More
resources from Bread for the World ....
for Easter and beyond
[3-26-10]
Our Easter
celebration has a special vocabulary. It
reintroduces “alleluia” after its Lenten
absence, and it gives prominence to a word we
rarely use in other settings: “indeed.” “Indeed”
captures the essence of our Easter affirmation.
The Lord is risen, indeed!
Many versions of Scripture
translate “indeed” as “really.” And that, of
course, is what the people in our pews seek on
the Sundays in Easter -- signs that the Lord is
“really” alive.
Among the most powerful Easter
signs are lives changed by an encounter with
Christ. Meeting the risen Lord can transform us
-- as individuals and a society -- just as
meeting Jesus transformed our friend Zacchaeus
and brought good news to the poor people in his
community. Thankfully, those changed lives are
all around us; we encounter them every day in
those who work to right injustices and relieve
the suffering of the poor.
We offer these lectionary
reflections with the prayer that your Easter
preaching will elicit a heartfelt “indeed!”
Grace and peace,
Rev. Gary R. Cook
Director of Church Relations
Lectionary
Reflections
This month, Art Simon and Mary
Newbern-Williams urge churches to integrate the
concerns of hungry and poor people into their
Easter season celebrations. In the texts for the
season, they hear reminders that caring for the
spiritual and physical needs of those around us
are both essential witnesses to the risen
Christ.
From Hunger
for the Word, Year C
April 1, 2010
Holy (Maundy) Thursday
Maundy Thursday reveals how
service to those who are hungry and poor springs
from the very heart of God and the central
redemptive events of both Old and New
Testaments.
Read more »
April 2, 2010 Good
Friday
The account of Jesus’ passion
raises the question, “Why was Jesus crucified?”
As all four Gospels make clear, Jesus offers
love that welcomes those who are poor, outcast,
and religiously unobservant -- yes, rotten
sinners -- into the kingdom.
Read more »
April 3, 2010 Easter
Vigil
What place do generosity and
the pursuit of justice have for those given new
life through Jesus’ resurrection? Some in our
churches consider themselves solid Christians,
but their lives are thoroughly wrapped up in
pursuing the American dream, so they lack any
real sense of giving themselves for those who
are hungry and poor. Their shallowness is “rich
in things and poor in soul,” as the hymn “God of
Grace and God of Glory” reminds us. Read
more »
April 4, 2010 Easter
Sunday
Promoting justice, working
with others to break the cycle of poverty and
hunger, and advocating for those in need are
ways God works in and through us to usher in
God’s “new heaven and new earth” (v. 17). These
actions confront entrenched systems that keep
people in poverty and help build foundations so
that poor people can use their own talents and
abilities to provide for themselves and their
families.
Read more »
April 11, 2010 Second
Sunday of Easter
Have you ever doubted that
what you do makes a difference? In a world with
so many hungry and impoverished people, it is
natural to wonder if what we do really matters.
However, deep down inside, we know that we do
make a difference, and we often (perhaps
unknowingly) inspire others to serve.
Read more »
April 18, 2010 Third
Sunday of Easter
The food that believers
provide for others is spiritual as well as
physical. While churches and other helping
organizations often provide food, shelter, and
financial assistance to people in need, they
also offer opportunities for people to develop
faith.
Read more »
April 25, 2010 Fourth
Sunday of Easter
God has not abandoned the
impoverished of our nation and our world. God
lifts up people and organizations to advocate
for them, to work with them, to petition the
appropriate political sources on their behalf,
and to provide services that help them escape
from the poverty cycle.
Read more »
Praying Together
You Are God
You are the peace of all
things calm
You are the place to hide from harm
You are the light that shines in dark
You are the heart's eternal spark
You are the door that's open wide
You are the guest who waits inside
You are the stranger at the door
You are the calling of the poor
You are my Lord and with me still
You are my love, keep me from ill
You are the light, the truth, the way
You are my Saviour this very day.
Celtic Oral Tradition - 1st
millennium
An Announcement
for Your Bulletin
Bread for the World’s annual
Lobby Day will be Tuesday, June 15, in
Washington, DC. People from across the country
will be visiting their members of Congress and
urging them to expand and protect the Earned
Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit,
which benefit low-income families. The day
includes advocacy training, visits to Capitol
Hill, and a closing worship.
Resources for
Your Ministry
Bread for the World’s
Tax Day resources provide a unique focus for
the Sunday after Easter -- April 11 -- or your
evening service during that week. Use the litany
to “pray through” the 1040 form, the biblical
reflection on Zacchaeus as the basis for a Bible
study or sermon, and the activity guide to
engage your members in study and action. Carolyn
Winfrey Gillette has also written a new hymn for
the occasion:
Zacchaeus Was a Tax Man
AURELIA 7.6.7.6 D ("The
Church's One Foundation")
Zacchaeus was a tax man who one day climbed a
tree,
For he was short in stature and said he could
not see.
And yet he had a problem that mattered even
more:
He didn’t see the suffering his greed had caused
the poor.
O
Lord, you saw Zacchaeus -- so wealthy, yet
alone.
You said, “Come down -- and hurry! I’m coming to
your home.”
For you broke bread with sinners and saw within
each one
A person loved and treasured -- God's daughter
or God's son.
It
wasn't just the treetop that helped Zacchaeus
see;
Your love and welcome showed him how different
life could be.
He said that he'd start over and work to make
things fair;
He’d speak the truth, bring justice, and find
new ways to share.
O
Christ, you bid us welcome and help us all to
see!
May we respond by building a just society.
Then children won't be hungry and all will share
your bread.
Then those who now must struggle will live in
joy instead.
Luke 19:1-10
Tune: Samuel Sebastian Wesley,
1864.
Alternate tune: ANGEL’S STORY
7.6.7.6.D (“O Jesus, I Have Promised”), Arthur
Henry Mann, 1888. Text: Copyright ©2010 by
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email:
bcgillette@comcast.net.
A complete list of the 150+
hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, many with
hunger and justice themes, can be found at
www.carolynshymns.com. Permission is given
for free use of this hymn by churches that
support Bread for the World.
©2009 Bread for the World
50 F Street,
NW, Suite 500 · Washington, DC 20001 · USA
Tel. 202-639-9400 · 800-82-BREAD · Fax 202-639-9401
