Appreciating the Middle
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Sermon Notes
You’ll notice a pause of about 20 seconds just after the 8 minute mark. This is because this ‘sermon’ is better understood as two short reflections that book-ended the worship service. The invitation in our time together was to pause in the middle of the story – the part of the story before Jesus’ resurrection is known. We were invited to rest in a time of lament, and to consider what it is for each of us to be in the middle of our own stories. During the 20 second pause in this recording (which was significantly longer in real life), we read a variety of passages of Scripture, mostly from the Psalms, we prayed for each other and for our world, we shared the bread and the juice of the Communion Table, and we worshiped God together through music.
Scripture Reading: John 20:11-29 (NRSV)
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb. Read More…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Have you ever found yourself reading a book that you couldn’t put down, but that you simultaneously never wanted to end? One of those books that keeps you up way too late at night because you’re so involved in the story that you just have to read one more chapter or one more page? There’s something about being in the middle of the story, even if it’s scary or heart breaking, that’s truly wonderful. It’s not that you don’t want to know how it ends, but you don’t want to get there too quickly, either, because there’s something about being in the middle of it, something that makes you a little bit sad when you inevitably come to the last page.
I think sometimes when we read the stories of Scripture, we move too quickly through the middle because we so desperately want to get to the end. The end, after all, is what it’s all about. The end is what inspires us to keep going when we’re in the middle of the story. But it’s in the middle of the stories in Scripture that we learn how to survive the middle of our own stories. It’s in the middle of the stories of Scripture that learn the importance of lament.
On Sunday, I’m hoping we can slow down and stop for a moment or two in the middle of a couple stories of people’s experiences after Jesus’ crucifixion. We’ll be invited to stand with Mary outside the empty tomb, while she still thinks someone has stolen Jesus’ body. We’ll place ourselves in the Upper Room where the disciples hid in fear, before Jesus miraculously showed up. And we’ll walk the streets with Thomas and then stand with him in the face of his fellow disciples’ impossible claim of resurrection. All these stories are in John 20.
As you prepare for Sunday, spend some time imagining what it was like for Mary, for the disciples, and for Thomas. We aren’t told a lot in John 20, so you’ll need to use your imagination. Imagine you are Mary, standing at the empty tomb. Imagine you are the disciples, afraid you’ll be crucified next. Imagine you are Thomas, somewhere apart from the other disciples, alone, lost, and filled with despair. Do any of their stories resonate with your story? Can you imagine how they may have prayed in those moments you’ve imagined? How do you pray when you’re in the middle of the story, with no guarantee of a happily-ever-after?