Just when I was wandering if Jesus would ever show up in a strange place ever again, he shows up in two places. Now it’s in a frying pan – although this ones looks a little too good to be true.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/817047-jesus-christ-appears-in-students-frying-pan
Jesus has just appeared in the bark of a Pecan Tree. Full story below.
Just in case you get the impression that I get very excited about the places Jesus is appearing in I don’t – I just think they make interesting stories. Personally, I’m not convinced that God uses this method of getting his message through to people.
Here is a response from Billy Graham to someone who has recently lost her husband to cancer. It’s good advice and from someone who still feels the loss of his own wife.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/08/1798495/billy-graham-grief-is-very-real.html
All religions say something about death and its consequences but Jesus is unique in that he has experienced the pain of loss for himself. One of the most moving moments of the Bible is to read the words “Jesus wept” when he hears that his friend Lazarus has died.
That is not the end, though, because Jesus then raises his friend from the dead, a reminder to us that God has control over life and death and that Jesus is going to do something amazing that will release us from the power of death. We still have to face the moment when our body dies but this is not the end of life.
Once again a large earthquake has killed many people. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.
Words always seem inadequate during these times but sometimes words are all we can use to express what we feel.
I know that it can feel odd to talk about a loving God when such terrible things happen. This is not the time to try to rationalise anything and get all philosophical. Such times don’t call for philosophy but for symbols of love.
For me, it is the vision of a suffering and dying Jesus that offers the most comfort when things seem too dark to understand. The willingness of God to suffer in such a terrible way somehow helps me to understand that although there is suffering God still loves me.
Of course, the cross is then followed by resurrection. It is a mistake to think that the suffering of Christ is the failure and the resurrection of Christ the overturning of that terrible mistake, because God achieves his victory both through the suffering and the resurrection. However, the resurrection helps us to see that the suffering has purpose and that in the end there is hope.
My prayers are with the people of Chile.