Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Stone Unmoved


The Stone Unmoved
A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
March 31, 2013
at Gordonsville Presbyterian Church, Gordonsville, Virginia
John 20: 1-18 

Let us pray,
Help us to see despite our eyes
Help us to think outside of our minds
Help us to be more than our lives      
For your eyes show the way
            Your mind knows the truth
            Your being is the life.
Amen. 

I'm going to take a few liberties here, so please indulge me. Here is a reading from a book by some guy name John.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was still in place. It was unmoved, so she went to find someone to help her roll the stone away, so that she could anoint His body with the oils she had brought. She could not have done it yesterday because it was the Sabbath. She found two Roman Centurions and they helped her move the stone. She entered the tomb, and found his body, beaten, pierced, blood let, and dry from dehydration. She did her work and then returned to her world unchanged, and her life no different, and her heart still a stone unmoved.

This is not the word of the Lord. . . Thanks be to God.

It's not the word of the Lord, but it is what "should" have happened, and certainly what "would" have happened, was there not truth, was Jesus not Christ, was God not supreme in the world He created, even over what seems so final to us, death, and was the world not created in love, with love, for love, and by love. But how often do we live in the world that "should" be and "would" have been, instead of the world that is? Do we even almost 2000 years since Jesus was raised, take for granted what Easter means? Has it lost its power to us? Does what is real seem unreal? Do we again believe the lie, missing the truth because the false apparent seems like it surrounds us completely? What would our world be like if Mary found the stone unmoved? Sometimes you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. . . to quote the Cinderella Song, so let's this morning for a moment imagine the stone was not rolled away, and that what we celebrate on this wonderful and beautiful holiest of days never actually happened.
If there was no resurrection of Christ, what would our world be like? Obviously the first difference would be that death would not have been defeated. The grave would still reign in this world. It would not necessarily prove that God isn't powerful over death, just that Jesus wasn't. For, yes we would certainly question the Christness of Jesus. Could he be the Messiah without conquering death? He certainly did not conquer Rome, which is what many were expecting him to do. What is Jesus without Easter? Even if he did raise Lazarus, and raised a little girl, if he couldn't raise himself is all lost? Is all of it a lie? Because at least this was a lie. For Jesus said he would be raised, multiple times, and aggressively so, check out Matthew 16:21-28:

21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” [1]  

He does it repeatedly, again and again, whether it's talking explicitly about being raised from the dead or symbolically about tearing down the temple and building it back three days later. If he is not raised from the dead, at least this part of what he is saying becomes a lie. And why the lie? Does Jesus not have the power? Does he misunderstand his mission, his purpose, his identity? Is he overall a fraud?  These are the questions, because these are the questions that history will ask him, and his followers if he has any left (Time out: They ask them now don't they and there are witnesses to his being raised. Time In). And what do they mean when they ask, what is their agenda when they ask? Now that they've attacked the man, they next go for the message and try to destroy it. It's the way our world works. Hypocrisy, fraud, lying: It takes down the greatest of men. People use it to challenge their message. Critics of The Civil Rights Movement brought up Martin Luther King's infidelity, how can a man of God commit such sin, does that mean that his work for civil rights isn't real. Thomas Jefferson's slave holding, how can such a man write about all men being created equal, having the inalienable right of liberty? So Imagine how they will come for Christ and his message. Would they go straight for the sermon on the mount? Maybe the parables? But the crux of it would be, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Guess not. I guess that everlasting life thing is out, but would it just the life part, or the God loving the world part, as well? What exactly again are we supposed to believe in?
Because that is part of the question, one of the things we take for granted, but certainly comes from the credibility of Jesus' message. The entire world beloved of God, not just one chosen people, these are some of the things we wouldn't know. What about things like loving  your neighbor as yourself? Sure the concept of reciprocity is found in other philosophies, it's there in the Analects of Confucius, though typically translated "never do to another something you would not like them to do to you." There is a slight difference, not doing, rather than the mandate to actively love. Sure but what is love without a resurrected Jesus? Is it just a self indulgent emotion, or a second hand emotion, as Tina Turner sang, what's love got to do with it anyway? Love can be mushy and emotional, but it misses the power and the strength of truth, the power and the strength of being the fabric of the world. It's just like any other part of life, finite, mortal, destined to die.
Now what if the message somehow did stand up. Maybe the disciples or others were good enough salesmen to keep the message going without the resurrection. Maybe the teachings were good enough news for the poor that they would still resonate throughout the centuries. Without the resurrection though, what separates the Christian philosophy from others? I started thinking that I would compare this resurrectionless Christianity to other philosophies, but when I started to try, I couldn't decide which parts of Jesus' teachings would be left after the ideas of Resurrection were gone. So many of them are tied to God having the power over death. Without it we are left with a couple of Roman Philosophies, just with a slightly different moral code holding it up. What's left is just classic Stoicism, a philosophy built on the basis that life on this Earth is it. Stoics believed in living virtuously with no hope for reward, virtue itself is the reward. You just now assume Jesus' definition of virtue, self sacrifice and living for the other, but there is no how for reward, and I don't just mean heaven, I mean on this Earth, too. Part of the power of the teaching of Jesus is that his teaching is based in God, the creator, and that following Christ's example is the way human beings are supposed to be, originally were, and can be again. Without the resurrection, is that still true? Is the world like that or isn't it? How do we know?
What about the concept of the lost sheep, the importance of the one? Is that out the window? Because this teaching is revolutionary in the world. In Judaism the individual is secondary to the nation. In Eastern Philosophies like Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism the individual functions just as a part of the collective. For the Hindu, there is an eternal self that lasts forever, but each individual life is meaningless when compared with the limitless of infinity. But in Christianity, the lost sheep are important, each one, and each one made in the image of God. . . is that lost, too? Think of the effect of on history? All the concepts of individual liberty, individual rights, individual dignity, do they still exist? It is often debated as whether the United States is a Christian nation, it may not be, but without the resurrection, there is no way that history creates it. It doesn't happen, where does that leave us.
Christ's resurrection is such a pivotal moment in the history of the World. It has so affected everything in our world, that it is almost impossible to begin to picture what life would be like without it having happened. But it did, and today we celebrate and commemorate that it did. . . and so now we are ready to read John's Gospel 20:1-18, which truly says:

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,  “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. [2]  

And the world was forever changed. Love does have power over death. Love is the stuff that holds the world together, the very means of its creation. God does so love the world. Jesus is his only begotten son. His sacrifice was made, and was sufficient, and eternal life abounds. Christ defeated death because he can. Death is not final because its realness is merely a shadow in the light of God. And therefore, whosoever believeth will live into that truth, eternally. And therefore we should love God, and we should love our neighbor, because that is what we were made to do. All of Jesus' teachings stand up, without exception. Blessed are the meek, faith like that of a mustard seed can move a mountain, welcoming a child is the way to be truly great, forgiveness reigns, we shouldn't cast the first or any stone, we can't see with a plank in our eye, until we take it out we cannot judge, we must love our enemies, go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, feed his sheep, baptize all nations, pray as he taught us, and not hide our light under a bushel, and be the salt of the earth, build a city on a hill, built safely on the solid rock of Christ, and not the shifting sand, we should be fertile soil for the truth, be born again in the spirit, to not live by bread alone, to constantly seek the truth, to pray without ceasing, to ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, and therefore find and we will keep on finding, we should arise take up our mat and walk, go and do likewise, go and sin no more, be not afraid and fear not, for Christ is with us, and with us still because he was raised and lives in our world risen. And will leave the 99 to go and find the one, will slay the fatted calf for the one, will rejoice when just one repents. . . God is a personal God, and the salvation brought into this world through the resurrection is a personal salvation. We are just that important, individually to God, just that important and made for something. Created, redeemed, and sustained, set free to love, the stone closing our heart has been rolled away, so now we can love, and love as Christ does, and the example of His love is giving all, sacrificing all, carrying our crosses, leaving everything to follow, for this is the resurrection definition of love, but in the resurrection world love is connected with faith and hope, the possibilities are infinite because they are of God, God loves us, and there simply are no limits to what God can do. . . none, this I know for the Resurrection tells me so. Thanks be to God, Christ is Risen, Alleluia, Amen, it is so!

 



[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Mt 16:21-23). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[2]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Jn 20:1-18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

What Greater Shadow?

What greater shadow
Is so soon forgotten
Than the cross?
Cast in darkness
By Easter morn’s light
Mem’ry’s loss.
Can we hope to bear
Such intense pain?
Could we ever care
Outside of gain?
Giving all, into pain to sustain and reclaim those lost, tossed, and scattered by the wind.
Of course not, which is why our minds like to skip the cross, ignore the pain,
The nail marks, the mocking crown, the burning vinegar, the speared side,
For us, Who drove the nails, who crowned the king,
Who offered burning drink and pierced the side.
Did we really not know?
Or was it just too much?
Is it still?
The amazing miracle,
Grace, Hope,
Faith, Love,
God in our midst,
With us,
And for us,
Became us,
Whom we despise
To raise us.
May we remember the cross
For the cross of hate,
The height of cruel,
The pinnacle of evil,
The high water mark of sin,
Somehow, somehow
Is not enough,
To overcome
Love.

Maundy Thursday Service


Maundy Thursday Service
Gordonsville Presbyterian Church
March 28, 2013

Call to Worship:   
Leader:      Jesus said: I give you a new commandment that you love one another.
People:      Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another

Opening Prayer
We gather together tonight to witness to the amazing love that is the sacrifice of the cross. We remember the love that is nailed to the cross, and sealed in the tomb, realizing that the nails could not hold and the tomb could not trap the power and love of God, the God who created us, sets us free, and shows us the amazing possibilities of love. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.


*Hymn #101         “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"              HAMBURG

Unison Prayer of Confession:
Eternal God, whose covenant is never broken, we confess that we fail to fulfill your will. Though you have bound yourself to us, we will not bind ourselves to you. In Jesus Christ you serve us freely, but we refuse your love and withhold ourselves from others. We do not love you fully or love one another as you command. In your mercy, forgive and cleanse us. Lead us once again to your table and unite us to Christ, who is the bread of life and the vine from which we grow in grace.

Canticle (Sung):
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
 (Silence)


Assurance of Pardon
The mercy of the Lord
is from everlasting to everlasting
I declare to you in the name of Jesus Christ
you are forgiven.

May the God of mercy
who forgives you all your sins
strengthen you in all goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit
keep you in eternal life.
Amen.


Prayer for Illumination:
Eternal God,
whose word silences the shouts of the mighty:
Quiet within us every voice but your own.
Speak to us through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ
that by the power of your Holy Spirit
we may receive grace to show Christ's love
in lives given to your service.

Old Testament Reading:       Isaiah 53:1-12

53     Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2     For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3     He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
4     Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
5     But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
6     All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7     He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8     By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
9     They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich, 
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10     Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. 
When you make his life an offering for sin, 
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
11     Out of his anguish he shall see light; 
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12     Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
[1]


New Testament Reading:     John 19:16-30

So they took Jesus; 17 and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” 23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says,
“They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
25 And that is what the soldiers did.
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
[2]


Reflection on The Cross

What greater shadow
Is so soon forgotten
Than the cross?
Cast in darkness
By Easter morn’s light
Mem’ry’s loss.
Can we hope to bear
Such intense pain?
Could we ever care
Outside of gain?
Giving all, into pain to sustain and reclaim those lost tossed and scattered by the wind.
Of course not, which is why our minds like to skip the cross, Ignore the pain,
The nail marks, the mocking crown, the burning vinegar, the speared side,
For us, Who drove the nails, who crowned the king,
Who offered burning drink and pierced the side.
Did we really not know?
Or was it just too much?
Is it still?
The amazing miracle,
Grace, Hope,
Faith, Love,
God in our midst,
With us,
And for us,
Became us,
Whom we despise
To raise us.
May we remember the cross
For the cross of hate,
The height of cruel,
The pinnacle of evil,
The high water mark of sin,
Somehow,
Is not enough,
To overcome
Love.


Hymn                                                  "In Remembrance"

The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

And so we come to the table,
This is not my table, nor is it the table of Gordonsville Presbyterian Church
but is the table of our Lord Jesus Christ
And all who are baptized in the faith are welcome to participate in its full communion
Come not because you must but because you may
Come not because you are worthy but because you are not
The blessing of this holy sacrament be upon us each and all this night.

Let us pray together the great Prayer of Thanksgiving found in your bulletin


The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is truly right and our greatest joy. . .
to give you thanks and praise,
O Lord our God, creator and ruler of the universe.
You bring forth bread from the earth,
and create the fruit of the vine.
You made us in your image
and freed us from the bonds of slavery.
You claimed us as your people,
and made covenant to be our God.
You fed us manna in the wilderness,
and brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey.
When we forgot you, and our faith was weak,
You spoke through prophets,
calling us to turn again to your ways.

Therefore we praise you,
joining our voices with the celestial choirs
and with all the faithful of every time and place,
who forever sing to the glory of your name:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest.

You are holy, O God of majesty,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
whom you sent to deliver us
from the bondage of death and slavery to sin.
In humility he descends from your heights,
to kneel in obedience to love's commands.
He who is boundless takes on the bondage of our sin.
He who is free takes our place in death's prison.

In the deserts of our wanderings, he sustains us,
giving us his body as manna for our weariness.
The cup of suffering which he drank
has become for us the cup of salvation.
In his death, he ransomed us from death's dominion;
in his resurrection, he opened the way to eternal life.

Remembering all your mighty and merciful acts,
we take this bread and this wine
from the gifts you have given us,
and celebrate with joy
the redemption won for us in Jesus Christ.
Accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
as a living and holy offering of ourselves,
that our lives may proclaim the One crucified and risen.

Great is the mystery of faith

Christ has died.
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.

Gracious God,
pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these your gifts of bread and wine,
that the bread we break and the cup we bless
may be the communion of the body and the blood of Christ.
By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ
and with all who are baptized in his name,
that we may be one in ministry in every place.
As this bread is Christ's body for us,
Send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.

Lead us, O God, by the power of your Spirit
to live as love commands.
Bound to Christ,
Set free for joyful obedience and glad service.
As Jesus gave his life for ours,
help us to live our lives for others
with humility and persistent courage.
Give us strength to serve you faithfully
until the promised day of resurrection,
when, with the redeemed of all the ages,
we will feast with you at your table in glory.

Through Christ,
all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father,
With the Holy spirit in the holy church,
now and forever.
Amen.

Invitation

Hear the words of the institution
of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ:

The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, too bread,
and after giving thanks to God,
He broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying:
Take, eat.
This is my body, broken for you
Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same manner he took the cup, saying:
This cup is the new covenant, sealed in my blood,
Shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
Do this in remembrance of me.

Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the saving death of the Risen Lord,
until He comes.

With thanksgiving
Let us offer God our grateful praise.

These are the gifts of God
for the people of God.

Prayer after Communion

Jesus, Lamb of God.
have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our sins,
have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the world,
grant us peace.

God of grace,
your Son Jesus Christ
left us this holy meal of bread and wine
in which we share his body and blood.
May we who have celebrated this sign of his great love
show in our lives the fruits of his redemption;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever.
Amen.


Light and Darkness

In this great vigil of remembrance we light the candles of hope remembering the time that God spent with us as Immanuel.

We light again the candle of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, remembering the child of Promise who was born so lowly in a manger.

We light a candle remembering the his baptism in the Jordan River

We light a candle remembering his amazing stand against temptation while fasting in desert.

We light a candle remembering his holy teachings on the Mount and on the Plain where he told us of the possibilities and responsibilities of love

We light a candle remembering how he healed the sick, offering hope and presence to the faithful, who came to him.

We light a candle remembering how he asked the children to come to him,  remembering also that to welcome a child in his name is the way to be truly great.

We light a candle remembering the miracles he performed, like feeding the multitudes and walking on water, showing us that our thoughts of limitation are invalid.

And finally we light a candle for the triumphant entry he made into Jerusalem, which seemed to be the high water mark of his work and the beginning of the end. . . as he upset more than just the tables in the Temple.

And now we say a prayer in the light of his teachings as he taught us to pray saying. . .

Our father
Who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven,
Five us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom
And the power and glory forever.
Amen.

And then we betrayed you Jesus, and we need to remember.

And then we denied you Jesus, and we need to remember

And then we tried you Jesus, and we need to remember

And then we demanded that you be crucified, Jesus, and we need to remember

And then we beat and whipped you Jesus, and we need to remember

And then we mocked you with a cross of thorns Jesus, and we need to remember

And then we nailed you to a tree, and we need to remember

And you said, I thirst, and all we gave you was vinegar, and we need to remember.

And you said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do, and we need to remember

And you said, My God, my god why have you forsaken me, and we need to remember

And you said, Into thy hands I commend my spirit, and we need to remember

And you said, it is accomplished, and we desperately need to remember.



Special Music (acapella)                                 "Were You There"                               


Closing Prayer

God, the amazing thing is this, that you love us, and Christ's sacrifice proves that you do. What wondrous  love is this. that you can love us so much, that you gave your only begotten son, so that we shall not perish but have eternal life in the bosom of your grace and steadfast love. Amen.

Hymn #85                               "What Wondrous Love?

Benediction

And in three days he rose again from the dead, and is risen, truly what wondrous love this is. We do not have to walk that lonesome valley by ourselves, but that Our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is walking it with us. Go in Peace to walk that lonesome valley with Jesus, and with each other, brothers and sisters in Christ. May it be so, Amen.


[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Is 53:1-12). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[2]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Jn 19:16-30). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.