As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Mark Shoup):

Today’s scripture passage marks the end of Luke, and our Be Still journey through that book. And while our editor may be excited about the prospect of moving on to a new topic (after six months!) the end of Luke is really only the first part of a larger narrative that encompasses Luke and Acts. Maybe the only reason we have two separate books today is because the combined volume of Luke and Luke, Part II (Acts) would not have fit on one scroll!

Acts picks up exactly where Luke ends, and like the beginning of Luke, is addressed to Theophilus.  Theophilus, whether a real person, or a general term meaning those loved by God, is then told about the adventures of the first century church as it carried the good news of Jesus throughout the known world. In a very real sense, the work we are doing in the church today is an extension of what Paul and the early apostles — and Jesus himself — were doing in the first century.

So, thinking in these terms, and viewing our work in the church as an extension of the books of Luke and Acts, an interesting question becomes, “Would I do things differently if I were going to be included in a book of the Bible?”

I have to admit that I wouldn’t want some of my actions recorded in any book, to say nothing of the Bible itself. And the times I actually did do the right thing, I often still had the wrong attitude while doing it. In fact, there is a pretty good chance that, had I been one of the people written about in Luke or Acts, I might have also been written about in the book “Famous Jerks of the Bible!”

So starting now, I’m going to try to imagine how I would feel if my actions were recorded in the Bible, and live accordingly.

Thought for the day: What would I do differently if I were going to be one of the characters in Luke, Part III?

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Tommy Chittenden):

It’s the last week of Discipleship 101 for the Summer Class of 2008. Along with a celebration dinner, the nine of us will share in reflecting on our collective life journeys and express gratitude to the Lord through Communion. The ten weeks of Discipleship 101 have become a “holy experience” for me as a Discipleship teacher.

Many of you have experienced similar amazing, life-changing moments during your own 101 classes as you have intently listened to the spiritual journeys of your fellow classmates. Sometimes the obvious intervention and provision by God is so profound that it serves as a reinforcement in our own lives that “while we may not have recognized His presence on our journey, He was there all the time.” This course, along with Discipleship 102, is the heart of the SoulShift program, challenging each of us to our core as we explore what it means to be a disciple of Jesus by wrestling with His words.

This account of the two men on their way to Emmaus attempting to retell the story to this stranger who has joined them must have been full of despair. But then Jesus tells the story back to them, this time through the lens of their own faith tradition and scriptures. Can you imagine what it must have been like to hear this “stranger” beautifully and convincingly explain to them that the “story” is not about them and their disappointment? It is about life, relationship, and hope!

Can you imagine the look on their faces when Jesus raises the bread to bless it and extends His hands to give the bread to them? Could it be that it was at that moment they “see” His scarred hands for the first time and they recognize Him as the Lord? After He disappears they begin to put all the pieces together. Coupling the “burning in their hearts” with the visual evidence during the meal, transformation began and they were back on the road to Jerusalem to share their experience.

This beautiful story is an image of a God who walks alongside human confusion, human pain, and human loss of faith and hope. Emmaus invites you and me to expect God to find us on our journey. The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts, our spiritual eyes are made to see, and we experience communion with God through the Christ.

Thought for the day: Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in scripture and the breaking of bread. (from The Book of Common Prayer)

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Melody Merida):

Perhaps I’ve been inspired by the Saturday Night Live anti-sexism sketch (featuring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton) because what impacted me most as I read this passage was the centrality of the women to the story. Who knew that Saturday Night Live could be so spiritually uplifting?!

I absolutely love reading stories in the Bible with women as central characters. Maybe that’s because they’re so rare — it’s unexpected when we read about women taking a leading role. I particularly enjoy reading about the women of the Scriptures and seeing how they affected the world as we know it today.

I suppose an argument could be made for mere coincidence that it was a group of women who first discovered that Jesus had risen; but I tend to believe that it was divine planning. After all, Jesus was always the first one reaching out to the most unlikely. Jesus was the one who invited women to be among His disciples in a time when this would have been more than controversial.

So what might be the significance of women being the first to receive news of the risen Christ? Well, there is power in the proclamation of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. So by giving the news first to women, God empowered them to share the most important component of the Christian faith before anyone else. Mary Magdalene, the first woman listed in this narrative, became known as the “apostle to the apostles” because of the significance of her role and the role of the other women at the tomb.

And that’s remarkable, because women in this time in history had no power, other than what might be granted to them by their father or husband. They were deemed to be “less than” men in every way — economically, politically, socially, intellectually, even spiritually.

Through God’s divine wisdom, it was a group of women who were chosen to be the very first to proclaim the Good News. If God chooses to use the lowliest at this critical point in the development of our Christian faith, surely God can choose to use the lowly today.

Whatever our gender, race, orientation, or gender identity — or any other division we can imagine — God has a job for us that is as important today as it was the very day that Jesus rose from the dead. Each of us can proclaim the Good News of our risen Lord Jesus!

Thought for the day: God, by your power and grace use me to proudly proclaim the Good News of my faith. Make me like Mary Magdalene and the women at the tomb, the very first apostles!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Carla Peck):

Reading this passage brought back memories of my earthly Dad’s burial. Dad had most of his funeral preplanned. He had selected and prepaid his casket, headstone, and funeral arrangements. He had thought ahead and purchased the plot next to my Mother nearly 40 years prior, and even had a draft of his obituary ready. Dad was very intentional about the details except for one thing — his actual funeral service. I believe that not planning his funeral service was intentional, too. Planning Dad’s funeral service was the last act of love and respect that my brothers and I could do for him.

Dad had been a musician and band director. Mother was a concert pianist. Between the two of them, music spoke louder than words ever could. I wanted special, meaningful music for Dad’s funeral, but had no idea where to turn — this was the first time I had ever planned a funeral service for anyone. Dad was the planner, and I had always taken that for granted.

I was hurting as I made the calls to Dad’s friends and our family notifying them of Dad’s passing. I told each one that I wasn’t sure what to do for the music and asked for ideas. Often when someone has an idea, it involves a third party taking action. There was one exception: Janet, who was one of Dad’s (and my Mother’s) former students. Janet asked if she could come to the funeral and play her harp.

At my request, Janet selected hymns she thought Dad would have liked. She arrived at the funeral in a flowing white cotton summer dress with her beautiful handcrafted travel harp — the perfect vision of an angel. I imagined my parents proudly looking upon her from Heaven as she sang and played each note.

Robert, who Dad never mentioned, had been a student at the first school where Dad taught. Robert sent my brother a touching letter saying that even though he chose sports over band in school, Dad had positively influenced his life from the sidelines.

Janet and Robert were not people from my day-to-day life. Janet and Robert are people who came to my aid, unexpectedly, during a difficult time, to share an act of kindness. I think Joseph, in today’s passage, and the women who had been companions of Jesus from Galilee, were a lot like Janet and Robert.

Thought for the day: Lord, help me to make the time, during my busy days, to share kindness. Nudge me to act on the opportunities God places on my heart, especially when it feels like I am the unexpected one — let me be the stranger who shows kindness.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (David Zier):

When I read this scripture, I had a flashback to 1993 when I learned I had a brain tumor. I remember it was in the afternoon, and Jeff and I walked back to car in the parking garage. It seemed like the sun went down and darkness was all around. I lashed out at God, and we consoled each other there in the car and prayed.

This was one of those times where there was nothing I could do or say or think, it was just gloomy and dark. After a few days the situation was clearer, and I was not so focused on the darkness. Slowly, the light found its way back in as I shared my pain with God and those around me, and what I found was a faith as strong as ever.

Trusting in God goes hand in hand with fear. One does not exclude the other. I should have open communication about my anxieties, inner tensions, temptations and pains with God. I find that when I do, I’m given strength to deal with them and to work with God and others to move ahead. God’s comforting power shows up and I don’t face it alone.

In Jesus’ last words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” he shows us how to accept our difficult times. During the worst times in my life I find that turning to Jesus — who has been to the deepest level of human struggle and torment and experienced the deepest pain — not only provides comfort, but shows me a way to face those times.

I have found that I’m safe in committing my spirit to God’s hands in my time of need.

Thought for the day: Remember that we can share our struggles, fears, temptations, and weakest moments with God. Jesus has shown us that we can overcome our fears, and that we don’t have to face the difficult times alone, even at the darkest moments.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Keith Phillips):

Sometimes when I think of the image of the crucifixion, I see Matthew Shepard’s broken body on a kind of cross, abandoned outside of town. Both men, Jesus and Matthew, were innocent victims of a society that freely and publicly discriminates against and does violence to those who do not meet its expectations of what is “right.”  Both men, Jesus and Matthew, suffered to the point of death not because they’d done something horrifically wrong, but because they were different and because of the unwillingness of others to accept them/us as they/we are.

I am sad, I am pained to the quick when I think of the deaths of both Jesus and Matthew. There were no reports of the gruesome agony of Matthew, and the gospel writer, Luke, does not dwell on the torment of Jesus, either. But all so senseless.

Recently, in a sermon Pastor Jeff told the story of Opie on the Andy Griffith Show many years ago. A bully had been taking his lunch money every day, and he had been asking Deputy Barney Fife to lend him the replacement cash. Barney discovered what was going on and reported this to Sheriff Andy, Opie’s dad. Now, the father/sheriff could have taken things into his own hands and put the fear of God into this bully, but he told Opie that he would need to handle it himself. Later, Opie excitedly returns to his father’s sheriff office, covered with mud and grass stains and with a black eye and a bloody nose. Thrilled with what happened, he celebrates, “I did it, Dad, I did it! I didn’t know I could do it, but I did it!”

At his death I see Jesus approaching the throne of our heavenly Father in the same way: “I did it, Dad, I did it! I didn’t know I could do it, but I did it!”

And I pray that someday, hopefully not too far off, our culture will be freed from its homophobia; and  we who know what it is to be marginalized, who are outside of society’s good graces, who don’t ever quite fit in, who are queer can say, for Jesus’ sake and in memory of Matthew, “We did it! We didn’t know we could do it, but we did it!”

Thought for the day: Pray for the consolation and redemption of the LGBTQ community.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.