Change of Outlook

The Easter story is all about change. Change of heart, of focus, of perspective, of life. The pair of travelers on the Road to Emmaus had not yet understood the totality of the change that had happened. As they walked along, “They were talking with each other about everything that had happened…Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.” (Luke 24: 14-16)

Like Susan and Lucy in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (CS Lewis) the travelers were confronted with something beyond their comprehension. Susan and Lucy see the Witch and her minions torture and kill Aslan. They keep watch throughout the night. As dawn nears, they start “walking aimlessly”. The girls don’t know what to do now that their beloved Aslan is dead. Then the Stone Table cracks! “Who’s done it?” cried Susan. “What does it mean? Is it more magic?”

The pair on their way to the town of Emmaus are just as confused about the events of the past 3 days. They begin to explain to the stranger, “About Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” (Luke 24:19-24)

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the girls get their answer immediately. “Yes!” said a great voice from behind their backs. “It is more magic.” They looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself. “Oh, Aslan!” cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad…”

Jesus doesn’t do anything as dramatic. Instead, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

Jesus reveals himself via the familiar task of breaking bread.  When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:30-32)

The pair rush back to Jerusalem where they relate “what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” (Luke 24:35) It was in the sharing bread that the travelers understood who Jesus was. Their outlook changed. They no longer saw a stranger, they saw their beloved teacher and friend.

Have there been times when you have met someone in an unfamiliar situation, or out of the normal context and not recognized them until they reminded you of the common bond. Children are often astonished to meet their teachers at the grocery store because the teacher is someone who they only know in the context of the classroom. The idea that Ms. Jones has to go grocery shopping can amaze them.

Has there been a time or situation where you didn’t recognize God’s action right away because it wasn’t what you were expecting? How did you eventually understand that it was God?

Next week we’ll continue looking at how God makes us change our outlook and focus, and sometimes our vision of life and mission as we meet the disciples in the time of transition before Pentecost.

Palm Sunday: Persist in Faith, Hope, Love

All these “Women of Lent” that we’ve considered since the first Sunday of Lent give us inspiration to continue to live into our calling as Princesses of the Kingdom. To Love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength and to live lives of faith, hope and love. God doesn’t call anonymous or stray people. God knows our names and calls us beloved, and calls us God’s own. We are assured in Isaiah 43:1, “But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” In this same way we are named, called, and loved by God. 

As called and chosen and beloved Princesses of the Kingdom, we can look to Mary of Nazareth and Miryam of Magdala as inspirations for stepping out in faith, even when we are asked to do something very uncomfortable, or anti-societal. We can know that as God was with those 2 Marys, God will be with us. We can make the choice each day to walk in Hope of new life like Joanna and Salome did. The sisters Mary and Martha demonstrate that we are loved whether we are busy servants, or contemplative listeners. All of our gifts are important and necessary in building up the Kingdom.

Each of these women stepped out of the normal life of women of their time. They looked beyond their initial images of God’s work in their lives. They found more than they expected in following Jesus and they inspire us to look outside the boxes we may make for ourselves and for God. Fr. Mike Gemagani, the Provincial chaplain for the DOK is also a poet. One of his poems is called Walls of Words and describes what we too often try to do with God.

My God, I will wall you in with words.

Imprison you in attributes so grand I know you will be pleased.

All-good, all-knowing, all-powerful, three walls;

And the fourth wall - perfect.

Four walls to hold you fast

So I can find you when I need you.

How thrilled I was to look upon the room containing God,

Bounded by the constructs of my mind,

Walls of words, words to please and praise,

Walls to bound a God of my design.

But when I peeked inside the room to see what God was doing,

The room was empty.

When we try to confine God to our own definitions, we’ll also find that God isn’t in our rooms. When we chose to follow and let go of our plans and notions, we will be found by God and we will be changed. Each of these women, these Princesses of the Kingdom, have shown us that living into I Corinthians 13 is the way to make a difference in the world.

The Rev. Monica Whitaker (who will be our leader at the Women’s Bosque Retreat in November), in light of Elizabeth Warren being silenced in Congress, and the rallying cry #she persisted, re-posted an article about some Biblical women who were ‘warned, received explanations, and yet persisted.  Of Mary of Nazareth she writes It is most appropriate to begin with Mary, the mother of Jesus. We can only speculate the warnings and explanations she heard as a young girl regarding appropriate social behavior for a first-century Jewish woman. No wonder she was perplexed when the Angel Gabriel announced God’s plan for her. Nevertheless, she persisted. Her fiat was not only a yes to bear the son of God, but a yes to the daily struggles that that task would require. She was a prophet, bearing all the pain that came with bearing God’s good news into the world. She persisted in her yes through pregnancy, through labor, through fleeing her homeland, through child-rearing, and through her son’s ministry. She persisted in her yes even when she watched her son being brutally crucified and die. She persisted in her yes as she too learned of Jesus’ resurrection, pondering all of God’s work in her heart.

We are called to Persist in living a life of Faith, Hope, and Love! Paul’s Letter to the Philippians reminds us, “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on/persevere to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:7-14)

After Aslan returns to life, in the Lion, Witch & Wardrobe, he invites Lucy and Susan to ride him as he soars to the White Witch’s castle to free all her captives, the statues of her enemies. Jesus invites us to persist, soar, and work with him to free captives too. Live outside your box. Step onto the unfamiliar escalator and go to wonderful new places! It’s not an easy adventure, but we are not alone! 

What can we do to live into our legacy as Women of the Kingdom/princesses?

How are we princesses, beloved, holy, called, chosen?

I Danced in the Morning

I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the Moon & the Stars & the Sun
I came down from Heaven & I danced on Earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth:

I love the images in the Sydney Carter song, Lord of the Dance, which I had forgotten for a while. Thanks to a performance of the Celtic tour Lord of the Dance I was reminded of it. Back in 2009, I wrote a study based on my book Miriam’s Healing and looked at how her life danced near and far from God. During Advent of 2010, I returned to the theme of Dancing with God in a blog series about those who danced with God to the Nativity.

This series will be a little different. We’ll look at the verses of the song and consider them in light of our post-Easter walk. As we look at this song and the journey of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, (Luke 24:13-35) we could find our hearts burning and feel moved to share the message we proclaim Sunday after Sunday.

The first verse (“I danced in the morning, when the world was begun…”) reminds me of the scene in CS Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew, where Aslan sings Narnia into being. Aslan’s song causes all the earth to come alive and give birth to plants and animals. I’ve always thought that was a delightful image of creation. This image of Narnia is a crocheted piece by Frances Covey. (Isn't it great-hard to believe it's crocheted!)

A voice could be heard singing in the darkness. A deep and wonderful voice. And as it continued it was joined by a host of twinkling, starry voices.
After a while the starry voices grew fainter, while the voice of Aslan rose and swelled to the mightiest and most glorious sound. And as he sang, the sun arose, laughing for joy and spreading its beams across the land.
And that was the beginning of Narnia.” (CS Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, Magician’s Nephew)

After the varied emotions of Holy Week-from “Hosanna!” to “Crucify”, we come to the excitement of Easter when we shout “Alleluia! He is Risen!” The Easter season is about how to live into that Easter faith, living joyfully each day.

Sometimes the let-down after Easter can make us a bit less than enthusiastic. God invites us to come right into the dance, though. The dance started at Creation and continues still.

The disciples on the Road to Emmaus were downcast as they went from Jerusalem. The Jesus comes to them. “Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (Luke 24: 25-27)

Where are you in your Easter journey? Are you still on a high from the joyful and beautiful music and images? Are you exhausted and glad it’s over so you can get back to ‘normal’? Are you still shouting “Alleluia” or are you back on the road, not even sure Easter is real?

Wherever you are, Jesus come alongside, to walk and be in relationship and open the scriptures. He invites us to laugh like the Narnian sun and to dance!

Dance then, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He!

Next week, with the disciples on the Road, we will meet Jesus.