Monday, March 31

In the darkened auditorium, a momentary silence is broken by the off-stage announcer’s voice. “Yes, it’s been years since he left us, but tonight the King is back!” A bright spotlight pierces the darkness, alighting on a figure as it emerges from stage left. And there he is! Coal black hair, mutton chop sideburns, aviator sunglasses, white jumpsuit. He HAD returned. A friend to my right nudges me and whispers, “Look, it’s Elvis! He’s back from the dead...again.”

A few moments before the show, I had confided that I was writing a short meditation on resurrection. Never could I have ever connected resurrection with Elvis’s appearance on stage! Elvis was there by impersonation. Resurrection is not resuscitating someone from near death. Nor is it the result of being brought back to life by the action of another. What, then, is it and does it have any significance?

Christ died and His death was verified. He then returned to life from His own death with no human intervention. His resurrection is and was the only one of its kind. Rev. Herbert Hemingway of Point Harbor offered me these words: “If you believe in your heart that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection are true, you will receive Christ for eternal life.” Of these three events, though, resurrection is the most essential. Only by His resurrection could Christ confirm his divinity, fulfill prophecy and assure humanity of salvation.

Will we follow Him on our journey through life, beyond life, to eternal life? Do we have faith in Him, trust Him? And, above all, do we believe in His resurrection?

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your 

Son to earth as a baby so many years ago. 

Thank you that He paid the punishment for my 

sins by dying on the cross. And thank you that 

He rose again to prove that death was truly 

defeated. I place my trust in You to be my 

Savior. Guide me through the dark times of my 

life and give me courage to live for You. Amen

– Max Lucado

Barbara White

Sunday, March 30 - Fourth Sunday in Lent

Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Reading the creation story in Genesis we are told that the first thing created was light. Obviously the Deity responsible for such a significant phenomenon must be the embodiment of power and wisdom. Who was this Being? To Old Testament authors He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets and wisdom writers, and His mighty acts and spirit are the subject of many pages.

Then came further revelation recorded in what we know as the New Testament. Intended for readers of a later age, it sets forth the story of one Jesus of Nazareth, whose teachings and ministry set him apart and proclaimed that even death could not extinguish the light of his continuing presence.

Thus when John, the Gospel writer, set down his unforgettable words about who Jesus was, it was in the context of his firm belief that he had not only been present at creation but in himself represented the source of spiritual light responsible for all creative and fruitful lives, known for their goodness and truth and who most surely are the possessors of joy and peace. Thus, according to John, Jesus could most truthfully say, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Is that light “resurrection?” The Risen Jesus, who empowers us for a new way of living, is that the light we absorb that in time makes us one with the light? When Jesus reappeared from the dead, he did not tell us what resurrection means, he lived it - he was among them. His presence pulled his followers into a new level of existence. Would it be so for us all today.

Kaye White

Saturday, March 29

God does work in wonderful ways. Today was the aftermath of the recent snow storm. No work - all play! The entire beach is shut down... what to do first? Bundle up the kids and head out into the snow to go sledding. As we are driving down the road, I ask Jess to check the text messages on my phone. “What phone? I didn’t see you bring your phone...” she says. I know that I had that cell phone with me when we left the house. I retrace my steps and realize that I left it on the hood of the car... it is gone forever. My life is in that phone -- schedule, contacts, phone numbers, birthdays, anniversaries, upcoming events, important data, ideas, photos, videos, memories – gone... forever. My life is over – my day, week, month is shot – I cannot believe I am such an idiot

My attitude becomes hostile at best. I am miserable – and doing my best to make everyone around me feel the same way. “Why do these things always happen to ME!” “Why can’t I ever catch a break?” “How can I be so stupid?” “How come you didn’t see the phone on the hood and stop me?!”... and so it goes for another hour or so. Jess has reached her breaking point and tells me to “let it go.” “Just let it go.” “Let it go.” So I stop, pause, breathe and say a prayer. I pray to God to help me. Thy will be done. This too shall pass. All will be well.

It doesn’t happen suddenly, but it does happen. God has helped me let it go. He has helped ease my catastrophizing. Slowly but surely, I am able to see how selfish and self-centered I have been acting over a lost cell phone. I am being ridiculous – acting like a spoiled child... worse than my kids... on this truly remarkable, God given day on the Outer Banks. These types of days – where we have absolutely NOTHING to do but enjoy each other and the gift of a major snow fall – come around so infrequently. These types of days MUST be enjoyed. They are a gift. This life is such a gift. These kids are such a gift. Jess is a god-send and an absolute blessing in my life. By God, we are going to have a great, fun-filled day after all! 

I am a slow learner. I am not the center of the universe, even though I act as though I am. The transformation that God is helping me make in my life – from selfish to selfless – is going to be a lifelong process. Change is not easy for me. But I can change. I am changing – for the better. I am learning to think of others, sometimes putting others’ needs in front of my own. Not always... but sometimes. I am learning and changing... one good deed at a time. This is God’s resurrection in my life.

John Lenhart

Friday, March 28

When I think of the resurrection, I of course think of Christ rising from the dead. When I was a child and learning about this most important Holy Day in Christianity, I was frightened by the way Christ was treated and crucified.

Matthew 26:67 KJV “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,”

If you are of my generation it seems like we saw films about it with my parents or Sunday school teacher explaining each scene as we watched. I put these in the same category as those dinosaur movies that my brother thought were cool but I found equally scary, hoping and praying that real dinosaurs were not somewhere lurking on the earth. Not knowing the full scope of human cruelty or politics, it was nonsensical that they would treat someone who professed and demonstrated love and kindness like Jesus did.

I guess to resurrect or bring back to life meant that after a cold winter, sprouts begin to emerge in spring and plants grow back to life. I was one of those kids who relished nature. My mother would say she could never get my brother and me back in the house from climbing trees and investigating bugs, flora and fauna and the local wildlife.

As an adult and having a better understanding of the Easter story, I find great comfort in the words of Jesus when he says, ”Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:64 KJV

It says to me, there will be a better place and time, a better world ahead where everyone will live into the spirit and peace will reign. And thus, resurrection has a whole new meaning to me in my adult life based on my faith.

I opened a fortune cookie one time to find a fortune that said: Faith is believing there is an ocean when you can only see the stream.

Pat Kinney

Thursday, March 27

“May the Darkness Illuminate the Light.”

This resurrection reflection came last December 21st at the Winter

Solstice Labyrinth Walk. It is framed by the quote above from Pat Wilson’s meditation guide that day, and the quote below shared with me by a good friend back when.

The darkness of which I speak is the darkness of Depression. As I grew up I came to believe that depression was a fate almost worse than death. I saw it up close, for my mother had Bad Depression. It had crippled her. In her youth and her prime she had been an accomplished, multi-talented, vivacious woman. Now she was unhappy and bitter. So naturally I was NEVER going to be like her.

You can probably guess what Life had in store for me! After the birth of one of my children, when the radiance of the first days had passed, slowly something changed. I changed. I was no longer the ‘can do’ me. The new me just wanted to withdraw, to curl up in a ball, to protect myself from the darkness and the heaviness of living.

I started counseling. I learned a lot, but I didn’t really feel much better. A second counselor suggested that I might have depression. I resisted for a while but eventually did as I was told, saw the doc and took my medicine. I did not think it would help. I still remember the day I first noticed a change. It was Thanksgiving. I was on our deck, sitting by my father-in-law. Something was different. The sun was brighter. It was there. Shining on the first day of my resurrection.

I came to value that winter season of my life. I learned that I don’t have to be up all the time. I am no longer afraid of the darkness.

”You must first enter that which you most dread, in order to be admitted to Life.”

Roisin McKeithan

Wednesday, March 26

The empty tomb, whether history,

     myth or metaphor

proclaims Jesus is not "out there" 

     but is "in here;"

in me, in us and in others.

Jesus' resurrection followed by 

     Pentecost

bequeaths to us the indwelling 

     Holy Spirit of god.

Christ within us.

We may shroud this bright inner 

     beacon and light our way 

     with our little ego candles

or we choose the reverse.

Choosing to surrender our will 

     to the will of God

seems like suicide.

And in a way, it is.

Surprisingly, we not only survive 

     but thrive.

What could be more exciting

than following the adventure of 

     God's loving will

God, I give myself to you this day, 

     guide me with the light of your will.

Let it be so now.

Thy kingdom come, 

Thy will be done.

Jim Bickford

Tuesday, March 25

One of the most famous, beautiful, and inspiring frescos is Michelangelo’s representation of “the creation of Adam” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Adam is in a reclining position, but his left hand is stretched towards God’s right hand and their fingers are almost touching.

What if “God’s touch,” thought by many scholars to be the endowing of Adam with humanity, is more than that? What if this depiction represents something else, something more?

What if God is showing Adam the way to become the person he (Adam) is meant to be - a loving, compassionate and caring human, extending a hand, as it were, to his fellow man or woman? Adam and many later humans did not quite get this message.

Is not what Christ did in his life on earth try again to deliver God’s message -- To live among us and show us a new way to relate to one another?

To me this is a part of resurrection, rebirth, restoration, or renewal. How do we as people of God enter into this process and make a difference in someone’s life? By reaching out and “touching” them in a meaningful way through words or deeds and sharing our humanity with one another.

Mary Lou Beckett

Monday, March 24

My Daily Meditation for Lent 

I know there is a purpose for my life;

I pray for understanding of my place in the world 

and what purpose I will serve in it.

I know I have been given many gifts;

I pray for wisdom in knowing how to use them. 

I pray to understand how these gifts may change in time 

and to discover those gifts I have yet to know.

I know I am loved and that I am capable of loving others;

I pray for courage to show love and act in loving ways, 

especially when I feel otherwise and it is hard.

I know I have worth and am worthy;

I pray that I not feel entitled for what is not rightfully 

given or earned.

I know I am blessed;

I pray that I come to understand all of the blessings in my life, 

from whom they are given, and their purpose for me.

I know “God’s time” and “my time” are different;

I pray for patience when they don’t match as I think they should. 

I pray to remember things will resolve when it is the right time.

In God’s time, when I am worthy, when I am loving, when 

blessings and gifts are known, and when my purpose is revealed.

Dorlene Evans

Sunday, March 23 - Third Sunday in Lent

As the finite nature of human life comes more clearly into focus, the words of sages in times past fall into a cadence or rhythm all their own.

The words from Ecclesiastes tell us “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Here are a few examples:

A time to be born and a time to die

A time to weep and a time to laugh

A time to mourn and a time to dance

The poet C. A. Schlea writes about a “Fifth Season.” In his poem he comments on the stages of life as they relate to the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. However, he doesn’t end it there. Schlea introduces hope, comfort and renewal in the final stanzas of his poem as follows:

“But with the passing of these seasons, life is still not done, not through, for there is yet another season when each spirit is renewed. And it is in this calm fifth season, in this hopeful second spring, a time of cleansing and rebirth, a time of new awakening, each person’s life will come full circle, even as the seasons do, to start another different life much better than the one we knew.”

Schlea does not mention God or Jesus anywhere in the poem, however, for all who recognize that it is purely “by the Grace of God” that we enjoy the privilege of life, RESURRECTION leaps from the page.

Joe Beckett

Saturday, March 22

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)

I love the first paragraph of John! The mere sound of the words is powerful and majestic, catching my attention, compounding the impact of their meaning, carrying me forward as on a wave to the gift of HOPE in verse five.

Apparently I need frequent reminders of the power - sometimes mere existence - of Goodness, as cruelty and sadness scream constantly for attention. Love and Kindness, quietly confident of their value, have no need to throw such tantrums - and thus I sometimes lose sight of them.

In verse five above, the word OVERCOME is alternately translated as COMPREHEND (etc.) from a Greek word that carries the double meaning of overpower and understand. This is significant not only to the relationship between darkness and Light, but also to the way I perceive the passage. When the message of Hope gets through and I understand that Light will always, ultimately overcome darkness, my heart sings! Yet too often I either fail to grasp it or stop believing it could be true, my earthbound mind requiring proof but finding none within easy reach.

Hope, though, keeps sending me reminders and waits patiently for me to come around. I’m learning, and choosing, to live into the belief that Light will overcome any degree or form of darkness, whether I comprehend it right away or not.

Leckie Conners

Friday, March 21

I AM FOR YOU 
(Hymn) 

By Rory Cooney

There is a mountain, there is a sea. 

There is wind within all breathing. 

There is an arm to break every chain. 

There is a fire in all things living. 

There is a voice that speaks from the flame. 

I am for you, I am for you, I AM for you is my name.

There was a woman small as a star 

Full of the patient dreams of her nation. 

Welcoming in an angel of God, 

Welcoming in God's bold invitation. 

Let it be done she said unto me. 

I am for you, I am for you, I am for you let it be.

There was a man who walked in a storm 

Caught in between the waves and the lightning. 

Sharing his bread with those cast aside 

Healing by touch the lost and the dying 

Sending us forth he said to his friends 

I am for you, I am for you, I am for you to the end.

We are anointed servants of God. 

We have been born again of the spirit 

We are the word God speaks to the world 

Freedom and light to all who will hear it. 

So let us be the Word of The Lord. 

I am for you, I am for you, I am for you evermore.

There is a world that waits in the womb. 

There is a hope unborn God is bearing 

Though the powers of death prowl the night 

There is a day our God is preparing.

Sing round the fire to waken the dawn. 

I AM for you, I AM for you, I AM for you, we are one. 

I AM for you, I AM for you, I AM for you, we are one.

Submitted by Vicki Parker

Thursday, March 20

The Lucky Ones

The lucky ones don’t care any more. They don’t have to; their time here is done. They have moved beyond time and place, and though their bodies have returned to earth, their souls soar beyond the stars.

Take me to that place beyond the stars; that is all I ask of You this morning. For a day, for a second - I’ll take whatever You can spare for this one request.

This world is in trouble, and my personal world is in disarray. Wars and rumors of wars persist. My body ages, and death, though not imminent, is sure to come.

At death, I shall know as I am known, and at my advanced age surely my ticket on the eternal roller coaster is in the mail.

Please - don’t make me wait for the postman. Give me a preview of what is to come, that I may then return to this tiny, troubled life, fully assured that the daily struggles are worth it.

I meditate, I pray, I do good as I know how. I see You in my fellow earth mates, and celebrate nature’s wonders. I have laid my life and my future on the line for You the best I know how, and been generously rewarded here in my tiny insignificant life.

But - God help me - it is not enough. I don’t have enough God in me (yet) to carry me through the remaining years of my sojourn here.

I have nothing more to give or receive, and I’m at the end of my wits. By that I mean I have no more clever techniques up my sleeve to love, know, and serve God.

The tried and true practices of the ancients elude me. I have regressed to childish ignorance of what it takes to know and be God in this life, and as a growing child I’m starved for nutrients and adventure.

Smile at me as a mother does her baby; cradle me in Your arms as a father his beloved son and do not leave me here to grieve alone this fallen day.

Take me up and away, far beyond the stars, that I may return to this life knowing every inch of struggle is loved by You. Only then shall I

know the luck that is life, for there is no death.

Sharon Keene

Wednesday, March 19

My dog, Yoda, teaches me about resurrection every day. It is true, my dog has a very good life - a warm bed, food in his belly and lots of love! But his life was not always that blessed. So he still has issues with things like thunder and lightening and small children. I don't know what happened to him before he came to live with Tom & me. But now, he greets every single morning with gusto and excitement. To him, every day is a great day - a day full of new adventures. He gets and gives a great deal of P-mail, which gives him great joy. He greets most humans and most dogs with interest and equanimity. (He is not so sure about cats!) He is always happy to see me and Tom. He seizes the day and runs with it as far as he is able. I think that is what living a “resurrected life” is all about.

Prayer: Lord give me the grace to see life, with all its possibilities. Let me not worry, for You have my back. Let me not waste one minute of the precious time you have allotted for me to be on this earth.

Pat Wilson

Tuesday, March 18

For a number of years, we have been part of a small group that studies together and discusses our faith and what that means to us. Through this process, my concept of faith has been expanded in so many ways. Sometimes it’s a little scary to realize that we are part of the cosmos and not just our planet which can make one feel very small and insignificant. Yet we learn that we are all an important part of the interconnectedness of that cosmos in such a way that our actions can impact every other component. God/Creator/Spirit is in every part of the cosmos and in us to maintain that connectedness - if we are open to recognizing it. God is described as Word, Wind, Breath, Love - all the ways that we live and experience being human.

What does that mean for how we perceive God/Creator/Spirit? The Psalm for today in the language of The Message (34:2, 8) says: “I live and breathe God; if things aren’t going well, hear this and be happy... Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see - how good God is.”

Be open to God with all your senses! The Creator is part of all that we are - and the cosmos. We are interconnected within and through the Spirit.

Carole Kimmel

Monday, March 17

I want to tell you my most heartfelt resurrection story.

It’s about my Uncle Paddy. Paddy was my mother’s brother and still lived in Waterford where they grew up. He would spend his vacations with us in Dublin, two weeks at Christmas and two weeks in the summer. He lived alone. Even as a child I remember feeling sorry for him. He seemed so lonely. My two brothers were older, and Uncle Paddy had a special fondness for me. He’d bring me a toy or a book. He used to sneak me the occasional cigarette when I was a teenager. I still wear the dusty pink sheepskin slippers he gave me about 40 years ago.

I was an adult before I learned that at one time Paddy had been married. But his wife left him. I know no more about it. This was obviously a very taboo subject in our family, and indeed the country at the time. She took with her their only child, a daughter, who was about my age. No wonder I was special to him.

When Tim and I were married he was in the hospital, and so was unable to attend our wedding. But the next day we drove down to Waterford to see him. He was so pleased and proud to show off his niece and her new American Naval Officer husband. After I moved here, we would write. At times it was hard to read his letters. You could feel his loneliness between the lines.

Then, on Easter Sunday morning about 30 years ago, I opened the latest letter from Paddy. It was such a different letter. The sun shone warm and sparkling from its pages. He told us that he had moved into ‘an old people’s home’ run by a local community of nuns. They were so nice and so caring, and he had plenty of company under his new roof.

At approximately 75, my Uncle Paddy was no longer a lonely man.

Roisin McKeithan

Sunday, March 16 - Second Sunday in Lent

Resurrection

It is death that I feared most of all

Where all other fears had their source 

When my run would return to a crawl 

Then a writhe, then the end of the course

It is death that I feared most of all 

It haunted the lightest of days 

A knowing that foreshadowed the fall 

Taking life in the present away

I had died many times before death 

Then found I needn’t live in fear 

Jesus resurrected my soul 

And I learned to live while I’m here

I have died many times before death 

But am resurrected often as well 

My faith requires no evidence 

It need only make a Heaven of hell

Jeff Edwards

Saturday, March 15

The Elegant Solution

A Reflection for Lent

Last Fall I had the pleasure of attending a retreat in Bass Harbor, ME, on the subject of the Trinity and the Law of Three, taught by Cynthia Bourgeault, an Episcopal minister, writer and teacher. I’d like to share some thoughts from that retreat with you.

I was intrigued and excited by her explanation of the concept of the Law of Three. My “take” on it is that whenever we witness an impasse in our own or community affairs, there is always a “third force,” idea or action which is often hidden, but which, when discovered, will move the impasse into an entirely new place or arising. If we want to be part of the Good, we discover this third force by being open and listening to the always present God. Utilizing that “force” will result in a whole new experience. Consider the Alcoholics Anonymous member who finds a new way of living and being through AA rather than simply not drinking.

In our community at All Saints, I think this elegance was illustrated when Father Tom, writing in the Trumpeter about our stewardship campaign results, noted that the recent reduced income may be a call for reassessment of our emphases and direction of ministry, for example, rather than shaming or ”guilting” us into a preformed resolution.

Personally, I look for the third force when I hit an impasse in my social relationships. When I let go trying to make something happen according to my way of seeing the situation, offer the impasse and myself to the always present God, and wait, the elegant solution comes . . . accompanied by that knowing “aha!”

As we engage in these Lenten reflections, consider how Jesus is an Elegant Solution to the mystery of God’s being with us.

Jane Welch

Friday, March 14

“What does Resurrection Mean to me?” Getting up in the morning. When you move into your later years, that’s important.

Yes, that is a bit tongue-in-cheek. But, on the other hand, how I get up in the morning does make a difference. It can set my day in a positive or negative direction. More and more, I am waking up positively. Lots of reasons - I am comfortably retired, my wife and I are in reasonably good health, my child is a grown independent woman - not much to be negative about. But, I think it’s more because I am slowly being resurrected in spirit, realizing that all the things that could affect me negatively, shouldn’t. They are either things I can control and need to get busy working on (tax day is coming soon), or they are things I can’t control.

And then there is my other resurrection of spirit, something that has been going on slowly over a number of years - namely, getting outside of my comfort zone. Things like mission trips, working with the less fortunate, brussel sprouts, spontaneous events not on my calendar, spending time in doctor’s offices and hospitals, balsamic vinegar, the ringing of the telephone or doorbell (when you are an introvert, almost anything involving others can be outside of your comfort zone). No, I don't plan on singing a cappella at the Met, even if they beg me. But, I have found that suppressing my traditional negative thoughts toward things outside of my comfort zone brings me into new experiences and viewpoints.

Yes, Resurrection can be about Christ’s rising from the dead. It can be a focal point for all of Christianity. That is important and should not be minimized. But, as I am going through a period of trying to see Christ in my everyday life, resurrection becomes more about getting a clearer picture of the God within me and the beauty and wonder of the creation of which I am a part.

Gary Kimmel

Thursday, March 13

“He is not here, but has risen.” (Luke 24:6)

Have you ever felt your soul leave your body? I have - once in a car crash, and another time when I was very sick. In both cases I felt my soul zap back into my body when someone interrupted my bliss of being free.

I wonder if it was like that for Jesus. At his death on the cross, he commended his spirit to the Father. His friends and family wrapped his body and laid it in a donated tomb. But when they returned three days later, his body was gone, and two men in dazzling apparel - possibly the thieves that had been crucified along side him - said, “He is not here; he is risen!”

Jesus’ soul was busy those three days; he had more work to do after his brutal death on the cross. He experienced hell and heaven, and everything in between, continuing his work of redemption even after he’d been freed of this world.

I don’t wonder if Jesus had any reluctance to return to his body and walk the earth yet again, to demonstrate to his followers that he really had overcome death, both body and soul.

See, I believe Jesus literally rose from the dead. He overcame spirit as well as matter. He reformatted and reconstructed everything. Despite knowing some still wouldn’t believe, even having seen his dead body and now his resurrected one, he came back. I love Him even more for this further sacrifice.

He ascended after his resurrection, but where did he go? To me, not anywhere; He has transcended time and place; He is everything and everywhere in this world and the universe. Thank you, Lord!

Sharon Keene

Wednesday, March 12

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John11: 25-26)

This quote reminds me of the church I attended when I lived in Pennsylvania. The priest was Joachim Bakey, Father Joe, and he was previously a Franciscan Priest. He left the Catholic religion and married late in life and had three children. My three children, my husband, and I loved him. When we left PA, (17 years ago) he was in his eighties and very much “grandfatherly” to all of us. At the end of The Peace, to get people back into the quiet mode before Eucharist, he would always say, “God is love, and those who live in love, live in God, and God in them.” I remember the first time I heard him say that. I thought to myself, “Wow, that is an awesome, complex, and powerful saying.” I wrote down the words and contemplated their meaning and how I fit into this phrase.

I came away from that exercise and realized that if we love, and conduct our life in a loving way, we are reflecting God. We are putting God out there into the world. A world in which he no longer has a physical presence because he was crucified.

Celebrating Easter each year is a good reminder to all of us that Jesus lived as one of us and died to save us. If we believe, we may physically die as He did, but will live forever. If you get a chance this Lenten season, remember, reflect, or say Fr. Joe’s prayer, “God is love, and those who live in love, live in God, and God in them.”

Sandy Briggman

Tuesday, March 11

Jesus said..., “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Mt. 26:52)

I marvel at the non-violence of Jesus.

We humans are wired for survival. Self-defense comes naturally. Once as a sleep-deprived new mother of twins, I struck the refrigerator door to keep myself from hitting the children - and the door fell off! I know the violence within me. Yet Jesus, in his hour of trial, commands his followers to put down their swords.

The truly Human One shows us how God - the Source and End of life - behaves in the flesh. When confronted by the powers, he allows himself to be handed over to be killed rather than to kill.

One of my seminary professors spoke words I’ve never forgotten. The Rev. Rowan Greer said, “Better to be crucified than to crucify.” Better to receive hurt, to take it into oneself and release it in love, rather than to strike back.

Jesus’ way has its followers - Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.; Episcopal Bishop Paul Jones of Utah, who was forced to resign his office because of his opposition to war; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who confessed he was committing sin by taking part in the plot to kill Hitler; and Jonathan Daniels, a seminarian from the Episcopal Theological Seminary, who during the 60’s came unarmed from the Episcopal Theological Seminary into the Deep South and took a bullet on behalf of a young African American woman.

Every tradition has its witnesses for peace. In the early days of the church, no Christian could bear arms. But the mainstream of Christianity flows counter to the way of its Lord.

As a member of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, I have promised to the best of my ability not to engage in violence and to work against the use of violence in every sphere, including national policy.

War crucifies Christ and crucifies humanity. War hurts perpetrator as well as victim. Recently the Episcopal Bishop of the Armed Forces, Bishop Jay Magness, told the adult forum at Trinity, Portsmouth, that the military now uses a new term alongside post traumatic stress (PTS) - soul wounding.

Soul wounding denotes the spiritual illness that arises from having committed or witnessed an act contrary to the teaching in which one was formed as a child. Military chaplains are being trained to offer healing for this wound of the spirit even as military psychologists address PTS.

If only we could view our planet as through the lens of the Hubble spacecraft camera - as a beautiful, fragile jewel in the vastness of the cosmos! We might at last see that we are one - one people to care for one another, one Earth to tend with loving stewardship.

Then all the gifts of those serving in the military - the commitment, courage, dedication, expertise, skill - and our country’s enormous defense budget might be directed towards healing and building up, helping to midwife the new creation.

The Rev. Julia Dorsey Loomis

Monday, March 10

WHAT DOES RESURRECTION MEAN TO ME

In another church that Tom and I attended before settling on the Outer Banks, the Easter celebration began with the Maundy Thursday service, followed by the Good Friday services, and the Holy Saturday service. The Great Vigil began at 5:00 AM on Easter Day with the lighting of the Paschal Candle outside in the courtyard. We then proceeded on into the darkened church for the service of the nine lessons, the Baptism service, and finally the glorious Festival Eucharist of Celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord. Very exciting!

During the following week, each afternoon we had a short Eucharist service in which individuals were invited to give “witness” to what the Resurrection meant to them. My experience was that each year, the Resurrection meant something different to me! It’s like looking at the colors in a prism. The colors are always there but they often look different, depending on how you look at the prism. Over the years, the different “meanings” have remained with me - feelings of humbleness, gratitude, and love that is beyond explanation.

This year, as I once again look into the prism, I wonder what colors and new insights I will see. With gratitude and great joy, I know that I can sing “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” For that I am thankful!

God is Good!!

Kay O’Brien

Sunday, March 9 - First Sunday in Lent

A wandering Aramean was my father; he went down to Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. Deut. 26:8

Our spiritual journey is something like that. We begin as a lone individual and in baptism we become a part of a community where we are nurtured and grow. We are surrounded with a great company of the faithful, the saints if you will, who hold up for us what we can be. So our journey is not solitary. We are not alone but in the company of those in our faith community here and now, but also the company of those who have gone before - that great cloud of witnesses who have witnessed to Jesus through the ages. We began as a single, lone individual and by baptism we are joined with all those through ages who have witnessed to the Christ, “a great nation, mighty and populous.” For that we can say “Praise God, Hallelujah.”

Father Ted Bishop

Saturday, March 8

When I move through Lent and enter Easter the right way, I’m always left speechless! Paul reminds in Romans: “This Resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Mama/Papa?” (The Message) This year I hope to take a little more time savoring God’s miracle gift of Resurrection faith, a gift to me, of all people!

I hope I’ll remember to call to mind the humble vessels the Spirit used to pry me open to receive the Gift of Resurrection faith: My Mom, of whom our local newspaper headlined front page, top right column: “Death of gentle churchwoman widely felt.” First woman Elder at our Presbyterian Church; giver through and through! My Dad, Elder as well, who had his first heart attack after taking Christmas gifts to a blind man in a 5th floor walk-up in Philadelphia. Carl and Marsha Mazza, founders of “The Meeting Ground,” a truly remarkable refuge for the homeless, whose inspiration was Proverbs 22:2: “The rich and poor shake hands as equals-God made them both.” Nelson Mandela, who gladly took the call on his life from God, putting his hand to the plow and never looking back, no matter the cost! And so many more Resurrection nurturers......

I hope, too, that this Lent and Easter, I’ll make the time not only to ponder the lives of the many who have nurtured the Resurrection faith with which God has gifted me, but also to call to mind those things in me which continue to stifle and squash the work the Spirit has set out to do in me. How right Paul was when he said: “The power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions. I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.” (The Message)

How glibly I sing with gusto:

“Here I am, Lord, Is it I, Lord? 

I have heard you calling in the night. 

I will go, Lord, if you lead me. 

I will hold your people in my heart.

Then I plant my feet refusing to allow the Resurrected Lord to have his way!

PRAYER: Lord, grace me to move beyond my sin and into your perfect will for me one day at a time! Amen.

Craig Peel