Strangely Warmed

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ –

“They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while [Jesus] was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’” Luke 24:32

The Gospel readings for May follow along two themes. For the first two weeks, we are given accounts of post-resurrection appearances of Jesus: to the disciples (including the followup appearance to Thomas) and to the two disciples on the Emmaus road. For the last two weeks, we are given portions of Jesus’ farewell speech to his disciples at the Last Supper. Sandwiched in the middle, on May 15, is a reading about Jesus’ self-description as the Good Shepherd.

It is perhaps this image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd that unites the seemingly disjointed series of readings for May. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd. During his last Passover meal with his disciples (which we call the Last Supper), Jesus told the disciples that, even though they would be scattered in days ahead, it was Jesus’ will that they would again be gathered together to be united as apostles of Christ. And after the resurrection, Jesus the Good Shepherd is gathering his flock which had been scattered by the events of Holy Week.

Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard wrote that “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” At the time of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion, the disciples, “living forwards”, thought that all their hopes and dreams as disciples of Christ had come to an end. It was only after Easter, when the disciples looked back over the events of Holy Week from the perspective of the resurrection, that they understood that Jesus had not abandoned them; that God had been with them the whole time.

Our experience may be similar. While we’re “living forwards” - mourning a loss, coping with a personal or national tragedy, or slogging our way through the muck and mire of daily life - it may feel like God is nowhere to be found. We may feel abandoned, may feel that God has left the building, so to speak. It is often only in “understanding backwards” after the passage of time that we may see where God had been present all along. In the weeks ahead, may our hearts be, in Methodist founder John Wesley’s words, “strangely warmed” by unexpected encounters with God’s grace.

See you in church!

Pastor Dave