Lent

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-Eight

We got an early start on Holy Week today, with readings about Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Since there are so many events to cover in the span of Holy Week, (at least three for Maundy Thursday alone!), it makes sense that we would have to start reading about them before the Holy Week actually starts, to fit everything in. The children were a little disappointed that the palm branch symbol was placed today instead of Sunday!

The readings came from three Gospels: Matthew 21:1-16; Mark 11:1-11; and Luke 19:29-44. The Matthew reading also included the second account of Jesus clearing the Temple, and the Luke reading also told of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Only the Mark reading focused only on Jesus entering Jerusalem.

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-Seven

Today’s reading was from Matthew 20:20-28 and Mark 10:35-45–the mother of James and John asking that they be seated at the right and left hand of Jesus in His kingdom. Actually, the request was only made by their mother in the Matthew passage–in the Mark passage, the brothers asked Jesus themselves. Either way, the answer Jesus gave them was the same–while they may be required to suffer in a similar fashion to Him, it isn’t up to Him who receives those positions. I’ve always found it interesting that this story wasn’t recorded by John himself in his Gospel!

The symbol for today, in case it isn’t clear, is a throne, like James and John might have envisioned sitting on either side of. This one was a little hard to put together, because it’s so dimensional, but it does look pretty cool!

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-Six

Today’s reading was about the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to go to heaven. This passage is found in three Gospels: Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27; and Luke 18:18-27. I think that this story is particularly interesting because the rich young man claims to have kept all of the commandments, and yet is unable to walk away from his possessions. I wonder if the man was answering in the “letter of the law” way, saying he hadn’t actually murdered, so he kept that commandment, for example, or if he really believed himself to be capable of keeping the commandments on his own. If the latter is true, he had more problems than not being able to leave his things behind!

The symbol, for those who might be wondering, is the “gate to heaven.” I don’t think this one is really obvious on its own…it looks very regal, but I’m not sure my first guess would have been heaven!

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-Five

Today’s reading was the story of the sinful woman anointing Jesus’s feet, as found in Luke 7:36-50. The real story here, however, isn’t the woman’s actions, (that’s just the first half of the story)–it’s the parable about the moneylender and the debtors Jesus told in response to the Pharisee’s questions, and the fact that He forgave the woman’s sins.

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-Four

Today we read about the widow’s mite in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4. This is a very short story, but shows how Jesus noticed the smallest of details about people, including the fact that while many rich people donated much, the widow, showing her faith, gave all she had.

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-Three

Today’s reading was from John 8:1-11: Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. This reading contains one of Jesus’s more famous sayings: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” It also contains something that has long puzzled Biblical scholars about Jesus…what did He write on the ground? The answer to that question isn’t really important, God would have given us that information in the Bible if it was, but it is still a bit of a puzzle.

The symbol for today looks very much like the symbol for the readings about the Temptation of Jesus, but instead of tan stones, they’re gray. That’s not particularly important, either, but it is a little funny to see two similar symbols on the tree!

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-Two

Today we read another very familiar story–Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:1-44. This reading is broken up in three parts: The death of Lazarus; Jesus going to console Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s sisters; and Jesus raising Lazarus. Again, we see not only Jesus’s power over death, but also His compassion for his friends, as they mourned the loss of Lazarus. I also like the faith that Mary and Martha display in this story, both of them telling Jesus that if He had been there, their brother would not have died. They obviously recognized His power, but didn’t quite grasp just how powerful He actually was, as they didn’t consider and/or didn’t get that Jesus could actually raise Lazarus from the dead.

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty-One

Today’s reading was about paying taxes to Caesar, found in Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, and Luke 20:20-26. This is another example of the Pharisees trying to trick Jesus into saying something that would either get Him in trouble with Jewish Law, or with the Roman government. Once again, however, Jesus knew exactly what to say, and left them marveling at His words.

The Jesus Tree–Day Thirty

Today’s reading was about how Jesus, because He had such great compassion for the widow of Nain, brought her son back to life. We read the account from Luke 7:11-17. This is a great story, not only because it showcases Jesus’s power over death, but because it also shows His great mercy toward this woman who would have otherwise been alone in the world without her son.

The Jesus Tree–Day Twenty-Nine

Today’s reading was about Peter’s confession of Christ and his receiving the keys to heaven. We read all three accounts, from Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30, and Luke 9:18-21. The Matthew reading is the most detailed, and I love the boldness of Peter’s response when Jesus asks Peter Who he says Jesus is: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter may have stuck his foot in his mouth a lot, (one of the reasons I like him so much…I can relate to him!), but he also had a great faith, and is a great example to believers.