Monthly Archive for May, 2011

Memorial Day in America has got to be one of the strangest 24-hour periods on any calendar.  Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one in war no doubt feel deep sadness.  Others have barbecues, go to parks and beaches, and see it as the joyous kick off to summer.

While not so obvious, it’s likely that such disparities are occurring all the time.  A best selling book tells about the day its main character was diagnosed with a terminal disease.  The door leaving the doctor’s office let him out onto a busy city street.  He was shocked to see people there going about their normal routines … walking, talking, laughing, doing business, riding bikes.  Didn’t they know that life had basically just ended – for him?

The Bible has an answer for these dilemmas.  It tells me to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.  In order to do that, I have to put my own emotions aside for a time.  Or – better yet – share my feelings with someone who will join my weeping and/or rejoicing, thus making my burden lighter so I can help carry someone else’s.  That’s community, and it’s something important for me to remember, on Memorial Day and throughout the year.

After the resurrection, Jesus walked around on Earth for 40 days, spending time with his friends and talking about the kingdom of God.  One day while He was speaking, all of a sudden Jesus was whisked away into heaven, right in front of his companions’ eyes!  As amazing as that is, what happens next is just as odd – and a little funny, too.

The Bible says that as Jesus’ apostles were watching Him go up, up, up, eventually disappearing into a cloud, suddenly two men in white clothes came out of nowhere and stood by them.  This is what they said: “Why do you stand looking up into heaven?”

Ummm… Excuse me… But a man who rose from the grave a little over a month ago just levitated into the sky here.  Maybe He’ll be coming back down soon.  That might justify a few minutes of jaw-dropped gazing, don’t you think?

Apparently not – at least not from the perspective of the spiritual realm.  The men dressed in white went on to say that Jesus, who had been taken away, would indeed return one day.  And that’s all they had to say about that.

With everything happening in the world, it would be easy to get caught up with looking to heaven, expecting Jesus’ return any moment. Although we should always be prepared, it seems that God is more concerned that I focus on other things, like loving Him and my neighbor. It’s time to quit gawking at the sky and instead look right around myself, because that’s where the more pressing needs exist.

Scripture tells us that after Jesus was resurrected, He walked on Earth for 40 days and said many things.  I wonder, then, why so few of those words were recorded.  It would seem that a person who spent three days in the grave stone cold and then came back to life would generate a lot of interest.

What we do know is that the Son of God issued a command to Peter during that period.  In fact, He repeated it three times.   “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

High on the Lord’s mind was the well-being of His people. This overshadowed whatever might have taken place while He was not among the living, or anything He experienced that allowed His return from the dead.  The Good Shepherd’s concern was for those who would follow Him, both then and in future generations.  He wanted to be sure they’d be loved and nourished.

Of course Peter was a sheep as well.  So while he was feeding others, hopefully someone would be feeding him.  And the source of all this sustenance would be the Bread Of Life Himself.

Theologians still debate about what Jesus did for those three days of death.  I’m not smart enough to have an answer.  I also don’t think I should spend much time trying.  Apparently it’s more important to feed His sheep.