By George H. Guthrie
JACKSON, Tenn. -- Leaning forward, you strain to hear. The fresh, cool breeze of the garden morning brushes your cheek. Bending, you look into that open, black-dark mouth of the tomb, its only light the sun's thin finger reaching past your shoulder to touch the corner of a bone box. But the bones for which it waits have changed, gotten up and walked away. No smell of death; only the sweet scent of burial spices hanging in the air.
Bouncing off the walls of this vacated tomb, you may hear echoes from another garden where the lie, "Has God really said?" prevailed, and death was ushered in. But now, in this garden the lie has been silenced with a resounding, "Yes!! His Word lives!" and death has been driven out, the curse of Eden swallowed up in this empty space.
And do you hear the echo of righteous Noah, who built a deliverance to carry God's creations through the judgment, or Father Abraham, through whom all the peoples of the earth would be blessed? Do you hear the echoes of Egypt's oppressive slavery turned inside-out in powerful salvation, and at its peak an innocent lamb slain so that death would pass over? Do you hear the echo of new life found through parting waters, or of bread, water, and the Shekinah tent given in a wilderness? Do you hear the death-dealing law, unable to give life, at once fulfilled and filled full by the Life? Do you hear these echoes?
As you now kneel on this rough-hewn path leading into where Hope was dead for a moment, do you hear Joshua's name, bouncing 'round these walls, the same name as "Yeshua," "Jesus," whose very name shouts "Salvation!"? Walls have crumbled. Evil has been judged, banished from the land. Joshua led God's people to a promised place, a place flowing with all good things, as does now his namesake, who takes us to a promised rest harder bought. And the chaos of Judges too rings through this darkened grave, its "every man did what was right in his own eyes" now crushed under a staggering obedience, one Man having done what was right to give us new hearts, making us right with God.
King David's words, "You will not allow your Holy One to see decay," hang in this sweet air, and His Son, the ultimate Man, the ultimate King, receives the coronation song and, finally, dominion of the world and of a different kind of Kingdom. And this Easter tomb, having become a temple of sorts, housing God, echoes with the words of blessing over Solomon's temple, its walls now torn down but built up in flesh and bone, stone by stone, to go walking through the world, taking the Light of the Gospel, the Presence, to all the black corners of the earth. The temple decisively cleansed by one Offering, the Great High Priest intercedes, never to offer another sacrifice, the way into the holiest place forever opened by His trail-blazing life.
Here too, in this now-hollow crypt ring full the words of Isaiah, "On this mountain ... He will destroy death forever," and Jeremiah's "they will all know Me," and do you hear Ezekiel's bones rattle with hope? Exile having been exiled, this now is the true return, the Kingdom come, God's people ruled by one ever-living King.
A baby's cry, warbling out from a dusty trough, warbles here too, for the birth of Salvation always was leading to death, thus to this place. Vulnerability led to and ended here. The Jordan with open sky and loving Voice, the temptation to bow down, gain dominion, and avoid the terrible fate, and the transfiguration, shining and telling of his Exodus -- events that all anticipate this shaking of the earth, this shattering of our assumptions. Echoed in every inch of this tomb are Love's words, "no greater love," and Love's power that shushed a storm and raised a child. You hear them here in this cavernous glory.
And now you turn looking from this garden to the outpouring, the Spirit come, and to the church spreading down the ages, and to those who die in Hope, and you see us. For all these echoes from the Easter tomb, you realize, are our Story, and we, at the mouth of this conquered grave, stand at the center of His Story.
George H. Guthrie is the Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and author of the book "Read the Bible for Life." More information about the "Read the Bible for Life" initiative is available at www.readthebibleforlife.com.
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMeTimes Editor
It’s a bright, sunny morning and Nathan and Linda Hull are standing along a busy Highway 60, a few miles east of Dexter. Cars, trucks and 18-wheelers whiz by, many honking their horns and waving as they pass. The wind keeps thing cool as they stand by their van in a little clearing to a farm field.
And the Hulls are holding steady – keeping their white cross in place for traveler’s to see – and remember. It’s a simple white cross – five feet white by 10 feet tall. But on Good Friday it makes a simple, yet powerful, statement.
The Hulls are just two of the many volunteers who are a part of a unique Good Friday experience sponsored by Carry the Cross ministry. On this Good Friday the Hulls and other and “crossing” Missouri – with folks holding cross along U.S. Highway 60 from the Illinois line to Oklahoma, and on U.S. 63 from Iowa to Arkansas.
On this Good Friday – the day Christians around the world mark the day Jesus was crucified on a cross – the Carry the Cross volunteers in Missouri are a visible reminder of the significance of this weekend to Believers.
“There are 169 crosses from the Illinois line to Poplar Bluff,” Nathan explained as Linda holds their cross. He said another 60 cross are being held along the highway in Poplar Bluff.
A big rig passes by, creating a strong wake as Linda holds onto the cross. He sounds his horn, and they enthusiastically wave. Nathan explained there are folks holding the simple, white crosses throughout the state – n Jefferson City, Joplin, Willow Springs, Columbia.
“It’s our witness on this Good Friday,” he said.
Carry the Cross has a mission today - to mobilize thousands of Christians to create the largest cross in the world - 3,000 life size crosses, one every quarter of a mile, along Highways 60 and 63 in the ShowMe State.
“Each cross also encourages you to stand with or carry a cross wherever you are in the world on this day,” said organizer David Craig. Carry the Cross is not affiliated with any single denomination, but “is representing a single person – Jesus Christ.”
Link of Interest
The young adults have been working hard to get prepared by using new technologies. GoAninmate is a new website that allows users to put their message into a cartoon illustration. This technology brings a little fun to a typically tough job of memorizing.
The trip is open to any youth that attend and meet the guidelines for the trip. Primarily, the student will need to perfect the memorization of the New Testament Books of the Bible and recite them to an adult leader. It's really not that tough if you break it down.
So if you have a desire to get involved, get in touch with Alan or Tracy Hedrick or Victoria Breece on Facebook. Or you can call the Church office for more information.
Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!
By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
Believers throughout the world begin a week-long journey this Sunday toward the high point of the Christian year, Easter, next Sunday, April 8.
This Sunday's observance of Palm Sunday begins the seven days of Holy Week - a week commemorating Jesus' last week on earth. The week begins on a high, marking Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and goes through soul-searching moments of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, the solemnity of Good Friday and finally the triumph of Easter morning.
Sunday's Palm Sunday services observe the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that was marked by the crowds who were in the ancient city for the Passover. The people with the waving of palm branches and proclaiming him as the messianic king greeted him. The Gospels tell that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, enacting the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, and in so doing also emphasized the humility that was to characterize the Kingdom he proclaimed. The irony of it all is that in five days the same crowd would cry for Jesus' execution.
"I think Palm Sunday was more about calculated courage than anything else," said the Rev. Fred Leist incoming Southeast District superintendent of the United Methodist Church. "Jesus had to know what would happen to him in Jerusalem, and yet he went into Jerusalem with the pomp and the crowd waving palm branches. He wasn't unaware of what would happen."
Leist said there is a verse that talks of how Jesus's face "was set like a flint toward Jerusalem", meaning that he was determined in his resolve.
"In one week’s time he went from the palm branches to palm prints in his hands," Leist added, referring to the marks made in Jesus' hands at the crucifixion.
The Thursday of Holy Week is marked with Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, observances. The day marks a number of events that were clustered together on this last day before Jesus was arrested. These include the last meal he shared with disciples, the betrayal by Judas, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane while the disciples fell asleep, and his being arrested by Roman soldiers.
On Thursday after the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples came together to share what was the Passover meal, observing the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt when death "passed over" the Hebrew homes as the tenth plague fell upon the Egyptians. It was later that night, after the meal, as Jesus and the disciples were praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Jesus was arrested and taken to the house of Caiaphas the High Priest. On Friday he would die.
These are days in which Christians are present to the great events of the last hours of Jesus' earthly life and they go through them, as he did, step by step, beginning that Last Supper and night of agonized prayer in the Garden.
Thursday is also known as "Maundy Thursday.” The term ‘maundy’ is from the Latin Mandatum novum do vocis - It was on this night that that Jesus gave his followers a "new" mandate to follow: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, you also out to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
UM News Service
How seriously do you take the vow, “till death do us part?”
If you look at the statistics — half of all first-time marriages end in divorce — it seems not too many people say “I do” forever.
The Vow, a movie based on Kim and Krickitt Carpenter’s story, debuted Feb. 10 and was the top movie of the weekend, making $41.7 million. However, the romantic movie is not even close to telling the true story of faith and commitment that has kept the Carpenters devoted to each other for 20 years.
Their saga began 10 weeks after their wedding on Sept. 18, 1993. They were in a serious automobile accident that left Krickitt with no memories of her husband or their new marriage. She suffered a severe brain trauma that wiped out 18 months of her life — the entire time she and Kim met, dated and married.
While he was still madly in love with her, he was a stranger she wanted nothing to do with.
The glue that kept them together was their faith in Christ and the promise they had made before God.
The Carpenters attend First United Methodist Church in Farmington, N.M.
“Both of us know unconditionally we would not have made it through this ordeal without the Lord being in the center of it all,” Kim Carpenter told United Methodist News Service.
Krickitt spent months in a coma and then months more in physical therapy, but she has never regained those 18 months of memory. Her recovery was slow, her personality changed and at times she told Kim she hated him.
“At a low point in my life, I didn’t think this marriage was going to work. I didn’t have the faith that we were going to make it,” Kim said. “At the same time, I wasn’t going to leave her in the state she was in; I was vowing to stay with her.”
Story gets out
The media first learned of their story when a reporter came to interview Kim about his work as a baseball coach. In the course of the conversation, the story came out.
When the Carpenters renewed their vows and had a second wedding in 1996, it was a media circus. People were amazed and encouraged by their story, so Krickitt asked God to use their story to show others His amazing love and power.
They wrote a book about their story in 2000 and updated the book to coincide with the opening of the movie on Feb. 10.
“We enjoyed the movie but we were a little frustrated by the artistic license they took,” Kim said. “The dramatization in the movie was much greater, but it is hard to put 20 years of challenges into 103 minutes.”
Enduring faith
Krickitt’s faith never faltered, and she never considered divorce.
“A Scripture I really hold onto is Philippians 4:13: ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’ I believed I was called according to God’s purpose, and I followed with my whole heart,” she said.
Kim said he has taken offense to some of the media reporting him as “heroic, courageous, manly.”
They insist they are an ordinary couple with two children, Danny and LeeAnn.
“It is amazing we live in a world that there is such a big deal made about a man and woman who simply did what we said we were going to do,” Kim said.
The book and the movie are providing a platform for them to talk about their faith.
“People all over the world are seeking something higher, some message,” Kim said. “We have been very grateful for the prayers and well wishes we have received. We know the Lord is not going to give us more than we can handle.”
Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
