Marilyn Rivington

4. The Jews believed that the soul of a dead person remained in the vicinity of the body for three days. They believed that only after the third day did the soul enter the realm of the dead, leaving the body to decay. The chief priests and Pharisees, then, wanted to make the tomb secure until they knew for sure that Jesus was really dead. I remember when I was a hospital chaplain that I had to sit with family around the body of a woman who had died. They believed that her soul would stay in the room where she died for 3 days and they would not remove the body until after the 3 days had passed! Jesus' enemies did not really believe that he would rise on the third day. But just to make sure that the disciples did not steal the body and

Jesus is the proof that those that believe in him will also be raised to eternal life to live with him in glory. 1 Thess 4:16-18 says it all. Jesus is the one who will make the resurrection of the faithful happen. Just as God, with a word, spoke creation into being at the genesis of time, so Jesus at the beginning of eternity will shout the resurrection into being along with a blast of the shofar by the archangel. WOW what a day. Maranatha!

Both titles are appropriate. I like the Greek title Theotokos for Mary. She was the God-bearer. She was chosen by God to bear the Saviour of the World. Because of that she should be held in high esteem the same as Elizabeth who bore John the Baptist. Held in high esteem is different from deified.

Mary

The virgin conception was the result of the Holy Spirit working within Mary

Zechariah asks

I chose to do a Responsive Reading of Psalm 63 (as taken from The Message) All: God

a) God loves me so much that he sent Jesus to die for me on the cross. That God would think I was worth that much, it is too much to fathom. I was bought with a very high price indeed. This awakens deep faith in me. The Hymn,

2. a) The psalmist is feeling depressed. He is filled with despair over the desertion of God. He is losing hope but he is not going to give up. He combats his depression by talking to himself, recalling the past acts of God in his life and singing and praying to God. c) YES! Reading God

1. a) To

Prayer - Psalm 19 Yahweh, The heavens and the earth continue to tell of your glory for all to see and understand. The rising and setting of the sun each day also give evidence of Your creative powers in providing the light and warmth necessary to sustain my life day in and day out. How could this happen by chance? There are no words to describe the beauty of your world. One only has to look at the heavens to see the wonder of Your hand. Yahweh Your Word is perfect and through it You have given us the gift of revelation. Your Word is more desirable than anything on the earth and keeping them has great reward Your law is perfect, converting my soul. Your testimony is sure, making me wise. Your statutes are right, rejoicing my heart. Your commandment is pure, enlightening my eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Your judgments are true and righteous forever. Yahweh, I cannot discern my own errors. Acquit me of all my hidden faults. Keep me from willful and deliberate sins and let me not be dominated by them. Cleanse me Lord from all my sins. Yahweh, Let the words that I speak and the thoughts of my heart Be acceptable to You, O LORD, my Everything. Amen.

a) David

We remember because it reminds us that Jesus

The celebration of the Passover meal was so that the Hebrews would remember how God had saved their firstborn from the Angel of Death and how He had delivered them from Egypt during the Exodus. I believe that if they had stopped remembering the Exodus, future generations would have forgotten the saving works of God in their lives and that the Passover and Exodus pointed to the future when the Messiah would come. All of us have an Egypt at some time in our lives. I repeat to God every day,

I disagree. When I deeply love someone I want to keep doing things as an expression of my continued love for that person. By taking Communion every week I show Jesus that I love Him and that I remember what it cost Him that I might be free. Jesus commanded us to continue to do this to remember Him and what He did, but also to remember and look forward to His coming again. Halleluia!

By faith I know that something wonderful happens to me when I partake of the Eucharist. I am changed. This is a selfish approach I know but it is where I am at the moment. I have just come through 12 years of drinking of the cup of suffering, but now I am healed and am in a place of understanding the depth of meaning in the Eucharist and just what the sacrifice of Jesus means to me.

"Take, eat"- Jesus commands us every time we approach the Table - to remember what he has accomplished for us on the Cross through the taking and the eating of the bread. "Drink from it, all of you" - Jesus gives us the command to drink that we might remember that because of His Blood that was poured out on the Cross our sins are forgiven. What a blessed meal.

I think that we can focus too much on what we use, and how we do Eucharist and forget why we do it. The symbols are used to point us to Jesus, and fulfill his direction to "Do this in remembrance of me." The Words of Institution ask God to send His Holy Spirit onto the gifts of bread and wine - therefore something wonderful takes place when we take them into ourselves.

Bread and wine are the symbols that we use to completely focus on Jesus and what he won for us by his death on the cross. Eucharist is a spiritual experience that we experience with all our senses. I also believe that we should be careful how we take them. As Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 11:26ff if we partake of the elements in an unworthy manner we will be judged. I always pray before I partake,

I find this concept so hard to verbalize. Jesus is

Jesus taught that God was a loving Father, one that you would run into his open arms and call Abba just as a little child would. The Jews saw God more as a disciplinarian, a judge of their wrongs. A God who fought their battles. God has been showing me over the last few years that he is a loving Father. One that can be trusted to keep his word, to be there for me, to never betray me and to love me

In Canada, as women, we had the same concept of father as used in the Old Testament. I think this is shown especially in the marriage ceremony. The priest asked the question, Who giveth this woman to be married to this man? The Father Answered. I do. indicating that he was passing the responsibility of taking care of his daughter from himself to her husband

God is the foundation on which I build my life. He alone is solid, immovable and unbreakable. I really love the following images of God as my rock of refuge, my rock my strong tower and my rock my fortress. The terrain of Palestine is very rugged. In times of danger the people of Palestine lived in the hills among the rocks and caves, where they were relatively safe from enemies and easily defended. When David was on the run from Saul he hid in the caves.

God is a shield of protection around me with his love. God also establishes his shield of protection around me through my prayers when I ask for it. God's Shekinah Glory surrounds each one of us as we obey his word and live in his presence. God is the lifter up of my head as a sign of divine favour, protection and honour. This is what Pharaoh did to his cupbearer when he returned him to his former place (see Genesis 40:12-21). I have been through a time where everything was taken away from me. Through the healing process God is surely the lifter of my head as I am returned to my former place. Praise His Holy Name.

In times of trouble I hide in the shadow of El Shaddai who is a shield of protection around me. The Hymn says it all,