Read Mark 14:26-28; When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters; for it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." 16:1-7 1 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." (NRSV).
God works in this way: You sometimes find life where you expect to find death. In my dad's case, as his grandmother lay dying in a hospital, the nurse who was assigned to her turned out to later become his wife, my mother. And in the case of the three women in this passage, they expected to fulfill a necessary but sad job, but instead found an empty tomb. Life where there should have been death. So it is with our churches and ministries; where people may write off a ministry or a church, God can surprise them with an unexpected gift of life. And I truly believe that is what is going to happen with the churches of The United Methodist Church here in the United States. Early in my ministry I heard a layperson proclaim what I have since repeated many times, "God has the last word." God indeed, does have the last word. Have you invited God to come in your midst and surprise you?
PRAYER: Loving God, may the last word be Yours and may it be a word of life. Our critics and even our followers sometimes think that there is nothing left but death, yet You surprise and astound by showing us life. May it be so in our churches and ministries. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
