March 4, 2026 Midweek News
Was your Monday boring this week? Did it take that cup of coffee or tea to get into the groove of the week? Last Sunday we continued our worship series “Entering the Passion of Jesus” by remembering how Jesus whipped vendors and flipped tables on the Monday of the first Holy Week long ago. He had entered Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey the day before. On Monday, he entered the Temple, and what he witnessed gave him a fit of righteous anger.
Our world seems to have many people who want business as usual. Artificial Intelligence is threatening to disrupt work and the environment as we know it. A new international conflict is waging, and violence seems like the only answer. Our neighbors are still disappearing at the hands of Border Patrol and ICE, unable to connect with lawyers or families to assert their rights. What is the answer to suffering we are witnessing?
Jesus refuses business as usual when people suffer. His symbolic action in the Temple that Monday calls us to examine what we normalize. Where have we accepted patterns that no longer reflect mercy, justice, or healing? There is a risk in disrupting the status quo, and there is a risk in doing nothing productive with our anger.
If you are feeling righteous anger about any aspect of your life or the world – an anger that stirs you related to a sense of injustice or suffering – I invite you to join with me in this prayer as we continue our Lenten journey:
God of renewal, give me courage to question what I’ve accepted too easily.
Show me where complacency has dulled compassion. Lead me on the narrow path of your kingdom— steady, humble, and bold enough to seek healing in my corner of the world. Amen
Lenten blessings,
Pastor Jared