One of the great things I'm discovering about Holy Week-- if you don't know what to talk about on the blog, every day of Holy Week has a piece of the lectionary attached to it! For those of you who would like to spend time doing devotionals out of the lectionary, here are today's passages:

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 70
Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-32

The passage from Hebrews really stood out to me today... it talks about Jesus running the race, enduring the cross for what lies beyond. We all have moments where we feel like we're "enduring." We endure in everything from classes to broken relationships. We endure the pain of a hurting world, feeling that we can do nothing about it. Yet in all of this, do we ever consider what lies beyond? Do we have a reason for why we endure? This question sits in the depths of our existence-- why do we keep going?

It seems that Jesus kept going, even when he didn't really want to, because he knew that he could bring about change. The Easter story's appeal lies in the fact that it is the ultimate underdog story-- this poor carpenter guy becomes immensely popular by preaching a radically different social order, and reaching out to touch (both literally and figuratively) "the least of these." So, as all of us have seen time after time, the institutional giant (in this case, Jewish religious leaders and Roman authorities) comes in to squelch him. End of story, right? Another "crazy" bites the dust.

But that's not the end of the story. Even death, in this case-- death of a man, death of an ideal, death of a new way of being and living-- is overcome by Jesus. Jesus endured the cross because he believed so strongly in the "new creation," and that change is possible. And when Hebrews tells us to "look to Jesus" as we run our own races, it is telling us to look beyond to a world changed.

Many of you see the world for what it is, and know it isn't a pretty sight. Many of you also see the world as a place that has been the same forever and will be the same forever-- there's no point in advancing gender issues, or any other cause, in the face of the giant. The Easter story is for you.

"...Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1b-2

Kelsey