The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.

Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.

Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.

On a recent walk with Maria, we picked up an acorn lying near the road. It looked different from the ones we were most familiar with but looking skyward there was no doubting where it had come from. The majestic one-hundred-foot oak tree towered over us. Having grown up with two oak trees in my back yard, each more than a hundred years old, I have always loved acorns. Within the acorn is a tiny embryo that bears the potential to become a mighty oak tree. In fact, that is the only thing an acorn can become. That is God's design. Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:11-12 Take some time to reflect on the acorn and the oak. My question to you is do you know who you were created to be? There is no doubt in God's mind who you are. Can you embrace the idea that God has placed in you all you are meant to be? You are full of potential. That is God's design. "Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn.” -- William Arthur Ward

Maria has worked remotely for many years and so she spends a ton of time on the phone and online in meetings. The larger corporate meetings can be somewhat tedious as a parade of presenters all take their turn at "pumping up" the troops. Maria and her friends occasionally comment on the overuse of certain words and phrases. They have even laughed at the idea of playing buzzword bingo. Recently we've noticed the frequent use of the word pivot in today's business world. Our fast moving/changing world requires businesses to pivot regularly in order to keep up with the competition. Learning to pivot has become a skill necessary for businesses to survive and thrive. This can be true for the individual as well. For me personally I have experienced multiple pivots in my career. I have worked for a small recruiting firm, a very large data processing corporation, a small training company and as an entrepreneur. Here is a story of a "pivotal" moment for me from the section in Our Journey WITH God entitled Redirecting Our Path. "Looking out of my office window on a cold, rainy October day as the last of the leaves were being washed from the trees, I realized that it was time to let go of my business. I knew deep down God was calling me to something new, but it wasn't until I said the words, "This is your business now, God," that I had truly submitted my will to His. Those words, which I tearfully spoke as a willing submission of my whole self to God, allowed me to move forward on my journey with Him. It was simultaneously a will-breaking and spirit-filled moment. Not only was I learning that God had a plan for me, I was also beginning to embrace who I was authentically created to be in Christ Jesus." Here I am writing this to you nearly 20 years later. I had no idea where God was leading me back then and to be perfectly honest with you I am not totally clear on where he's leading me today. My point is that God wants to direct our lives. We must be willing to go where He wants us to go. How do we know where that is? They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. Acts 16:6 Paul's journeys provide us with the answer. The Holy Spirit is our guide. Our journey with God can be filled with uncertainty that causes us to feel unsettled and even fearful when we are not in control. While that is understandable in tumultuous times, we have a Person to turn to to see us through it all. In recent weeks we've explored staying with God in Sojourn as well as being Adrift in the midst of a significant number of distractions. Last week's post about Authentic Identity hints at where my writing is pivoting to in the coming weeks. Next week I'll share the details of a new series I'll be posting. So if you're wondering about your future, or current events are causing you to question your current direction in life, or if you simply want to focus more intently on God, you'll want to join me as we progress through this series focusing on what it means to "be". Perhaps God's Spirit will guide you to pivot in an exciting new direction with Him!

It was a unique opportunity for me to coach four individuals who all had the same job but who managed four different geographical areas. Typically, I coach members of a team who have varying responsibilities. Because we were all still living in "quarantine" mode we began the process in an online retreat where I introduced the concept s of the Our Journey WITH God book to the team. We then scheduled coaching sessions that allowed me to guide each individual through the four sections of the book. In the early phase of the coaching process we talk through the concept of false identity. This is helpful because it allows us to recognize those times when we are living as someone other than who we truly are. This happens because long held beliefs and habits permeate our perceptions of who we are and we unknowingly behave in ways contrary to our authentic self. In fact, it is one of the most common things I observe in the people I coach. The pressure we face to be something we are not is relentless. This can cause us to be prone to doubting and even demeaning some of their most uniquely authentic qualities. I reminded each person that even though they were all doing the same job, they should be doing so in their own unique way. This is because they all have different authentic identities. In the last section of the book I make a clear distinction between being and doing with God. To be precise I say: "The primary starting point and emphasis of our journey must always focus on knowing and being with God, not just doing for God." This concept goes beyond prayer time with God, which is, of course, incredibly important. What we learn in spending that time with Him is a greater understanding of who He created us to be, uniquely––authentically. This was the message that God had made so clear to me while coaching other teams last year. What I was hearing God say was, "I want them to be who I created them to be." For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139 13-14 What beliefs do you harbor about yourself that may not be true and authentic? Do you have habitual behaviors that continually frustrate you because they leave you feeling empty and less than whole? Where might you be living falsely? Ask God to help you uncover this false identity so that you can live authentically, true to who you are. Know full well that God desires that you live as He created you to be, in your authentic identity! Click here to learn more about Joe's coaching ministry.

It was a difficult feeling to describe. I'd been unsettled for days and couldn't figure out why. Finally, the word hit me. I was feeling adrift. It wasn't as though I was lost. No, I was very engaged in my latest DIY project. For years rainstorms had been depositing increasingly bigger pools of water directly in front of our porch and eventually into our basement. We had installed a French drain when we first moved into this house over 20 years ago but it was obviously not working very well. Take a look...

"Joe, are you familiar with the word sojourn?" My spiritual director recently asked me this question. While I had a sense of the word's meaning, I had to look it up to be sure. The definition was not what I expected. Sojourn simply means a temporary stay. Having recently published a book called Our Journey WITH God I was obviously intrigued.  While it is not a word we commonly hear today, it is very relevant. We have all been forced to sojourn as the pandemic quarantine ordered us to "temporarily stay" at home. This sojourn has had a wide-ranging impact on us individually and collectively. The Bible is full of examples of God's people being on a sojourn: There was famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, since the famine in the land was severe. Genesis 12:10  Joseph and Mary sojourned in Egypt with the infant Jesus. “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him. " Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. Matthew 2:13-14  Threatened by the ruling class of the Hebrew people, Paul experienced multiple sojourns as God prepared him for his ministry. Then he(God) said to me, ‘Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.’ Acts 22:21  In each of these incidents we see that the sojourn was precipitated by a threat. We have always had the benefit of looking back on these and other stories to see God's hand at work in the midst of difficult times. We know that His people were most able to endure every threat when they kept their eyes and hearts turned toward Him, trusting that He would provide.  We are threatened by an unseen enemy to our health and well-being. This threat is not something you and I can control or defeat. We are left to wait for the all-clear that it is safe to "return" to normal. Turn your eyes and heart toward God. Regardless of where you are and what you are experiencing, Jesus makes this promise that will see you through your time of sojourning:  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. John 15:7  We are in the midst of unsettling and sometimes scary times. Where do you see God's hand at work? What are you asking from Him currently? Is that prayer one of trusting in Him to do as He wills? Our prayers may not be answered in the way we want or in our desired timeframe but if we remain in God, can you imagine a better place for our hearts to stay!

While driving home from a visit with Joshua, our youngest son, we were surprised at how light the traffic was as we traveled through the city of Chicago on a Wednesday morning. As the trip continued I became aware of how few passenger cars were on the road. Truck traffic was the same but their presence only made the lack of cars more obvious. Things were different. One thing that hadn't changed were the numerous construction sites along our route. The ever present orange barrels and flashing merger signs were always preceded by one sign in particular:

It wasn't supposed to be like this. For almost six years as I toiled to write the book, I dreamed of getting out on the road and sharing the message God had given me. In the months just before publication I began to make plans for promoting the book. I even took an online course about how to build an "Author Platform". During a trip to the publisher in Florida I was really encouraged when the agent we were meeting with got excited when I described myself as a speaker who writes. It seemed to energize her and she shared my statement with other staff members. Many authors are overwhelmed and intimidated with the prospect of having to speak about their books. I not only knew what it meant to have a platform, I was experienced at speaking and looking forward to doing it. Our Journey WITH God was sure to be a hit! But, God had other plans... Even before the book was published God opened the door for me to do coaching for two different local parishes. This wasn't what I expected but I eagerly jumped in. This was an opportunity to do a deep dive into the content of Our Journey WITH God with those I was coaching. And I was learning a ton. What great material for my talks! Even in the midst of my busy coaching schedule, which included as many as 12-14 sessions a week, I was cognizant of my desire to build my "author's platform". I couldn't wait to go on tour to share all God had given to me. I remembered how much I enjoyed my years on the corporate speaking circuit and now I had a message of eternal importance! Let's get going, Lord!! But, God had other plans. Even though I was really busy with my coaching I was still striving to come up with plans to promote the book. But as Fall moved into Winter, I was hearing a clear and consistent message that God wanted me to wait. Additionally, I was becoming more and more clear through my coaching that He was revealing an almost singular message. We are first and foremost called to––BE! "So Lord you're asking me to wait on you, and while I'm doing so, to simply be with you?" I have to be honest, this has been really hard for me, especially in the midst of the quarantine. That's why I wanted to share this message with you. We are all having to wait and we aren't even sure what it is we are waiting for because everything has changed. This morning I was reading My Utmost For His Highest, a devotional by Oswald Chambers. It was entitled Gracious Uncertainty and this is the verse it is based on: ...it has not yet been revealed what we shall be... 1 John 3:2 This verse and Chambers' words really resonated with me, "Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life––gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring." That's it! Just as I wrote in the end of Our Journey WITH God , He reveals things in His time. That was the most consistently profound insight for the people that I was coaching. They could look back through their own life's stories and see how God had always been with them and in those moments of revelation they saw what it meant to "be" as God created them to be. We are created to be. Regardless of what happens in and around us we must acknowledge that God is always with us. When we do, we live with gracious uncertainty .

Like the tomb, our church buildings are empty. But the Good News is that, like Jesus, the Body of Christ is alive!! He is not here; he has risen! Luke 24:6 Today, from our homes, as we worship God on Easter Sunday be reminded of Jesus' words, "...the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Embrace the hope and joy that regardless of what is happening around us we, as the Body of Christ, shall prevail. Never forget the Good News that Jesus was, is and always will be––in the Resurrection business. Have a blessed Easter!

With lots of time on my hands I decided to tackle a task I'd been putting off for months. A little background will provide context for an unexpected blessing. I began blogging almost ten years ago. Initially, I used a small email list at the church I was working at to share my reflections of the weekly Gospel. The list slowly grew as I gathered email addresses from attendees at our adult education sessions. When an illness forced me to quit my church job six years ago I continued blogging on my website. As I neared the completion of my book, Our Journey WITH God , I decided to pause my blogging to focus on finishing the book. Once the book went into production I turned my attention to this, my newly rebranded website - www.joekillian.com . The rebranding left me with over 150 blog entries on my old website. I was paying monthly for the old website for the sole purpose of archiving the tens of thousands of words until I transferred them to the new website. In the midst of that tedious, and at times frustrating slow process I experienced an incredible blessing. After reading dozens of my reflections, rooted in scripture, I came to realize that almost all of them brought me peace and comfort in this challenging time. The reason is simple, God is at the center of it all. Even if you don't read a single blog entry on my website I encourage you to take the time to watch this video of Ryan Stephenson's Eye of the Storm. God is present in all things, especially in the eye of the storm––where He remains in control!

Have you ever had a phrase keep forcing its way into your consciousness? Lately, "do what you love" has done that with me. "Do what you love and love what you do." Sounds good, right? Or how about "Do what you love and never work a day in your life." There is even a book titled, Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow . My Google search also produced, “Doing what you love is where happiness lives.” Wonderful sentiment but is it realistic that we can follow our desires to contentment, financial success and happiness? The website that charged $233 for an online course sure seemed to think so. Here is the banner for that course. Do What You Love: The life-changing e-course. Design your life the way you want to live it! As I looked through the outline of the course something immediately struck me. The first section of it was titled, Choose Your Destination. In other words, begin with the end in mind. I'm not suggesting that you take this course; no, my advice is quite the opposite. Instead of beginning with the end in mind begin with the beginning in mind. “Let us make them in our image, after our likeness.” The Our section of Our Journey WITH God begins with this all-important passage from Genesis. When we embrace the deeply profound significance of this verse we begin a journey to knowing who God is, which leads to knowing who we truly are. First and foremost, we were created uniquely. Being precedes doing. In understanding who God created us to be we then discover our divine purpose. While doing what you love might make you happy, being who you are impacts the world as God planned for you. Take this phrase with you today, “Be who you were created to be.”

In the first week of selling Our Journey WITH God , I noticed on the dashboard of my online book store that there were 14 abandoned carts. My first reaction was, "Oh no! How do I get in touch with those people to make sure they get their book?" A part of me wanted to "run through the store" to reconnect the abandoned carts with their owners. After laughing at the notion of chasing virtual cart owners around a digital store a thought occurred to me. How must God feel when we "abandon" Him? Even with the best of intentions to spend time with God we allow all sorts of distractions and wanderings to draw us away from Him. Depending on the circumstances of our day we may return to Him or rush off into something altogether different. In fact, the longer I reflect on this the more I recognize how frequently I allow this to happen. "Gosh, I'm really sorry, Lord. Please help me to get reoriented toward you so I can figure out where you're leading me on my journey today." A simple prayer like that helps me immensely. I find that God's Spirit helps me to return to Him. And in those moments I no longer feel distracted and adrift because the God of the universe is there waiting to embrace me. "Thank you, Lord, for never abandoning me."

Our Journey WITH God is finished!!! . .. IN GOD'S TIME It has been 5 years, 7 months and 23 days since I started writing this book, but hey, who's counting?!? It has been an incredible experience, unlike any other and I'm really excited to share it with you! Maria, my wonderful, lovely, patient, selfless wife, was my editor from beginning to end. One day, near the end of the process, she mentioned writing another book. I said, "Stop right there! When you were giving birth to our children, did I tell you I wanted to have "another" one?!?" (Moms: please understand that I'm not suggesting that this was as tough as child birth, only that it was a labor of love that I needed to "recover" from). Maria and I laughed as she apologized and we agreed to put "another book" on the back burner, preferably on a stove somewhere very far away. While a due date for the birth of a baby is somewhat of an estimation, I have to admit I missed the "due date" of Our Journey WITH God by...a lot!!!! Not days or weeks, but months!!!!!! I guess I should have known. If you're answering the call to write a book about a journey with God, you should expect to—go on a journey with God. I did, but like so many things in life, (especially parenting) I had no clue what was in store for us. Days of excitement about a new concept or completed section were often followed by frustrating delays driven by mass deletions and whole section re-writes. Simply put, this was...a journey. God has been good to us throughout the ups and downs and twists and turns of authoring this book, just as He is in all of life. In God's time, the book was finished. I give God the glory and look forward to what He has prepared for me in this next phase of my journey and I hope you'll purchase the book to join me on the journey. Click here to buy Our Journey WITH God and I'll sign it for you and ship it for free!

When Joey, our oldest son, was five years old we signed him up for an instructional soccer league. At one of Joey's first practices, the coach broke the large group of boys and girls into teams. Joey quickly demonstrated a knack for dribbling a soccer ball that most of the other kids didn't seem to have yet. Before long Joey was scoring goals almost at will. Even placing him on defense didn't slow him down as he ended up with seven goals. One of the father's observing this, commented to me about Joey saying, "He's intense!" The thought crossed my mind that Joey might be special. This plays out in the Gospel this week as well. When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John." But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name." So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel. Luke 1:57-66, 80 Some context is important here. Elizabeth was barren and both (she and Zechariah her husband) were advanced in years, so her pregnancy was special. Additionally, the naming of the baby was also unusual. The expectation to give children the "family" name was a powerful one in biblical times. No one would have blinked an eye if Elizabeth's son had been named after his father, Zechariah. This progression of events pointed to something special about baby John as everyone wondered, "What, then, will this child be?" Later in Luke's Gospel, as John has actually faded from the scene, Jesus makes a profound statement about him. "I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John..." Elizabeth and Zechariah's little John became the forerunner of Jesus, the Christ. He really was special but as Jesus followed up this pronouncement about John He said, "yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." In other words, special in God's eyes is very different from that of the world. Joey was a special soccer player when he was young. But he never even played varsity soccer in high school. "What, then, will this child be?" Joey's natural intensity and passion have made him an exceptional 8th-grade math teacher. He also revived his school's soccer program in just a couple of short years. He impacts the lives of impressionable, underprivileged kids in ways he probably will never know. John the Baptist became the person God had created him to be. I love knowing that Joey is doing the same. I wonder about how well I'm doing on the same account. How about you?

Everyone loves a good story, right? Did you hear the one about the raccoon climbing up the outside of a skyscraper in St. Paul Minnesota? It was first reported by Minnesota Public Radio News and quickly became an internet sensation. The raccoon's story began trending on social media with the hashtag #mprraccoon. Some people were reported as following the story until 2:30 in the morning when the raccoon was finally captured. Why were so many people captivated by this story and how does it apply to this week's Gospel? Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private. Mark 4:26-34 In 46 different instances, Jesus uses parables to deliver His message. In these particular ones, Jesus speaks to the growth cycle of the Kingdom of God. As is typical, there is dual meaning in Jesus' stories. The literal meaning of the message is meant for the "general" consumption of the crowds. The symbolic or deeper meaning was saved for the disciples. What were the crowds seeking as they listened to Jesus? We never really know. What we do know is that it is a part of human nature to be captivated by a "good" story. Here is a photo of people who stopped to watch the raccoon in Minnesota.

Do you watch the nightly news? I haven't in years. We stopped having the newspaper delivered to our house as well. It all seems so depressing to me so I limit my intake of the news. In order to keep from living with my head in the sand, once a day I check the news app on my phone. Imagine how our information overloaded culture would have treated Jesus' message. How would this week's Gospel message have been filtered down to us? J esus came home with his disciples. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives o ut demons." Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder the house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you." But he said to them in reply, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:20-35 Jesus' relatives, hearing of the crowds around Him, tried to seize Him. The scribes spoke of Jesus as possessed by the devil. Jesus' responded in typical fashion, with a parable. The message in HIs parable certainly did nothing to calm the noise surrounding Jesus. He then responds to the crowd with a surely perplexing answer about His mother and brothers and sisters. Finally Jesus points everything back to His Father. "For whoever does the will of God..." Stop and think about how this event in Jesus' life might have been reported today. Well, depending on where you got your news it could have been spun in a number of different ways. In fact, with access to the internet, it's pretty easy to find news that fits what we want to hear. How then do we interpret this challenging Gospel message? I believe it is by focusing on the core of Jesus' message... "For whoever does the will of God." That is the Good News!

We just attended our nephew's commencement ceremony as he graduated from high school. Of course, the message of being prepared for the future was a common theme amongst the various speakers. Seeing the potential of each graduate as they walked across the stage was inspiring but I found myself wondering what the future held for these 18 year-olds? Preparation is also part of the message in this week's Gospel. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there." The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover. While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 Preparing for the Passover meal was a regular occurrence for these Jewish men. What they could not have been ready for were Jesus' words during the meal. "This is my body." And if that wasn't unexpected enough, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many." More importantly, there could be no preparing for the actuality of what the disciples would experience as Jesus' words came to pass. Jesus was describing a unique experience and no matter what He told the disciples they simply could not be prepared for their coming future. They were about to "commence" a new journey. In time, the disciples thought back on Jesus' words at the Passover supper they eventually came to realize that He had not only prepared them for their future but was providing for them as well. Commencement speakers try to give the perfect advice to the graduating class. Young, idealistic graduates are told they have been prepared for the journey ahead. In reality, there is no way they can know what awaits them. It is important for them to remember that the foundation has been laid in their school and family experience. But life can be full of surprises, many unpleasant. That is why we need to trust in Jesus' "commencement" words. Only He prepares us and provides us what we need for our journey with God, His body and blood!