Sunday, April 1 - Palm Sunday

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the 

afternoon.  And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud 

voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, 

why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing near 

heard this, they said, “Listen, He’s calling Elijah.”  (Mark 15: 33-35) 

                       1963 

Sometimes I listen for the future 

Pause and wonder soul and ear 

Do I hear a silent answer 

Are there answers to my prayers? 

Why, when God so loved the sparrow, 

Does He know but nothing do? 

Lets me walk in chains of sorrow 

Locked in loneliness and woe 

Must we walk forever blinded? 

Knowing not what lies in wait 

Waiting with our quests unanswered 

Are our ears locked as a gate? 

He who holds my soul forever 

Will not let it crack and break 

Even when I cry in anguish 

Pleading death before it’s late 

Want to die before I’m twisted 

Pain is like the wind and rain 

Blanches the heart and dements 

All the souls along the way 

The day I wrote this poem in 1963 I lost my faith - that all would be 

okay - I then prayed and prayed myself out of my black hole. It took 

a while but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Jane Williams 

Saturday, March 31

In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked 

Him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but He can’t 

save Himself! Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down now 

from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with 

Him also heaped insults on Him.  (Mark 15: 31-32) 

 I count myself among the blessed who, as Jesus said after His 

resurrection, didn’t see Him, yet believe. 

Not that some modern-day priests and scribes haven’t told me I’m 

mistaken and that one day, I’ll understand. I’ve devoted the last 15 

years of prayerful education to understanding, and 10 years of my 

youth, and all the life in between. And no matter how smart and 

mature I become, I can’t stop understanding that Jesus is the 

Messiah and King of all that is and ever shall be. 

Jesus saved others, as the passage says. He saved Himself too, but 

those priests and scribes were so busy being religious they might 

have missed the memo: Jesus resurrected after His body died. It’s 

His nature to serve and save others before Himself, that’s all. That’s 

what a Savior does. 

To this day, there are bullies who mock and taunt the weak and 

different. Takers become angry when the formerly giving hands now 

appear to be bleeding dry. Jesus knows these sorrows and griefs first 

hand and it is in His dying that He proves His love saves everything. 

Lord, give me strength to pick up my cross daily and follow you. 

Sharon Keene 

Friday, March 30

They crucified two rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His 

left. Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads 

and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it 

in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!”   

(Mark 15: 27-30) 

 In contemplating this passage, I found myself singing “Faith” by 

George Michael, a song that was popular when I was a teenager. 

Although the lyrics are not based in religion, the resounding theme is 

to believe in a relationship of which you are not sure. Those who 

doubted Jesus did not have faith, and therefore did not believe in a 

relationship with Him and His Father. 

Although Jesus had done many things to prove that He was the son 

of God, countless people lacked the faith to believe Him. They needed 

more proof. If I were alive at this time, would I have had faith or 

would I have been asking Jesus to save Himself? 

My answer is dependent on what age I would have been. As a child, I 

found it easy to have faith, as many others did. We believed in God, 

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. When the 

mystical characters’ truths were revealed, I guess I began to 

question my faith in God also. As I progressed through school, it 

became necessary to constantly “prove” my answers. I had to “show 

my work” in math and cite sources when writing research papers.  

There was no absolute proof that there was a God, so I was very 

unsure. I would have definitely been asking Jesus to come down from 

the cross. 

Thankfully, I have seen God’s work in my life since those days of 

doubt. He has proven to me that without Him in my life, I am lost.  

Today, having faith means believing in a relationship that I AM sure 

of. I commend those whose faith never falters, especially in youth, 

when there are so many unanswered questions and confusing, 

conflicting messages. I pray that we are able to nurture the youth of 

our community and help them to establish a constant and lasting 

faith in God. 

“Cause, I gotta have faith…faith…faith.”  

Jessica Lenhart

Thursday, March 29

And they crucified Him. Dividing up His clothes, they cast lots to see 

what each would get. It was nine in the morning when they crucified 

Him. The written notice of the charge against Him read: THE KING OF 

THE JEWS.  (Mark 15:  24-26) 

 In the brevity for which Mark is known, he noted the time, the 

crucifixion, the lot casting and the crime.  Mark even omitted His 

name!! 

On this Thursday morning, let us with reverence and awe speak our 

Savior’s name - - JESUS - - the name to which every head shall bow, 

knee shall bend and every tongue confess - - JESUS. 

In this 21st century since Jesus walked this earth, we are called today 

to take seriously the responsibility of being HEIRS. Ours the task to 

be faithful messengers and transmitters of all that has been given to 

us and to “bring the Good News of Jesus Christ” to ALL. While this 

may seem to be a very daunting task, we are not without an 

example. 

In 2nd Corinthians the disciples asked Jesus, “Who could be saved?”  

His reply was “for mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all 

things are possible.” 

Even now, “Come Lord Jesus.” 

Joe Beckett 

Wednesday, March 28

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, 

was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to 

carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha 

(which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered Him wine 

mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.  (Mark 15:  21-23) 

Jesus has begun the journey to Jerusalem, carrying His own cross, 

but He was weakened from the flogging He had received from the 

Roman soldiers. Simon from Cyrene was on the road traveling to 

Jerusalem possibly to celebrate Passover with all the other Jews.  

Was he in the wrong place at the wrong time when the soldiers 

picked him to carry Jesus’ cross? Or was he the man God had chosen 

to carry out this segment of the crucifixion story? It seemed only 

fitting that someone comes to His aid. No one will ever know the real 

answer.  

How often have you been in very heavy traffic on a major highway, 

with the traffic moving at a snail’s pace, only to say “Why me?” All of 

a sudden the traffic clears and you see someone along the road in 

need of assistance, which you can easily give. I am sure Simon had 

the same feeling, “Why me?” and yet he carried the cross for Jesus 

because he could do it. When they arrived at Golgotha, Jesus was in 

a frail state so the soldiers offered Him a mixture of wine and myrrh 

to deaden the pain and allow Him to temporarily suffer less. Jesus 

refused this drink so that He could not avoid any of the pain and 

agony that He must suffer. He knew that part of the unfolding of 

God’s story was the pain that He must endure. 

Let’s remember to think of Simon when we are presented with a task 

we may wish to avoid. Is it part of God’s plan? Or perhaps it is 

something that we can do. 

Tom Secules 

Tuesday, March 27

Again and again they struck Him on the head with a staff and spit on 

Him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to Him.  And when they 

had mocked Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own 

clothes on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.  

(Mark 15: 19-20) 

 This scripture passage gives me chills every time I hear it or read it.  

This scenario would be my worst nightmare.  Sometimes, it seems 

like we become numb to the violence and torture we see on TV, in 

the movies, or hear on the news. Most of us in our little part of the 

world have not encountered violence first hand, except for those who 

are involved in police work or the military during a war, so we keep 

our feeling about violence at bay. 

We know Jesus was a man on earth who suffered as we would and 

endured not a private agony, but public torture and humiliation. We 

think that as the Son of God, Jesus could have chosen not to endure 

the savagery, but He chose to obey His Father’s will  and accept all 

that happened to Him. He was willing  to be taken off to die for our 

sins.  What would you have done? I’m awestruck by Jesus’ sacrifice. 

Ellen Strickland

Monday, March 26

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) 

and called together the whole company of soldiers.  They put a purple 

robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on 

Him. And they began to call out to Him, “Hail, King of the 

Jews!”  (Mark 15: 16-18) 

 In these passages, we can get a sense of the atmosphere of the time.  

The soldiers, mostly non-Jewish, took Jesus to their headquarters and 

put a purple cloak and thorns on his head. Purple was a color of 

royalty and the crown was most likely made of a common brier in the 

area. I suppose they wanted to poke fun at Him, so why not have 

even more fun and dress Jesus up as royalty and then mock Him by 

yelling, “Hail, king of the Jews!” What great fun and sport the soldiers 

must have had. 

So, how can this relate to our lives today? Thinking about the purple 

cloak and its meaning of royalty, do we dress differently for different 

things? We are taught from a young age what clothing is acceptable 

for school, church, sports, business, etc. The interesting thing is that 

this sense of “acceptable” changes from generation to generation and 

from community to community. We dress to fit in, we dress for 

success, and we dress for identity (for example a particular white 

collar is a dead giveaway for a priest). We clothe ourselves almost 

automatically in a manner that we won’t be subject to ridicule or 

thought ill of. How do you act when your eyes take in an individual 

that does not meet your expectations of the “dress code?” Do you 

treat them differently? Do you secretly make fun of them to yourself 

or whisper to a family member or best friend, “Did you see what so 

and so is wearing today?” Can you really judge what is happening 

with a person by what they put on their body? Can you read the joy 

or pain they may be experiencing? Is it right to “judge a book by its 

cover” without even opening a page and reading a chapter? We all do 

it even if we won’t admit it. Therefore, I challenge everyone this 

Lenten season to be honest with yourself, recognize when you pass 

judgment before opening that book, and then pray to God at that 

very moment to give you the guidance and strength to change. You 

may really like the person you become.   

Sandy Briggman

Sunday, March 25 - Fifth Sunday in Lent, Passion Sunday

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He 

had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. (Mark 15: 15) 

How many times have you done something, which you did not feel 

was right, in order to satisfy friends?  Parents? Your boss? Your 

“significant other?” Your enemies? How did you feel as a result?  

Happy and fulfilled, or guilty, ill-at-ease, empty? 

Think about how Pilate must have felt when he handed Jesus over to 

be crucified. 

Our actions, even if they are wrong, will seldom have world-changing 

consequences—except in our own minds. Perhaps conscience will 

take over, making us aware of our mistakes in a most uncomfortable 

way. 

Could God be speaking to us at times like these? Are we ready to 

listen? 

        

Helen van Laer 

                        Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow 

                       Where the blood of Christ was shed, 

                       Perfect man on thee did suffer, 

                       Perfect God on thee has bled! 

                       Here the King of all the ages, 

                       Throned in light ere worlds could be, 

                       Robed in mortal flesh is dying, 

                       Crucified by sin for me. 

                                     Hymn by William John Sparrow-Simpson 

Saturday, March 24

“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the King of the Jews?” 

Pilate asked them. “Crucify Him!” they shouted. "Why? What crime 

has He committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, 

“Crucify Him!”  (Mark 15:  12-14) 

 I wonder what life was like in Jesus' day. I wonder what people were 

like. I wonder about the people in the crowd that shouted "Crucify 

Him!" to Pilate in response to his question "What shall I do with the 

one you call the King of the Jews?" And I wonder why, in response to 

Pilate's next question, which was "Why? What crime has He 

committed?" They simply shouted "Crucify Him!" all the louder.  

I think maybe, like today, a very few of them were evil men with 

nothing but ill intent...trying to rid the world of the One who was 

truly kind and filled with love. They cared not for finding a just reason 

for crucifixion, but instead embraced their true motives without 

remorse or apology. These men wore their sins on their sleeves like a 

badge of honor. 

I think maybe, also like today, others among them were not evil 

men, but men with a misguided belief that Jesus was a sinful man 

who deserved the punishment about to befall Him. They cared for 

justice but just didn't recognize an unjust act cleverly disguised. 

These men wore their sins not proudly, because they knew pride was 

itself a sin, but humbly in their pockets...though believing all the 

while that their sins were virtues. 

And finally I think that, definitely like today, the rest of 

them...probably the majority of them, were truly good men. These 

men knew what was happening to Jesus was wrong. They knew what 

they were participating in was the farthest possible thing from 

justice. They truly cared for justice, but were afraid to stand up for 

what they believed in. These men wore their sins deep in their 

hearts, in a dark place they thought was hidden from the world. In a 

place, they thought, where sins could do no harm. And if these men 

were the majority, then they were the reason, the real reason, that 

Jesus died on that day. A wise man once said "All that is necessary 

for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." Long before he said 

that, God said that. He foretold it when He sent His only Son to die

for our sins. And it came to pass on that day they shouted all the 

louder "Crucify Him!" 

Jeff Edwards

Friday, March 23

“Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” asked 

Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had 

handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to 

have Pilate release Barabbas instead.  (Mark 15:  9-11) 

Why does the gospel writer include this incident in the story of Jesus’ 

last days? Is Pilate being sarcastic when he refers to Jesus as “King 

of the Jews?” Why were the chief priests “jealous,” and of whom?  

Who was Barabbas? Why is this story important to the gospel, and 

why should we pay attention to it today? 

 Let’s think about Pilate first. As Roman governor of Judea, his job 

was to keep the peace, and in Roman parlance that meant making 

sure all citizens acknowledged Caesar as their ruler. To fail to do so 

resulted in death. Jesus was a rabble rouser, questioning the 

authority of Rome and fomenting unrest in the streets. Those who 

saw Him as  the Messiah hoped that He would become king. 

Revolution against Rome was brewing and Jesus was stirring the pot. 

Pilate feared the mob.  

 He didn’t want to be responsible for the results if he crucified this 

man without the approval of the local authorities and the support of 

the mob. 

 What about the chief priests? Their job was political, but the 

emphasis was on keeping the sanctity of the temple. Jesus had been 

making statements about the temple falling - the greatest sacrilege.  

They wanted to be rid of the trouble maker. So they asked for 

Barabbas, another probable rebel. Why? Why trade one rebel for 

another? 

 The annotation in the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) states that  

there is no mention outside of  the New Testament of the practice of 

releasing a prisoner at the time of Passover. So, Mark may have 

intended this story to be symbolic in some way. What about 

Barabbas?  The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary says that the name 

Barabbas means “son of the father.”  If he is Everyman, Jesus’ act of  

saving him may have been His first act as savior of all sons of the 

Father. 

So what’s the “take away” from this story?  Have you ever been seen 

as a trouble maker? Have you been looked down on or rejected for 

your beliefs? Have you looked upon those who hold different views as 

dangerous? Has fear or jealousy motivated your thoughts or actions? 

 Lord, help us to see the familiar face of Jesus in faces unfamiliar or  

frightening to us. Help us to stand for justice and peace. 

Vicki Parker 

Thursday, March 22

Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the 

people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the 

insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The 

crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.             

(Mark 15:  6-8) 

 What would we do? Would we call for the release of Barabbas or 

Jesus? Let’s consider the situation. Barabbas was a known entity; 

Jesus was a loose cannon. Barabbas was in prison for supporting the 

Jewish insurrection against Rome; Jesus was challenging the Jewish 

traditions. So, what would we do? Would we go with the flow that 

supported the Jewish leaders’ decision to do away with the Jesus 

problem? Or would we listen to that small voice inside that said “No.  

This is wrong.” Would we even hear that small voice? 

Hopefully, the Lenten period has given us time to reflect. Hopefully, it 

has been a time to listen. The Lord is with us constantly. “Prepare ye 

the way” to listen for that voice; not just in Lent, but every day. 

“… the answer is blowin’ in the wind.” – Bob Dillon 

Gary Kimmel 

              And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, 

              Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; 

              That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, 

              He bled and died to take away my sin. 

                                        “How Great Thou Art” Hymn 

                                         Carl Boberg (1859-1940)

Wednesday, March 21

The chief priests accused Him of many things. So again Pilate asked 

Him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are 

accusing you of.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was 

amazed.  (Mark 15: 3-5) 

 Sometimes silence speaks more loudly than words. At some point, 

each of us has received “the silent treatment” from another.  It’s a 

way of getting a point across without further argument.   

But Jesus isn’t trying to win an argument.  He simply knows there is 

no explanation to offer or defense to give that will change what is 

inevitable.  The crowds will demand His death anyway.  He will be led 

away to be beaten and executed. 

On the cross Jesus will breathe His last, and for a while it will seem 

that God has turned a silent ear toward His creation. Sin and death 

will appear to have the last word.  

The silence of the Innocent One speaks volumes against the noise of 

our attempts to justify ourselves and the din of excuses for our 

failure to act. The season of Lent offers time for quiet reflection as we 

leave pretense behind and open ourselves to hear the voice of God. 

Holy Jesus, you took the sin of the world quietly upon yourself in 

order to break the clanging chains that kept us in bondage to sin. 

Thank you for loving us and setting us free.  Amen. 

Pastor Keith Day 

Tuesday, March 20

Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the 

teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So 

they bound Jesus, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate. “Are 

you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus 

replied. (Mark 15: 1-2) 

It was early in the morning when the religious leaders plotted and 

then handed Jesus over to Pilate. They wanted Jesus charged with 

blasphemy because He called Himself the Son of God. Since they did 

not have the power to put Him to death, they brought Him to the 

Roman authorities to be tried and executed. 

I believe that Pilate is thinking explicitly in political terms when he is 

asking Jesus if He is the Messiah. Acknowledgment of the title of King 

would be in violation of Roman law, as well as assuming leadership of 

a possible Jewish insurrection. Jesus does not deny He is the 

Messiah, nor does He acknowledge Pilate’s political interpretation.  

Pilate then tries to get the Jewish religious leaders to take Jesus and 

settle the matter themselves. 

For my faith development journey, the significance of these two 

verses from Mark is to never forget that Jesus IS the Son of God.  

Jesus’ human role is not to be a great political leader, but to provide 

a spiritual role model for God’s love of mankind; God’s continual 

forgiveness of mankind; and God’s continual challenge for mankind to 

love, serve, and forgive others. 

Sylvia Wadsworth 

                         Blessed be the God of our salvation: 

                         Who bears our burdens and  

                         Forgives our sins. 

                                       --Opening Acclamation during Lent,  

                                          Enriching Our Worship 1