Passion

More than an Anniversary: An Easter for the Present Time

On this day, we celebrate the Good News of that historic moment nearly two thousand years ago that changed the world when Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and discovered that Jesus had been raised. All four Gospel tell the story a little bit different, but they all agree on two facts: Mary Magdalene was there - sometimes by herself, sometimes with others – and the tomb was empty for Christ was alive. This was an event that showed that that Rome’s brutality – and let’s say it, evil – did not get the final word. It was a moment that showed that death did not get the final word.

Click “Read More” to read Bingham’s full sermon.

Embodying the Passion: Finding our Story in Jesus’ Story

We are meant to follow Jesus, not join Pilate. God's love, God's grace, and God's mercy are abundant and Jesus wants to draw us closer to those. The Passion is meant to draw us in and to reflect the ways that we have embodied different characters at different times in our lives.

Click “Read More” to read or listen to Bingham’s entire sermon for Palm Sunday.

Holy Week Whiplash

What a week this has been for the disciples as we just heard in those two Gospel readings. The week began on Sunday with such joy as Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem on a donkey, with a crowd cheering him on, waving their palm branches and shouting out, “Hosannah, hosannah, hosannah!” And then, in the course of just a few short days, everything changed, everything shifted as Jesus now exited Jerusalem carrying his cross. And that crowd was now jeering him and shouting out, “Crucify him!”