Monday, April 23, 2018

Plastic Planet


April 22nd, 2018       “Plastic Planet”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Genesis 1:24-31 with Psalm 148

         Today is Earth Day and I think it’s been a few years since we had a totally Earth Day focused worship so I decided we would do it today.  Because of that, we are skipping the lectionary reading which has us once again examining Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  We all know that story pretty well so instead we are looking at Earth centered texts for our study today.

         We begin in Genesis with the story of God creating the planet that we love so much.  There are actually two separate stories of creation in our Bible.  This is the first story told, the one where God makes something new each day.  Day one God creates light and darkness, followed on day two by the separation of the waters above and the waters below.  Day three is the creation of land and plants and day four is the creation of stars sun and moon.  Day five God begins to make the animals with creatures that live in the sky and water, birds and fish and more. 

         Then we reach the day of our reading, day six.  First God creates all the animals that walk about on the earth.  From the cattle in the fields, to the giraffes in the savannahs, to the lizards in the desert, God creates them all.  It’s a big day for God, so God keeps creating.  God makes humankind in the image of God and sets us up to have dominion over the whole of creation.  Humankind is given the animals to care for and the plants to eat as food.  It is interesting to note that in this version of the story we were created to be vegetarians.  It isn’t until after the time of Noah that God gave us permission to eat the animals as well.

         If we have been given “dominion” over the creation what exactly does that mean?  Webster’s defines dominion as supreme authority and absolute ownership.  We find a similar interpretation when we look at the meaning of the Hebrew word radah: to have dominion, to rule, to subdue.  So what does it mean to have authority over creation?

         Well, there are certainly folks out there who would argue it means that we can do whatever the heck we want.  We have supreme authority and ownership, if we want to wreck the place it is certainly in our power and perhaps our right to do so.  But, those of us who hold positions of authority in the church, at work, at home or in other places in our lives know that to have authority is not simply to have the right to do whatever we want, it is also to have the responsibility for what we are in authority over.  This has become the mantra of the church in regards to creation.  We have the responsibility to care for creation; it is our job as mandated by God, to take care of this planet.

         No matter what side you are on in the global warming debate, I think we can all agree we’ve made a bit of a trash dump of this planet we are supposed to be taking care of.  This Sunday, instead of wading into political territory yet again, I thought we would look at something simpler, something closer to home.  This Sunday, I want us to think about plastic and what it does to our planet.  If we are responsible for taking care of creation then what should our relationship with plastic look like? 

Let’s watch a video  . . . (show “How Much Plastic is in the Ocean?”) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFZS3Vh4lfI

         Plastic is a great example of corporate sin, or the theological idea that we get caught up in a cycle of sin that we can’t get out of.  Plastic was invented by us, using knowledge given by God, and it has been used to make the world a better place in a lot of ways.  But then the use of plastic grew and grew.  It is so cheap and so easily available that we have gotten really good at using it, throwing it away, and not thinking about it at all.  This is a sin of apathy.  Our actions cause harm to the planet and we don’t really notice or care. 

         As the plastic in the ocean grows and grows, the effects of the toxins intensify in the environment.  We have all seen pictures of turtles and birds who have eaten large pieces of plastic or gotten it trapped on their bodies.  It is harder to see the microscopic plastic that lives in these animals and the toxins it releases.  I for one, enjoy seafood, and don’t relish the idea of eating plastic or the chemicals used to make plastic as a part of my gourmet dinner.

         Through our apathy in the use and abuse of plastics we have caused harm to our planet and to ourselves.  We have not been the good stewards God has asked us to be, exercising care and responsibility for the creation.  Psalm 148 calls on all of creation to praise God.  A plastic planet cannot praise the creator.

         I chose the subject of plastics today because I thought it was something we could all address in our own lives.  When we look at the whole of creation, it is easy to lose heart as we seem to make this planet worse every day.  This is a sinful situation we can’t escape.  But we do have the power to make small differences in our own lives which will add up to big differences for our planet.  If we narrow our focus, to look simply at our plastic use, we can find an area we can address.  Each of us has the responsibility to take care of this planet, and so today, I hope that each of us can make a commitment to reducing our personal use of plastic.

         This slide shows 9 tips for living with less plastic.  Is there something on this list that you can commit to changing in your own life?  Personally I am pretty good about reusable containers and at bringing my own shopping bags.  One thing I am not good about is using straws.  In fact, I went out to lunch while preparing this sermon, promising myself I would not use a straw and then when I got to the restaurant I completely forgot until I had opened the package and put the straw in my drink.  Doh!  I promise to pay more attention to my use of straws, and to try to say “no” before the server brings me one.  What can you promise to pay attention to this year when it comes to your use of plastics?  Can you bring your own bags to the store?  Can you carry your own water bottle?  Will you join me in saying “no” to straws?  Even doing one small thing can make a difference in our world and can be a way we act as good stewards of God’s creation.

         Plastic is an amazing invention.  But through its use and abuse it has become a harm to creation.  Each of us participates in the sin of destroying our planet as we ignore our call to care for creation by throwing away plastic left and right.  This Earth Day, let us ask God for forgiveness, and let us make a commitment to using less plastic.  Together we can work to save our world from becoming a plastic planet.  Amen.

Monday, April 16, 2018

Set Free From Fear


April 15th, 2018      “Set Free From Fear”      Rev. Heather Jepsen

Luke 24:36-48 with Acts 3:12-19

         While at home the Easter lilies have begun to fade and we have put the plastic eggs away to save for another year, here in the church it is still Easter day.  This morning we are reading from Luke, and again the reading takes place on the evening of Easter day.  While very similar to our reading last Sunday from the gospel of John, there are some interesting differences in this text, especially around the issue of fear.

         The way Luke tells the story a group of women find the empty tomb, hear the news from angels, and then go home and tell the disciples.  Peter returns to the tomb to confirm that the story the women tell is true.  Then the author of Luke takes us on a detour on the road to Emmaus.  We read a portion of this story on Easter morning.  Two disciples are walking on the road, discussing the happenings in Jerusalem over the Passover.  Jesus comes among them, but is unrecognized.  As evening draws near, the disciples ask the stranger to shelter with them for the evening.  It is only after they break bread and share a meal that the disciples realize that they are with the Christ himself.

         Jesus disappears after the meal and these two run all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples about what has happened.  That is where our reading for today picks up.  While they are still telling their story, Jesus himself appears among the disciples.  Those gathered believe that they are seeing a ghost, (what other explanation could there be?) and they are very afraid.

         The belief in ghosts was common in the ancient world and it was a real cause for fear.  It is also an understandable concern as the things that Jesus has done would be consistent with a ghost.  He is supposed to be dead in the tomb, and the tomb is empty.  Friends just saw him in Emmaus and now suddenly he is in Jerusalem, without having traveled with them.  Never mind the fact that they all saw him crucified and dead just three days prior.  I think to be frightened at this point is totally understandable.

         Jesus offers the disciples peace, and then goes about the business of dispelling their fear.  He doesn’t judge them for being afraid, he doesn’t judge them for not understanding all the times he told them that this would happen, and he doesn’t judge them for their lack of faith.  Instead he patiently goes through the steps to prove that he is not a ghost.  First he shows them his wounds.  As we discussed last Sunday, this is the identifying mark of the Christ.  Then he asks them to touch his body and see that it is indeed flesh and not some spectral apparition.  Finally he eats in front of them, proving that he has a body with a digestive system and is not some shadow of a person where the food will simply drop down to the floor.

         Even with all these proofs the disciples remain afraid and uncertain.  The author tells us that “while in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering.”  I love this line because it seems so real to our own experience.  Even in the joy of our faith, there is a portion of us that holds back.  Even on Easter Sunday there is a part of our heart that wonders if the story we celebrate every year is really true.  Even when we see and feel the love of God in our lives, even in our joy, there is a bit of us that is disbelieving and wondering.  Could this story really be true?  And if it is . . . then what does it demand of us in return?

         At this point, Jesus uses the last tool at his disposal, the scriptures.  Jesus decides to use the story of God’s love for God’s people over the eons of time, to prove that the story he is telling is true.  Jesus tells them everything; from the beginning of creation to the early patriarchs of Moses and Abraham, from the time of the judges to the preaching of the prophets, from the word of God in the psalms to the poetry of Solomon.  Jesus tells them everything and how it leads back to this moment with the disciples, how it leads back to the story that is about him, about death and resurrection, about new life from old, about hope in the midst of fear.  Jesus opened their minds, and they weren’t afraid anymore.  And then Jesus sent them out to share this news with others, “You are witnesses of these things.”

         The scriptures are a powerful tool to calm our fears and open our minds to God’s truth.  Later on in the story of the disciples, Peter will use this same technique with the people of Jerusalem.  In the story that this same author tells in the book of Acts, Peter and John are on the way to the temple and see a man at one of the gates begging for money.  This man has been lame since birth; his only hope of life was the mercy of strangers and passersby who might toss him a shekel.  Peter offers him more, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.”  The man is healed and the people are amazed.

         Amazed, and I imagine a bit afraid.  From where did Peter get this power to heal?  As the people gather around in awe and wonder, Peter uses the Scriptures to explain what is going on.  He tells the story of God, again through the patriarchs and the prophets.  And he begins to tell the story that is told in the second half of the scriptures today, about Jesus the Christ and his death and resurrection.  Peter knows that it is the people of Jerusalem who had called for the crucifixion of Jesus but he doesn’t condemn them for their wrong.  Instead Peter offers them grace.  “I know you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.”  They didn’t know what they were doing.  But now that the scriptures have been explained, now that the know the full story of God’s love, now that their minds have been opened to free them from fear, now they can find another way forward, a way of healing and hope.  “Repent therefore, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.”

         We too have access to this power of the scriptures to set us free from fear.  Think of all the things today that cause us to fear or that we react to in fear.  We are afraid for our personal safety; so we lock our doors, close our blinds, and buy a gun so the bad guys (whoever those are) won’t come and get us.  We are afraid for our future; so we grasp and grab at every coin that comes our way and save it all secure as if we could somehow guarantee ourselves health and long life through our financial planning.  We are afraid as a nation; so we stockpile nuclear weapons, put up walls on our borders, and send our young men and women to foreign countries to kill strangers who live there to protect our own interests.  Think for a minute about how much the feeling of fear is a motivator for the things that we say and do each day.  I think that fear; fear of the stranger, fear of death, fear of poverty, fear of suffering, fear of everything is woven into the fabric of our country.  I think fear is as American as freedom.

         Into this climate of fear, what do these stories of Jesus Christ offer us?  What does the love story of God and God’s people that we find woven throughout our scriptures offer us?  I believe God offers us the opportunity to be set free from fear.  In the story of God’s love we find that God will provide for us.  We don’t need to fear the future, for God is there as much as God is here with us.  In the story of God’s love we find that in welcoming the stranger we welcome God.  In the story of God’s love we find that the interests of one nation cannot be held at higher esteem than the interests of the planet as a whole, for God’s love is for the whole of humanity.  In the story of God’s love, we find that even if we suffer, our God will never abandon us.  And even if the worst should happen, even if we should die, in the story of God’s love we find that God has power over death.  Even in our death we are still with God, even closer with God than in life.  To know the story of God’s love as told in the scriptures is to be set free from the fears of this life. 

         Our scripture readings for today remind us that when people encountered the power of God’s resurrection love in the unknown they were afraid.  From the disciples and their encounter with Jesus to the people of Jerusalem and their witness of healing, fear and astonishment were the response to God.  Through the stories of the scriptures as told by Jesus and Peter, people’s minds were opened, and they were set free from their fear.

         We too have the power to be set free from fear.  We have the opportunity to read the Bible ourselves to know the story of God’s love.  Even more powerful, we have the opportunity to tell these stories to each other, through gathering together for worship, listening to sermons, attending Bible studies and small groups, and sharing our lives together.  Jesus and Peter didn’t tell these folks to read their Bibles to understand God.  No, they told them the stories from their own hearts in their own words and that is what had the power to open people’s minds.

         When we know the truth of God’s love for humanity, of God’s love for us as individuals, then we are set free from fear.  When we are set free from fear then we are able to welcome the stranger, to be generous with our blessings, to face our future, and to work for justice and peace in the world.  May God’s love set us free from fear today.  Amen.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Healed Woundedness


April 8th, 2018       “Healed Woundedness”      Rev. Heather Jepsen

John 20:19-31 with Acts 4:32-35

         Our reading this morning begins right where we left off last Sunday.  Mary Magdalene has returned from the garden, announcing that she has seen the risen Lord.  It is the evening of Easter day, but instead of going out into the world to preach the resurrected Christ, the followers of Jesus have locked themselves in a room.  Later on in the story everyone will judge Thomas for not believing the story the other disciples tell, but here we find the entire community of disciples not believing the story that Mary Magdalene has told.  Even though Peter and the beloved disciple have seen an empty tomb, even though Mary has encountered the risen Lord herself; still the disciples are locked away and unbelieving.  Fake news and doubters all around.

         Suddenly the risen Christ mysteriously appears standing among them.  He says “Peace be with you” and then he does a strange thing.  The text makes it clear that before he says anything else, he shows them his wounds.  I think that as readers we almost skip over this part of the text to get to the next part where Jesus breathes on them the Holy Spirit, because that’s totally awesome.  But this part is pretty cool too.

         Jesus says, “Peace be with you” and he shows them his hands and his side.  Imagine it, the first appearance to many of the disciples and the first thing Jesus does is not to say, “hey, I’m ok” or “hey, I got resurrected” or even “I get knocked down, but I get up again!”.  Jesus doesn’t do any of that, instead he says “hey, here’s where I got hurt” “look, here is where they put the nails in my hands.”  It reminds me of when I greet my kids after a long day of school.  If one of them has a small cut or a skinned knee that is the first thing they do, “hey mom, look at where I got hurt.”  They show me their wounds. 

I imagine Jesus showed them the marks in his wrists and then he would have opened his robe or lifted his shirt, so that the disciples would see the large gash in his side where the spear had entered his body.  It is interesting that the writer of the gospel of John tells us that the disciples didn’t know who Jesus was until after he shows them his wounds. It is only after they see his hands and side that we read “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”  Is this the characteristic mark of Jesus now?  Are his wounds the only identifier?  Can we not know who he is if we don’t see the marks in his hands and side?  We can only wonder.

         Enter our friend, doubting Thomas; or Thomas Didymus, the twin.  “Twin to who?” we might ask; and the scriptures offer no clue.  I am always one to think Thomas is twin to you or me, those who demand signs or wonders.  Thomas is twin to those who want to see for themselves this thing that everyone else is talking about.  Thomas is twin to all the doubters the world over.  Thomas was not there that night and so when the disciples tell him what they saw and experienced he says that he won’t believe unless he himself sees the wounds of the Lord.  Again, we have this strange emphasis on the wounds of Christ, rather than on his resurrected and healed body. 

         A week passes in a stalemate, the disciples claiming to have seen the Lord and Thomas refusing to believe unless he sees Jesus’ wounds himself.  At the end of the week, the disciples are again gathered behind closed doors, but this time Thomas is there among them.  Jesus appears once again and again he says, “Peace be with you”.  Amazingly, Jesus goes through the same routine with the wounds.  “Here, see where I got hurt.”  He tells Thomas not just to look at his wounds but to actually touch and know that they are real.  “Put your finger here and see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it in my side.”  What?? Weird!

         The text doesn’t say exactly if Thomas really touched the Lord’s wounds or not, but I like to imagine that he did.  I think Thomas really wanted to know that the very Jesus who was hanging on the cross a week ago was now in his presence, still bearing the open wounds of his suffering.  Thomas needs to know that the suffering of Christ was real, and not simply a show put on by a magical non-human being.  The church has argued about the reality of the crucifixion for ages so Thomas isn’t really doubting any more than anybody else.  He’s in good company here.  The writer of the gospel of John tells us that even though Christ has been resurrected, he has not lost the marks of his suffering.  He is both healed and wounded.  And once again, it is in the viewing of Jesus’ wounds that his identity is made known as Thomas cries out in faith “My Lord and my God!”

         This emphasis on Jesus’ wounded body is fascinating and I am enthralled with this idea of a healed woundedness; that we could be both healed and hurt at the same time.  Many preachers will stand in their pulpits and tell you that God will make everything OK, that God will take away all the hurt and pain in your life.  That’s a great story and I would love to believe those promises but it’s just not true.  If it wasn’t true for Jesus then it’s not going to be true for us.  Just because we have faith, it does not mean that we will live without suffering now or in the future.  In fact, this text suggests that even in our healed state we can still be wounded. 

If Christ is to be our true model for our faith, then we must recognize that Christ still carries the wounds of his suffering.  Even though he has a healed body, he still carries the wounds of his rejection and humiliation upon the cross.  In fact, according to the author of this gospel, the risen Christ isn’t known until we see his wounds.  It is the wounds that make Jesus the Christ.  What if we too were only identifiable by our wounds?  What if it is our wounds that make us who we are?  What if you wouldn’t recognize me until you saw my scars?

         If we are ones who worship a wounded Lord, then we need to also be willing to admit our own woundedness.  While we develop deep relationships in the life of the church, we are often tempted to hide our wounds from each other.  Many of us come here on Sundays and try to make a show of everything being ok.  Folks greet us during the passing of the peace and ask us how we are and we always smile and say “fine.”  We often hold the truth of our lives back, feeling that this isn’t the time or place for such personal business.

         In this story, Jesus shows us another way.  The first thing he does when he is gathered in with the community is to show where he has been hurt and where he has been healed.  By sharing his pain, Jesus is sharing the reality of his life, the truth of his life, with his followers.  We might consider doing the same, sharing with others the painful places in our own lives; from actual physical pains, to the emotional scars that cut equally as deep.

         In our reading from Acts, Luke waxes eloquently about the near perfection of the early church community.  “The whole group who believed were of one heart and soul” isn’t that something!  They were such a connected community that they shared all their financial resources together and “there was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”  Now there’s a stewardship sermon!  The community shared their joys and concerns, their blessings and their hardships.  If they were of “one heart and soul” then they must have shared their wounds as well.

         As Christians we are sometimes embarrassed by the suffering in our own lives, especially the emotional suffering.  We might not blame somebody for getting cancer but we do wonder why, if we are good Christians and have faith, our lives are still a mess of suffering and sadness.  We often worry that if others were to find out about how we really live, all the things we worry about and struggle with, that they will think less of us as people or as Christians.  This text reminds us that while faith brings healing we are also still wounded.

         The reality of our world is that suffering is a part of all of our lives, and it will be a part of our lives in the future.  The uniqueness of our faith is that we have a God who suffers alongside of us.  We have a God who was broken and wounded physically and emotionally upon the cross and who still carries those wounds in his healed body.  God promises us a certain amount of healing in our lives, and I think we all can agree that our lives are better with God than without.  But, even though we are a healed people, we also carry the scars of our past and current hurts in our bodies.  Like our risen Lord, we are always in a state of healed woundedness. 

         In our scriptures it is still Easter Day and the first thing the risen Lord did was show his friends where he had been hurt.  It wasn’t until they had seen his scars that they recognized who Jesus was.  Without his wounds Jesus could be anybody.  With the marks in his hands and side, Jesus becomes the Christ. 

We too carry the wounds of the past and this Sunday after Easter we can be confident in God’s promise of new life for each of us.  Like Jesus, it is our honesty about our wounds, and our state of healed woundedness which will help us to reach out to others with the message of the gospel.  May God help us to continue to follow our Risen Lord Jesus Christ as we share the truth of our pain with each other.  Amen.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Finding Jesus


April 1st, 2018       “Finding Jesus”  Rev. Heather Jepsen

John 20:1-18 with Luke 24:13-35

         I don’t know why writing an Easter sermon seems so difficult.  You all know the story this morning and you all came to hear the same sermon.  “Christ is risen!” should be all I need to say.  And yet, like many other preachers I find this Sunday to be a sort of test.  Can I think of something new to say?  Can I put a new spin on the old story?  Can I craft something that is both familiar and comforting to regular attenders, inspiring to those whose faith is on the margins, and welcoming to those who are first time visitors?   Invariably, Holy Week finds me staring out the window, looking for inspiration, and looking for Jesus. 

         When I read the Gospel of John’s version of the Easter morning story I am stumped as to what I might add.  John has it all: excitement, mystery, whimsy, wonder, and faith.  John begins in darkness, as Mary comes to the tomb even before the sunrise.  Unlike the other gospel accounts, she is alone, and she does not bring spices.  In John’s reading, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea have already prepared the body for burial.  Mary is simply one coming to a graveside to mourn, much as we would today.

         When she sees the stone rolled away, Mary worries that things have been tampered with.  John doesn’t tell us that she looked inside; only that she ran to find help.  She tells the others that Jesus is missing and Simon Peter and the other disciple race to find out what happened.  It is easy to imagine these two, sandals slapping the road and robes flapping behind them as they run to see what might be going on.

         When they enter the space of death, they find the items of burial all wrapped and set aside.  It is almost as if Jesus was simply taking a nap and now that he is finished he got up and made the bed.  John tells us that upon seeing these things, the two disciples believed.  But John doesn’t tell us what it is that they believed, as they “did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”  Did they believe the body was stolen, like Mary?  Or did they believe something divine had happened?  The author leaves it up to us to decide.  Maybe the two left the tomb believing different things about what they had seen there.  I am sure there will be a variety of beliefs about what happened that day among us as we collectively leave the worship space this morning.

         Mary is still unsettled and remains in the garden outside the tomb weeping.  When she peers into the space of death, the author tells us that she sees angels.  Mary doesn’t seem to be aware of this though.  They ask after her tears and she states again that she is looking for the missing Jesus.  If the angels have any further information to give, they don’t offer it. 

         The writer then tells us that Mary turns around and sees Jesus standing beside her, but she doesn’t know that it is Jesus.  This is wonderful writing, as the reader now knows for sure that the Lord has risen and that Jesus lives again.  The suspense for the reader is not in the question of what has happened to Jesus.  Now it is in the question of what will happen to Mary.  Will Mary realize what is going on, or will she remain clouded in a fog of grief?

         Jesus speaks to her directly, asking her why she continues to cry.  With an April Fool’s wink in his eye he asks her who she is looking for, knowing full well that it is him that she seeks.  Mary does not recognize Jesus and so asks him again about where the missing Jesus might be.  Only then does he smile and call her name.  Her eyes are opened, she sees the risen Lord, and she rejoices.  Jesus warns her not to cling to him as he has places to go and people to see.  And he sends her with the message to spread the word, the Lord has risen.  Mary returns to the disciples, now confident in her message; not “where is the body?” but “I have seen the Lord!”

         There is little for the preacher to add to this perfectly crafted story.  I think it is simply enough that we hear it again and recognize its truth.  So often we are like Mary, blindly searching for Jesus when the Lord is standing right in front of us.  We are in good company with our futile efforts.  Throughout the gospels folks don’t seem to recognize the risen Jesus right away.  I imagine he looked different to those who knew him before.  And to those of us who have never met him in person, well, how could we possibly know what he looks like?

         In the gospels, Jesus’ presence is often hidden.  In this story from John, Mary doesn’t know him until he calls her name.  Later in John’s gospel Jesus will stand on a beach and call to the disciples as they fish on the Sea of Galilee, and even though they have already encountered the risen Lord, they will not recognize him.  In the story that Mary read from Luke, the disciples don’t know Jesus until he breaks the bread.  They had spent nearly a day with him and did not recognize him.  And later in Luke’s gospel, the disciples will see the risen Lord but they will be filled with fear because he looks like a ghost. 

         Why is it so hard to recognize Jesus?  If we are looking for him, why can’t we see him?  I imagine we have so much trouble because Jesus probably doesn’t look like what we are looking for.  Like Mary, we probably look right at Jesus and assume he is simply someone else.  We assume he is the gardener, our waiter, the cashier lady at Walmart, or someone bumping into us in the crowd.  We aren’t looking for him there, so we don’t see him, until of course Jesus reaches out to us.  That’s the trick about searching for the divine.  We do the seeking, but we don’t ever find anything.  In fact, I think while we are the seekers, we are also the ones who are found.

         As you know I have just returned from the Holy Land, and that is a place where many people go looking for Jesus.  Like many folks there I had all my senses open for a chance encounter with God.  Would I be struck dumb by the Jordan River?  Would I be moved to tears by the Church of the Nativity?  Walking the streets of Jerusalem would I succumb to Jerusalem syndrome and start thinking I was Mary Magdalene myself, looking for the Lord in the garden?  Who knows what would happen.

         One thing that did happen was this.  It was a very long day which started with the story I told last week about walking the Palm Sunday road.  The day featured too many churches to count, an accidental baptism in spilled lemonade, and an argument over lunch prices.  The day ended with me exhausted at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  This is the place where Jesus is said both to have been crucified and risen.  Home to over 5 denominations the church is a mish mash of shrines and art.  After a brief introduction, our group was given 45 minutes to explore the space on our own.

         As I mentioned it was the end of the day.  I was tired and the church was dark and crowded.  And I have to tell you, I just hated the place.  I know it is a shrine and a destination for many but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.  As my friend and I walked from room to room I kept mumbling things like “I don’t like it in here”, “this is creepy”, and “let’s get out of here”.  I can’t explain it but the space just made me feel really bad.  So after only 15 minutes the two of us were back out on the street.

         We had 30 minutes to wait so we walked back to the shops to poke around a bit.  Seeing nothing of interest, my friend and I sat down on the steps outside the church, simply waiting for the rest of the group to arrive so we could go back to the hotel for dinner and bed as it was nearly 7pm.  

         Suddenly a man came and sat down beside me on the steps.  He was obviously a local as I had noticed him a moment before in the square chatting with guards and such.  He had left the space and then had returned with a small selection of breads from one of the carts nearby.  I am assuming these were ½ off or even free samples as the day was over and the man did not appear to have significant wealth about him. 

         Anyway, this stranger sat down on the step just below mine and turned around to speak to me.  He asked if I was ok and I said that I was simply tired, and it had been a long day.  And then, this stranger offered me some of his bread.  I hesitated, mama always told me not to take food from strangers, and as I did so he said “don’t worry, it’s not dirty.”  I don’t know why he thought I thought it was dirty, maybe he got it off the floor.  I smiled and ripped a piece off his loaf and of course it was delicious, a long sesame loaf that is traditional in the area.  I told him it tasted good and thanked him for sharing it with me.  He sat for a moment longer with me, then jumped up and vanished into the shadows of the night.

         Like Mary in the garden, as soon as he handed me the bread I knew who he was.  He wasn’t some gardener, he wasn’t some stranger, he was Jesus, come to find me on the steps of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Jesus making himself known in the breaking of bread.  “Of course!” I thought.  God is not in that scary church or any other building or shrine.  God is not even in the Holy Land.  God is in people, always in people.  It is only when we reach out; when we are bold enough to speak to the stranger, when we really share our lives with each other, it is only then that we will find Jesus.  It is only then that we will see God.

         I don’t know what you are looking for here today, but I suspect that some of you are looking for Jesus.  The only advice I can offer is to keep your eyes and hearts open.  And to keep seeking until you are the one found.  It might be the gardener, or it might be a stranger with bread, but somehow, somewhere the risen Lord will make himself known to you.  You probably won’t recognize him at first, but in hindsight I am sure your heart will know the truth.  And then, like Mary, you can share your story “I have seen the Lord.”  Amen.