Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 168

Laugh as though you have never cried.

“Dance as though no one is watching you.Love as though you have never been hurt before.Sing as though no one can hear you.Live as though heaven is on earth.” Souza
I dance and I sing, hoping that no one is paying attention to me. Life is too short to not break out into random song or random dance for no particular reason. Loving might be a little bit harder to do, but I must say that I have been blessed in that my heart has only ever been cracked, never broken.  
And some days it does feel as if I’m living heaven on earth. Other days it feels like I am living in that other place. In the end though, each day is what you make it.  I would have to add to this quotation: laugh as though you have never cried. This picture of Mary Pierce from my last writers conference still just makes me belly-laugh every time I see it!

Easter Monday: Imagine that!

While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you." They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, "Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this." As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. Luke 24:36-41, The Message Bible
Look at the day. April Fool’s Day. Imagine that! Imagine it is the first Easter and Jesus appeared to you. You would probably think that is was a joke, someone pulling your leg, playing a mean trick on you. Yet, there He was, very much alive that first Easter morning.
Once it sank in, what would your next reaction be? Could words even describe it? 

Easter Morning:Why are you looking for the living in the graveyard?

At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.
They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.
They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn't believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up. Luke 24:1-11, The Message Bible
Doesn’t that just figure. The women have probably been awake since Good Friday, secretly getting things ready for Sunday morning when they could properly put to rest the body of their Lord. Ok, so maybe the women were sleep deprived. Maybe they had imagined the whole thing. I suppose the apostles would think that.
But wouldn’t you want to believe it? Wouldn’t you want to believe that, yes, your Lord had risen from the dead just like He said He would? Wouldn’t you jump to your feet and go check it out? 
Well, Peter did.
But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that's all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head. Luke 24:12, The Message Bible
But still he didn’t believe. 

Easter Vigil: The Long Wait til Morning

The women who had been companions of Jesus from Galilee followed along. They saw the tomb where Jesus' body was placed. Then they went back to prepare burial spices and perfumes. They rested quietly on the Sabbath, as commanded. Luke 23: 55-56, The Message Bible
Jesus has just died, his body has been laid to rest in a borrowed tomb. His disciples have gone quietly away, to reflect and talk amongst themselves about what has happened. The women, however – as women have evidently done for millennium – have work to do. They know that the body needs to be prepared for a proper burial, but the long events of Good Friday, have led right up to sunset, the beginning of the Sabbath. Jewish law strictly forbid anyone from doing any work on the Sabbath. The women went home from the cross at sunset on Friday and waited patiently until sunrise on Sunday to return to the tomb to take care of the body of their Master.
What did they do on that Saturday, as the hours stretched on? They no doubt were busy in prayer. They certainly talked, in hushed whispers, fearful of the Jewish leaders who had put their Lord to death. They shed a few tears. And they waited.
We have to wait too. And the wait seems long at times. As we wait for the return of our Lord and Savior. But we know He is coming again! We know what to expect in the morning. 
My daugther waiting for the sunset at Saikeri, Kenya. 

Good Friday: there is nothing more to say

By now it was noon. The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours—a total blackout. The Temple curtain split right down the middle. Jesus called loudly, "Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his last.
Luke 23:44-46, The Message Bible. 

Maundy Thursday: Are you part of the crowd?

But they kept at it, a shouting mob, demanding that he be crucified. And finally they shouted him down. Pilate caved in and gave them what they wanted. He released the man thrown in prison for rioting and murder, and gave them Jesus to do whatever they wanted. Luke 23:23-25, The Message Bible
Who were these people? Is it possible they were the same ones who just days before welcomed Jesus to their city with more than just open arms, but with palm branches and halleluiahs? And now they wanted him crucified? Surely someone in the crowd saw how wrong this was and stood up to the rest. Not hardly.
I wish I could believe that all of the believers had suddenly left Jerusalem that day, that the entire population had indeed been replaced with thieves and other criminals, people who would want another criminal released instead of a man of peace.  Wouldn’t that be easier to understand?
We still see the same thing in our society today. How often is it that the noisy few are the ones to be heard, the ones who quickly gather others around them?
I’m not a sociologist or any kind of professional in human nature. I don’t know why it is so hard to stand up for what you believe in. I don’t know why it is so much easier to cave to the few strong people around you, no matter if you agree or not.
All I do know is that somehow God was able to forgive them all. And that means that mankind still has a chance.  No, not an angry crowd, but a crowd just the same. A group of Maasai, and white volunteers, gather at Saikeri for their own mini-olympics. 

Holy Wednesday: May Your will be done

He pulled away from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, "Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?" At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face. Luke 22:41-44, The Message Bible
Since He had entered Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday, Jesus knew what was coming this week, He knew how it was going to end. He knew that He would submit to His Father’s will.
None of us have ever endured anything close to what Jesus went through when He died on the cross for us. But even in our day to day lives, we still ask for problems to be solved, for our days to be easy, for a cure to what ails us. Don’t we usually pray, “God, just grant me what I want”, instead of “God, may Your will be done.”  

Holy Tuesday: Who would you die for?

Peter said, "Master, I'm ready for anything with you. I'd go to jail for you. I'd die for you!" Luke 22:33, The Message Bible
Jesus has warned His disciples that they are about to be tested. He singles out Peter, telling him that He has been especially praying for him. Peter is as passionate as ever, swearing that he would never betray his Master.
His words remind me of the song “Everything I do I do it for you” by Bryan Adams from the movie Robin Hood. “I would fight for you, I'd lie for you, walk the wire for you, I'd die for you”.
Who would you die for? Who would you give up everything for? Would you?
Peter swore that he would and yet within hours he denied that he knew Jesus. Not just once, not twice, but three times. He had three chances to be arrested as a believer in Jesus Christ, three chances to give his life for his Lord and he blew it. Would you? 
This is the prison at Ayacucho, Peru.   We went inside, only after we had been stamped and frisked and had turned in our passports. In all my travels I had never been so afraid.  I lived down that fear so that I could take this little boy, Wilmar, out of the prison where he lived with his mother, so he could spend a few hours acting like a regular kid. I also knew that I would get my passport back when I brought him back. Would I have been willing to step into that prison without that promise? Absolutely not. 

Holy Monday: More than a shared meal

When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God." Luke 22:14-16, The Message Bible
Jesus and his disciples have gathered in the upper room for the Passover meal. The disciples have no idea what their Master is talking about. Yet, they place their trust in Him. They have witnessed too much while they followed Him, and He has hinted at this in the past.
He blesses the wine and the bread, and offers it to them as His very body and blood. What must they have thought then?
It wasn’t until further in the meal, when Jesus tells them that one of them will betray Him that they question His words. “Who, Lord, who would betray you? Certainly not me,” they all respond and then they begin arguing amongst themselves.
How incredibly patient their Lord was with them, and how incredibly patient He must be with us, when we just don’t get the important stuff. We only get wound up when things directly involve us. How very much like those early disciples we are.
Instead of thinking of ourselves, we should be thinking of our Savior, turning our hearts towards Him.  Breakfast at Mosiro. What's more important? The meal or those you share it with?

The first Palm Sunday

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!”“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Blessed is the king of Israel!”John 12:12-13, New International Version
A king’s welcome. The humble teacher who had been traveling the countryside arrives in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The crowd goes crazy! They are so happy to see this man, so willing to greet him with all the accolades they can.
But as we know, this week those accolades are going to spiral downward. In just five days those cheers turn to jeers. And much worse. And Jesus knows what’s coming.
How do you think he reacted to all that attention on that first Palm Sunday? Waving and smiling to the crowd, basking in the limelight? Or with head turned down, studying his hands as they grasped the donkey’s mane? Maybe he shook his head ever so slightly, thinking, “people, you have no clue”.  From my own PALM tree collection.