Stephen’s Witness
Website of the Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll
EASTER OCTAVE: Meditations for Holy Week and Easter
Dear Online Friends, I gave up “contending” for Lent, but it struck me as appropriate during Holy Week not to take up the sword but to “enter with joy upon the meditation of…
EASTER OCTAVE, DAY ONE: Palm Sunday
I want you to imagine two men, one standing on the top of the city wall, a Pharisee, a follower of the Scriptures and God’s Law. Another man stands below him beside the gate. He is a Jewish…
EASTER OCTAVE, DAY TWO: “Finished”
“Finished!” I preached this meditation on Good Friday 1973 in my first parish. We are told that just before Jesus died, he uttered a loud cry. The Gospels are not in total…
EASTER OCTAVE, DAY THREE: “Woman, Behold Your Son!”
Yes, the third word – “Woman, behold, your son!” … “Behold, your mother!” is indeed a mundane word. From the Cross, Jesus provided for his mother’s future needs. But in a final sense, it is a…
EASTER OCTAVE, DAY FOUR: “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
Jesus’ “Why?” directed to the Father confronts the imminent undoing of the Incarnation. As He approaches the door of death, He foresees His soul separated from His Body.
EASTER OCTAVE, DAY FIVE (Maundy Thursday): “Father, Forgive Them”
The prayer of forgiveness continues to rescue sinners and make pilgrims down the ages because it proceeds from the throne of the Lamb that was slain, who ever lives to make intercession for us…
.
.
.
.
EASTER OCTAVE, DAY SIX (Good Friday): The Prodigal Terrorist Enters Paradise
“This day you will be with me in Paradise.” I preached this sermon on Good Friday 2017 at my home parish in Pennsylvania. Since it speaks of an event subsequent to Jesus’…
EASTER OCTAVE, DAY SEVEN (Holy Saturday): “Father Into Thy Hands I Commit My Spirit”
I preached this meditation at my parish church in Pennsylvania on Good Friday 1995 Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said…
EASTER OCTAVE DAY EIGHT: The Logic of the Empty Tomb
Sermon Preached at Uganda Christian University Easter Sunday 8 April 2012 Today marks the end of the 40-day Lenten season and the beginning of the Easter Season, which runs for another 40 days…