Jesus.

However their cry was ‘Crucify him’.

Was this Pilate’s logic at play or was he wittingly playing games with the emotions of the crowd? Which way could he turn that would make for a sensible solution for Rome?
Enjoyable or traumatic?
Only Pilate can answer that one.

Simon of Cyrene – it would appear was a Jew and probably came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.

It is doubtful that he would know many people in the city and we do not know if he was aware of Jesus and his ministry. He finds himself a reluctant witness to a very public execution and the task of carrying Jesus’ cross fell to him.

At this point logic is in control of emotion.

Simon may not be a local man but he would have known full well the consequences of refusing direct orders from Roman Soldiers. I wonder though how long it took for emotion to take over as he witnesses this act of violence which has now become for him: in his face, up front and personal.

Simon may have been sensitive to the suffering of Jesus but he had to remain sensible for the sake of his own plight.

Enjoyable or traumatic I do not know. But quite safe to say life changing.

Joseph of Arimathea –  a member of the Sanhedrin, this same group condemned Christ, the supreme council of the Jewish people. He was a prominent, wealthy and influential man in both the Roman and Jewish worlds and gained an audience with Pilate.

Joseph awaited the Kingdom and thought Jesus was the Messiah, yet he kept his beliefs to himself.

He was a “secret” disciple for “fear of the Jews.”

All his life he had worked to attain the level of success that he enjoys.

He must have been miserable as he watched Jesus tortured, mocked and crucified.

Joseph, the secret disciple, stepped forward. He who had hung back for fear of the Jews

courageously claimed Christ’s body from His executioners. It needed no small measure of courage

to declare now for Jesus, who had been a few hours ago condemned as a blasphemer by the Jews,

and as a seditious person by the Romans.

For Joseph there is a whole host of differences that make up his witness to the events of Holy Week.

He knew the condemners within the Jewish court.

He knew the Roman Pilate who had all authority.

A believing Jew who also believed Jesus to be the Messiah, he knew Jesus.

In such a supercharged situation it is difficult to imagine much logic in Joseph’s actions

for surely his emotional side had taken complete control.

None of it would have made any sense for those who witnessed his reactions and his open display of belief in Christ.

As we journey through this week what effect will these events have on us?

What witness will we display to the sacrifice of God for all our sakes?

                                     Ezekiel 37:1-14           

A Valley of Dry Bones The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’” So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army. Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”

Reflection

At a time when all of us are trying to bring together the tensions of being apart from friends and family but yet still communicating with others best we can. How appropriate is the lectionary reading for today? Ezekiel is speaking to Jews in exile, shortly after the fall of Jerusalem. Cut off from their homeland and their temple, they appear as a community from which life has gone, a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel asks the question “Can these bones live?” and by pointing to God as the giver of life and the giver of new life the answer is of course yes. As well as being a prophet, Ezekiel was also a priest. There is a powerful sense of his desire to remind and indeed encourage the people that God’s presence is as strong now as it was prior to the exile. Ezekiel proclaims again and again that even when all seems hopeless, when a sense of abandonment pervades the spirit, God promises restoration. He proclaims God’s message of hope, that God will never abandon them, he is the life-giver, he is to be trusted for he is the Lord. These are the kind of encouraging and uplifting words that the people in exile needed to hear. These are the kind of encouraging and uplifting words we need to hear today. Ezekiel spoke with wonderful imagery that caught the imagination. There cannot be a much more profound image than a pile of sun-bleached human bones lying in the parched desert as the wind whispers across them. And yet, the whisper of God’s life-giving breath was to blow across them, shuddering them into new life. We live in a world of inconsistencies, every time we put on the radio or TV the goal-posts are shifting at a moment’s notice. There is nothing new in that. History is full of such situations that often bring with them despair and disharmony. God breathes life and hope into the lives of people, there follows a new sense of commitment to action. From the depths of the deepest pain in the human heart, no matter where, no matter what, we are never out of calling distance from God. Whatever ways people are using to be gathered today in worship, we are reminded that God is breathing into our very beings, bringing new life and a fresh start. In my Crossing point in the Courier on Thursday I said that Lent can be a time of looking at our mortality and that realisation we are here on earth but for a season and not for eternity. Those journeying with Jesus did not know Easter Sunday lay at the end of all their trials and tribulations. This meant that for them their journey was completely different than ours today. Today were are led once again in this tension but there is a new ingredient thrown into the mix.

What hope do we have for all our forward planning? God’s Spirit is an ever present. Encouraging trust, bring life and hope.

Hi Folks,

If you have felt today is missing something by not having been to church can I recommend the following if you have BBC iplayer.

Reflections at the Quay

Songs of Praise 

For obvious reasons I am normally the person trying to open God’s word for his people on a Sunday and there are times as a minister I am left on a Sunday afternoon asking the question, ‘Where do I find my feeding?’

I can tell you with complete honesty right now I feel fed to full and overflowing.

Watching today’s Songs of Praise comes with a particular warning.

YOU MAY NOT GET THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROGRAMME WITHOUT  A FAMILY SIZED BOX OF TISSUES.

Praise God for there is hope at this time.

Praise God for there is light in this darkness.

Malcolm

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
I want to tell you this story that I once read.
Some years ago a very famous actor was at a social event.

Those present asked if he would recite something for the other guests.
He agreed and asked if there was anything special they would like to hear.

After a short gap an old minister asked for Psalm twenty three. The actor paused for a moment then said, ‘I will on one condition, when I am finished you will do the same.’

The minister pointed out he was no elocutionist but he would do it. The actor began the Psalm. His voice and pronunciation were perfect. He held the audience spellbound and as he finished a great round of applause went around the room.

As the applause died away the old man rose to his feet. His voice was not remarkable, his tone was not faultless, but when he had finished there was not a dry eye in the room. The actor rose and his voice quivered as he said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I reached your eyes and ears; this gentleman, he reached your hearts.

The difference is just this; I know the Psalm but he knows the shepherd’

The Church of Scotland has joined with other religious groups across the country to sign a letter commending the Call for a National Day of Prayer in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Signatories include the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the United Free Church, the United Reformed Church, the Baptist Union of Scotland, the Methodist Church, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Congregational Federation in Scotland, the Salvation Army, the Church of the Nazarene, and Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Taking place on Sunday 22 March, people of faith are being encouraged to light a candle and place it in their window at 7pm.*

The letter asks that we “join in prayerful solidarity with this witness”, describing the candle as “a visible symbol of the light of life, Jesus Christ, the source of hope in this life.”

The following prayer can be used when lighting the candle:

For all that is good in life, thank you,
For the love of family and friends, thank you,
For the kindness of good neighbour and Samaritan stranger, thank you.

May those who are vulnerable, hungry or homeless, experience support,
May those who are sick, know healing,
May those who are anxious or bereaved, sense comfort.

Bless and guide political leaders and decision-makers, with wisdom,
Bless and guide health workers and key workers, with strength and well-being, Bless and guide each one of us, as we adapt to a new way of living.

And may the light shining from our windows,
across road and wynd, glen and ben, kyle and isle,
be reflected in our hearts and hands and hopes.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Each new day
we celebrate what it is to be free –
to live our lives in fullness.
This is the eternal gift of God.

But freedom and fullness lives in the simple
⁃ in each breath we take
⁃ in knowing we have a roof over our heads
⁃ in the love of family and community
⁃ all the things we might usually take for granted…

Freedom also invites the gift of generosity
⁃ to continue to give where we can
⁃ to support one another as we are able and go the extra mile
⁃ to offer a welcome smile and forget the more formal handshake of yesterday
⁃ to be what we have always been called to be – human.

This is not a Church crisis, a worship crisis, nor a financial crisis
⁃ this is about the gift of life, which is for all, irrespective of birth, status or circumstances.

As we remember the most simple of these things, may we be inspired to renew calm, peace and hope in every new day. For in the midst of all storms a Presence is found, and freedom in Christ remains.