It’s the middle of April and I’m sitting at the Abbey of Gethsemani with a fan blowing on me. This week the temperature has gotten up to the low 80’s and 70’s at night! Much too hot for this cool weather girl and very different from my usually abbey visits that take place in January or February each year. It’s a bit later than I normally get here because I missed getting my reservation in and I had a couple of other trips that came up in the first part of this year.
So here I am in the middle of Spring with the dogwoods in full bloom and on a week that happens to be very warm. ‘
Things tend to be a bit louder in warm weather even when it’s a silent retreat.
They are already cutting the grass and weed eating around the property.
Everyone is outside rather than in their rooms.
The birds are out in full force and really loud at dawn and dusk!
I love the variety of birds here, from gold finches to cardinals to wood peckers!
And I’ve been enjoying the antics of the chipmunks.
Even saw a ground hog who has taken up residence in the stone wall in the Abbey garden.
The purple irises are in bud and many of the trees already have their leaves.
Signs of Resurrection are everywhere!
One of the things about practicing silence..you begin to notice things that you might normally take for granted. Like the different bird songs, or the traffic or the sound of ice in a glass. The smells of lilacs and freshly cut grass or the honeysuckle. Even though it’s been warm, Jesus has provided us with beautiful clouds and glorious wind and even a thunderstorm that helped cool things down a bit. Yesterday, I took my blanket outside and laid on the ground. I actually took a nap outside! I’m not sure how long it’s been since I just laid on a blanket in the grass outside!
I let the sunshine and the breeze blow over me and I just enjoyed being present.
One of my practices when I come to the Abbey is to go through my photos on my phone and take a look back at my last year. Before I got very far, I noticed a photo of my STAR WORDS for 2024. Maybe you chose a word for the year or selected a STAR WORD at Epiphany in January. At thinplace, we usually get three words. And honestly, I’d totally forgotten what mine were for this year.
JOY
CREATE
CELEBRATION
What is your word for the year? Do you remember? How is God inviting you to notice or live into this word or words?
I started with JOY….
What things bring me JOY…
I made a list
A long list…here are just a few joy items
Dark chocolate
Blue jeans
My Love Heals baseball hat
Being outside
Taking Walks
Hugs
My husband and kids
Sunsets, vistas, rocky seascapes
Scotland
Hot tea and good coffee
Jon Batiste’s music
Book stores
Art, art museums, art supplies
Creativity
Creating beautiful spaces
Hanging out with good People
Hospitality
Flowers, especially tulips and sunflowers
What things are bringing you joy? Take some time to notice. Make a list and keep adding to it this week!
Honestly, Joy has been hard to find in 2024. I’ve been pre-dreading the election and all the political conflict in America. And add in all the wars and needless killing happening and JOY seems trite.
But JOY happens to be the
second fruit of the Spirit… the one just after LOVE. Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
AND Jesus said in John 15:
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
READ THE WHOLE TEXT: What do you notice?
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
16 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
17 “But remember the root command: Love one another.
For me, I can experience and know Joy because I am greatly loved by the God of the Universe! I am not alone!
goldfinch
We can have JOY even in the middle of the crap of life, because we have Jesus’s love surrounding us. I’m learning to surround myself in his love. To picture that love like a blanket that covers me or a shield that protects me and cannot be taken away. His love never leaves me, even when I drop the shield or throw off that blanket for whatever reason.
I want the JOY of Jesus in me. I want to experience more of this JOY! How about you?
This week Jesus showed me his JOY in a beautiful yellow butterfly and in the little yellow gold finches around the abbey garden. I think God will start using the color yellow to remind me of JOY just as God has used the color pink to remind me of God’s love.
What color would represent JOY to you? Take a walk or play with some paints or crayons and notice what brings you JOY!
Create a playlist that expresses JOY to you. I suggest you start with some Jon Batiste! Maybe Freedom Or Butterfly
I started practicing silence over 20 years ago and it has saved my life and my faith….to take time out to be still and quiet and listen to Jesus away from the noise of every day life. It is a gift I do not take for granted.
Take some time away from your phone this weekend and practice silence. You might start with a walk without your earbuds. Maybe go somewhere you don’t usually walk or a place where you will have more beauty and less traffic. You might get out a blanket and lay outside in the grass. Notice what you hear, what you see, what you smell. What else do you notice? What does Jesus use to speak to you? What brings you Joy in the silence? Don’t be afraid of the noise in your head. Just let it go and focus on somethings that brings you life/joy/peace. I’d love to hear about what you discover!
books i’m reading
Father Ed Hays Chasing Joy: Musings on Life in a Bittersweet World is helping me explore Joy. Father Hays helps me see and experience God in many joyful ways. I also flew through Fr. Richard Rohr’s Dancing Standing Still! this week and it has brought me hope! I highly recommend them both.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
compiled by Margery Tate, a friend of godspacelight writer, Carol Dixon
Call to Worship (inspired by Luke 24:13-35)
O God, you come to us in unexpected places, in a crowded
room, behind closed doors.
You come to us on dusty roads, as we go from place to place
and in conversations with loved ones.
You come bringing us peace, where there is no peace.
You come bringing us hope when everything seems hopeless
You come bringing us courage when we are afraid.
Come and be among us now, and in every place where we
are, open our eyes to see you, and open our hearts and to
know you.
In the name of the Risen Christ we pray. Amen
Ann Harbridge, DLM, Minister at Trinity Centennial United Church in
Rosemont, Ontario.
Hymn – Lord Jesus Christ
Reflective Prayer (inspired by the events in Luke 24:13-35)
Easter is not an event that has occurred, it’s an adventure that
has begun; not a place that we have visited but a path on
which we stand.
A story not complete, but unfolding, with the promise of new
life, for you and me and for all people, in all places.
Today we continue the journey, we re-enter the story to
explore our questions to uncover our doubts, to face our
nagging need.
We walk the path of two who travelled a dusty road
wrapped in confusion and despair two who shared the
company of a stranger voicing their pain, airing their fears and
in the listening, heard words of hope and promise, and in the
eating, received true bread of life
Today we re-enter the story with expectation that Christ
will also reveal himself to us
Risen Christ
walk with us this day
be our companion and guide
be our teacher and friend
be our host and servant
bringing your gifts of faith, peace and hope
and deep joy as always Amen.
Craig Mitchell (2005) & Iona Community. In “Emmaus Worship Service,” posted
on Mountain Masala: Exploring Spirituality, Culture, Media and
Cuisine.
As you say the prayer below remember all
Companions/your family and friends, by name
O God, here we are, all devoted to you; make us according
your heart.
Reflect on the two who met with Jesus on the road to
Emmaus.
Picture Jesus coming alongside our fellow Companions/family
and friends in every place where they are.
Picture Him coming alongside you right now as you continue
to worship Him.
Enjoy His loving presence and hear His word of peace
Hymn – Wise men seeking Jesus
The Servant Girl at Emmaus
(inspired by Luke 24:13-35)
She listens, listens, holding
her breath. Surely that voice
is his—the one who had looked at her, once, across the
crowd, as no one ever had looked?
Had seen her? Had spoken as if to her?
Surely those hands were his, taking the platter of bread from
hers just now?
Hands he’d laid on the dying and made them well?
Surely that face—?
The man they’d crucified for sedition and blasphemy.
The man whose body disappeared from its tomb.
The man it was rumoured now some women had seen
this morning, alive?
Those who had brought this stranger home to their table
don’t recognize yet with whom they sit. But she in the kitchen,
absently touching the wine jug she’s to take in, a young Black
servant intently listening, swings round and sees the light
around him and is sure.
Denise Levertov (1923–1997). Journey with Jesus.
Prayers of Intercession
When we are stumbling in desolation and despair, our
dreams shattered, and all hope lost
Risen Christ, meet us on that lonely road.
When we cannot recognise any trace of your
presence, and are baffled by confusion and our failure
to understand
Risen Christ, speak words of comfort and peace.
In our homes, our work and our everyday living,
in our shared meals and welcome of the stranger.
Risen Christ, show yourself in the breaking of
bread.
When we are delighted by startled recognition,
and overwhelmed by joy in your presence,
Risen Christ, send us out with confidence and
hope to share the good news with friends and
neighbours.
Hymn – Now the green blade rises
Words of Commission and Benediction
(inspired by Luke 24:13-35)
Let us go now as those who have met with Christ
in the morning of this day.
Let us go now as those who hearts have burned within them,
as the Scriptures were explained.
Let us go now as those
who have been touched by resurrection.
May the blessing of God
be upon you, body, mind and spirit,
as you leave this place,
Ann Siddall, and posted on the website of the Stillpoint Spirituality
Centre. http://www.stillpointsa.org.au/
Day 4 Living in the Presence of God
The Everyday Spirituality of Brother Lawrence
Walk with God in simple faith,
with humility and with love,
and try diligently to do nothing
that would displease Him.
Make it your goal to persevere,
simply and solely in His presence
maintaining
habitual, silent, and secret
conversation of your soul with God.
And trust, that when you have done all you can do,
He will do what is best for you.
Blessing
And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of
God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all
evermore. Amen.
Prayers for the Day, Prayer Cards – Download
These beautiful prayer cards include 11 prayers by Christine Sine and crafted by Hilary Horn with watercolor succulent design and contemplative imagery are available for download. Each card provides a prayer on the front with a photo for reflection as well as a scripture and suggested meditative response to the prayer. Allow yourself to relax, refresh, and commune with God through each prayer. Immerse yourself in the reflection as you give yourself space to enter into God’s presence.
by Emily Huff
My dad made us this grapevine wreath and brought it to us for Thanksgiving last year. Little did we know that a bird would find it to be the perfect place to build a nest this spring. See below for the mama bird perched on the side of the wreath, the lovely little blue eggs she laid, and the baby birds that just hatched!
one egg on March 29th
four eggs on April 4th
three baby birds on April 14th
(see video below)
https://youtube.com/shorts/5bJ5AnvYLVY?si=P3ZdDHJnaTHyix0p
This made this prayer have more meaning when I read it this morning:
A Remembering Prayer
God of day and night,
In the great poem of creation
we read that we
were considered very good,
and that you
find glory
in us.
We look around our city:
the birds finding home
the name of it
the shape of it
the bustle and magnificence of it
the poverty of it
the complicity of it
the repressed stories of it
the generosity of it
the corners of kindnesses
on every corner
the future of it
the past it hides from
greed and goodness
violence and visions
burdens and bodies
everywhere.
We pray for our city
and for the cities we are.
Breath in us
just like you always do
and renew us
with every twilight
with every morning
with every encounter
with every opportunity.
Padraig O’Tuama, Being Here, Prayers for Curiosity, Justice, and Love
To Garden with God and Celtic cards
To Garden With God + Celtic Prayer Cards Bundle
This unique bundle includes the book To Garden with God and 1 set of Celtic Prayer Cards.
“No matter how many challenges there are, nothing can take away from the deep satisfaction of getting one’s hands into the earth, digging, planting and harvesting the bounty of God’s good creation. Nor can they detract from the joy that engulfs as as we experience the awe inspiring generosity of a God who wants to provide abundantly for all of humankind. The garden is a place of healing, of wholeness and of deeply spiritual encounters where God restores our bodies and our spirits in a way that is truly miraculous.” (from To Garden with God)
It’s been a wonder filled few days. A season for hope and dreaming to come together in the experience of new life.
On Saturday morning Tom and I headed up to Camano Island to meeting with friends and go out to visit the property we used to own that now belongs to Circlewood. We were rejoicing in the good news we heard on Friday that permits have come together to complete the first building on the land. This building was vandalized several years ago, dashing our hopes for the development of a retreat centre and ministry site. It made us realize we would probably not be the ones to bring this vision to fruition and catalyzed our stepping down as directors of Mustard Seed Associates.
Sometimes dreams need to die so that they can be rebirthed in new and more vital forms. That is what I heard as we headed out there on Saturday, accompanied by our friends who are very interested in what is being birthed there. It encourages their own dream of a property with a focus on conservation and sustainability. Circlewood has expanded our vision for the land in ways that are very exciting for us and we are grateful to continue to be a part of this exciting ministry and its development. (More about that in the next few weeks)
On Saturday afternoon, Tom and I repotted 50 tomato plants waiting patiently for the weather to warm enough for them to go in the ground in May. Watching them grow from seed to plant, to flourishing and productive plants is one of the joys of this season. They also encourage me to be generous as they are not the only seeds proliferating in my garden room at the moment. I sell some of the tomato plants, but others I give away and this weekend there was a huge variety – Swiss chard, broccoli, snapdragons, lobelia, and marigolds. Next week it will probably be scabosia, potato starts and zinnias. I just can’t repot them fast enough to keep up with their growth.
New life, new birth, new possibilities. That was the theme for the weekend. Not only the birth of this wonderful dream, but on Saturday night, the birth of a baby to our community members Andrew and Sophie Hamby. What a delight to share in the joy of this event.
My Meditation Monday: Have You Had Your Daily Dose of Awe? this week reflected my joy in the garden and my love of nature. I talk about the practice of Lectio Tierra and our need not just to walk in nature but also to allow it to teach us about God. On Substack I renamed the article Lectio Divina – Walking in Awe and Wonder as it will be the first in a special series on practices to help us pray in the garden, some of the preparation I am doing for my involvement in the Inhabit Conference next week and also for my webinar Spirituality of Gardening in May. Lots to focus on as I align my life around awe and wonder.
Last Saturday Melissa shared about the frustration we continue to experience with broken links on the Godspacelight website. Much to my delight she shared some of the beautiful tulips that are flowering in my garden at the moment. Not surprising that we are moving to Substack. The Godspacelight brokenness is giving us all a headache. So please bear with us.
Lilly Lewin in her Freerange Friday: Give Us New Eyes For Easter compares the need for new eyes to see the eclipse, with our need for new eyes to see Jesus. I love her questions “What is helping you SEE and to recognize Jesus these days?”
Last Wednesday we launched the 5th episode of The Liturgical Rebels podcast a fascinating interview which Lilly Lewin and I facilitated with our good friend Mark Pierson from New Zealand. Mark is a fabulous worship curator, one of the most creative people I know and also the one who encouraged me to become a liturgical rebel. Don’t miss this great episode.
On Substack this week I published an additional article Awe Begets Awe with a poem I wrote following the eclipse. I hope you enjoy it. A big thank you for those who signed up to become paid subscribers. Your support is very much appreciated as we work through the challenges on Godspacelight and seek to provide new content on Substack as well as the Liturgical Rebels podcast. Your support really does free me up to focus on these things and the increased traffic that posts are getting makes me realize that this really is a better way to communicate. I hope you are enjoying it.
Let me conclude with another “prayer practice” I love – a breathing prayer.
Breathe in,
Let the presence of God
Fill you with light and life and beauty.
Breathe out
Let the faithfulness of God
Inspire you with strength and purpose and hope.
Breathe in
Let the mystery of God
Nourish you with awe and wonder and joy.
Breathe out
Let the glory of God
Delight you with praise and worship and adoration.
Many blessings
Christine Sine
At Godspace, environmental issues and creation care are two things we are passionate about.
This free downloadable document is designed to help you celebrate Earth Day by making a positive impact on the environment. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of environmental issues facing our planet, but by taking small, simple steps, we can all make a difference!
by Christine Sine
Have you had your awe and wonder sighting for today? If not it’s time to go out and take notice. Our daily experience of life, God and God’s world are meant to inspire us with awe and wonder. Our failure to notice the miracles around us is a failure of the spirit as well as the senses. This week we are getting ready for Earth Day on April 22nd, so it is a good time to re-attune our senses and a fitting way to begin our awe and wonder challenge. We are still in Eastertide, a great season for noticing and responding in awe to the presence of Jesus in us, and around us, not just in people we meet but in the creation as well. Jesus is constantly appearing in our midst but we rarely seem to take notice.
My Senses Are Awakened to Read God’s Presence.
In The Gift of Wonder, I talk about the practice of Lectio Tierra, a great way to attune our senses to the wonder of God. This practice is similar to Lectio Divina from which it is adapted. However, for me, it is a deeper experience because it involves movement and engages all the senses.
Heading out into God’s very good creation, I read the environment around me. How is God present? What might God be using to catch my eye and draw me closer? Sitting at my desk, my eye is caught but this cactus bursting into bloom. Worth the many times I have pricked a finger on its sharp barbs.
As I walk slowly and deliberately through the forest, I might stop to and examine an ancient tree, or casually walking through my garden I brush against my lavender bush and am captivated by the wonderful aroma, or on a day trip to Snoquamie Falls I listen to the music of water cascading over rocks, my senses are awakened to”read” God’s presence. This is a practice that engages all the senses, my eyes, ears, touch, smell and sometimes taste, all open to what God might reveal to me. Anything that catches my attention and shimmers with the presence of God provides fuel for reflection.
On my garden walk a few days ago, my eyes were drawn to the gnarled and twisted branches of my sage bush growing vigorously in my back yard. I stop, look and listen, not forcing a revelation but waiting in silence for God to nudge me. I reach out and pick a leaf, and gasp in awe at the fragrance that clings to my fingers. What story does it hold I wonder? How might it speak to me of God?
Now I Meditate
Now I meditate. What lessons Jesus do you want me to learn through this sage bush, this leaf? I run my hands along the soft furry surface, of the leaf, then crush it between my fingers and am transported back in time. Sage has a very long and rich history due to both its medicinal and culinary uses. At one time, the French produced bountiful crops of sage for tea. Ironically the Chinese became enamored with French sage tea, and would trade four pounds of Chinese tea for every one pound of sage tea. The Romans considered it had healing properties and for native Americans it is an important ceremonial plant, used by many tribes as an incense and purifying herb. I know it best for its culinary properties. I love to use it when I roast chicken or make vegetable soup.
It is possible that the burning bush in Exodus 3 was sage I remember. Should I like Moses take off my shoes as I meditate and acknowledge that in the presence of this small part of God’s creation I stand on holy ground?
I Pray
Now I pray. I thank God for this gift to so many cultures across the globe and throughout time and am reminded of Revelation 8:4 “The smoke of the incense mixed with the prayers of God’s people and billowed up before God.” I thank God for the fragrance that clings to me, and for the incense that rises from my life as I too am crushed and prepared for use. Perhaps others will brush against me and be awed by the incense of God in my life. Perhaps others will seek me out to add to their lives and savor who they are with the presence of God. I hope that my fragrance and flavor will continue to cling to others and be shared with all that I meet.
Lastly I contemplate
The last step is contemplation. I pause, running my hands over the fragrant fragments in my hand. I look around at the other plants in my garden. Some are greening after a long winter’s rest. Others are in bloom vibrant with color and fragrant with their own perfume.I am not alone. Incense rises to God from every part of this garden and from every person to raises a prayer to God. I breathe in and absorb the insights God has given me that enable me to move into a place of rest and peace. I can receive love, healing and grace from God, together with those around me, and with the witnesses of every tribe and nation that have gone before me. I feel at one with God’s world and will all that help me move towards God’s wholeness.
Often in response to this experience I write poetry. Today I finish with this Ute prayer that I found many years ago and my heart overflows with thanksgiving
Earth Teach Me to Remember
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth Teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep in the rain.
So what might it look like to enter into Lectio Tierra for you?
Perhaps in response you would like to join me May 11th 9:30-12:30 PST for a virtual retreat Spirituality of Gardening. We will discuss connections between community, spirituality and gardening. Explore the wonderful ways that God and God’s story are revealed through the rhythms of planting, growing and harvesting as well as the beauty of nature. This webinar is for anyone who admires the beauty of God’s good creation, likes to walk in nature, sit by the ocean or just relax and listen to the birds in the trees. It is based on Christine Sine’s my book, To Garden with God and each participant will receive a digital copy of this book. Register here.
This virtual retreat will help reconnect us to the wonder of a God who is all around us in the natural world. We will discuss not only how the life, death and resurrection is lived out in the garden, but also how to enter into the wonder of God through creative practices like contemplative nature walks, Lectio Tierra, creating a leaf rubbing, walking barefoot, and others. This will be a fun, instructive and interactive session. I hope you will join us.
Dear Community,
We are experiencing quite a new level of broken links here at Godspacelight! Thanks to memory limitations and plug-in shenanigans we are having to go back and relink almost all of our resource page links one at a time. Never fear, it will get done, but, it’s going to take a while…
As we forge on with updating pages we think are critical and needed imminently, we welcome your inquiries about links you need. So if you come across a broken link that you would like fixed, please let godspacelight know by email – our address is godspacelight at gmail. I’m spelling it out to hopefully decrease the amount of spam we will get by having this on the site.
Meanwhile, enjoy the lovely spring flowers in Christine’s containers, they are pretty spectacular!
Peace,
Melissa
This week, many of us in America were caught up in the wonder of the Solar Eclipse. My mom sent everyone in our family an Easter card that included the special glasses that are needed to watch the wonder. We had a rather blustery day here in Nashville, where the clouds hid the sun more than the sun was out. But I got out my glasses at the appropriate time and I watched from my window where I had watched part of the eclipse in 2017. I really couldn’t figure out if the glasses worked because I couldn’t get a glimpse of that bright light. Finally, the clouds parted, and I was able to see the beginning of the eclipse! I honestly was feeling more sad than elated because I knew that friends had traveled long distances to view it in the path of totality. One church community her in town did a weekend together to celebrate the wonder and watch for the light! Just as I was feeling a bit neglected, I got a text from a neighbor wondering if I had any extra eclipse glasses! I had two pairs total, so I ran down the street and we shared the glasses and the joy of watching the eclipse in community! Her daughter came out, and then the new neighbors next door to her including two cute little boys. We passed around the glasses and as the clouds moved out of the way and back in the way, of the sun, we all got excited about catching glimpses of this heavenly wonder. My neighbor who’d texted me, Miss Angela praised God for this amazing sight and prayed for our world. She said how much we needed this right now because it was bringing us all together, uniting us around something good and wonderful! Miss Angela gave me NEW EYES to see the wonder of the eclipse! It was a gift I needed! And a gift our country needed to bring us together!
The disciples are still in need of NEW EYES to recognize and see the Resurrection! They are still trying to come to grips with the news that Jesus is alive! READ LUKE 24: 13-35 NLT
13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.
22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat,[b] he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.
31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 33 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34 who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.[c]”
35 Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.
What speaks to you today?
What do you notice from the passage that you didn’t notice before?
What questions come up for you as you listened to the passage?
How did you view the Eclipse this week or see some photos of it? Did it inspire, did you notice or care? What did you notice?
“How much joy do you get from your relationship with God? How much time do you spend relishing the wonder of who God is? These are some of the questions I ask in The Gift of Wonder that I plan to continue revisiting over the next few weeks as I reread the book. Maybe you would like to revisit The Gift of Wonder and some of its suggestions too. This week in the aftermath of the incredible solar eclipse on Monday is a great time to do that” Christine Sine
Do you feel Joy in your relationship with God/Jesus right now? Or is your relationship in need of a resurrection, a re-do, a re-up?
The disciples and followers of Jesus all got a NEW VIEW of Jesus post resurrection and they developed a NEW relationship with Him too.
Consider and Think about how these folks changed their views of Jesus…what do you notice?
Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary Magdalene
Peter
John
Thomas
The two on the way to Emmaus
These two followers of Jesus were in deep grief and despair. They were confused by all that had happened. What things are bringing you grief and/or confusion these days? Talk to Jesus about this.
Why is it so hard for us to recognize Jesus in our everyday world? What things cause you to miss Jesus?
Jesus disappears, he just leaves. Have you ever felt like you’ve seen Jesus but then lost sight of him?
These disciples don’t get discouraged by Jesus just vanishing. Instead, they rush back to tell their friends what they have seen. Who would you like to hurry back to tell about seeing Jesus? Write down their names and remember to pray for them today. Text them or send them a card just to say you are thinking of them and sending them love.
The disciples almost missed Jesus in this story. Jesus was continuing his journey, but they invited him to stay with them and come in for food. By practicing hospitality and they got to recognize Jesus. What are some ways you have experienced Jesus in the hospitality of others? How can practice hospitality in the weeks ahead in order to help people experience more of the love of Jesus and his presence?
What is helping you SEE and to recognize Jesus these days?
What do you need to practice in the days ahead to help you find new joy and/or renewed vision in your relationship with Jesus?
What can you do to recapture the wonder of nature, of God/Jesus?
READ THE POEM
Seeing God by Suellen Shay
We cannot see you
and yet in so many ways we have seen you,
We cannot touch you
but we have experienced and felt you.
You have been in the full moon and the early morning mist,
the bright blue sky
and the cool night air
after a scorching day.
You are the rock
that anchors us in uncertain times,
You are the hope
that keeps us going on a road with few signposts,
You are the presence
when we feel disoriented and estranged.
You are the compassion
that knits us even to strangers,
You are the justice
that tugs at our complacency,
You are the joy
that unexpectedly overwhelms us,
You are the love
that banishes all fear.
We praise you for revealing yourself to us in all these ways –
and for Christ, your full revelation. -SUELLEN SHAY-
ACTION: When you put on your glasses, or wear your sun glasses this week, Ask Jesus to help you recognize him in fresh ways! And pray for new eyes to see! And if you have an extra pair of sun glasses or eclipse glasses, keep them out as reminders!***
Jesus give us new eyes to see and new ears to hear your voice and experience the wonder of RESURRECTION this Eastertide! AMEN
***You can find a prayer station based on the Table at Emmaus that includes praying with Sun Glasses in AT THE TABLE WITH JESUS Sacred Space Kit
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