Happy Easter, Cherokee Prayer, Tennessee Update

A great day is coming. I can feel it. I can see it. Time to get awake. Time to get ready. Better find my better shoes. Better get myself dressed and looking good. It will be a day of celebration. A day like no other.  A great day.  When all of God's people shout for joy. When they are free and feel like dancing for no reason other than dancing. I want to be part of that kind of day. I want to drop my blues like a rock and jump up to see the glory of that morning. The light is already on the horizon. Hope is in the air. Peace is playing like music. Love is coming this way. Bishop Steven Charleston

Mark 15:12-46

 

The Passion

¹² Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”

¹³ They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴ “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

¹⁶ The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. ¹⁷ They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. ¹⁸ Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. ²⁰ When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

²¹ A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene,^[a] was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) ²² And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). ²³ They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.

²⁴ Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice^[b] to decide who would get each piece. ²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ Two revolutionaries^[c] were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.^[d]

²⁹ The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. ³⁰ Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

³¹ The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! ³² Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.

The Death of Jesus

³³ At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. ³⁴ Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”^[e]

³⁵ Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. ³⁶ One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!”

³⁷ Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

³⁹ When the Roman officer^[f] who stood facing him^[g] saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph^[h]), and Salome. ⁴¹ They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there.

The Burial of Jesus

⁴² This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation,^[i] the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) ⁴⁴ Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. ⁴⁵ The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. ⁴⁶ Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.

Mark 16

The Resurrection

16 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on Sunday morning,^[a] just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. ³ On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴ But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

⁵ When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, ⁶ but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,^[b] who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. ⁷ Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

⁸ The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.^[c]

⁹ After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. ¹¹ But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

¹² Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. ¹³ They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

¹⁴ Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.<sup>[d]

15</sup> And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. ¹⁶ Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.^{[e] 18} They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

¹⁹ When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ²⁰ And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

Alleluia, Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

For me and other Christians this is a very special week that culminates with Christ rising from the dead. I encourage everyone to be there on Sunday to celebrate His Resurrection. I know that many of my friends and neighbors are not a part of the Christian faith, so be tolerant and take a moment to reflect on your belief system on this wonderful day that Creator has made for all of us. I firmly believe that Christ died for all of us, regardless of color, culture, or religious beliefs. Believe me that the day is not about an Easter Egg, it is about life everlasting. – Fred

 

CHEROKEE PRAYER BLESSING

May the warm winds of heaven Blow softly upon your house.

May the Great Spirit Bless all who enter there.

May your moccasins Make happy tracks In many snows..

And may the rainbow Always touch your shoulder..

 

Tennessee Update

 

Spring didn’t spring this year. It seems that these cold fronts are still making their way down… even as far as Florida. The plants aren’t busting out of the ground as usual, they are hiding until the average temperature is above 50. If the weather changed today we are ready start planting the garden. It looks like maybe two more weeks before that will happen.

 

In the mean time there is still plenty to do on this small farm. Jo has refinished and reupholstered a chair.  We are now working on refinishing our wood kitchen trash can (we have had it for 25 years and have refinished before).

 

I have jumped through all the hoops and have applied for my concealed weapons carry permit for Tennessee. Because of recent events, it is a real ordeal. But I have carried a gun for the past 43 years and will continue until the end.

 

Jo went on a sabbatical from 24/7 care taking to Florida. She has been gone four days and nights… Glory and I are doing OK. She seems to be happy and doing well.  For me she hasn’t been a big problem, it is just a time and effort process.  Jo was supposed to return next Tuesday. Now I hate it when a receptionist from a doctor’s office calls, especially since they have no medical knowledge and don’t know from Adam, to tell you that the doctor wants to see you about your recent stress test and implies that he wants to schedule a heart cath. I got that call yesterday. It was my duty to call Jo and tell her that I would be going to see the doctor. She has decided to cut her stay short and come home.  This means she will not get to be with the grandchildren for Easter as she planned. Taking care of Glory is low stress compared to that call. Fact is I have never felt better than I have in the past three months, I have no symptoms of anything other that seasonal allergic rhinitis, and lost nearly 50 lbs. Oh, and all my blood work is perfect.

 

I love it when I get e-mails and FB messages from you letting me know how you are doing.  Blessings to you all and have a very blessed and Happy Easter.