Easter Sunday
Join us for worship at 5 pm this Sunday by clicking this link. Download and print out our order of worship here.
He is Risen!
Good Friday: Beloved Failures
Texts:
Morning
Psalm 22
John 13:36-38
Evening
Psalm 40:1-14
John 19:38-42
Hymn
Christ the Lord is Risen Today, in anticipation of Easter
Prayer
Our Gracious God and Heavenly Father, You have loved us, even when we were dead in our sins. Your grace made us alive together with Christ. You have called us out of darkness and into your light. We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, O God, and bless us by your Spirit, that we might have the courage to walk in the good works to which you have called us, to the praise of your glorious name, Amen.
Devotional: John 13:36-38
Rev. Martin Antoon:
I’ve been a Miami Dolphins fan ever since I was six years old. If I could have it over, it’s possible I might pick a different team to save myself what would become over two decades of incessant heartbreak, but it’s far too late for that now. Among the countless games over the years, one particular game stands out in my mind. The year was 1999, and the Dolphins had one of their best teams in a long time. They were so good that they did a very un-Dolphins thing and made the playoffs. After a good win against the Seahawks in the first round, they faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in the next round. The Dolphins were supposed to be strong contenders. Dan Marino was wrapping up a legendary career at Quarterback. They had a strong group of receivers, and the star-studded defense was one of the best in the league.
To say that the Dolphins lost the game would be putting it mildly. To this day, it still stands as the worst playoff loss in NFL history over the past 80 years. All the expectations pointed to a strong team that could deliver when needed, but the results were disastrous.
Peter’s final moments in the Upper Room with Jesus ring oddly similarly to the 1999 Miami Dolphins. Peter is confident that in the closing hours of Jesus’s life, as the authorities close in to unjustly arrest Him, he will remain strong beside Jesus. “I will lay down my life for you,” says Peter. But Jesus tells Peter another story about how things will end. Instead of laying down his life, he is told that out of fear and cowardice, he will deny the same friend he has just promised to defend. Not only will he deny Jesus, but he will do it three times. Not surprisingly, this is exactly what happens. Peter’s expectations of heroism and strength were replaced by shame and failure as Jesus goes on trial and Peter seeks only his own safety. He sends Jesus to the cross alone.
I suspect most of us had ambitions entering this era of quarantine where we were going to change for the better. We were going to kick our spiritual lives into overdrive. We were going to spend quality time with our families. We were going to pick up a hobby. We were going to read more. We were going to serve and love others. We were going to be strong when the circumstances tempted us to be weak. And while we possibly did improve some areas of our lives, you probably found that you were far weaker than you had aspired. And maybe you feel like a failure.
The Dolphins may not have won a playoff game in the last 20 years, but I still love them. Peter may have failed, but Jesus still loves him and draws near to him with unconditional mercy. It’s not because of our strength that God loves us, it’s in spite of our weakness. God offers grace to failures. The beautiful final scene with Jesus and Peter after the Resurrection is not one of shame and anger as Jesus confronts his betrayer. It’s a scene of forgiveness and breakfast as Jesus welcomes him back. Jesus doesn’t want your record of accomplishments, He wants you.
Maundy Thursday: The Daily Heroic
Texts:
Morning
Psalm 102
Mark 14:12-25
Evening
Psalm 142/143
Mark 14:12-25
Hymn
Christ the Lord is Risen Today, in anticipation of Easter
Prayer
Our Gracious God and Heavenly Father, You have loved us, even when we were dead in our sins. Your grace made us alive together with Christ. You have called us out of darkness and into your light. We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, O God, and bless us by your Spirit, that we might have the courage to walk in the good works to which you have called us, to the praise of your glorious name, Amen.
Devotional: Mark 14:12-25
When I was 6 or 7 my family went to a ropes course in Western North Carolina. At the end of the course, I jumped off of the ropes and put my hands on the ground to steady myself. I remember the feeling of the leaves on my hands as I touched them- wet and soft. I remember the fear as the first yellow jacket flew out of the ground, followed by many. I remember the stinging pain as they swarmed me. And I remember the relief as my Father jumped down into the ditch and pulled me up. And I remember the welcome slap on my flesh, again and again, as he swatted the yellow jackets off. My deliverance was sensory. My Father's presence with me was sensory.
Its that sensual presence with us that we remember on Maundy Thursday. "Maundy," derived from the Latin "mandatum," means "mandate or commandment." In the passion week narrative, Jesus gives the disciples a new commandment: that they love one another. And he expresses and models that love in very sensible, tangible ways: washing his disciples feet- can you feel the cool water?- and feeding them his body- taste the bread?- and his blood- has the wine gotten buzzy in your head? Jesus' love is sensual, tangible, embodied. Our God is not a God of abstraction, far off and removed from daily life. He doesn't call us into secret mysteries. The knowledge of him isn't in the first place mystical; unless by mystical we mean the glory and mystery of simple things, alive. The glory of smell and taste and touch.
To keep the mandate ourselves is as tangible as it was on that first Thursday. We experience the presence of God when we get clean, when we eat together. And we mediate that presence to God, not just in formal religious worship (although that presence is most explicit and clear in those moments), but when we clean one another, feed one another, forgive one another, sustain one another. This presence is rarely spectacular in the way that we think of it: big and flashy. But it is spectacular in its quiet consistency, in its settled determination to bless one another and the world in tangible ways. To love God and to serve him, especially during this quarantine, is as Pope John Paul II said: "The heroic must become daily, and the daily must become heroic."
Reflections
1. Today: take a bath. A long one. Thank God for the water.
2. Today: eat a meal. Taste it. Have a glass of wine. Enjoy it. Praise God for it.
3. What are some small, daily, physical ways you can bless one another today?
Holy Wednesday: We Didn't Ask For This
Texts:
Morning
Psalm 55
Mark 12:1-11
Evening
Psalm 74
Mark 12:1-11
Hymn
Christ the Lord is Risen Today, in anticipation of Easter
Prayer
Our Gracious God and Heavenly Father, You have loved us, even when we were dead in our sins. Your grace made us alive together with Christ. You have called us out of darkness and into your light. We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, O God, and bless us by your Spirit, that we might have the courage to walk in the good works to which you have called us, to the praise of your glorious name, Amen.
Devotional: Mark 11:27-33
Rev. Martin Antoon:
At this point, we’re starting to get pretty accustomed to suffering, aren’t we? For some of us, it looks like being cooped up in the house for hours and days on end, burdened by the absence of consistency. For others, it looks like lost jobs or the fear of their impending end. For some of us, our suffering comes in the form of loved ones who are in danger of getting infected, or worse, loved ones who are sick. The perpetual sense of suffering has started to color everything that we do and every thought that we have. “I didn’t ask for this,” we think to ourselves. The knowledge that we tried to keep ourselves at a distance seems to offer some consolation. If we ascribe our condition to some impersonal force, we can try to alleviate its sting.
Jesus was also familiar with suffering during His life. He brings our attention to Psalm 118 to reveal the depths of this suffering. He is the stone that the builders rejected. Considering the imagery creates a vivid scene. In the grand construction of this “kingdom” being built by others, this particular stone is to be cast aside in rejection. We have no use for it here. It’s worthless. So was Jesus considered to the world. Yet never for a moment did Jesus think to Himself, “I didn’t ask for this.” In fact, He volunteered Himself to be the stone that the builders rejected. Unlike our suffering, He willingly entered into His. And His suffering was personal. It was from those who He came to save, us included.
As we spend this week reflecting on Jesus’s final week of suffering, let’s use our present suffering to remind us of something important – Jesus’s hurt wasn’t some abstract idea of pain. It was as real, piercing, and tangible as the suffering that we have felt amidst the virus. And it was pain that we caused Him. And rather than saying “I didn’t ask for this,” Jesus presses on, knowing that the fate of the cross awaits Him. And He does it precisely so our present suffering would not be in vain. Jesus doesn’t just love you when it’s convenient, He loves you even when it’s hard for you to love Him back.
Something More Than Good
Texts:
Morning
Psalm 12
Mark 11:27-33
Evening
Psalm 6
Mark 11:27-33
Hymn
Christ the Lord is Risen Today, in anticipation of Easter
Prayer
Our Gracious God and Heavenly Father, You have loved us, even when we were dead in our sins. Your grace made us alive together with Christ. You have called us out of darkness and into your light. We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, O God, and bless us by your Spirit, that we might have the courage to walk in the good works to which you have called us, to the praise of your glorious name, Amen.
Devotional: Mark 11:27-33
We have all known people who were so nice, so sugary sweet, so over the top excessively "good" that we really just wanted to punch them in the mou... er... not be friends with them. The sugary sweet goodness that never puts a foot wrong is so perfect that it starts to feel like its a goodness that isn't for others, but for themselves. Few people would ever follow that person, except for authorities who are glad to have a rule follower that makes their lives easy.
That is not the sort of person that Jesus was, although we are often tempted to imagine him that way. We are told that Jesus was so good that people hated him; so gracious that legalists killed him, so nice and sweet that our evil world couldn't let him live. Question: who would want to follow a Jesus whose virtue was being a goody two-shoes?
Holy Week gives us a very different Jesus. Mark 11 shows a Jesus who isn't sucking up to power, but is actively confronting it. The powers that be had begun to despise him, not because he was good, but because he was authoritative. When he comes to Jerusalem to clean out the Temple, he is saying something about his authority- that he speaks for God as a prophet at least, calling people to live as God calls them to. And maybe he speaks as something more. Our passage today has Jesus confounding the Temple authorities with a question about his authority. He shrouds himself in mystery- just who exactly is this wandering Galilean? Certainly no goody two-shoes- he is confronting unjust powers, not kissing up to them. The tension of Holy Week increases. This sort of thing can't be allowed to happen, for the sake of public order...
Jesus wasn't killed because he was nice. He was killed because he was a threat. He was killed because he was the King. And that would have been that, except he was a different sort of King than anybody imagined.
For reflection:
1. How domesticated is our Jesus?
2. Reflect on this quote: "Safe? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." - Mr. Beaver, CS Lewis' Narnia
3. What would it look like to let Jesus become your authority? What wild thing might he call you into?
Holy Monday: Figs, Frauds, and Faith
Announcements:
Join us for our conference call with a staffer from Savannah Music Festival today at 1 to learn how to serve them. Please read this guide before you do. What a great chance to put the devotional from today into practice!
Texts:
Morning
Psalm 51:1-18
Mark 11:12-25
Evening
Psalm 69:1-23
Mark 11:12-25
Hymn
Christ the Lord is Risen Today, in anticipation of Easter
Prayer
Our Gracious God and Heavenly Father, You have loved us, even when we were dead in our sins. Your grace made us alive together with Christ. You have called us out of darkness and into your light. We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, O God, and bless us by your Spirit, that we might have the courage to walk in the good works to which you have called us, to the praise of your glorious name, Amen.
Devotional
"I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed." Was there ever a time when the intent of a statement differs more from how it is received? When a parent says this, they are trying to take the fear away from their child- "I'm not angry!" But they do it by disengaging, by distancing themselves. When a child hears this, they long for anger. "Love me enough to be angry, but please don't be disappointed!" The opposite of love isn't anger. The opposite of love is contempt.
Jesus loves us enough to be angry. On Holy Monday, Mark offers us up a strange story about a fig tree that hasn't borne fruit (Mark11:12-14), and a temple that is full of robbers (Mark 11:17), and a faith that can move mountains (Mark 11:22-25). It was time for the fig tree to bear fruit, but the tree hadn't done so. In the same way, it was time for the people of God, tasked with bringing the blessings of God to all the nations through their worship in the temple, who had actually used the temple to exploit the nations. Jesus' anger calls them to remember that if they had faith, they could accomplish anything- even the blessing of the world.
Jesus loves them, no, Jesus loves US, enough to be angry.
Is it possible that we have used the blessings God has provided us to be arrogant? To look on others with contempt? To hoard the profit of relationship with God for our own benefit? To believe that we have more value as humans, more worth, because we are Christians? Some of the examples of this in the church are all over the news today; but we know that all of us harbor some of this in our hearts. Jesus comes to destroy this part of us with his wrath, that another part of us- freer, more loving, more missional- might live. His anger is surgical, but intentional. Christian, your faith is not for you- your faith is for the world. There is no other kind of faith in the God of the Bible. It is time to stop hiding, time to stop running, time to stop our arrogance and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
For reflection:
1. What are some of the ways that we have failed to bear fruit that blesses our neighbors?
2. Why are we tempted to use our faith as a sign of our superiority, instead of as an acknowledgement of our humility?
3. How does Jesus free you to acknowledge your humility and serve others?
Palm Sunday Worship
Take some time today to gather palm branches. During our song of praise, have children wave the branches around. As we participate in our service, you will notice that the words of the crowd become our words- with joyous and shocking effect. Why joyous and shocking?
Palm Sunday is the week in which we commemorate Jesus riding into Jerusalem. In the Ancient Near East, when a conquering sovereign returned to his capital from battle, the people of the city would go out to meet him or her, throwing down cloaks and palm branches along the road for the royal train to walk on. When people did this for Jesus, the image was shocking and ironic- a king, on a donkey. He wasn't a king in any of the ways they expected... and the cries of "Hosanna" would become cries of "Crucify" when they realized their mistake. Then followed the longest weekend in history...
Join us for worship this Sunday night at 5 by clicking here. Click here to print out our bulletin.
The Possibility of Presence
CTK has been given the opportunity to serve the Savannah Music Festival by being part of a phone tree. We will make phone calls to ticketholders asking them to donate their tickets to the Festival, so that artists who were scheduled can get paid and the festival can survive this difficult financial time. This is a great opportunity to help serve our city by fighting for something that makes it unique. If you would like to participate, click here.
If you have not been involved in a parish group but would like to get involved in a new one, click here. This group will meet biweekly to bear one another's burdens in prayer via zoom.
To see the rest of our daily devotionals, with prayers, songs and reflections, click here. To sign up for daily emails, click here.
Prayers
Morning
Readings
Old Testament: Exodus 7:25-8:19
Psalm: 131
Prayer:
Increase, O God, the Spirit of Neighborliness among us;
that in peril we may uphold one another,
In suffering tend to one another,
and in exile befriend on another.
Grant us brave and enduring hearts
that we may strengthen one another,
until the disciplines and testing of these days are ended,
and you again give peace in our time.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Evening
Readings
New Testament: MArk 10:17-31
Psalm: 141
Prayer: See above, or use the Lord's Prayer
Devotional on Psalm 131:
When I was in seminary, I began suffering from some sort of mystery ailment of the gastrointestinal variety. So I did what anyone would do and got on WebMD and put my symptoms in. I ran a little diagnostic to figure out what my problem was. Two options came up, after I input my symptoms. I either A) had a parasite, or B) was lactose intolerant. The cure for the parasite was to eat lots of yogurt- which has lactose. Since I love milk and cookies, I wouldn't- couldn't- give milk up. My problem had to be a parasite.
My symptoms only worsened. Which is always, always what happens when you misdiagnose your problem.
When we face difficulty or trouble in life, the question we always ask is "Why?" Why am I facing this? Why is this happening? We think that our problem is difficulty, and if we can answer the "Why" question then we can avoid that problem in the future.
Our symptoms get worse. No amount of answering "Why?" helps us to avoid suffering. Instead, we get angry and bitter as we are forced to confront the reality that our previous explanations (and all of the previous "Why's" in the history of humanity) have not helped us avoid suffering.
The Psalmist knows that our problems aren't our problem. Our problem is a lack of presence. The psalmist refuses to write down arrogant, cheap, easy answers to the "Why" question (v. 1). Instead, he contents himself with being like a child with his mother, and a weaned child no less (v.2) . A weaned child isn't getting anything out of his mother; he is just delighting in the safety of her presence. And that is what we, God's people, have the opportunity to do. To solve THE problem, not of our problems, but in the midst of our problems. To find the comfort, security, and hope, of God's presence. As NT Wright wrote recently:
"It is no part of the Christian vocation, then, to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain—and to lament instead. As the Spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation, small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell. And out of that there can emerge new possibilities, new acts of kindness, new scientific understanding, new hope."
For discussion:
1. How does it feel when someone you know is always giving you advice about how to solve your problem?
2. Why do we look for this from our religion?
3. How can we begin to seek God's presence in the midst of our problems?
The Aroma of Christ
To participate with us in our service project to the Savannah Music Festival, see the blog entry “Serving the City” below. To see the rest of our daily devotionals, with prayers, songs and reflections, click here. To sign up for daily emails, click here.
Prayers
Morning
Readings
Old Testament: Exodus 7:8-24
Psalm: 128
Prayer:
Increase, O God, the Spirit of Neighborliness among us;
that in peril we may uphold one another,
In suffering tend to one another,
and in exile befriend on another.
Grant us brave and enduring hearts
that we may strengthen one another,
until the disciplines and testing of these days are ended,
and you again give peace in our time.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Evening
Readings
New Testament: 2 Cor. 2:14-3:6
Psalm: 129
Prayer: See above, or use the Lord's Prayer
Devotional on 2 Cor. 2:14-3-6, from Rev. Martin Antoon:
There are only a few hills I’m willing to die on, but my commitment that New Orleans is the best food city in the country is one of them. I spent three of my college years in NOLA, and I have very fond memories of the culture and distinctives of the city. An interesting thing happens whenever Elizabeth and I return for the occasional trip. As we enter the city and see the oak trees that line Carrrollton Avenue or the menagerie of shops along Magazine Street, it starts to bring me back a little bit. When we hear the sounds coming from Audubon Park or the clanging of the street car on St. Charles, it brings me back even more. But what really seals the deal is when we sit down at the plethora of amazing restaurants in town, and they set down a dish of food in front of me. It is instantly transportive. Memories that are inseparably intertwined to particular dishes create an oddly emotional experience, and there is nothing like it. It’s almost mysterious. You’ve likely encountered something similar. Maybe you go back to your hometown into your parents’ house and smell the smell of a familiar dinner that used to be a childhood staple. Or the distinct smell of whatever plant or flower used to bloom in a particular season.
Aromas have a unique way of tapping into the fabric of what we love.
It should be no surprise then, that the Apostle Paul picks up this very idea. He says that we are the aroma of Christ to God. Paul uses an interesting word for “aroma”. It’s the same word that was often connected to the Levitical burnt offering sacrifice that connotated God’s pleasure and delight among His people. The magnitude of delight God the Father shows towards His Son’s loving sacrifice is the same delight with which God now applies to us. The pleasing aroma of Christ before God is our aroma. But Paul takes it one step further. This aroma is spread to the surrounding world. In the same way that the neighboring 6 or 7 tables can smell my pizza at Domenica or my Peacemaker Po’ Boy at Mahoney’s, so do those around us sense this aroma of Christ among those who have been transformed by Him.
What would spreading this aroma in a time of social distancing look like? Maybe it means we distinguish between social distancing and isolating. Social distancing is the healthy and appropriate way to prevent ourselves and others from getting sick by avoiding physical contact. Isolating is only looking out for ourselves when others around us could use care and encouragement, even if it’s not in person. If the aroma of our favorite meal can elicit an emotional and significant response in us, imagine how much more the aroma of Christ in believers could affect our neighbors.
For discussion:
1. What are some cheap ways we try to manufacture the aroma of Christ without the substance of Christ?
2. How could lamentation (see the link in the devotional above) provide the aroma of Christ?
Serving the City
Savannah is a historic city. But one of the things that sets Savannah apart from other historic cities in the South is the way in which our community is blessed by the presence of artists, creatives, SCAD students and other cultural innovators. The interaction between our historic and creative communities has helped to build a city that is more than the sum of its parts.
One of the cornerstone cultural events in the Savannah Calendar is the Savannah Music Festival. For 31 years, the Festival has brought acts from across the musical spectrum to our city. Like so much else in the era of pandemic, however, the Festival faces an uncertain future. That’s where you come in.
Christ the King-Savannah is going to serve our community by volunteering to make phone calls for the Savannah Music Festival to people whose tickets were cancelled this year. The hope is that we can inspire enough people to donate their ticket money so that artists can be paid and the Festival can financially survive this difficult year. We hope we can find 20 people to serve our community in a safe way by making an hours worth of phone calls. What a great chance to heed the command of Jeremiah 29:7: “Seek the peace of the city your are in, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
If you would like to volunteer: put your name and email address below. We only have until Wednesday to fill out our roster, so sign up quickly!