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ST. LUKE’S UMC

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

The Cosmic Christ

The Christian tradition of “walking the Stations of the Cross” is an ancient prayer practice. The season of Lent is a time to devote ourselves to drawing our spirits into the patterns of Christ’s outpouring of Love and Presence in our lives together and in the wider creation. This year, instead of the customary path of following Jesus’ steps from arrest to crucifixion and death, our steps will take us on the earliest Christian journey of experiencing the Christ as the Eternal Alpha and Omega, from “In the beginning” to the “The Timeless Now.”

As you encounter each station our hope is that you will meet Christ as the immensity of the cosmos and Christ as the intimacy of our deeply personal experience of God. This pilgrimage invites you to attend to the awe and wonder in the truth and beauty, the pure love and goodness of Christ.

Our artist friends have generously taken a deep dive into the scripture and meaning of each revealing of Christ in the texts.They have allowed the creative spirit to guide them in offering a visual expression of these scriptures to welcome you to encounter God in a new and deep way. Our resident authors have prayerfully offered guidance to help you step into this Lenten spiritual discipline.

WALKING THE STATIONS

Walking the Stations of the Cross is a contemplative prayer practice. There are different ways to approach your pilgrimage.

You may want to pull the image, the scripture and the reflections offered by the writers together for an experience that touches each part. Notice how it all flows together to expand your insight. What resonates with you? What is Christ asking of you? Offering to you?

You may want to walk the Stations by focusing on the images the artists have created. Open yourself to the image and let it speak to you. Allow the creativity of the artist speak to you through the image. You may want to use the steps of Visio Divina for this approach, which you will find on the next page of the booklet.

You may want to focus on the scripture text. What does it mean for you today? How is it speaking to your life, our lives together, your relationship with Christ? How does the scripture and the visual image speak to you together?

There is no wrong way to experience the Stations of the Cross as long as one approaches prayerfully.

VISIO DIVINA: DIVINE SEEING

Prepare your eyes and gaze

Take it all in, noticing all

What is this image saying to me?

Second Movement | Savoring and Stirring

Focus on a particular area.

Allow connections.

Notice where you are drawn with no judgement

Savor what emerges

Look for clear image or direction.

What is God saying to me through the image?

Third Movement | Summoning and Serving

Listen for how your heart is moved

Listen for how you are being invited in this moment in your life

Make space for God’s call to move in you.

How am I becoming a work of art?

What is my prayer response?

Fourth Movement | Slowing and Stilling

Close your eyes and release all images

Sink into stillness

Rest in what you have been given

Rest in the grace of Being

BREATH PRAYERS

As you walk the stations, and as you leave to continue your Lenten journey, you may want to continue with breath prayers to center yourself in the Always Present Christ. Here are some ideas.

The “I Am” Sayings

Simply chant each one alone, or join them together as a chant, and repeat over and over. See what happens in your prayer.

I Am the Light of the World I Am the Vine I Am the Good Shepherd I Am the Door I Am the Way the Truth and the Life

Words from the Christian Mystics

Choose a phrase that resonates with you and repeat it with your breath.

Meister Eckhart

“Is-ness is God.”

“Compassion is where peace and justice kiss.” “God finds joy in us.”

Julian of Norwich

“Goodness is God.”

“Jesus says, ‘I am what you love.’”

“Jesus says, ‘I am what you serve.’”

Hildegard of Bingen

“Limitless Love, from the depths to the stars, flooding all, loving all.”

“Love was the first. She made everything.”

Mechtild of Magdeburg

“You, God, are the sun, I am your reflection” “I was created in Love.”

CREATION – IN THE BEGINNING

John 1: 1-5 | The Life-Light

The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one. Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.

REFLECT

Science tells us that everything necessary for life to develop was present in the initial Life-Light of the Big Bang. All life flows into being out of one source, Divine Love, and it is forever deeply related and responsive to that love. Christ is “always in the beginning,” creating new possibilities and potential for new life. In this way the whole of creation was formed through Love, is sustained by Love and is restored in Love. All of creation is “wrapped in the mystery of God.” Hildegard of Bingen Suffering energies and Life-giving energies are both present in the creative potential of creation. The cross and the elements of life are both in the Love of the Word.

If all creation is loved from the very beginning, how do we live in relationship to all creation?

How does this understanding of suffering and Life in Love begin to heal you? And to heal the world?

KEY WORDS

Light Life

Origin

Source

Creative

Potential

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only those who see take off their shoes.“

Elizabeth Barret Browning

NOTE

When we experience the one-ness of all creation, “not one thing came into being outside of The Christ,” we know our care for one another extends to all creation. Our Creation Care Ministry offers ways to participate in the care of the All.

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Genesis 1:3

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light and there was light. God saw how good the light was.

John 8: 12

Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”

Matthew 5:14

You are the light of the world

REFLECT

Light is such a beautiful metaphor for helping us understand the Cosmic Christ and how this presence permeates the world. The Eastern Church uses the term “divinization” of the Cosmos to acknowledge the divine presence in all matter. The Light of Christ shines through all creation if we but look with eyes that see that light.

Do any of these words or phrases speak to you?

Does the art lead you to new thoughts? If so, sit with them for a few moments. How do you experience the Christ light in your world?

Do certain people or activities provide it to you and help you connect to this divine energy?

Do you provide the Christ light to others? When? How?

KEY WORDS

Light

Warming

Illuminating

Casting out shadows and fears

Transforming darkness

Photons suffuse creation

PRAYER OF LIGHT

I watch this morning for the light that the darkness has not overcome.

I watch for the fire that was in the beginning and that burns will in the brilliance of the rising sun. I watch for the glow of life that gleams in the growing earth and glistens in sea and sky, I watch for your light, O God, In the eyes of every living creature And in the ever-living flame of my own soul. If the grace of seeing is mine this day I will glimpse you in all that lives. Grant me the grace of seeing this day. Grant me the grace of seeing.

J. Philip Newell from Celtic Benediction, Morning and Night Prayer

NATIVITY

Luke 2:2-14

In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you— wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

REFLECT

Mary and Joseph, cradling the infant Jesus, are sheltered in the wings of the angel high above them, and yet they are grounded in the solid wood that embraces all. Let your eye flow up heavenward to the curve at the tip of the angel’s wings and down to the base of the tree where it would be rooted in the earth. The celestial realm and the earthly realm are connected and made whole through the holy family and the Christ child.

The uncertainty of living in the whims of an empire ruled by power, wealth and force, the realities of a long and difficult journey, the

pain and messiness of birth, the lowliness of the sheep, the shepherds and a feed trough all shine with the holy as The Christ takes on flesh and lives among us as a poor and vulnerable child. Herod and the little lamb are all in Christ’s story.

The nativity is shot through with glory and shines a light on the glory that shines in our own ordinary lives. We birth Christ in the whims of whatever social situation in which we live with all its difficulties, pain and messiness. In the everyday mundane we are invited to birth the Love of Christ.No wonder the angels sang and the shepherds rejoiced.

Look for the evidence of glory in the ordinary.

KEY WORDS

Holy Birthing Mother Love Glory

Love all God’s creation, both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of light. Love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing. If you love each thing, you will perceive the mystery of God in all; and when once you perceive this, you will grow every day to a fuller understanding of it, until you come at last to love the whole world with a love that will be all-embracing and universal.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

BAPTISM

Mark 1:9-11

About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.” At once the Spirit forced Jesus out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.

REFLECT

Water; thirst quenching, refreshing, healing, cleansing, nourishing life, flowing in abundance. God’s love and grace pour out like an ever-flowing stream. We are beloved. The baptismal waters declare this truth.

Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change. Knowing we live in the flow of God’s love always, we let go of our old (or current) life and move forward into a new life of living and following the Way of the Flow of Love.

And yet we face the dry and seemingly deserted landscape of life’s temptations over and over in our forgetfulness. In the desert Jesus did not forget. He did not forget the God’s Presence and powerful love will not fail.

Remember your baptism. With a reinvigorated spiritual resurrection in that remembrance, how does your life change?

What does that look like in your day-to-day life to re-remember that Love that does not fail, even in the desert?

KEY WORDS

Water

Renewing

Refreshing

New

Vision

Change

Remember

TAKE NOTE

The flow of water, one drop, an ocean of water, waves, ripples, calm water. What captures your image of baptism?

THE BREAD OF LIFE

John 6:35

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.

Matthew 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread.

Luke 22:19

After taking the bread and giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

REFLECT

Bread is a powerful metaphor for divine life. Bread nourishes us, sustains us, and connects us to our human community whether we consume it as a sacrament or as food at a family meal. The bread Jesus offered was not stale or dead or dried up. It was Living Bread. Some Aramaic translations include the meaning of daily bread as what is needed for growth, insight and sustenance for the day.

When we interpret bread with the view that Incarnation began at Creation, we are surrounded by the nourishing, life giving qualities of bread. Every encounter we have with the world is an opportunity to be touched by and to touch the divinity.

Where have I experienced life-giving bread? From a friend, a spouse, a child? A walk in nature? Holding a new born?

How have I been living bread for others and with others? Reaching out to someone in pain? Group efforts to improve the plight of the hungry? Serving a meal at a shelter? Packing food pantry?

All of these activities incorporate us into the bread of life.

KEY WORDS

Bread

Earth

Nourishment

Growth

Hunger

Unite

PRAYER

In the early 1950’s, Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit theologian and a professor of geology, found himself on the steppes of Asia one Easter morning without bread or wine or altar. In this austere setting he wrote his memorable “Mass on the World” which includes:

“Receive O Lord, this all-embracing host which your whole creation, moved

your

magnetism

offers you at this dawn of a new day.”

This bread, our toil, is of itself, I know but an immense fragmentation; this wine, our pain, is not more, I know than a draught that dissolves. Yet in the very depths of this formless mass, you have implanted—and this I am sure of for I sense it—a desire, irresistible, hallowing, which makes us cry out, believer and unbeliever alike: ‘Lord make us one’”

(Hymn of the Universe, 1965)

TRANSFIGURATION

Mark 9:2-10

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus. Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s make three shrines—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He said this because he didn’t know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified.

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I dearly love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Human One had risen from the dead. So they kept it to themselves, wondering, “What’s this ‘rising from the dead’?”

REFLECT

Jesus took his three closest friends to the top of a very high mountain. They went from their everyday, self-centered concerns, their busy, messy and hectic lives down in the towns, up to a quiet, lonely place where everything was shining and translucent with the Glory of God, and especially their friend, Jesus. Incredibly clearly they could see the eternal and universal Christ as the essence of their teacher, Jesus. And they were included in this shining unity with the Eternal. No wonder they wanted to stay in that place. And no wonder their confusion when Jesus spoke of ‘rising from the dead.’

As you look at the painting as through a window, are their barriers to you knowing and sharing your own inner Christ and Light? What clouds your vision?

KEY WORDS

Window

Blocked

Mirror

Reflection

Clouded Vision

Numinous

Shining

Glittering

Light

Glory and Suffering

TAKE NOTE

What word, color, symbol brings clarity to your vision?

Station 7

I AM THE VINE

John 15:5

I am the vine, you are the branches.

John 15:2

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.

REFLECT

The beauty of art is that materials and elements are used to create something bigger and more expressive than if the elements were left untouched. There are so many ways any set of elements can be used. Reflect on these pieces and how they will never be duplicated. They each grew from a similar place of thought and took on a unique expression, using different materials and techniques; same source, different expressions.

What do you believe to be the Life-giving essence of the Cosmic Christ who is our vine and of whom we are a branch?

What words would you use to describe the nature of what Christ is all about? What does that offer to you as you live your daily life? What hope does it give you? What does it ask of you in relationship to our Vine, in relationship to yourself and in relationship to others?

KEY WORDS

Connection

Plants

Essence

Life

Energy

Kinship

Embodiment

PRAYER

Ground of my Being, help me to truly open my mind and heart to what you are saying to me in this moment and in the days to come. Help me joyfully and gratefully recognize my essential connection to you and what that offers to me and asks of me. Amen.

DO IT TO THE LEAST AND YOU DO IT TO ME

Matthew 25:35-40

I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.

They asked, “When did we do this to you?” He said, “When you did this to the least of these, you did it to me.”

REFLECT

We are all children of God, as interwoven as the colors in this artwork. The ripples that we send out in love, compassion, care, grace, justice and mercy, touch all. In the same way, we receive the ripples that come from others.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Our actions serve to bend that arc.

What kind of ripples am I sending out into the world? How do I feed the hungry? Can I volunteer for Crooked Creek Food Pantry? How do I welcome the stranger?

Can I smile at someone of a different race or language? How do I clothe the naked? Can I search my closets for donations? Will I care for the sick? And their caregivers? Will I visit those in prison? And support their families?

KEY WORDS

Connection

One-ness

Compassion

Suffering

Justice

Web of Being

PRAYER

Source of All Compassion, help me to see every human as your creation, loved by You and worthy of care, grace, compassion and justice. Show me where my actions are needed. Amen NOTE

Crooked Creek Food Pantry (CCFP) seeks to serve and invest in the Crooked Creek community service area by operating a client choice food pantry, providing nutritional education, and building relationships to support family needs. CCFP serves over 4000 families per month, is one of the largest food pantries in Central Indiana, and utilizes over 140 volunteers per week.

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD

John 10: 11-18

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. When the hired hand sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. That’s because he isn’t the shepherd; the sheep aren’t really his. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. He’s only a hired hand and the sheep don’t matter to him.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen. I must lead them too. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock, with one shepherd.

“This is why the Father loves me: I give up my life so that I can take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I give it up because I want to.

REFLECT

Close your eyes and imagine a good shepherd, staff in hand, on a rolling hill outside of Bethlehem. He calls each of his sheep into the fold as the sun sets and the day comes to a close. They respond to him, recognizing the sound of his voice and knowing he waits for them as if they are the only sheep in the flock. Daily he reaches out and checks each one of them individually, understanding the trials that the day has brought. He looks for sores and puts a soothing salve on each tiny wound that he finds. He is happy knowing that they listened for his voice and came when he called. They are happy because he is their safe place.

How can you better listen for God’s voice as he calls to you today, during the season of Lent, and beyond?

How can you calm yourself at the end of the day so that your good shepherd can soothe your wounds?

KEY WORDS

Authentic Voice

Steward

Protection

Guardian

Bigilance

Trust

One Flock

I AM THE DOOR

Genesis 28:12-17

[Jacob] dreamed and saw a raised staircase, its foundation on earth and its top touching the sky, and God’s messengers were ascending and descending on it. Suddenly the Lord was standing on it and saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ...I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have promised you.”

When Jacob woke from his sleep, he thought to himself, The Lord is definitely in this place, but I didn’t know it. He was terrified and thought, This sacred place is awesome. It’s none other than God’s house and the entrance to heaven.

John 10: 9

Again, Jesus said to them, “I tell you what is true, I am the door. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out and find pasture.”

REFLECT

Scripture uses the image of a ladder, door or portal to describe moments when the divine and the human realms meet. Doors can be seen as invitations to new opportunities. Crossing thresholds, the space between the known and the unknown, can be very scary. Opening doors to newness, freedom, ourselves, our true home is not easily done.

John O’Donohue, an Irish poet, theologian and philosopher, believed that thresholds can be portals to transformation. He writes about how these moments can be invitations to a more radiant life. He believed that thresholds can open unexpectedly and that entering through them with courage honors our experience and light.

He believed that all of us encounter invitations to step through thresholds as we go through our normal, daily life.

May you travel in an awakened way, Gathered wisely into your inner ground; That you may not waste the invitations Which wait along the way to transform you.

John O’Donohue, Bless the Space Between Us (p54)

Barbara Holmes says that when we least expect it, “during the most mundane daily tasks, a shift of focus can occur. This shift bends us toward the universe, a cosmos of soul and spirit, bone and flesh, which constantly reaches toward divinity.” The mundane, the tedious, the necessary work can be a portal into the presence of God in all moments and places if we stay awake and alert to the possibility.

Saint Benedict also wrote that every stranger who comes to the door is to be treated as the face of the divine.

As you reflect on your life, can you identify a portal that you stepped through that led to transformation in your life? Can you see God’s work in your entering this portal? How is The Christ at work providing doors in your life? Who/what is knocking at your door?

Have you ever been a door that is open or closed for another? When strangers arrive into our lives, what would happen if we treated these guests as doorways to the divine presence? All of life has the potential to become a meeting place for the sacred.

KEY WORDS

Doorway

Threshold Enter Fear Inside/Outside Possibilities

The Unknown Horizon

I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

John 14: 6-7

Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”

REFLECT

Jesus of Nazareth shows us God’s way, the way of love and forgiveness, inclusion and compassion. The earliest Christian communities called themselves the people of The Way, “Pilgrims on the journey of the way, the truth and the life.”

Heartfelt search for the truth, bearing witness to the truth and living in the promises of Truth is Divine activity, especially in the face of the force of false narratives. Matthew Fox

Fred (Mister) Rogers spoke of loving and including the stranger when he said, “In the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal.”

Am I a person of The Way? Am I hungry for the Truth?

How do I practice love, forgiveness and compassion toward my fellow pilgrims?

Where am I on my journey of seeing God our Father in every person?

KEY WORDS

Way of Love

Hunger for Truth

Love of Life

Love for Truth

Making a Way

Pilgrim

Seeker

Sojourner

PRAYER

God of the Way, Thank You for showing us Your Way of Truth and Life through the life of Jesus. I will listen for Your voice amidst all the noise around me. I commit to practicing Your Way in every step of my journey of Life. Amen.

TAKE NOTE

What colors, feelings, movements draw you on the Way?

THE CRUCIFIXION

Luke 23: 44-46

It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole earth until about three o’clock, while the sun stopped shining. Then the curtain in the sanctuary tore down the middle. Crying out in a loud voice, Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my life.” After he said this, he breathed for the last time.

Matthew 27:45-52

From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At about three Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”

After hearing him, some standing there said, “He’s calling Elijah.” One of them ran over, took a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink. But the rest of them said, “Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.”

Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died.

Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised.

REFLECT

It’s always going to be bigger than any one of us, or any group of us can comprehend or define. What we see or think we see is not all there is. The people in the crowed who are referenced by Matthew thought they heard and saw something, but they misunderstood. However, nature itself, the natural elements, religious symbols knew what was happening and responded to the Cosmic Christ in witness to the larger reality. In the art, look at Jesus’ eyes.

What is Jesus looking toward? What do you see in Jesus’ eyes? How does the background of the art differ from what we read about in the description of the scene? What larger meaning of God’s redemption and love might we be missing because we are

looking back or keeping our vision too narrow to see the universal reality of Christ’s crucifixion? Where to I need to open my eyes and my heart to God’s larger reality of love and ultimate redemption?

KEY WORDS

Openness Perspective Creation Cross Redemption Humility Trust PRAYER

Dear God, help me stay humble and watchful of what You are doing. Open my eyes to see Your love and redemption unfolding all around me. Help me to know and understand what You want my part to be in Your reality. Amen.

THE RESURRECTION

Matthew 28: 1-10

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him. Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.”

With great fear and excitement, they hurried away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. But Jesus met them and greeted them. They came and grabbed his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers that I am going into Galilee. They will see me there.”

REFLECT

To live a resurrected life is to embrace the mystery and abundance of God’s transformative power in the present. Christ’s resurrection, an event that transcends time and space, invites us into a new reality where the limitations of death and sin no longer bind us. The filament from the dandelion, like Christ’s resurrection, is a symbol of how we are called to rise into the unknown, propelled by the power of Holy Spirit.

In Romans 8:11, Paul writes, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” This scripture reveals that the same Spirit that empowered Christ’s resurrection is at work within us, enabling us to transcend earthly limitations. To live a renewed life in the resurrect-

ed Christ is to allow that Spirit to continually shape and direct our lives, trusting in God’s power to bring newness even in the midst of uncertainty and suffering.

Our call is to live in radical faith, moving beyond what we see, and walking in the fullness of God’s promise. As we embrace the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we rise—like the dandelion filament—into the vast and mysterious purposes of God, empowered to live out resurrection life in the here and now. We now live powerfully without limitations because of Christ’s resurrection.

KEY WORDS

Life Spirit Promise

Continuation

Trust

Mystery

BECOMING ANTI-RACIST

The resurrected life calls us to live radical faith that trusts in the power of the Living Love to transform us. We can overcome the burden of racism that has shackled us all and live in the One-ness of Life, Light and Love.

To learn more about the Indiana Remembrance Coalition head to antiracistindy.com

ASCENSION

Acts 1: 9-10

He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back.”

Romans 8: 38-39

I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.

REFLECT

All is gathered into God in the Ascension of The Christ. It is the validation of all that is created, wounds and all. It is an invitation to receive God’s forgiveness and to extend that grace to others. It is an invitation to an expansive life awake to the blessedness of all that is. All creation is a reflection of the Divine Love and Presence revealed in the material.

How can I live with expansive love?

How will I show God’s Light and Hope to others?

How will I receive Grace from God and others?

KEY WORDS

Heavens

Sky

Glory

Wisdom

Light

Hope

Love

Union

Blessed

Joyful

Reflection

PRAYER

Gracious God, I will remember the Ascension of Your Son in every beautiful sunrise and sunset. And in every act of joy and love. Amen

PENTECOST

Acts 2:17-21

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young will see visions. Your elders will dream dreams. Even upon my servants, men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. The sun will be changed into darkness, and the moon will be changed into blood, before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Revelation 22:1-2

Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, shining like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life, which produces twelve crops of fruit, bearing its fruit each month. The tree’s leaves are for the healing of the nations.

REFLECT

The prophets speak Wisdom’s all-encompassing words of renewal, healing and the reinvigoration of Life. The Spirit of Pentecost is the creative Spirit that birthed all of creation. Unrestricted, it flows where it will and all are recipients.

The fire of the Light of the generous, giving sun, the blowing, The fire of the Light of the generous, giving sun, the blowing, breezing breath of the Spirit, the ever-flowing stream of the river’s water of Life, each is bestowed upon all. These are bringing forth the Tree of Life which is rooted in all, bridging all together and reaching its green branches laden with the most bountiful treasures of God to be shared with all that is.

Let your eyes range over the art. Follow the roots and the branches and the encircling twists of infinite connection, unbreakable and unending. Rest your eyes on the colors. Where are your eyes at rest? Which color draws you into the circle of life? What does that color evoke in you? Notice the symbols around the circle. Let your eye rest on each, one by one. KEY WORDS

NORTH INDY

Sunrise Service | 7 AM

Traditional | 9:30 & 11:15 AM

Contemporary | 9:30 & 11:15 AM

Online | 9:30 & 11:15 AM

MIDTOWN

Contemporary | 9:30 & 11:15 AM

North Indy will also have an Easter Brunch from 7:30 AM - 1 PM. To learn more about what to expect or to save your seat scan the QR code or head to the link below!

HOLY WEEK SERVICE TIMES

Maundy (Holy) Thursday | North Indy

Thursday, April 17 @ 7 PM

A service commemorating Jesus’ Last Supper and the events leading up to his betrayal. Gather your small group or come alone for this communion service.

Good Friday | North Indy

Friday, April 18 @ Noon & 7 PM

Remember Christ’s passion for us through his crucifixion and death.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Creation Care Ministries

GREEN HOME SYMPOSIUM

In Genesis 1:26-31 and 2:15, God calls us to be caretakers of the natural world. Whether you’re already involved in this work, or are wondering how to get started, we invite you to join us for the Green Home Symposium on April 26th. Sponsored by St. Luke’s Creation Care ministry, you will engage with environmental experts, learn why your involvement matters, discover the intersection of environmental justice and social justice, and leave with some tangible next steps. This is a family-friendly event and childcare will be provided.

To sign up for this event head to stlukesumc.com/greenhome

CROOKED CREEK FOOD PANTRY

THE INDIANA REMEMBRANCE COALITION

We are committed to remembering and acknowledging past and present racism, including racial violence, in Central Indiana. We engage our community through education, reflection, dialogue, and advocacy to promote healing and justice.

The Indiana Remembrance Coalition was formed by a group of community-focused individuals who felt that it was vital to acknowledge and address the difficult heritage of lynching here in Indianapolis. By doing so, the IRC hopes to facilitate a means of healing for affected individuals and communities. Click here to view our Executive Summary.

To learn more about the IRC and to get involved in the work of becoming anti-racist head to antiracistindy.com