Remembering

My dear friend Lisa, celebrated a Seder last night. She and her beautiful family walked very tangibly into the act of remembering. These are her words...

Tonight, we remembered.

We remembered the first Passover.

We heard it, saw it, smelled it, felt and tasted it.

I have learned that is what the seder is all about.

We leaned on pillows to remember we are not slaves but are eating at our leisure . . . free.

We said the traditional blessings, (in English of course) and retold the story of the deliverance from Egypt.

We dipped the bitter herbs in salt water to remember the bitterness and tears of slavery.

We ate a horseradish and chopped apple matzah sandwich  while thinking about the cruelty of 

slavery and the hope of freedom.

We spilled drops of wine/grape juice from our glasses for each plague-emptying some of the joy from our 

glasses.  (Sad for even our enemies who suffered)

We searched for the broken matzah.

We experienced it with all our senses.  

So we can remember it again . . . and again.

Because we have been set free. . . and I need help remembering..

Good Friday Traditions

Observing this Holy Day, both "Good" and somber can draw us ever closer to Christ, reminding us of the great price He paid for us.  Here we have compiled a few suggestions of things we can do as we contemplate and worship:

• In Celebrating the Christian Year, Martha Zimmerman suggests helping the whole family be mindful of the significance of the day by keeping the home completely dark. (The "Light of the World" left this earth for the 3 days.) Keeping the curtains closed and even draping cloth over lights will serve as a good reminder.

• She also suggests placing a 3x5 card at each family member's place at the dinner table, with a person written on it, such as "Mary" or "Pilate" or "a religious person."  Spend time sharing what you think each person's reactions would have been that first Good Friday.

• Another idea would be to keep the home (or wherever you are) completely quiet from 12 pm - 3 pm, turning off all electronics and using the time for focused prayer and reflections.

• Many churches offer services during the day or in the evening, and there is also an online broadcast opportunity this year from 6 pm until midnight through The Secret Church.  (This does cost money and requires registration.)

• If you're looking for a certain, unique food to make, one traditional ones is Hot Cross Buns.  See here for a recipe that I have used and like.  Or, you could try "crown of thorn pancakes," such as these.

• For the younger kids in the home, here is a list of cross-focused crafts they might enjoy.

• On Good Friday, we will come to breakfast to find a black stone in front of each place. The size good for sticking in a pocket and holding on and off through out the next two days. Its a simple reminder of the waiting in darkness. Then, on Easter Sunday, each person will awake to find a white stone and we will read the beautiful verse from Revelation 2:17 "I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it". These stone ideas also came from Ann Voskamp and they've been very meaningful. 

• This Good Friday, we will plant another round of goodness into the large garden we share with dear friends/neighbors. What beautiful symbolism. We will also gather around together to pray blessing over all that we've planted. 

6 Holy Week Traditions (other than coloring eggs)

Coloring eggs is nice and all, but there is so much more that you can do on this most Holy of weeks!  Such as...


1. Light candles.  My friend Jamie shared this with us recently:

Thought I would share our Easter tradition. I read it in a book by Noel Piper years ago and I love it. The boys even like it.  Tonight (Palm Sunday) we will light all six candles and read about Jesus's triumphal entry. Each night this week, we will light one less candle and read more if the passion week story until Friday night when we will light only one candle and read of Christ's death and blow out the last candle. Saturday, we don't light any candles or read. BUT Sunday, we light them all and read of Christ's resurrection!


2. Read a short reflection each night from a devotional book.  Our favorite this year is this one by John Piper -- and it's a FREE download.  



3. Have a foot-washing ceremony with your family or friends



4. Celebrate a Christian Passover/Seder: So much symbolism can be found in the Jewish tradition of the Passover meal.  

Here are a few links to inspire you:

A simple description of the meal
Longer description and more background
A 45-minute video by Jews for Jesus
From Ann Voskamp:  "Why A Christian Family May Celebrate Passover"  



5. Consider fasting from something consumeristic -- like electricity, as this family has done. 



6. Make a crown of thorns out of salt dough, play-dough, or even palm branches.




Stay tuned for ideas on how to observe Good Friday soon...

However you choose to mark this week, may it be a time of pondering, remembering, and worship as we draw closer and closer to the Main Event:  Resurrection Day!

BB King and the Crown of Thorns

Welcome to Holy Week!

Maybe like me, the start of Holy Week snuck up. I confess, this 46 day period of Lent felt like it was moving slower than molasses some days. I felt it especially, when I wanted something I had given up and then I'd count to find I had 44 more days to go without. Then I'd ask myself why I decided to do this whole thing anyway. I'd like to say I took every one of those moments of longing, to stop and pray, but that would be less than honest. Sometimes it felt more like a cat fight.

But, here we are. Less than a week away from the biggest celebration in the Christian calendar! We will move through this week with a mix of somber awareness and anticipation. And like Amy mentioned in her last post, hope. That's the best part.

Several years ago, I saw an idea from Ann Voskamp's blog www.aholyexperience.com and we started the practice at our house. We have a wreath and tea stained tooth picks in a bowl beside. During Holy Week, we pay particular attention to our need to confess and each time we do, we stick a toothpick into the wreath. The first year we did this, I was overwhelmed at how quickly this simple wreath turn into a crown of thorns. (I realized that is why the suggestion is to pull this out just for Holy Week and not the whole season of Lent.) This is a tangible reminder that our sin, my sin, nailed Jesus to the cross. As BB King so beautifully sings in the song "When Love Comes to Town" with U2 "I was there when they crucified my Lord, I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword, I threw the dice when they pierced his side, but I've seen love conquer the great divide, when love comes to town..."

This tradition may seem a little morose, but there is a place for that. This week, as we anticipate the celebration to come, it's worth remembering the cost.

Our pastor used this verse in his benediction this morning and it's now on the giant chalkboard in our kitchen for all of us to remember. What a perfect verse for this week. 

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit".

Observing Palm Sunday When You’re Sad

For a few different reasons I woke up sad today.  Then, the thought of joining the throngs singing “Hosanna,” rejoicing over the King made me even sadder.   All those people yelling, “Save now!  Save now” (that’s what Hosanna means)…. but Jesus was not about to save them in the way they were hoping and expecting.  He was about to die.  The road to salvation had a big valley of suffering to go through first.  Using hindsight, that first Palm Sunday has an extra layer of upside-down-ness.

We made our way to church this morning, and I found myself thankful that Palm Sunday is on a Sunday.  If it was any other day of the week (it wouldn’t be called Palm Sunday, first of all), there would be opportunity for me to wallow in my sadness, to remain isolated from others, to bypass the whole day.  But because it was Sunday we were at church, and even if I didn’t feel like singing, everyone around me did. 

 I wonder if there was anyone on that day long ago that got swept up in the crowds lauding Jesus, even without originally intending to do so?  There is something about hearing others praise, seeing others lift their hands;  it’s a call back to Reality.  It’s not all about me.  It’s not even all about “me and Jesus.”

And then there were the kids.

Every year watching the children parade in with palm branches, I end up in tears.  This year, even with the cheesy paper “branches” and my kids in rumpled clothes and probably mismatched socks, was no exception.  I have wondered before whether this children-waving-palm-branches thing is a modern-church contrivance designed to just make it all so “cute,” but then I read the writings by Egeria, a spunky woman who traveled over 1200 miles back in the 4th century, visiting Biblical sites.  She was the predecessor of the travel blogger, I suppose, because she wrote extensively about the events and spiritual traditions she witnessed.   And, it turns out, children waved palm branches in a procession way back in the 300’s!

I watched my sons waving their branches today, loving their innocent faith and enthusiasm, hailing their King.  And then I thought about a conversation I had with one of them last night about pain.  He is very concerned about pain, worried about the possibilities of future surgeries or injuries.  As I reminded him last night, and myself this morning, pain is always temporary.

Yes, there is a side of sadness to Palm Sunday, because we know suffering comes next.  But the overarching message is hope.  After the suffering came the most glorious day in history.  And after our suffering will come the most glorious existence, beyond what we can imagine.

I am grateful today for those who sang and spoke around me at church—especially the children--  and for those who write truths to remind us all about the power of Palm Sunday.  Like a bystander in the crowd in long ago Jerusalem, I find myself carried along in the joy of the message.

I am also grateful for the plan to celebrate the Christian year.  Once again I am reminded that these days set apart are not about my feelings or my desires, but are intended to show us more about who God is, and who we are in Him.  Today has been a good day for that, for me.

In John Piper’s little book, Love to the Uttermost, he tells us that Palm Sunday is a good day to reflect on Luke 12:32: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  As someone wrestling with fear and distrust, I needed to hear this today.  God’s joy is to give us the kingdom.  The kingdom may be “now and not yet” but eventually it will be all the way now and perfect!  

Seeing just the shadow of that today is enough -- and cause for rejoicing.


“Great is our rejoicing, for you have come to us, righteous and victorious, loving and sovereign.  By the riches of your grace, continue to free us from waterless pits, broken cisterns and worthless idols.  By the power of the gospel, enable us to live as prisoners of hope and agents of redemption until the Day you return to finish making all things new.”  -- Scotty Smith