Sermon - 5/1/22

Over the past few weeks, I have experienced the joy of meeting my new granddaughter, seeing my grandson, and visiting my kids, I have experienced the ordeal of getting sick with Covid for a second time, again living in quarantine for two weeks, I have experienced the challenge of facing multiple travel obstacles, grieving as I missed Holy Week and Easter services with you, and finally getting home and experiencing the joy of our time with Rev. Dr. Jim Antal. Quite frankly, I feel like I have been on an exhausting, emotional rollercoaster. <p>As we look at our gospel reading this morning, I think the disciples have been on an exhausting, emotional rollercoaster, one much more intense and traumatic than the one I experienced, and they are now experiencing emotional overload.  First, there had been that tension-filled yet joyous entry into Jerusalem which was followed by a Passover meal unlike any other. Then, there was that intense experience of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest.  They had witnessed jeering mobs as Jesus was given a mock trial, beaten, and ultimately sentenced to death by bloody, torturous crucifixion.  This left them emotionally crushed, numb, and afraid.  They had been so afraid by this turn of events they fled, deserting Jesus in his last hours.  And, before they had time to process what had happened, they experienced emotional overload of another sort with the news of the empty tomb and the various resurrection appearances which had to be seen to even be believed.  The past few weeks had truly been confusing and overwhelming as they experienced emotional extremes from the deepest, darkest grief to the most unexpected, ecstatic joy.  It is probably an understatement to say they were experiencing emotional overload.   </p> <p>In the aftermath of all that has happened, the disciples needed some time to process all they have experienced and think about what they would now do.  So, they returned to Galilee.  They go back home to find a new sense of normal while trying to assimilate all that has happened.