And the Nose Fell Off - July 28

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 61, 62; PM Psalm 68:1-20(21-23)24-36; Judges 2:1-5,11-23; Rom. 16:17-27; Matt. 27:32-44

On our journey through the Holy Land back in March, we visited the place that many people today believe was Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion.  The early historian and priest Jerome believed the name was derived by the skulls that were left there. But in 1842, A German theologian noticed a limestone rock just north of the Damascus Gate that looked just like a skull.  In 1883, British Major-General Charles George Gordon endorsed this site as the true “place of the skull” as referred to in the Gospels.  Our group was shown a picture from the turn of the century, and I have to admit, it looks just like a skull.  Many support the claim that 2,000 years of weather might suggest that the site once had an even stronger appearance of a skull than it does today. 

But as I stood in the shadow of Golgotha, I couldn’t see it.  I kept looking at the picture and trying to compare and believed I was being bamboozled.  Turns out, strong rains in February 2015 made the nose fall off.  I kid you not…it is hard to imagine the “place of the skull” because the nose fell off.

Now, I don’t think we need to see Golgotha in its original form to wrestle with the true weight of our Gospel story.  But if we believe that Bible is not just an account of the past, but a story that invites us into a living and breathing engagement with the Risen Christ, how too does the setting where the story takes place change?  And where are we struggling to see the story, because it looks a little different than we thought it might?   Maybe it’s not our fault, it’s just the nose fell off. 

Our story of hope rests in the belief that Christ’s crucifixion was not the end.  That story has a setting and a location, but the story is still being written because the truth applies to our life as well.  Maybe things have changed in a way that are keeping you from seeing the story lived out in your life as well.   Maybe some rough weather and years of living have changed the setting.  I’m betting my life that hope is still there.  We just need to help each other do a better job of finding it. 

-       John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

Where do you struggle to see hope in your own life?  How have things changed over the past six months?  Six years?

Daily Challenge

Spend some time pondering how the setting changes a story.  Think of your favorite book or movie and how the setting impacts that story.