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Weekly Devotional

April 6, 2009

God’s Peace be with you all.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26  ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,  ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."  ²⁵ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."  ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

                This week we celebrate what Christians know as Holy Week.  However, another important festival is this week as well.  This coming weekend marks the Passover, and Jewish festivities of the feast of weeks.  For us, and for the Jewish people, this time is culminated with the day of Pentecost, which for us this year will be on May 31.

                Just a few nights before his crucifixion, it was the Passover that Jesus was celebrating with his disciples.  He was continuing the celebration that reminded all Jews that God had delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh about a thousand years before.  And then on that night, Jesus institutes what we call the Eucharist.  Today, we celebrate our liberation as well.  Each and every Sunday when we receive communion we celebrate that God has saved us from the power of sin.

                This week, more than any other week in the church year, our emphasis lies with those words that Jesus spoke to his disciples on that fateful night.  With Holy Week services, we take Jesus’ final steps through our readings.  And then on Easter Sunday, the culmination of our celebration takes place, as we not only celebrate once again the Eucharist, but we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior from the tomb.  We celebrate that death has been overcome, that sin has been defeated, and that God almighty has once again proved his power, love and grace to the world.

In our prayers this week: 

Ann, Doris and her mom, Jane, Irene Scheiry (Jane’s mom), Joseph, and St. John’s Lutheran Church.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Judson