Month: April 2007

John the Painter came over from Parsons yesterday and Today and put two coats of paint on four rooms and painted the ceilings as well. We’ve been moving stuff from one room to the next so he can keep painting. The parsonage looks good, and we really appreciate the eagerness of the Board of Trustees to get this project done.

Our secretary, Linda Beever, is on vacation this week. We’re covering the office as best we can in the morning. If you can’t get a hold of anyone please leave a message on the machine and we’ll get back to you.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Conservative political blogger Andrew Sullivan had a quote about what the passion of Jesus Christ is really about. He sets it in the context of Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, but I think it’s valid about the passion in general.

That’s why I felt so passionately about Mel Gibson’s attempt to depict Christ’s passion as primarily about the violence inflicted by others on Jesus. In fact, it is and was primarily about Jesus’ decision to accept the violence without resistance because he wanted to show that only non-violence can ever truly, deeply defeat violence. Gibson never gave us the Gospel teaching to make sense of this, which is why the film failed so profoundly as a Christian movie.

The talk about “defeating violence” builds on the theme of Sunday’s sermon about Christ the Victor. Non-violence was the only way to defeat not only violence, but sin, death, and the demonic. I believe this to be true, the question is why. My thought at this point is that only non-violence can defeat them because only non-violence is truly opposed to them, violence can be co-opted by them, non-violence cannot.

The Good Friday Service will be a Tenebrae Service. Ken Collins (no relation) has a good article on Tenebrae services at http://www.kencollins.com/question-39.htm. We will be doing a few things differently. The United Methodist Book of Worship has 16 readings and we’ll be using 15 candles. In case you’re wondering after reading Ken Collins’ article; there will not be a sermon and we’ll be celebrating communion on Easter morning.

The Wednesday Gathering tonight will be a Taize Service. Childcare will be provided (free).

Our Good Friday service is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

“Help me, O Lord, to make a true use of all disappointments and calamities in this life, in such a way that they may unite my heart more closely with you. Cause them to separate my affections from worldly things and inspire my soul with more vigor in the pursuit of true happiness.”