This Sunday
begins the observance of Holy Week 2021.
Following Palm Sunday worship many Christians will observe Jesus’ last
supper on Maundy Thursday, and remember His death on Good Friday, preparing to
celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday.
But, I’m convinced that many followers of Jesus have heard the story of our
Lord’s suffering and death so often that we have become numb to the depth of
the love of God.
Perhaps I can
illustrate this point in the following way.
Last Saturday I attended a funeral for Pastor Alan Struckmeyer. Pastor Struckmeyer was an especially
effective pastor at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL. Last February I attended a pastors meeting
with him, as I had at other times when visiting our family and friends in
Florida. His congregation is only 2
miles from our place in Gainesville.
When I returned to Alaska last May, another pastor contacted me
informing me that Pastor Struckmeyer had a brain tumor. Pastor Alan, as he was called by his people,
was only 62 years old and deeply loved by his congregation. But he died from cancer on March 18,
2021. There were many who wondered the
same question asked in the sermon. “Why
was a young, effective, faithful pastor struck down in the prime of his life
and ministry” We only trust that God is
wiser than we are. We are thankful
Pastor Struckmeyer is with our Lord in heaven.
But, Pastor
Struckmeyer did not choose to die. Cancer
killed him. He would willingly have kept
living and kept serving if he could have done so. Jesus is just the opposite. God’s Son willingly came to earth expecting to
lay down His life for you and me. We
often miss the enormity of this great, sacrificial, gift of love, because we
have heard it so often. We miss the depth of God’s love because we know Jesus,
the Son of God Himself, came to this earth to die for us.
Listen to what
Jesus Himself says in the Good Shepherd chapter, John 10. “11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep. . . 14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--15 just as
the Father knows me and I know the Father-- and I lay down my life for the
sheep. . . 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-- only
to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own
accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.
This command I received from my Father." (John 10,
11, 14-15, 17-18) Did you hear
what Jesus says about His life and death?
He suffered injustice, cruelty, violence, and murder. But, knowing that we needed saving, Jesus
taught the people then and teaches us today, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
The depth of Jesus’ love struck St. Paul personally and he
shared the surprise of that willing sacrifice
with the Christians in Rome. God
inspired Paul to write to those believers, “6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though
for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his
own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8) Jesus did not die because we deserved God’s
love, but because we were lost unless Jesus paid the price for our sins. Jesus died for us, “while we were still sinners.”(See also John 3:16-17)
Such a great gift and willing sacrifice also speaks to
Christians about how we are to live. In
His letter to the Christians of the dispersion, Peter wrote, 17 It is better, if it is God's will, to
suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous
for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body
but made alive by the Spirit” (1
Peter 3:17-18) The Christian life
includes suffering, as do the lives of all who live in this sinful world. But, because we know the ugly fact of sin in
our lives and in the world, and because we know the willing, saving,
sacrificial love of Jesus, we can face the trials of life in faith and in
love. We know Jesus has forgiven our
sins in His death, and He saved us for eternal life by His rising. Therefore, following Jesus, we pick up our
crosses and follow Him, (Mark 8:34)
This Sunday we
celebrate Palm Sunday, the beginning of Jesus’ last week before His brutal
crucifixion. As we watch Jesus’ fateful
journey to the cross and realize that He knew His suffering and death was
coming, and when see Jesus suffer and observe His the loving actions toward His
disciples and toward others around Him, then Holy Week worship can feed our
souls and strengthen our faith. Imagine,
God loved ME so much that Jesus willingly
laid down His life for me!
The application
to our lives is simple: If Jesus willingly died for me, will I willingly live
for Him?
A Child of God, Amazed
That We Take Such Great Love for Granted,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. During my childhood I attended 2 congregations. When our family lived in Massachusetts,
I attended
Trinity Lutheran Church in Easthampton, MA, until I was 12 and we moved to
Florida. As a youth in Florida, and
until I graduated from seminary, I attended and was a member of First Lutheran
Church in Gainesville, FL. I had the
privilege of preaching at First Lutheran on March 21, while Pastor John Glover
was visiting his dad in NJ. Here is a
video of the worship service, including the sermon. 03.21.2021 Fifth Sunday in Lent Worship on
Vimeo
P.P.S. I only did a little fishing this week.
·
On March 18 I fished in a local lake. The limit was 5. I caught 6 bass and threw one back. But, I only returned home with 4 fish!! (I’m not sure where the other fish
went!) Here is a picture. https://photos.app.goo.gl/5swZiZZgjLVz99RP6
·
On Tuesday, March 23, I took my wife on the
Santa Fe River. It was an evening ride,
and we were delayed in arriving by a traffic accident. I didn’t catch any fish, and we don’t have
any pictures. L
*****
ABOUT
THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as senior
pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, AK. I was writing a weekly
devotion previously entitled, "Thoughts from the Pastor."
When I retired many asked me to continue writing these devotions. So I have continued writing. However, with life's changes I now call this
weekly devotion "Journeys Through Life as a Child of God."
Since
I am no longer senior pastor at St. John, I felt it right to only send
this message to those who asked to receive it. (Though I am now serving
again part-time at St. John as assistant to the pastor.) Perhaps you also know that I “killed” my
computer on November 7, 2020. In so
doing I lost, for a time at least, all my e-mail contacts. So, I was really goofed up. Many who were receiving this devotion each
week were no longer receiving it. I
tried to rebuild my distribution list, but I am not sure how accurate I have
been.
So, if you stopped receiving these
devotions and wondered why, now you understand.
And, if you are now receiving these devotions and do not wish to receive
them, please let me know, and I’ll gladly remove your name from my distribution
list. My e-mail address is
jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer is that these devotions
help each of you in your daily walk with our Lord, Jesus.
*******
Jonathan Rockey
Child of God
Husband, Father,
Son, Grandfather
Pastor Emeritus,
St. John Lutheran Church
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
cell phone -
907-841-4066
Home phone -
907-746-5131
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