Reflection on Luke 24:13-35

 

Luke 24:13-35 (NRSVue)

¹³ Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶ but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.^[b] 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” ¹⁹ He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth,^[c] who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.^[d] Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. ²² Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.” ²⁵ Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah^[e] should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

²⁸ As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us^[f] while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴ They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Reflection

Jesus was there the entire time; the pastor just could not see him.

We were sitting together at a conference dinner table with a smooth, black tablecloth, with fancy cloth napkins that were previously wrapped around the silver, and with the glow of a candle in the center.  It was nice.  But the twisting pain of my fellow pastor’s heart was not as nice. 

“I don’t think I believe anything I say anymore.  After she died, the words that come out of my mouth just seem so dead and hollow.”

The pastor’s wife had died months before. 

“I don’t believe a word of what comes out of my own mouth.  ‘God is good.  God is so caring.’  What a bunch of bologna!”

He did not say “bologna.”

“I don’t think I love God anymore.  I don’t even know if God is even there.  I preach because I need the check, my kids need the check, but I don’t believe a word of what I say.  How could I believe any of this after she was stolen from me?”

I sat there and listened.  I knew that Jesus was right there, sitting with us, embracing him while he suffered.  Psalm 38:18 kept singing in my head, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (NRSVue, Psalm 38:18).

But I did not quote it.  I chose to believe for him, like those friends who carried their paralyzed companion to Jesus for healing.  Jesus said that it was the friend’s belief that healed that guy.  So, I said nothing.  I just listened and carried him in my silent prayers to Jesus to find some healing. 

How would interrupting him with cheap biblical platitudes change his suffering?  He would not have believed me if I reminded him that Jesus was there with him.  No, Jesus needed to show himself.  He was there; and the poor pastor needed Jesus to just show himself.  But, even if he did, even if Jesus pulled up a chair and took a seat right next to us, would the poor pastor have believed?

I was not so sure.  After-all, I know the story of the “Road to Emmaus” very well.  In the story, there are two disciples who are walking the seven-mile stretch between Jerusalem and Emmaus, and on that journey, they are similarly distressed over the grizzly death of their teacher, their Messiah, who they had hoped would be the one to redeem Israel.  Instead, as the disciples say in their own words, “our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him” (Luke 24:20). 

The two disciples say these very words to a stranger, a foreigner according to the Greek, who joins them on their walk.  The foreigner joins them on their painful journey back home.  The two are carrying their travel bags filled with sorrow and survivor’s guilt.  As they travel, they recount the sad story, again and again, of how the one they had hoped would be the Messiah was now dead.  The hope they had for their people’s salvation was dead.  The teacher they loved was dead.  The one who had loved and healed them was dead.  Jesus was dead.

They share their pain with the foreigner.  They share the story of Jesus with the foreigner, sharing that Jesus “was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” (Luke 24:19).  They also share how, three days now after his crucifixion, they heard stories from some women about the empty tomb and a “vision of angels who said that he was alive” (Luke 24:23).  The tomb was indeed empty, but no one saw Jesus.  He was not there.

They are distraught.  They are grief stricken.  They are confused.  They “had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21).

“We had hoped…” they say.  “We had hoped.”

I cannot tell you how often grief is filled with the words, “We had hoped…”  “We had hoped that he would live long enough to see his grandchildren.”  “We had hoped that she would live long enough to graduate.”  “We had hoped that he could have made it through the addiction.”  “We had hoped that she would have the chance to become a dancer.”  “We had hoped that he could at least see his first birthday.”  “We had hoped to talk with her at least one more time.”  There is just so much pain suspended in the words: “We had hoped.”

As they carry the weight of their loss, and as they struggle to hold onto the shards of their broken dreams, these two disciples of Jesus Christ are unable to see that the stranger walking with them is Jesus. 

The pastor had hoped that he would have many, many more years with his wife.  The pastor had hoped that Jesus would heal his wife.  The pastor had hoped for a miracle like in the days of Jesus’ ministry where he reached out a hand, touched, and healed. 

“We had hoped.”

The pastor and the disciples were both carrying heavy loads, and their heavy loads of grief just did not allow them to see.  Now, both the pastor and the disciples still carried the stories of Jesus with them and shared those stories.  They shared the stories of love.  They were doing the right thing…but they just could not see.  And all while they were carrying that heavy load, Jesus was there.  He was there the entire time.

I just want to point out that these disciples were quite the opposite of no faith, weak people, who lacked devotion and moral character.  They did not lack faith.  They were simply “slow of heart to believe.”  They just could not see Jesus.  In fact, I would argue that these two disciples were titans of bearing heavy burdens, carrying the weight of grief and broken dreams, yet still holding close the story of Jesus and sharing that story.  Grief is not weakness and struggle is not a lack of moral character. 

And none of that means that God has left you.  Jesus is there the whole time!  I do not know who needs to hear this, but you need to know that Jesus is there the entire time for you as well.  The only problem is that, like the disciples, sometimes we just cannot see Jesus.  So, how do we see that Jesus is with us?  How do we see that Jesus is here, present in our struggles and present in our lives? 

Jesus does not exactly keep the answer a secret, and that is a good thing.  The Bible reads:

“Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him” (Luke 24:27-31).

How do we see Jesus?  What do we do when we are exhausted from carrying the unbearable weight of the world?  We allow Jesus to open the scriptures to us.  We allow Jesus to feed us at his table.  We allow Jesus to use his words and his meal to open our eyes to his presence.

Jesus is here after-all.  Jesus was present with the disciples, and Jesus is present with us through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus was and is present the entire time. 

And that is why we call it grace.  The disciples do not need to prove anything for Jesus to arrive.  The disciples do not need to have rock-solid faith.  The disciples do not need to find the secret to opening their minds and their eyes.  The disciples do not need to do anything but look and see, because when Jesus wants to be seen, he will be seen.  Jesus was there with those disciples the entire time, and that is grace.

“I once saw Jesus in a piece of toast,” I told the grieving pastor when he stopped sharing his grief and just stared straight ahead.  “The Bible tells us that Jesus was with the disciples the entire time on the road to Emmaus, but they didn’t see him until Jesus broke bread.  Well, I’m just saying that I saw Jesus with me one morning as a child while staring at my toast.  Right there in the browned parts of the bread was Jesus’ face.  He was right there in front of me on my plate.  I told my mom, ‘I see Jesus on my toast!’ and she told me, ‘Good.  Now eat him quick, because you need to get out to the bus.’” 

My story was not profound, but it broke the tension.  What was profound was what happened next.  The table beside us got up to leave, and a man walked over with a basket and said, “You look like someone who could use more bread?  We had plenty” and he set the basket of bread down in front of the pastor.  The pastor began to weep.  Jesus was there with him, in the breaking of the bread.  Jesus was there the entire time.

Jesus is with you the entire time.  You are a people filled with the Lord’s presence and the Lord’s grace.  You do not need to work for it, but you do get to live in it. 

You do get to be the people of God who celebrate the joy of the Lord, even while still disbelieving sometimes, just like the disciples…just like the pastor.  You do get to be the people of God who literally walk with your Lord everywhere you go.  Who else gets to say that?  Who else gets to walk everyday with the redeemer of the entire universe?

Blessed are you who suddenly see that Jesus walks with you every step of the way!

Reflection on John 20:19-31

 

John 20:19-31

¹⁹ When 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, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

  ²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So 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.”
  ²⁶ A 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.” ²⁷ Then 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.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

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

 

Reflection

There is so much that is surprising about Jesus’ resurrection appearance to his disciples, who remain shut away from the world out of fear. 

Jesus appears despite the doors being locked. 

Jesus breathes on them the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus gives them the ability to forgive sins, a job relegated to God alone previously. 

But, of all the surprises, the one that caught me and stopped me dead in my tracks was Jesus showing his healed wounds to his disciples. 

Though we have seen countless images of Jesus showing his wounds to Thomas in art throughout the years, and heard the story countless times, it struck me just how utterly disgusting this is.  I cannot tell you the number of times that people have said to me, “Pastor, do you want to see my wounds?”  And I politely reply, “It is fine with me if you just describe it, really it is fine.”  And then they raise the pant leg or lift the shirt anyway!  We do not need to see it to pray for it.  And I imagine that this scene with Jesus could come across the same way.  Thomas wanted to see the scars, but no one else in the room signed up for this show. 

Obviously, some people like to show off their scars, but I think most of us prefer to hide them.  They are disgusting, and we are ashamed. 

How many of us share our deepest wounds with others?  How many of us share the time we were on the point of suicide; or share the time when we were out of control on a substance; or share the time we acted recklessly in the car; or share the time we were out of control, anger dripping from our lips at our children, and they were afraid; or share the time we hurt ourselves instead of healing ourselves?

You see what I mean?  In shame, we hide our wounds.  In shame we hide our failures. 

I knew of a woman who was an outstanding citizen within her community.  She was the model soccer mom, she served on the school board, she threw the kids a yearly end of school party, she was at all the games, she was a super mom.  The one weird thing about her was that she always wore these stylish long-sleeved shirts.  It could be one hundred degrees out, and she would still wear these flowing, long-sleeved shirts. 

One day while putting away some supplies overhead at her church, one of the sleeves exposed her arm and for just a moment, one of the church members saw on her arms the distinct scars left from substance abuse.  The church member said nothing, so as not to embarrass her.  We hide our scars.

But here is the thing, in hiding those scars, in hiding those failures, we also hide the healing that Jesus gave us.  A scar, after-all, is a healed wound.  But, too often, the shame of the scar is just too great.

Do you want to hear something shameful?  How about the government putting you to death in a very public way on a cross, with your clothes stripped from you, while leaders of the community spit at you and taunt you; as passersby going into town gawk at your exposed body? 

People do not parade wounds like that.  I have very rarely shared the one time that my anger overwhelmed me and I punched a guy in the face.  It was not my best moment.  I felt ashamed that I could not hold it together.  It left a small scar on my soul and another on my knuckle that remained for years.  So, now you have heard my secret story of shame.  You might be saying, “I didn’t ask to hear it!  I didn’t want to hear it!”  And that is my point.  We hide our shame.  We hide our embarrassment.  We hide our scars.  Yet the Bible says this about Jesus’ appearance to his closest followers: 

“When 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.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side” (John 20:19-20).

And again, a week after Thomas shouts, “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” (John 20:25) the Bible tells us: 

“Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then 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’” (John 20:26-27).

It seems that for Jesus there is no shame in wounds, quite the opposite.  Somehow, sharing his deeply shaming wounds with others brings peace and healing.  And, in my experience anyway, we all need that sort of healing.

Remember that church member who saw the scars on the arm of that upstanding woman, revealing a past of substance abuse?  It must have been God’s work that the sleeve exposed her arm that day, because months later that same church member opened the front door to find a granddaughter standing there.  She looked terrible.  The granddaughter said she had nowhere to go.  She had no bridges that she had not burned.  The church member looked at her arms, and the same wounds were on the granddaughter’s arms, except these were fresh.

The church member took in her granddaughter, but agonized day and night over her as the granddaughter struggled to keep clean, struggled to keep a job, struggled to tell the truth, and finally struggled with the will to live.

The church member kept coming back to those hidden scars on the arms of that upstanding woman in the community.  The church member invited the woman over for dinner.

It was an awkward meal.  The church member and the woman talked about church matters, all while the granddaughter slumped on her side of the table, eating in silence.  But it was not long before the upstanding woman saw the wounds on the granddaughter’s arms.  The church member saw when it happened.  At first, it was a quick glance while they were talking, then it became a real look as the realization of what she was seeing took hold.  You could tell the upstanding woman was considering something.  Finally, the woman turned her body toward the granddaughter and said, “I recognize those.”  Then she pulled up her sleeve, revealing her own scars.  “It does get better, dear.  God can heal those wounds.  Look, God healed mine.  Life does get better.”

The upstanding woman did exactly what her savior had done, she exposed her healed wounds.  She showed her wounds and pointed a way beyond the shame to healing.  Years before, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit of forgiveness upon her, healing her, and now she revealed those wounds of healing and hope to this girl who desperately needed to see.

Jesus said, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe” (John 20:27).

In Jesus’ kingdom, scars are not disgusting.  In Jesus’ kingdom, scars give hope.  They bring belief.  They are proof that Jesus still heals and still gives new life.  Just look at his hands.  Just look at Jesus’ scars and see that he is the Lord who can overcome all.  Just look at his hands.

Just look at your hands.  Everyone’s hands look different.  Some hold the greasy stains of hard work and daily struggle.  Some hold the healed wounds that come from broken bottles.  Some hold the healing photo of the one who died.  Some hold the healed wounds of disagreement and hard-heartedness.  Some hold the dark, healed bruises of abuse.  Everyone’s hands look different, and everyone’s hands hold scars. 

But what the Bible is trying to preach to us is that Jesus did not put his hands in his pockets.  He did not buy designer gloves to cover them up.  Instead, Jesus chose to show up in that fear-stricken room where the disciples were frozen in fear, he stretched forth his hands, and he intentionally showed his healed scars to the scared and disoriented disciples. 

The message that we desperately need to hear is not that our imperfections are something shameful, to be hidden so as not to entice death.  Rather, we need to hear the message that in Jesus Christ wounds are overcome. 

Death does not get to win the day.  Shame does not control our life.  Rather, the good news of Jesus Christ preaches that our shame is healed and overcome in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Jesus transforms our scars from objects of shame to an essential part of who we are and how we minister in Jesus’ name.  After-all, Jesus’ scars became an essential part of his own saving work.  As Isaiah 53:5 tells us, “By his wounds we are healed.”  Jesus’ healed scars are the foundation of our own faith stories. 

“Jesus 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.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:27-28).

Jesus’ scars create faith.  Thomas can believe because he sees the healed wounds. 

How many people feel alone in their struggles all because they have never been shown the healed wounds that Jesus provides?  How many people are stuck in the past, staring at gaping wounds that could have been healed long ago had someone shared their own healed wounds with us? 

Your healed wounds are a part of your story.  It is OK.  Nobody’s story is perfect.  We are humans.  We are not gods.  And the scars that prove you have been healed by the power of Jesus Christ are very things that make you a part of Jesus’ story of redemption.  Jesus has brought you healing.  Jesus has made you whole.  Jesus has redeemed you from sin and death.  And you have the scars to prove it.

Do not fear showing those healed scars.  You never know who Jesus will bring your way, whose wounds are still bleeding and in need of healing.  You never know who Jesus will bring your way so that they can hear the good news of new life and second chances through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Matthew 28:1-10

 

Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSVue)

1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

 

Reflection

On that glorious morning when the angel met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary at the tomb, the angel declared the unbelievable news: “‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” “So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples” (Matthew 28:7-8).  Their Lord, Jesus, was alive!  He had been raised from the dead!  Jesus has overcome death!  What amazing news!  Our hearts race with excitement as the women go from that place to proclaim the good news.  Our hearts are with them so much that we may forget completely who we are leaving behind at the tomb.

We are leaving behind the guards.  You remember the guards, do you not?  They were the ones who were making sure that the tomb remained secure.  They were the ones who lost their footing in the great resurrection earthquake.  They were the ones who could not bear the presence of the glowing angel who rolled the stone away and single handedly overpowered them.  There were the ones who the Bible says, “shook and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:4).  We are forgetting about them.

You might ask, “Who cares?  They weren’t the point of the story anyway.”  And you would be right, but I do care anyway.  Because I know of a lot of people who stumble and fall when their worlds shake and they are overpowered by situations that they simply cannot grasp or understand.

I have a friend who once talked about experiencing a major earthquake firsthand for his very first time.  As soon as he felt the trembling, he ran outside with great fear welling up inside his chest, running into the open, away from any buildings as he had been instructed to do before moving into earthquake country.  When he made it outside, he could not believe his eyes.  The earth was heaving up and falling again like waves in an ocean, except it was solid ground…or what was supposed to be solid ground.  Quite frankly he thought, “Who can escape this?  He thought of those biblical stories where the ground opens and swallows people whole.  “I am going to die right here!” he thought. 

Now, earthquake veterans know that as dramatic as that may look, things are going be fine for anyone who is standing outside and away from anything that can fall on them.  But for the person who experiences it for the first time, they do not know that.  Their heads get stuck in shock and fear, like those soldiers on the day of resurrection.  They, as the Bible describes, “shook and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:4).

The soldier’s reaction makes me think of a woman who just days ago sobbed uncontrollably because it was the anniversary of her child’s death.  Her child died 65 years ago.  She has been sobbing nearly every day since.  My heart aches for her.  My heart goes out to her.  My heart goes out to that woman, the soldiers, and the many, many other people whose lives have shaken to the core by earthquake sized events in and they just cannot seem to find a way forward.  So, yes, even while my heart is with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they run and celebrate with “fear and great joy,” part of my heart remains with those who cannot see any reason for celebration and who end up becoming like the dead (Matthew 28:8).

Now, just to be clear, the women experienced the earthquake as well.  The women also saw the angel “descending from heaven” (Matthew 28:2).  And though the Bible describes them in Matthew 28:8 as having “fear,” they are somehow able to see beyond their fear, and they also get to experience “great joy” (Matthew 28:8).  How did they do that?  What allowed them to move beyond the grief, the quake, and this utterly unexplainable angelic experience?

Could it be because Jesus had given them a special gift?  Could it be because Jesus handed them the gift of being prepared to see beyond the terrible and impossible?  Could it be because Jesus told them, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Jesus taught his followers that earthquakes and other terrible, fear inducing events that we encounter throughout our lives are not ever the last word in our stories.  Rather our terrible, earth shaking, soul wrenching events are the first words in a new story that Jesus writes with his very own hand. 

What if I told you that the death of your loved one, as terrible and heart wrenchingly sad as it continues to be, is not the last word in your story, or theirs?  How do I know?  Jesus said that it would not be the last word.  You do not need to stay on the ground, or even in the ground as a dead man, because Jesus did not, and neither did Jesus allow your loved one to remain there either.  Have hope.  The story is not done.

What if I told you that the health scare, as anxiety causing as it may be, is not the last word in your story?  How do I know?  Jesus said that it would not be the last word.  You do not need to stay on the ground trembling in fear, because Jesus knows that there is new life ahead of you no matter what your health outcome.

What if I told you that when you run away in great fear because your world is shaking, because sin has ensnared you, or because the darkness is great that Jesus is going ahead of you and will meet you, both at your destination, but also on your way? 

How do I know?  Because, as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary ran from the scene of the earthquake and tomb, the Bible says that “Suddenly Jesus met them” and that they were able to take “hold of his feet and [worship] him” (Matthew 28:9).  Jesus was right there with them. 

Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (Matthew 28:10).  No matter the details of the shaking of your life, no matter the impact of the shaking, there is no need to stay on the ground as if you have died, as if life cannot go on, as if that terrible thing is the end of your story.  It is not.  Jesus has already started his journey of new life, going ahead of you and meeting you along the way.  He knows the destination.  He knows that the earth shaking of your life is only the start of a new story that has just begun to give birth.  And he is at the destination of that story.  Look for him with eyes full of new life and hope.

And as you look ahead, you will no longer see a confused darkness, as if your future is nothing but a chaotic void, rather you will see the Lord guiding your way beyond sadness, beyond confusion, and beyond pain. 

You have no idea what that new story will look like, but you see that the Lord has prepared it, and knowing that allows you to take Jesus by the hand, allows you to be pulled up with to your feet with some hope, and allows you to trust that what Jesus has in store is nothing short of holy.

“Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:4).

“[Jesus] has been raised from the dead” (Matthew 28:7).

“He is going ahead of you” (Matthew 28:7).

Seven Sentence Reflection for Good Friday

With Jesus’ last breath, he utters the words, “It is finished.”

As the words first touch my ears, they sound so final.

In my ears they sound like, “It is the end.”

In my ears they sound like, “It is futile.”

But the words are “It is finished,” words that indicate that Jesus was working hard on something and now he finally can step back and take a look at his accomplishment.

For Jesus, the cross was an event that he was planning for a long time that will eventually lead us all to new life and eternal love.

And because Jesus finished his work, and his work of pure love was very good, we call tonight “Good Friday.”

Reflection on John 13:1-17, 31b-35

 

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

¹ Now 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. ² The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. ⁵ Then 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. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸ Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus 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.” ¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
  ¹² After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷ If 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. ³² If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³ Little 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.’ ³⁴ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

Reflection

In the 1905 painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Jesus is entirely in the shadows.  As he washes the disciple’s feet, the light shines from behind Jesus, casting him in silhouette, placing him in the shadows and illuminating the disciples.  It is a striking image that highlights the ones being served.  It draws our attention to the ones being washed.  At the same time, it intentionally makes Jesus, the Lord, the rabbi, the master, into a side character in the story.  He serves in the shadows where so many slaves and servants have served for years and years, always quietly present but never the center of attention.

“For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). 

Love looks like lifting people up and at the same time drawing little attention to yourself.  Love looks like a master rabbi washing his learner’s feet.  Love looks like serving in the shadows so that those who normally dwell in the shadows can live in the glory of Christ’s light.

That reminds me of a pastor that I heard preaching a few years ago.  I remember the sermon clearly.  He described staying in a hotel in the big city for a few days and day after day he would pass by a couple of street workers in front of the hotel as he came and went.  The two appeared to be much, much too young to be working in the way that they were.  This was the in the 1980s, before the “me too” movement.  They were pretty girls that should have been watching Disney movies, eating popcorn, and gossiping about boys.  Instead, they were stuck in a life of serving rich and powerful men who frequented the hotel. 

As he passed by the girls again and again as he left and came back to the hotel, each time the Lord was pressing on his heart to do something for these girls.  The Lord kept whispering into his ear the words of John the Baptist found in John 3:30: “He must increase; I must decrease.”  “In order for the Lord and his ways to be more, I must be less,” he kept thinking to himself.  He must follow the Lord and serve in the shadows so that these girls can fully stand in the light rather than on the street corners in the darkness.

Recklessly, yet faithfully, the pastor finally bought the girls for the night.  He told them right away that he wanted nothing from them.  Instead, he took them to the video store and told them to pick out a couple of movies.  And as he stepped into the hallway, closing the door to his hotel room that night, seeing the two girls giggling as they sat on the floor and watched Disney movies, ate ice cream, and wore brand new soft pajamas with feet, he thought to himself, “It does not solve their problem, but at least for one night they get to enjoy the world like any other child.”  Of course, he was obligated to get another hotel room for himself that night as he stepped away into the shadows.  He spent way too much money to give those girls a night of simple joy, and it was worth every cent.

“He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

“For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). 

“Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

Serving each other is not some sort of symbolic, religious act for Jesus.  It is not a way to look good in front of others.  It is nothing less than heading into the shadows to fulfill a need for another person.  Jesus washed the disciple’s feet because their feet needed washed.  When washing his feet, Simon Peter objected: “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:8).  Peter wanted it to be more than what it was.  But it was not a symbolic act.  It did teach a lesson, yes, it was a sign that preached a word to the disciples, but the washing of feet was not for the sake of show.  ”Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean’” (John 13:10).  Jesus washed feet because the disciple’s feet were dirty.  The pastor gave those two girls a glimpse of childhood because they needed a childhood.  And Jesus goes to the cross to save us because we need saved from sin and death.  “Not all of you are clean” Jesus says about the one who is trapped in sin and who will betray him (John 13:11).  The cross is not for show.  Loving service is done because we need to be loved and saved.

We have crosses that are lit and placed in central locations in our worship spaces, as if the cross were a great and glorious royal throne.  But notice that the actual cross of Christ was lit by God with darkness.  “From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:45-46). In the shadow, Jesus comes to serve.  In the shadow Jesus comes to save.  Love looks like serving from the shadows to save another person and allow them to step into the light.  Love looks like Jesus going to the cross to die in the shadows so that you can live in the light.

So, we stare at the painting of Jesus serving entirely in the shadows.  As he washes the disciple’s feet, out of the light, out of a place of servanthood, we know what love truly looks like.