Easter Sunday O God, Praise Praise fills us over the resurrection of Jesus. We praise you because Christ the Lord is risen. We praise you because in him, we have been raised to walk in newness of life. We praise you because in him, we will be raised to be whole and complete for eternity. Wonder Wonder fills us over the resurrection of Jesus. We gaze in wonder at the empty tomb. We reflect in wonder on the risen Jesus. We live in wonder at your amazing grace. Life Life fills us because of the resurrection of Jesus. We live here and now. We will live there and then. We live in trust, i ..read more

Holy Saturday O God, Jesus is in the tomb. His followers sit and stare, grief-stricken, dazed, frightened. They think it’s over. They think joy and hope have died. We know it isn’t; we know they haven’t.  We’re just waiting for tomorrow’s celebration. So it’s hard for us to put ourselves in their place. And yet … sometimes a loss hits us so hard that all we can do is sit and stare, grief-stricken, dazed, frightened; sometimes it seems that joy and hope have died, and that they have no chance to rise again. So maybe we do know something of how they felt. “Sunday’s coming,” we say ..read more

Good Friday O God, We praise you because Jesus died on the cross for us. We ask you to give us grace to die with him. Help us take up our cross and follow Jesus, give up our lives so we can find them, and die to self so we can live in Christ and for others. Amen ..read more

Maundy Thursday O God, We have to eat. When we do, remind us that Jesus is at table with us. We often eat with other people. When we do, remind us that we are to love them like Jesus loves us. Let our meals remind us of the community of which we are part: Jesus, other people, and us. Thank you that Jesus teaches us, by word and example, what it means to love. Thank you for the privilege of giving ourselves up for each other. Help us take advantage of it. Amen ..read more

Wednesday of Holy Week O God, Help us live memorable lives. Let us be remembered for our service, our sacrifice, our generosity, and our compassion. Whenever people speak of us, let those be the qualities they talk about. Let them know that we lived those ways because we followed Jesus. Amen ..read more

Tuesday of Holy Week O God, Thank you for Jesus’ words that the Gospels give us. They no doubt report only a fraction of what he said, but we assume they share the ones we most need to hear and heed. The few words we have are evidently more than we can handle. Forgive us for not taking Jesus’ words seriously enough. Help us do better. Help us dedicate ourselves to reading, studying, understanding, and believing them. Help us be who Jesus teaches us to be. Help us do what Jesus teaches us to do. Jesus is our teacher. Let us learn from him. Jesus is our Lord. Let us obey him. Jesus is our l ..read more

Monday of Holy Week O God, If we examine our lives closely, we may find that our priorities and perspectives are in disarray. We may find, for example, that we put other things ahead of loving and serving other people. We may find that our pursuit of success, our interest in self-preservation, and our desire for power get in the way of our bearing witness to the One who came not to be served, but to serve. They may get in the way of other people coming to you. Give us priorities and perspectives that reflect those of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Help us worship you and follow Jesus i ..read more

Palm Sunday O God, Give us courage to follow Jesus into Jerusalem. He goes there to accomplish his mission. He goes there to finish his work. He goes there to accept his cross. He goes there to die. Today, we join those who sang praises to him as he entered Jerusalem. When they praised him as the one “who comes in the name of the Lord,” they were saying more than they knew they were saying. They were saying more than they meant to say.   They were saying other than they meant to say. We should know. We should know that Jesus was a King who served, who sacrificed, who gave, and wh ..read more

Green, Pt. 1 (15th day of Lent) O God, Forgive us for those times when we’ve been green with envy. Help us be as grateful for the blessings others have as we are for those we have. Make us more conscious of those who have less than we have than we are of those who have more. Make us more interested in sharing what we do have than in acquiring what we don’t. Amen ..read more

Maybe (14th day of Lent) O God, Today— Maybe I’ll win, maybe I’ll lose. Maybe I’ll succeed, maybe I’ll fail. Maybe I’ll know, maybe I’ll wonder. Maybe I’ll remember, maybe I’ll forget. Maybe I’ll trust, maybe I’ll doubt. Maybe I’ll give, maybe I’ll take. If today’s like every other day  so far, maybe I’ll do all of it. Help me embrace all of it. Help me love in all of it. Amen ..read more