Easter Sunday Sermon - 2019, Woodlawn Christian Church (DOC & ABC)

We had a wonderful service for Easter Sunday, actually 'services' as the Sunrise Service went very well also, the weather cooperated and the rain missed us (though it was sprinkling slightly intermittently during the service).  Our organist Kathryn had to leave town suddenly for a family emergency and we were lucky enough that Sylvia Streufert was able to play for us during our 10 am Service.  Sylvia did a fantastic job, especially considering she was pressed into service so near to the actual service.  Kathy Brandt played her trumpet with Sylvia's accompaniment to start the service and we all very much enjoyed her playing.

I've included below the sermon from the service.  This year I preached over Luke 24:1-12 which is Luke's version of the chain of events on that first Easter morning.  During the sermon, I discuss the cross and the differences between the 'empty cross' and the 'crucifix', I have long confessed a fondness for crucifixes and at times I do think we Protestants would be well served to contemplate the symbolism of the crucifix.

The primary focus though was about the meaning and impact upon our faith of the 'empty tomb'.  I shared with the congregation the only witness (that I am aware of) to the actual 'resurrection' and that comes to us for the noncanonical source 'The Gospel of Peter'.  There is great meaning and import to this telling of the main event of Easter morning.

Please take a listen to the sermon, and I hope it has some meaning or message for you.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace,
Roy

Luke 24:1-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Resurrection of Jesus
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body.[a] 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women[b] were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men[c] said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.[d] 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.[e]

Footnotes:
a) Luke 24:3 Other ancient authorities add of the Lord Jesus
b) Luke 24:5 Gk They
c) Luke 24:5 Gk but they
d) Luke 24:5 Other ancient authorities lack He is not here, but has risen
e) Luke 24:12 Other ancient authorities lack verse 12


The Gospel of Peter – 9:34-42 (translated by NT Wright)
9. 34. Early in the morning, when the Sabbath dawned, there came a crowd from Jerusalem and the country round about to see the sealed sepulchre. 35. Now in the night in which the Lord's day dawned, when the soldiers were keeping guard, two by two in each watch, there was a loud voice in heaven, (36) and they saw the heavens open and two men come down from there in a great brightness and draw near to the sepulchre. 37. That stone which had been laid against the entrance to the sepulchre started of itself to roll and move sidewards, and the sepulchre was opened and both young men entered. 10. 38. When those soldiers saw this, they awakened the centurion and the elders, for they also were there to mount guard. 39. And while they were narrating what they had seen, they saw three men come out from the sepulchre, two of them supporting the other and a cross following them (40) and the heads of the two reaching to heaven, but that of him who was being led reached beyond the heavens. 41. And they heard a voice out of the heavens crying, ‘Have you preached to those who sleep?’, 42. and from the cross, there was heard the answer, ‘Yes.’


The Gospel of Peter – 9:39-42  (alternate translation by NT Wright)
39 And while they were narrating what they had seen, they saw three men come out from the sepulchre, two of them raising up the one, and the crucified one following them (40) and the heads of the two reaching to heaven, but that of him who was being led out by the hand by them reaching beyond the heavens. 41. And they heard a voice out of the heavens crying, ‘Have you preached to those who sleep?’, 42. and from the crucified one there was heard the answer, ‘Yes.’ 


1 Peter 3:8-20   Revised Standard Version (RSV)
Suffering for Doing Right
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. 9 Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
“He that would love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking guile;
11 let him turn away from evil and do right;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil.”

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is right? 14 But even if you do suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God’s will, than for doing wrong. 18 For Christ also died[a] for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

Luke 9:21-22
21 – Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Luke 9:43-45
43 – While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Luke 18:31-33
31 – Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

Photo by Zackery Wicks

Funeral Service, Donna Jenkins - March 22, 2017

Photo by Christian Begeman

Yesterday, we all were sad to lay to rest our dear friend Donna Jenkins. You will be missed Donna, but we rejoice for your birth into Heaven.  We will all see you again in our Father's Kingdom!

Order of Service – Funeral for Donna Jenkins

Call to Worship:
Gathered in Christ's name, let us praise God
who is our certain hope in all life's varied circumstances.
In the face of death believe the good news the scriptures proclaim:
As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.
(Isaiah 66:13)

Greeting:
We have come together within the strengthening fellowship of friends and family:
to praise God for the life of Donna Ione Jenkins;
to share our grief with God and with one another;
to reaffirm our faith in God's unfailing goodness;
to hear again God's promise of resurrection;
and to commend Donna to God's everlasting care.

Music: The Old Rugged Cross

Opening Prayer:
Gracious God, your love endures forever.  Your faithfulness is unfailing and all your promises are true.  The movement of your Spirit is evident even in our darkest moments.  Attend to us now in our grief as we trust you will.  
Speak words of comfort to our hearts.  Open us up to receive your hope.
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our sister Donna.
We thank you for giving her to us, her family and friends,
to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage.
In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.
Give us faith to see death as the gate of eternal life,
so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth,
until by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Let us hear now a reading from the Old Testament:  
Psalm 23  King James Version (KJV)
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let us hear now a reading from the New Testament:
2 Corinthians 4:1-5:1  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
4 Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth, we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11 For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—"I believed, and so I spoke"—we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Music:  Amazing Grace

Message:  Pastor Roy Karlen – Woodlawn Christian Church
Donna Ione Jenkins was born on her family's farm near Coon Rapids on October 12th, 1930; she passed from this world and into our Lord's embrace shortly after 9 pm on March 19th, 2017.  Donna was one of four children born to Edward and Opal Visner, Merle, Vernerd, Marjorie, and Donna.  Donna only finished the eighth grade as she was ill for an extended period of time in her childhood with Rheumatic Fever.  On April 13, 1951, at the tender age of 20, Donna married Robert Jenkins here in Lake City.  At that time Robert ran the Phillips 66 Station that sat on the corner where Woodlawn Pharmacy is now.  Robert passed away on October 3, 2001.  Donna was baptized here at Woodlawn Christian Church on February 20th, 2003 by Reverend Carla Hillyer.

Beyond the members of the Search Committee, among the very first people I met upon arriving here at Woodlawn Christian Church was Donna Jenkins.  I remember the first morning I met her as she arrived for coffee before the service, her's was a smiling and cheerful face that greeted me and welcomed my wife Gail here to Woodlawn Christian.

On Sunday night after leaving the hospital, I sent a text to Jim Bruce that Donna had passed away.  He texted back thanking me for letting him know, and asking me to extend his condolences to the family.  He ended simply by texting "She was a neat lady".  Though one may be tempted to think of that statement as abrupt and or blunt, really, it is not... what it is, is concise.  In my attempts to describe what made Donna such a delightful person, I find that I can scarcely do better than Jim's assessment...  she was in fact, a NEAT lady.  I'll confess my temptation to just leave it at that, but indulge me just a moment while I try and fill in the cracks of that concise and so very accurate comment.  Though I know fully well, that I shall fall far short of conveying just what made her such a 'neat' lady.

Donna has since my arrival, as she has been for many years, a fixture at our Sunday evening group here at Woodlawn.  Each Sunday night we gather for a fellowship meal, a time of prayer, and then either a Bible Study, or a movie, and often a time of singing hymns and praise music.  During these gatherings, I would often let the group select the songs that we would then sing or sometimes just listen to.  Donna always wanted to hear the song "One Pair of Hands" which is attributed to Elvis Presley, it is the song we'll hear today at the conclusion of this service.  Her face would light up and she would just smile as it played.  I would often tease her about playing it, or at the very least mention that we were going to play it for Donna.

Donna always enjoyed a bit of good-natured teasing, she would tell Clyde Westcott on Sunday mornings that the coffee wasn't hot enough, and of course, Clyde was obliged to tease her back.  Donna mentioned Clyde and his teasing last week as she lay in the hospital.  My wife Gail always enjoyed sitting with Donna during our fellowship time on Sunday mornings.  Gail remarked to me how pretty Donna always was, and indeed, Donna always made sure she was made up and looking her best before heading out in public.

Donna always had a great concern for others and she always shared with us on Sunday night any needs for prayers for her friends and family.  For a long time, Donna kept us informed of her sister Marj's health and we lifted her up weekly in our prayers.  These Sunday night gatherings were very important to Donna, and not too many weeks ago when the weather was threatening, Scott DeVries and I decided we needed to cancel the gathering that Sunday night.  Scott told me that Donna wasn't very happy with either of us for canceling the gathering and that she pointed out to him that the storm wasn't supposed to get here until 7 pm and our group meets at 6.  

Our group meets in Fellowship Hall, and the folding chairs in fellowship hall weren't the most comfortable for Donna, so we brought one of the chairs from the choir room up for her to use.  That was always "Donna's Chair" and we never allowed anyone else to sit in it.  Donna certainly enjoyed that group and all of us that take part on Sunday nights are certainly going to miss seeing Donna there.  We'll miss her smile and the twinkle in her eyes as she told a story or engaged in banter.

Back in September of 2015 when I was visiting with Donna and her brother Vern in preparation for their sister Marj's funeral, they shared several stories with me.  One was how Donna remembered the day when Marj was born and how excited she was to finally have a little sister.  She remembered watching her aunt give Marj her very first bath.  Donna also remembered a few years later when she suddenly wasn't so keen on her baby sister after Marj had painted on all of Donna's paper dolls.  Donna did get even though in a way, as Donna and Vern also told me the story about how Donna wrecked Marj's first and only new car.

As I mentioned earlier, Donna was very ill with Rheumatic Fever as a child, her family was so afraid that she was going to die that they bought her a toy doll.  I'm not sure if this came before or after the paper dolls that Marj painted upon.

Donna was a farm girl, and years ago she had ducks and rabbits.  She has had her garden in the same spot at her home here in Lake City, for so many years that the family couldn't remember it not being there.  It seems it's been there in the same spot for all of her children's lives.  Donna and the family would can and preserve both vegetables and fruit from the garden.  Besides the vegetables, Donna also had flowers both inside and out.  The family told how she'd have Larry move the plants in the house from one location to another depending on the season.  Moving them up and down the stairs and around the home.  Donna loved her houseplants and she told my wife on several occasions how she wanted her to come over and see her plants.  Unfortunately, though, Gail never got over to visit Donna and see her plants.  Penny told me a story about how once when her son Tyler was little that he pulled all the buds off of Donna's Christmas cactus.  Donna called Penny to tell her what had happened out of both frustration and disbelief, she told Penny that it had been loaded with buds.  

Donna came from a family where you had to feed visitors, it was just part of her heritage.  She would make candy at Christmas time, she made noodles and she baked pies.  Just last week we had our Soup Supper here at Woodlawn and several people including Jim Bauman asked where was the gooseberry pie.  Donna's gooseberry pie was that night, and will forevermore be missed.  I remember early on in my ministry here sitting in fellowship hall and visiting with Donna, the conversation came around to pies, and I mentioned that my mother made gooseberry pie... Donna brightened right up and told me that she also baked gooseberry pie.  In all honesty, Donna is just about the only other person I remember encountering in my life, besides my own mother who baked gooseberry pie, and this impressed me a great deal, even though I will confess their two recipes are considerably different... but they're both very good!

Donna was a good mother and housewife, she also enjoyed volunteering and helping others.  She was very involved with the Senior Center starting to help out there while she was still in her 50's, she was in charge of the Center for many years.  She would also make coffee at the library on a regular basis.  Donna often would give perms to the neighbor ladies and often drug her kids along with her while doing so.  She seemed to always be helping someone out somewhere.

Donna liked to go up to Sparky's for coffee, this is something I heard from more than just one source.  In fact, it was Donna's trips to Sparky's that resulted in her becoming a member here at Woodlawn.  At Sparky's she became good friends with Doris Hanks and Doris ultimately convinced Donna to come to Woodlawn and the result was Donna was baptized here and became a member in 2003.

Donna and Doris had a long and close friendship, I heard them referred to as 'two peas in a pod', it was said that if you saw one of them you would see the other as well.  They and other friends would travel all the way to Otho to attend Saturday evening dances there.  Donna kept going to these Saturday events even after Doris went into Shady Oaks and in fact, the family expressed that they were a little concerned that Donna would try and go to Otho on the Saturday night before she was admitted into the hospital.  Donna truly enjoyed her Saturday outings and I am certain that she will be missed greatly at these events in Otho.

I confess that I was very moved by the story of Donna and Doris's friendship and how ultimately it resulted in Donna coming back to church.  In fact, I used their story as an illustration in my sermon this past Sunday.  Praise God that Doris was there to befriend and influence Donna over coffee at Sparky's.  Donna really enjoyed visiting at Sparky's, and who knows maybe there's a Sparky's in Heaven and today she's sharing coffee with those old friends that have gone on before her.

While Donna was in the hospital this past week, she, fortunately, was conscious enough to allow her to express her love to all of her family and to me.  She was also conscious enough for her family to convey their love to her.  I was able to witness the love that she had for each of her children, Larry, Philip, June, and Penny.  Her niece Barb was there for much of the time along with her daughter.  In the end, we live our lives here on earth and it's our love for one another that makes our lives worth living.  Undoubtedly, the greatest gift from God is the gift of love.

1 Corinthians 13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly,[b] but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Perhaps it was Donna's love for her family, her friends, her God and for life that made her such a genuinely "neat lady".

Though we each grieve the loss of Donna, we should all rest assured that this is only a temporary parting and that we'll each get to see Donna's smile and that twinkle in her eye once again when we are all reunited in Heaven.  Praise be to God.  Today Donna is reunited with all of her friends and family that have gone on before her, today she is reunited with her husband Robert, and today she is in the very presence of our almighty and all-loving God... Praise be to God indeed...

Closing Prayer:
The family invites you all to join them in further celebration of  Donna's life and a time of shared remembrances and closure, by joining with them for a luncheon in the Church's fellowship hall immediately following this service.  After the lunch, you are all welcome to go with the family to the cemetery in Lanesboro for the committal service.

Let us pray, O God, our Strength and our Redeemer, Giver of life, and Conqueror of death, we open our hearts to you just as we are.  We celebrate your gift of life freely given but are grieved by a sense of loss in the face of death.  The love which binds us to one another leaves us aching as ties are broken.  Accept our tears as emblems of devotion, and transform them into waters of life to nourish us in the days ahead.
We trust you.  We love you.  We know in Christ that your love is everlasting.  Nothing can separate any of us from your abiding care.  With you is eternal life.
With confidence, we now entrust Donna to your unfailing love and overflowing goodness.  Through the power that raised Christ from the dead to live eternally with you, lift up this, your servant, to a life fulfilled beyond our imagining.  We give you but your own, enfold her in your everlasting arms, hold her for she is your child.
Now strengthen us, through the gift of your Spirit, to face into the future with confidence that you stand with us.  Grant that the changes of life may leave us stronger as we journey through life.
Reassured of your abiding presence, help us to knit more firmly the ties that bind us one to another.  Renewed by your love, help us to love in ever larger circles so as to embrace your people everywhere till at last we are all united eternally through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Benediction:

Music:     One Pair of Hands 

Committal Service:

Selfishly, we as mortals wish to hold on to Donna. It brings great pain to let her go. Living in the resurrection hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the trust of a loving God and in the promise of eternal life, we now commit her body to its place of rest. We will continue to mourn Donna, but now her laughter will warm the kingdom of God. We will continue to love Donna, but God will now take care of her. We will continue to carry Donna in our thoughts, but she will now be kept safe in God's hands. Receive her in the arms of your mercy, O God, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of all your saints.

1 Corinthians 15:50-57  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters,[a] is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,[b] but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
"Death has been swallowed up in victory."
55 "Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Believing in the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we now entrust Donna to the care of our Almighty God and we ask our Father to open the doors to his mansion and lead Donna to the room made ready just for her. As we now commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we commend her spirit to its new home. Rest eternal grant her, and let light perpetual shine upon her.

God has blessed and enriched our lives in giving us Donna to know and love here on this earth. Though our time together was not nearly enough, in committing her body to the earth, we give over to God the care of her spirit, and we acknowledge that we will one day reunite with her in God's Kingdom. The Lord bless her and keep her; the Lord make his face shine upon her and be gracious to her; the Lord look upon her with favor and give her peace.

Let us now pray together the prayer that our Lord and Savior taught us to pray, using the word 'sins'...
Our Father....

This concludes our graveside service.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His strong arms encircle you and uphold you in your hour of grief.  God's peace and strength to you all.

Amen

Sermon March 5th, 2017 "The Temptation"

Photo by Christian Begeman, find his work at
https://www.facebook.com/prairiesanctuaries/

This past Sunday the Lectionary Scripture from the Gospel was Matthew 4:1-11.  Which is the very well known story of the 'Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness'.  This story is found in all three Synoptic Gospels, though the story in Mark is much, much condensed from what we have in Matthew or Luke. It would appear that Mark had one source for this story and that Matthew and Luke had an additional source (most likely the enigmatic 'Q' source), available to them in the construction of their Gospels.

I did of course address in the sermon the 'temptation' portion of the scripture, though I will confess a temptation towards eliminating that aspect entirely. The part of the story that we tend to gloss over is the 40 days of preparation and fasting prior to the temptation.  This timeline of '40' whether it be days or years pops up throughout scripture.

- Noah and his family endured 40 days and nights on the ark before God made a covenant with them.
- Moses fasted on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and nights as he inscribed the words of God's the words of God's covenant for the Israelite's.
- Elijah fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights before receiving a new commission from God.
- 40 is the number of years the Israelite's wandered in the wilderness in preparation for their arrival in the promised land.
- (This is only a partial list, there are more of course)

And 40 is the number of days (not counting Sundays) of Lent that we are to spend in preparation for Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

All too often, we humans want to fill-fill-fill... for us, being busy and going constantly is a sign of the importance of the work we are doing, and this contributes directly to our own sense of self-worth.  But the 40 days of fasting in the wilderness that Christ performed (and which is the example we are intended to follow during this Lenten season), was a time of emptying and not a time of filling.  It was a time of reflection and prayer, a time of pouring out what He had been up until that time, in order to be completely filled with the Spirit that had come down to Him at the baptism by John.

Let us try and spend as much time as we can during this Lenten observance emptying ourselves... letting go of what we would be, in order to take in and become... what He would have us be.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His grace, glory and care,
Roy

Matthew 4:1-11  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
    and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Photo by Christian Begeman, see more of his amazing work at:
https://www.facebook.com/prairiesanctuaries/