Brown's Daily Word 3/25/16

 Praise the Lord for this GOOD Friday.  I spoke to some of my friends and family members overseas  this morning .  They are celebrating Good Friday services at various times and in various forms.  Some attend the services during the morning , some during the Midday, and some attend in the evening.  I spoke to  a couple of  dear friends, who live out of State.  Their son who was 50 years old died a few weeks ago.  Their daughter works and lives in Saudi Arabia.  They shared  that even though they are going through the grief over the death of their son the Lord, the risen Lord, has given them His peace.  Their daughter who lives  in Saudi Arabia will be celebrating her first Easter in Saudi Arabia.  I also spoke with our daughter, Laureen, who will be leading the Easter services at her church in Washington, DC.  We are planning on attending an Easter Vigil in our Neighboring Episcopal Church tomorrow evening, and will be attending the Sunrise service hoisted by the local Baptist Church.  We will be gathering for our Easter Celebration Sunday morning at 11:00 AM.  There will be special music along with praise dancing by the children.  This is our First Easter Service and celebration at our new Church.  We are excited and are thrilled to be here.  Those  of you who live in the vicinity, please join us  for a great celebration and worship.  It is going to be brilliant and beautiful.  Somehow Jesus, the Risen Lord, visits His people wherever they gather to worship Him.

    It is, indeed, Good Friday.  As I reflect on our Lord’s bitter sufferings and death on the cross, I  am reminded abut  a service in which communion was shared with a small group of people who had Downs Syndrome.  It was a Sunday evening service in a small local church.  That night one of the neighborhood nursing homes which cares for a group of adults with Downs Syndrome had brought them to the service.  Some in the church may have been distracted by their outbursts, laughter, and mis-timed amens.  The pastor was impressed and amazed by their simple childlike faith and genuine enthusiasm for hearing God’s word.

    When it came time for communion they  all gathered round the altar and the pastor began to make his circuit with the bread and the wine.  Communion was crowded that night.  The gathering was two deep.  Standing directly in front of the pastor, was one of the men from the nursing home.

    When the Pastor arrived at the  place at the altar he offered the bread to the man in  the front  and said “The Body of Christ broken for you.”  He then gave him the wine and announced, “The blood of Christ shed for you for the the forgiveness of all of your sins.”  Upon hearing these words the man blurted out, “For MY sins.  For MY sins.”  He sounded like he was being given a precious gift.  The joy in his voice rivaled the joy of any child I’ve ever seen on Christmas morning.  This man, in simple childlike faith actually believed the words spoken by the Pastor.  But they were not the Pastor’s words.  They were Christ’s words.  They were words of forgiveness.  They were words of good news.  That night this young man with the faith of a child believed the words of Christ and as a result he tasted the forgiveness of HIS sins.

    The scene that unfolded was powerful and glorious.  It was moving and uplifting. This man with Downs Syndrome preached a joyous three word sermon that night at the altar that ranks among the best sermons ever preached.  As I reflect on the event I am blessed and moved and humbled.  As we meditate this Good Friday upon our Lord and Savior bleeding, suffering, and dying on the cross, let our hearts turn to the simple words of this sermon preached by a man with Downs Syndrome; ‘For MY sins. For MY sins.”

 In Christ,

Brown

https://youtu.be/3M4uUJibpvw

Brown's Daily Word 3/24/16

Praise the Lord for His wondrous grace and amazing love that He lavishes upon us every day, every season.  The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday evening gathering of fellowship and study.  I had a note from our daughter Laureen, who lives in Washington, DC, who shared that she walked to see the cherry blossoms in our nation's capital.  She said the flowers are in full bloom, luxuriant and stunning.  Our Lord makes all things glorious and colourful in His time.  Yesterday I spent some time gazing at the spring flowers and listening to the spring birds.  It was all sweet and ethereal.

    Praise the Lord for this Maundy Thursday.  Maundy Thursday, also known as “Holy Thursday,” is the Thursday of Passion Week, one day before Good Friday (the Friday before Easter).  Maundy Thursday is the name given to the day on which Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples.  This Passover meal is commonly known as the Last Supper.  Two important events are the focus of Maundy Thursday.

    First, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples and thereby instituted the Lord’s Supper, also called Communion (Luke 22:19-20).  Some Christian churches observe a special Communion service on Maundy Thursday in memory of Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples.  Second, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet as an act of humility and service, thereby setting an example that we should love and serve one another in humility (John 13:3-17).  Some Christian churches observe a foot-washing ceremony on Maundy Thursday to commemorate Jesus’ washing of the disciples' feet.

    The  image of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples is a very vivid one.  John  wrote, "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him."

    When we read such detail in a Gospel passage, we can really begin to picture the scene in our minds.  Jesus' hands began taking the feet of his followers one by one -- each of them simple, uneducated folk, taking their dusty callused feet in his hands, pouring water over them, and then wiping them dry.  How he must have loved each of them.  How he must have agonized for them, because he knew that His time had come and His disciples still didn't understand.  He knew that one of these disciples whose feet he had washed would later share the bread and wine of the meal and then betray Him.

    In this incredibly poignant scene John understood that Jesus was teaching His followers, and ultimately each one of us, a very important lesson about our Christian witness -- about living the way God wants us to live.  Jesus, the consummate teacher, was showing His disciples that hospitality is basic to leading a Christ-like life and that hospitality is a basic ingredient of true servanthood.

    In one way, Jesus' disciples would have understood what Jesus was doing when He washed their feet since in the culture of that time, any good host would make sure his guests' feet were washed by a servant when they entered the house.  It would have surprised the disciples, however, that Jesus, the host,  was washing their feet.  That was part of Peter's objection to Jesus' washing his feet, but Jesus was showing his disciples that true hospitality goes much deeper than basic good manners.  In washing even Judas' feet, Jesus was extending hospitality and His acceptance even to the one who would betray him.  Even though Jesus crucifixion, Jesus didn't push him out of the community.  To the end, Jesus offered Judas a chance to change.

    Jesus told his disciples: I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.  Jesus says the same thing to each one of us, and if He could include Judas, shouldn't we think very seriously about those we find it all to easy to exclude?

    Many feet walk into our lives  every day - old, young, feet belonging to different races, the poor, children, the needy, the arrogant, the annoying, those whom we love and those whom we fear.  Whose feet would we be willing to wash?  Whose feet would we rather not touch at all?

    Jesus showed by his example that we really don't have a choice in the matter.. Washing each other's feet can be an intimately loving act, but we must also remember that there are other consequences of that unconditional love.  Though Judas didn't change his mind, Jesus generously offered His love to him, regardless.  Jesus loved and gave of Himself to the very end.  Today, Maundy Thursday, Jesus began His final way to the cross.

 In Christ,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/kJM0hFvz_64

Brown's Daily Word 3/23/16

Thanks be to Jesus for this new day.  We will gather for Mid-week study and fellowship this evening at 6:00 PM with a special meal followed by study at 6:30 PM.  I drove around the countryside yesterday, by the farm lands and meadows, hills, streams, and pastures.  I saw  cattle grazing unhurried and unafraid.  The Spring birds are out in strength, serenading and singing sweet melodies as   songs of praise to the Lord, the God of all creation.  I stopped by to see two farmers.  One of them is blessed to have over 700 acres of land where he and his son farm.  They have a dairy, but they also raise chickens and turkeys.  They produce their own maple syrup.  I feel a very keen affinity to farmers. 

    Some of our friends went hunting for razorbacks (wild boars) in the south.  They came home with a bountiful harvest.  One of the hunters shot a bobcat.  

    Praise the Lord for this wonderful world.  We continue to pray for His peace in all of the places, in all of the countries, where terror and violence rear their ugly heads.  We pray the Lord, the Lion of Judah, might destroy the strongholds of the enemy.  "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

    Dorothy Sayers, in a book of her essays entitled, "The Whimsical Christian", has one essay called “The Greatest Drama Ever Staged,” where she writes, “The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore — on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe.  It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium.  We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.” 

    I am amazed at Jesus’ ability to live without fear.  He stared it in the face and went on with his life.  I love the picture of strength in meekness that John paints of Jesus where he says, “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing,and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:2-5).

    At the most dangerous hour of Jesus’ life, he calmly took the role of a servant.  He did this, as John said, knowing that “the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.”  Jesus knew the power he had (and continued to have).  He has the power to walk away from danger,  He has the power to destroy his enemies, He even has the power to blow up the universe, but He ignores what he could do to those who came to destroy Him, and chooses to concentrate on serving those whom He loves.  He does all this, even though it would look as though his enemies had won.  The Bible says, “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things. . ."

 In Christ,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/63tsdDnJtdQ

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Brown's Daily Word 3/22/16

    Praise the Lord for this Holy Week - Passion Week.  We live in a world of terror , and violence.  Into this world Jesus comes again as the Prince of Peace and the King of Glory.  Some of our friends, who are vacationing in central America, posted some pictures of the Church that they attended on Palm Sunday.  The church is located by the beach, surrounded by palm trees and spring flowers.  They said that the church was full of children who were waving freshly cut palm branches. 

    I spoke to some of family members back in Orissa, India who are  part of the church where I grew up during my teen age years.  I received Christian nurture in this church.  My public school teachers were also my Sunday school teachers and were the preachers during Sunday morning worship.  It was where I preached one of my first sermons at the age of 16.  My family members were sharing with me that this past Palm Sunday early morning,  the Youth and some adults marched on the streets of the village waving fresh palm branches, singing Palm Sunday hymns and songs.  One of  my former Students (I was a teacher before entering full time ministry) preached during the Palm Sunday celebration.

    It is always refreshing to recall the event of the First Palm Sunday.  First was heard the noise of the crowd, the cheering and shouting.  Upon drawing closer all could hear what everyone was saying, "The King is coming!  The King is coming!  The King is coming!"

    More curious than ever, the crowd pressed forward to see what was happening. Some people were tearing off their coats and throwing them in the road.  Others were scrambling up trees to pull down branches.  Children lined the city streets, waving their victory branches and singing, "Hosanna!  Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  Then they saw the King Himself—a man on a donkey, the symbol of royal authority coming in peace. Here and there people demanded, "Who is this?"  The crowds answered, "This is Jesus" (Matthew 21:1-11). 

    It is important to remember what the crowds were affirming by their words and actions.  Placing palm branches on the road before Jesus is reminiscent of the welcome given Simon Maccabaeus in 141 B.C. on the eve of his triumphant conquest of the occupying Syrian forces.  The shout—"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"—comes from Psalm 118.  The psalm was written at a time when Israel was surrounded by warring nations, but God rescued her.  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" is sung to the conquering hero who liberates the people.  The word hosanna means "save now."  It is equivalent to "God save the King!"

    That is what happened on the first Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem "gentle and riding on a donkey", but something else happened that day as well.  While Jesus was making his triumphal entry, the priests were praising God at the Temple.  It was the first day of the week, and according to the habit of the ancient rabbis, the priests were reciting Psalm 24:

Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory (Psalm 24:7-10).

    The people in the streets and the priests at the temple were asking the same question, "Who is this King?"  The people said it was Jesus.  The priests said it was the Lord ...

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."...Revelation 11:15

In Christ,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/ThweuoEILfQ

Brown's Daily Word 3/21/16

Thanks be to Jesus for this wonderful and sweet season of Spring.  Yesterday was the first day of Spring, and it coincided with the glorious Palm Sunday.  The Lord blessed us in His with His wonderful Grace and Joy as we gathered in His House.  It was sunny and beautiful outside, and inside as well, as during  morning worship the children distributed the palms and danced.  The church sang the traditional Palm Sunday hymns with gusto and  zeal and best of all with deep gratitude to Jesus, the Lord of Palm Sunday.  Following the service there was  a wonderful dinner reception (Palm Sunday and Pre-Easter).  The Menu consisted of Italian, Indian, Mexican, and Japanese cuisine.  There was a dessert galore.  The Lord Jesus, who is the Host in every gathering of His people, made the fellowship sweet.

    "And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.'’’ (Matt.21:9)

    The Sunday before Easter Sunday is traditionally called Palm Sunday.  It is scriptural to call this day Palm Sunday because in John 12:13 we read that the people broke palm branches from the trees and lined the streets in front of Jesus Christ as He made His triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem.  ‘‘Much people....took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him and cried, ‘‘Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.’’

    They correctly called Jesus the King of Israel, for He was presenting Himself as their king.  This was Jesus' most popular hour.  There were many times, when Jesus was misunderstood by His own.  Much of the earthly life of Jesus was spent alone, but here is one of those moments in His earthly ministry that has been called by many His most popular hour.  We read that on this occasion a great multitude said, ‘‘Who is this?’’ (Matt. 21:10)  We read that even the enemies of Jesus said, ‘‘....the world is gone after him.’’

    (John 12:19) The occasion of Palm Sunday took place just one week before His resurrection from the grave.  While in a little village called Bethphage Jesus said to his disciples, ‘‘Go to a certain corner where two ways meet: there will be a home. You will find a colt tied. Bring that beast of burden. I am going to ride it into the city today.’’ 

    They did as they were told and they brought a little donkey, put their garments upon it, and they sat Jesus upon this little animal.  Jesus rode down from the side of the mount of Olives, through the Garden of Gethsemane, and through what is called the Golden Gate, entering from the east side of the old city of Jerusalem. Down the streets he went and the multitudes literally packed the city.  They cried out, ‘‘Who is this?’’  The answer came back, ‘‘This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.’’ (Matt. 21:11)

    The Pharisees stood back observing what was happening and said, ‘‘There are so many people acclaiming Jesus that it looks like the whole world has gone after Him.’’  For this reason Palm Sunday is also called, ‘‘The Triumphant Entry of Jesus Christ.’’  It foreshadowed the Time, the apponted Time, in the fullness of Time in the future when Jesus Christ will come in His Glorious Appearing and will come 

 as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and will rule and reign for ever and ever.

In Christ,

 Brown

https://youtu.be/-4kTei0XrCs