Reflection from Pastor Hoffman

“You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth!”  That’s what Jesus tells his disciples before his ascension – before the resurrected Jesus returns to sit at the right hand of God in heaven – in this Sunday’s reading from Acts (1:6-14). You will be the ones to carry on my ministry – you will be the ones who teach the world about all that I’ve said and done. You will share God’s love in word and deed by loving this broken and beautiful world – and all the people who are part of it.

Being Jesus’ witnesses – carrying on his ministry – to the ends of the earth? That sounds like a tall order under any circumstances, but it feels especially impossible when the world I inhabit feels increasingly smaller.  Day after day, I see the same five faces as we share the same four walls. As grateful as I am to be sharing my days with these particular faces, the world beyond my household feels increasingly distant.

God did not create us to live in isolation.  Jesus’ whole ministry was about reaching out to others, bridging divides, joining people together.  And it can feel impossible to share in that ministry – to bear witness to all that Jesus taught and did – when we feel so disconnected.

Thankfully, Jesus did not leave us with our marching orders and disappear entirely. This Sunday, we get to listen in as Jesus prays for us: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17:1-11).  Jesus longs for us to experience the connection of being joined to God and to one another.  He prays for us…then he sends the Holy Spirit to make it so.

We may feel far apart. We may feel disconnected. But we are not alone. We are – as we claim every Sunday when we begin the Lord’s Prayer – “gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.”

This week – and always – I am praying for you and with you that, despite physical distance, we might feel the presence of one another and experience the unity we share in Christ.  Together, by the power of the Spirit, we are witnesses who share the good news of God’s love to the ends of the earth.

~ Pastor H.

P.S. It seems to me that one of the ways we serve as witnesses is to pray for one another as Jesus prayed for us – and to tell each other we are doing so! Pastor Amy and I have started this practice by sending a postcard to the five households that we pray for each week in worship. I invite you to adopt a practice of your own. Consider sending a note to someone for whom you’ve prayed or participate in the Seeds of Hope Appeal by sending notes to “spread HOPE” (see the full announcement in the Care Section!!). We might not be able to travel to the ends of the earth, but the message of God’s love certainly can!!

Reflection from Pastor Hoffman

Six weeks ago, we began our journey into this alternate reality known as “physical distancing due to COVID-19.”  Six weeks ago, we threw our calendars out the window, and with them all that we thought we knew about what the future might hold. For six weeks we have kept our distance, sequestering ourselves at home, donning face masks to protect ourselves and those around us. But even six weeks is not long enough to adapt to life in this alternate reality, and it’s just the beginning of trying to process the shock and grief of it all.

Because we are human. We figure out how the world works, who and what we can trust, and how to live in it.  When our world is turned upside down, it takes time to figure those things out in our new reality.

In our gospel this week, we meet two disciples who also had their world turned upside down, not by a global pandemic, but by the resurrection of Jesus.  Suddenly, they now live in a world where the dead don’t stay dead.  And they don’t immediately know what to believe, who to trust, or what it all means.

I am so grateful that our Holy Scriptures include stories like last week (the story of so-called Doubting Thomas) and this week (the disciples on the road to Emmaus). These post-resurrection accounts affirm what I have experienced to be true: that coming to believe in the resurrection of Jesus is not one-size-fits-all. It’s a journey.

But this week’s gospel reminds us that it is not a journey we take alone.  Jesus meets us on the road.  Sometimes, he shows up as a traveling companion.  Someone who listens to our grief and pain.  Someone who hears our questions and doubts, who walks with us in our confusion and uncertainty.  Someone who shares wisdom and insight, who helps us connect the dots and make sense of what we’re experiencing.  Jesus shows up, whether we recognize him or not.

In the midst of the confusion, uncertainty and questions that fill our days, the good news of Easter is that the risen Christ meets us on our life’s journey. By the grace of God, may our eyes be opened to recognize him!

~ Pastor H.