Godly Play, our Sunday School curriculum, teaches God’s time isn’t a straight line but rather a circle with every ending containing a beginning and every beginning an ending.

The heart of the “good things” God has prepared may not always look as we expect. They may come disguised as endurance, courage, or the quiet strength to keep loving even when it would be easier to turn away. They may come as the Spirit’s presence holds us steady when confusion surrounds us, or as the grace to forgive even when we have every reason not to. The promise is not that we will avoid suffering. The promise is that we will not be abandoned in it.

Jesus’ way is less like one of those moving sidewalks at the airport that quickly takes you to wherever you need to go (just get on and walk!) and more like a labyrinth, where we have to trust the process and take the next step even when the path isn’t clear.

Jesus isn’t only our guardian from the deathly voices of the world that attempt to lure us away from God’s sweet invitations of grace; his resurrection is the path by which we “have life, and have it abundantly.”

This is not a solo journey for any of us. Just as I found on my own seven-mile walk, the journey is a lot better when we have others to share it with, to help each other to see the signs of resurrection along the way.

Science is one way that we know things, and yes, a very powerful one that has radically changed our understanding of the world we live in. But it is not the only way we can know things, and it can’t tell us everything there is to know…We need to be able to know things through experience, trust, awe, culture, and many other ways of knowing. If you struggle with doubt, take comfort. There are many ways of knowing things.

[Easter is] not just about bunnies and chocolate (as great as those are) - it’s about defiant joy in the face of darkness. And connected to joy is hope, because the joy of Easter is about hope fulfilled.

The liturgy on Palm Sunday gives us an insight into the fickle human heart. How we can cheer someone as savior one moment, and the next moment transform into a bloodthirsty mob calling for his execution?

As we walk through the final milestones of our Lenten passage, we take with us lessons from Ezekiel and Lazarus.

What does it mean for followers of Christ to live as children of light, to keep the light of Christ burning and to share it so that the little pilot lights of faith that reside in others can fully ignite too?

Wherever and whenever we think we might need to hide away – Jesus shows up to meet us, not as judge, but as the one who says “you are enough. You do belong. You are connected, and you are loved.”

Sometimes, we find ourselves in the desert, in the windstorm of world events that we cannot possibly control, wondering what we should do…God calls Abraham into uncertainty, in order that he might be a blessing to the world. And so we might ask ourselves in a time such as this – how can we be a blessing?

In last week’s gospel, Jesus identified who is blessed in God’s eyes: the poor, the sorrowful, the suffering – and this week he tells his disciples what to do about it: go and be salt and light.

Being your rector for these past—almost 12—years has been full of “God things” because each of you are a “God thing”. Whether we’re physically together—or separated by 1000s of miles—we will continue responding to God’s love—each of us—acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God.

That’s exactly what Jesus has called each of you to—to love the people that are easy to be around…the people who love you back, and…the people you’re not sure you can love. Or, in the words of Howard Thurman, see them with “quiet eyes”.

The star miraculously appears again as soon as the wise ones leave Herod’s court and leads them all the way to Jesus. Before they can offer the newborn their gifts, the magi fall to their knees in recognition of Jesus’ divinity. And Jesus, God made manifest, gazes at them – Gentiles, non-Jews – and lovingly includes them in God’s plan of restoration. Whatever they were before, however wise they believed themselves to be, and whatever they do with this new revelation, these magi are changed and choose another road. Discernment invites transformation.

This spiritual practice of seeing God in all things actually ripples out in positive ways into the world around us. Mary didn’t say “Yes” to birthing Jesus for her own good. She consented for the good of the world.

What transpires when John is willing to express his doubts, when John takes his “skeleton of doubt” out of the closet, is that he opens himself to radical transformation.

Our suffering king points the way to a reign which reverses everything we know about how human kingdoms work. Rather than assume the privileges of his divinity, Jesus lives his life as a servant to all. Rather than calling for God’s vengeance on his tormenters, Jesus seeks their forgiveness, “for they do not know what they are doing.”

Yes, there will be moments of grief along the way, but practicing gratitude, and living into Jesus’s mission of helping others experience God’s love will be life-giving in ways we can’t even begin to imagine.