Posted by Comments:
Sue in London
March 21, 2006
 "I have seen the Lord" - a seeking woman
who is surprised by what she finds, or better - by
the One who finds her. Transformation occurs when
Christ finds us... our closed world opens, our
understanding begins to glow, familiar
restrictions in how we structure our life fall
away.
Early thinking on Easter Sunday sermon!
Posted by Comments:
Pastor Pat
April 4, 2006
 My early Easter thoughts are:
It's not about You! (or is it?)
Thinking about talking about how the disciples
were reacting early in the morning, before empty
tomb discovered. I don't think they really
understood until they received the Holy Spirit)
He set us free! (but we choose to be bound to
Christ)Thinking about using handcuffs, which will
be removed and then a chain(maybe paper) to attach
myself to the altar.
Hard to come up with something new, and something
for those C & E christians.
Posted by Comments:
KHC (khc)
April 9, 2006
 Very true - the disciples did not understand.
Neither did Mary, really. Everyone was a bit
muddled, and we can hardly blame them. Eyes can
deceive us, hope can make us think we're seeing
things that aren't there - wishful thinking.

It takes the intervention of the HS to open our
eyes to what really is in front of us. That did
not happen until Pentecost, even though the
Disciples were to encounter Jesus in the Upper
Room. Nothing got them moving and truly believing
what Jesus did until Pentecost.

We still don't fully "get it". If we
did, we would be living like Easter Christians
every day.
Our eyes are clouded by our own hopes and our own
wishful thinking about what Jesus is all about.
As Pastor Pat points out, it's not about us, it is
about Jesus and his amazing gift of love.

But then Jesus turns around and tells us it IS all
about us. What he did was for our sakes. He did
it for the sake of "his brothers" to
whom the message of hope and victory would be
shared immediately by Mary.

Mary saw the Lord, first dimly, then clearly. She
despaired, then she wishful-thought. She hoped,
then she believed. She wept, then she rejoiced.
She held on to the presence of the Risen Lord,
then she let loose with Good News
that he was alive.

She may not have understoood one bit of all this
that was unfolding around her, but she was willing
to believe whatever God put to her. Her thoughts
may have been muddled, her vision distorted, but
her heart was willing to accept.

That's really all Jesus really asks of us - that
we believe with our whole being - tears, arms,
hearts, souls and imperfect minds.
Posted by Comments:
Ed in GA
April 10, 2006
 "Woman, why are you weeping?" Mary is
twice asked. I can't speak for the original
language, but in English I can see two questions
in one - "What is the reason for your
weeping?" and a gentle "Don't you know
you shouldn't be weeping - this occasion calls for
a different response?"
Both questions speak to Mary's lack of
understanding of 1) What is happening; and 2)the
Significance of what is happening.
As her eyes are opened, she begins to understand,
though at first she still wishes to hold on to
Jesus in His present form. But Jesus sends her on
to help open the eyes and end the weeping of the
other disciples.
Why are we weeping? What grief and sorrows have
entered our lives? What losses have we
experienced? What sins have we suffered? What
sins have we committed? What opportunities have
we squandered?
Does, and how does, the truth of the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ impact the reason for our tears,
and the appropriateness of our tears?
Still questions and not answers at this point...
Posted by Comments:
Terry from Oklahoma
April 10, 2006
 Okay, one of my favorite Easter sermon starters:
A pastor is talking to three folks and asks them,
"When you get to the end of your life, and
the minister is giving the eulogy, what would you
like them to say about you."
The first one says, "I'd like to be
remembered as a great doctor, one who saved many
lives and cared about all."
The pastor asks the second person,"And what
would you like said about you at your
funeral?"
The second replies, "I'd like them to say
that I was a wonderful teacher, cared about the
students and helped many to have great
futures."
Turning to the third person, the minister asks,
"And what would you like said about you at
your funeral?"
The third one thinks for a minute, then struck
with a revelation, "I'd like someone to
say... Look! He's moving!"
Okay, a little sick... but gets their attention
and opens the door to talk about
resurrection!Ya'll have a great Holy Week... and
thanks for all the help last week!
Posted by Comments:
PJ
April 10, 2006
 Yes, the news of Easter Day is good. But isn't it
just a little too good? Too good to be true?
Doesn't it sound less like the gospel truth and
more like wishful thinking or a fairy tale?

The first witnesses of the resurrection had their
problems with this message, too. No one thought
Jesus would rise from the dead, least of all the
first disciples. All of them had fled. Even the
women who came to the tomb sought the dead among
the dead. When they heard that their Lord was
raised, they were so poorly prepared for this news
that they turned their tails and fled. Their
mouths were zippered shut.

Isn't that just like us? We claim to be disciples
of Jesus Christ. We pay him our respects and
anoint him with our fragrant thoughts of
adoration. Then, when we are called upon to
"go and tell" and proclaim his death and
resurrection, we are filled with fear and
trembling. Just because we are failures as
disciples, however, doesn't mean that God allows
it to remain that way. Jesus Christ is risen from
the dead. But, more than that, he raises us from
the dead and empowers us for service.

The risen Christ could have written off his
disciples and summoned others in their place,
especially Peter who denied him. He could write
us off, too, especially when we deny him again and
again. Instead, Jesus gathers his fearful,
faithless disciples, forgives them, and empowers
them for service. Once again he takes his
position at the head of his forgiven flock and
leads them in a ministry of teaching, healing,
preaching, loving, and serving. The women's
encounter with the angel at the empty tomb is as
much about the resurrection of deadbeat disciples
as it is about the resurrection of Jesus. Now
that's resurrection--a rising from the dead!
Posted by Comments:
KHC (khc_)
April 10, 2006
 Please remember these men were not really touched
by the truth of Easter's message of resurrection
and hope until Pentecost. They remained afraid and
locked away for awhile and then not ready for much
for some time after Easter. Pentecost, the coming
of the Holy Spirit, lit a fire under them to go
and tell. And boy, did they! Once they were
resurrected in their spirits, there was no fear,
no lack of hope, no lack of purpose. The Risen
Lord would be introduced to anybody and everybody
who would stand still long enough to listen,
offering a resurrected Easter life to all.
Posted by Comments:
Dogwood Dave
April 11, 2006
 I had a phone call last night. It was from a
former student, when I was in campus ministry 20
years ago. I hear from him 2 or 3 times a year.

This time he wanted me to hear his confession. He
had commited a felon, but later on took back the
stuff he stole and found it still bothered him.

He wanted me to pray for him.
I told him I would pray for him, but he needed to
know my prayer was not more powerful than his own.
God loved him very much and just as much as
preachers or other religious leaders.

He asked what he could do for me.

I said, you can live your life in gratitude to God
for being forgiven.

Some how, I think that is Resurrection!
Posted by Comments:
Rabbi in IL
April 11, 2006
 Is there a lot of nude gardening in the ancient
world? Jesus exits his tomb, leaves his
graveclothes behind, and is now standing in the
same garden in which he was buried. What is he
wearing?
Or did Jesus borrow a pair of shorts and a
"Greenthumb" t-shirt off the gardener's
clothesline nearby?

Remembering the old Russian custom of telling your
best jokes on Easter, because of the joke Jesus
played on the devil in rising from the dead.
Posted by Comments:
KHC (khc)
April 11, 2006
 Looking at some of the Renaissance paintings, it
becomes clear Jesus probably didn't find that
gardener's clothes line. I like to make church
bulletins from fine art prints, and can't use many
of the Crucifixion or Resurrection scenes because
too many would object to Jesus with a tiny strip
of cloth and nothing more.
Posted by Comments:
Rabbi in IL
April 11, 2006
 Indeed! And he probably didn't even have that much
on, on the cross. One occasionally reads in a book
that the Jews were allowed a loincloth when
crucified, but I can't find any documentation to
that effect.
Maybe he was standing behind a bush, and that's
why she thought he was the gardner.
Posted by Comments:
Cindy
April 11, 2006
 Yes. Where did Jesus get clothes? Of course, as
the new Adam, could he be naked and 'not ashamed?'
Is there something there or am I getting
delirious?
Posted by Comments:
KHC (khc)
April 11, 2006
 Oh, the things we worry about! laughing all the
way.....
Posted by Comments:
Rabbi in IL
April 12, 2006
 Cindy,
I was only kidding around, but that "new
Adam" line will preach! That's a keeper!
I'm not really seriously suggesting that Jesus was
actually nude at that moment, to the eyes of Mary.
But that is a wonderful addition to old sermon on
two gardens (Eden & Paradise)! There are
actually THREE gardens! As we sing in the old
hymn, "Oh what a foretaste of glory
divine!"

Thanks for passing on your delirium to the rest of
us!
Posted by Comments:
Dogwood Dave
April 12, 2006
 Not sure I know the third garden hymn that was
quoted, but "I'll come to the garden
alone", because I am too embarrassed being
naked?

Chew on that one? HA!
Posted by Comments:
Rabbi in IL
April 12, 2006
 Dogwood Dave,
That was a line yanked, entirely out of context,
from "Blessed Assurance."
Went the garden alone, because you were
embarrassed about being naked. Hmmm... And what
was it (the 1st) Adam said? "I was afraid,
because I was naked, so I hid?"
If the garden described in Revelation is the
regaining of Eden, and Jesus is the second Adam...

Mom! Cindy and Dave are making me think! Tell 'em
to quit it!
Posted by Comments:
JG in WI
April 12, 2006
 On the clothes question, it occurs to me that a
man who walked on water, multiplied loaves and
fishes, and rose from the dead wouldn't have too
much trouble finding a suit. Certainly He'll have
no problem finding a suit for His bride.
"'Let us rejoice and be glad and give the
glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has
come and His bride has made herself ready.' It
was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen,
bright and clean; for the fine linen is the
righteous acts of the saints." - Revelation
19:7-8 (NASB)
Posted by Comments:
Chris in Santa Rosa
April 12, 2006
 Without offering stale theological statements,
what does the resurrection mean to the common
parishioner in the pew? How is the resurection
relevant to the 20-something male who only goes to
church only on Easter Sunday and Christmas in
order to please grandma? Jesus is risen! So
what. Is this another hocus-pocus event?
Something in the past that holds little meaning
for us today? Tell me, HOW IS IT RELEVANT?

I think I have an idea, but I thought I'd throw
this out for some discussion.
Posted by Comments:
Terry from Oklahoma
April 12, 2006
 Chris, thanks for asking the "pew
relevancy" question. I try to ask it every
week as I'm preparing my sermon. I'm thinking if
Mr 20y/o is only coming to church to please
grandma, there's not a lot we can do to make it
relevant for him. I don't believe in Jesus because
of the hocus-pocus events... I believe the
hocus-pocus events because I believe in Jesus. But
perhaps, God will speak to Mr 20y/o, through you
and your genuineness and your interst in him...and
through the church family at worship. God has a
habit of breaking in that way. Thank God he's
there on Christmas and Easter... with or without
granny! Good sabboth!
Posted by Comments:
DLS
April 12, 2006
 The Resurrection is relevant, period.

Everybody may not find it as spiritually
uplifting, but it is relevant. The earth is still
spinning because of it. Humanity has not been
wiped away in anger because of it. Losing that
grandma means being able to see her again one day
because of it. Life has a purpose because of it,
meaning there is something greater than we are.
We don't have to be slaves to written law because
of it but are now living under grace because of
it.

I could go on all day on why the Resurrection is
relevant to people who don't seem to give it any
thought.
preacherlady
April 12, 2006
 		 The Resurrection is relevant, because Jesus is
Alive. He is alive in those who hear the cry of
the needy! He is alive in thethose who seek to
serve him! He is alive in the cry of the newborn
baby. He is alive and active in our daily lives.
Jesus is alive! He dwells in each of us. we only
have to allow him to live in our hearts.


 
Posted by Comments:
MEG
April 12, 2006
 		 Chris, You asked the million-dollar question. If
something isn't perceived as relevant in these
days that are filled with one busy activity after
another, it will be ignored or discarded.

For someone seeking spiritual answers that have
intellectual integrity, the resurrection has the
ring of truth-- because it is truth! There's no
way to explain the existence of Christianity
without the resurrection. Who knows? Perhaps the
20y/o has silent questions about which of the many
religions out there is true.

Or maybe (s)he isn't thinking of that at all. But
the seeds that are planted -- even twice a year --
may lie dormant until there is a crisis of some
sort. And then there will be a memory of the God
who loved the world and each person in it, and
proved and validated that love through the
resurrection.

It is such a pity, isn't it, that so many people
come only twice a year to get their
"dose" of religion, and miss the whole
history of the salvation story. All we can do is
plant the seeds and pray that they fall on good
soil.


 
Posted by Comments:
dpreachgodspeed
April 13, 2006
 		 Chris...every sermon should ask the "So
What?" question! If there is no answer (or
sometimes the question is sufficient) we need to
start over. It seems to me that there is a great
corrilation between Mary's looking for Jesus as is
the 20 something male or female, including you and
I, looking for Jesus. Many people who are on the
margins of the church or even outside the church
do this searching all the time. And Jesus asks
each of us; "Who are you looking for?"
We look for Jesus as we want or think Jesus looks
like. For Mary, she was searching for a dead
Jesus, however, Jesus is Risen...(HE is Risen
Indeed!) We maybe bringing all of our stuff with
us to this blessed day...searching for Jesus,
looking for him only as we see him. This is very
limiting...God is much bigger than that, bigger
than how we want to see God, bigger than how we
envision God. The good news is that we (as
preachers) can and should relate to that
searching...it is not as if we have found Him and
bottled him up, put Him in a box and take Him out
when we need something. Like Mary we are
constantly suprised about Jesus appearing to
us...So how does that relate to those who are not
just C & E christians but what about those
that missed Good Friday...what have they come to
celebrate? The resurrection certainly is Good
News but it must answerr that faithful question of
a sceptical generation; "So What?" How
does this have life implications for ALL that are
in the Pew?


 
Posted by Comments:
JG in WI
April 13, 2006
 		 The relevance of the resurrection to the
individual in the pew is truly our key question.
My thoughts would include these.

First, it tells us that the grave has an exit. It
is not the site of a hopeless end. Archaeologists
working in the ancient city of Thessalonica found
an inscription which says, "After death no
reviving. After the grave, no meeting
again." Jesus turns that sort of thinking on
its ear. Everyone in the pew faces a grave. Do
they know about the exit?

Second, I believe the resurrection means our faith
is not vain. We have one of the most historically
verifiable miracles ever recorded. We have the
testimony of witnesses. We have the witness of
history that SOME event completely changed the
apostles and many others. N. Thomas Wright speaks
of six metamorphoses which occured in the early
Christians and the actual resurrection of Jesus is
the most likely explanation for them. We believe,
not some philosophy of platitutdes, but in a
genuine historical event.

Thirdly (but certainly not finally, for many more
things can be said), it says that your body
matters to God. Like His body rose, so too will
yours. We are like Him in His death, and we will
be like Him in His resurrection (Romans 6:5).
Many of the world's religions (and certainly the
gnostics) degrade the body saying it has no
eternal value. Jesus says that it does have value
and He has come to dwell within our bodies, paying
our bodies the ultimate compliment.

Those were the first three thoughts I came up
with. You know us Baptists - we do stuff in
threes. :)


 
Posted by Comments:
Ed in Ga
April 14, 2006
 		 So Mary was weeping because she didn't find what
or whom she was looking for. Meanwhile our pews
are filled on Easter with C&E Christians who
have come either 1) seeking, like Mary, but not
yet having found "it"; or 2) not
seeking, only having come as a tradition.

Just because these people are not seeking doesn't
mean that they are not weeping.
The tradition that draws them to Church on Easter
Sunday is a magnet, pulling them toward something
they don't quite know they need. Mary wept for a
Jesus she lost; they weep for a Jesus they don't
yet know they've lost.

John 10:10, "I came that they might have
life, and might have it abundantly". Can we
offer that abundant life? Can the joy of the
Resurrection, the joy of Easter so shine through
our services on Sunday that they will come to see
that Jesus is truly life and hope and the answer
to a question they didn't know they were asking,
to a solution that they didn't know they were
searching for?


 
Posted by Comments:
David MacDonald
April 14, 2006
 		 It's been a long time since I've posted here, but
something has been on my mind, and I would like
others' opinions. . .
Sorry to throw a new tangent into this thread, but
I'm wondering how others are planning to preach
this Sunday in light of all the Judas/Mary
Magdalene/DaVinci stuff going on in the popular
media?

I plan to use the opportunity this Sunday to
address some of these issues in light of how we
approach the resurrection as Christians. It seems
to me that this Sunday is a great time to reach
people whose only exposure to mainstream
Christianity occurs two times a year, and at a
time when the culture is inundated with talk about
who Jesus really was and what really happened in
his lifetime.

How are you planning to address this? (if at all)
Thanks,
David


 
Posted by Comments:
MEG
April 14, 2006
 		 They say that the best defense is a good offense!
I don't plan to address any of the
"Judas/Mary
Magdalene/DaVinci stuff" directly. (I will
begin to tackle that in Sunday School next week.)
In the first place, it's really not relevant to
the day, and I think to bring up is to give them a
credence that these fictions don't deserve. It
would make a lot more sense (if you are using
John) to talk about the Shroud of Turin.

The point of Easter is that Jesus is alive! It
was the proclamation of the church from the
earliest time -- there would have been no
Christianity without the resurrection. N.T.
Wright has a wonderful and clear presentation on
why the resurrection is the most logical
explanation for the historic events that followed.


Folks who come only once or twice a year need to
hear the gospel in clearest terms: "Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the
third day according to the Scriptures, and that he
appeared to [many witnesses]."


 
Posted by Comments:
Duke Vipperman
April 14, 2006
 		 What changed Mary? Not the empty tomb. Not the
angels. Not the vision of Jesus - she
misunderstood that. And she was later denied the
empirical proff of touch. What changed Mary. When
he called her by name.

This is John's gospel - everything his deep
significance. Someone correct me if I am wrong
here. Is this not the first vocative in the
gosepl, the first time Jesus calls to someone BY
NAME. He said, "Mary."

What preaches in this passage is not what Jesus
was wearing (or not) but that he called her name.
He is calling your name. Now. Listen. What is your
name? Can you hear him call you?


 
Posted by Comments:
Duke Vipperman
April 14, 2006
 		 What changed Mary? Not the empty tomb. Not the
angels. Not the vision of Jesus - she
misunderstood that. And she was later denied the
empirical proff of touch. What changed Mary. When
he called her by name.

This is John's gospel - everything his deep
significance. Someone correct me if I am wrong
here. Is this not the first vocative in the
gosepl, the first time Jesus calls to someone BY
NAME. He said, "Mary."

What preaches in this passage is not what Jesus
was wearing (or not) but that he called her name.
He is calling your name. Now. Listen. What is your
name? Can you hear him call you?


 
Posted by Comments:
Peter in NB
April 14, 2006
 		 Duke,
I believe you are right on that the turning point
in the passage is when Jesus calls Mary by name.
It is also significant that while Jesus calls her
(and us) that is not the end. He then sends her
(and us)with a message. By virtue of Jesus' death
and resurrection the way has been opened for us to
be part of his family. The one he calls Father is
our Father!


 
Posted by Comments:
rev2b
April 15, 2006
 		 I'm preaching to a congregation who is in the
process of closing. I'm paralleling the (soon to
be) empty building to the empty tomb. The
physical congregation is gone but the spirit of
the congregation continues on with us as we move
forward in fellowship with others.

Thoughts?

My theological parallel is breaking down because I
don't want to say that we are Jesus resurrected
but that because of the image of the resurrected
Jesus dwelling in us we are able to continue going
forth in the world sharing the good news and
proclaiming the gospel out of the teachings and
lessons learned in this building.

I'm trying to address the grieving process that we
naturally go through when something physical dies
(especially a beloved church home) while rejoicing
that we can continue in new life (with new people
in a new church home.)


 
Posted by Comments:
Duke Vipperman
April 15, 2006
 		 Rev2b, If you are going with the empty tomb image
then keep the parallel going. Jesus was not raised
in spirit only but also in body.

If the church is closing, how will the assets, if
any be liquidated and distributed? Here in Toronto
when a church is closed, 20% of the funds mst be
allocated for congregational development elsewhere
- and in our case a certain chunk of that will be
set aside for church planting - from the
sacrifical "death" of one congregation,
potentially comes the resurrection of many.


 
Posted by Comments:
rev2b
April 15, 2006
 		 Duke, thank you for that. In fact, the
congregation is giving all of the pews and the
table and everything to a Presbytery that was hit
by Katrina. They are putting together a couple of
new churches and rebuilding a few old and so they
will be using all of the church's stuff in one
church or several churches. Thank you.


 
Posted by Comments:
Duke Vipperman
April 15, 2006
 		 Re: Divinci

Beware the Dan Quayle syndrome: to prove your case
by disproving a fiction. Doesn't work because its
ultimately self-defeating - what you intend to
prove becomes assoiated with the genre of fiction!


But it is or will soon be in the background so, I
am venturing a few hints, such as...

Mary saw him die. What she was less sure of is his
rising. It is easier - and more fun - to believe
as many did & still do in conspiracy theories;
in her case that body snatchers had taken him
away: Mary says that twice. We are meant to hear
her initial impressions of that day as if they
were our own. They have taken the Lord. They have
hidden the truth from us. Why we can only guess,
but that’s easier to swallow than his rising -
than th truth – and less demanding of us.


 
Posted by Comments:
Duke Vipperman
April 15, 2006
 		 Re: Divinci

Beware the Dan Quayle syndrome: to prove your case
by disproving a fiction. Doesn't work because its
ultimately self-defeating - what you intend to
prove becomes assoiated with the genre of fiction!


But it is or will soon be in the background so, I
am venturing a few hints, such as...

Mary saw him die. What she was less sure of is his
rising. It is easier - and more fun - to believe
as many did & still do in conspiracy theories;
in her case that body snatchers had taken him
away: Mary says that twice. We are meant to hear
her initial impressions of that day as if they
were our own. They have taken the Lord. They have
hidden the truth from us. Why we can only guess,
but that’s easier to swallow than his rising -
than th truth – and less demanding of us.


 
Posted by Comments:
Duke Vipperman
April 15, 2006
 		 Re: Divinci

Beware the Dan Quayle syndrome: to prove your case
by disproving a fiction. Doesn't work because its
ultimately self-defeating - what you intend to
prove becomes assoiated with the genre of fiction!


But it is or will soon be in the background so, I
am venturing a few hints, such as...

Mary saw him die. What she was less sure of is his
rising. It is easier - and more fun - to believe
as many did & still do in conspiracy theories;
in her case that body snatchers had taken him
away: Mary says that twice. We are meant to hear
her initial impressions of that day as if they
were our own. They have taken the Lord. They have
hidden the truth from us. Why we can only guess,
but that’s easier to swallow than his rising -
than th truth – and less demanding of us.


 
Posted by Comments:
JJS
April 15, 2006
 		 The Dan Quayle Syndrome?

Is there only one of those? Ha ha.


 
Posted by Comments:
Jack in BC
April 15, 2006
 		 Here it is on Easter Saturday with baptisms this
evening and I'm trying to think what it is I
should be saying to people in Church tomorrow
morning. What IS the relevance of the
resurrection...? I too mused (amused) on the
question of what Jesus was wearing, but that's
really a red herring. I've been thinking about
how our lives become entwined with the Easter, how
our stories become wrapped up in his story - how
we enter into his death in order to share in his
life. Though in a way that's the wrong way round:
HE enters into our life of suffering, pain and
death so that we may enter into his resurrection
life. He became what we are in order that we
might become what he is. But how does this work
out on Easter Sunday - both for the faithful
regulars who have heard it so many times and are
so familiar with it that it's hard to know what to
make of it, and for the visitors of whatever age
who rarely engaged with the story. What will make
them be still thinking about it the day after the
day after tomorrow...? Something about having
eyes to see the inner spiritual reality of the
situation. The Easter in ordinary, in the
ordinary. Despite the war and suffering, the
disease, the hatred and pain, the suicide bombers
and insurgents, the misunderstanding and greed and
deception, somehow we still proclaim an Easter
Gospel - are we nuts? How do we go on? How do we
have the gall to proclaim good news in the face of
all this. How can we come to see all things anew
and live the Easter, be the Easter in the ordinary
- the ordinary which for millions is very
unordinary - o for the blessing of a bit of down
to earth ordinariness. Humph. One never knows,
do one?


 
Posted by Comments:
VA Pastor
February 28, 2007
 		 As children we play the game of hide and seek,
after the person that is "it" counts
hiding his or her face he or she calls out
"Ready or Not Here I Come" and proceeds
to go out and seek the "lost"

Jesus seems to be calling out "Ready or Not
Here I Come" The disciples were lost in their
grief and fear, the women were not expecting to be
found at the tomb - but Jesus went out and sought
them and returned them to home base.

No more sorrow, only joy!!