“Just before the Passover festival, Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” John 13:1 Today is Maundy Thursday, which, according to John 13:1, symbolized “the full extent” of Jesus’…
TRA LA: A PASSION WEEK PERSPECTIVE
Today, Mark’s dad Jerry, would have turned 103. I spent some time reflecting on the legacy he left his family and friends. We miss him a lot, especially on his birthday. We somehow believed he would live forever. (Well, the truth is, he is living forever, but you know what I mean.) Last year on…
Be The Change
Here we are, Passion Week before us. The crowd who cried out “Hosanna” had hoped for a mighty king to save them and put down the oppressive Roman government so that they could live in peace and freedom. They didn’t understand that the One who came on a lowly borrowed donkey would bring ultimate wholeness…
Blessed Emptiness
“Blessed emptiness” seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? If the glass is empty, how can I feel blessed? What does it have to offer me? How can I be blessed and empty at the same time? I believe it was in a short video devotional with John Ortberg that I first heard these words, but…
Duct-Taped Compassion
(THE FINAL EIGHT RHYMES) It’s hard to believe that my dad has been gone almost twenty years. Our family took a trip back east in August 2003 to visit him in the hospital, and then I returned again once or twice to see him in the ICU after radical surgery which left him unable to…