Jody's Journal

April 5, 2007

Dear Friends,

I am enjoying reading a book called, The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. They interpret the story of the last week of Jesus’ life day by day. You gain an appreciation of the meaning of the last days of Jesus’ life and why he died. They also prepare me to receive with wonder and awe the gift of resurrection. In some way, our own lives are tied up in this story of loss and hope, of death and resurrection. Frederick Buechner said it well in The Magnificent Defeat. Buechner, whose life has known the deep pain of a father who committed suicide and a daughter who suffered with anorexia, provides a witness to our Easter faith that speaks through pain:

“The proclamation of Easter Day is that all is well. And as a Christian, I say this not with the easy optimism of one who has never known a time when all was not well but as one who has faced the Cross in all its obscenity as well as in all its glory, who has known one way or another what it is like to live separated from God. In the end, his will, not ours, is done. Love is the victor. Death is not the end. The end is life. His life and our lives, through him, in him. Existence has greater depths of beauty, mystery, and benediction than the wildest visionary ever dared to dream. Christ our Lord is risen.”

The services of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter are offered to help us remember that story and lead us to resurrection faith. I look forward to sharing these services with you.

In Faith, Hope and Love,

Jody