Show and Tell

I have been reading the scripture of Thomas asking to see the wounds of Christ after the resurrection. Every time I read this scripture I feel Thomas has gotten an unfair label. "Doubting Thomas" to me was realistic. He wanted proof - he wanted to know the resurrection was for real before he shared the good news. I don't judge him for that. He had journeyed with Jesus - he knew Jesus had rocked the boat of the authorities and they therefore were going to ensure he was good and dead so that his power was no longer an influence. I then thought about the emotion that would have gone through me if I saw not only the risen Christ but I also saw the scars and the wounds of the crucifixion. What pain it would cause to see the scars of deep hate and fear on the body of a friend who did nothing but love. And then I wondered what are our scars of love? And then I found this poem.

Show and Tell

If we showed you our hands,

would you find them nicked

from building houses for the homeless,

or calloused from using the TV remote control too much?

If we showed you our feet,

would you find them toughened by walking the corridors

of a hospice with the terminally ill,

or wrinkled by too many hours in the hot tub?

If we showed you our hearts,

would you find them broken over the struggles of the lost,

the little, the last, the least;

or would they be clogged with the plague

of our consumerised lives?

God of the empty grace,

show us how to be your witnesses.

Thom M. Shuman

Good Friday

They went out and followed him,

Those who had sat with him at the table.

He led them to a garden

Where he prayed while they slept.

He was kissed,

And because he was kissed he was arrested,

And when he was arrested, his friends fled,

Some to go into hiding,

One to stand beside a bonfire,

And say I never knew him,

I never knew him…

Until the cock crowed.

He was brought before the religious authorities

And accused of the sin of blasphemy

And of threatening insurrection.

Having no power to deal with him,

They handed him over to the state governor,

Who listened to the accusations

And then asked the accused

What have you to say?

To which the response was silence.

He had said it all.

He was not found to be guilty of any criminal charges

But because he was an embarrassment,

It was decided that the people should determine his fate.

They shouted

Crucify him!

Crucify him!

Crucify him!

He was cursed and spat on,

Whipped and humiliated.

And on his shoulders a cross was placed,

Which he accepted with grace.

Under the weight of it

He stumbled and fell

Stumbled and fell

All the way to Calvary.

On top of a garbage dump,

He was nailed to a cross of wood

And left to die,

While soldiers gambled,

Critics joked,

Religious leaders smiled with satisfaction

And his mother watched and waited

TheStar The day the Earth shook and the ocean erupted

TheStar The day the Earth shook and the ocean erupted

Listening at the Cross - Jan Richardson

http://paintedprayerbook.com/2011/03/31/listening-at-the-cross/

I invite you to enjoy this reflection as you enter this Holy Weekend

Sit Here While I Pray

Sit here while I pray.

The sorrow in my heart is so great,

it almost crushes me.

Stay here and keep watch with me.

Father, I have shown your glory on earth;

I have finished the work you gave me.

I have given my disciples your message

and the world ... it hated them.

Yet I don't pray

that they may be taken out of the world.

I pray that they may be kept from evil.

(snoring)

Sleeping Peter?

Can you not even keep awake for an hour?

Father, I pray not only for my friends,

but for all who believe their words.

I pray that they may be one,

just as you and I are one.

Father, the world does not know you.

but I know you and they know you.

So that the world may believe

that you sent me,

may they be one...may they be one.

(snoring)

Peter, keep watch and pray.

Don't be drawn by temptation.

The spirit is willing, but, oh, the flesh...

the flesh is weak.

Father, if it is possible...

if it is at all possible...

please take the cup of suffering from me...

take away this cup of suffering from me....

but let it not be what I want.

Let it be what you want.

(snoring)

Are you still sleeping?

Are you still taking your ease?

The hour has come for the Son of Man

to be handed over to sinful people.

Get up, let us go!

Look, here comes the one who is to betray me...

(Stages of the Way - Iona Community Wild Goose Worship Group)

I will give what I have

(It was on the Wednesday of Holy Week that the story of the woman who anointed Jesus occurred).

From a high, secret shelf, I take what I hid myself -

perfume, precious and rare, never meant to spill or spare.

This I'll carefully break, this I'll empty for his sake:

I will give what I have to my Lord.

Though the action is crude, it will show my gratitude

for the truth that I've learned from the one who's heaven-sent;

for this life once a mess which his beauty can express,

I will give what I have to my Lord.

With his critics around, common gossip will abound.

They'll note all that they see to discredit him and me.

Let them smirk, let them jeer, say what people want to hear;

I will give what I have to my Lord.

It's because he'll receive, that I believe

God has time for the poor. He has shown us heaven's door.

Be it perfume and care, be it anger or despair,

I will give what I have to my Lord.

Jesus, Prince of Peace

Jesus, Prince of Peace

humble and riding on a donkey.

Jesus, disturber of the peace,

you upset bad religion

when it gets in the way of God.

Jesus, upsetter of the self-righteous,

you turn questions on their head,

offering no instant answers,

but showing the way.

Jesus, lover of the lost,

you say "forgive' when we want to shout "condemn!"

Jesus, host at the table,

you share your best even in the face of our worst.

Jesus, Saviour of the world

...yes, even the world which wants you until it meets you.

(Stages on The Way - Iona Community Wild Goose Worship Group - Holy Week 1)