By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
April 12, 2026
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1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead.
Born again to a living hope.
The idea of Born again is something that has been used a great deal among Evangelicals. It has become a touch point, or a signal word to us. We listen for people to drop that phrase into a conversation so that we can have some assurance that they are safe to listen to. We have used this phrase to such a degree that I wonder if we understand its meaning.
The phrase is derived from the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus one night. Jesus said to him, “you must be born again to enter the kingdom”. Nicodemus asked what that phrase meant, and he asked if he must enter into his mother’s womb once again? We laugh at that statement but it is honest. We do not fully understand it. The confusion goes so far that some have said that Jesus taught reincarnation, or that we our spirit will enter another body and live life again and again until we live the saintly life. We might even laugh at that idea, but it too is an honest leap.
I assure you that Jesus was not teaching reincarnation, but the phrase means to beget again, or caused to be born again, recreated, or renewed. The phrase although it can be misunderstood, has a unique usage. The root of the word means to re-create. The senses of the word point to basically four different usages, to give a new role, new abilities, new representation or image, or renew. The sense of the word that Peter uses comes from the to renew sense, and from that sense there are six other sensations that are covered. To refresh is one, to remake or beget again, to give birth, to replace, restore, or to revitalize.
I know that for most of us, I can just list off all those things and it just goes over your head, but the reason I share this is that there is a prefix on most of those senses, re. In the English language that prefix usually means again. When we renew a subscription, we are extending the subscription for another term. If we are reforming an organization, we are taking what was once there and changing things so that it can continue into the future. The sense that Peter is using is the remake sense. It is almost like a reset. And if you play video games we know what reset means, we get a second chance to try again.
But as I consider this I was drawn to the context of the passage, Peter also speaks of various trials. The translation to English softens things. The reality is that what he is saying is you are going to face injustice, and suffering. You are going to face things in life that will be challenging. Some of those things will be reasonable, some of those things will seem like utter chaos, some of it will be understandable, and others will be injustice. We will find ourselves in hard time that are self inflicted, and we will face trials that were enacted upon us from outside forces. We will and we do suffer.
We suffer. This is often one of the factors of life that cause people to reject faith because they do not understand, we do not understand. How can a loving God allow suffering?
I was talking to my mom a few months ago, I told her that I though I would someday write a book and I would call it 3:16, and I would go through every book of the bible and write something about chapter 3 verse 16. I did this because so many of the 3:16 verses are cool. We all know John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Then there is 1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” Then 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
I love the 3:16 verses. But in our conversation, we got to Genesis 3:16. “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” My mom decided at that point I should probably pick a different profession because she thought that the book would not sell at that point. But I got to studying that passage as we talked. We look at this from a labor perspective, or the actual work of giving birth. That is not the complete picture. It is more than just child birth it is child bearing or motherhood. It is the work of raising a child. Then there is that weird your desire shall be contrary to your husband part. I do not know if this happens at your house, but have you noticed that fathers and mothers tend to do things differently when it comes to children? I do not remember wrestling my mom, but I do remember my dad tossing me around. I also remember my mom yelling at him when she saw me flying through the air.
There is pain and suffering in raising a child. Yes it is a complete joy, but every scrap makes our own knees hurt. Every tear we want to take on ourselves so that they do not have to suffer. But we cannot take their pain. We instead suffer with them.
But if we look at the work of bearing children, we can then look at the next verse and see that the judgment given to Adam also includes labor. “Cursed is the ground because of you, in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Suffering is the consequences of the desire of trusting our wisdom instead of the wisdom of God. Suffering is a result of our actions. Some of that suffering is intentional and some is unintentional. Sometimes in our best efforts to be wise we have opened ourselves up to greater trouble.
I was watching a youtube video while I was working about the history of sugar. I did not realize that there was a history of sugar, but I was proven wrong. There was a point in time where doctors thought sugar was miraculous. They would prescribe for various ailments, and one of the things they prescribed it for was to clean your teeth. At that point I stopped working and diverted all my attention to the video. We as humanity once thought that sugar was something that would protect and clean our teeth. I am sure you are not surprised at the unintentional consequence to that. Nearly every emerging technology is seen as being amazing at first. We want to apply it to nearly everything. And in that excitement there are unintended consequences. Pain relief is important in medicine, but can often have consequences. Using a computer is nearly a necessity now but if you use it all the time you end up with bad posture and carpal tunnel syndrome. The automobile is connected to an increase of lead poisoning. The industrial revolution changed industry yet air pollution was the result. Unintended consequences from human action, that result in human suffering. We needed the technology, we use the technology, but we must recognize that we have caused many problems in our search for wisdom.
Our labors often result in suffering. And Peter says we are going and are facing suffering. Suffering of many kinds and from many sources. Yet he does not say this is unfair. He instead tells us to rejoice.
I struggle to rejoice in the midst of suffering. I do not like being sick. I lose sleep over many different stresses in my life. I used to work nights, and after doing that it is like my body’s default settings were changed and whenever I get stressed out my internal clock gets switched again. And this just leads to more stress, anxiety, and suffering usually in the form of a migraine. But Peter says rejoice.
He says rejoice because we have been born again, recreated, renewed, given a new chance. Rejoice because we have been made into something new born to something different. Living Hope. God has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
I want us to just reflect on this for a moment today. I have given several Easter sermons over the years twenty-three years I have been a pastor, about twenty I think. Over the course of those years I have reflected often on the resurrection, and there is a question I have often asked myself over the course of my contemplations. “Do I believe in the resurrection?” I want to say a simple yes. But then another question comes to mind, “If I do believe, what does that mean?”
I struggle with this, because the implications are vast. If we believe in the resurrection, if we believe that Jesus rose on the third day in literal physical form, should it not change something in our hearts and minds?
As I think about that I have often reflected on what lead to the need for the resurrection. What was Jesus doing that put him into that situation in the first place. Since I have read a great deal of theology I can say he had to be crucified so that he could be our propitiation, he needed to become sin for us so that he could satisfy the wrath of God. I can speak of several things about why Jesus had to die, but what was he doing that inspired the Religious leaders and the Roman government to take such a drastic action? He was faced injustice head on.
In our lives we often suffer. And often we absorb that suffering as our lot in life. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that. Paul tells us that he has learned to be content in all situations, rich or poor, well fed or hungry. We can be content. We must endure our suffering. But Jesus did not just endure. He spoke boldly against the hypocrisy of religious leaders. He said to them that they burdened their disciples with great loads that they themselves did not carry. And then he would cry out to the people, come all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The meaning of that is that he did not have a lot of rules to follow, just one really. Love God with everything you have and are, and love your neighbor as yourself. He called them out on their hypocrisy because they did make a bunch of rules, they interpreted scripture and instead of finding the teaching or wisdom of God, they found methods of exploitation.
But the religious leaders were not the only people that felt threatened. Rome was also concerned. Jesus inspired people, his miraculous healings attracted attention, and because of that crowds would form wherever he went. The towns and villages were not huge in the first century. Yet thousands of people would crowd in around him. I used to work in retail security, and crowd control was a major part of that job. We would spend months devising plans to handle one singular day, the day after Thanksgiving. If plans were not carefully made, trouble would be the end result. Crowds are scary when you are tasked with keeping peace. And when over five thousand people randomly show up in one area, something little could spark an all out riot.
Jesus fed over five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Imagine the emotions of that crowd. Imagine what would happen if after they all ate, that man then said march right not into Jerusalem and take it. The Romans were scared and looking for some way to prevent that from happening. Then one day Jesus went into the temple and gave the religious leaders and overlords both a reason. Jesus walked into the court of the Gentiles, the place that the people of all nations could come and worship the one true God. And scattered throughout that courtyard, were pens with sheep and tables where people would convert currency. There was this conspiracy among the righteous to take advantage of the people wanting to worship God, exploiting faith for gain. Jesus cried out that my father’s house is a place of prayer and you made into a den of robbers. And he began to snap a whip in the air scaring the livestock, and overturning the tables of the money changers. Silver and gold was flying and scattering. The poor were diving onto the ground to gather what they could, and the rich were doing the same to save their potential losses. Chaos ensued. And suddenly the righteous and the powerful had a common purpose.
Jesus stood up against injustice. He called out the hypocrisy, he challenged the philosophies of the government. And those that had power felt threatened. They crucified Jesus because of their own desires of power and control. Jesus died so that the rich could stay rich. He died so that the poor would stay poor. He died so that the exploiters could continue to extort their victims. Jesus died so that the wisdom of this world, the suffering of this world, the sin of this world could survive. Jesus became sin for us. And he carried the burden of that sin to the cross. He died and was buried. Hope was lost.
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus died so that the world systems could continue. But he rose again so that they would crumble.
We are born anew to a living hope, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation read to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice. In this we rejoice. Because Jesus lives we know that though we suffer now, it will not last forever. Though we face trials now, it will not be the end. We have something better, something pure, something beautiful just beyond the horizon.
Our suffering is not in vain. It is through the suffering that we obtain the prize in Jesus. It is through the suffering. We gain something invaluable. Hope.
Jesus once said that the poor would always be with you, he also said that those poor are blessed. We often struggle with that thought. We struggle because something has been lost in the context of time. The poor, does not only mean those that lack finances and wealth, it also means those that lack power and influence. In ancient cultures, the rich ruled, because the rich were the government. Everything belonged to the Emperor or the king and if you had wealth or power it was because the ruler allowed it. And the rulers of the Gentiles would lord it over their subjects. That is not so among us, Jesus said. The rich are not blessed because they have their reward. Our focus instead should be on the one that do not have power and influence. We should care for the least of us because theirs is the kingdom. They possess the treasure that we seek. They are the ones that understand the power of hope. The rich have all they need, but the poor do not. The poor are able to recognize that they do need, they suffer.
That is where our focus should be, according to the teachings or the commands of Jesus. We can seek out power and influence here and now, but that is all we will get, here and now. Have you ever wondered why the richest people in the world are so concerned with money? Everything revolves around it, because everything in their life is focused on it. They are nothing without their money. No one would know their name, no one would care about their opinion, no one would value their input, because in the world system those that have power control the money. But the value of corporations can disappear. What was once seen as an immovable force within a society can become worthless within a short amount of time. Its perishable, defiled, fading. Walmart is being swallowed by Amazon. Emerging technology that makes life easier, gains wealth and power, then they exert control to maintain their power. But the giants will fall, suffering happens. Blessed are the poor, for they will inherit the earth.
God has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We are born again, given another chance, a new chance, to obtain an inheritance that does not diminish, because it is based on something more valuable than the systems of the world can fathom. Hope.
People see how we respond through the trials we face. When we face those trials do we rejoice or complain? When we are in the middle of the struggle do we give up or do we continue to strive? And how do we respond to the people around us while we bear the most difficult of our burdens?
I believe in the resurrection. I believe not because someone gave me a good answer. I still struggle with the logic of that belief, and yet I believe. I believe because I saw the lives of the saints within my community. I saw the tears streaming down the face of my mother singing, “it is well with my soul” while my little sister’s body was being prepared for organ donation. I saw it when my dad got up every morning to go to work, and rushed out to the fields to work some more, so that he could pay of the debts obtained during a farm failure. I saw it the lives of students in Ukraine that lit up when they finally were able to grasp some concept of faith they had wrestled with. I saw hope in the eyes of my boys when they do the thing they love. We suffer, we face trials. But we have something greater. We have hope, and we have that hope because of the great mercy of God, who did not think equality with God was something that could be stolen, but become submitted himself and become obedient even to death on a cross. And on the third day he rose again to life. Do we believe in the living hope? Will we stand up to the injustices around us so that the poor will see that hope lives? Will we rejoice?
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 26, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 4 (Faith and Practice of EFC-MAYM pg 61) Do you provide for the suitable Christian education and recreation of your children and those under your care, and…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 19, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time…
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By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
April 05, 2026
Click here to join our Meeting for Worship
John 20:1–18 (ESV)
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
I feel that we have become so comfortable with the message around scripture, that we begin to overlook and miss things. We skip parts to get to most exciting parts. But I do not think we should do that. Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb. This is something that each of the gospels mention. Some include other women, but John only says Mary. This is why some people have entertained the idea that maybe Mary and Jesus were romantically involved. Which seems scandalous to some, but for me it is a pointless thought experiment because we cannot know. What we do know is that Mary was a disciple.
When Jesus came to their house in Bethany, Mary would sit with the other disciples at Jesus’s feet, listening and participating with the discussion. This was, in fact, scandalous, because it was not proper for a woman to be formally educated in that era of history. That does not mean that they did not learn, it was just not proper for them to participate in the group, it was not uncommon for Rabbis to teach their daughters but this was informal. Martha was also a great friend of Jesus, but she most likely being older had accepted a more traditional role within society, and she chastised her sister, going so far as demanding that Jesus put a stop to this scandalous activity of allowing her sister to learn. We forget history. We forget culture. We often just overlook that because it is no longer scandalous.
We forget that Jesus challenged commonly held cultural norms. He challenged them and said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
What does Jesus mean when he says this? I personally believe that Jesus was honoring and encouraging Martha. She loved serving the guests, she found meaning and purpose in that role. It is traditional sure, but for her it was her calling. Mary was not like Martha, scripture often depicts her as being much more forward and active. Martha was anxious not about the service, she was more than capable of serving the guests and could probably have organized a party at a moment’s notice. She was anxious about what people might think. She was worried about how people might regard her sister. She was worried about her sister’s spirit getting hurt by others. “Martha, Martha you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.”
What is the one thing? Listening to the calling within your life. Finding the one thing that inspires, fuels your passion, and gets you excited. That one thing is becoming the person you were created to be.
Mary chose the good portion. She was listening to the spirit within her and was pursuing it. Jesus does not say that Martha was not choosing the good portion, he only says that Martha was anxious about Mary. Jesus was telling Martha that her sister was not like her, she has her own path and her own passions. We cannot make those we love fit into our story for them, they must pursue themselves.
Jesus challenges the cultural norms. He encourages those around him to consider that what we once knew may not be the complete story.
I want us to think about Mary today. I want us to remember all the times in our lives that someone told us we cannot do something. How did you feel in that moment? When I was a child I was told that I could never serve in the military, at the time I did not care, but I loved jets and rockets. I would get up early on a Saturday morning and watch the Right Stuff. I loved to watch the science and the passion of the test pilots and I wanted to be an astronaut. Needless to say I was watching the Artemis II launch because I took me back to those Saturday mornings. But then it dawned on me, all of those heroes of mine were in the military, and I would not be able to follow in their footsteps. It broke my spirit. For quite a while I just drifted. Nothing really got me excited. Genetics almost did, but I soon lost interest in that too.
When I was in high school, I took several college classes as dual credits. One of those classes was English Composition. I struggled with that class. I would stay up late at night with my uncle pouring over each of my assignments, writing and rewriting everything. I thought it was well written but when the paper was returned to me, I would have a D. I used take pride in my intelligence, but I felt like a failure. The teacher even wrote on one of the assignments that I would never accomplish much if writing was involved.
That teacher broke me. It sent me into a spiral. I did not know what I wanted to do, I once thought I would pursue genetic engineering but I threw that idea out the window because what if I had to write something? So I did what I thought I could. I studied crop science and thought I would become a crop consultant, but I hated it. Then I went on a mission trip to Ukraine, a trip to teach English of all things. And something ignited again. I came home, and entered ministry. I found that I was missing certain skills in that field, so I enrolled into a graduate program. I did not even seem to remember that a master’s degree would require writing, because I needed something more. The interesting thing is that the professors in that program were not like the teacher I had in high school. They comment about my unique style of writing, and they encouraged me to continue to pursue it. Just so you know the one that made that comment is going to be the keynote speaker at Yearly Meeting this summer, so I encourage you to attend if you are able.
One teacher crushed my spirit, and another taught me to dream again.
This is what I want us to see in Mary. She goes to the tomb that morning after the Sabbat, and she walks to the tomb and the stone had been taken away. She sees this thing and she drops everything and she runs. She runs to Simon Peter and the other disciple. She just bursts in and immediately starts to speak. Again, stop and think about this, she is an unmarried woman going directly into the group of disciples and she speaks with them as an equal. And these men do not scoff at her or question what she has shared with them. They know who she is and they trust her. When she says, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” they believe her.
They instantly respond. Peter jumps up, probably knocking multiple things to the floor, and because he is impulsive and could probably be diagnosed with ADHD, he probably let the door bagging open. And the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, followed closely. And probably the most hilarious verse of this passage, “but the other disciple out ran Peter and reached the tomb first.” Who does that? It is hilarious because it is probably a running joke surrounding the early church, and it was saved for generations in the pages of scripture. Proving that there is and always has been some healthy forms of competition.
They listened to Mary. They heard the pain in her voice. They heard the voice of this passionate woman that defied social norms and joined them in the discussion, crack in horror and fear. Jesus gave her permission to pursue her dreams. He gave her a place within the community not merely as a servant but as an equal. She loved this teacher because he did not limit her, instead he encouraged her. The other disciples heard that crack, and lightening pulsed through their nerves, and they could not contain themselves, and they went immediately to that tomb, for a couple of reasons. The first is to protect their friends, both Jesus and Mary. And because they like Mary we once individuals in the cogs of society. They were once men bound by cultural norms. They were common men. Peter was a fisherman, and the other disciple, the one tradition calls John, was also the son of a fisherman. They had left their nets to follow Jesus. They were told by their society that they were not special, that they needed to just go home and do what their family has always done. They were rejected by the teachers, they were labeled common, but Jesus called them. He saw something within them that they may not have even seen themselves. He ignited a flame, gave them a chance, and encouraged them to pursue something everyone else said they were not cut out for. They ran because they too were seen by this man, this teacher, this messiah and he became everything to them.
What would become of them if the body was stolen? Where they being framed? Where the gentiles desecrating their faith like they did during the days of the Maccabees?
We often forget the despair the disciples would have felt. We often forget that the moment the tomb was sealed, their hope and dreams were also dead and buried. We have been there. A word was said without thinking and our dreams come crashing down. An email lands in your inbox and your heart sinks. You open the mail box and see another bill and payday is still a week away.
John outran Peter, he stops at the entrance and looks inside. He sees the linen cloths lying there, and he is incapable to move, paralyzed. Peter came, following him, and he went into the tomb. I imagine he probably hit his head against the ceiling in the rush to see. He too sees the cloths and then he sees something else. He sees the face cloth, or napkin, folded up in a place by itself.
This puzzled them. St John Chrysostom, the Bishop of Constantinople, also known as the Golden Mouth, says this about this event:
They see the linen clothes lying there, which was a sign of the resurrection. For if they had removed the body, they would not have stripped it first, nor, if any had stolen it, would they have taken the trouble to remove the napkin and roll it up and lay it in a place by itself apart from the linens. They would have taken the body as it was. Therefore, John tells us by anticipation that it was buried with much myrrh, which glues linen to the body not less firmly than lead. He tells us this so that when you hear that the napkin lay apart from the linens, you may not endure those who say that he was stolen. For a thief would not have been so foolish as to expend so much effort on a trifling detail.i
Chrysostom, served as bishop within a generation from when the Nicene Creed was formed. This was the one statement of faith, the only statement of faith the entire Church agreed upon. Over 1000 years ago, they already faced the same criticism we face today, where is the body, surely it was just stolen. And John, both Johns actually, point out that had anyone stolen the body, or taken the body they would not have taken the time to unwrap it. Chrysostom points out that as they wrap a body they would have been using a mixture of myrrh, which would have basically made the wrappings as stiff as concrete. And the fact that they mention the face cloth folded in a place by itself expresses some token of extreme care.
In burial, the traditions focus on honoring the body. The face would have been covered to preserve dignity, while the women washed the body as they could not cast a lingering on the face. So the face would have been the first part of the body cleansed and covered. Every other strip of linen would have attached itself to this cloth. Yet it was carefully folded by itself. When looking at other story among this culture saying that when a master leaves a folded napkin on the table it indicates that, “I am not finished yet”, or “I am coming back”. Where a wadded up napkin would indicate they are done. This is a story, but a good story. The disciples saw the care of the different fabrics and it indicated something to them.
John, the other disciple, saw and believed. They were at the grave of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead, but Lazarus was bound by the grave clothes. But here was something different. The body of Jesus was not bound, and the care given to the clothes resembled the care of those that put them on the body. They believed but they did not yet understand. They went back to their homes, but Mary remained.
Mary stood there weeping. And only then does she stoop to gaze within the tomb. Peter and John saw only the clothes, Mary however sees two angels sitting at where the head and feet should have been. They ask her, “Woman, why are you Weeping?” She responds that, “That they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Then she turns away. She sees angels and even that does not comfort her grieving heart.
She turns and literally bumps into Jesus and He asks her the same question. And Mary being accosted by angels and Jesus gets a bit snappy and she says, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” She is basically telling the supposed gardener to give him back. So Jesus being who he is, calls her by name, “Mary”. One simple word. Mary.
Mary, being as impulsive as Peter, screams and squeals as she cries Rabboni. And Jesus tells her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to to my brothers and say to them…”
I have watched many videos of soldiers coming home from deployment and surprising there wives or mothers. I am sure you have seen them too. This is absolutely the reaction Mary had in this moment. I have often heard people say that Jesus commanded her not to touch him, but I think the meaning is more like Mary I can’t breath, let go! And once she stops hugging him, he tells her to go. This is a commanding verb. He commissions her to go to my brothers, and he commissions her to say or to speak to them, the resurrection Gospel.
Mary, like all of us was inspired, she pursued her dreams, she was encouraged by loving mentors, and she had her dreams crushed. Mary like all of us lived within a culture telling her to stop, telling her she is not good enough, or not able. But Jesus gave her the honor to be the first apostle.
What does this tell us? Dreams can die. Hope can dwindle. People around us can be insensitive and cruel. They might even take every remembrance of that passion away. But hope cannot be bound. It cannot be buried forever. Hope will return. Jesus suffered, because he challenged the norms of society. He pointed out their hypocrisy and injustice and they made him pay with his life. That is often the case with power seekers. They want to silence and control. They want to keep those that shine light into their darkness out of view. They bury it. Cast confusion and spin stories. But truth and hope will rise. And those that were once oppressed will be given greater honor. They will be the first to stand and proclaim, “I have seen the Lord.”
Jesus is risen. Hope has returned. And with a folded napkin he has proclaimed, “It is done”. Death no longer binds, it instead opens up to new life. Hope is no longer buried, it instead empowers all the more. And inspiration has returned.
Let us go now, praising the resurrection of hope. In Jesus Christ humanity is restored, and we can once again strive. We can once again stand in the light without shame and proclaim I am a child of God, because Jesus has ascended to his father and our father, his God and ours.
i Elowsky, Joel C., editor. John 11–21. InterVarsity Press, 2007, pp. 340–41.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 12, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 05, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili John 20:1–18 (ESV) 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 29, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 3: Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy…
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By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
March 29, 2026
Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship
Query 3:
Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in humble dependence upon Christ, the spiritual gifts with which you have been entrusted?
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage on another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25 NIV)
(Faith and Practice, The Book of Discipline; Evangelical Friends Church Mid-America Yearly Meeting. pg 60)
Philippians 2:5–11 (ESV)
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We live in a world that is often filled with dissonance. You might have noticed it. Dissonance in music is a lack of harmony, things are just out of tune and it makes our ears cringe. I struggle with this as I am nearly 70% deaf, I notice dissonance but I cannot tell what exactly is wrong. I cannot tell if it is too high or too low, I just know that it does not feel right.
There is dissonance outside of music also, a tension or clash resulting from the combination of two unsuitable elements. I have contemplated this over the past few weeks. And I feel like I do when I am speaking about music, I cannot put my finger on what exactly the problem is, but something just does not feel right. I have stopped and taken a step back, I have reevaluated things, I have moved forward again and the feeling begins again. Something is off. It sounds as if it should be right, but it just does not feel right.
When I was in high school, I was in band. I was not in a band like we have around here, our band was never offered any prestigious opportunity to march at any of the college football bowl game parades, or to participate in the Macy’s thanksgiving day parade. I take that back, we were invited to one bowl game. We joined with several other bands and played at the KCAC Wheat Bowl, which was a bowl game for several of the small christian colleges in Kansas, but that bowl game does not exist anymore.
With small schools, the band tends to be very heavy on certain tones, and lacks others. In our case we lacked bass. We had several flutes, clarinets, many trumpets and saxophones, but we had one trombone player, and no Tuba. I was one of the trumpet players, and our instructor asked if anyone would like to try one of the bass instruments so that we could have a more complete sound. I volunteered. The problem with that is I cannot hear bass. I could not tell you if I was playing the right note or not because I could not hear it. But luckily the tuba is a large instrument that either sits in your lap or is wrapped around your body. I cannot hear it, but I could feel it. I worked with the instructor, I sat on the piano as they played the base notes, and I tried to imitate the feeling with the tuba. It looked a bit weird, but it worked. It worked so well that the next year when it came time to go to the marching band contests at the state fair, were given top marks. We were the smallest band in the competition, but each of the judges commented how impressed they were with the complete sound we were able to deliver, and as a little brag, each judge commented how they enjoyed the tuba. That is a bit of pride I know, but I always found it humorous because I literally could not tell you for sure if I was playing right. All I could say is that it felt as if it fit.
We live in a world of dissonance. There are elements come together and the resonance does not seem to create something pleasant. It is in our schools, our communities, our churches. It is all around us. And it is as if we are all just as deaf as I am. We can tell something is not right but we cannot quite detect what it is, it does not quite feel right when combined with the rest of the world around us.
As I read through the Epistle Paul wrote to the Philippians, this is what came to my mind. This is one of my favorite of Paul’s letters as it has the verse that my great grandfather sent to me when he help fund my trip to Ukraine, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). As I read through this letter I get a sense that Paul and the people of Philippi are dealing with cultural dissonance. Paul is in prison wanting to come to the people, the factors surrounding that desire have a resonance, but it is not in harmony because something is causing anxiety, or one of the elements is sharp. He cannot come because he is in prison for his faith. But he is writing this letter because he has heard things concerning the people of Philippi, when he is with them there is harmony, but when the conductor is missing everyone seems to get off beat. They begin to forget what their purpose is, they forget what the church is, they begin to go off on their own way. And suddenly what was once a beautiful orchestra has fallen into discord.
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Paul tells them. This is where our reading began, but we need some context. Lets go to the beginning of the chapter. “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have This mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”
I want us to think about this for a moment.
I want us to think about all the dissonance we feel within out culture, and within our relationships.
This is challenging to us all. In Evangelical theology we believe in a personal relationship with Christ. This is not wrong by any means, we are responsible for our own actions. You are responsible for what you do personally, you cannot blame your parents for the actions you do. You cannot blame your teachers, or your brother or sister. Blame cannot be transferred to your grandparents nor to your children. If you stole an item from the store, its on you. If you take a life from someone, it is on you. If you cheat on a test, or your taxes, you are responsible. This is what Evangelicals teach and it is correct, but it is not complete. As there are some decisions that are made by others that place people into a position they would not have chosen for themselves.
As Friends, we have had a long history opposing the use of military violence. We have this stance because we are pro life in the fullest sense of that phrase. All human life bears the image of our creator and because they bear that image, they should be treated with respect. It is not our right to use violence to force another person to do what we want. When we use violent force, that person or that nation is placed into a position they might not have chosen for themselves. This is something that the Friends of Kiev have struggled with, as well as the Friends in Moscow. It is something we struggle with in our own nation, and in our own families. We have to answer for our own actions, but when someone chooses violence against our community what are we to do? There is a difference between defense and offensive wars. Ukraine was invaded, they can respond in defense, but Russia as the invader is wrong because they forced Ukraine into that position. They forced Ukraine into a place where they either cease to exist or fight. As someone that has a strong testimony of peace, I struggle with this, that is why I say that war is never good. No matter what we choose, we must live with the consequences. No matter how justified we feel in the moment, we still must face the trauma and reality that fellow image bearers were marred, and we as a society have some responsibility. It does not stop with war, there are other aspects of life that we could say the same about. Immigration policy, taxation, employee compensation, loan availability, every aspect of life that involves human interaction has some bearing. How we treat the waitstaff, or the clerk at the store. Everything can honor or cast dishonor.
This is the limitation of Evangelical theology. What happens when we are given choices where no path forwards seems to glimmer with light?
As Evangelicals we can back off and say I am not involved. I am focusing on my personal relationship with God. And we can sit in our meetinghouses and churches hearing the dissonance, seeing the struggle yet not stepping up. We can see disharmony, disunity, disorder and stay unmoved. But the resonance of the earth, of the world seems off. Sometimes the authors of apocalyptic writings would describe it as earthquakes. The very foundation of what we have build our lives upon trembles with the dissonance. We do not know what to do, so we disengage, and pray that the end of the world would come.
Do we not see the problem? This is something that has plagued humanity from the time of our first parents, from the times of Cain and Abel, Noah and Babel. It is the very story of human existence.
What was the temptation of our first parents? We often hear the story, and we say they sinned by disobeying God’s commandment and they ate the fruit that was not meant for them. We are not wrong in that interpretation, but I ask again what was the temptation? They were told that God had knowledge of good and evil, and by eating the fruit they would have that knowledge for themselves. They were tempted as all of us are, to satisfy their own desire without any regard for anyone else. They ate the fruit, and death entered the world. Dissonance, the symphony of life moved from a major to a minor key, tension and separation became our existence instead of harmony.
This repeats with their children. Cain has a conversation with God, and God said to him if you do well will you not also be accepted? Yet Cain focused on his own selfish desires, he was not accepted and Abel was, so he decided if only he would remove his brother he would have what he wanted. He could force the hand of God, to do his bidding. But the blood of Abel cried out to God, it screamed about the injustice he endured. And God asked Cain, “where is your brother?” and Cain responds, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
We often regard these stories as just that, stories. But they are more than stories, they teach us something deeper. We are never alone. Everything we do reflects not only on ourselves, but on everyone around us. If we wish to force society to treat us better, this often comes with a cost. And the blood of our brothers cry out to God. Paul tells us, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is your in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.”
I have often struggled with this verse. I struggle with it because it has dissonance. Paul wrote this way for that reason. The term grasped, is not exactly what we translate it as. It means to take hold of, or more accurately to steal. What Paul is saying is, even though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God as something everyone around him would just automatically notice and give to him, or that he could force the people of the world to recognize. Jesus did not want to use force, he did not want to compel the world to recognize the truth, he did not want the nations to enact legal codes to force adherence to his teachings. He was and is equal to God the Father, together with the Holy Spirit they form the one True Triune God. Jesus came from the heavens, was born into human form, he lived, he taught, he served, and he suffered. He was and is God, through him everything in the world was created, He holds the physics of the universe in his hands, yet he did not count the recognition of being who he was as something that could be forced. God does not force us to believe.
But what did he do? “He emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
I want us to let that sink in. Jesus did not use the powers available to him to compel human allegiance. This is what grasped means. It is to take by force. Russia is grasping Ukraine, and I know I speak about that a great deal. I speak about it because it is a conflict between two similar but different ideologies, and we on this side of the world often do not recognize the difference. Many of us still call Ukraine, the Ukraine, as if it is some region like the Rocky Mountains. We do not see them as a distinct culture, instead we see them as Russia sees them, a lessor entity needing to be forced into compliance. We could say the exact same thing in reference to Venezuelan, Greenland, Palestine, Sudan, or any other conflict in the world. We often see them as something to be grasped, because we have the power and they do not.
Paul tells us, Jesus had the power, but he did not count equality with God as something to be used to force others against their will. Instead he emptied himself. The writer of Hebrews says, “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels”. He left the glory, he left the unseen realm and entered our dimension of time and space. And he did this because under the direction of the angels, the fallen and rebellious spiritual beings, we entered into rebellion. We entered into death, a death that only God could redeem. We took something from God in that moment of rebellion, we took it by force, we grasped it. We wanted equality with God, but equality with God was not what we were created to be. Instead we were to reflect God to the created world.
This is what we have been struggling with since the nations were scattered. Israel was chosen as God’s inheritance, through whom God would shine his light into the darkness of that separation. At first he gave his teaching, his commandments. We were incapable to live a pure life, incapable because we were interpreting things through our own minds, our own cultures. As the writer of Judges said, everyone did what they though was right in their own heart. This is how we all live, and how we all would have continued to live until God humbled himself. God, himself, became human for us and through his humility provided the way to restore and redeem humanity to it’s rightful place.
He took on our form, our relationships, our suffering, our injustice, and he endured our shame to the point of death. He was not only obedient to God the Father, but he was obedient to human governmental systems. Showing us how to live within systems built to exploit and dehumanize others, while encouraging them to return to God. He did this not with force, not with power, but through humility.
Paul wants us to have this mind. I might be strong, just because I have that power does not mean I can force you to do what I want. That is not humility but tyranny. Paul instead encourages us to humble ourselves. To treat those around us as Jesus would have treated them. Sacrificing what we might see as being in our best interest, and giving what we sacrifice for the good of others.
This is why I read the third Query today. Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? As much as I agree with the Evangelical stance on personal salvation, we are not solitary beings. We live within community, we were created to live within community. When God created humanity He said it was not good for man to be alone, so God split humanity in half, not just a rib. God took one side of Adam and from that side God made Eve. We are two sides of a whole, and we are incomplete unless we participate in community. Meetings for worship are not only about worship, they are practice. It is practice for each of us to sacrifice for the good of others. It is practice, because we are to come together in unity worship, and serve as one and yet there are many of us. Each of us have our own ideas, our own concepts of what is right and wrong, and each of us have our preferences. Will we humble ourselves like Christ? And if our preference or our idea is rejected how do we respond? Are we willing to stand aside for the good of the community?
Then the second part of the query, “Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in humble dependence upon Christ, the spiritual gifts with which you have been entrusted?” As we participate, are we reflecting Christ? Are we willing to sacrifice all that we have for those around us? Are we willing to pray for and continue to work with those we might have had an argument with? If so it means we are going to need to learn the art and discipline of reconciliation and humility again, and again.
This is what Paul is telling the church of Philippi. Do nothing out of selfish ambition but humble yourselves as Christ did, even though you might have the power, even though you might be gifted, even though you have Christ within you, that does not matter more than the image of God in the person across the aisle, down the street, or on the other side of the world. Everything we do should be done to reflect that of God in our lives and in theirs. Are we practicing at church, with these people around you right now. Are you practicing what it means to give, serve, help, and encourage with us so that when we go out into our wider community it becomes second nature?
Jesus humbled himself, even though the entire strength and power of God was available to him, he did not want to force those around him to comply with his will. He became a servant. He took our form, and became obedient to the systems of the world. He became obedient, but that does not mean he did not speak out against injustice. That is not obedience, He spoke out against injustice, obediently, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus humbled himself. He sacrificed himself. He gave of himself. And that is what Paul is encouraging each of us to have as the same mind. Emptying ourselves of all vanity and being honest. Admitting that I need each of you and you need each of us, because we are a community together, and only together will we be able to fully express the music God has called us to perform. Only together will our dissonance become harmonious. And when the church humbles itself, and serves those around us, that is when every knee will bow, and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Because in humility to Christ, and to each other the tones begin to resonate with each other, and the once small band gains its complete sound. It is in humility, in sacrifice, in working together so that all will find and thrive in their own giftedness, that we can fully reflect the fullness of God’s image to the world. We do not need to worry about what we do not have, or what others might do. Instead we should listen for the voice of God as individuals, and as a community, and respond accordingly. We should have this mind among ourselves. Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the love of Christ with others.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 15, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Ephesians 5:8–14 (ESV) 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 22, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Romans 5:12–19 (ESV) 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 15, 2026 Click Here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 2 Peter 1:16–21 (ESV) 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,…
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