Mary!
Pastor Jason Fullness of the Tomb
Graphic Image by Lauren Wright Pittman
inspired by John 20:1-18
Each person engages the tomb to different degrees. Mary sees the stone missing from the tomb and runs to share what she’s seen. The unnamed disciple bends down, looks into the tomb, and sees strips of linen, but does not enter. Peter enters the tomb immediately and sees the linen wrappings and Jesus’ head cloth. The unnamed disciple enters after Peter and believes, though his belief is unclear. It seems each person’s knowledge builds, but understanding isn’t realized.
The disciples return home, but Mary chooses to stay in the midst of this nightmare. Through tear-filled eyes, Mary chooses to remain present and to see.
As the morning’s darkness shifts into hues of dancing light, Mary sees two angels whose brilliance cracks the tomb’s darkness. They interrupt the sounds of her sorrow, asking an absurd question at the mouth of her friend’s empty tomb: “Woman, why are you weeping?” As she explains to the bright figures the source of her tears, a strange man repeats the question. She turns and sees him, but still does not understand. When the man exclaims, “Mary!” the emptiness of the tomb becomes fullness.
If we take time in the disorienting, wilderness moments of our lives, choosing to see everything for what it is instead of running away, our perspective can change, and we open ourselves to miracles. Mary planted herself in the wilderness and saw the horror of an empty tomb transform into the most saturated image of hope. Jesus is unbound, alive, and everywhere, and she becomes the original bearer of this Good News. When we choose to endure the wilderness, we have the opportunity to recognize and receive the gifts the wilderness has to offer us, and to go out to share it with others.
Resuming “Something Needs to Change” Small Group Bible Study
We are working on plans to resume our Bible Study led by John Johnson which used David Platt’s book “Something Needs to Change.” We initially had hoped to resume this study when we could be face-to-face again, but as our shelter-in-place order continues and looks to be extended, we have had many requests to resume this Bible Study. We are currently working on a way to resume that includes everyone who previously participated (and others who may want to join) via a video conference. Yes, we have plenty of video options to choose from, but we want to ensure that all participants have video conference capability in their homes. In that effort, we are working on a few tablets that can be loaned from the church to individuals for the purpose of video conferencing. Once we have these details worked out we will announce the resuming date and time of the study. Thanks for your support and patience!
Donate a Tablet!
If you have a used tablet lying around, please consider donating it to the church for our library. As our modern culture shifts through a pandemic and shelter-in-place order, we realize the need to have devices that folks can “check out” from our church in order to keep in touch with our church family – and other friends! We believe having several tablets to loan will be a tremendous ministry that can help keep us connected when not everyone has a device through which to be connected!
This Week with the Hood Family…
Monday, Wednesday, Friday – 12 noon – Prayer Conference Call (563-999-1222)
Tuesday – 9am-2pm – DUMA Food Pantry Distribution – Volunteers Needed!
Thursday – 10:30am – Ladles of Love Meal Prep and Distribution
Sunday, 10:00am – Worship Live Stream on Facebook at Conference Line – Please note the change in time due to high internet traffic at 11am