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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion March 25, 2008 Good Friday, Pope |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, March 25, 2008 by Fritz Foltz
I Peter 1: 3- 7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he
has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled,
and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of
God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this
you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various
trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold
that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and
glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Recently I walked by the Coliseum in Rome several times a day for two weeks. My family had rented an apartment in a wonderful Roman neighborhood right next door. After a while this magnificent man-made wonder became second nature, actually rather beautiful. It was over New Years and an exquisite Christmas Tree added to its luster in the evenings.
I was snapped back to reality on Holy Saturday as I read about the Pope spending Good Friday at the Coliseum. That apparently is the place they reenact the Way of the Cross, carrying a cross around it to remember Jesus’ suffering. The Pope said the place is chosen, because it is the site where many of Jesus’ followers really did take up their crosses. The Roman Empire used the power of terror to maintain the peace, placing those who threatened its rule on the Cross or throwing them to the lions. It blows your mind and breaks your heart when you hear about the staging of the brutal massacres.
Rome thought they were destroying Christianity when they demonstrated their power to kill the opposition. In truth they were committing suicide, because the witness of those early Christians eventually brought the world to their side. And there is no doubt that witness was built on the living hope granted by Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. Today we confess that the Church was built on the Blood of the Martyrs.
You might know the Coliseum was once even more magnificent, covered with marble.
You can find most of that marble in Churches built to profess “Jesus is Lord” rather than “Caesar is Lord”. That is very sad if you are thinking of art. But it is also very enlightening if you re thinking of history or even of what it really takes to build a civilization that survives.
I often reflect on this as I read the newspaper. You can not serve two masters. You have to decide between Caesar and Jesus. The only way you can do that is to base your faith on the living hope granted by the Easter Resurrection.
Let us pray: We give thanks, Father that you raised Jesus from the Dead, and we give thanks for all those who gave witness to his Resurrection with their lives and deaths. Grant us also the courage that comes with a living hope that our lives might manifest our trust in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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