Reflection on John 10:11-18

 

She looked at the calendar and stared at the date circled with red marker.  She was obsessed with it.  It was not healthy for her to keep looking at it over and over again.  But, how could she not?  It was the date when everything was going to change.  The date circled was her 18^th birthday, and it was the day that she would leave foster care and have to figure out the world on her own, without a family.

She would have to move out of her foster parent’s home, and they would no longer be her parents.  That is the thing with foster parents, they include you in everything.  They include you in trips.  They include you in Christmas present exchanges.  They work very hard for you to feel loved and included, but no matter how hard they try, you are nothing more than a temporary child.  No one sacrifices themselves for you when you are a foster child.  Her foster parents were literally hired hands who cared for a price.  They were great, but she was not one of their own.  You might as well be sitting on the side of the road, asking for handouts, because that is all she would become the day of her 18^th birthday.

Across the world from the young woman, and many years previous, there sat a man on the side of the road.  He felt the familiar handle of the wooden cup, and lifted it up when he heard someone approach.  Sometimes he would feel lucky as he heard the sound of a coin plunk the bottom of the cup.  Sometimes he would feel just as forgotten as always when he heard the feet walk past without recognition.  He used to call out to people as they passed by, but it didn’t seem to make a difference.  Now, he just sat silent with the cup, trapped by his own thoughts.

As the random thoughts swam through his head, a conversation nearby broke his mild-mannered concentration. 

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”

Then the man heard the sound of spitting and rubbing.  Soon he felt the cool feel of mud on his eyes.

“Go, wash in the pool of Siloem,” the one who touched his face ordered.

As soon as the waters splashed his face, a bright…something, pierced through his eye lids.  Light?  Was that what light looks like?  He looked around and saw the world.  He had never seen the world before: flowers, trees, people, birds, shovels, dirt, and that gooey, smelling stuff on the side of the road.  Just what is…oh, never mind, we know what that is.

The man that had healed him was like a shepherd that he never realized he had.  This surprise shepherd came, searching for him, and sacrificed some time to care for him and heal him.  He now belonged to the one who declared, “I know my own and my own know me.”  Even after the religious leaders questioned the man about his healing and drove him out of town, unsatisfied with his answers, Jesus still came back and found him once again, making the man a part of his sheepfold.  “I know my own and my own know me.”  Even he, the poor, blind beggar, was given the gift of a family from God; Jesus himself was the man’s family now.

"I am the good shepherd.”  Jesus explained.  “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.”

As Jesus continued talking, the man considered how shepherds would face wolves with staff in hand.  Hired men did not care about the sheep in a similar way.  They just cared about their paycheck, and would stand by watching as some of the sheep were slaughtered by sharp fangs.  But, Jesus was not one of those who just stood by, or walked on by in his case.  Jesus was like a shepherd who actually took the time to care.

“I have other sheep,” Jesus continued, “that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” 

“Other sheep” the man thought.  Of course, he realized, he was not the only one lost in the world.  There are other sheep who need to know that someone would be willing to lay down their lives for them.  “I have other sheep.”  Of course, there are.  But, that in no way diminished his adoption into Jesus’ family.  In fact, it made him proud that he and all those others were not just included, but were adopted into Jesus’ family.

From that day on, he sought to lay down his life for others, as Jesus had done for him.  He sought to be a lot like the good shepherd who sacrificed himself out of love for others.  The man sought to share with others the story of how Jesus had taken the time to save him.

“I have other sheep.”  The phrase echoes through time and around the world.  “I have other sheep.”  It falls upon the heart of a young woman who looks over at the calendar and sees that the circled day has come.  The day has arrived when she will be sent out on her own, her temporary family lost to her for good; alone.

She walked down the steps that led to her room one last time, carrying a large duffel stuffed full of clothes.  When she reached the bottom of the stairs, her foster parents were there, waiting to say “Goodbye.”  But, instead of saying “Goodbye,” they handed the young woman a large, sealed envelope.

“Open it,” they encouraged.  And so she did.

As she pulled out the page, she read the first words printed on the top of the page.  “Petition to adopt,” it read, and as she scanned down the page, she saw her name printed nicely in permanent ink.

“We just wanted you to know that we would do anything for you.  We love you.  You are going to be ours forever.  Now, put that bag back upstairs in your bedroom.”

There is nothing as powerful as being adopted into the family, forever.  There is nothing as powerful as being known, and being loved no matter what.  Jesus says to us, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”  We are not just foster children in Jesus’ family.  We are known.  We are fully known, and we know the one who loves us no matter what: Jesus Christ.  Into his family we are adopted and made one of his permanent children forever.

Reflection on Luke 24:36b-48

 

It is hard to believe that it was only this past Monday that our family stopped in a park by a lake near Rochester NY to watch the sun disappear completely behind the moon during this year’s solar eclipse.  As many of you experienced, we did not get to directly see the moon slip over the sun.  Like the person changing clothes who looks up to see that the curtains of their hotel room are wide open to those staring on from the pool, the sun was apparently feeling stared at by too many people also, so it quickly put on some cloud cover. 

But, that does not mean that the event was any less impactful as we stood in the path of totality; the path of complete blockage of the sun’s warm rays.  As I have said to others, it is amazing how much light even a tiny sliver of sun showers upon us, because when even when that sliver of light was shut away at exactly 3:20 in the afternoon, in the snap of a finger the world around us became black.  Our eyes adjusted to the darkness as the street lights turned on and the world of the birds became silent.  A sense of how small you are in this big universe of ours sinks in as you stare at the darkness above and gaze to the light far off on the horizon. 

My own inner world of awe and amazement was broken suddenly by the kids recalling the story they had just heard two weeks ago in church, about how the sky turned dark the afternoon that Jesus spoke his last words. 

Here is that story as told by Luke: “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:44-46). 

The story suddenly became real to all of us in a way that it never had before.  The cosmic sadness of Jesus’ death became very real in that moment; the skies proclaiming to us the story of the death of eternal love.

And, after three minutes of wonder and amazement, it was done.  Just as quickly as our cosmic light had been switched off, it was suddenly turned back on.  The birds started singing their morning songs.  They were just as confused by the event as we.  However, they continued on with their life, as did we, everyone immediately packing up their lawn chairs and heading back to their cars.  We were on the road in less than five minutes, trying to beat the post-eclipse traffic jam.

As I drove down the interstate I thought about what did not happen as the day briefly turned to night.  The world did not come to an end as some American preachers had predicted.  Nor, were faithful North Americans raptured into heaven, leaving behind only their clothes where they were once standing.  Or, maybe they were and just no one in New York State was included among their numbers. 

No, the world did not end last Monday, just as it did not end when the sun turned dark the day that Jesus died.  The sun’s light returned to normal back then, and it did so this week.  The air started to get warm once again, and the world continued on. 

And, that made me think about how we get so focused on “the end” and get ourselves wrapped up in the idea of death and the beyond.  How many words were preached before the eclipse, focusing on “the end?”  How many of us at least gazed briefly at the possibility of the end.  How many of us live with death on our minds, even if the dark thoughts are not in the forefront?  How many of our lives are influenced by fear, death, and the uncertainty about the future?  As I said, it is easy to get all wrapped up in death.  It is easy to focus on the end.

The disciples did.  Even though he promised that he would rise again after three days, the disciples somehow could not focus on that promise of life, and instead focused on the sadness of Jesus’ death.  They were caught in the dark shadow of Friday, even though it had passed over and the birds had started singing again on Sunday. 

And, later on, even though Jesus was walking right next to the two disciples who were walking to Emmaus, they were still so focused on his death that they did not see him.  They did not realize that he was with them until Jesus broke bread with them. 

And, in today’s story, even though Jesus comes and stands right with the disciples in Jerusalem, they are convinced that he is merely a ghost.  The Bible says, “They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost” (Luke 24:37).  He cannot possibly be alive?  He cannot possibly, actually be right there with them?

Yet, he is.  Their eyes are blind, even though they can see.  Their eyes are focused on death even though he is very much alive.

And, that is human nature.  We focus on death.  We focus on our fears.  We say things like, “This world is getting worse by the minute.”  We mutter generational fears saying, “I wouldn’t want to be born today.”  Even preachers are not immune, focusing on things like the sins of the world and the “final days,” rather than focusing on divine promises. 

Many of us think obsessively about the stresses of life, and the hardships of life, allowing those thoughts to take up the majority of our time and the majority of our headspace.  How easy it is to be caught up in the darkness, blind to the light that has returned to the world; blind to what Jesus is doing in this world around us.

In response to our obsession with death and the darkness of this world, Jesus steps into our lives, and the first words out of his mouth are, “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36). 

I want you to know that the “peace” that Jesus gives here is more than the peace that is provided when plucking up and rocking an upset child.  The word for “peace” used here harkens back to that time in the Garden of Eden when people walked happily with God, and God with them, and they worked together without toiling…without breaking a sweat.  It is the type of peace that the Jewish faith refers to as “shalom.”  It is a peace where everyone is on the same page and everyone is in harmony with one another once again.  That is the sort of peace that Jesus blows on his people as he returns.

In addition to sharing that deep peace, Jesus says to his terrified and death focused disciples, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see” (Luke 24:38-39). 

In other words, Jesus’ answer to fear and death is himself.  His own risen body is the answer to fear and death.  Jesus shares the promise that fear and death do not have the last word, in a way that they can actually feel and touch.  Jesus eats some fish right in front of them to seal the deal.  He is there.  He is really present.  He has risen from the dead.

The lesson is clear: when fear and death loom, the disciples are to focus on Jesus.  They are not to focus on the end.  They are not to focus on their fears.  They are not to focus on the darkness.  They are to focus on Jesus, because in him is true life.

And, that is great for the disciples.  They get to focus on Jesus.  His body is literally right there in front of them, wounds and all.  But, what about in the future, after he is no longer bodily present, after he has ascended?  What about then?  How are they to focus on him then?

The Bible continues the story: “Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things’” (Luke 24:35-38).

How is Jesus present to us still today?  The Bible says that he is present through the scriptures and through the Lord’s people.  Our minds are opened up to seeing Jesus when we read the scriptures detailing his suffering sort of love, and the new life that he brings.  Not only that, Jesus is present and active when his hands and feet, his people, share his good news and share his forgiveness with the world.

In a world that focuses on death, Jesus gives his people a Spirit that focuses on life.  In a world that seeks revenge, Jesus gives us a Spirit that focuses on forgiveness and second chances.  In a world that stared into the darkness, Jesus gives us a Spirit that stares at what the world could be: a place where we can walk together and work together with the Lord in the fruitful garden of peace.

Where the world sees darkness, Jesus sees light.  Where the world sees lost causes, Jesus sees second chances.  Where the world seeks death, Jesus brings new life.  Where the world sees failure, Jesus sees hope.  Come, see the Lord.  Come walk with the Lord.  Come and be a part of Jesus’ life of forgiveness and peace.

Reflection on John 20:19-31

 

John 20:19-31 (NRSV)

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. 

Reflection

The resurrected Jesus steps right through our locked doors.  And, I am not just talking about actual doors here.  I am also talking about those doors of life that sometimes get slammed shut when we least expect, like the closed door of future opportunities, the closed door of long imagined dreams, the closed door of our heart, or the closed door to our very soul. 

People say all the time that when one door closes, another opens.  But, I like the joke: “When one door closes and another opens, it’s time to get a new car.” 

That is probably true, but it is my experience that one door closing often leads to other doors closing as well.  The door to the job closing causes the door between husband and wife to close, which closes the door to the dream home, and the future they had imagined together…and so on.  You get the picture.  You probably have lived the picture.

You see it happening right here, in the Gospel of John.  The door of Jesus’ tomb shuts, the stone covering the smell of death lingering inside, and this causes the fearful and grieving disciples to lock their doors as well.  The Bible says, “It was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19a). 

The death of Jesus has caused the disciples to fear their own death at the hands of the religious leaders, it causes them to lock their own doors in the face of death, and it causes them to hide behind those doors in a type of living death, caused by their grief.  Quite the opposite of the used car where someone shuts a door and it opens another, this shut door causes another shut door.

This is what happens.  This is how life plays out.  A physical death causes an emotional death.  A physical sealing of the tomb causes an emotional sealing of a tomb…and sometimes the actual locking of a door, as in the case of the disciples.  It is human nature for us close our doors, sheltering ourselves from the piercing blows of life. 

There is no blame to be placed when this happens.  No one failed to smile enough.  No one failed to be upbeat enough.  No one lost hold of their bootstraps…most of us do not even have those things attached to our footwear anymore.  No one failed to have enough faith.  Closed doors cause more doors to close.  That is life.

But, in an act of pure concern and grace, the resurrected Jesus steps right through the locked door.  The Bible says that “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side” (John 20:19b).

Once when I was in a painful struggle with grief and doubt, one of my college professors caught me in the hall outside the lunch room and said, “I noticed you aren’t as happy as you usually are.  Are you OK?”  I talked to him about the pain caused by my grandmother’s death.  I talked to him about my doubt-filled spiritual struggles caused by my grief, and how impossibly painful they were.  I spilled it all on the floor, and after a moment of silence he looked down at the pain soaked floor and said, “That same feeling caused the worst time in my entire life.” 

Urged by Jesus to show his own wounds, he stepped through my locked door and let me touch his wounds, exploring them, comparing them with my own, and eventually finding wisdom in them.  In his story I could see my own.  And, in his metaphorical resurrection, I could envision my own.  “This is rough, but it is not the last word in your life.  Jesus has a tendency to break out of closed tombs and walk through locked doors.”

“Peace be with you,” Jesus says to the disciples as he joins them in their locked room, sharing his wounds (John 20:19b).  And, peace comes.  So much so that they rejoice when they see the Lord!  They rejoice at his resurrection!  They rejoice that death and locked doors are not the last word. 

Jesus then breathes on them the new life that is found in the Holy Spirit.  He breathes on them a Spirit-filled life that encourages them to walk through locked doors themselves.  He breathes on them a Spirit-filled life that give them the power to throw people’s sin aside in forgiveness, allowing people to start fresh and new.  He breathes on them a Spirit-filled life that brings peace and hope to those whom the disciples encounter.

I want you to notice that in the next part of the story Jesus shows up again only after the disciples tell Thomas about the resurrected Jesus.  Thomas was not there the first time Jesus defied the logic of locked doors.  But, only a week after they excitedly share the good news of Jesus with Thomas (which just happens to be on a Sunday), Jesus steps through Thomas’ shut door as well.  Jesus steps through Thomas’ closed door that screamed “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  Jesus steps right through the door of Thomas’ locked soul, giving Thomas some of that heavenly resurrection peace.

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaims in response.

And, we want that too.  We want more than anything for Christ to step through the locked doors of our lives and the locked doors of our hearts with resurrection hope.  So, let us do something about it.  Let us pray for that very thing:

“Christ, we ask that you step through our locked doors also.  When our hearts are cold, step in with the warmth of your love.  When our hearts have lost the way, step in with the wisdom of your life.  When our hearts are full of sin, step in and wash them with your cleansing forgiveness.  When our hearts are in pain and are sealed off from love, step in and show us what divine love is all about.  When our hearts are alone, step in, be present with us, and show us your hands and feet.  When our hearts are broken, step in and heal them with the sealing of your resurrection power.  Step in through the locked doors of our neighbors as well.  Breathe in them the same breath of life.  Blow us into their lives with your heavenly love.  We put our total trust in you, Jesus Christ our resurrected Lord, in whose name we pray.  Amen.”

Reflection on Mark 16:1-8 (Easter Sunday)

 

Mark 16:1-8

1When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus’ body]. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Reflection

“They went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (NRSV, Mark 16:8).  And, that is how Mark’s gospel ends.  It ends in fear. 

On a day when we shout “Alleluia,” and sing loudly songs of joy to our triumphant Lord, Jesus Christ, who laughs in the face of those who put him in the ground, and who overcomes death itself…on a day like that, we have an Easter story that abruptly ends in fear.  Fear.  “They were afraid.”  It is a jolting reminder that even though Jesus overcomes sin and death for our sake, fear still shows up in our lives and causes us to flee, just as the women fled the tomb.

Maybe, it was the sight of the heavy stone, already rolled away from its resting place.  Maybe, they feared that their Lord’s body had been stolen from it resting place.

Maybe, it was the unexpected jump scare of the teenage boy, sitting in a tomb, dressed in white, which made them flee in fear.  Teenage boys can be very scary, and I know many young women who have run away from them.  I know.  I was one of those teenage boys. 

Maybe, it was the message itself, “he has been raised,” that has caused amazement and fear to overtake their hearts.  After-all, we have heard this story, many, many Easter mornings, but for these women, this is the first time they have encountered the idea that someone who is supposed to be dead, is not dead. 

After-all, the dead are supposed to stay dead.  That is the thing about them.  They do not come back.  Death gets the last word, always. 

What would they be like if they could come back, anyway?  Would they be horror shows with two legs?  Would their wounds still seeping blood?  And, how does reality work, anyway, if the dead do not stay dead?  How are enemies defeated if the dead do not stay dead?  How does life move forward if the dead do not stay dead.  There are too many questions, and the questions alone can send a person into a sleepless night of anxiety and fear.

The teenage boy says that Jesus did not stay dead; distorting the very reality that we have always known in a warped version of life that the human mind just cannot comprehend.

Maybe, it was that.  Or, maybe, the women run away in fear simply because the writer of Mark wants us to understand that fear is still a part of life, even after the promise of eternal life is shared.  Maybe, they run away in fear so that we do not feel so alone when we secretly harbor fear and doubt rather than trust. 

We fear the diagnosis.  We fear the next day after the terrible break up.  We fear what the world will look like after the disaster.  We fear it all, and we join the women in running away.  “No more,” we shout to the world.  “No more.”

But, where will we run?  Where are we to go?  Where are we ever to go?  And, what will we ever do once we are there?  Where are we to go where fear, uncertainty, and death still do not linger?

Remember that teenage messenger in white?  That heavenly presence has an answer for us. But, it is the sort of answer that you need to ponder.  It is the sort of answer that will only make sense after you run away, stop, sleep through the night, and consider all that happened as the events replay again and again in your head.  Here is what he said:

“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:6-7).

Joining the chorus of heavenly messengers throughout the ages, the messenger tells the women to not be terrified, because they clearly are.  Then he announces the amazing news that Jesus has been raised.  But, here is the promise whose meaning can only sink in after lots of reflection and sleepless nights, “he is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him” (Mark 16:7).

But, the meaning comes.  Wisdom comes in an instant, as wisdom usually does.  Suddenly you realize that if Jesus has risen, then Jesus can be found “ahead” of you, just as the messenger promises.  No matter where you end up after running away, you will still see Jesus.  “He is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him” (Mark 16:7).

Biblical scholar Audrey West remarks, “If that is true, then death is stripped of its power. There is nothing Jesus’ followers will endure, no place they can go, that Jesus isn’t already there.”

“I never realized that I would find Jesus,” the man remarked.  After losing a child way too early, the man was devastated.  He holed himself up in the attic, building long neglected airplane models in an attempt to get away from the world; to get away from the pain, and to build something in a world that was falling apart.  But, under the stack of models, he found a children’s Easter book.  He opened up the old book and instantly saw Jesus standing with the disciples as they were locked away in their own room, with pain and fear on their faces.  And, it was at that moment that the man realized that though he may have lost a child, he seemed to have gained Jesus, who, the story promised, was up in that attic of grief and pain with him.

“I may have lost a child, which I would wish on no one.  But, I never realized that I would find Jesus” the man said, with a newfound faith starting to stitch together his broken heart.  Jesus was there, in that attic, waiting, ahead of him.

That is what happens when Jesus goes ahead of you.  Wherever you go, Jesus is there.  Wherever you cry out in pain, Jesus is there.  Wherever you find yourself lost and all alone, you will discover that Jesus has already paved the way.  You will not be lost and alone for long.

It is the promise of the ancient funeral prayer that shouts, “We go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.” 

Death cannot hold us down!  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!  Our desire to run away in fear is not the last word, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!  Jesus Christ is with you no matter where you go, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

Into new and scary ventures in life, Jesus Christ is already there.  He is with you, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!   Facing the death of those we love, unable to figure out how to move forward, Jesus Christ is leading the way, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!  Learning to lead a new way of life when the old, destructive one must be abandoned, Jesus Christ is beckoning you forward right this instant, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

“I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also,” Jesus declares to us in John 14:3 as he promises that he will always be ahead of us.  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

So, no matter where we have run in fear, Jesus will be found right there, risen, full of life, and full of God’s redeeming love.  And, for that holy surprise in the face of fear, doubt, and pain, we shout: “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!”

Reflection on John 18:1-19:42 (In Seven Sentences)

 

They found Jesus in a garden.

Gardens, and the life and abundance that they bring, have long been seen in the Bible as the place where heaven touches earth.

God walks and talks with Adam and Eve in the garden.

And, tonight we hear that the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in a garden.

They did not realize that the garden is where God meets us, to walk and talk with us.

They did not realize that when Jesus says, “I am,” he is telling them that God is right there, with them.

God is right here, with you, as Jesus comes to you in this garden place, with flowers, and life and the love of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.

Reflection on John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (Maundy Thursday)

 

John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (NRSV)

The story of the last supper in John’s gospel recalls a remarkable event not mentioned elsewhere: Jesus performs the duty of a slave, washing the feet of his disciples and urging them to do the same for one another. 

¹Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ²The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper ³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, ⁴got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” ⁷Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” ¹¹For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
 ¹²After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

 ^31b“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³²If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Reflection 

As they eat supper, dipping bread into olive oil, the disciples look up to see Jesus rising from the meal.  He goes and grabs the bowl and towel used by the servants of the house to wash the dust off of people’s feet as they are welcomed into the home.  Setting the bowl down behind one of the disciples who was reclining on his stomach, facing the food on the low table, Jesus takes off his nice, outer robe, as if he is about to get dirty, ties the towel around his waist, and begins to wash the disciple’s feet.  The water runs down the feet, and any remaining dirt from the road drips into the bowl.  Jesus goes around the table, to each disciple, washing their feet.

As he comes closer to Peter, Peter instinctually pulls his feet closer to his body.  He looks at the other baffled disciples.  Why is their master doing this?  This is a servant’s job.  At most it is the job of the owner of the house.  If anyone should be doing this, it should be a servant, or the owner of the house, or even one of them, one of the lowly disciples.

“’Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’” 

Jesus answered, “’You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’” 

Peter said to him, “’You will never wash my feet.’”

Jesus answered, “’Unless I wash you, you have no share with me’” (John 13:6-8).

The entire thing is baffling.  Jesus needs to wash their feet.  Why?  Who knows? 

They need to have their feet washed to be with Jesus.  Why?  Who know?  Later, Jesus says that it is only their feet that needs washed.  That too is as clear as mud.  As I said, the entire thing is baffling to the disciples, but Jesus promises that later they would understand.

And, later, understanding does come.  It is found in these words of promise from Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (NRSV, John 14:3).

Do you know the first thing that the master of a house made sure happened to those who stepped inside the home?  The guests’ feet were washed.  It was the ancient equivalent of, “Make yourself at home.  Do you want something to drink?”

And, for Jesus, it is literally that: making these guests a part of his home; a part of his family.  When Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, he is saying, “Welcome home.  You have a place here.  You have an eternal family with us now.  Where I am, there you are also.” 

Can I just stop right there and sit with that idea?  When Jesus bends down and washes feet, he is welcoming people into his family.  Notice that even Judas (the one who will betray Jesus…and Jesus knows it already), even he has his feet washed.  There is no prerequisite needed to get your feet washed.  There is nothing that anyone needs to do or not do to be welcomed into God’s family, except for allowing Jesus to wash you, welcoming you in. 

Jesus instructs his disciples to do the same.  Wash more people.  Welcome more people.  Do the same as Jesus did, with no prerequisites; no requirements.  “You also should do as I have done to you.” Jesus says.  “Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them” (John 13:15-16).  We do not know better or understand more than Jesus.  If Jesus welcomed and washed the feet of dirty, unworthy people, then we do the same.

Jesus is interested in getting into the griminess of our lives.  Jesus desires those who are dirty, with stained lived, to be washed clean and given a good home. 

You deserve a good home, according to Jesus.  You deserve to be welcomed, washed, and given a place, according to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  If Judas was valued enough to be invited in and washed, even though he betrayed our Lord and caused his death, then so are you valued enough to be given a place in Jesus’ family.  We have a lamb, whose blood washes us clean.  We have a host who welcomes us in. 

We have been given a way of life that causes us to look at dirty, stain-filled people’s feet, and instead of turning away in disgust, seeing those dirty feet causes us to say to ourselves, “I bet they need washed.  I bet they need a good home.  I bet they need Jesus to wash them clean, just like he washed me.

Then the bowls and towels will come out and the washing will begin.  Then the lost and despicable will be made clean and will be given the home they never had.  Then they will all know we are Jesus’ disciples, because we are loved, we love, and we welcome even them (John 13:35).