In the E-pistle:

A JOY-FILLED WEEKEND
HOSANNA! LOUD HOSANNA!
THAT NATIONAL INQUIRER GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL

What a wonderful and joy-filled weekend we have waiting for us!

We begin at 9:00 Saturday morning joining the Deacons for the annual Spring Clean-up of the grounds. The weather people say that the rain should be tapering off just about then, so let’s plan on many hands making quick work. Bring your rakes, brooms, clippers, pruning shears and wheel barrows.

At 7:00 p.m. we’ll gather again, this time is Youth Hall for a very big-screen showing of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Chocolate and a Movie will be a wonderful cross-generational event. The price of admission is a chocolate snack to share, and why not bring a friend!?!

Sunday is Palm Sunday and our mini-message kids will lead us all as they wave the palms and shout Hosanna! Then please plan on staying a bit longer and enjoy great food and fellowship at our second annual Massa Domingo spaghetti luncheon. More great fellowship and a super meal. Take outs will be available plus bakery goods to purchase including biscotti and other delights. Finally, a new friend of our congregation will have some Brazilian handcrafts for any who might be interested. Reservations are not necessary. All proceeds from your free-will offering will support out Summer Brazil Mission.

HOSANNA, LOUD HOSANNA, THE LITTLE CHILDREN SANG. The words of the old hymn will ring through the Sanctuary as our little children shout their hosannas. Helping to make The Story their story is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our children. Parents, be sure your children are in worship and ready to wave their palm branches. The rest of us, I will warn you that the text from John 12 says that they were shouting Hosanna! This will be no time for dignified reserve!

Jesus is in the news again. Yawn. The first story is a new natural theory to explain away the fact that Jesus is Lord over the world of nature. Professor Doron of Florida State thinks maybe Jesus found a friendly iceberg to walk on as he crossed the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee Read all about it. Debunkers of the miraculous are nothing new, but Professor Nof goes right to the top of the list of rationalists whose reason is a little hard to take. “If you ask me if I believe someone walked on water, no, I don’t,” he said. “Maybe somebody walked on the ice, I don’t know. I believe that something natural was there that explains it.”

And maybe Jesus lashed some blades to the bottom of his sandals and skated out to Peter and the rest. If you ask me, we’re better off sticking with the story as the Gospels tell it.

The second big news comes from the National Geographic Society as it tries to hype a Sunday night television special. The news, and it is worthy news, is that a 1,650 year-old document discovered 35 years ago has been translated. It’s a copy of a 1,800 year-old text called the “Gospel of Judas” which has been known to the church since it was first written. Read all about it.

One headline reads “Gospel of Judas Has Church Worried.” But not very much. Don’t just read the headlines, read the stories. As you will see, no serious scholar believes that this sectarian tract has any reliability as a historical document. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are absolutely unique in their historical standing and dependability. The Gospel of Judas is one of many ancient Gnostic texts. You can learn more about Gnosticism here. Simply put, Gnosticism is one of the many attempts to squeeze the gospel into the mold of some other philosophy or worldview. In so doing you lose the gospel. Whenever the gospel is forced to into the service of any human ideology, philosophy, economic system, nation or race. It simply ceases to be good news. Gnosticisms current incarnation walks around in the guise of the various new age movements of our time that exaggerate our spiritual and dismiss our physical natures.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the Gospel’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Two other quick notes. You’ll undoubtedly see and hear Princeton professor Elaine Pagels quoted in the news articles and interviewed on the cable news channels. Princeton is a prestigious university to be sure, and Dr. Pagels gives a good interview, but she is something of the Jesse Jackson of off-the-wall theologians. Somehow when the cameras start to run Elaine Pagels is there.

The second note. It is disappointing to see the National Geographic stooping to ratings hype and abandoning its long tradition of wonderful popular scholarship.

See you Sunday when we’ll worship the Lord who walked on the water and, yes, rose from the dead giving us sure confidence that we belong body and soul to the God who loves us.