“In the Garden, A New Tomb” by Rev. Paul Berghout
Piety
With
myrrh, aloes, and cassia your robes are fragrant. From ivory-paneled palaces, stringed
instruments bring you joy. Psalm 45:9
After this, Joseph
of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate
if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and
took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came
bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They
took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according
to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified, there
was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been
buried. So, they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for
the tomb was close by.
John 19:38-42
Study
In the Kofa Mountains of Arizona, jutting majestically
from the granite side of a deep canyon, are the only native palms in the entire
state. It has been a mystery how those tropical plants can flourish and remain
so strong and luxuriant on the dark, almost perpendicular sides of this narrow
gorge. The fact that the sun reaches them only 2 hours a day makes their hearty
growth even more of a puzzle. Botanists finally concluded that the stone walls
reflect enough light and warmth throughout the day to enable these trees to
thrive in the cold shadows of the canyon.
In the oppressive darkness of Good Friday, the Cross
provides us with an infinite amount of the warmth of heavenly love and comfort
we need. In the restricted crevices of pain, we discover the loveliest “trees
of righteousness” (Is. 61:3), which is the wood of the Cross.
Action
Veneration of the Cross manifests the individual
believers appropriating their salvation
subjectively; keeping the Cross of Salvation at the forefront of their bodies,
minds, and spirits.
1 comment:
Interesting
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