Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you..., that where I am you may be also," speaking about death because that is what was uppermost in his mind as it was uppermost in the minds of all of them that last time they had supper together and as I suspect it is uppermost in our minds too more often than we let on. He says he is not just going out like a light. He says he is going on. He says he is going ahead. He says we will go there too when our time comes. And who can resist giving our hearts to him as he says it?
"You know the way where I am going," he says, and then Thomas speaks out for every one of us in a voice that my guess is had all the irritation and frustration and sadness of the little girl's. "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way....
....."I am the way, and the truth, and the life," is how he answers. He does not say the church is the way. He does not say his teachings are the way, or what people for centuries have taught about him. He does not say religion is the way, not even the religion that bears his name. He says he himself is the way. And he says that the truth is not words, neither his words nor anyone else's words. It is the truth of being truly human as he was truly human and thus at the same time truly God's. And the life we are dazzled by in him, haunted by in him, nourished by in him is a life so full of aliveness and light that not even the darkness of death could prevail against it.
How do we go where he is? How do we who have a hard enough time just finding our way home in the night find the way that is his way, the way that is he? Who of us can say, and yet who of us doesn't search for the answer in our deepest places?
As for me, I think what we are to do is to keep on ringing and ringing and ringing, because that ringing - and the longing, the faith, the intuition that keeps us at it - is the music of the truth trying to come true even in us. I think that what we are to do is to try to draw near to him and to each other any way we can because that is the last thing he asked of us. "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12) is the way he said it.... By believing against all odds and loving against all odds, that is how we are to let Jesus show in the world and to transform the world.
Frederick Buechner
From "At the Last Supper" an article originally appearing in The Christian Century, April 4, 2006 p. 26-31.
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Announcements & Reminders
EASTER VIGIL Following our Easter Vigil service on Saturday, April 4, we celebrate the arrival of Easter with a festive reception in Memorial Hall. Do you have a favorite spring sweet or savory treat that you'd like to share for the reception -- maybe something featuring those delights you may have given up for Lent? If so, just get in touch with Kris Burns at kmpburns@optonline.net or 845-405-1203 or look for sign-up sheets during coffee hour.
FIRST MEETING OF THE GRACE CHURCH DRUM CIRCLE
Our new Drum Circle will gather for the first time on Sunday, April 12 at 1:00pm in Bradley Chapel.
No experience necessary - just come, learn, jam, dance, and have fun. Open to all ages.
EARTH DAY FORUM
Join us on Sunday, April 19 for an Earth Day Forum presented in conjunction with GreenFaith -- Interfaith Partners for the Environment.
There will be two opportunities to participate -- between the 9:30 and 11:00am services in Memorial Hall, and immediately following the 11:00am service, in the main church.
Click on the image for more.
NURSERY SCHOOL OF THE NYACKS SPAGHETTI DINNER
The Nursery School of the Nyacks - who keep our church school area full of life during on weekdays - will be hosting a fundraising spaghetti dinner on Saturday, April 11 from 5-7:30pm in Memorial Hall. Tickets are $10 adults/$8 seniors/$5 children 10 & under. Tickets for 50/50 raffle and bake sale will also be available for additional cost. All are welcome!
THANK YOU To those who called in response to our query re short term housing, we're happy to report that a temporary spot has been located. Thank you to all for your generosity and wish to help.
Sometimes you look at an empty valley like this, and suddenly the air is filled with snow. That is the way the whole world happened - there was nothing, and then...
But maybe some time you will look out and even the mountains are gone, the world become nothing again. What can a person do to help bring back the world?
We have to watch it and then look at each other. Together we hold it close and carefully save it, like a bubble that can disappear if we don't watch out.
Please think about this as you go on. Breathe on the world. Hold out your hands to it. When mornings and evenings roll along, watch how they open and close, how they invite you to the long party that your life is.
EARTH DAY FORUM