Love Comes Back!
Happy Easter to everyone! Today the Lord is Risen!!
I'm sure some will find this an odd post, but it is what it is.
I didn't give up anything for Lent. My will power is not good. I travel a lot and trying to give up chocolate, meat, etc just didn't seem practical, and let's be honest, my track record in the past for "giving things up" for Lent hasn't been good. So this Lent I decided to try to do something a bit more proactive. And so I decided that I would go to church every Friday evening (when I was in DC) and attend the Stations of the Cross at St. Thomas'. So for every Friday in Lent (save one), I was one of the very few people who attended this service. Who chanted as we made our way around the church and listened to the last day and last words of Jesus Christ. And it was an interesting time for me to sit and listen, to think, and just meditate on God, Jesus, and the church in general.
Today I attended St. Thomas as usual, but I was an usher. And it was a busy day to be an usher. It was standing room only and we had our hands full with helping out with the collection, guiding people to communion, etc. So busy in fact that I didn't really get a chance to listen to the service, or enjoy it. Or even think about it much.
But I got home and as I am wont to do, I started with my blog roll. Those blogs that I go to all the time. The political ones (Americablog, Andrew Sullivan, etc), the personal ones (Jimbo, Joe.My.God), and then the religious blogs. And yes I read religious blogs. I usually turn to Father Jake's to get the latest on "As the Anglican World Turns" (and what a soap opera it has been lately), but this week he's offered up pieces of scriptures for Holy Week. Different pieces and asks his readers to read the scripture, to say it out loud, and to try to reach out to the piece, the word, the phrase that means something to you.
Today's scripture focused on Mary Magdalene, coming to the tomb after Jesus is buried, and discovering that his body is gone. Mary is consumed by grief and then Jesus appears before her (though she doesn't recognize him at first) and asks her why she is crying. Jesus so loved Mary, and the other disciples as well, that even after his death he came back to them to succor them. And while the scripture talks about how Jesus came back, somehow in my mind I had translated it to "Love Comes Back." And it made me think that even in our darkest hours, even when we've given up hope, that we will not be abandoned and left alone to perish. Loves Comes Back. That really is the Good News of the Lord!
The Lord is Risen. Alleluia, Alleluia.
I'm sure some will find this an odd post, but it is what it is.
I didn't give up anything for Lent. My will power is not good. I travel a lot and trying to give up chocolate, meat, etc just didn't seem practical, and let's be honest, my track record in the past for "giving things up" for Lent hasn't been good. So this Lent I decided to try to do something a bit more proactive. And so I decided that I would go to church every Friday evening (when I was in DC) and attend the Stations of the Cross at St. Thomas'. So for every Friday in Lent (save one), I was one of the very few people who attended this service. Who chanted as we made our way around the church and listened to the last day and last words of Jesus Christ. And it was an interesting time for me to sit and listen, to think, and just meditate on God, Jesus, and the church in general.
Today I attended St. Thomas as usual, but I was an usher. And it was a busy day to be an usher. It was standing room only and we had our hands full with helping out with the collection, guiding people to communion, etc. So busy in fact that I didn't really get a chance to listen to the service, or enjoy it. Or even think about it much.
But I got home and as I am wont to do, I started with my blog roll. Those blogs that I go to all the time. The political ones (Americablog, Andrew Sullivan, etc), the personal ones (Jimbo, Joe.My.God), and then the religious blogs. And yes I read religious blogs. I usually turn to Father Jake's to get the latest on "As the Anglican World Turns" (and what a soap opera it has been lately), but this week he's offered up pieces of scriptures for Holy Week. Different pieces and asks his readers to read the scripture, to say it out loud, and to try to reach out to the piece, the word, the phrase that means something to you.
Today's scripture focused on Mary Magdalene, coming to the tomb after Jesus is buried, and discovering that his body is gone. Mary is consumed by grief and then Jesus appears before her (though she doesn't recognize him at first) and asks her why she is crying. Jesus so loved Mary, and the other disciples as well, that even after his death he came back to them to succor them. And while the scripture talks about how Jesus came back, somehow in my mind I had translated it to "Love Comes Back." And it made me think that even in our darkest hours, even when we've given up hope, that we will not be abandoned and left alone to perish. Loves Comes Back. That really is the Good News of the Lord!
The Lord is Risen. Alleluia, Alleluia.