When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mark 16:1-8

It’s been a quiet week at Crown and Cactus Lutheran Church, that little congregation over between Mesa and Gilbert and Chandler. Palm Sunday activities had gone well, though Jennie Craster is wondering if all the effort in getting the sanctuary and exterior areas decorated with palm branches was really worth the effort. “All that work and only for about three hours of worship,” she grunted to herself as she assisted in throwing the fronds into the refuse containers on Monday morning! And no sooner was that done than she had to lead her creative spaces group into setting up three very different worship environments for Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Some of the regulars were making complaining noises. They had company coming in from out-of-town and were preparing meals at home in addition to what they were doing at church. But secretly Jennie relishes Holy Week…it really is a time for her group to shine, and she loves the compliments. 

Pastor Baldridge loves the Maundy Thursday service and has been visiting families for the last month to talk to the children  about communion participation. There are about a dozen fourth and fifth graders in the Sunday School and while some of them have been taking communion for several years, others are new to the idea. Pastor Baldridge doesn’t set rules for involvement. When he says, “All are welcome,” he really means it, but he also knows that parents appreciate the annual classes he has every Lent. They want their children to know the origins, meaning, and purpose of the Sacrament, and really like it that he pays particular attention to each child. He enjoys the ten and eleven year olds. They’re so enthusiastic and excited about full participation. And when he comes to their homes for conversation, they’re beside themselves! 

This year, at 6:00 on Thursday evening, a simplified Seder meal was prepared for the children and their parents in the Sunday School area. Susan Gruen, whose grandmother on her father’s side was Jewish explained the meaning of the symbolic foods served at the meal, and also led the whole group in a ritual she’s written that captures the mood of Passover. It was a great way to demonstrate the connection between Judaism and Christianity. Later at 7:00 they all walked over to the sanctuary for the Maundy Thursday liturgy.

Lacey Zeiner spent the first part of the week trying to figure out how to handle the unforeseen difficulties that have accompanied the greater appeal of her Thursday evening gatherings at the Sun Devil Tavern on Mill Avenue. A week ago, following the dismissal of the group at the park, she had been warned by a police officer that if she planned on using the park regularly, she would have to get a use permit. Brad didn’t know if that was even feasible, and Pastor Baldridge had little guidance, implying that he felt she could figure it out. Lacey is not a rule breaker and she didn’t want to run the risk of getting a citation from the police. So she decided to visit the folks at Parks and Recreation for directions.

It turns out that the police officer was right. There are a multitude of rules for the use of public and private property in Tempe. A very nice man referred her to the multi-paged city code, and gave her a copy to take with her. She rounded up Chris and they went through it together. Chris wasn’t very patient with the closely worded definitions and lost interest in a hurry. He was in favor of just pushing the envelope and seeing what happened. He said, “It’s impossible for us to comply with any of these things because we’re not planning them in advance. We just show up as the Spirit leads us…we’re not in control, God is!”

Lacey wasn’t sure. She appreciated Chris’ spirit, but thought they could be at least a little proactive. She went to the manager of the Sun Devil Tavern to get his input. He’d been very encouraging about giving them space and she wondered if there was any more that she could do. He listened to her concerns and then shared one of his own. There are strict rules about the number of people he can have in his building, and they’ve been pushing right up to the limit the last couple of weeks. He said, “If the fire department catches wind of this they could shut me down.”

That didn’t help Lacey a bit. She only wanted to reach people with the love of Jesus and now it seemed as though obstacles were being arbitrarily placed in her way. She wondered if Jesus had had to worry about such things during his Galilean ministry–if he’d even worried about the number of people in the crowds, or if he’d violated Roman Health and Sanitary Laws when he fed the 5000.

Still not having figured anything out, she gave up and on Thursday morning went to visit Letitia Brown at the new home that she and Marcus had purchased in the Seville housing development in Gilbert. Letitia was so excited. Marcus’ home had been good for a bachelor but it was cramped for the three of them. The home they’d managed to buy was small for its area, just three bedrooms but the backyard was wonderful. Right next to a golf course, it was like the whole world had been opened up outside their back patio.

After showing Lacey around the two women settled down on that back patio for some tea and cookies. There was a lot to talk about…they’d become great friends in the last year and a half. Lacey noticed golfers walking on the course, and people who seemed to be watching them. She asked about them, and Letitia said with excitement, “Oh, that’s the LPGA tournament. The top women golfers from all over the world are here and it’s on national television. It’s so fun to watch.”

Lacey said, “I think I heard Pastor Baldridge talking about this. Someone gave him tickets.”

“We don’t need no tickets,” Letitia said with a smile. “All we got to do is open that gate and get on the path. We can watch the whole thing.” She got excited. “You want to go see,” she said. “I’ll get Sarah in her stroller and we can join the fun.”

Lacey checked the time. She didn’t have a lot to spare, but had everything lined up for the evening gathering in Tempe. Letitia’s proposal sounded like fun, a way to relax, enjoy the beautiful weather, and have some casual conversation for a change. So with Letitia pushing the stroller, Sarah in the cutest little white bonnet to shield her from the sun, they set out down the concrete path toward what looked like a gathering of people about a hundred yards away. 

The place they were heading to turned out to be the green of the third hole. Some of the crowd left when the golfers had made their putts, so they found a shady spot just to the right of the green and waited. It was so pleasant, virtually no wind and not too hot. Lacey enjoyed it more than she probably should have. She was surprised when a golf ball landed just a few yards away–she hadn’t seen any golfer. Jolted into alertness she looked into the distance and saw two golfers getting ready to hit. She saw swings, and then nothing, until a ball would descend from the sky and land on the green. Then came the golfers, putters in hand and walking quickly toward the green. They marked their balls, flipped them to their caddies, and then studied the line of their putts. They were so businesslike and precise. There was little conversation, and one by one they putted. One of them got her ball in the hole and the crowd applauded. Otherwise there was silence. Lacey noted that even the crowd was quiet–certainly quieter than they would have been in church.

When the golfers headed off toward the next tee, Letitia suggested that they follow. They found a spot directly behind the tee box and watched the women, one by one, choose drivers and hit their shots. One of the women was from Japan, no more than five feet tall. She stood up to her ball, gave a few waggles of her club, and swung. It didn’t seem as though she’d used any effort at all but the ball soared off the tee, straight down the fairway, over a hill and out of sight. Lacey was stunned. She’d never seen anything so beautiful–and the next two women did the same, striking their drives and picking up their tees, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

As they walked back to Letitia’s house, Lacey shared her feelings. She’s never seen women do something so incredible. She told Letitia that Pastor Baldridge had told her to take up golf, and while she thinks he may be joking, maybe he had inadvertently spoken the truth. She said, “It seems to be such an introverted sport. There’s very little talking. Each woman is so focused, totally intent on her task. I know it’s a competitive sport but they didn’t seem to be competing.” 

Letitia just laughed. Marcus, her husband golfs, and he just gets frustrated. She can’t imagine Lacey ever doing something like that to relax. When real life gives frustration, why pick something frustrating to do with your free time?

Lacey got back in plenty of time to collect what she needed for that evening. She went by herself since Brad was involved with the Seder, and that was okay with her. Her walk with Letitia had given her release, and she was ready to see what the Spirit had in mind tonight.

There weren’t quite as many people gathered at the Sun Devil when she got there, and the manager greeted her with a smile. He said, “Hey, don’t worry about what I said last Monday…I’ve never yet seen a fireman in here taking attendance.” A bit reassured Lacey went on to her little group. Again she checked in with individuals, giving each a bit of undivided attention, and then consulted with Chris and Niles about music. Syd was there, the center of his own little group, speaking intently and gesturing, very much into his role as a witness.

Lacey had decided to use foot-washing as the center of what they did so the group went out to the patio where there was more room and it wouldn’t hurt if a little water were spilled. She read the related passage from John 13, and said that Jesus’ last gift to his disciples was to wash their feet. She said, “Tonight I’m going to wash your feet, and when we’re done I’d like to talk about how that felt.” After giving permission not to participate, she filled the bowl she’d brought along with water, knelt beside it and invited them to come sit in a chair while she washed and then dried their feet. At first they were hesitant, but then nearly all of them came. Some cried, a few had embarrassed expressions, and a couple apologized for how dirty their feet were. Lacey gently washed them all, complimenting them, and thanking them for the privilege they’d given her. And when she was done they talked.

Lacey told them that Jesus had chosen this humble act to demonstrate servanthood to his disciples. She asked how it had felt. Everyone had an answer. Few had ever experienced anything like this. Syd said, “I felt like I should be doing this for you.” And others expressed similar convictions. Lacey closed the evening by reminding them that it was on this occasion that Jesus gave his one commandment, that the disciples should love as they had been loved. And then they all went home, thinking about love, and enjoying their freshly washed feet. And Lacey went home…thinking about golf!

That’s the word from Crown and Cactus Lutheran Church, where all the men are committed, the women are faithful, and the children are all growing in grace.