Category Archives: Resurrection

Untroubled hearts

The Way

Hermano León
Domingo V de Pascua

[Jesus said to his disciples:] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” John 14:1

With all the natural disasters, wars, abuse, cruelty, greed, illness, poverty, and loneliness in the world, sometimes my heart is troubled.

Yet if I have faith in in the pure, unconditional love and goodness of God, then I need to invite Jesus, the Compassion of God, to be my companion. I need to have faith that his example will show me the Way through the messy human condition. I need to have faith in the Truth of God’s mercy and forgiveness. I need to have faith in the gift of LIfe eternal.

Followers of Christ

Good Shepherd

Early christian image of Christ as the Good Shepherd
Fourth Century A.D.
Museo Epigrafico, Rome

[The shepherd] walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. John 10:4

We follow Jesus into quiet, secluded places to pray. We follow Jesus to dine with the poor and the outcasts of society. We follow Jesus to touch those with untouchable illnesses. We follow Jesus to wash the feet of others. We follow Jesus to forgive those who betray us. We follow Jesus to love our enemies. We follow Jesus to do the will of God, however counter-cultural it may seem. We follow Jesus to die to ourselves and rise to new life.

Honest doubts

Jesus appears to Thomas - John 20:24-29

JESUS MAFA. Jesus appears to Thomas, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” John 20:24

I wonder how convincing the other disciples were about their encounter with Jesus. Thomas may have had good reason to doubt them.

And I wonder how convincing I am as a witness for Jesus. Do I embody the compassion and unconditional love and non-judgment of Jesus? Do I embody the mercy and forgiveness and non-violence of Jesus? Do I embody the service and healing and humility of Jesus?

Honest doubt nudges me to deepen my commitment to practice the God-qualities that comfort and encourage others, and that bring peace to my corner of the world.

Hope in the moment

Two_Disciples_at_the_Tomb_c1906_Henry_Ossawa_Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)
Two Disciples at the Tomb, ca.1906
oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago
via Wikimedia Commons

When Simon Peter arrived after [the other disciple], he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. John 20:6-7

I imagine Jesus chuckling as he neatly rolls the cloth that had covered his head and leaves it conspicuously separate from the other burial cloths. He knows his disciples are in for a big surprise. And he knows they will be puzzled, dismayed—and hopeful.

The resurrection of Jesus always points me to hope. Hope in change. Hope in the unknown. Hope in God’s gentle guidance and infinite love.

Pointing to Jesus

Giovanni_di_Paolo_-_Ecce_Agnus_Dei

Ecce Agnus Dei, 1455/60
Giovanni di Paolo [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
John 1:29

John points to Jesus as the one who will be sacrificed to save us. Yet I like to meditate on Jesus as the one who came to be with us because of God’s great love for us; who suffered pain and understands our suffering when we are in pain; who struggled with human emotions such as sorrow and anger and understands our struggles to move through grief and let go of resentment; who patiently teaches us, prays with us, and eats with us; who died and rose from the dead to give us the hope of eternal life in perfect love and union with God.

Down at the Jordan

Adi_Holzer_Werksverzeichnis_849_Die_Taufe

John the Baptist baptizes Jesus.
Handcolored etching The baptism by Adi Holzer 1997 (Work number 849). A part of the Rosentaler Suite from the year 1997.

After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him.
Matthew 3:16

With his baptism at the Jordan, Jesus shows us our calling, our blessing, our privilege: rising into the place of Divine Union with God and the Holy Spirit.

Dead or alive

hl“…he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Luke 20:38

Death feels like separation, but if I can put my trust in Jesus’ words, then I know God holds us all, the dead and the living. With God there is no separation, only unity: the undivided, unconditional love of the One who has created every human person in love and for love yesterday, today, and forever.

Every day Easter

Every day I am made a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Every day I can set my intention to carry out the work of love, compassion, and forgiveness.

Every day I can reflect my likeness to God in goodness, generosity, and kindness.

Every day I can run to bring the Good News of God’s presence to others with my words, attitude, and actions.

Every day is the re-birth of innocence and holiness with endless possibilities for me to embody these qualities.