A narrative sermon: Jn.20:24-29
I
remain clear about the reality.
Some
people say He deserved it, others
eager for gain, simply aligned themselves with the lies. As
the old saying goes, ‘’misery loves company’’ I guess.
Perhaps
it was fear of disloyalty, the mob or fear of the unfettered power claimed by
corrupt and cynical people. The same people who made judgements without allowing
them to be questioned.
Perhaps
it was fear
Being shamed as
a supporter?
Yet.
Who
can stand against the deviancy control techniques they employed to engineer a
biased response.
*sigh*....I’m
exhausted.
How
infuriating this all is!
Still
I remain clear about the reality.
What
I saw is what I saw – there is no bias in telling the truth even when it is
discounted as subjective babble.
Me,
recondite?
*sigh*...perhaps,
I am.
Still
I remain clear about the reality.
What
I felt is what I felt – there is no contradiction in the embedded data here,
even though my thoughts and experiences are ridiculed as ambiguous, damned to
be without meaning, tasked to be silenced forever.
Still
I remain clear about the reality.
What
I heard is what I heard – there is no delusion, even when it is covered in a
milieu of emotive fog. For me this is more than a memory, although it is
conveniently forgotten by the elite and too easily abandoned by those who blindly
followed.
Still...I
remain clear about the reality.
The
days darkened, hope vanished because the words were deconstructed, meaning lost
meaning, the truth was reversed and those words twisted by the process of
cross-examination - our faith all but
abandoned.
Belittled,
embattled, bitter and cold we sat. The others knew my opinions. Understanding
the past was not going to be easy. Sin appears to have been rewarded. Isn’t
this the opposite of what we were told to expect?
 |
| Feb, 2013 Easter reflection. Home made bread with a crown of thornes contrasts what we gave Jesus with what He gave us. |
Disorientated
by the distortions that surround me it seems I am burdened with the task of
speaking reason to my unreasonable friends. Love speaks truth, and I must speak
even if it costs me. Ah, the depth of grief that engulfs them! It’s not that
their optimism is foreign to me; after all we walked among the dead, we saw
them return alive to their loved ones! I still rejoice about the time I witnessed
a grateful father ask for help in his unbelief following his daughters impossible
healing. But now that experience taunts me, I thought I was one of the strong
ones, convinced beyond all question by what I had seen, felt and heard. I rose
and turned towards the door, angry, disappointed and determined for this to be
a final stand for reason. How could I convince them? They seem so certain...
I am especially aware of this moment of
hesitation – because as I turned to unlock the door a hand reached for my shoulder. I
remain clear about the reality! My heart beat faster as the anxiety overwhelmed
me and I heard an unmistakable voice. With distinctive clarity I sensed a deep joy
which always beamed from a transcendent understanding and compassion. This too easily forgotten energizing joy
was almost always implicated by a smile engrained in the loving words I had heard spoken. Then came the words... ‘’Thomas! see?...these
scars...touch them, for a Spirit does not have
flesh and bones as you see that I have...blessed are those who have not
seen me yet have believed’
With
a gust of contrition I looked up, and then spoke with broken and breathless words...’My
Lord and my God!’
 |
| Entitled: 'Graphic Adjustment: Requiem for Thomas', Rod Lampard 2013. The picture of Jesus was borrowed from a sticker called ''follower.'' by World Christian Posters Inc. Canada I morphed that with a 'Keep calm and carry on' ornamental display we picked up from Spotlight a while back. |
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