Well, since it’s ready, and since I don’t think anyone from the congregation in Sutter Creek follows my blog, here’s what I expect I will preach for the Second Sunday in Easter:
Imagine what it must have been like. A week ago, Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. Thursday they all gathered for a special meal with Jesus. Later that night, Jesus was arrested. Friday morning he was tried and brutally executed while they all hid (and some of the women, braver than the rest of them, watched from a distance). Today they were hiding, barricaded behind locked doors, waiting for the sound of footsteps which might mean that they too were being arrested … Fear was in the air. And that evening, suddenly, something unrecognized appeared in the room with them!
“Peace be with you,” they heard. But they did not experience shalom. There was no wholeness or completeness or being in harmony in their hearts. They might well have thought they were seeing a ghost. They must have been scared witless!
But Jesus, it was Jesus, showed them his wounds. They recognized him by his wounds, (more…)
The Sunset Juggler (formerly The Dragon's Mouth) 