St. Timothy Lutheran Church

I know we say and think this all the time, but where has the time

gone? Doesn’t it seem like it was just Christmas and wintertime? Now

we’re in Spring, we’ve sprung forward in time, and we are seeing the

sun more frequently (yeah!).


It will soon be Easter, but not too fast. First, we have Holy Week’s

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, as we go with Jesus to the Cross

and his death and burial. If we rush to Easter and the resurrection

after Palm/Passion Sunday, we’re missing something. Those inbetween

days are important. No cross. No crown.


Skipping over those days makes us theologians of glory, who place

greater emphasis on human abilities and human reason. Basically,

who needs Jesus? We are self-sufficient, independent people who

don’t need anybody’s help (Martin Luther).


Where does that leave us? Martin Luther also taught the theology of

the cross. This “theology …posits ‘the cross’ (that is, divine selfrevelation)

as the only source of knowledge concerning who God is

and how God saves” (Wikipedia). In other words, we cannot know

God or do God’s will apart from the cross of Christ.


I’m thinking about the children and families of Nashville, enduring yet

another school shooting. How much can we focus on the joy of Easter

when our sisters and brothers are in such pain? They are

experiencing the depths of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. May

we lift them up in prayer as we continue with our march to the cross

and resurrection. May we not become so inward and concerned with

everyday stuff that we don’t see or feel for those around us who are

hurting.


Don’t just go to Sunday’s parade (Palm Sunday) and the Easter

celebration. You’ll be missing out on the gist of the gospel. “And he

died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves

but for the one who for their sake died and was raised” (II Corinthians

5:15). We have lots to give thanks for and celebrate, but we have to

go through death before we get to life.


April's Message

2023

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