Joy that can be ours
We are witnesses and inheritors, come what may broke the bread with them at dinner later that evening. Those two disciples, according to Luke, said that their “hearts burned” in Jesus’ presence. We all have different experiences of Jesus, and perhaps this year those experiences (or lack of them) are even more profound. As we have moved through this pandemic, it may be that some of us have felt a deepening of Jesus’ presence, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the safety of being held in God’s loving arms. It may be that the power of the resurrected life, when peace and joy defeat despair, has become clear, as it suddenly did to the witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. Or perhaps you have been unable to find hope, feeling the loneliness and fear of what we have all been forced to endure.
The four Gospels give us different accounts of the same story of Jesus’ resurrection. In St. John’s telling, Peter and another disciple were there and saw the empty shroud that had been Jesus’ burial cloth, but in St. Mark three women were the witnesses and the disciples were not in the vicinity. St. Matthew writes that a great By the Rev. Patrick earthquake rolled the stone away. St. Luke J. Wingo tells us that the disciples viewed the women’s report of the resurrection as “an idle tale,” but he alone tells us the story of the walk to Emmaus, when Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road and was not made known to them until he
As I write this reflection in January, before we have arrived at the beginning of Lent, and certainly long before Holy Week and Easter, we do not yet know what our world will be like when we walk the way of the cross in Holy Week and wait for the glorious Easter celebration. My greatest hope is that we will be able to worship in all the ways that give us peace and joy, if it is safe to do so. If that is to be the case, we will come together to break bread so that our hearts may burn with the love of Christ. However we have (or have not) experienced Jesus in our lives this year, what people of faith have learned over the course of Christian history is that the joy of the original Christians can be ours. While circumstances can make us despair, and the challenges and pain of life can bring us grief, nothing can change the fact that the Lord is Risen indeed! May you experience his power and joy in your life this Easter.
The mission of the church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. AN OUTLINE OF THE FAITH, THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
St. Stephen’s Church is A Village Green: Inviting Since ancient times, Benedictine communities and parish churches have served as centers of village life, embracing friend and stranger alike. We strive to be a beckoning, welcoming, and centering presence today, offering hospitality, belonging, and life-giving practices for all people. A New Abbey: Grounding In a culture that can be overly distracted and enamored with the new, we are focused on preserving enduring wisdom, spiritual insights, and ancient liturgical practices of prayer and contemplation that nurture the soul and lead to eternal life. In an age of electronic engagement, virtual connections, and increasing loneliness, we continue ancient practices that attune human beings to the Divine, to one another, and to our own souls. A Healing Community: Serving Though Jesus was known as a prophet, a rabbi, a teacher of wisdom, and the leader of a social movement, he was known primarily as a healer. As individuals and as a church community, we seek to incarnate the One who binds, heals, and nurtures, especially where forces in our society tear, wound, or divide. As Teresa of Avila put it, we seek to be Christ’s hands, feet, and eyes in the world; we are Christ’s body on earth.
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SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT
