Instead of calling this year's road trip experience, "Roadtrippin' Vol II", I thought I give it a title that better suits this year's version...."Dad, Are we there yet?"
HAH!!! I know you know what's next...For me, images of 1960's Volkswagen Bus', trips down and up Route 95 searching for the perfect Civil War Battleground to explore. Maybe another whirl through Gettysburg? Williamsburg? Richmond? or for fun... let's go to Antietam for a real taste of battle gore! No sign of "The Mouse" for this girl... or Hershey Park, or even Busch Gardens, (truly don't think it was around in the 60's and 70's anyway!)
Roadtrippin' today...though... even still with a destination of sunny Florida STILL shapes up no differently than it did 40 years ago! That is when one travels in modern day roadtrippin' style!
My trip as a 40-something on the Great super highway of 95 contained many of the same variables as days gone by! All the factors present on the checklist of traveling 1000 miles with children, in the ride that is!!!! Let me recount to you my childhood, jettisoned to now, on a road trip from the very north to the very south... the only real difference... 1 child extra, a ride-a-long school teacher, video and computer technology, "Carla.. the GPS, not-so-know-it-all", medication to prevent car motion sickness (for me!) and 3 very patient adult pilots! Ok.. it WASN'T the same really!!! ALthough, I found myself in the Steve Carrel position of the van at times from Little Miss Sunshine!
Our trip begins the Friday eve of April School vacation. For me traditionally, it was always Washington, DC. Our annual pilgrimage was to go and witness the bed where Lincoln died in mid-April, see the Cherry blossoms and perhaps a day trip to Appomattox courthouse.. maybe Mt. Vernon just for the fun of it! This April vacation I am happy to say that my dearest friends the Perry's and their 4 kids were heading to vacation mecca for their annual pilgrimage during April vacation week.. "Disney World" !!!! (Nana & Pop too!) Seeing I commute to Florida now on a regular basis they were gracious enough to ask me to road trip along and roll me out onto a grassy knoll somewhere in Jacksonville on their way to the promised land! As any budget- abiding gal would do she took the offer... and to no surprise, found myself in the middle of a roadtrippin' adventure I hadn't experienced in some time!!!!
Here, we are all packed. I land at Casa Perry exactly on schedule for a Friday night departure. I arrive to 6 neatly packed and stowed color-coded suitcases. (Not even my organized mother was this good!!) I lay my roll-away and carry-on neatly on top, grab my pillow and x-large Diet Pepsi and in minutes we are all buckled, received safety and exiting instructing, and are now the viewers of tonight's featured film!!! (That is something the Volkswagen did not have- (had that been invented, my father would have taken us to California watching "How the West was Won!") The cabin is a buzz with Super Mario jumps, crashing Pac Man, (honestly I'm too old to know better so I am embellishing), and every other game known to the "DS" system... (again one more piece of technology that is new to the journey....) I did get to bring Lite Bright sometimes on my trips!!)
Three adults worked that day. Two worked with children, and the other with "older children.." , we were all "ready" for the road. As we approached the RI-CT border I began to hear familiar noises around the cabin. " Dad, are we there yet?" from a young 4-year old.... I totally smiled and thought "Kid, if you only knew!" Again, after a long hard day at preschool you would be asking that most important, quintessential question at 4 just under an hour into the trip too! Hell, I work in that same place and wondered it a bit myself.. lol!
The phrase however, did set the tone!
The sky began to darken and cries of hunger then emerged... "Hey , when are we stopping at McDonald's?" Ah... this was the road trip I remembered.. except, I was a passenger in my 40's buckled into a luxury van watching Peter Pan! Once when my Uncle David, on one of his adventures with us in the Bus, was sitting in his " lazy boy" that he and my dad threw into the back of the bus, one of those fate-filled Washington adventures he surely must have known the pleasure of this adventure too... right before HE had kids!!
And then the fights began!!!!!
Capt Hook cannot hold a candle to Capt Ronald McDonald... nor do the Mario Bros trump bathroom pit stops! (By the adults BTW!) Super-sized caffineated sodas and long road trips do not equal easy on and off pee breaks at rest stops! Hell the kids got to use what we did in the old-fashioned days of carriaging down 95.... today if adults did it it would be known as abuse!!! SO- the adults stopped and ran in when they could and resumed the rules of the road! The kids at times got to stay and "use" the comforts of the head on board-
I suppose the McDee's stop would've been just like the old days.. although back then the Happy Meal was only "happy" to my parents who paid under a $1 for a cheeseburger and fries- no toys, nothing to fight over for us- yet still made us happy! Today.. I had no idea that McDonald's took Jaime Oliver's course!!! There was more to choose from then I could possibly imagine. I got something heart-healthy without the put-together dragon... or my evening scotch...and put 4 other dragons together however ... suffice I didn't need that to feel the happiness I was feeling reliving my childhood again!
As the fighting and laughter faded in the back I turned and saw 4 angelic creatures nodded off in PJ's surrounded by animal character airplane neck support pillows, blankies and stuffed dogs...I was wondering why I had forgotten this part of my childhood road trip experience? Ah.. how comfortable.. the knowledge that you could fall asleep and know that 3 pilots would be sailing on through and wake up in sunny F-L-A is enough to put any mind to a sound sleep... until you wake up and find yourself still in Baltimore! Okay.. the adults had needed more Big Gulps and fewer naps...
My 4am shift was greeted with no lav or coffee at 5am as McDonald's promises.. and took us into a cloudy dawn through Washington. (Funny that this was my stop). The remainder of the day was the same, switch hitting the wheel through the god-fearing boredom of the Carolina's...stops to the BK Lounge and more noise from the back over technology I knew nothing of since the early 80's, parents trying to catnap, gossip over events of late, and answering that end-all question.. "Dad, are we there yet???"
I knew at one fuel station we were close, I felt the sweat beading on my brow, the film across my teeth and the memories of college 'all-nighters" swimming in my head.... not to mention the increasing feel of humidity... aaah Georgia was on my mind! The kids were finally saying, "Dad, we must be close I see palm trees!" And suddenly the spirit lifted. Chatter of what might be happening at Cinderella's castle in the air and my good friends praying that Grandma would swoop in and lovingly take their grandchildren to bed, bath and beyond.. (and I'm not speaking of the chain store!) And yes, I knew my trip was closing in on me too! 56 miles to Jacksonville! Those are signs we LOVE to see on the highway of life!
My trip felt like my childhood relived again.. except I guess, that no one vomited, I didn't get to stop in Richmond and see Lee and Grant's whatever....(although Chris really wanted too!) I did get to see Disney flicks on film instead of waiting for them 1x a year on TV, right there in the van, I didn't pee in a pan.. (not saying anyone else did for the protection of the innocent), there was little adult arguing and child discipline, I wore a seat belt the whole time, I traded "I spy" for a Nintendo DS, oh.. and I got to make it to sunny FLA for R&R... so although, the American Family Road Trip has not changed... it was still better than having to walk 5 miles in the snow to school every morning!
I sadly waived good bye to my traveling buddies and jumped into the arms of Jax and was secretly jealous of their next destination, and said "Let's do it all again next week!"
Thanks Perrys!
Love, Miss Dawn
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Come Together
"Here come old flattop. He come grooving up slowly. He got joo-joo eyeball. He one holy roller. He got hair down to his knee Got to be a joker he just do what he please... Come Together right now over me!
I know, Miss Dawn's got her Beatles going on again.. and yes, she usually does, although in reflecting upon today's Gospel this song just keeps "coming over me!"
I have to laugh thinking that although this song is portraying the Beatles individually during a time of angst for them it also makes me think of Jesus coming into the room to visit the Disciples during their angst that first day of the week after the Resurrection. (still Easter).
Honestly, get the visual as you sing along.. HAH.. I can't help thinking that if John Lennon were present that fate filled evening this is somewhat how he would describe Jesus' surprise visit! The Disciples, all but Thomas, waiting in a room... Kind of like Paul not being with the group much in those days. Forewarned to meet there by Mary Magdalene, (the Yoko Ono sideboard), they awaited the man to cross over that proverbial crosswalk from Heaven to Earth in his white dazzling suit and say "Hi guys... I told you this would happen." And so he did. "My peace I leave you, my peace I give you." Such powerful words to live by.
" I know you and you know me, One thing I can tell you is you got to be free." Come together, right now, Over me!
This broken and repaired Jesus was back to the very people who spent His final days in hiding. Afraid of what may happen to them. Not being near Jesus in his final hours. Here Jesus was back with them risen, and telling them in his groovy way that although they are frightened by this mess that he leaves with them with His peace.... So Come together, right now over me!
Jesus breathes new life into them and gives them a dosage of Holy Spirit to over come the fears, carry on and keep Jesus' peace inside them to face the harder days ahead. He was there to let them know he had not given up on them. He was there to build real discipleship now!
The disciples know that they are staring into the sweetest joo-joo eyeballs they have ever seen. They are believers! He got feet down below his knees- implying that he isn't kneeling anymore. He is Risen, stand up straight and believe.
Thomas, our doubting friend of the bunch is absent for this meeting. I love teaching this Gospel to children as I immediately follow up with a delicious snack of course... "Thomas' English Muffins!" You know the ones with lots of holes!! No one knows where Thomas is the day Jesus' comes back. Fishing? Downtime? Anxiety? Who knows. But he is informed when he does come around finally that in fact Jesus kept His promise. He was back and bigger than ever! A doubter by trade, Thomas replies, "I am sorry, I don't think so."
"Unless I see him with my eyes and place my finger into his wounds, "hold you in His armchair so you can feel His disease... will I believe!" Funny way to think of this isn't it? All 10 who were witness to Jesus assured Thomas that this was real. (Remember Judas is gone). How could Thomas, and more importantly why would Thomas not believe these folks who had become such a tight knit group? He surely heard the premonition, the prophesy, "He got early warning, he got muddy water, He one Mojo Filter.. and He said, "One and One and One is three," professed over and over by Jesus in the days leading toward this. Why would one doubt? Thomas must have "been so good lookin' it was so hard to see." Come together, right now, over me~
The next week in the same room Jesus shows himself again. This time Thomas is present. He still is reluctant until Jesus approaches him.. right in-his-face-style work... (sometimes as Jesus does for us all), and proclaims to Thomas that, in fact, this is, really real! It all did happen regardless of what seemed impossible and doubtful. After Thomas held Him in his armchair he surely knew that a living Christ was before him. He dropped, not having feet below his knees, and professed publicly the error in his ways. The spirit moved upon Thomas. The roller coaster was over.
"Blessed are those who do not see, but believe." says Jesus. Come together right now over me! Go, tell the world I would like them to begin doing that very thing each week.
And so we do.
The Walrus
I know, Miss Dawn's got her Beatles going on again.. and yes, she usually does, although in reflecting upon today's Gospel this song just keeps "coming over me!"
I have to laugh thinking that although this song is portraying the Beatles individually during a time of angst for them it also makes me think of Jesus coming into the room to visit the Disciples during their angst that first day of the week after the Resurrection. (still Easter).
Honestly, get the visual as you sing along.. HAH.. I can't help thinking that if John Lennon were present that fate filled evening this is somewhat how he would describe Jesus' surprise visit! The Disciples, all but Thomas, waiting in a room... Kind of like Paul not being with the group much in those days. Forewarned to meet there by Mary Magdalene, (the Yoko Ono sideboard), they awaited the man to cross over that proverbial crosswalk from Heaven to Earth in his white dazzling suit and say "Hi guys... I told you this would happen." And so he did. "My peace I leave you, my peace I give you." Such powerful words to live by.
" I know you and you know me, One thing I can tell you is you got to be free." Come together, right now, Over me!
This broken and repaired Jesus was back to the very people who spent His final days in hiding. Afraid of what may happen to them. Not being near Jesus in his final hours. Here Jesus was back with them risen, and telling them in his groovy way that although they are frightened by this mess that he leaves with them with His peace.... So Come together, right now over me!
Jesus breathes new life into them and gives them a dosage of Holy Spirit to over come the fears, carry on and keep Jesus' peace inside them to face the harder days ahead. He was there to let them know he had not given up on them. He was there to build real discipleship now!
The disciples know that they are staring into the sweetest joo-joo eyeballs they have ever seen. They are believers! He got feet down below his knees- implying that he isn't kneeling anymore. He is Risen, stand up straight and believe.
Thomas, our doubting friend of the bunch is absent for this meeting. I love teaching this Gospel to children as I immediately follow up with a delicious snack of course... "Thomas' English Muffins!" You know the ones with lots of holes!! No one knows where Thomas is the day Jesus' comes back. Fishing? Downtime? Anxiety? Who knows. But he is informed when he does come around finally that in fact Jesus kept His promise. He was back and bigger than ever! A doubter by trade, Thomas replies, "I am sorry, I don't think so."
"Unless I see him with my eyes and place my finger into his wounds, "hold you in His armchair so you can feel His disease... will I believe!" Funny way to think of this isn't it? All 10 who were witness to Jesus assured Thomas that this was real. (Remember Judas is gone). How could Thomas, and more importantly why would Thomas not believe these folks who had become such a tight knit group? He surely heard the premonition, the prophesy, "He got early warning, he got muddy water, He one Mojo Filter.. and He said, "One and One and One is three," professed over and over by Jesus in the days leading toward this. Why would one doubt? Thomas must have "been so good lookin' it was so hard to see." Come together, right now, over me~
The next week in the same room Jesus shows himself again. This time Thomas is present. He still is reluctant until Jesus approaches him.. right in-his-face-style work... (sometimes as Jesus does for us all), and proclaims to Thomas that, in fact, this is, really real! It all did happen regardless of what seemed impossible and doubtful. After Thomas held Him in his armchair he surely knew that a living Christ was before him. He dropped, not having feet below his knees, and professed publicly the error in his ways. The spirit moved upon Thomas. The roller coaster was over.
"Blessed are those who do not see, but believe." says Jesus. Come together right now over me! Go, tell the world I would like them to begin doing that very thing each week.
And so we do.
The Walrus
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Good Friday...Indeed it is Good!
Good Friday... all I can hear over and over, "Miss Dawn, Why is it so good??" Good Question!!!
Well, another Good Friday is behind us. Once again, (and reluctantly), I offered my annual Good Friday Camp to wee people. A day to truly walk with Christ during his final hours. This past year, I have been somewhat out of the direct spotlight of Christ...or so I thought. Not teaching Sunday School or Chapel for about 9 months brought me to a new way of being with God. There were moments this past year where I questioned my own walk with Christ. I began wondering if my service had expired. However it did not take long before God picked me up and began to utilize my God-given talent in teaching folks about His life story... God teaching me that at some point We all Walk the Way of the Cross!!!!
(If we are to be any part of the Body of Christ that is!)
Once years and years ago I helped run Vacation Bible Schools for Trinity Church in Newport. An assistant priest at the time and myself would discuss each Spring my willingness to help the church put together children's programming for their VBS. It was a volunteer position for a week. I often felt as time came upon us..."Perhaps this summer I shall take it off completely... just rest." And each year I found myself in Fr. Dave's office discussing the theme of this year's camp once again. One year I related my tiredness to him. I told him I was thinking that God might have had enough of my work and to maybe give someone else a try! He asked me why then, was I sitting before him? My reply was that although I have never earned enough financially to give in the way I'd like too, I felt my stewardship was the least I could. (Mind you, Trinity was not my parish, nor my confirmed faith.) I told him that I get a special joy and confirmation of God's messages after teaching/preaching when I relate God's stories to children. I told him somewhere along the way I learned how to express God's message to children. Dave laughed at me... he said, "Dawn, you can run, but you can't hide from God!" Of course, I agreed and said that none of us can. He went on to tell me that he himself questioned his going into the priesthood. He told me that he really thought it the last occupation he would choose... although God had other plans. He said, "Don't worry... God finds you and better yet.. He WAITS for you!" Hmmm... indeed he was correct. I thought I had given my last Good Friday Camp- I was wrong!
This year's Good Friday Camp ran as a well-oiled machine. It should, I have been doing it for about 5 or 6 years. The efforts of preparation for it remind me of the 6 weeks of Lent as we prepare for our walk with Jesus. There is lots to do... lists to create, supplies to gather, quiet reflection, selection of help for the event. It doesn't seem to get old either! (Although, I am!) The kids are just as enthused ... the story hasn't changed in 2000 years... and technology has not moved it into a new place of media hype.
This year however brought some differences for me. The building changed .. the teachers changed .... some of the kids changed ...but the message remained the same. And really, I didn't change! God, found me in all my shortcomings and plopped me right back to a place where I can change the world again! Incredible. Talk about redemption!
For me, Good Friday this year wasn't just about a day's agenda to plow through with 40 friends. It held much deeper significance. It was truly a walk through Jesus' last week of strife and conflict. It was a reminder to me that even Jesus was revered as a hero on Palm Sunday and crucified 5 days later! It hurt to know that His people would spare a murderer over him. His best friend would deny him. Another close friend turns him in for a few coins, and the rest fall asleep on him! It was sad really to watch Peter try to act in violence in Jesus' name when really just minutes later he wouldn't begin to not know anything about Jesus or His ministry. It especially hurt to watch his friends, one by one, save their own asses, and hide just when he needed them most! It further hurt to consider how folks ridiculed him, teased him, accused him of lying and mayhem, and better yet were so incredibly jealous of him that they would go to any measure to make sure no one knew of him anymore... allow His light to shine! I actually choked back tears after relating this to my young friends. I knew EXACTLY how all of these things felt! Truly. And yet, I was not facing death on a cross. I already had.
These feelings began early that morning. I had a flash of all the horror before I even got to the camp. I found myself uttering, "Father, please forgive them for they know not what they have done," in the Stop-n-Shop with my 3.5 year old nephew going into his first Good Friday Camp! "What you saying Aunt Dew?" I just mumbled, "Nothing..." and that he should help me pick up the proverbial Cross, (the themed snack made from Ritz crackers and Cheeze-Whiz), with me and continue on to Golgotha!
Good Friday Camp, to me, (I have joked for years), is my "penance". I speak for 5 hours straight... haha.. I know... and TRUST me it does exhaust me! As we began the tedious task of painting all 14 stations.. I began to wonder about my own 2mile walk to the hill. I wondered about how I have dropped my cross 3x! (or more!) I remembered a kind woman, (many), handing me a towel along the way to wipe my face. I was hoping I left a lasting memory with her too at some point in my tenure. I felt for Simon , a strange man in a strange land being forced into a situation that he knew nothing about.. fearing that helping this rebel would lead him into a early grave. Instead good things came to Simon, besides his conversion! I thought of those continuing to revile Christ along the way... taunting him with remarks..."You deserve everything you got!"... "This is your karma!"... "Go back to Florida ... I mean Nazareth, where you belong!" and I wondered how it felt for Him when He knew he wasn't a Blasphemer.
As I was on the walk to Golgotha thoughts about the events were racing through my head. I think about how Pontius Pilot was put in a precarious situation and how cleverly he tried to get the people to choose Jesus over Barabbas. Pilot was a smart and clever military man.. he knew that Jesus was not a real threat.. (which meant he was secure in his power). Surely, he could blind the Jewish people by convincing them that a Barabbas out walking the streets was a far cry from a Jesus professing peace and equality.. favoring the unique and meek of this world... and yet, his plan backfired. He too was looking for Jesus to confess to a sin he did not commit to make it easy upon himself, and thus the decision was placed in the hands of the scared and fear filled! Death is an inevitable outcome in a tug of war.
They stripped Jesus of his belongings. They played a game to keep his things. Heirlooms made from his Mother just scattered about the few who could've cared less for the "seamless" labor and love of how they were made. The feeling as though they somehow "deserved" these items. Jesus however, never blinked an eye in the end. He continued to help the grief stricken. Those that could not be healed. He assured the many heartbroken, that in fact, He would come again. He told the children he loved them. They meant the most to Him. The 2 criminals on either side of Him were even interested in His story. One in fact told Him he believed, and asked Jesus if there was a place for him in Heaven.... Jesus invited him along for the ride.
As we remember, His best friend Mary, John, the Disciple he loved the most, and his Mother stood beside Him in his final hours. Thankfully God did not allow the struggle to last forever. It was a quick death! Jesus' body was laid to rest by a kind and giving man named Joseph. He had followed Jesus, and felt that Jesus deserved a place to rest. A new cave... this time not one inhabited by animals in which he first came into this world. It was a prelude to new life.
The rest we know to be History! The rise 3days later that Mary Magdalene was witness to let us all know that out of darkness comes light! No one can keep us in a cave, no matter how large the stone. God has work for us to do and we must keep our attention on that work and let God continue to resurrect us into the light of a new day. The Disciples were called to believe that Jesus had come back- they were invited to touch and see a Risen Jesus!
Hallelujah, Hallelujah He is Risen!
Happy Easter,
Miss Dawn
Well, another Good Friday is behind us. Once again, (and reluctantly), I offered my annual Good Friday Camp to wee people. A day to truly walk with Christ during his final hours. This past year, I have been somewhat out of the direct spotlight of Christ...or so I thought. Not teaching Sunday School or Chapel for about 9 months brought me to a new way of being with God. There were moments this past year where I questioned my own walk with Christ. I began wondering if my service had expired. However it did not take long before God picked me up and began to utilize my God-given talent in teaching folks about His life story... God teaching me that at some point We all Walk the Way of the Cross!!!!
(If we are to be any part of the Body of Christ that is!)
Once years and years ago I helped run Vacation Bible Schools for Trinity Church in Newport. An assistant priest at the time and myself would discuss each Spring my willingness to help the church put together children's programming for their VBS. It was a volunteer position for a week. I often felt as time came upon us..."Perhaps this summer I shall take it off completely... just rest." And each year I found myself in Fr. Dave's office discussing the theme of this year's camp once again. One year I related my tiredness to him. I told him I was thinking that God might have had enough of my work and to maybe give someone else a try! He asked me why then, was I sitting before him? My reply was that although I have never earned enough financially to give in the way I'd like too, I felt my stewardship was the least I could. (Mind you, Trinity was not my parish, nor my confirmed faith.) I told him that I get a special joy and confirmation of God's messages after teaching/preaching when I relate God's stories to children. I told him somewhere along the way I learned how to express God's message to children. Dave laughed at me... he said, "Dawn, you can run, but you can't hide from God!" Of course, I agreed and said that none of us can. He went on to tell me that he himself questioned his going into the priesthood. He told me that he really thought it the last occupation he would choose... although God had other plans. He said, "Don't worry... God finds you and better yet.. He WAITS for you!" Hmmm... indeed he was correct. I thought I had given my last Good Friday Camp- I was wrong!
This year's Good Friday Camp ran as a well-oiled machine. It should, I have been doing it for about 5 or 6 years. The efforts of preparation for it remind me of the 6 weeks of Lent as we prepare for our walk with Jesus. There is lots to do... lists to create, supplies to gather, quiet reflection, selection of help for the event. It doesn't seem to get old either! (Although, I am!) The kids are just as enthused ... the story hasn't changed in 2000 years... and technology has not moved it into a new place of media hype.
This year however brought some differences for me. The building changed .. the teachers changed .... some of the kids changed ...but the message remained the same. And really, I didn't change! God, found me in all my shortcomings and plopped me right back to a place where I can change the world again! Incredible. Talk about redemption!
For me, Good Friday this year wasn't just about a day's agenda to plow through with 40 friends. It held much deeper significance. It was truly a walk through Jesus' last week of strife and conflict. It was a reminder to me that even Jesus was revered as a hero on Palm Sunday and crucified 5 days later! It hurt to know that His people would spare a murderer over him. His best friend would deny him. Another close friend turns him in for a few coins, and the rest fall asleep on him! It was sad really to watch Peter try to act in violence in Jesus' name when really just minutes later he wouldn't begin to not know anything about Jesus or His ministry. It especially hurt to watch his friends, one by one, save their own asses, and hide just when he needed them most! It further hurt to consider how folks ridiculed him, teased him, accused him of lying and mayhem, and better yet were so incredibly jealous of him that they would go to any measure to make sure no one knew of him anymore... allow His light to shine! I actually choked back tears after relating this to my young friends. I knew EXACTLY how all of these things felt! Truly. And yet, I was not facing death on a cross. I already had.
These feelings began early that morning. I had a flash of all the horror before I even got to the camp. I found myself uttering, "Father, please forgive them for they know not what they have done," in the Stop-n-Shop with my 3.5 year old nephew going into his first Good Friday Camp! "What you saying Aunt Dew?" I just mumbled, "Nothing..." and that he should help me pick up the proverbial Cross, (the themed snack made from Ritz crackers and Cheeze-Whiz), with me and continue on to Golgotha!
Good Friday Camp, to me, (I have joked for years), is my "penance". I speak for 5 hours straight... haha.. I know... and TRUST me it does exhaust me! As we began the tedious task of painting all 14 stations.. I began to wonder about my own 2mile walk to the hill. I wondered about how I have dropped my cross 3x! (or more!) I remembered a kind woman, (many), handing me a towel along the way to wipe my face. I was hoping I left a lasting memory with her too at some point in my tenure. I felt for Simon , a strange man in a strange land being forced into a situation that he knew nothing about.. fearing that helping this rebel would lead him into a early grave. Instead good things came to Simon, besides his conversion! I thought of those continuing to revile Christ along the way... taunting him with remarks..."You deserve everything you got!"... "This is your karma!"... "Go back to Florida ... I mean Nazareth, where you belong!" and I wondered how it felt for Him when He knew he wasn't a Blasphemer.
As I was on the walk to Golgotha thoughts about the events were racing through my head. I think about how Pontius Pilot was put in a precarious situation and how cleverly he tried to get the people to choose Jesus over Barabbas. Pilot was a smart and clever military man.. he knew that Jesus was not a real threat.. (which meant he was secure in his power). Surely, he could blind the Jewish people by convincing them that a Barabbas out walking the streets was a far cry from a Jesus professing peace and equality.. favoring the unique and meek of this world... and yet, his plan backfired. He too was looking for Jesus to confess to a sin he did not commit to make it easy upon himself, and thus the decision was placed in the hands of the scared and fear filled! Death is an inevitable outcome in a tug of war.
They stripped Jesus of his belongings. They played a game to keep his things. Heirlooms made from his Mother just scattered about the few who could've cared less for the "seamless" labor and love of how they were made. The feeling as though they somehow "deserved" these items. Jesus however, never blinked an eye in the end. He continued to help the grief stricken. Those that could not be healed. He assured the many heartbroken, that in fact, He would come again. He told the children he loved them. They meant the most to Him. The 2 criminals on either side of Him were even interested in His story. One in fact told Him he believed, and asked Jesus if there was a place for him in Heaven.... Jesus invited him along for the ride.
As we remember, His best friend Mary, John, the Disciple he loved the most, and his Mother stood beside Him in his final hours. Thankfully God did not allow the struggle to last forever. It was a quick death! Jesus' body was laid to rest by a kind and giving man named Joseph. He had followed Jesus, and felt that Jesus deserved a place to rest. A new cave... this time not one inhabited by animals in which he first came into this world. It was a prelude to new life.
The rest we know to be History! The rise 3days later that Mary Magdalene was witness to let us all know that out of darkness comes light! No one can keep us in a cave, no matter how large the stone. God has work for us to do and we must keep our attention on that work and let God continue to resurrect us into the light of a new day. The Disciples were called to believe that Jesus had come back- they were invited to touch and see a Risen Jesus!
Hallelujah, Hallelujah He is Risen!
Happy Easter,
Miss Dawn
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