Pastor’s Pen for April 2016

Stay with us, till night has come: our praise to you this day be sung,

Bless our bread, open our eyes: Jesus be our great surprise

Walk with us, our spirits sigh: hear when our weary spirits cry,

feel again our loss, our pain: Jesus take us to your side.

Walk with us, the road will bend: make all our weeping, wailing end.

Wipe our tears, forgive our fears: Jesus lift the heavy cross.

Talk with us, till we behold, a joyful life you will unfold:

heal our eyes to see the prize: Jesus take us to the light!

Stay with us, till day is done: no tears nor dark shall dim the sun.

Cheer the heart, your grace impart: Jesus, bring eternal life.

Herbert Brokering, Stay With Us

Beloved of God,

Christ is risen indeed, alleluia!

The lyrics and melody of certain songs touch me to the quick. Herb Brokering’s hymn Stay With Us (With One Voice #743) is one of them. His poem is a meditation on the road to Emmaus journey (Luke 24) that two disciples of Jesus take on the evening of the Resurrection.  As they walk together, struggling to come to terms with the reality of Jesus’ death, a stranger comes and begins to walk beside them; a stranger who not only becomes their companion on the way but their teacher and, as they finally discover during their shared meal, is none other than their Risen Lord!  Brokering takes the experience of their longing, grieving, and joyous hearts and makes them our own, with marvelous result.

Luke is the only gospel writer to share the story of this resurrection walk with Jesus. Walking with Jesus, the Emmaus story tells us, is a journey full us surprises and unexpected grace! What does your walk with our risen Lord Jesus look like in these post-Easter days?  How is the surprise and deep joy of the proclamation, HE IS RISEN, animating your daily existence?  How can you share that joy transparently with those with whom you share your Monday through Saturday life?

The truth is, every day is a day spent in the presence of our Risen Lord.  Therefore, we can talk about every day as a day in which we walk with Jesus.  Of course, on some days we feel Jesus’ presence powerfully, while on others the pressures of life leave us feeling quite a distance from him.  The Good News is, regardless of what we may feel on any given day, the spirit of the risen Jesus is here.  Jesus walks with us every day, just as he promised he would. His accompaniment is something we can always count on, no matter what the circumstances of our lives may be.

As the month of April unfolds, we will experience Christ’s accompaniment in our Sunday worship when we, like those Emmaus travelers, gather around bread and wine.  But we will also experience it on numerous other occasions: when we join with the people of Our Lady Guadalupe for a joint service day on Saturday April 16; when we work in yards and gardens preparing the soil and seeds for another year of growth; and when we share a smile or listen to another’s troubles; or make a meal for someone in need; when we stand up for someone who’s being taken advantage of; pray for someone who has offended us; bless our loved ones before bed.  For we who are people of the Empty Tomb, Easter isn’t a once a year event but a way of life.

Talk with us, till we behold, a joyful life you will unfold: heal our eyes to see the prize: Jesus take us to the light

Much of the news that dominates the air waves works to pull us toward the dark, drag us back toward the tomb.  But we are Easter people – and we won’t allow that to happen!  We have glimpsed the end of the story, the prize, and we accept with gratitude the joyful life that our risen Lord unfolds before us, day by day.  Thanks be to God!

With Easter joy,

Pastor Erik

 

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