The Prayer

 Luke 22: 41-46

“41 Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. 44 In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. 45 When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”

Jesus prayed that God remove the burden of crucifixion from Him.  Here we see the human side of Jesus.  He prayed as we would pray in such circumstances.  God’s plan for the redemption of humanity could only move forward through the sacrifice of Christ.  The weight of this was such that while praying he sweat blood.

But through his anguish, He was able to see that His own will, His own desires, paled in comparison to those of God; that His own good was nothing compared to the good that God desired for all of humanity.

And he arrived at the conclusion that it was not His will that should determine the fate of humanity, but the will of God.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice of his will in prayer and of His body on the cross, all believers are redeemed and have eternal life.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Greatest

 Luke 22:24-27

“24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”

Around the table in the upper room, the disciples of Christ argued over who was the greatest.  Their view of greatness, even at this point in their ministry with Christ,  did not include servanthood, or lack of pride, or humility. 

They would soon learn that none of them were great.  They would soon all flee for their lives.  They would soon all desert Christ.

In the light of the cross the disciples realized who they were, who Christ was, and their mission on earth.

The sacrifice on the cross gives all believers these things. 

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Last Meal

 Luke 22:17-23

“17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 21 But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. 22 For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” 23 Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.”

Jesus and His disciples shared their last meal, the meal we now observe as Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper.  After sharing the cup, Christ revealed that someone at the table would betray Him.

Even during the most sacred of times, even when we feel the presence of God the most, evil and temptation still reside with us.  We may not recognize it.  We may not admit it.  But it is there, in our hearts, showing us our great need for a savior. 

The new covenant of Christ is a covenant written on our hearts.  But even in our faith we are still weak.  We are still a people in need of forgiveness, of second chances, of unlimited, unconditional, unmerited love.

The sacrifice on the cross gave us those things.

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Transfiguration Part 2

 Luke 9:33-36

“33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.”

The transfiguration event was so amazing, that Peter did not know what to say, yet he felt compelled to say something.  Searching for something to say, his mind immediately left the spiritual and went to the everyday, practical, worldly things that he knew best.  He offered to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

In Christianity, there is a time for the spiritual and a time for the very practical. There are some of us who want only the spiritual and those who want only the practical.  After Peter made his offer to build shelters, God spoke and told the disciples who Jesus was, and that they should listen to Him rather than speak.  Peter had clearly interrupted a sacred spiritual moment with worldly ideas.

There are times when we are called only to listen to God; to sit and observe His work; to watch His miracle unfolding.  Without speaking, without thinking about worldly application or logistics or resources, we are to simply watch as God moves among us.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Transfiguration Part 1

Luke 9:28-32

“28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. “

I once knew a man who could not stay awake if he sat down. This problem turned out to be a disease, but until he was treated he slept through a good part of his life, and his wife and his children’s lives that he would never get back.

In several places in the gospels we read about the disciples being overcome by sleep and sleeping through important events that were happening around them.   In the scripture above, even though they were weighed down by sleep, Peter, James and John stayed awake and saw Jesus in a way they had never seen Him.

A lot of the time, we sleepwalk through our spiritual lives.  We do not take advantage of the things offered by the church. We do not read scripture or pray.  We worship with one eye open.  We do not serve others.

For us to see Jesus, we have to be intentional about our faith.  We have to stay awake spiritually.  And if we do…

we will see Him as we have never seen Him before.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Peter’s Confession

Luke 9:18-20

“18 Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” 20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”

Jesus, on his way to the cross, asked two questions of His disciples: Who do others say that I am?  Who do you say that I am?

On our Christian journey, we will find that there are many and varied opinions about who Jesus is, some grounded in scripture and others not so much.  When we hear what others say about Jesus, we often want to set them straight or argue another opinion.   

But, when it is all said and done, the question that mattered most to Jesus was, “But, who do you say that I am?”   This is an important question to answer.  Our salvation rests on that answer.  And it matters not one bit what others are saying.   

What do you believe?  

Who do you say that Christ is?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Jarius’ Daughter

Luke 8:40-42, 49-50, 53-56

“40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying...  49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.” 50 When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.”…  53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.”

Jarius’ only daughter, maybe his only child, was dying.  She was twelve years old, just old enough to be considered a woman (in those days).  Reaching the age of womanhood was supposed to be a time of celebration, but instead it brought death.

Jarius, a leader in the local synagogue, fell at the feet of Jesus and begged him to come to his home to heal his daughter.  But, people who had just come from Jarius’ home told Christ not to bother, the daughter had died.

For the crowd that had gathered at Jairus’ home, death was a finality, an insurmountable obstacle, a closed door.

For Christ, death was the beginning, the pathway, the gateway to resurrection.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)