Clay Nelson
14 Apr 2006 17:00:00
s m a c a...a forum for progressive Christianity produced by St Matthew-in-the-City Anglican Church Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Good Friday 14th April 2006
Chasing God
Introduction
You may have noticed something a wee bit different about this issue of SMACA. This is the penultimate stage of a new layout. We aren't quite there yet, but by next issue, if the god of cyber web design is gracious, you will see a very new format that conforms to our new website launched Maundy Thursday (see Weblinks). If your email does not receive html format you may wonder what I'm talking about for you will have received a plain text version.
All of this is our way at SMACA of celebrating Easter's call for renewal. As to content there are some new items this issue. Glynn is on a pulpit exchange in England, but still made a contribution to From the Vicar. He may have spent too much time at Hogwart's as it is about slithering serpents. Jane Knowles, whose pulpit he is minding, is minding ours, and offers Easter reflections in Second Thoughts. Another new section I hope we will see more of is From the SMACA Community. One of our readers, Brian Begley, shares a reflection on Holy Week. Dialogue has numerous comments on A Laughing God.
In eNZed leNZ's feature article I wonder about empty tombs and whether or not it is better to seek God than find God. In Second Thoughts my Palm Sunday sermon focuses on Jesus being just a man.
May your Easter be gloriously abundant with new life.
Clay Nelson
Editor
- THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
- SMACA Prayer (Song by James K. Baxter)
- eNZed LeNZ (Chasing God)
- FROM THE VICAR (Slithering Saviour)
- SECOND THOUGHTS (An English Vicar's Easter reflection/Palm Sunday Sermon by Clay)
- SMACA Smiles ("Keep your fork."
- WEB LINKS (www.stmatthews.org.nz is resurrected)
- DIALOGUE (Comments from our readers)
- FROM the SMACA Community (A Holy Week Meditation)
- How to SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE from SMACA
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THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK
Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, "Christ is risen," but "I shall rise."
~Phillips Brooks
Jesus uttered a triumphant cry: "It is accomplished!" and it was as though he had said: "Everything has begun!"
~Nikos Kazantzakis,
The Last Temptation of Christ
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SMACA Prayer
Song
My love came through the city
And they did not know him
With his beard and his eyes and his gentle hands
For he was a working man
My love stood on the lakeshore
And spoke to the people there
And the fish in the water forgot to swim
And the birds were quiet in the air.
'Truth' - he said, and - 'Love' - he said,
But his purest word was - 'Mercy' -
And the fishermen left their boats and came
To share his poverty.
My love was taken before the judge
And they nailed him on a tree
With his strong face and his long brown hair
And the whiteness of his body.
'Truth' - he said, and - 'Love' - he said,
But his purest word was - 'Mercy' -
And the blood ran down and the sun grew dark
For the lack of his company.
My love was only a working man
And now he is God on high;
I have left my books and my bed and my house,
To follow him till I die.
'Truth' - he said, and - 'Love' - he said,
But his purest word was - 'Mercy' -
Flowers and candles I bring to him
And no man is kinder than he.
~James K. Baxter
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eNZed leNZ
By Clay Nelson © 19/03/2006
Chasing God
A few weeks ago the global community was in angst over the threatened execution of Abdul Rahman, the Christian convert in Afghanistan. Spared only by world pressure and a “face saving” diagnosis of mental illness, he was exiled. But not to the US, which is now reluctant to give asylum to those seeking to escape religious persecution, despite her ostentatious claim to be a Christian nation under God. Sadly, being Christian apparently has its limits.
This week Dr Belinda Goodenough, a renowned psychologist sued the Anglican Church of Sidney for defamation. The situation began with friendly banter in an email with her rector in South Coogee, Australia. The sender, a loyal Anglican, used tinges of blue humour - as well as several light-hearted biblical references - to question women's subordination and why male but not female lay members of her eastern suburbs congregation were allowed to preach. "Whose penis must I hold to do a real sermon in the morning?!" the email concluded.
Her rector responded that it was "totally inappropriate." Despite her immediate email apology the rector not only brought the friendship to an abrupt end but stripped her of all her lay ministry roles and is accused of beginning a defaming whispering campaign against her. Caution: Faithfully defending Biblical Christianity no matter how culturally biased or ignorant, can lead to blindness.
Recently the mother whose concerns regarding the use of the Lord's Prayer and other prayers in her young daughter's public primary school, in violation of the NZ secular clause of the Education Act, shared with me the consequences of standing up for her daughter's human rights. To protect her daughter from being ostracized by teachers and pupils she had to be moved to another school when the system failed to enforce the act, much to her young child's uncomprehending distress. The school's educators see imposing prayer on its students as its Christian obligation. They will thank us some day. So as not to violate the law, school is now officially closed for five minutes during prayers.
Yesterday, 85 Shi'as were killed and another 156 were injured when suicide bombers completed their bloody mission in a Baghdad Shiite mosque. The bombers were Sunnis who believed they committed a faithful act against heretics. “Allah be praised,” were their last words.
It was in this atmosphere of religion being everywhere throughout the news, impacting upon the faithful and unfaithful alike, often in less than positive ways, I was invited to participate on an interfaith panel of religious leaders, to discuss a film directed by New Zealander Dylan Burton entitled Chasing God. The documentary by interviewing scientists, atheists and religious leaders from diverse faiths explores the motivations of humankind to believe in something bigger and more powerful than itself, today and throughout the ages.
I did not find it particularly controversial or ground-breaking, but for those unfamiliar, it was an excellent introduction to world religions. The panel discussion was similar to other interfaith events I have attended. There were too many points of view represented to have a meaningful discussion in a short time, and the panelists were way too polite to challenge each other on their differences. Little light was shed by any of us on the subject. No surprise. But there were two surprises. The theatre was sold out, in spite of the $10 price of admission. The other surprise was the make up of the audience. It was not a group I would expect to find in a church or temple or mosque or meditation center. They were certainly way too young and culturally diverse to be found in a typical Anglican church.
The truth the evening proclaimed to me is that most of us are chasing God, even the self-described “Anglican atheist” on my left during the panel discussion or the gentle non-theistic Buddhist on my right. I found myself quite comfortable with those who are in the chase. The panelists I felt less comfortable with were those for whom the chase was over. They had found their God. They raised no questions, acknowledge no doubt, and gave lengthy answers with authority.
It occurs to me that it is in the finding, not the seeking that religions go awry. No one turns in a family member for the capital crime of converting if they still have questions. No one who denies a fellow pilgrim a voice because of her different gender is still looking. No one ostracizes a six year old because her mother wants to be the one responsible for her religious upbringing unless they are blessed with the arrogance of certainty. No one blows themselves up for Allah if they are in doubt.
As Christian s prepare for Easter, it occurs to me that what is remarkable about this holiest of days is that it celebrates the God that was not there. They came looking, but the tomb was empty.
At this time of year I long to turn the TV on and see this paraphrase of a controversial Australian tourism ad:
The cross has been taken down.
We've rolled away the stone.
The tomb is vacant.
So, where the bloody hell are you?”
Empty tombs foster faith; not certainty. Empty tombs do not mark the end of the chase, only the beginning. An empty tomb invites compassion born of empathy for those still looking. An empty tomb proclaims God is out of the box and not to be possessed. An empty tomb suggests that God is elsewhere. It is Easter. Hunt God as well as eggs. Eggs you may find, but pray for your sake and the sake of the world, that God will continue to elude you.
Send comments on this article to Clay
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FROM THE VICAR
By Glynn Cardy © 13/04/2006
Slithering Saviour
One of the joys of visiting Bangkok with children was going to a snake farm. There we were entertained by king cobras and a variety of their venomous mates. A gentleman, draped in a python, proceeded to put the snake around my neck. Somewhat apprehensively I nodded my consent. The python probably use to tourists, seemed quite relaxed about it all. He just stayed put and only protested when my hold on his neck tightened beyond comfort.
Snakes, particularly for those of us unfamiliar with them, epitomize fear. The thrill of having a beautiful animal caressing your neck is offset [or enhanced?] by the knowledge of its potential deadliness.
It reminded me of the Janet Frame short story about an English teacher who took her class to the Discovery Centre in the City Museum. There a gentleman told the children how harmless snakes were and how they were misunderstood. The gentleman, with a python as a scarf, invited the teacher forward to demonstrate his point.
The teacher has had a bad week. One of those weeks when one wonders why one keeps doing what one does. There is little appeal about thirty cranky and tiresome children when one is likewise cranky and tired.
Now her bad week has just got worse. She is being asked to demonstrate the benign nature of snakes when her personal feelings are far from benign. Should she just confess her fear upfront and loose considerable face? Or suppress her fear and tough it out. She went for the latter. All went well, until the snake moved!
Christianity has long been a religion of fear. Whether its fear of inadequacies, fear of disapproval, fear of difference, fear of hell, fear of sex, or fear of God… there always seems to be something to fear. Instead of releasing us from our fears religion has often heightened them.
There is a snake verse in the John 3:14, 15: “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Human One be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
The background is the Book of Numbers. The story goes that the wandering Israelites were suffering from snakebite caused by their disobedience to Yahweh their God. When they repented Moses made a bronze serpent and, courtesy of a pole, raised it skyward so that all who looked upon it lived. They stared at what they feared, and were healed.
Making an image of a snake in order to cure snakebite is called by anthropologists 'sympathetic magic'. The image of the creature is said to offset the creature's power. It was also done in the Bible with mice [I Samuel 6:4ff].
Nowadays we could understand 'sympathetic magic' as similar to what immunologists do when making hyper-immune serum. A little of the disease is administered to a healthy person in order that their body develops its own immunity.
In ancient times there was a close relation between 'sympathetic magic' and the idea of scapegoating [Leviticus 16]. Scapegoating is the belief that somehow an animal can carry the blame of a community, and thereby bring healing. Isaiah 53 talks about a human, 'suffering servant', carrying that blame. The early Christian s relied significantly on this lens as a way of seeing the death and resurrection of Jesus, the 'Human One'.
Snakes get bad press. Generally they are feared, and in the Judeo-Christian primeval story of humankind blamed. When you think about it the talking snake of Genesis 3 got a dirty deal. He was a tease but he also, unlike God, told the truth - Adam and Eve didn't die from eating a particular fruit! The snake landed a disproportionate share of the blame and has been vilified literally and metaphorically ever since.
Is it any wonder commentators on John 3:14, 15 have been silent about the very obvious metaphorical reference to Jesus as a snake? How often have you heard about Jesus the snake? It's usually all lambs and lions.
The snake as a symbol has a long history. It slithers into Egypt, Africa, India, Japan, Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Greece. It is an ambiguous symbol. On the one hand it is dangerous, it kills, and it is to be feared. A serpent symbolized the Satan. On the other hand, like in the Mosaic story, it is about healing and protection. Aesculapius, Greek god of medicine, had his staff entwined with a serpent, the spirit of life. It is a strange symbol, a synthesis of both life and death, not unlike a crucified saviour.
Christians understand Jesus, the one who was lifted up on the cross, the one who was blamed, feared, and killed by the authorities, as also the one through whom God still works to bring life and healing. This is at the heart of the Easter message.
Fear is not to be feared. It is a part of life. Good religion helps us face our fears and find healing. Bad religion heightens our fears and builds dependency upon an external saving authority. Good religion helps us to find beauty and grace amongst the most unlikely people and situations. Bad religion condemns unconforming people and situations.
Snakes have a lot to teach us if we are willing.
Send comments on this article to Glynn
Visit Glynn's Blog Lucky Bear
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SECOND THOUGHTS
By Jane Knowles
Easter Reflection
I was delighted to read the last edition of Smaca with its emphasis on laughter. I have long been confused by the apparent lack of laughter recorded in the New Testament. Jesus was so obviously a good story teller, and had a bevy of friends around him, most of the time; of course they must have laughed a lot, and when has anyone ever heard of a rabbi without a sense of humour? Clay also commented on the fact that so often even in sad times laughter is the key to getting through, and in my own experience I know that once a congregation has laughed during a funeral eulogy, all will be well; not just a funny story but the permission for tension to be released. Life goes on for those left behind. There is a future.
Religious jokes have been prevalent since time was and in England Dawn French has made a significant contribution to the acceptance of women's' ministry by her portrayal of a larger than life rural vicar who gives in to temptation, (don't we all) and so we empathise and learn to accept one another in all our diversity.
If God gave us everything then for sure he gave us a sense of humour and he gave us laughter. He gave us the whole range of emotions and he revealed them to us in his son. Soon it will be Easter, and I always marvel that on Palm Sunday that whole range of emotions is there for all to experience. We take part in the celebration, the hosannas, the shouting and the carnival atmosphere. In my little benefice in Oxfordshire we have a procession with all the children waving banners and playing the musical instruments that they have made and we sing and make a joyful noise unto the Lord, and then within the space of a few short minutes, the full horror of the passion of Our Lord is expounded and there is stone shaped hollow in the pit of our stomachs and the hairs on our necks begin to stand up;. man's inhumanity to man, and so it goes on, day by day and year by year, and still we haven't learnt that after all this time this fabulous God given diversity can be abused and used to further our own ends.
So what does Easter mean for you, and why is it such a happy occasion when the world is in such a sorry state, and so many people have such a lot to put up with?
In our travels round New Zealand I have been watching all those back packers, bent under their loads, and then on arrival at the hostels having dumped their packs they walk with such a spring in their steps. So it is for us. That's what Easter means. We can put down the heavy load whatever it consists of.
My son is a lawyer. He will plead for his client and try to do the best for him. Jesus Christ is the ultimate advocate, and the ultimate backpacker. I don't have to carry everything myself and I don't have to stand before my maker on my own. Our Lord will be there with me and so whatever happens I have a future .Jesus the man died on a cross. But it didn't end there. It didn't finish. I don't have to worry. The stark black barren cross may signify death, but the light bright flower bedecked Symbol of Easter morning is the key to the way ahead. “Jesus lives! Thy terrors now can no more o death appall us.”
He's Just a Man
© Clay Nelson 9 April 2006
Ever had a tune going through your head that just won't go away? The one in my head this week is one I used to teach the children of my parish years ago » » »
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SMACASmiles
The Best Is Yet to Come
A woman diagnosed with a terminal illness called on her pastor to plan her funeral. She had some ideas about what she hoped would happen, but she was insistent about one thing: "I want to be buried with a fork in my hand."
Her incredulous pastor demanded an explanation. "Oh, it's quite simple," the woman said. "In all my years of attending church socials and potlucks, I always remember that, when they clear the dishes, someone will say, 'Keep your fork.' It's my favorite part, because I know something better is coming. So I want people to see me there in that coffin with a fork in my hand and know: 'Her best is still to come.' "
J. LORNE PEACHEY,
The Mennonite
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WEB LINKS
WE'VE BUILT A NEW ST MATTHEW-in-the-CITY but instead of out of stone, it is out of computer code. On Maundy Thursday it became our new presence on the internet at www.stmatthews.org.nz. You will discover it has a completely new look and many new features. It has taken heaps of effort from a number of people. It has been a little like tearing down the temple and rebuilding it in three days. You will find most of the things you are used to finding on the old site but there are many new features. Visually you will find many lovely photos of the church and people who frequent it that are part of the site's design (you might even be surprised to find yourself looking back at you) and which change each time you go to a new place in the site. Throughout the site there are also photo galleries that show off the church, its history, its activities and its congregation. You can update your parish roll information, catch up on the latest new in progressive Christianity, read vestry minutes, learn about your lay leaders and staff, bone up on our history, catch up on the news of the congregation, visit Lucky Bear, reserve a date for your daughter's wedding or a family reunion to be held at the church, listen to last week's oratorio or a sermon you missed at the iGod link, explore progressive religion on the web, find prayer and worship resources online and search the site for a specific person or topic. And that's just some of what you will discover. And it is not done. There is are many new features being explored from web cams letting you crash a wedding from the comfort of your den to handling financial transactions with the church electronically. And it is still not done as we continue to refine and add content to the site that will make your visit to St Matthew's online informative, educational, spiritual and fun. You might even decide to change your browser setting so it becomes your home page so the first thing you do when you boot up is go to church. Please email Clay with your ideas for the website and certainly if you find errors or broken links. We've done our best to catch them, but we know some still exist.
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DIALOGUE - Where you write in and tell us what you think.
Responses to A Laughing God
Evan Lewis writes: Liked the articles about God and Humour – in my experience humour is the thing that converts life's griefs and trials into wisdom. Two moments in the gospels where I feel there are Jewish jokes waiting to be discovered are the description of the Publican and the Pharisee as well as Jesus' reply to the woman at the well, 'You're right, you've buried 7 husbands and you're yet to marry the fella you're shacked up with now ' [Shades of the wife of Bath too].
The Sufi tradition seems to understand humour as a teaching tool – as something which can get through ego-driven pride and help one see oneself in new ways. As so sadly demonstrated recently problems occur when people cannot distinguish between humour and mockery.
Stephen Brooker has this to say: I really appreciated your Laughing God.
Once, at the Christian Conference of Asia I talked with a Chinese Methodist Bishop who asserted “You English speaking people have the worst translations in the world. You have de-humanised Jesus. “And Jesus went to the bathroom,” he parodied the so-called 'Living Bible', asserting that all the cutting edges were sand-papered off to avoid offending the sensibilities of polite, white, middle-class American buyers. Worst, he said, was the Book of James, emasculated beyond belief.
An Aussie claimed the more dignified English translations masked Christ's human and humorous touch in his dealings with the disciples. “Sons of thunder” is more likely to have been “You bullshit artists” – in Aussie-speak at least. As for Peter, the 'rock' – “Really you are a bit thick Peter, but nevertheless . . .”
My missionary brother preferred pidgin – no bullsh*t, says it as it is with no polite masquerades & therefore few misunderstandings.
Blayney Colemore shares this: My first boss and mentor, Dick Trelease, then rector of St. Paul's, Akron, once said to me, “Anyone who thinks God lacks a sense of humor has never considered how people reproduce.”
Curtin Davidson wonders if he laughed did he have sex. If Jesus has a wry sense of humour, does he also have a human sexuality? It might be interesting to explore the notion of Jesus' complete humanity in the context of Dan Brown's contention (fiction?) that Jesus fathered a holy bloodline. I could care less about the accuracy of the allegation, but I've always thought that the incarnate God could not completely understand human drives without this experiential component as well. We know Jesus ate and drank and laughed. Did he have sexual urges as well? Why is there no record of this in the gospels? "Let the children come to me" may have more meaning than first glance. Wouldn't Jesus have wanted to experience parenthood as well? Or do we buy that Jesus is the Holy Bridegroom married to the church and therefore chaste with earthly women. I never could understand this anomaly of human experience. This leads me to question the virgin mother myth, too. In fact, this all starts to sound like one huge cover-up by creed writers for repressed third century sexual mores. Is there a predisposition for gospel authors to conceal unseemly human urges at the expense of historical accuracy? Is laughter part of that unseemly side of humanity that was also concealed? Umberto Eco explored this notion in "The Name of the Rose."
If Jesus laughed, and Jesus wept, then why couldn't Jesus have sex too? I can identify with Jesus more if I know he had red blood in his veins just like me. Maybe it's time to bring religion into the 21st century.
Chris Gambrill remembers the classics: When Penguin Books started to publish their series of "Classics" in the later 1940's, E.V. Rieu who was the editor of the series and the translator of the Odyssey turned his hand in 1952 as a classical scholar (and not a theologian) to the Four Gospels.
Towards the end of the preface he says, "And they are full of quiet humour. The crowds must often have laughed. But did Jesus himself laugh? Later writers say he did; but the Gospels leave us only to read between the lines and yearn for some record of a light-hearted moment. I myself venture to find one in St Matthew's story of the silver coin the Peter was instructed to discover in the fish's mouth. This has never been explained on a serious level, and I regard it as the confused report of a joke the Jesus made at the expense of Peter or his friends the tax-collectors. He was certainly no glum ascetic and when he joined these easy-living friends of his to enjoy a glass of wine with them, what was his conversation? Again, we have no reports. Yet it must have had irresistible charm, or they would not afterwards have gathered round "to hear him speak."
I have always found his translation of the Gospels refreshing because it does not have the "gravitas" of theology breathing down its neck!
We welcome all emails, especially those commenting on articles published in SMACA. Letters to Dialogue may be abridged and edited at the Editors' discretion. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the SMACA Editors or St Matthew-in-the-City. Send all comments to the Editor.
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From the SMACA Community
The Road from Jerusalem to the Rising:
a Holy Week Meditation
Palm Sunday
And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road, and others spread branches they had cut from in the fields. Matthew 21
The Messiah arrives in procession in Jerusalem. Acclamations by bystanders: we greet great men, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, John Kennedy, Peter Blake and the miracle worker from Galilee. Sometimes we kill them because they threaten ……..
Early days of the week. Bethany to Jerusalem .
Jesus walks the roads, mixes with his people, faces down his critics who come to hate and fear his radical message and challenged his disciples and us to our core.
- Who gave you authority do you do these things?
- Who should we pay taxes to? Give to the Emperor the things that are the Emperors and to God that are Gods. And they were amazed
- Who condemns the women who poured ointment on my head?
- What are the two Great commandments? Love God with all your heart and the second? Love your neighbour as your self.
- What can we expect if we take up the invitation of Jesus “Come follow me”? : That you will be hated in my name or even worse…
Is it surprising that Jesus stirred the 'religious people'? He could not be contained. Like Gandhi, Francis of Assisi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther, Jack Spong, Desmond Tutu and Pita Sharples as he walked through all convention and struck fear among those who fit beliefs into little boxes. The Pharisees of the first century have their equivalents among the religious and political bigots in the 21st century.
Monday: Living love to the max in our global world stretching from Auckland to Washington.
The Religious legalists of the day the Pharisees tried to test Jesus. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? To stone a woman caught in adultery? Jesus answered their questions and t hose we ask by pointing to the ultimate answer, to the ultimate commandment, that of love. Tough love not the romantic love of the movies or portrayed on T V. But reaching across to those working with AIDS orphans in Southern Africa, the convicted rapist in prison, the solo mother in Manakau or the refugee family next door, my brother /sister who tests the family's patience beyond anything reasonable, the 16 year young scruff playing video games when he should be in school.
Tuesday: Love: the working model.
Jesus harshly criticized the scribes and Pharisees but spelt out who my neighbour is and how to treat him. “For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink: I was a stranger and you took me in.
I was naked and you clothed me: I was in hospital and you visited me. I was the family reject and you listened to me. I am black, brown, Asian, a refugee in an Australian detention camp, an Aborigine on the outskirts of Alice...in….
Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me.
Wednesday.
The disciples were indignant with Jesus too when he accepted the costly fragrant oil from the women when she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But the chief priests, the scribes and the elders….. plotted to take Jesus and kill him and Judas went and asked the Chief Priests “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you?”
Thursday: Jerusalem to Calvary Thursday's Long day's journey into night.
Jesus washed feet, broke bread, promised the Holy Spirit and sweated blood in Gethsemane.
It can be cold and wet in Jerusalem in April and yet we read nothing about the weather in Jerusalem in the chronicles. Too much was happening that Thursday night. Jerusalem throbs with life every moment. Passover then as now is momentous for Jews and Christian s alike. The challenge and threats that Jesus posed were worked out before Caiaphas, Herod and finally Pilate. This was a long, threatening night. The soldiers spat. The thorns cut. Sleeplessness drained and the life-giver was in chains and about to stumble to Calvary.
Calvary/Golgotha. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Grey/damp days of spring/autumn set the atmosphere for the last day of Christ's life on earth. The soldiers were professionals. Calmly they crucified Jesus. They hammered nails into his wrists and his feet as they had done to so many condemned men.
Then they waited for him to die… casting lots for his clothes. 2000 years later we still torture and wait for the tortured Prophets to die rather then breathe forth their life and light.
To the end Jesus released life and light: to his mother, the women around the Cross, the thief. This day you shall be with me in paradise. But this truly man and spirit knew the ultimate agony: agonizing death Eli, Eli, lema Sabachthani: My God! My God! Why has thou forsaken me? Then the breath passed from him.
Saturday: the Silence.
Waking to a day without the Life-giver. Stunned disbelief. Finality: the great stone rolled across the tomb. What was left? Survivors but of what. The essence of being, meaning of life and light was gone. The bombing is over, we walk among the ruins, and the only order we know is disorder.
We stumble; we breathe but is life worth living without the giver of life.
Sunday: the Rising
Jesus met them “Greetings” he said and their despair and hopelessness vanished like early morning mist. Stunned almost with disbelief Jesus brought them back to life with his command. “Do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me”
Whose faith was resurrected that morning?
I come that you may have life, life everlasting. The road indeed did lead from Jerusalem to Bethany to Golgotha and to the tomb. Mandela, Frankel and the Holocaust survivors proved that walls and barbed wire could not contain the human spirit. Christ exploded from the tomb to release the light and life that transcends death. Receive the Holy Spirit. Go forth to live and testify.
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