A Bundle of Myrrh

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“I am the Good Shepherd, I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10: 14-15

“Who is it who knows and recognizes the sheep while they are so deeply covered with shame, suffering, death, disgrace, and scandal that they do not even know themselves? Certainly, none but the Christ. And he speaks to them these comforting words, that in spite of all the things that lead the world and our own flesh and blood astray, he will know his lambs and will not forget them or desert them.

“‘My lambs, when they are in sorrow, shame, distress, and death, will learn to know me as their faithful Savior, who has suffered like themselves, and has even sacrificed my life for them. They will trust in me and look to me for help.” Martin Luther

From Easter Sunday to Pentecost we celebrate the season of Easter, The Great 50 Days. My Lenten Jesus Tree ornament set came with 10 additional ornaments to use throughout Easter. I wanted to display these differently than what we do during Lent, so I pulled a weedy old bush out of our fallow garden to use as our “Easter Tree”. I added some pretty fake flowers to it to perk it up.

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“The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future.

“What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.” St. Augustine

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“Anyone who wishes to receive the Holy Sacrament must offer to God Almighty an empty, single, and hungry soul. Therefore it is most fitting soul is least fit; that is, when the soul feels altogether wretched, poor and devoid of grace, it is most receptive for God’s grace and least fitted to receive it.” Martin Luther

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