127. Rock Goes The Gospel - Sinead O'Connor "Take Me To Church"

"Take me to Church" was released on August 12 2014. It's the first single from Sinéad O'Connor's "I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss" album. The lyrics are about finding redemption after a difficult time and she sings it masterfully.  "The protagonist I'm writing about has had a profoundly distressing experience," said the singer, "from which she is ultimately able to not only salvage herself but give birth to herself, coming to the conclusion, 'I am only one I should adore.'" "Take Me to Church," looks back on a lifetime of battles and broken loves, only to find pathways to peace, redemption, forgiveness and wonder.

I don't wanna love the way I loved before
I don't wanna love that way no more
What have I been writing love songs for?
I don't want to write them anymore
I don't wanna sing from where I sang before
I don't wanna sing that way no more
What've I've been singing love songs for?
I don't wanna sing them anymore,
I don't wanna be that girl no more
I don't wanna cry no more
I don't wanna die no more
So cut me down from this here tree
Cut the rope from off of me
Sit me on the floor,
I'm the only one I should adore

Oh, Take me to church,
I've done so many bad things it hurts
yeah, Take me to church
but not the ones that hurt
'Cause that ain't the truth
And that's not what it's worth
Yeah, take me to church
oh, take me to church
I've done so many bad things it hurts
Yeah, get me to church
but not the ones that hurt
'Cause that ain't the truth
And that's not what it's worth

I'm gonna sing songs of loving and forgiving
Songs of eating and of drinking,
songs of living, songs of calling in the night
'cause songs are like a bolt of light
And love's the only love you should invite
Songs of long and spiteful fails
songs that don't let you sit still
Songs that mend your broken bones
and that don't leave you alone
So get me down from this here tree,
take the rope from off of me
sit me on the floor,
I'm the only one I should adore!

Oh, Take me to church,
I've done so many bad things it hurts
Yeah take me to church,
but not the ones that hurt
'Cause that ain't the truth
And that's not what it's worth
Yeah, take me to church
oh, take me to church
I've done so many bad things it hurts
Yeah, get me to church,
but not the ones that hurt
'Cause that ain't the truth
And that's not what it's worth

Sinead O'Connor's nearly 30-year career forms a portrait of an artist in conflict; a brilliant singer who remains musically, politically and personally uncompromising after forays into folk, pop, standards, reggae and points beyond. By definition, her catalog is erratic, but it's consistently bold and surprising. Sinead has been known for speaking out in radical ways and this song is no exception The song is "Take me to church" is about a longing for a new beginning and for Sinead in this song, the church is part of that new beginning, but not the kind of church that causes more pain and rejection but a church that does what it is suppose to do and stands out for truth and is a welcome home to the broken.

It's this kind of church that Jesus had always intended. There are glorious moments that this leaks through in the life and ministry of Jesus.  The synagogue moment on Luke 4, The feeding of the 5,000, The last supper with his disciples are only a few of many. The upper room gives us a setting for this kind of honest, truthful, relational church that is spoken about in the lyrics of Sinead's song "Take me to Church"

Yeah take me to church,
but not the ones that hurt
'Cause that ain't the truth
And that's not what it's worth

Sinead O'Connor sings about the kind of Jesus Church that Jesus himself calls into being. Through his call to the disciples to go and look for a donkey, through the circumstances of the passion week, through deep friendships, and through the power of the coming Holy Spirit Jesus shows us the way to being the church that brings people home.

It's in the upper room that feet are washed and that food is served. It's in the upper room that Jesus takes the passover meal and makes it something more. It's the upper room that Judas, Thomas, and Peter find a welcome despite the fact that one will doubt, one will deny and one will betray. It's to the upper room that the disciples go to hide after the crucifixion of Jesus. It's to the upper room that the women return after they find the body of Jesus missing from the tomb. It's in the upper room that we find some of the resurrection appearances of Jesus. It's to the upper room that the disciples gather after the ascension of Jesus. It's in the upper room that we find the appointment of Matthias as apostle and it is in the upper room that the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples on the day of Pentecost. It's from the upper room that world mission is launched and 2,000 years later we are still here.

It's the upper room that Jesus visits the disciples in today's scripture reading. The upper room is about the people not the building, not the room it'self but what it represents. A truthful, down to earth, expression of community where all can find a home, find God and find peace and inspiration. What the upper room represents for us is unmissable. For too many the church has become the building and don't get me wrong the church is a powerful force for good in the world today. The sad fact is that to often the church and the leaders of churches fail to be what God in Christ has intended us to be. Perhaps it's high time we returned to a more simpler way of understanding the Church. Just like what is being sung in Sinead O'Connor's song "Take me to Church"

In Luke 24 Jesus appears in the upper room and does a number of things with his disciples. He invites them to get closer to himself "Touch me and see". Jesus eats with them. Jesus explains his death and resurrection. He goes further and opens their minds to understand the scripture. He opens their hearts to new possibilities. He opens the doors to world mission and adventure. He speaks of opening the heavens to "Power from on high" He inspires, encourages, equips, sends the disciples out to be the people of God in a broken world.

The upper room holds a special place in scripture as a model and a base for people of the resurrection. It's all that church could be and all that a Jesus church should be. Here's a challenge - Why not do your own study of the scriptures that contain references about the Upper Room and make some notes and reflections about how this room and what It stands for is a example of all that Church should be. Take me to this kind of church any day of the week.

126. Rock Goes The Gospel - Pearl Jam 'Alive"

"Alive" was Pearl Jam's first single, and appeared on the band's debut album, Ten (1991). "Alive" charted at number 16 in the UK (the single was available only through import in the US). Remixed versions of the song were included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003), and the 2009 Tenreissue. The song peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The music for this song was written by guitarist Stone Gossard before the band had a lead singer. It was part of a three song instrumental demo they made while looking for a vocalist and drummer. Jack Irons, a friend of Gossard's who played drums in The Red Hot Chili Peppers, was approached about joining the band, but he had another commitment. He thought Eddie Vedder might be a good fit as the singer, so he gave Eddie the demo tape. At home in San Diego, Vedder wrote lyrics and added his vocals to the song using his four-track recorder. The band liked what they heard and made him lead singer.

The instrumental demo of this song was titled "Dollar Short." Vedder's lyrics went in a direction the band didn't expect, but they loved what they heard and quickly agreed that he should be their lead singer - only one other guy had been tried. Reflecting on how everything came together so quickly, the band credit timing and fate for Vedder's arrival. Eddie says that it took him 12 hours to write and record the songs for the demo, and he could have easily blown it off.

Vedder's lyrics are about a boy who finds out his father is actually his stepfather, and that his real father is dead. Vedder later revealed that the song was "a work of fiction based on reality," and the chorus of "I'm still alive" was what he considered his curse, as he struggled to deal with the strained relationship with his stepfather and the fact that his real father was dead. In an episode of VH1's Storytellers, Vedder explained that the interpretation of the song had changed, as fans would react to the chorus by jumping around and celebrating - they heard "I'm still alive" as a positive thing, an affirmation of life. Said Vedder: "When they changed the meaning of those words, they lifted the curse."

Son, she said, have I got a little story for you

What you thought was your daddy was nothin' but a...
While you were sittin' home alone at age thirteen
Your real daddy was dyin', sorry you didn't see him, but I'm glad we talked...

Oh I, oh, I'm still alive
Hey, I, I, oh, I'm still alive
Hey I, oh, I'm still alive
Hey...oh...

Oh, she walks slowly, across a young man's room
She said I'm ready...for you
I can't remember anything to this very day
'Cept the look, the look...
Oh, you know where, now I can't see, I just stare...

I, I'm still alive
Hey I, but, I'm still alive
Hey I, boy, I'm still alive
Hey I, I, I, I'm still alive, yeah
Ooh yeah...yeah yeah yeah...oh...oh...

Is something wrong, she said
Well of course there is
You're still alive, she said
Oh, and do I deserve to be
Is that the question
And if so...if so...who answers...who answers...

I, oh, I'm still alive
Hey I, oh, I'm still alive
Hey I, but, I'm still alive
Yeah I, ooh, I'm still alive
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

This song was written negitavly as a song that portrayed dealing with a relationship and the struggle to find meaning, that this brings and the loss of identity. The fans saw it differently than Pearl Jam sung it. They saw it is a celebration song. "Alive" became a song that that was sung in the positive. Despite all the things that have to be endured "Alive" is a song, an statement of belief a song of confession of discovering and identity. This morning is Easter Monday and this morning I'm going to reflect in this devotional on the subject of being "Alive". It's a simple truth and I'm not going to make it over complicated either. Jesus give some thoughts on what the bible says about the consequences of the resurrection of Jesus and in this help us to capture our new identity and meaning in Christ Jesus. The Jesus who offers "Life" to all this side of eternity. Paul the Apostle makes some observations in his letter to the Ephesians Chapter Two about the spiritual state not only of the Ephesian church, but all of humanity.

Jesus is perfect. Let’s be honest, there’s not a single one of us who could say we’re perfect. In fact, there isn’t anyone we could think of that was, is, or will be perfect. The perfection we’re talking about isn’t a perfect appearance, but rather leading a sinless life. Jesus walked the Earth without ever sinning. That means He walked among us as a man without ever doing something His Father, God, told him not to do. He never said anything His Father told Him not to say and He never had an impure thought. He was perfect in every way. Jesus was God in the form of a man who did something we couldn’t do. We needed to be rescued and we needed someone to lead the way. Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church says that "We were dead" We were the walking dead. Those who do not know God and those who do not care to know God. "Dead" not "Alive"

It is finished. That’s what Jesus said as He drew His last breath on the cross. What He meant was that His life, death, and eventual resurrection three days later, fully finished everything forever. Not once since that day has God pressed the re-do button. He hasn’t thought about wiping the board and starting over. When Jesus died, He completed the work God had sent Him to do. Through Jesus, we have been made clean and for those who are in Christ, sin no longer has a hold on us, death no longer has its sting. Jesus Christ, Son of God, fully finished forever what we could not do – pay the penalty of sin. This is what Paul the great apostle is driving at in his epistle. We have been made alive, an act of God's Grace, not our action but his.

Jesus is alive! He died on the cross, but three days later He rose from the grave conquering death in the process. What does that mean? It means that you and I, upon confessing our sins, repenting of those sins, and believing in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection can have a relationship with God that lasts forever. This isn’t an end of life plan. It’s something for you now that lasts forever. The Bible says that we were dead in our sins, but through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have been made alive in Christ. It's a simple but profound truth. Jesus offers us "LIFE" in all it's technicoloured fullness.

It's a very simple Gospel. A very simple truth. Profound and Challenging. Jesus offers us life. An not only a repeat of life that has past but life in abundance.

125. Rock Goes The Gospel - Snow Patrol "Open Your Eyes"

"Eyes Open" is the fourth album by Northern Irish/Scottish rock band Snow Patrol. It was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. The first European single, "You're All I Have",was released on 24 April 2006; the first U.S. single was "Hands Open" and the first Australian single was "Chasing Cars". Eyes Open is the 15th best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK. It's the first album without bassist Mark McClelland and the first to feature bassist Paul Wilson and keyboardist Tom Simpson. "Open your eyes" is the fifth single taken from this album

All this feels strange and untrue
And I won't waste a minute without you
My bones ache, my skin feels cold
And I'm getting so tired and so old

The anger swells in my guts
And I won't feel these slices and cuts
I want so much to open your eyes
'Cause I need you to look into mine

Tell me that you'll open your eyes [x4]

Get up, get out, get away from these liars
'Cause they don't get your soul or your fire
Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine
And we'll walk from this dark room for the last time

Every minute from this minute now
We can do what we like anywhere
I want so much to open your eyes
'Cause I need you to look into mine

Tell me that you'll open your eyes [x8]

All this feels strange and untrue
And I won't waste a minute without you

This song is extremely emotional and powerful. In my opinion this song describes a tragic scene; The sudden loss of a loved one.

"All this feels strange and untrue
"And I won't waste a minute without you
My bones ache, my skin feels cold
And I'm getting so tired and so old"

It would be easy to picture a scene at the hospital with a loved one who has died, the family are told that the loved ones condition rapidly deteriorated with no hope of survival. The situation is so surreal to the person they almost can't believe it and feel numb, helpless, physically and mentally exhausted.

"The anger swells in my guts
And I won't feel these slices and cuts
I want so much to open your eyes
Cos I need you to look into mine

Tell me that you'll open your eyes"

One of the first stages of grief is anger, here its clear the person is so maddened by the situation and cannot understand how someone they love has died before them and they ache for the person to open their eyes and touch that persons life once more. 

"Get up, get out, get away from these liars
Cos they don't get your soul or your fire
Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine
And we'll walk from this dark room for the last time"

This part is in my opinion the most profound part of the song. Because the situation is so surreal and the person doesn't want to believe it, he/she begs that together they leave the 'liars' who say this is the end.The others simply don't understand the loved ones importance to the person, they need that person, they can't leave. He/she begs again for response and embrace from the motionless person on the hospital bed...to leave the gloomy situation and never have to face it again.

"Every minute from this minute now
We can do what we like anywhere
I want so much to open your eyes
Cos I need you to look into mine"

The person pleas again and promises that in return for a response they can do anything. They would do anything within their power to see the persons soul again.

"Tell me that you'll open your eyes

All this feels strange and untrue
And I won't waste a minute without you"

The person feels frustrated and panics,they cannot face the pain,they're only hope is to beg. Feeling lost still,the person begins to realise it is really happening and admits 'All this feels strange and untrue'. They don't know how to go on without the person that meant so much to them. The loved one will always be missed and remembered.

Today is Good Friday. The day in the Christian calendar when millions of believers throughout the world remember the lonely death of Jesus upon the cross.

The tragedy of the happenings in Jerusalem  is vividly painted for us in Luke 24 through the eyes of two disciples who are returning home and although the passage takes place on the morning of the resurrection there is a lot of Good Friday feeling about it.

In this final chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we read of two disciples (Cleopas and one unnamed) of Jesus who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The two disciples have experienced the shock of bereavement in a similar way to Snow Patrol's "Open your Eyes" They have returned having seen Jesus killed by the Romans at the bidding of the religious institution. they were downcast and hopes were now gone. They were living life in a Good Friday world. Their friend and messiah that they had believed in had now gone and all they had left was to return home to their families and grieve. The story of this road to Emmaus is filled with shock and dashed hopes. It is filled with lost potential from the perspective of the two who are journeying down the road. Of course the story does not end there. 

As they travelled, a man joined them—the resurrected Jesus, although they did not recognize Him. The man asked, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” (Luke 24:17). The two disciples were surprised that the man had not heard of the recent events that had Jerusalem in turmoil. They proceeded to tell the stranger of Jesus’ crucifixion and the report of His empty tomb. Jesus responded, “‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27).

So, as they walked, Jesus taught what the Old Testament had predicted about Himself. When they arrived in Emmaus that evening, the two disciples stopped to eat, and they asked Jesus to join them. He did, and as He broke the bread and blessed the meal, “their eyes were opened” (verse 31), and they recognized Him. Jesus then vanished. Their response? Luke reports, “They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen’” (verses 33-34).

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus gave a lesson on the prophecies of the Old Testament which were fulfilled in His death and resurrection. What a lesson that would have been! The Author of the Book explains His work, making connections from Scripture to the events they had recently experienced. The disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ lesson was one of deep conviction of the truth of what He was teaching. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked?” they ask each other (verse 32). Their physical eyes were blinded to the identity of Jesus, but their eyes of faith were being opened as Jesus opened the Scriptures to them.

Following this account, Jesus appears to His other disciples, removing all doubt that He was alive. Jesus had promised that He would show Himself to those who love Him (John 14:21), and this is exactly what He does on the road to Emmaus. The story of the disciples on the Emmaus Road is important for many reasons. It provides an emphasis on the Old Testament prophecies related to Jesus,evidence regarding an additional appearance of Jesus, and a connection regarding the many eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Luke 24 is often seen as a model of the journey that Jesus makes with many of us today, as He opens our eyes, points us to the Word, and reveals Himself along life’s walk as the resurrected Saviour and Lord.

Another thing that the Emmaus passage speaks to us about is the absence of God. The two disciples are returning with hopes dashed and have seen the one they have believed in killed. They are suffering because of the absence of their friend. the passage goes on to show that Jesus is not absent, (he is risen) but hidden from them. In a good Friday world we may think that God is absent. Indeed this is emphasised in much of what this world has top say about itself. More than that people think that because they cannot see God that means he is dead, unreal, not believable. God is not absent as we think but simply may be hidden and travelling with all of us in our Good Friday feeling of hopelessness. We may Just be one meal away from having our eyes open. Now There's a thought.

124. Rock Goes The Gospel - David Bowie "The Man Who Sold The World"

The Man Who Sold the World is the 8th track of the 1970 David Bowie Third album by the same name. Released in the U.S. in November 1970 and in the UK in April 1971. When asked about the meaning of the song, Bowie commented: "I guess I wrote it because there was a part of myself that I was looking for. Maybe now that I feel more comfortable with the way that I live my life and my mental state (laughs) and my spiritual state whatever, maybe I feel there’s some kind of unity now. That song for me always exemplified kind of how you feel when you’re young, when you know that there’s a piece of yourself that you haven’t really put together yet. You have this great searching, this great need to find out who you really are." The song was most famously covered by Nirvana in 1993 at their MTV Unplugged session.

We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
Which came as some surprise
I spoke into his eyes, "I thought you died alone
A long long time ago"

[Chorus]
Oh no, not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

[Verse 2]
I laughed and shook his hand
And made my way back home
I searched for form and land
For years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazeless stare, at all the millions here
We must have died alone
A long long time ago

[Chorus]
Who knows? not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

"The man who sold the world" is a song of deep self reflection and discovery. It's a song that hints at pain and brokenness in life and is full of longing. The lyrics also hint at the price which is to be paid by living in a certain way. The cost of longing in a certain direction. It's song about looking at yourself face to face and confronting who you are, what you have done so far and who you are called to be. On Thursday of Holy Week we find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamane reflecting on the longings in his heart, confronting who he is called to be and facing the agonising cost of what is to come.

The garden at Gethsemane, a place whose name literally means “oil press,” and is located on a slope of the Mount of Olives just across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. A garden of ancient olive trees stands there to this day. Jesus frequently went to Gethsemane with His disciples to pray (John 18:2). The most famous events at Gethsemane occurred on the night before His crucifixion when Jesus was betrayed. Each of the Gospel writers describes the events of that night with slight variations, so reading the four accounts (Matthew 26:36-56, Mark 14:32-52, Luke 22:40-53 and John 18:1-11) will give an accurate picture of that momentous night in its entirety. 

As the evening began, after Jesus and His disciples had celebrated the Passover, they came to the garden. At some point, Jesus took three of them—Peter, James and John— to a place separated from the rest. Here Jesus asked them to watch with Him and pray so they would not fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41), but they fell asleep. Twice, Jesus had to wake them and remind them to pray so that they would not fall into temptation. This was especially poignant because Peter did indeed fall into temptation later that very night when three times he denied even knowing Jesus. Jesus moved a little way from the three men to pray, and twice He asked His Father to remove the cup of wrath He was about to drink, but each time He submitted to the Father’s will. He was “exceedingly sorrowful unto death,” but God sent an angel from heaven to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43).

After this, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, arrived with a “multitude” of soldiers, high priests, Pharisees, and servants to arrest Jesus. Judas identified Him by the prearranged signal of a kiss which he gave to Jesus. Trying to protect Jesus, Peter took a sword and attacked a man named Malchus, the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Jesus rebuked Peter and miraculously healed the man’s ear. It’s surprising that witnessing this amazing miracle of healing had no effect on the multitude. Neither were they shaken by His awesome display of power as described in John 18:5-6, where either at the majesty of His looks, or at the power of His words, or both, they became like dead men, falling to the ground. Nevertheless, they arrested Him and took Him to Pontius Pilate, while the disciples scattered in fear for their lives.

The events that occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane have reverberated down through the centuries. The passion Jesus displayed on that momentous night has been depicted in music, books, and films for centuries. From the 16th century, when Bach wrote two magnificent oratorios based on the gospel accounts of Matthew and John, to the present day with the film The Passion of the Christ, the story of this extraordinary night has been told again and again. Even our language has been affected by these events, giving us such phrases as “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword” (Matthew 26:52); “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38); and “sweating drops of blood” (Luke 22:44). Of course, the most important impact of this night was the willingness of Jesus to die on the cross in our place in order to pay the penalty for our sins. God “made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This whole episode in the life of Jesus is not just about the self reflection and the longing but in this garden "The man who sold the world" is the man who prepares and begins to pay the price for the world. this is one of the most important parts to the final journey of Jesus. May God Bless you this day and may you know his peace in your life.

123. Rock Goes The Gospel - The Doors "Riders on The Storm"

This was the last song Jim Morrison recorded. He went to France and died a few weeks later. The single was released in June, 1971, shortly before Morrison's death. The song can be seen as an autobiographical account of Morrison's life: he considered himself a "Rider on the storm." The "killer on the road" is a reference to a screenplay he wrote called The Hitch-hiker (An American Pastoral), where Morrison was going to play the part of a hitch-hiker who goes on a murder spree. The lyrics, "Girl you gotta love your man" can be seen as a desperate plea to his long time girlfriend Pamela.  As it says in Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend by Stephen Davis, in 1962, while Jim was attending Florida State University in Tallahassee, he was seeing a girl named Mary Werbelow who lived in Clearwater, 280 miles away. Jim would often-times hitch-hike to see her. "Those solitary journeys on hot and dusty Florida two-lane black-top roads, with his thumb out and his imagination on fire with lust and poetry and Nietzsche and God knows what else - taking chances on red-neck truckers, fugitive hobos, and lone cruisers - left an indelible psychic scar on Jimmy, whose notebooks began to obsessively feature scrawls and drawings of a lone hitch-hiker, an existential traveller, faceless and dangerous, a drifting stranger with violent fantasies, a mystery tramp: the killer on the road."

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm

There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet memory will die
Killer on the road, yeah

Girl, you gotta love your man
Girl, you gotta love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him understand
The world on you depends
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan.
Riders on the storm

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm

"Riders On The Storm" by The Doors is an epic rock song that takes a large place among the rock songs of the 1970's. It was released just before Jim Morrison's death in France. It's clear the the song tells the general story of people who are on a journey through the storms of life. In the first lines of the track it is more particular to a person who has lost control. Perhaps these are lyrics that come from Morrison's own experience, perhaps he is one of the riders on the storm, perhaps he feels that he is out of control - who knows? Jim Morrison was found dead in his bathtub from an suspected heroin overdose. I wonder what It would have been like for Jim to travel those last few weeks of his life and weather he knew that he was heading for a unknown future and unknown ending. This of course is speculation. We all have a journey to make through life, and sometimes that journey is through the storms of life and we wonder if we are really going to make it unscathed.

This week in the Christian church is "Passion Week" or "Holy Week" and it is full of the journey theme. This week we see the final journey of Jesus through the gates of Jerusalem to the Cross, the Tomb and what is beyond.

At the heart of our faith is the Passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. All of salvation history leads up to and goes forth from these events. The purpose of this devotion is to describe Jesus’ final week. We call this “Holy Week” or "Passion Week" because Jesus’ public ministry culminates with His suffering, death, and resurrection.

What follows is a brief description of each day in the last week of Jesus life.

Some scholars of Scripture scoff at the idea that we can construct a day-by-day journal of Jesus’ last week. There are historical gaps and things in the different accounts that don’t add up perfectly. Further, St. John records a slightly different time frame (shifted by one day) for the Last Supper relative to Passover. The following sequence follows the timing of Matthew, Mark, and Luke's accounts. Despite certain scholarly doubts, the accounts really do add up pretty well if one uses a little imagination and sees the differences not as factual discrepancies but rather only as variations in the level of detail.

SUNDAY – The celebration of Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday as we remember the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem to begin His final week and initiate His Passion. All four Gospels recount this triumphant entry that Sunday morning so long ago, but made present to us today. Why not consider that you are part of that vast crowd. How will you journey with Jesus this week? Let this story remind you to praise. According to Mark 11:11, Jesus returned that evening to Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. Perhaps He stayed with his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Pray with Jesus this evening as He considers the difficult days.

MONDAY– According to Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19, Jesus returned to Jerusalem this day and, seeing shameful practices in the Temple area, cleansed it. John’s Gospel also records that Jesus rebuked the unbelief of the crowds. Mark 11:19 records that Jesus returned to Bethany that night.

TUESDAY – According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus again returned to Jerusalem where He was confronted by the Temple leadership for what He had done the previous day; they questioned His authority. Jesus also taught extensively using parables and other forms. There was the parable of the vineyard (cf Mt 21:33-46), the parable of the wedding banquet (cf Mt. 22:1), the teaching on paying taxes (cf Mt 22:15), and the rebuke of the Sadducees who denied the resurrection (cf Mt. 22:23). There was also the fearful prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem if the inhabitants did not come to faith in Him: Jesus warned that not one stone would be left on another (cf Mt 24).

WEDNESDAY - Traditionally this day was called “Spy Wednesday,” for it was on this Wednesday before the crucifixion that Judas conspired to hand Jesus over. For this he was paid thirty pieces of silver (cf Mt. 26:14). Jesus likely spent the day in Bethany. In the evening, Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with costly perfumed oil. Judas objected but Jesus rebuked him, saying that Mary had anointed Him for His burial (cf Mt 26:6). The wicked are besetting Jesus and plotting against Him.

THURSDAY marks the beginning of the “three days.” Earlier in the day, Jesus had given instructions to the disciples on how to prepare for this most holy meal, which would be His last supper. Throughout the day they made these preparations (cf Mt 26:17). Imagine that you are in the upper room with Jesus and the apostles. After the Last Supper, Jesus and the apostles made a short journey across the Kidron Valley to the Garden, where He asked them to pray while He experienced His agony (cf Mt 26:30). It was nearly midnight when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, was arrested, and was taken to the house of the high priest (cf Mt. 26:47).

FRIDAY - All through the previous night, Jesus had been locked in the dungeon of the high priest’s house. Early in the morning He was brought before Pontius Pilate, who transferred the case to Herod. Herod promptly sent Him back to Pilate who, sometime in mid-morning, bowed to the pressure of the Temple leadership and the crowds and condemned Jesus to a horrible death by crucifixion. In the late morning, Jesus was taken by soldiers through the city and up the hillside of Golgotha. By noon He had been nailed to the Cross, where He hung in agony for some three hours. Jesus died at around three in the afternoon. He was taken down from the Cross and hastily placed in the tomb before sundown.

SATURDAY – The body of Jesus was in the tomb but His soul was among the dead, announcing the Kingdom. The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will Live (John 5:25). Consider what it must have been like for the dead in Sheol to awaken to the voice of Jesus! Meanwhile, the disciples, heartbroken at the death of Jesus, observed the Jewish Sabbath in sorrow. They had forgotten Jesus’ promise that He would rise.

SUNDAY - Death is defeated, sin is conquered, life abundant is free for evermore. The bible tells us that the body of Jesus is not in the tomb when the women come to prepare it. An angel or angels appear and announce the good news. The gospel accounts are rich in their descriptions of the visits to the tomb and the return to tell the disciples who are in the upper room for fear f the Jews and the Romans. Peter and John visit the tomb on the word from the women that Jesus is not there. they arrive and find that it is as the women have said. Then comes the many appearances of Jesus to his disciples on the road to Emmaus and in the upper room. Death has been conquered and live knows know end. For those who are riders on the storm everywhere there is now the promise of peace with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The storms may never go away but strength to endure those very storms is given to you by God. No matter the journey in life there is strength for the storm you are facing at this moment.