It was the first day of the week (Sunday), and the women, disciples of Jesus, were going to his grave to do the last physical ministry acts that they could perform for their savior, teacher, and friend. They would give his body the last preparations for burial, and return it to its tomb. When the women arrive, an angel tells them that the central event of Easter has already happened. The grave is empty;
In the middle of the north side of the Grace sanctuary, is the stained-glass window that represents a most popular Christian piety, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many families also have a picture of Jesus, using a large rock as a kneeler, engrossed in prayer.
One does not find a description of how and where Jesus prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane in scripture, but the image of Jesus praying at the rock is very old.
“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” John 20:19
I know that I am jumping ahead in the Lenten/Easter story a bit, but I am doing it for a reason. Do you remember when the disciples self-quarantined?
One of many people’s favorite stained glass windows in Grace Lutheran Church is hard to see from the inside of the church. This window dominates the balcony on the east wall of the sanctuary. You have to be in the front part of the church, looking up toward the east, to even see it. This window is the famous biblical scene of Jesus and the children.
Old time Lutherans will remember how we used to read the words of Jesus at each baptism: “Let the children come to me,
Except for about three years of my life, I have lived in the land of four seasons.
Reaching way back to my earliest years, I can remember how everyone seemed to look forward to this time of year. It meant being outside, doing all sorts of activities that were impossible or very difficult to do during the frozen days of winter: going without a coat,