Vignettes of Hope: A New Way of Seeing
Reflections
Jesus authenticates his resurrection through showing his apostles the physical signs of his suffering. And that is the threat of moral authority people like Jesus pose: a firsthand experience with imperial brutality and a willingness to talk about it. “This is what happened to me” may be one of the most singularly powerful lines a person can utter.
— Broderick Greer
- New belief that includes doubts
- doubts that are not shortcomings
- Jesus didn’t judge Thomas for his doubts, He offers peace
- Honest faith with doubts and questions
- Mary Magdalene needed to hear her name spoken in order to believe. Peter needed to hear “Peace be with you” and be forgiven to believe. Thomas needed to touch the wounded places to believe. Paul needed to be knocked off his high horse to believe. God meets us where we are. In Jesus, Mary found the One who called her by name. In Jesus, Peter found the One who forgave the past and empowered for the future. In Jesus, Thomas found the One who shares our pain and helps us transcend it. In Jesus, Paul found the One he’d been waiting for but never expected. In Jesus, I’ve found that same One. So with Mary, I say “I have seen the Lord”. With Peter, I say “Lord, you know I love you.” With Thomas, I can “My Lord and my God!” With Paul, I say “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” —Reverend Daniel Brereton
- New belief that includes scars
- We are have scars; some we can talk about, some we cannot
- Scars proclaim that we live a life
- Jesus is not ashamed of the scars
- When we share our scars with each other, we feel less alone
- Our scars are part of our story, but they are not its conclusion. The past is ours and will always be a part of us, and yet it is not all there is. It’s a process, moving from wounds to scars to grief to showing those scars. It takes time, and maybe therapy, and maybe being vulnerable in community, and maybe working through the twelve steps, and maybe making a lot of mistakes, and maybe experiencing a tiny bit of joy. —Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber
