HILLCITY Holy Week

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Easter Sunday – An empty tomb

Mark 16:1–3 (ESV) - When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”  Lots of people refer to Easter as “Resurrection Sunday” - and…

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Maundy Thursday – Just stay awake

I really like to sleep. If I am being totally transparent, I have struggled with anxiety and intrusive thoughts for the majority of my adult life, and sleep is a bit of an escape. It takes me to a place where the worries and the thoughts I just can’t shake can’t touch me, even if just for a few hours. When I am asleep, I don’t have to carry the burdens of my day, I can close my eyes and…

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Wednesday – A party with perfume 

I am not one for perfume. Sure I like things that smell good, but I have yet to smell a perfume that doesn’t have a twinge of “fake” to it. My wife uses a lavender soap, and that works just fine. I don’t walk through department stores much anymore (the internet is a great place to shop), but when I do, I am nearly knocked unconscious by the overwhelming myriad of smells that take up residence at the perfume station.…

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Tuesday – It’s a trap

There’s a scene from the Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi, where a Mon Calamari veteran soldier called Admiral Ackbar yells out a very famous line. Yes, I realize I just lost over half of you, but please, try to stick with me. In the scene the rebel fighters are attacking something called the ‘Death Star’ which is the main ship of their largest enemy, the Evil Empire. As they approach, they are attempting to determine whether the shields…

Monday – What did that tree ever do to you?

I’ve never really cared much for figs. I guess when they come in the form of a Newton, they seem to be tolerable, but in any other situation, I think I’d rather eat a prune. To be completely honest with you, if not for the story in the Gospels, I wouldn’t even have been able to tell you that they grew on trees. They’re silly little fruits that most people prefer to eat all dried up and shriveled. That should…

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Palm Sunday – Not a throwaway line

There’s this one verse at the end of the story of the Triumphal Entry in Mark 11 - that seems like it might be a throw away line. Honestly, I’ve probably read the story tens of times, and I can’t remember thinking anything of it, in any of the times I have. Maybe it’s because it seems inconsequential, or maybe it’s because the story feels over already; but in any case, like all of scripture, it’s probably there for a…

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A haunting Hosanna!

John 12:12–19 (ESV) - The Triumphal Entry  The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,  “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your…

There will be no resurrection story

Matthew 27:62–66 (ESV) The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than…

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Silver for (someone) Gold

Matthew 26:14–16 (ESV) Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. For three years now, he has followed Jesus. Leaving behind family and friends, work and all that he had, because he believed that Jesus was the One. At least…