Author: gracesmuggler

A poem for Holy Saturday by Lucy Shaw:

Judas, Peter

because we are all
betrayers, taking
silver and eating
body and blood and asking
(guilty) is it I and hearing
him say yes
it would be simple for us all
to rush out
and hang ourselves

but if we find grace
to cry and wait
after the voice of morning
has crowed in our ears
clearly enough
to break our hearts
he will be there
to ask us each again
do you love me

-Lucy Shaw

This reflection was offered on April 14, 2022 at First Presbyterian Church in Saline, Michigan.

Having loved his own who were in the world,
Jesus loved them to the end.

Jesus knows that the end of his life is coming. In a matter of hours, he will be unjustly arrested and condemned to die a painful death. As the end of his life draws closer, with each minute of heartbreak, Jesus also knows he will soon experience betrayal and abandonment by his most beloved disciples. It is a terrible burden to bear.

Having loved his own who were in the world,
Jesus loved them to the end.

In his final moments, Jesus chooses to demonstrate love and righteousness, for he embodies the very love and righteousness that the disciples cannot fulfill. The King of Kings clothes himself in rags of servanthood and lowers himself to the ground. With love and righteousness, he washes the feet of the very ones who will walk toward his betrayal and then run away in fear.

Why does he choose to serve the ones who serve him betrayal?

Because love and righteousness are the end —
the goal, the purpose, and the aim of his life. 

Jesus loved his disciples to the end – that is, to his very last breath.
Jesus loved his disciples to the end – that is, to the goal and purpose of who he was.

Jesus demonstrated love continually in the last hours of his life as he took bread, blessed it, and broke it with his disciples. He shared his last meal with them. He prayed for these disciples — each one — and he prayed for future disciples like you and me who would come to believe in him based on the words and witness of these disciples around the table with him.

Jesus loved these disciples.
Jesus loved us.
Jesus loved the world.
He loved us all in these last moments,
as he had loved us his entire life long.

Love so deep, enduring, and inclusive can come with challenges. Jesus loved so fully and radically that he threatened those in power, and the Roman state executed him. Love can be costly. . . Jesus chose to love anyway, and in doing so, he demonstrated the stronger power.

Jesus loved those he counted as friends, and he loved friends who would treat him like an enemy. Jesus Christ, God among us, loved humanity to the end – to his very last breath and the goal and purpose of his life.

We have all failed to live this kind of love fully. We struggle to love our friends and fellow disciples. We certainly fail to love our enemies and those who are scapegoated as the so-called “enemies.”

But Jesus gives us a commandment to love one another: “Love one another,” he says. “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Even if we do so imperfectly,
can we dare to love one another to the end,
to and through our very last breath?

Even if we do so imperfectly,
can we dare to love one another to the end,
to and through the very purpose and goal of Jesus’ life?

May God strengthen us as we sit at table with those we love.
May God strengthen us as we sit at table with those who disagree with us.
May God strengthen us as we ponder those who are vulnerable.
May God strengthen us as we ponder those who betray the vulnerable.

And may we know that Jesus Christ loves us to the end.

–Renee Roederer

I walked in the rain, but I didn’t care much about that. I enjoyed finding these flowers along the way.

Photos by Renee Roederer

I grabbed a carafe of coffee and mindlessly poured it into a cup in a way that one would during communion, lifting the carafe higher to increase the distance the between the coffee coming out of the pot and the cup, as if to make it visible to a congregation.

And that is the precise moment when I knew I needed coffee.

–Renee Roederer

Once, a 4 year old I know said this with total sincerity:

“Jesus was very sad… But then! He got happy! And he changed his name to Paul. And that is why we have Paul Sunday, and sometimes, we call it Paulmmmmm Sunday.”

One of the things I love during this time of year is the occasion to watch perennial wildflowers emerge in their typical order throughout the spring and summer. And the first ones are always the crocuses.

“Welcome to spring!” I think. “We’re here!”

Right now, I have little bouquets of crocuses sprouting in my yard (pictured above). They’re gorgeous, and they give me delight. We’re really here!

–Renee Roederer

I had a chance to listen to both of these podcast episodes over the weekend, and I thought I’d recommend them to you as well.

Well Someone Had to Do SOMETHING! — In this episode of This American Life, people find a gap in needs and realize they are the person to address those needs. There are some creative stories here, some funny ones, and some powerful ones coming out of the needs in Ukraine.

Making Sense: Sight Unseen — This episode is connected to a series on Vox’s Unexplainable about the senses. What is lost and what is gained when people don’t have the ability to visualize in their imaginations — a condition known as aphantasia? This episode also shares that people with vivid, visual imagination skills are also more prone to anxiety. Whether people cannot visualize at all, or are especially skilled in this, there are ways to compensate for gifts and challenges.

Enjoy!
–Renee Roederer

It started as a solidarity move. Many people in the community I serve do not drive, and I wondered, what would it be like to get around on public transportation for awhile? Can it be done easily, or no? Whenever possible, I started taking the bus for in-town travel.

I’ll add that we have much better public transportation in my town than in many places around the state, and in that regard, it is much easier to do here. In other places, it’s not so doable, and many people have fewer options to meet their needs, socialize, and get out of the house. This troubles me. It puzzles me too. I don’t know how to solve the problem, because each county is a patchwork quilt of options and lack of options.

For the purpose of this post though, I want to say that I now adore taking the bus. I, of course, have the privilege of choosing it or choosing driving, and that’s not the same as what others experience. But when given the choice, I love choosing this option for so many reasons:

— It slows me down, not in an inconvenience way, but in a way that makes me feel more mindful, and in a way that makes me feel like time is more abundant.

— I love that I can answer emails while getting to somewhere (if I choose, that is; sometimes, I just listen to music).

— I love the process of figuring out how to get somewhere on a bus route.

— It invites me to walk outside more.

— It reduces the carbon footprint.

— It reduces the money I’m spending on gas.

— It supports this being an option for those who need it.

I truly adore taking the bus. I’m going to keep this up and ramp this up.

–Renee Roederer

I have declared April 1-October 31 to be a season of being outside. I am really dedicated to this. Every day, I want to be outside walking or exploring, even if it’s just for a small portion of a rainy day.

I suppose at this stage, I’m a bit of a local walking connoisseur, though there’s still so much for me to explore. I’ve walked the entire Border to Border trail, a 70+ mile trail that weaves through our county. I have also visited all 163 parks in my town. (And in alphabetical order — because why not? 🙂

As I plan walks during this Season of Being Outside, I’ve realized that I can craft walks particularly. Twice this week, I had walks planned with loved ones, and I said, “Where do you want to go today?” They weren’t sure, so I said, “What type of place do you want to walk in today? Is there anything you’d like to experience?”

“Take me somewhere that has a canopy.” Then we did!

“Take me somewhere that has a bridge over water.” Then we did!

I think this is a fun game. 🙂 So if you’re local to me and want to make requests, let’s take a walk. I’m here for this.

— Renee Roederer

Symbiosis is rad.

We tend to think of survival as competitive — survival of the fittest, and “it’s a dog eat dog world”– but when we zoom in really close, we see that nature is so frequently cooperative. And when we zoom out and look at earth as a whole, we see that nature exists as large systems of interdependence.

Our survival requires cooperation too.