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Where did he go?

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Bulletin for Sunday, May 17, 2026

Cat Goodrich
Faith Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD
May 17, 2026

Where did he go?
Luke 24:44-53

 

I was in Atlanta a few weeks ago with my clergy group, and in addition to meeting with a preaching professor and a church historian from Columbia Theological Seminary, we spent a morning at the Carter Center – Jimmy Carter’s human rights organization’s headquarters and his Presidential Library. To tell the truth, I was not completely enthusiastic about the visit. I’d been before, and though the grounds are beautiful, and though I believe Carter had an inspiring post- Presidential life, I wasn’t overly eager to look back on Carter’s four years in the White House. Hostages and a gas shortage and cardigans in the oval office? And yet, it was fascinating to look back on that time, to see and to hear a President so dedicated to the work of building peace, and decreasing our dependance on fossil fuels. In fact, tucked into a corner about halfway through the exhibit, I saw something that shocked me. A long, black rectangle attached to the wall – a solar panel, that Carter had installed on the roof of the white house in 1979.

That was almost 50 years ago. Reagan tore them down in ’86. More panels were installed during the Obama administration, they might still be there now if they weren’t on the East wing. But now, we’re months deep in a war with Iran, and the strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil must pass through before it reaches other markets – is still closed. Oil tankers are being sunk, spilling their cargo in the sea. Gas is almost $5 a gallon, and it’s going to cost so much to fly

1 Carter, Jimmy, qtd. in “The Forgotten Story of Jimmy Carter’s White House Solar Panels,” John Wihbey, Yale Climate Connections, February 21, 2023, https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/02/the-forgotten-story-of- jimmy-carters-white-house-solar-panels/

this summer that Spirit Airlines just went bankrupt. And with temps soaring into the 90’s this week, it seems like we’re starting what will likely be the hottest summer on record. While the Trump Administration has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to stop offshore wind developments, ended EV subsidies, opened countless acres of protected land to drilling, and closed it to the last remaining wild buffalo herds. Seems like we who care about the future of this planet, and humanity’s ability to thrive here, have plenty to despair over. But I’ve read a couple of different analyses of the unintended consequences of this war that give me cause for hope. See, some economists are saying that the oil price shock is driving more and more consumers and countries towards renewable energy. They’re saying that the petroleum industry may have passed the point of no return, never to regain primacy in the market. One journalist wrote, “solar arrays can’t be embargoed, and wind can’t be stopped by a blockade.” 2 The necessary shift to renewable energy is picking up speed, may have even be pushed into hyperdrive, thanks to the current crisis. I can’t imagine how terrified and dejected the disciples must have been when Jesus was crucified. Their leader publicly humiliated, and their movement, all but stopped. According to Rome, that should’ve been the end of it. But on this side of Easter, some 2000 years later, it’s clear that the Jesus movement was only just beginning. So what happened? What was the spark that ignited this disciples’ preaching and teaching, their witness to the power of life and love to transform the world as it is into what God promises it shall be? In the gospel of Luke, it happened in just 24 hours in Jerusalem and its suburb, Bethany. Our passage this morning finds the risen Christ with the disciples, right before he ascends to heaven, or wherever he goes – which is why this seventh Sunday of Easter is called “Ascension Sunday.” This is just after he appears on the road to Emmaus, walking with Cleopas and another disciple, and then disappears
after breaking bread. The text tells us Jesus then appears a few hours later, back in Jerusalem, among the disciples who are hidden away in fear, behind locked doors. He greets them with words of peace, invites them to touch him and see

2 Sobieski, Mitchell, “How Trumps Vanity War in Iran has Doomed the Oil Industry as Nations Seek Clean Energy Security,” Milwaukee Independent, May 16, 2026, https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/explainers/trumps- vanity-war-iran-doomed-oil-industry-nations-seek-clean-energy-security/

that he is real, and eats a piece of fish in their presence. Evidently, his resurrected body looks different than it did before (why else would the Cleopas and his friend not recognize him on the road?) but the author wants us to know that the risen Jesus is not just a phantom or a trick of the mind. Doubt looms large over this story – the gospel writer says, the disciples were joyful but also, “they were disbelieving and still wondering.” I would be, wouldn’t you, if someone I knew were dead showed up, asking for fish. Then, as he has so often done, he teaches them – opening their minds to understand the sacred texts, the same way he must have done for Cleopas and the other disciple on the walk to Emmaus. And he gives them a task: to be witnesses. To tell others what they’ve seen and experienced, to proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins, to all nations. Not right away, though. They are to wait, until God “clothes them with power.” Then he leads them out of the city, two miles out to Bethany, where he blesses them, and then withdraws from them, to be carried into heaven. Bethany, remember, is where his march into Jerusalem began – near the Mt. of Olives. So maybe it makes sense that he would lead them back there, in a very different sort of procession – quiet, no palms – with Christ in a very different sort of body, before he leaves completely. New Testament scholar Margaret Aymer tells us that this is the only time in the gospel where he blesses people. 3 Prior to this, in his ministry, he blesses bread before he breaks it, but this is the only time his hands are raised in blessing over people, his disciples, his flock. With his blessing, he’s equipping them, sending them out with food for the journey, preparing them to wait for the power that is coming. And then, …he disappears. The disciples return to Jerusalem in joy, going back to where Luke’s story began – where else but to the temple, where the angel first appeared to old Zechariah, striking him dumb when he refuses to believe the good news proclaimed to him that his wife would become pregnant and bear a child, who would be God’s messenger – John, the one who paved the way for the promised one, calling

3 Aymer, Margaret, “Commentary on Luke 24:44-53” in Preach this Week, May 14, 2026, Working Preacher from Luther Seminary, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ascension-of-our- lord/commentary-on-luke-2444-53-12

people to a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins! It comes full circle, then, at the end – with the disciples, also charged with calling people to repentance for the forgiveness of sins – rejoicing in the temple together as they wait for the power that is promised to them. So, they return to the temple, to wait. We know now that they’re waiting for the arrival of the Spirit – next Sunday is Pentecost, after all. Though they don’t know that yet, something has shifted in them – they’ve traded their mourning clothes for something more joyful. The appearance of the risen Christ has pushed back the shadows of despair and planted hope in their hearts once more. The empire executed him, but he did not stay dead. See, the actions of empire can have unintended consequences. Just as land scorched after a wildfire becomes fertile ground for a new forest, the disciples are transformed into apostles of the good news when they glimpse the face of their risen Lord among them. God’s promise of redemption still holds.

And look around. He lives, doesn’t he? Is his promise of new life not rooted in the new trees growing at the north end of our property? Reflected in the wildflowers blooming even now where concrete once was choked with weeds? Can you not see him, feel him in this place, and in every place where grace and hospitality are extended to those in need? Rome couldn’t have anticipated it, wouldn’t have guessed that with God all things are possible! God can work even
through the evil machinations of empire to bring about the restoration of creation. So friends, hold on. Yes, we are months deep in a war for oil that Congress did not authorize, which none of us want, that is raining bombs on innocent people and sending inflation sky high and worse. But the actions of empire have unintended consequences. There may be hope for us yet.

Knowledge of God – Acts 17:22-31

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Bulletin for Sunday, May 10, 2026

Cat Goodrich
Faith Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD
May 10, 2026

Knowledge of God
Acts 17:22-31

On Friday morning, the girls ate a quick breakfast, brushed their teeth and their hair, packed up their backpacks and tied the laces on their sneakers. Butthen, instead of heading to the car, we strapped on helmets and hopped on our bikes, to pedal our way to school. It’s not a long trip, about 15 minutes, and easy enough to bike if you don’t mind navigating traffic and a couple of hairy street crossings. And for the past six weeks or so on Fridays, we’ve been pedaling with a big group of other Roland Park kids and a few other parents – together becoming something called a bike bus. Based on the premise that there’s safety in numbers, and that cars are more likely to slow down if there are many bikers instead of only a few, a bike bus provides an alternative means to get kids to school safely. And, when the group includes friends – it’s fun! I love starting the day with community, movement, and a chance to be outside. We’ve gotten to know more neighbors, and it feels great to ride. But one of my kids – doesn’t love it. None of her friends live on the north side of school, so it’s not a fun ride for her. “Why do we have to, mom?” she says, “Can’t we just drive?” So I’m faced with a quandary I’m sure everyone can relate to. When and how do we compromise? What am I teaching my kids about living in community, balancing our individual needs and wants with our shared commitments to sustainability, relationships, and mutual thriving? Am I listening and responding to her concerns and needs, while sharing what I believe is important? And how do we negotiate this before the bike bus heads out at 7:20 on Friday morning? We learn about the world and our place in it through experience, wisdom shared by elders, and the power of observation. And we learn through repetition, memorization, and re-creation. For better or worse, we are shaped by our family of origin. We see how our parents – the people who raised us – uphold values, …or don’t. Share and communicate feelings, …or not. Teach us how to walk and throw a baseball and ride a bike, care for others, cook and clean, plan, and manage time. And one of the great gifts of maturity is the ability to reflect and decide – these parts of my formation are foundational. This is what I want to hold on to. And that – I want to discard, and live differently.

Maybe another reason why I’m considering what I’m teaching my children, is because today is Mother’s Day – a day of Hallmark cards, flowers, and appreciation for the ones who have cared for us like a mother. In popular culture,
Mother’s Day is typically pretty sentimental, and sweet – sometimes overly so. But remember: Mother’s Day has radical beginnings! It was originally conceived as a day to celebrate women’s equality, and to promote world peace and an end to violence. Mother’s Day began thanks in part to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, who envisioned a day for children to honor the work of their mothers, inspired by her appreciation of her own mother, Ann. Ann had given birth to 12 children, many of whom died from preventable childhood illnesses. That loss drove her to become an organizer and community health worker creating community groups of moms to promote sanitation and cleanliness. When her region was divided by the Civil War, she became a peace activist and insisted that her community moms groups care for all wounded and dying soldiers – no matter which side they’d fought for. When Ann died many decades later, her daughter Anna urged President Woodrow Wilson – a Presbyterian – to designate a day to honor mothers and to call for an end to war. So, in 1914, he did. Today can be a day that’s fraught for many – difficult for those who have a strained relationship with their mothers, painful for those who long to have children but for whatever reason cannot. I try to take an expansive approach to Mother’s Day, thinking of it as an opportunity to honor those who have cared for us, shaped our understanding about ourselves and the world, and inspired us to grow, to become better people, to care for others as we have been cared for. I wonder – whose memory or legacy do you honor today? Who cared for you, and shaped your knowledge about who you are and your place in the world? Who inspired you to grow into the person you are today? I ask you to hold that person or those people in your mind. Picture their face, if you can, their hands. Remember, maybe, what it felt like, or what their detergent or perfume smelled like when they hugged you. Rest in that memory for a moment. Our scripture this morning is a sermon given by the apostle Paul to the scholars of Athens. In it, he shares the essence of Christian faith and practice. Essentially, Paul asks: “How do we know God?” – We know, Paul says, because when we seek God, we find them: in creation, in community, in our very selves.

1 https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2022/5/3/theologians-almanac-for-
week-of-may-8-2022

And – As followers of Jesus, we know God because of the life and work of the resurrected Christ. Scripture tells us that when Paul arrived in Athens, he traveled around the city and observed. Athens, remember was the academic and cultural center of
the Roman empire – where both Aristotle and Socrates lived and taught! It was where scholars came to debate the latest ideas; the text tells us that all who lived or visited there spent their time in nothing except the telling or hearing of something new. And in Athens, there were idols everywhere – not unlike the images from India we just saw in the Forum! People were worshipping a plethora of pagan gods. To Paul, as a Jew and a follower of Jesus this was problematic. So what does he do? He preaches! He goes down to the town market and begins to engage in friendly debate with passersby, sharing the good news. Now, Paul is a wise evangelist. He engages the Athenians in ways they can understand – drawing from his observations in the city, using poetry and philosophy they would’ve found familiar. Instead of condemning their multitude of idols, he points to the divinity they’ve already noticed rippling through creation and gives it a name: the one true God! The mystery in whom we live and move and have our being, who is as close as our very breath – in the words of our own confession, who came to us in Jesus to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit. God! Our curiosity about the universe, our ability to learn and assimilate information – is a divine gift! It is God’s will for us to be seeking and searching – and that is why God makes Godself available for us to find. As a follower of the human one, the crucified and risen Christ, I believe we find and come to know more about God in relationship. Learning through experience, and the wisdom of elders, and repetition and ritual the values that form us into the people God intends for us to be. And this Mother’s Day, I thank God for the relationships that manifested the care of mothers for each of you. The ones who shared the values of community and connection and service and compassion and justice with you. Because together, we get to be a family, too. Sharing our values, learning from one another, and acting together to bring the world as it should be into existence. Birthing something new together. Thanks be to God.