A few weeks in Sunday School we were talking about the story of the Apostle Paul. His name at the time was Saul and he was not part of the church – he didn’t believe all that stuff about Jesus, and he wasn’t quiet about it. He was a bully, he ridiculed people, and he actively persecuted the church.
It is the 63rd day of March…or so it feels like. Even though the calendar says May and the season is called spring, we’re still talking about windchill. When will spring actually come?
Yesterday we heard the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples in a locked room, but Thomas was not there. You are probably familiar with this story as “doubting Thomas.” He says I’m not going to believe until I can touch the wounds in his hands.
I have always loved Palm Sunday. A jubilant springtime celebration where everyone is happy and people finally understand who Jesus is. Or sort of understand. Or momentarily think they understand.
Before I was a pastor, I was a lawyer. The story of Jesus arrest and trial remind me of the summer I spent working with prosecutors in the county attorneys’ office. It was a jarring and eye-opening experience. Each morning began with the arrest reports on your desk; the list was longest on Monday because it included everything that happened over the weekend.