disciples

Meet Gene Larson!

Gene Larson is a lay person and the Chairperson of the Worship Committee at First United Methodist Church in Normal, IL. I have found him to be a very capable in engaging both theology and Bible. He graduated from Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS) and found his way to the Bloomington-Normal area where we worked for State Farm. My first meeting of Gene was with his dogs. He is a dog lover and is as dedicated to his canines as they are to him!

I welcome Gene back to my blog and invite you to read another perspective on Resurrection and New Life.

Mark 16:1-8

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. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 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. 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.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The Gospel of Mark contains my favorite Easter story. Why, you may wonder? Simply put it contains two words that I relate to. Before I tell what they are, it is helpful to understand just what Mark’s gospel is. Most Bible scholars believe that it is, if not the actual dictation of the apostle Peter, it is very closely based on his testimony. It is brief, it gets right to the point. It is not flowery or verbose. Simply, it reads like something written very quickly, with a deadline; just the facts; just the salient points.

I have always liked Peter. We’re a lot alike. We’re both impetuous, often acting without enough thought. We’re often in trouble with those we’d rather please than offend. But, Peter’s heart, hopefully mine also, is in the right place most of the time.

On the first Easter morning, I’d bet that Peter was more beside himself with more than grief, he blaming himself for failing Jesus in His hour of need. He’d tried to do something in the garden, but Jesus had stopped him. Now he shudders to think of what he did in the courtyard outside the house where Jesus’ captors had taken him. It was a tough time for him and I’m convinced that he was planning how to best leave the disciples and slink away. Jesus was gone and there was no way to make meaningful amends to Him.

Then, those two words lifted Peter out of the hell he had created for himself. The angel outside the tomb said to Mary, “…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.”

The words, “…and Peter” said so much to him that he knew he was still part of the grand plan. He was forgiven the impetuousness, the failures, and the cowardice which he had convicted himself of. Well, I suffer from those same faults as Peter and many more to boot. If Jesus can invite Peter to Galilee, I have faith that he can invite me too. There is still much to learn and Jesus wasn’t easy on Peter on the lakeshore. I don’t expect him to be easy on me either. Jesus asked Peter three times (once for each denial?) if he loved him. And, his threefold instruction to Peter after each question was the same—take care of the flock.

We are the hands, feet, voices, and hearts of God on earth right now. Jesus empowers us by his resurrection to be followers of his teachings and doers of his Father’s will. Jesus said to Mary, “…and Peter.” The power of the resurrection is released to each of us when we realize Jesus says, “…and [our name] to each and every one of us.

Meet Andrew Mortonson

My guest blogger, today, is Andrew Mortonson. He is a member of First United Methodist Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin and is active at the Wesley Foundation at the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign (UIUC) where he will (in August) finish his Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering. …And I am really proud of Andrew’s most recent announcement: He has already gotten a job with Rolls-Royce as an Engineering Associate after graduation!

Beginning to See God at Work

Today’s Scripture: Luke 24:45-49

There was always a plan – a reason, a goal for tomorrow. I had always known the next step in life and was always fully prepared to take it. I had a stable family, good education, and a loving church home. I knew where I would go to college since before I started high school, and there was never really any question I would get in. I was blessed in many ways as a child.

I grew up in the church, and for a large part, my faith was always laid out before me. Unlike many of the other kids my age at church, I learned and grew in my faith and continued being an active participant after confirmation. Being an active Christian wasn’t necessarily the cool thing to do, but in a Christian community like Green Bay, you never are really challenged in your faith. I often found myself in more discussions with other denominations, especially Catholics.

When I went to college, I moved into a fraternity, and most of my influences were anything but Godly. I continued to succeed in school, but I felt incomplete and often alone. The summer after my freshman year, people from my home church asked me if I had found a new church to serve at school. When I admitted I hadn’t, they often encouraged me too look, or gave suggestions. I agreed that I would look at the Wesley foundation on campus, partly just to keep people off my back. I fortunately found a new home and gained many new supportive friends.

For the next two years, I felt like I knew where I belonged. While I occasionally struggled with friends and classes, I knew that God was providing for me. However, in my senior year, that feeling began to fade. I thought I had lost God’s call; I wasn’t really sure what my future path should be. I graduated college with Honors, but like far too many people that year, I had no job, and returned to live at home. Once again, I felt very much alone. Even though I was living with my family and had many loving people around me, I was completely lost.

I can understand what the Disciples must have felt around the crucifixion. Only a week before, they entered with Jesus triumphantly into Jerusalem. Going to serve with Jesus was not easy, but I’m sure after a while, they all felt like they were where they belonged. Only a few days later, they were lost, and felt very much alone.

My story did not turn around in just three days, yet I know that even in those times, God was working in my life. I began to get involved in the praise band at my home church, and the other members often helped remind me that I was not alone. But the real point where I began to see God working was when one of the women in the church came up to me and started asking me details about my life. She knew that I had been looking for a job, and she wanted to know what kind of job, and what I was interested in. Then she told me that she needed to know all of this so she could properly pray for me. She prayed with me, and hugged me and promised me that her prayer group would continue to keep me in her prayers.

It was about this time that things started to turn around. I applied to grad school and began to attend that fall. Through the two years that I have been studying, I only recently was assured funding for the remainder of my program, but I trusted wholly in God. Within a few months of returning to school, I began dating the woman who became my fiancée, and now within the last week, I was offered a job after graduation. Almost exactly the position I had wanted three years earlier.

After Jesus arose on Easter, the Disciples went on to spread the gospel throughout the world. But they needed fellowship and support from other believers, and to fully place their trust in Jesus. In the same way, I could not be where I am today without the prayers of family and friends and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Even more, I know that I can impact the lives of others simply through words of prayer and support. At our lowest points, the promise of God’s perfect grace, through the resurrection, allows us to put all of our faith in Him. In Luke 24, Jesus appeared before the disciples who had gathered after the crucifixion.

“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’” Luke 24:45-49 (NIV)

**top image found at: http://imlivinginadream.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/on-101-goals/
**image of Andrew Mortonson found on his Facebook.

Carnes Family Web

Two Words.

Resurrection & New Life: God At Work