standfast

By your endurance you will gain your souls (NRSV)

Or–

By standing firm, you will win yourselves life (REB)

Or–

By holding fast, you will gain your lives (CEB)

Or–

By your perseverance, you shall gain salvation.

(Luke 21:19)

Do you remember the persistent widow from a gospel a week or two ago, how she persisted? And in persisting, she demanded justice against her opponent, or as the King James would say, to be avenged against her adversary. (Luke 18:1-8)

Jesus calls his followers to endure and hold on in the midst of persecutions and says that by so doing they will save their souls and their lives.

Early in the passage, he talks about what to do when someone says to you follow me because I am the one. I am the one who can save you and the time is near. He says don’t go after them, don’t follow that leader, that false leader. 

That is part of saving your soul, not to be seduced by false messiahs, false leaders.

Today’s psalm ends with this verse: ‘In righteousness shall he judge the world, and the peoples with equity.’ (98.10)

What does that mean? Are there other ways to say it? You can also say, he will judge with saving righteousness.

You can say, he will establish justice; you can say, he will bring salvation and that that is his victory.

And all of these other ways of saying it remind us that it is the Lord who is our king. Christ, the king.

In the early days of Christianity within the pagan Roman empire, all you had to do to be convicted of treason was to say that Jesus is Lord —that Christ is King, not the emperor.

And that is who we turn to, as our judge for the people who receive this message. It is joy to the world for the Lord to win himself the victory, for the Lord to win salvation. For him to come and judge the Earth means that we will be vindicated, that he will establish a saving righteousness with equity and justice.

That is a pretty different sense of judgment from that of the persistent widow’s unjust judge who seemed simply to be awarding the victory to one side or another in a dispute.

In the justice of God, salvation and righteousness are established for the world among all people.

But it is for us to step out of that tight frame of jurisprudence that simply chooses a winner between opponents in a lawsuit and it is for us to step into a larger world in which justice rolls down like waters and the day of salvation is at hand.

(Amos 5:24) 

 

Sunday 16 November 2025. JRL+

spolia

“Some people were talking about the temple and the beauty of its fine stones and ornaments. He said, ‘These things you are gazing at–the time will come when not one stone will be left upon another; they will all be thrown down.’ (Luke 21:5-6, REB)

Twenty-three years ago I slapped my hand on the Romanesque wall, exposed by renovations, of Chester Cathedral and said to my host, this is the church Anselm knew. There has been a church on the site since the eighth century. The building now is Gothic in style, but that is wrapped around an earlier Romanesque structure. And so I knew that back when “Cur Deus Homo” (Why a God-Man?) was hot off the copying desk, its author, Anselm the Archbishop of Canterbury, was visiting, the wall he would have touched was the wall I touched.

Ten years ago in Jerusalem I placed my palm against a large well-worked stone. It was set in the Western Wall, foundation stone of the third Temple, built under the direction (and the lash) of Herod the Great, just before Jesus was born. Despite our Savior’s words of prophecy, not every stone fell away from every other. The Romans, when they came in destructive fury, left a few standing, just a few. They are the largest and oldest and best-fashioned of the stones in the wall. Though I doubt the soldiers of Titus spared them out of respect for the stone masons.

Stones last. Sometimes they are repurposed: they become spolia, salvaged or stolen from an old ruined (mostly) building and put to new use. Churches in Rome have pillars from pagan bath houses. Churches in Spain have stones that were once in mosques that were once churches. 

Sometimes they stay where they were put, for a very long time. Sometimes they are in ruins, evocative of earlier, lost ages, and forgotten rituals.

Stones last. But not forever. And they don’t matter anyway. That is what Jesus tells us. “The Lord is faithful” - the steadfast love of God : that is what endures. 

JRL+

https://chestercathedral.com/about/heritage-culture/the-building-and-its-history

https://www.mezquita-cordoba.com/en

not proven

Are you now or have you ever been?

“But before all this occurs, they will take you into custody and harass you because of your faith. They will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will provide you with an opportunity to testify. Make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance. I’ll give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to counter or contradict.” (Luke 21:12-15, Common English Bible)

What would I say if I were hauled up before the magistrate to defend my religion? First of all, it doesn’t seem likely; after all I’m not a Christian in Baghdad or Bahá’í in Tehran or Muslim in western China or Buddhist in Tibet. 

And what would I have done that might make them think they could convict me of being a Christian? Have I been comforting the bereaved, visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or standing up for justice? Have I been doing those things? Have I been encouraging other people to do those things? Or is it guilt by association with people who do those things? 

After all, I did sign that “Bear Witness Now” letter along with 100 other pastors that said, this is what Christianity is about, and included three main points. 

And those points were about compassion and justice and charity. About God’s love for all people, God’s love for creation, God’s particular love for the poor.

• “For God so loved the whole world” 
• “God created the world and called it good”
• "For the least of these”

John 3.16. Genesis 1.4,10,12, 18, 21, 25, 31. Matthew 25.40, 45.

Maybe that's enough to get me busted. I hope so, cause I haven’t done a whole lot else. Nothing to stand out. Then again, what does stand up? How would we know? 

There’s a story about an old Scottish pastor reflecting back on his life who worried that he’d never really had his words or his ministry turn someone’s life around; except maybe, he thought aloud, maybe that little Davy Livingstone. David Livingstone, you may know, devoted his life to a very dramatic ministry in Africa, missionary, physician, explorer, and  anti-slavery crusader. 

Maybe we won’t know what would stand up in court, if we were brought before kings and governors. Maybe we would slide by because of the modest nature of our commitments. Maybe we would. Maybe some of us will have to stand up and stand out, because of the nature of the gospel. Of the gospel, not our own bravery or detachment or internal virtue. Because he calls. 

He calls us. As he called Nicodemus, and Andrew and Peter, and Matthew. And a blind beggar no one knows the name of. Of Mary and Martha. And of that saint we sang of, on All Saints, that we met at shops or at tea. (Love that.) Because the saints of God are just folks like we—

Lesbia Scott, “I sing a song of the saints of God”, Hymn #293, The Hymnal 1982, ‎page 515. [https://hymnary.org/hymn/EH1982/page/515]

[https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Livingstone]

https://www.bearwitnessnow.org/

All Saints

Remember me when you come into your kingdom... we sing, in deep Russophile voices. But the Beatitudes for this year C in our three-year calendar are those of Luke, not Matthew, and include woes as well as blessings, and a final admonition : Do to others as you would have them do to you.

The hardest of all, the easiest of all. . . if we could treat others with the empathy we treat ourselves but without identifying them, their needs and wants and aspirations and fears and regrets and evils, with ours. 

That is blessing indeed: for them, and, leaving it to God, perhaps to ourselves.

 

Daniel 7:1-3,15-18
Psalm 149
Ephesians 1:11-23
Luke 6:20-31

1 November 2025
All Saints' Day

Year C

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/HolyDays/AllSaintsC_RCL.html

In year A we will encounter the more familiar Beatitudes from the gospel of Matthew (5:1-12):

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

balance

Are you a Mary or a Martha?

Yes or no?

A night in Madrid, two years ago: before the rain we made our way into a restaurant with singing waiters, opera-singing waiters. We were all crowded into a large room where they served the meal and also sang to us. We listened as we sat at our tables. Or in my case, as I tried to capture in a photo the scene before me, to the point where I was distracted from what was happening right around me. 

Suddenly I found myself being addressed in song, by the soprano singing the aria right in my ear. I looked up, cast aside my phone and gave her my attention. I did not sing the tenor’s response. But I did look, listen, and pay attention. So if you want an image of that moment you will have to listen to me. There is nothing on my phone to capture, share, or post it.

What would it have been like if both sisters had missed the moment, that moment when the son of God, the source of all being, the one in whom and through whom all things are made and all redeemed, was in their home, at their table. Right there.

Martha was still trapped in ordinary time. Mary was transforming into a disciple. Sitting at the feet of the rabbi like a rapt pupil she was becoming a teacher herself. An apostle, a messenger, a bearer of the word.

Am I a Mary or a Martha? Yes and no. Sometimes, there is work to be done.

Sometimes, there he is, right in front of me, with something to teach me.

Can I hear it? Am I paying attention, ready? If the Messiah comes to dinner tonight, how will I treat him? As an extra guest, at a place at the table set aside for a stranger, or the center of the celebration? The one who in fact feeds us.

Amos talks about a day of hunger, a day of famine, that is not a day without bread, but a day without hearing the Lord’s word, the word of life. The feast of the Word is on the table before us, today, as it was for Mary and Martha.

Whatever our righteous occupations are, there comes a moment when we need to see what is really before us, to hear the word of life, and to take in our true sustenance.

************

Am I saying that a Madrid opera singer was the Christ? No, but I am saying that you can see in the moment the image of God in the stranger and in the strangest moments if you are ready for them

It may be that to meet Christ in the present moment will involve someone greeting you or you helping someone unexpectedly.

Or it may be greeting each other in peace, and recognizing in each other, the image of God in which you are both made,

And also enjoying and receiving and acknowledging the presence of God in communion with each other, in the sharing of the communion bread and the communion wine.

Have you seen Jesus my Lord? And were you paying attention?

None of this is to imply that we should all become contemplatives, or all activists. Indeed one of the most famous monks of the twentieth century, a member of an intensely contemplative order, was also a well-known activist, although his work with other activists tended to take place in writing or in meetings. 

And a well-known activist, indeed more than one, was deeply contemplative. I was thinking of Thomas Merton and Daniel Berrigan. Who are you thinking of? 

Indeed that is what the Benedictine way, the way of balance, is all about: ora et labora, work and prayer. Daily sustenance, maintenance, fixing the plumbing, doing the dishes, yes, and, yes, singing praise to God and becoming lost in wonder.

Indeed we do not need to choose between two routes or poles in our spiritual and religious life. We may find ourselves oscillating between them, or favoring the wrong approach at the right time. It is easy to hide from action in false contemplative behavior, as easy as it is to hide in action when we need to sit ourselves down and listen to what the Lord is saying.

Will l listen to what the Lord is saying? The psalmist invites us to join the song:

Psalm 85.8-13

8 I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, *

    for he is speaking peace to his faithful people

    and to those who turn their hearts to him. 

10 Mercy and truth have met together; *

    righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *

    and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

These are words of comfort. Much more than the psalm appointed for today. Today the psalm appointed as a response to the words of the prophet Amos is a denunciation of wrongdoing and a contrasting call to truth, and to trust where trust belongs, and to thanksgiving and praise.  

Psalm 52

Why, O man of power, do you boast all the day long :

 of mischief done to him that is faithful to God?

You have loved evil, and not good :

 to tell lies, rather than to speak the truth.

But God will destroy you utterly :

 he will snatch you away and pluck you out of your dwelling,

   he will uproot you from the land of the living.

As for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God :

 I will trust in the goodness of God for ever and ever.

I will always give you thanks, for this was your doing :

 I will glorify your name before the faithful,

   for it is good to praise you.

Those first verses are pretty harsh, denouncing wrong behavior and slanderous words. The psalm is comparing the proud tyrant who trusts in wealth and wickedness to a wayward plant. In the garden of God there are upstarts that he will uproot like so many weeds. And then there are those like green trees, verdant and robust, who listen to what the Lord is saying and do what he commands.

Listen and do. Both contemplate and act. Sit at the feet of Jesus and learn. And when the time is right, speak out, do justice, love mercy, and always, always, walk humbly with our God.

O God, heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love you, open our hearts to hear you, and strengthen our hands to serve you in others for his sake; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

(Collect for the Feast of Mary and Martha of Bethany.)

© 2025 John Leech

July 20th 2025, Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 11 Year C

Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42

 

Are you a Mary or a Martha?

Are you a Mary or a Martha?

Yes or no?

A night in Madrid, two years ago: before the rain we made our way into a restaurant with singing waiters, opera-singing waiters. We were all crowded into a large room where they served the meal and also sang to us. We listened as we sat at our tables. Or in my case, as I tried to capture in a photo the scene before me, to the point where I was so distracted from what was happening around me that suddenly I found myself being addressed in song, by the soprano singing the aria right in my ear. I looked up, cast aside my phone and gave her my attention. I did not sing the tenor’s response. But I did look, listen, and pay attention. So if you want an image of that moment you will have to listen to me. There is nothing on my phone to capture, share, or post it.

What would it have been like if both sisters had missed that moment, that moment when the son of God, the source of all being, the one in whom and through whom all things are made and all redeemed, was in their home, at their table. Right there.

Martha was still trapped in ordinary time. Mary was transforming into a disciple. Sitting at the feet of the rabbi she was becoming a teacher herself. An apostle, a messenger, a bearer of the word.

Am I a Mary or a Martha? Yes and no. Sometimes, there is work to be done.

Sometimes, there he is, right in front of me, with something to teach me.

Can I hear it? Am I paying attention, ready? If the Messiah comes to dinner tonight, how will I treat him? As an extra guest, at a place at the table set aside for a stranger, or the center of the celebration? The one who in fact feeds us.

Amos talks about a day of hunger, a day of famine, that is not a day without bread, but a day without hearing the Lord’s word, the word of life. That is the table set before us, today, as it was for Mary and Martha.

Whatever our righteous occupations are, there comes a moment when we need to see what is really before us, to hear the word of life, and to take in our true sustenance.

© 2025 John Leech

© 2023 John Leech

Oh, good shepherd

No one can snatch them out of my hand.

“Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, pain or persecution? Can lack of clothes and food, danger to life and limb, the threat of force of arms? Indeed some of us know the truth of the ancient text: ‘For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter’. No, in all these things we win an overwhelming victory through him who has proved his love for us.” Romans 8:35-37

When a group of clergy went to Israel in January 2015, our plane from Newark landed at Ben Gurion airport near Lod (Lydda)  and 12 days later when we left the holy land we stopped at a beach at Jaffa (Joppa). Maps tell me they are 20 km apart, ten to twelve miles, four and a half hours on foot. When Peter traveled from Lod to Joppa, that is the journey he made. Centuries later, we would visit both places, now transformed.

In between those two end stops of our pilgrimage, we went to Bethlehem — to La Crèche de Bethléem— a ministry of some French speaking nuns, but the sister who spoke with us was not French. She was from Lod. Her village used to be where the airport is now. 

Now she takes care of Palestinian teenage mothers and their children. It’s not safe to be a single mother in a Palestinian traditional village. Shame attaches to you and danger. 

So these nuns quietly bring the pregnant girls to their facility in Bethlehem, where they take care of them until they give birth, and then raise the children until they reach an age at which they can go to a residential school. But the kids, when they grow up, do not forget the first mothers they knew— the nuns of Bethlehem. 

In French, interpreted by the dean of Montreal Cathedral, the nun told us a story of one 18 year-old who returned to visit with his first paycheck, which he proudly signed over to them— his entire first paycheck check—  then, being a kid, their kid, he asked for bus fare for a ride home.

Many examples of works of mercy, and acts of charity, can be found among the church today. And Christians are noted, now as in the first century, for their love for one another, and for their undiscriminating care for people regardless of their faith confession.

In the bombed out ruins of what were once hospitals medical workers still care for patients, as at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem – “that provides care to all in need, regardless of religion, political affiliation, or ability to pay.”

In border areas volunteers provide hospitality for total strangers, as at Casa de la Misericordia y de Todas las Naciones and Kino Border Initiative in Nogales.  

Christians from the early years of the Gospel recognized Christ in all comers, recognized the face of God in each human person, and served all. Many serve in ministries outside church walls. Others, like Dorcas in Lydda, have clothed the needy inside them. It is probable that the women who mourned at her deathbed were wearing the very garments Tabitha herself had made for them. 

In his commentary on the gospel of John, the missionary bishop Lesslie Newbigin reminds us we are called for a purpose: as disciples we are called to witness to the light, to new life and love in Christ.

Dorcas and the community at Joppa remind us we are all called to witness to the resurrection. And to what it means. In Jesus is life. And this life is the light of all.

Peter was in Lydda, inland but not far away, and he responded immediately to the need, when two men came to him, telling him that the beloved disciple Dorcas (Tabitha)  had become ill and died. 

Dorcas herself was known for her works of mercy, good works and acts of charity – and for the clothing she had made. The community was so tight knit around her that the widows who were weeping brought with them and showed to the apostle tunics and other clothing that when she was with them Dorcas had made. One of our own was Dorcas, and the loss was hard. 

The story of Dorcas - Tabitha - echoes the words Jesus spoke -  ‘talitha cum’ - little girl, arise - when he raised a girl, fourteen years old, from her deathbed. 

And echoes what Jesus said when he had come to the tomb of his friend: “Lazarus, come out!” 

Here in the endearing and detailed story of Dorcas we hear all the details of the mourning, and of the miracle. He prayed, called her – “Tabitha, arise” – and she sat up. 

Besides these several parallel stories, there is also Peter’s response. This is the man who at the beginning of his ministry – and Jesus’ - saw Jesus heal his mother-in-law. And now another woman of merit is ill: he responds immediately. 

We are called for a purpose: to witness, to the miracle of Jesus, of resurrection, of him and through him. All these stories, new and old, point to the lordship of Christ over all of life.

We are called for a purpose, not a status: we have no laurels to rest upon, only hands to serve. Become what you are, what you are called to be: it can happen, it has happened, in Christ.

In the Temple they challenged Jesus: If you are the Messiah, show us plainly. 

And he had, by his works of mercy. And he did, even more so and again, in the works of his disciples, like Peter, and like Dorcas. For Dorcas in her works of love made a witness of love, and the community of love that gathered around her continued that witness. 

In showing that love Dorcas - and the disciples who mourned her - revealed the love of Christ that animated them. 

That same loving God who restored her to life is the God shown in the self-giving love of the Son, and the love of the members of his community one for another.

To show us plainly that in Christ the Love of God came to earth, Christians obey his new commandment, to love one another as he has loved us: “Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, because you have such love for one another.” John 13:34-35

For this fourth Sunday of Easter season I am particularly glad to sing Hymn 645 ‘The King of love my shepherd is’ – for we like sheep oft have gone astray, and oft return, called back to our true path, by the voice of a loving savior. That voice can also be stern. But the rod and staff that the owner of that voice wield are wielded on our behalf. 

As the Apostle Paul wrote: “ I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God’s whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 8:38-39

The 23rd Psalm (Dedicated To My Mother) Bobby McFerrin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJixdpZ5m1o

Oh, good shepherd, feed my sheep... (https://youtu.be/6JfvuEJSKEU)

 

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Sunday 11 May 2025

• Acts 9:36-43
• Psalm 23
• Revelation 7:9-17
• John 10:22-30

https://sermonoats.blogspot.com/search/label/Good%20Shepherd

© 2025 John Leech

Acts 9:36-43

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.
And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.
Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Revelation 7:9-17

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

John 10:22-30

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.
Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
I and my Father are one.

touch and taste, see and believe

We gathered in a house with the doors fearfully locked. A knock may sound, but there is silence. Jesus appears among us, but we do not recognize him until he shows us his wounds, evidence of his death. He greets us “Peace be with you” - shalom aleichem, as-salaam alaikum. 

He breathes on us! saying “receive holy breath” - Holy Spirit - and empowers us as with the keys of the kingdom, keys to unlock others from fear and sin. “Any you forgive, are forgiven; any you do not - their sins are retained.” 

And then we try to bring Thomas the Twin into the circle though he is not here with us that first hard day’s night. 

A week later we are gathered again when Jesus again appears among us. Thomas is with us this time. He had demanded to see and touch, to have the physical connection, the physical experience, that would allay all doubt. He could testify if he had that direct contact. 

Now he has the opportunity. See me, touch me. The offer was enough, and more than enough: his confession surpassed all others to this date. 

Not only teacher, rabbi, messiah; now Lord, κυριος, kurios, and θεος, theos, God. 

χριστος  κυριος, Christ is Lord. That could get you killed, in those days. To deny Caesar the highest authority: there was danger there, and redemption. 

Have we seen Jesus our Lord? Have we touched and tasted him, in the real presence at the Table? Have we touched him, embraced him, as John the Evangelist did, in the Peace? Have we touched and been touched by him, in the laying on of hands for healing - or ordination? 

Have we confessed, as Thomas did, astonished at Christ's presence? Are we among those who have not seen and yet come to belief?

That peace that Jesus gives, we give to others. We receive Jesus under the cover of bread and wine, and we receive him in the greeting of a stranger. 

Remember Emmaus, the Emmaus road, and the stranger, who greeted travelers who knew him only in the breaking of the bread: he was no ghost, no walking corpse, not the ‘grateful dead’ of Egyptian myth, but a living and powerful presence. 

We all here as we gather at the Table, as the disciples gathered in that room in the house with the locked doors, may like them be fearful, uncertain of our security. And find like them that the security is from the intruder already in their midst, the divine intruder who is also truly human.

See my hands, touch my side. Embrace my people, know them or not. Find solace, comfort, and not only those: 

Our Lord and Our God: Open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name.

Risen Lord, be known to us

in the breaking of the Bread. 

And in the touch and taste

our fragile bodies convey your grace.

 These fragile bodies of touch and taste… [https://cockburnproject.net/songs&music/liadt.html]