HOLY Week

From Rev Sue Ann Yarbrough

​Blessings to each of you this Holy Week. For those of you who are Jewish, I recognize we are also in Passover. May you have a happy holiday! And for those of you who are Hindu, I recognize that Holi ended March 29, but may the love you celebrated always be celebrated! May we all acknowledge and celebrate our many paths to the Sacred.
 
I want to let you all know that every Wednesday night at 7:30 I host via Zoom a Centering Prayer meditation session. In Centering Prayer, we set our intention to make room for Christ (or whatever you call the Sacred) in our hearts. We begin with a short reading, meditate for 25 minutes, and then have a brief time of discussion. If you would like to take part, just send me an email and I will send the link.

Scripture: John 13:34 - 35
"I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love one another. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love one another."

Meditation
Thursday is Maundy Thursday, a time when many Christians will gather to celebrate the Eucharist and prepare for Good Friday. Many will also wash one another's feet. The word Maundy means commandment. This is a time when we ponder Jesus' words to love one another. These words come after Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.
Love does require humility. Love asks us to serve one another.

I have always been touched by the reminder that it is through love that the world will recognize us as Christians. It sounds so straightforward, simple even. However, it does require deep practice. It means learning to pause and reflect on whether or not what we are about to say or do is truly loving. Every one of us will struggle with this at one time or another, or many times. There is nothing shameful about struggling. In our struggles we can hold to the good news that Easter brings: that struggle and death never have the last word. 

God is our Alpha and our Omega. Since God is love (1 John 4:8), we can have confidence in knowing that love will always have the last word. Always. That is true for our very own hearts.
 
Prayer
Holy and gracious God, thank you for teaching us to love. Thank you for holding this world in love. May our communities and families know this love. Help us to remember that love thrives when it is shared. May our nation and the world learn that peace will happen when we learn to treat one another with the deep respect that love brings. We pray for Christians as they journey through Holy Week. May they do so in safety and respect. We give you thanks for the gift of Jesus who simply asked that we love another. May we remember this commandment, and live this commandment. This is how we can serve the world.
In gratitude we pray,  Amen.
 
In the meantime, have a beautiful Easter Sunday.

Rev. Sue Ann Yarbrough, Associate Pastor
San Lorenzo Community Church, United Church of Christ
www.slzchurch.org 
www.hearthpsalms.blogspot.com