I've had an Epiphany!

Listen to WELS President Mark Schroeder's Easter message . Also listen to MLC's choir Let Me Hide Myself in Thee

Matthew 28:1-10 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, claspe...

John 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face. 4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" 6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him." 7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." 8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back insid...

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Her breathing had become shallower since the last time the pastor saw her. Her eyes, when they were open, were sunken – those beautiful green irises standing out all the more in the dimmed light of the hospital room. Her body had become thin and frail from the chemotherapy. Her end was surely near. “Wilma,” said her husband, “It’s Pastor. He’s come to bring you communion.” Wilma was dying, but the Supper had come to bring her life. It was a curious thing. Wilma had fought hard to hold on to life. Six months earlier, the pancreatic cancer had turned her gray and ashen. The doctors had held no hope ... except for one, new, experimental treatment. Wilma was not ready to give up, and thus...

Triduum is a Latin term which means “three days.” It refers to the three holy day of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Marking the Triduum helps us understand the Passion of Christ all in one piece. In fact, the bulletin we use for the Triduum is 24 pages long because it contains the worship services for all three holy days. If you enjoy going to plays or shows, the best of these always seem to have three acts. The Triduum is one story told in three parts over three days. This is the story that Jesus began on Palm Sunday when He entered Jerusalem triumphantly to complete His saving work. There is no blessing or postlude the first two days of the Triduum because the service does not end – it continues the next day with the beginning of the next service. We pray in our communion liturgy: “By his incarnation, he became one with us. By his perfect life, he fulfilled your holy will. By his innocent death, he overcame hell. By his rising from the grave, he opened h...

Zechariah 9:9,10 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Today is the first of April – April Fool’s Day – a 24 hour period that has no great significance other than the playing of practical jokes. Over the years there have been some wonderful April Fool’s Day jokes played on people. In 1957 the BBC, on a very respected news program (Panorama), showed film footage of Swiss farmers harvesting strands of spaghetti from trees. The commentator shared that due to a mild winter and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil, there would be an abundant crop of spaghetti that year. In 1996 Taco Bell told the ...