Easter Happiness - a prayer on Resurrection Day

Kind Father,
 On Friday Jesus thrust himself fully on you
  He gave his life for us and the forgiveness of our sins.

And today, RESURRECTION Day - You have not disappointed
 You raise up your Son
   Your faithful, strong love - gave Him victory over death

We confess that we do not always trust as fully as Jesus
 But your faithful and strong love is never failing
   And in faith, we rejoice that we can be found in Him
  United to You
    Full of the Spirit of life

Being found in Him, bring joy and confidence
 Joy and Confidence contend for us when the sting of death visits
   When sorrow is great
      When we are searching for direction in the fog of life

Christ meets us
  at the tomb, on the road, in daily life and work
Christ meets us
  with joy, with courage, with vision, with victory and love

This day, take our faith - little or great
 and grow in us the enjoyment of this Easter happiness
And as you do in us,
  do likewise in all nations and in all the earth

With Joy and Confidence we pray. Amen.

(The phrase "the enjoyment of this Easter Happiness" is found in a prayer by Saint Gregory the Great,   who served as Pope from 590-604)

God does great work in grave yards

When it comes to the benediction of a worship service most Pastors want to send worshipers out with a final good word for the week; 'The Lord be with you,' 'Peace of Christ be with you,' etc. This past Sunday my fellow Beeson pastors and I visited Ginghamsburg Church near Dayton, Ohio. At the benediction Pastor Mike Slaughter capped off the sermon for the day with these final words, "and remember, You're going to Die."

The sermon unpacked Luke 9:51-52 where Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem knowing that the cross is before him. He knows, the disciples know, that Jerusalem is not safe, and yet he goes because he has been sent for this purpose. Pastor Mike connected this text to Ash Wednesday where we receive the imposition of ashes and hear the words, 'remember you are dust' or 'from dust you came, to dust you shall return.' The point was to evoke a wondering; 'What then, am I doing while I'm alive? What am I doing that matters? What is the purpose of my life?' Jesus had a purpose and he set his face toward it, what is our (my) purpose?

Following the service our cohort had the joy of lunching with Pastor Mike and some great staff at Ginghamsburg. In that space he added a follow up his benediction; God does great work in grave yards.  

That follow up foreshadows the coming theme of Resurrection Sunday. It also led into a conversation about the ministry of Ginghamsburg Church and what we had experienced on our trip.

Our first visit of the day was to Fort McKinley, a suburb of Dayton. A couple of years ago a UM church that had not kept pace with the changing environment around them came under the leadership of Ginghamsburg. We arrived at the church around 8 AM to find people gathering for a bountiful breakfast. At the Fort breakfast is served from 8-10 AM. About 300 people gather for this meal each week. At 9 worship begins with two services following. What we saw was a church that was dead, but it found new life. God does great work in grave yards.

Pastor Mike shared about the economic situation in Dayton, how it is city that is dying, and about their work within it. He talked about the church's work in Darfur and South Sudan and said, we go and we give because God does great work in grave yards.

We came away with plenty of good impressions. The first two are profound. You're (we're) going to die. God does great work in grave yards! 

Cheer UP

John 16.31-33

³¹Jesus replied:

   Do you really believe me? ³²The time will come and is already here when all of you will be scattered. Each of you will go back home and leave me by myself. But the Father will be with me, and I won't be alone. ³³I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.

This passage was looked at in a men’s Bible Study a couple of nights ago.  Jesus’ words pierced through the ages from the setting in the upper room into the reality that we face when we wake up and turn on the news.  Since the time of his walking the earth, the earth has known trouble, followers of His have known what it is to suffer, they have taken up the calling to take on the suffering of the world, so that His victory, His healing can not only be talked about in past tense, but known now and into the future.  Though there is suffering, Jesus reminds us that the Father is with us, we are never alone, and He has defeated the world (John is talking of the world as the principles that are aligned against life, against Jesus – these principalities in other places we call death, Satan; the world as a created being is something God is at work redeeming.).
Today, as you follow Jesus and willingly take on some of the suffering of the world, do it in good cheer, for this suffering has met its match in the cross of Christ and all who will follow Him carrying a cross.  The suffering is met by a Father who is ever present, who calls things to life that are dead, who creates out of nothing, who transforms sorrow into gladness.  Be of Good Cheer as you take on some of the world’s suffering, for working in you is the Hope of Glory and the power of Christ Jesus, radiating His relationship and creation healing work through your kind words, your strong arms, your gentle response, your listening ear, your heart of love, your cheer in the midst of a troubled world.  Be of Good Cheer as you live and move in the Gospel, as it flows through you to troubled souls.  Be of Good Cheer.

In the midst of death, we are in Life!

In the committal service at a grave one of the lines reads, "in the midst of life we are in death."  That line reflects on all that is happening in that moment, where the living gather around a body which has died and is now about to be buried in the ground.  

There are times when the reversal of that comment sounds more true - in the midst of death, we are in Life!  The man I wrote about last week, died to this world on Tuesday.  But yesterday was the remembrance of Christ's Ascension.  What we know is that even though death take us, in Christ we have life, now and eternally.

On Monday I had a call of another man who died and I will be doing his funeral.  At present we're staying with a friend who works with people facing the last of their days in this world.  Her stories are touching and heart wrenching - she works actively in the midst of death, and her task, to bring life.

Tomorrow Aravis and I will be a part of a wedding of a wonderful young couple.  Their marriage represents a death, to their Independence, to their individual destiny, but it leads to life.  This death and life will take place "in the house of God."

And this is the mystery of the Gospel, the mystery of God's house - in the midst of multitudinous deaths, in Christ we are in Life!

R & R (Rest & Resurrection)

This week we're staying with our dear friend Diane Munoz for a week of R & R. 
Enjoying the summer like weather of central KY. 

Resurrection Sunday was marvelous at CMFMC. 
We began the day with a Sunrise service at 7:15 AM.  Literally at the sunrise.  A member of our congregation came and she said, "I thought there would be some friends of Jesus gathered."  Indeed there were.
Two young women, very fitting for Resurrection morning, provided a great breakfast before Sunday School. 
For morning worship, we welcomed many visitors and the visitor we all welcomed was Jesus himself. 

The Son rose and radiates in our hearts.
Glory.  Hallelujah!