When you visit a graveyard, you expect to find flowers, shade trees, neatly cut grass, and gleaming marble tombstones. Not solar-powered video panels.

But prepare to be surprised. A Miami inventor has put together a tombstone with a 7-inch, shatterproof video screen. Powered by the sun, it can give the dead numerous hours of screen time. Known as the Serenity Panel, it can run video clips of the deceased playing with their grandchildren, running marathons, or celebrating at a party.

The inventor came up with the idea at his father-in-law’s funeral. “At the end of the wake,” he explained to Catherine Skipp of The Washington Post, “there was a drop-down projection screen.” A video showed the dearly departed wearing a top hat and pink boa, with a martini in his hand. “What better to celebrate life?” he asked.

His inspiration produced the Serenity Panel, also known as the Vidstone. A number of units were quickly ordered, and the invention won the “most innovative product” award at the international cemetery convention in Las Vegas.

Vidstones … in Vegas. What is this world coming to?

Despite this initial interest, the future of the Vidstone is far from certain. Tom Larsen sent me the following report: When a man named Joe Joachim unveiled his own high-tech tombstone, the Taipan Group’s investment service was skeptical. They said that the invention needed a thumbs-up from the funeral industry. And from what they heard, it was a stiff crowd.

A stiff crowd! Thanks, Tom.

In the tradition-minded cemetery world, this new technology might be ahead of its time. We’ll have to wait and see if people are, shall we say, dying to get their hands on it.

Today is the first day of Holy Week, traditionally called Palm Sunday. In our first Scripture lesson, we hear about Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, and a great crowd waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord — the King of Israel!” (John 12:13)

But today also goes by the name of Passion Sunday, because it is the Sunday that points us toward the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross was a rough wooden marker that bore a sign, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” It had a sign — but no Vidstone. Still, I have to wonder, if solar-powered video panels had been available in first-century Jerusalem, what clips would have been shown on the cross?

On this day of solemn reflection, let’s prepare the Vidstone.

Clip 1: The wedding at Cana. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus and his disciples find themselves at a wedding in the town of Cana, in the region of Galilee (John 2:1-11). The mother of Jesus is with them, enjoying the party, and when the wine gives out she says to him, “They have no wine.” Jesus responds, with some exasperation, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” These are sharp words — the kind I expect to hear in my family, not the holy family!

But Mary is not deterred. “Do whatever he tells you,” she says to the servants working at the wedding. Jesus proceeds to order them to fill six stone jars with water, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Then he tells them to take a ladle to the chief steward, and when they do this they find that the ordinary water has been turned into excellent wine! The wedding celebration is saved, and Jesus chalks up his first miracle — one that reveals his glory, and helps his disciples to believe in him. This clip makes clear that Jesus is not a purely spiritual creature, concerned only with the condition of the soul. He cares for human bodies as well, providing the wine that is needed at the time for a successful wedding celebration. And he cares equally for human minds, taking steps to calm the anxiety of his mother and others by averting a social disaster. Jesus wants to care for us as complete human beings — body, mind, and spirit. I’m thankful that Jesus loves all of who I am — not just my soul.

Clip 2: The feeding of the 5,000. While traveling through Galilee, Jesus is followed by a large crowd that is amazed by his healings (John 6:1-15). He knows that this crowd of five thousand people is hungry, and so he says to his disciple Philip, “Where are we going to buy bread for these people to eat?” Philip admits that it would take six months’ wages just to buy a taste for each person. Then another disciple, Andrew, points out that there is a boy in the crowd who has five barley loaves and two fish.

Jesus instructs the disciples to make the people sit down. Then he takes the loaves, gives thanks, and distributes them – miraculously, all five thousand people eat and are satisfied. Jesus concludes by asking the disciples to gather up the fragments of the meal, and they discover that there are twelve baskets of leftovers from the original five barley loaves. The people realize that Jesus must be the prophet of God who has been promised to them.

What’s remarkable about this story is that the focus is not on bread, or even on the physical hunger of the five thousand people. Sure, the multiplication of the loaves is impressive, and the meeting of a physical need is important, but the significance of the story lies in the relationship between Jesus and the people around him. This story is all about Jesus gathering a community for a meal that nourishes in body, mind, and spirit. “Do not work for the food that perishes,” says Jesus, shifting the emphasis away from earthly bread, “but for the food that endures for eternal life” (John 6:27). I’m thankful that Jesus is with us here today, in this community of faith, giving us spiritual nourishment.

Clip 3: The healing of a man born blind. Jesus puts mud on the man's eyes, tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and when he comes back he is able to see (John 9:1-41). It’s an amazing miracle of healing, but what I find most intriguing about the story is the way that Jesus uses a dirty mess of mud to accomplish it. He spits on the ground, and then spreads slop on the man's eyes. He knows that mud itself is powerless, but that it will help the man to believe in him and his healing power.

And the man does believe -- he believes enough to follow the command of Jesus to stumble through the streets of Jerusalem wearing a ridiculous mask of mud, until he can clean himself up at the pool of Siloam. The dirt-and-spit mudpack opens his eyes, and he proceeds to testify that it was Jesus who gave him his vision. After this, he says, “Lord, I believe,” and he worships Jesus.

Now I want you to notice something surprising: The man’s healing through the mudpack comes before he makes his statement of faith. The man does not believe in Jesus prior to his touch; instead, the man receives the touch and then believes. The messy mudpack inspires the man to follow the directions of Jesus, and to trust that he will be healed. In much the same way, the dirty, messy, muddy times in our lives often drive us in the direction Jesus wants us to go, and they result in the healing we need. I’m thankful that even the messiest aspects of life — the failures, the disappointments, the setbacks — can be used by Jesus to help us.

Clip 4: Washing the feet of the disciples. In one of the most striking acts of his ministry, Jesus gets up from the table at the Last Supper, takes off his robe, and ties a towel around himself. He pours water into a basin and begins to wash his disciples’ feet — an act that causes Peter to pull back from what he feels is inappropriate behavior for a man of Jesus’ stature. “You will never wash my feet,” Peter protests, to which Jesus responds, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me” (John 13:1-11). Jesus gives the clear command that all who follow him are to be servant leaders, putting the needs of others above their own sense of self-importance. Jesus voluntarily gives up his claim to personal comfort and control, and enters into a life of service to people around him. I’m thankful for this challenge, which shows me so clearly what it means to be a disciple.

Clip 5: Jesus faces Pilate. After his arrest, Jesus says to the Roman governor, “My kingdom is not from this world.” Pilate asks him, “So you are a king?” And Jesus answers, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asks him, “What is truth?” (John 18:28-38). To answer this question, Jesus simply stands before him, as if to say, “I am the truth.” I am the truth of caring for people in body, mind, and spirit. The truth of giving people bread to eat, as well as the food that endures for eternal life. The truth of healing people in surprising ways. The truth of giving up personal comfort and control, and entering a life of sacrificial service. I have to ask myself today, and every day: Am I in touch with this truth? Am I really listening to the voice of Jesus Christ?

Clip 6: The crucifixion. Jesus is nailed to a cross, under an inscription that describes him as “the King of the Jews.” Many people see this inscription, but it does not make sense to them — it is not nearly as clear as a series of video clips. Jesus receives a sponge of wine, and then cries aloud, “It is finished” (John 19:16-30).. When he utters these words, he is saying that his life is not simply over, it is complete. His crucifixion is not a failure — it is the completion of all the work that God has given him to do, from his first miracle at the wedding in Cana to the last day of his earthly ministry.

At the end of this week, we see Jesus on the cross. No top hat or pink boa in sight. But despite the fact that our last clip is an unbearably sad one, we know that his life was not snuffed out before he could finish the mission that God had called him to perform. When he bows his head and gives up his spirit, he is completing his work and turning over his spirit to God. He hands over his life, so that three days later God can hand it back to him.

Our task today — your task, and my task — is not to prepare the Vidstone. Instead, it’s to prepare for the empty tomb. Amen.

Sources:
Skipp, Catharine. “Video Forevermore Makes Mockery of Old Standby R.I.P.” The Washington Post, September 18, 2005, A2.
“Grave Diggers Won’t Be Bored.” Daily blurb from Taipan Group’s investment service, “Fear and Greed.”