Holy Week Devotional - Resurrection Sunday

"Two Disciples at the Tomb" (1906), Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Art Institute of Chicago 

John 20
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away 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 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had 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 went back to their homes.

Tanner was an African American artist born on the eve of the Civil War to the son of a freeman and a mother born into slavery. His father was a prominent African Methodist Episcopal minister and his home was a station of the Underground Railroad. At 21 he was the only black student admitted to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He moved to Paris to live and paint without the racial barriers of the United States. Henry Tanner was the first African American artist to achieve international acclaim. Tanner's reverent mood reflects deeply held religious beliefs, and he regarded his faith as central to his racial identity with its themes of salvation and resurrection.

Tanner was influenced by Rembrandt and was an important contributor to Post Impressionism. While his subject matter was largely traditional and he considered himself primarily a painter of religious subjects, some of his depictions and innovative painting techniques demonstrate his embrace of modernism. Modern and personal, this image emphasizes each man's response to the miraculous event. Using warm tones with a grandeur and simplicity of composition, this painting shows a genuine human dimension with the light focused on the faces. There is a quiet meditation, a rhythm of fluidity and a sensitivity of line. Contrasting youth with age, Peter is somber while John is transfixed. John's youthful face reflects the emptiness of the arched tomb. Next to him, bowing his head with awe, stands the bearded disciple Peter.

Meditation:
Looking at this painting I am struck by the faces of the disciples. The focus is on their faces, their response to this amazing event! I had always thought of the disciples as having the luxury of seeing Jesus, walking around with Him for those years, seeing miracles, hearing His teaching. But after suffering the ultimate disappointment of seeing their Christ crucified and dead, they heard a secondhand account of an empty tomb and raced to see for themselves. They saw grave clothes, an empty tomb, not the actual risen Christ or angels, but they believed. Like us, we hear someone else's account of their experience with the Risen Lord and we see evidence of His rising, but our comfort is in the fact that Peter and John believed before they saw their Risen Lord. Each in his own way - Peter, with awe and reverence, John, with wonder - each has an individual and personal response. Likewise, we too can face the redemption of the resurrection in a personal and individual way.

Prayer:
Oh Risen Lord, we come to you with the brokenness of Good Friday and seek the redemption of Easter. We struggle with your death, but stand in wonder and awe at your resurrection. Help us to come to you, believing before we can even see you, and declaring with the angels, "He is risen, He is risen indeed!"

Written by Nancy S. Livengood

Holy Week Devotional - Holy Saturday

Luke 23: 50-56
Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and alaid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
 
John 19: 38-42
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.  Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.  So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.  So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. 

"Pieta" (1547-1555), 
Michelangelo Buonarroti, 
Museo dell' Opera del Duomo, Florence, Italy

"Pieta" (1499), Michelangelo Buonarroti, 

St Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy

The image on the upper left might be my favorite sculpture of Michelangelo's! Also titled "The Deposition" or "The Florentine Pieta", this is one of two sculptures he completed just before his death.  Left unfinished and rough (you can see the chisel marks), it is very different from the famous "Pieta" in St Peter's Basilica in Rome (the image on the lower right).

Sculpted when Michelangelo was 24 years old, the earlier "Pieta"'s style is typically High Renaissance with beauty to the extreme and shining marble surfaces. There is a serenity with controlled emotion that is almost detached.

What I love about the later "Pieta" is the passion and drama. A complex arrangement of twisted bodies, the figures of Nicodemus (or perhaps Joseph of Arimathea), Mary and Mary Magdalene create a pyramidal structure with Nicodemus at the vertex. It is full of the drama of despair and loss, Mary cannot lift the body alone and is supported and sheltered by the powerful figure of Nicodemus. There is a sense of motion, the serpentine form of the dead Christ reflecting the heaviness of death. Unlike the earlier version, the figures aren't isolated from the dead body, but blended in their desperation and pain.

This "Pieta" was originally intended for Michelangelo's own tomb, the figure of Nicodemus is a self-portrait. In this "Pieta" Nicodemus, Michelangelo's own incarnation of himself, cradles the head of Christ, focusing his energy on the strength and tenderness with which the Savior should be treated in death. In his later years Michelangelo was focusing his art to the glory of God. "Neither painting nor sculpting can longer quieten my soul, turned now to that divine love which on the cross, to embrace us, opened wide its arms." (from "Michelangelo: The Poems")

Meditation:
When faced with the death of Christ, do you approach it with detached and controlled emotion, or do you allow it to be full of passion and drama, desolation and despair? Do you reach out to the broken body of Christ in your pain and desperation?

Prayer:
Dear Savior, whose broken body and spilled blood brings life, help us to experience the passion and pain of the cross to reach the grace and healing of the resurrection. Open wide your arms and embrace us with your divine love.

Written by Nancy S. Livengood

Holy Week Devotional - Good Friday

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  When he had said this, he breathed his last.  The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” Luke 23:44-47 

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”  Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” John 13:36

  

Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí

 

Completed in 1951, this painting depicts Jesus on the cross in a darkened sky floating over a body of water complete with a boat and fishermen. It is a depiction of the crucifixion devoid of nails, blood, and a crown of thorns.

Dali’s inspiration came from an early sketch by St. John of the Cross.  One day, while praying he was struck by a vision, and hastily made a pen sketch of Jesus in a position similar to what Dali captured 375 years later.  It depicted Christ, weighed down by the sins of the world and his own suffering, as if seen from the perspective of the Father - a unique and powerful perspective.

Dali’s composition is based on a triangle and circle (the triangle is formed by Christ's arms; the circle is formed by Christ's head). The triangle, since it has three sides, can be seen as a reference to the Trinity, and the circle may be an allusion to Platonic thought and represents Unity.

The painting was surrounded by controversy.  Its initial purchase by a museum in Glasgow was met with protests.  In 1961 a visitor attacked the painting with a stone and tore the canvas with his hands. It was successfully restored and returned to public display.  Twenty-five years after it was created, a poll in Scotland voted it the nation’s favorite painting.  A leading art critic, Jonathan Jones, described it as "kitsch and lurid," but noted that the painting was "for better or worse, probably the most enduring vision of the crucifixion painted in the 20th century."

Questions on which to meditate

When you view this what feelings do you have?  Isolation, despair, sadness?

What you think the boat represents?

Prayer   

Give thanks to God for his ultimate gift and the forgiveness of our sins.

Written by Paul Cropley

Holy Week Devotional - Maundy Thursday

Section from Kiss of Judas (1304–06), fresco by Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy

Mark 14:43-46

Immediately, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.

                                                                                                                                                                  

Reflection:

There's something about the space between the lips of Judas and Jesus.  A depiction of pause, hesitancy.  It's a masterful move by Giotto, famous for being the forerunner in Italian Renaissance painting and primary player in the shift from iconic Byzantine-style art to the life-like work of the Renaissance.  For Judas to cross this threshold of space ignites his sin, the act of betrayal, the moment Jesus' murder is released into play.  It is the choice which indicates to Jesus' enemies, here he is, he's the one.

This space... this pause... this hesitancy... makes me think of my own moments before I make a move I know will betray Jesus.  An act I know will turn against my God and grieve the one who I, like Judas, have been faithfully following all this time.  And there is Jesus, staring me in the face with those penetrating eyes.  My beacon of truth, of life, of loving and just choices.  And there I am, staring back and still choosing to cross that threshold, to initiate that kiss--that act of sin, whatever it may be--against my best interests and better judgment. 

Let us remember this image in the midst of our choices.  Those times we come face to face with the threshold of sin, the moment before we demand unrealistic expectations of our loved one, or fail to act with compassion toward our neighbor in need, or withhold love or grace from ourselves, or ____, you name it!  Let us take pause.  Let us remember who we are facing, Jesus.  Let us remember his eyes, those eyes which look deep into our soul and see and know we are better than our sin.  Those eyes which see our best self and yearn for it, rather than sin, to shine forth.  Those eyes which look on us with pure love, compassion and grace and invite us to continually turn from ways of sin to the life-giving ways of him.

Prayer:

God of mercy, we thank you.  We thank you that you see us and you know us.  You know our deliberate and passive sins.  You know our tendencies to act in ways which cause pain and harm to others and ourselves, even when we know better.  You also continue to extend grace to us, giving us chances to change our ways the next time we face sin.  Thank you for your faithfulness and provision to continue to lead us from choices which breed death back to choices which bring life.  Help us remember to take pause at the threshold of our choices toward sin and instead choose your ways of love, compassion, and grace.  Amen.

Written by Katie Archibald-Woodward

Kiss of Judas (1304–06), fresco by Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy

Holy Week Devotional - Wednesday

"³²They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ ³³He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. ³⁴And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ ³⁵And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶He said, ‘Abba,^* Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ ³⁷He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? ³⁸Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;^* the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ ³⁹And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. ⁴¹He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’" - Mark 14:32-42

One of the striking features of Flemish painter, Pieter Coecke van Aelst's, rendition of this scene is that while it is called "Agony in the Garden", the one in agony, Jesus, is only barely noticeable.  He's in the background in dark green clothing blending in with the terrain.  It is the disciples who appear to be the foci, illuminated front and center, laying lifeless in their slumber. Coecke van Aelst was not the only Renaissance painter to the depict the scene this way, in fact many if not most did (see works by Perugino, Mantegna, Bellini, Lo Pagna and others).  Why then title the painting for Jesus' agony and feature the disciples?  

One perspective is to see the disciples as our, the viewer's, entry point into scene.  How do we contemporary disciples identify with our first century brothers painted here?  

In order to find our place in the story we must first be attentive to what is going on with Jesus.  He is desperate, needy, utterly afraid, yearning for companionship in his isolation; I'm sure like most humans who find themselves on the brink of murder.  He reaches out to his closest friends to pray with him, to feel a little less alone, to feel a small sense of comfort in his grief.  But they are of no help.  They fall asleep.  As with Jesus' humanity highlighted, we also see his divinity vividly on display as he faces the agony of being hit with the reality the cup will not pass from him and he alone can and must die for the sins of the world.  And he commits to do it.

So, where are we?  How do we identify with our groggy brothers?  Perhaps we need to ask ourselves, where have we neglected, been unable, or even unwilling to follow Jesus' request to serve alongside him?

As we do this, let us also keep in mind the purpose of Jesus' prayer and commitment that night.  It was for the sake of our sins, alongside our attempts to be faithful but failing, our complacency, our selfishness.  And, for the forgiveness of our sin.  Forgiveness that we might step out and try again at life.  Through Jesus' divine act and human example we are enabled and encouraged to try again, to serve again, to pray for and support each other in dark hours.  How might God be inviting you to try again?  Let this be your prayer.  

Written by Katie Archibald-Woodward

Holy Week Devotional - Tuesday

Emil Nolde (1867-1956), The Last Supper.  1909.   National Gallery of Denmark.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve.  And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me."  They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, "Surely, not I?"  He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me.  For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."  While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.  He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.  Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."                                                                                                                     Mark 14:17 - 25

            Today, we lean into the events of the upcoming Maundy Thursday by viewing a modern version of The Last Supper.  Emil Nolde is considered to be a German Expressionist. This group of artists rejected Realism, coming to the conclusion that rendering an exact imitation of nature does not create a work of art. In his auto-biography, Nolde states that "a work of art becomes a work of art when one re-evaluates the values of nature and adds one's own spirituality."  Nolde's best known works can be recognized by the compelling use of strange, brilliant colors and roughly textured brushstrokes, executed in an intentionally simplistic manner.          

            In this painting, the disciples are crowded around Jesus and the composition is deliberately cropped to evoke a cramped effect. The focal point is Christ, who seems to glow from an inner light, his face transfigured, withdrawn. His disciples are mesmerized. The blood reds and the violently constructed faces are shocking. Nolde's vision is so different from the traditional depiction of this scene. His rendering brings a bold new perspective to this scene. 

Reflection:

Imagine if you had been one of the disciples in this scene. The tension must have been palpable. Jesus' offering of the bread as his body and then the wine as his own blood must have been intense. Now count how many disciples are crowded around. All twelve. One of them appears to be turning away. Jesus has stated that one of this group will betray him. Think about that: the one who will betray Him was invited to partake of the meal. 

Every Sunday at Kairos, you have the opportunity to participate in Communion. Do you treat it as a snack? Or do you acknowledge your part as a betrayer? Do you come hungry for grace?

We have the advantage over the disciples because we know what will happen on Friday and what will happen on Sunday. Do you come to the Table ready, not just to accept God's grace, but to fully participate in God's grace? To be transformed?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to not react like Judas. Let me not run out into the darkness, alone with my sin. Give me the faith, give me the strength to answer your call to new life with Christ. Amen.

Written by Nancy Langham

Holy Week Devotional - Monday

By Rembrandt entitled "Christ Driving The Money Changers Out of the Temple". 1626.  

John 2:13-17

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Mark 15: 15-18

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers'. The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

What is your image of Jesus? Too often when I think of Jesus the image that comes to mind resembles the hymn "Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild". It's an image of a nice Jesus. However, in Rembrandt's painting "Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple" we see another contrasting and disturbing image: an angry Jesus! According to John, Jesus "made a whip of cords" (vs. 15) and we see this image vividly in Rembrandt's painting. Look at Jesus' stern eyes and punishing hand that is about to whip the moneychangers. Notice the fear in the face of the one about to be hit and the greedy hands of the one sitting at the table protecting his money.  

Now meditate on this: imagine yourself as one of those moneychangers. Seriously, take a minute... close your eyes and imagine Jesus is about to give you a whooping. Not so much fun to meditate on is it? I wonder if the reason why is because our image of Jesus is too sanitized... too safe... too meek and mild...   

[Note: please know I'm not suggesting that Jesus condones violence. Click here to read Jesus' words about nonviolence.]  

Why did Jesus get angry? According to Mark, Jesus is teaching us that His Church should be "a house of prayer for all nations" and not "a den of robbers" (vs. 17). We as a church need to meditate on this teaching: is Kairos a House of Prayer? Have you ever taken the risk of sharing a prayer request during worship? If you have then you know the power of the prayers of this community. Yet how often during the week do you pray for our church and those who risked sharing their prayer requests? I'll confess I don't do it often. In fact if I'm honest I don't really pray that often. Sure, as a Hospice Chaplain I pray with the people I visit. Sure, I say grace before dinner. But meditate with me on this: is my house a house of prayer? If not, then take it to the cross during this Holy Week and experience the renewal of your life this Easter Sunday! 

Prayer: Jesus I need you. I need you to show forth yourself to me more fully. My image of You too often is safe and sacral. Help me to see what angers You about this world and about myself. Forgive me and lead me into a deeper prayer life with You. For I want to be alive in You and consumed with what breaks Your heart. Use me Lord to be Your hands to touch and heal those in need - starting with me.   

Written by Tom Livengood

Palm Sunday - Entry into Jerusalem

 

Duccio di Buoninsegna, Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem. 1311.  Opera del Duomo, Siena

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, "The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately. " This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,  "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."  The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"  When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?"  The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

                                                                                                Matthew 21:1 -11  (NRSV)

 

            The main intention of medieval artists creating religious art was didactic, to translate stories from the Bible into visual narratives for the largely illiterate populace. Although the craftsman of the middle ages was aware of artistic techniques such as perspective, to create a more realistic presentation, these conventions were not considered to be important. Stylized symbols were more highly valued as they could be repeated in a traditional manner, making them more readily recognizable and memorable. This is why medieval art appears flat and sometimes even primitive to our modern eyes.  

            Duccio was one of the innovators who bridged the artistic gap between the middle ages and the Renaissance. For example, in Entry, Duccio sets Christ back in the picture plane (compared to earlier conceptions of this scene). This establishes a new kind of spatial depth. He also introduced a wider variety and greater intensity of emotion, resulting in a more animated effect. Note that the reactions of the multitudes range from curiosity to awestruck; some are exchanging glances, some offer hospitality, others are frantically gathering palm leaves with which to honor the visitor. 

            Andrew Graham-Dixon, a leading art critic, adds this comment:  "Duccio has, I believe, added his own message to the faithful. Below the road along which Christ rides unkempt grass grows up against an ochre wall; and into that wall the painter has set a door, leaving it ajar like an invitation. I think this was his way of allowing the viewer into the sacred scene. It is a small detail, but a significant one, carrying as it does the suggestion that those who hold fast to their faith will also, one day, be permitted to enter the city of God."                                                                                        http://www.andrewgrahamdixon.com

Questions on which to meditate:

If you had been in the crowd, how would you have reacted?  Do you identify with anyone in particular who is portrayed in this scene?

The people depicted here are expecting a King, someone who will conquer the Roman Empire. Yet God's plan was different, much bigger than their expectations. Have you placed expectations of your own on God? Do you have faith in God in some areas of your life, but fail to trust Him in other areas?     

Prayer:

Ask for strength, for yourself, your family, and your community. Pray for faith, even when God shows up in ways we don't expect or sometimes even want.