Walking the Way of Jesus

I recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land with the pastors and several members of St. Mark’s UMC in Midlothian, First UMC in Winchester and Buckhall UMC in Manassas. With the help of our very entertaining guide who goes by “G,” we set out on a bus to experience as many scripturally-significant sites as possible. The trip was an enlightening whirlwind.

To have been in the same places Jesus and His disciples were during Lent seemed fitting. Being on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Garden of Gethsemane and walking the Way of the Cross that culminates in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre helped bring the sacrifice God offered in Jesus into sharper focus.

At times it was difficult for me to square the tangible imagery at the many historic sites with my abstract spiritual notions. Upon reflection I think I understand why. In the places we went, there was evidence of our desire to make Jesus more finite, locate Him in a specific time or place, or to memorialize Him in sculpture or painting. That’s been happening for a long time. Even after He fulfilled the Scriptures by rising, His disciples tried to cling to Him.

But that isn’t really what the Resurrection was about. We may be able to visit places where Jesus could have walked, may have been born, crucified or buried. Sometimes we may try to confine Jesus to descriptions that fit our own narratives. However, God’s expression of love and forgiveness in His sacrifice is more vast than we can even comprehend. By rising again, He invited us to a life beyond the here and now. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” (John 11:25)

Today the tomb is empty. He is risen!

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54)

Author: Bo Bowden
Images: Viktor Solomonik, Jonny Gios & Adrian Cogua, courtesy of Unsplash