One of the geeky things I enjoy about the lectionary for Holy Week is that after all of the drama of Palm Sunday, on Monday we flash back a day or two, to a moment of peace between Jesus and his friends before he makes the final leg of his journey into Jerusalem. But in … Continue reading ‘Nice Things’: A Reflection for Monday of Holy Week, 2022
Every year at Passover, the Roman governor would travel up from the coastal capital at Caesarea Maritima (literally, ‘Caesar’s City by the Sea’) to Jerusalem. It was a symbolic reminder of Rome’s mastery as much as a practical reinforcement of local troops. And no wonder. It’s hard to imagine anything more unsettling for an occupying … Continue reading The Stones Would Cry Out: A Reflection for Palm Sunday 2022
And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation (Gen 2.2-3). We … Continue reading The Seventh Day: A Reflection for Holy Saturday 2021
This is how it ends. The joy of the incarnation, the surprising revelations at Jesus' baptism, the years of miraculous healings and heavenly teaching, of standing up to the authorities. The backlash, the intrigue, the betrayal, the conspiracy, the kangaroo court. This is how it ends. Jesus, dead, hanging on a cross. The world stands … Continue reading This Is How It Ends: A Reflection for Good Friday 2021
If you knew your time was up and you had one last opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for your friends and family, what would you do? What would you say? It's an interesting question to be sure, and one that is probably worth some contemplation. Whatever it is you would choose to say, you'd … Continue reading Famous Last Words: A Reflection for Maundy Thursday
Matthew Root 