On Maundy Thursday, Christ explicitly gave his disciples the new command from which the day takes its name, for the Latin words novum mandatum are the Vulgate’s translation of “new command.”
Spy Wednesday asks us to look inward. It's the day the liturgical calendar acknowledges what we already know: we are not the best version of ourselves.
“Save us!” or “Deliver us!” That’s what “Hosanna” means. And that is exactly what Jesus did in the ER that dark Thanksgiving Day and every day for me.

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No, we may not be casting out demons, but the battle continues and all of God’s people are involved in it. At baptism, we are taken from the Kingdom of Satan into the Kingdom of God.
We still think that if we just teach people to "be good" we are getting them closer to God, which is like saying if only this dead person could be propped up to exercise, he would start moving again.
If anyone could be accused of squandering riches, it would be Jesus. The Pharisees have seen Him squander the blessings of God on tax collectors and sinners. He did it then. He does it now, for you and me.
Jesus does not say to us, “Try really hard, and you will be better.”
Jesus will be working in our feeble misguided efforts to reach out to the world. He governs our words and our deeds, no matter how awkward they might seem.
We walk to the cross by the faith that God bestows on us, not by our own power, reason, or might.
“Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl.” Those nine words could serve as the Bible’s subtitle.
We would expect Jesus to be delighted people have responded to the master’s invitation. Instead, Jesus asks these people to reconsider whether they should be following Him or not.
After the glory of our flesh has gone the way of wilted grass and faded flowers, and we’ve long forgotten all our efforts at self-justification, the word of the Lord remains.
The distinction between Christ-for-you and Christ-in-you can present a misleading dichotomy.
The question that this text poses for us today is “What does it mean to believe in the resurrection?”
Christ’s death is sufficient for all, even Christians.