I'm in the midst of trying to write several sermons for different services during (this) Holy Week. My mind is wandering and I keep coming back to the thought that I have nothing new to say. This is, after all, the old, old story and many have heard it over and over again. And yet this is one of those Sundays in the church year when people show up and long for good news.
In my reading for this week I came across a Chinese saying that was new to me: "The writing stops but the meaning goes on; the brush has been put down but the power is unending."
It is true that the words of the resurrection story have been recorded. They're a little less pageant-y than the Christmas story, a little more jumbled and confused. However, the most powerful, and unquestionable, part of the story is always the same: the tomb was empty. The meaning of that symbol goes on and is the same for us today as it has been since the time of the resurrection.
No matter what words come to me this week, so that I can share this story, the power of the story, God's power, is the same. And that is why people come to hear it.
"I love to tell the story, because I know it's true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else would do."
In my reading for this week I came across a Chinese saying that was new to me: "The writing stops but the meaning goes on; the brush has been put down but the power is unending."
It is true that the words of the resurrection story have been recorded. They're a little less pageant-y than the Christmas story, a little more jumbled and confused. However, the most powerful, and unquestionable, part of the story is always the same: the tomb was empty. The meaning of that symbol goes on and is the same for us today as it has been since the time of the resurrection.
No matter what words come to me this week, so that I can share this story, the power of the story, God's power, is the same. And that is why people come to hear it.
"I love to tell the story, because I know it's true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else would do."
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