Saturday, April 7 - Easter Vigil, The End of Lent

So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in 

the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a 

stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the 

mother of Joseph saw where He was laid.  (Mark 15:  46-47) 

How sad and fearful Mary Magdalene and Mary must have been 

seeing these things, not knowing what was about to be revealed to 

them. 

I remember when as a child in Sunday School how this part of the 

story always made me sad and fearful. How final, how lonely. 

Many of us have had these feelings before in our lives, the loss of a 

best friend, loved one or the end of a chapter in our life. These 

feelings can be so final, so sad. 

But as much as the sadness must have been overwhelming, so must 

have been the joy and light when Mary Magdalene says “Rabbouni” 

upon seeing Jesus in the garden. 

We, too, must feel the light of Jesus that enables us to carry on in 

times of despair. He wants to reach us with the light if we are only 

open to it.     

Pat Kinney

Friday, April 6 - Good Friday

Pilate was surprised to hear that He was already dead. Summoning 

the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he 

learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 

(Mark 15: 44-45) 

Pilate was surprised that He was already dead!   

Thank goodness Jesus did not have to suffer any longer. He had 

endured enough for us already. What a humiliating death.  How many 

Good Fridays have been black Fridays - with darkness encompassing 

the whole world, or so it seems, at 3:00 in the afternoon. Is it 

because God is still trying to get our attention so we will remember 

His son came to die for us? Many churches still have a three hour 

service, the Tre Ore, remembering the hours Jesus hung on the 

cross. How appropriate that it should end in darkness at the moment 

of His final breath. 

I remember such a Good Friday over fifty years ago. I was eight 

months pregnant with our son. Perry and I had attended the Good 

Friday service at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in 

Washington, D.C. where we were married and living in the area at 

the time. We went into church at noon, bright and sunny. At 3:00 

when we left, very sad from “living” the last three hours of Jesus’ life, 

I have never seen such a black sky before or since. The sky was 

totally covered with dark clouds, but not raining. It got my attention.  

In fact I was a little frightened. Was a tornado about to happen? I 

must have been more than a little frightened, as I went into labor 

shortly after that. I entered the hospital that night and gave birth the 

next morning. That was a Good Friday I will never forget, and what a 

wonderful Easter it was holding a new life. 

Jesus’ death. The miracle of giving birth. What do they have in 

common? He came to give each of us new life, a life for us to live so 

that He may live in us and through us. I see Him living in my son as 

he enjoys teaching a weekly Bible study at his church and in my 

daughter, a deacon and treasurer at her church. In our daily living we 

certainly encounter the dying-rising cycle in many different ways in 

this “circle of life.” We are reminded this day to simply notice this 

great mystery of death and resurrection in all of life.

May we be attentive to the dying and risings that we witness each 

day. As we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus, may these 

events stir our hearts to deeper faith.  

Kaye White

Thursday, April 5 - Maundy Thursday

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as 

evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the 

Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly 

to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.  (Mark 15:  42-43) 

A retired reporter friend of mine commented during a recent trip that 

he likes Mark’s Gospel because it was written like a newspaper 

reporter would, like an AP story. Notice how Mark says “boldly.” And 

how he uses only the needed quotes along the way.   

That set me to thinking how to write my meditation. How might I 

have reported Joseph’s return from Pilate? Maybe, “Asked as he 

hurried down the street after leaving Pilate why he had taken this 

chance: ‘I had to! He was my friend, my mentor. I just had to! I 

couldn’t just leave him hanging there.’ He kept on walking, almost 

running back to Golgotha. ‘Tomorrow’s the Sabbath!’ Joseph had a 

purpose, he would complete it. He sped on.”  

But how many times have you “just had to?” How many times have 

I? For a friend; for just an acquaintance? Or even a stranger on the 

road to Jericho? 

Jesus said, “As you have done it for one of the least of these my 

brothers, you have done it for me.”  

But just do it for one? Do we often try to do more than that? Take 

care of the many instead of trying to really do for the one? Really 

care for one? Concentrate on the immediate need? Do what needs to 

be done now? For just the one? 

Joseph took care of what he saw as the immediate need. Now was 

the time to bury Jesus. It had to be done by sunset. The next day he 

could tend to something else. 

How about you? How about me?  

Perry White

Wednesday, April 4

Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary 

Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and 

Salome.  In Galilee these women had followed Him and cared for His 

needs. Many other women who had come up with Him to Jerusalem 

were also there.   (Mark 15:  40-41) 

 Women watching, following, caring for His needs, what was it about 

this man that the women were moved by? Was He outrageously 

handsome (the Bible never really comments on His good looks)? 

Were they engaged by what He said? Maybe they had never met a 

man so gentle and compassionate and honest with women? Perhaps, 

they really understood the truth that Jesus spoke (not necessarily 

what the men of the Bible have interpreted as the truth) but the 

TRUTH that sets us free!  

I believe that the women knew with the eyes and ears of their heart. 

I think they got the message a lot faster and more clearly and I think 

some of the TRUTH got lost along the way. I believe, in my heart of 

hearts, there is much more truth for us to discover if we open our 

hearts and minds to the endless possibilities of God’s creation. 

Give thanks!  There is abundance in God’s realm, and He has made it 

available to all. 

Pat Wilson 

Tuesday, April 3

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And 

when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how He 

died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15: 38-39) 

 Sometimes the signs of the Son of God, of miracles, of eternal hope 

and of life are like the torn curtain. Sometimes they are so small, so 

quiet, that we pass them by without noticing. 

The small signs are more plentiful, seemingly less grand or dramatic.  

But they are no less wondrous. 

The proof of the Son of God was so blatant and undisputable to the 

centurion. But the smaller, more mundane things I see everyday are 

my proof. 

  

Gretchen W. Hargis

Monday, April 2

Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and 

offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave Him alone. Let’s see if Elijah 

comes to take Him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His 

last.  (Mark 15:  36-37) 

 I have to admit that this is the first time that I have really looked into 

the meaning of these verses. I was quite surprised with what I found.  

Just thinking about giving someone wine vinegar, especially at a 

vulnerable time, is just plain cruel and nasty to me. I always looked at 

this passage as a negative act, a hurtful thing. Then, when I read the 

explanation in the bible for “wine vinegar,” I was surprised. It said, “A 

sour wine used by laborers and soldiers.” So, if it was a common drink, 

then maybe it was offered to Jesus as a kind gesture, a gesture of 

compassion and concern. Maybe even a gesture of love.   

Thinking of it this way just blew my mind. All these years I perceived 

this act to be terrible and awful. Now, I believe I have to rethink what 

was really going on when I hear these verses. Our perceptions are our 

reality. It goes without saying, so maybe we need to really look at how 

we perceive things to be sure we really have it right or really 

understand and get what is said or what is going on. You just might be 

surprised that what you perceive, your reality, really isn’t the reality of 

the situation.  

This Lenten season, look and search beyond your reality to truly 

understand what it is you are perceiving, no matter what the situation, 

before you make it your reality.  

Sandy Briggman 

  

  Lord Jesus Christ, be present now, 

  Our hearts in true devotion bow, 

  Thy Spirit send with grace divine, 

  And let Thy truth within us shine. 

    

                 German Hymn 

                 Cantionale Sacrum 1651