Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

Something was missing. The disciples noticed immediately. When they entered the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover Feast with Jesus they whispered to each other, “Where is the servant? Who will wash our feet?” The disciples felt uncomfortable all through the first portion of the meal. Should one of them offer to wash the other’s feet? The thought was dismissed as beneath them. No wonder they were shocked when Jesus got up from the meal, took a towel and washbasin, and began to wash their feet! How can this be? They should be washing his feet!

Washing the disciple’s feet, like Calvary soon to follow, was done because Jesus knew why he had come into the world and where he was going. He was free to be a servant because he knew that he was the Suffering Servant. Jesus said, “If I then, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” That means more than water and a towel. Serving one another in Jesus’ name means really caring, lifting burdens, standing with each other in difficulties, and doing the forgiving, reconciling things regardless of cost.

Let us pray: God of love, help us to think, act and react as a servant, doing what we can to serve others today. Through Christ, we know where we came from and where we’re going and therefore we have nothing to lose and everything to give. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  

I’ve talked a lot about the cross this month. On the other side of this is the resurrection. 

If you think about it, it is a pretty bold claim. It is a claim that most likely will never be proven. It is not easily explained… It is, at its heart a mystery that deals in love, and in what lies beyond. It makes the faith claim that there is more to this world than we can see and even know; recognizing that to say the opposite, to say that there is nothing beyond, is also a faith claim.

Many years ago, my friend Herb Meza preached a beautiful Easter sermon. In it, he reflected on how in life there are all kinds of hints that point to something more beyond us. He wrote about how science has discovered that there is a tremendous range of colors beyond what the eye can see; there are scales of octaves way above and below what the ear can hear. And there are hints from the field of physics that stretch the imaginations of even the greatest scientists. He spoke also about how his mother, on the very day he was wounded in battle during World War II went into a deep depression – even though she had no way of knowing what had happened to her son.

He went on to write: “Everywhere we turn there are hints that there is more. Hints of life and power and energy. But even if there were no hints, there is that instinct within humans that points to more…. Pascal once said that God had planted this instinct in our very souls and no matter how much we try to disbelieve it, it keeps creeping up and out when we come face-to-face with the mystery of death…” 

The resurrection is the triumphant affirmation of something we have never proved but instinctively know…. that our little world of time and space is but a small fragment of something much larger than we can perceive with our eyes, or hear with our ears, or touch with our senses…

Herb ended with this: “I believe that one day every bruise, every cancer cell, every blind eye, every limp and every lump will be set right. One day every embarrassment and every rejection and every hurt we have suffered will give way to glory. I do not know how God will deal with all the shabbiness, failures, and betrayal. It surely must hurt God, but I know God is loving and forgiving. One day, every moment of hoping against hope will be rewarded.”

Let us pray: We thank you, Loving God, for your promise to hold us even into eternity. Help us to believe even when we have not yet seen. We claim the promise today that in life and in death, we belong to you. Amen.

Today’s message was written by Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

It is an old story, but it is true, and it is good. The famous British author John Ruskin one night in his later years sat watching a lamplighter who, with a torch in his hand, was lighting the lamps on a distant hill. The man himself could not be seen, but the lights would gleam as each one was lighted. Ruskin said to a friend, “That is what I mean by a real Christian. You can trace their course by the lights they leave burning.” 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16). Friend of Dial Hope, make today a masterpiece with your contagious enthusiasm, the light of your joy, and hope.  

Let us pray: O God of china blue skies and dazzling sunrises, with each new day your promise of hope is restored. Each day is like the Day of Resurrection filled with new life and hope. Grant us the boldness to move out of comfortable security to the risk of faith, the joy of service, the laughter of love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Some time ago, I was reading about Mr. Rogers. One of his favorite quotes was from the poet Kenneth Koch, “You aren’t only the age you are – but you are all the ages you’ve ever been.” I like that thought.  

Sometimes we despair of our past and can’t let go of mistakes we’ve made. Sometimes it feels as though we have wasted months or years. Or, we find ourselves in a situation that seems meaningless. But God wastes nothing. God can take our total life experience and use it to form us into the kind of person who will be a blessing to others.

Yes, there are mistakes we may not want to celebrate, but there is always something we can learn from them. We may need to start over differently. We may need to make amends. 

Some of the most beautiful people I know are those who have recovered from past failures and mistakes and now minister to those who are going through similar trials. 

In the book of Romans, Paul writes, “All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purposes.”

Let us pray: Loving and Gracious God, sometimes we allow our past to haunt us – or even own us. We know that you want better for us – that you created us to be free – free from guilt, free from regret, free from bitterness and grudges. Help us to let go, to learn what we need to learn, but then move on. 

We trust that you have been with us every step of the journey – even during those moments when you seemed far away. And we trust that even out of heartache and distress you can bring something good. You are the God of new beginnings. So we ask you today to continue to mold us and shape us as instruments of your mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

In the Talmud, there is a story about a rabbi who met the prophet Elijah in a crowded market. The rabbi seized the opportunity to ask Elijah a question, “Who here among all who are present is most likely to experience eternal life?” Elijah pointed toward two humble unpretentious-looking men. The rabbi then confronted the two men and asked, “What makes you worthy of special merit?” They answered, “We are not. Unless you want to take into consideration that whenever people are having trouble we try to comfort them, and when people quarrel we try to make them friends again.”

This story reminds me that Jesus, in his sermon on the mount taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

In his book the Word, Noah ben Shea quotes Joel ben Abraham Shemaria who really brings this home for me. Shemaria wrote:

“Your primary purpose in life on the planet earth is to be a peace with all people, Jew and Gentile. Do not be contentious with anyone. Make your home a place of quiet and happiness, absent of hard language, and filled with love, friendship, modesty, and a continual air of the gentle and reverent. 

He then adds, “This attitude should not be limited to the home…”

Let us pray: Gracious God, when we look at the division, the violence, and the heartache of the world around us, we long for your peace. Grant us open hearts that we would be filled with your mercy and grace. And then, O God, use us as instruments of that peace for which we long. Amen.