Reflection on John 20:19-31

 

“The doors were locked where they were.”  That is how the Bible actually begins this story of Jesus finding his disciples.  I know your Bible talks about a house where the disciples were gathered, but the actual Greek text says nothing about a house.  It does not specify any place at all.  All we know is that “the doors were locked where they were.”

I like that.  That little hint of mystery is enough for the Holy Spirit to draw me into the story.  I am drawn in because I have been there; doors locked where I was, unable to move forward in life. 

And, I am sure that you have been there too.  How many dreams never came true because the doors were locked in front of you?  How many opportunities did you fail to take because fear of taking a chance kept you locked away?  How many times have you felt as if your hands were tied, or your doors closed, or the opportunities just dried up?  The Bible says that “the doors were locked where they were.”  I get that.

You have no idea the amount of times that Jesus has showed me possibilities in life, but I have been too afraid to take the step forward, or it just has not been the right time.  You have no idea how many times I locked the doors to the possibilities. 

I take that back, maybe you do.  Maybe, like me, you deeply understand the fearful hearts of Jesus’ disciples as they lock themselves away, right where they are, out of fear of those who they imagine would do them harm. 

Is their fear real?  It is hard to know, because the disciples do not step out to test it.  They have chosen to be lost.

Sometimes we choose to be lost.  Sometimes we choose to lock ourselves away.  Sometimes the world convinces us to lock ourselves away from the possibilities that God provides. 

That is just a simple fact of life.  So, it is a good thing that Jesus is really, really good at finding.  Jesus finds Philip and calls him to follow.  Jesus finds a man by a pool of water who needs to be seen, and found, and healed.  The gospel of John makes it very clear that Jesus is really, really good at finding.  It is sort of his thing.  Almost as if it were his mission statement, Jesus promises: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

With Jesus, we cannot be lost.  We are always found.  We are never snatched away from Jesus’ grasp, even when we have locked ourselves away.

We are really good at hiding behind locked doors. 

But, Jesus is really good at breaking free of locked places.  Jesus breaks free of the tomb.  Jesus breaks free of death itself.  No door is going to hold him back.  Jesus is really good at bursting through locked spaces. 

So, it should be no surprise to learn that Jesus is really good at finding us when we lock our doors.

It is as if those locked doors are nothing.  Jesus just shows up and finds us.  Remember, Jesus finds where the disciples have locked themselves away.  He simply walks through the door, shows them his wounds, and then breathes on them the peace that only the Holy Spirit of God can provide. 

This peace evaporates the disciples’ fear.  This peace fills the disciples with Jesus’ presence.  This peace moves the disciples away from their fears, and frees them from all that is locking them away. 

I have to say, “I want that.”  This peace is something that I desperately want whenever I feel locked away, unable to breathe or move.  I want Jesus to find me.  I want Jesus to just show up.  I want Jesus to breathe on me with the power of eternal peace so that my burden vanishes and I am free to move on.  I want Jesus to find me.

It is like how I really wanted to be found the day that I became separated from my parents in the mall.  I was around age four.  I had been walking through the mall with my family, holding my mom’s hand, when something caught my attention and I veered to the right when my family, unknowingly, had veered to the left.  After looking at the toy that had captured my attention, I followed my father’s jeans past a few more stores in the mall before realizing that the guy in my father’s jeans was not my father.  I had followed the wrong jeans.  I twirled around, my parents were nowhere in sight.  And, I broke down in tears right there in the middle of the crowded mall. 

I just wanted to be found.  I just did not want to be alone.

A woman once described to me the day that she miscarried and lost all of her hopes and dreams in a single event at 11pm in her bathroom.  Her husband was at work, and she did not want to wake anyone else with a phone call to share her devastating news.  In a daze she walked our of her home, wandering the streets in the dark, just wanting to be found.  She just did not want to be left alone.

And, that is right where Thomas finds himself.  He was not there that first day when Jesus shows up.  He was not there to see the scars on his hands and the wound in his side.  He was not there to touch his Lord.  He was not found by Jesus that first glorious Sunday. 

All Thomas wanted was to be found.  All he wanted was the very gift that all of his friends were given, to see Jesus and be with Jesus.  He could not believe their wild tale of Jesus’ resurrection because he was not the one who was found.  He did not get what he so desperately wanted that first Sunday.  He just wanted to be found.  He just did not want to be alone.

And, sometimes that is where we feel we are, lost and alone, waiting to be found.  The gospel writer knows it too.  That is why he is writing this story in the first place, because he does not want anyone to be in the same boat as Thomas.  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29).

Sometimes the wait for Easter is excruciating.  Sometimes waiting for the Lord to find us tries us and tests us.  Sometimes we shout at those who have seen the Lord, “I will not believe!”  Sometimes it is hard to wait until that next Sunday.

And, if you are still waiting for that next Sunday, when Jesus just might finally show himself to you, I have a story to share.  It is a story that is full of the promise of Jesus and his resurrection.  It is the story of one who cannot be trapped away in a tomb.  It is the story of one who cannot be kept outside of our locked spaces.  It is the story of one who never loses the ones to whom he holds tightly.  It is the story that goes like this:

^“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.”  (John 20:26-31)

Reflection on Luke 24:1-12

 

Today is what it is all about!  Today is the great celebration of Jesus Christ rising from the dead!  All of our hope and trust clings to the events that we celebrate today. 

Today we shout out, “Alleluia, Christ is risen! “ and we respond, “He is risen indeed, Alleluia” because we are a resurrection people.  We are not a people who get trapped in death.  We are not a people who remain pushed down when the world’s feet stomp on our lives and on our souls. 

No, we have a Lord who lifts us up, especially when we are unable to get up ourselves.  We have a Lord who lifts us out of sin and death and brings us into the light of a new day, a new way, and a new life that is here to stay.  We are a resurrection people.

So with the whole people of God we shout, “Alleluia.”  With the Psalmist we shout, “This is the day that the Lord has made!  We will rejoice and be glad in it!”  With Peter we shout, “He is Lord of all!” 

We shout together because even when we are at our worst, Christ is at his best; reviving us, renewing us, and raising us up to be the people of God who are alive!  We are alive because of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ our Lord!

With all that praise to our resurrected Lord, hopefully my voice will not falter.  With all that praise to our resurrected Lord, hopefully my hope will not fail.  With all that praise to our resurrected Lord, hopefully my trust will not vanish.  Hopefully, I will never lose sight of the one who rescues me.  Hopefully, I will never lose track of my Lord.

“Losing track of the Lord;” I only mention this on this otherwise glorious day, because the Bible does.  The Bible mentions how the followers of Jesus lose track of Jesus.  It is only a few words of scripture here, but they are words that can stop you in your tracks if you let them.  The Bible says, “On the first day of the week, at early dawn, [the women] came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.”  And, all of this left the women, “perplexed.”

They lost track of Jesus!  He was supposed to be in the tomb, and they find that he is not.  These faithful women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them)…these faithful disciples of Jesus Christ lost track of Jesus! 

Just to be clear, it is not like it was their job to guard his body.  At least they showed up to do the embalming work that needed to be done.  The men are nowhere to be found.  I want to be clear about that.  The men not only lost Jesus, they seemingly chose to forget about him entirely.  At least these women showed up! 

Yet, they still lost track of Jesus.  They went into the tomb and the body of Jesus was not there.  And, this “perplexed” them a great deal.

Let us stop right there for a second.  My English Bible says that they were “perplexed,” as if Jesus was a mug of coffee that one of the women just sat down somewhere while getting the newspaper off of the porch.  “Hmmm, where did I set my coffee?”  That is “perplexing.”  Being given a riddle like, “What do you have to break before you can use it?” is something that can be described as “perplexing.”  But, losing the body of the one you love…hold on.  “An egg.”  The answer to what you have to break before using it is “an egg.”  I just did not want to leave any of you behind while you were perplexed.  Now that we have that settled, we return back to my point. 

Losing the body of the one you love, losing the one in whom you put your hope and trust, is quite a bit more than “perplexing.”  The Greek word here has a strong sense of great anxiety and confusion.  When they lost sight of the one they loved, followed, and trusted, they were filled with a heart pounding, breath gasping sense of anxiety, confusion, and fear. 

You know what this is about.  This is what happens when your loved one says, “We need to talk, it is important.”  In that instant, your heart starts racing.  This is what happens when you hear that that a tornado ripped through your child’s town or that a shooter went on a rampage through your parent’s church.  This is what happens when you are in the store and you lose sight of your child, or you are a child and you completely lose sight of you parent…the one you love and rely upon for the most basic things in life.  These women have lost sight of Jesus, and it fills them with this great anxiety.  And, it is all because they cannot see the truth.

Something great has happened, but they just cannot see it.  Jesus has been raised from the dead, and they see it, but they do not truly see it.  They only see that he is gone.  They cannot yet see that he has arisen from the dead.  They have lost track of Jesus.

This happens all the time: when something great and good has happened, but those involved just cannot see it.  I just read about a little orphan girl who dreamed of finally having a family.  And then, she got one.  Some, wonderful, beautiful people of God saw the girl at her lowest, had compassion on her, loved her, and adopted her.  But, the parents were so perplexed…and I mean in the biblical sense…filled with anxiety and panic…because every night rather than sleeping in her bed, they would find her sleeping under her bed.  You see, under the bed was where she was safe from her formerly abusive, drunk father.  He was long gone, done in by his own vices and she was now safe with a family full of love, but she just could not see it.  Her trauma was too great.  Something great had happened, but she just could not see it.

All kinds of people encounter some sort of hardship that actually brings them to a much better place in the end, but when you are in the middle of the struggle, you just cannot see the great thing that God is making to taking place.  

That is where these women were.  Something great had happened, but they just could not see it.

How many times has God been doing something great in your life, but you just could not see it?  It is so hard to trust that God is working resurrected opportunities in our lives when life is a struggle.  It is so easy to be stuck, staring at an empty, cold tomb.  It is so easy to get stuck while the Holy Spirit is up to something great around you.  If only you could open your eyes.  If only you could see.  If only someone were there to show you.

Guess what?  The Lord provides.  In the tomb, two men appeared to the women and asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen.  Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

And, there they were: the ones that God provided to help the women see. 

It is absolutely true that you cannot see what you do not know to look for in the first place.  That is why God created “us” instead of “me.”  We need all of “us” in order to see what God is up to.  We need all of “us” so that we will see and recognize when our lives are being resurrected right under our own noses.  We need all of “us” so that we can live resurrected lives that shout out, “Alleluia, Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed, Alleluia!”

After the women have been given the gift of sight…the gift of understanding what God is up to, the women go and tell the missing men (the apostles) the truth.  Hopefully, they too will be able to see and live.  Hopefully, they will return from hiding under their beds and live resurrected lives. 

If you read the story you will notice that most of them actually did not “see” what God was up to when the women first shared the good news.  That is typical I supposed.  Good news is hard to take, until you can finally see.  But, Peter hears, and Peter sees.  And, that prepares Peter to become one of the greatest messengers that Jesus Christ ever provided.  But, that is a tale for another day. 

Just know the truth of Jesus Christ: that Jesus Christ is making something great happen for you too.  The resurrected life is yours also.  New life from the old is emerging for you too.  If you need, lean on one of us, the other followers of Jesus Christ, so that we can help you see.  And, I pray that you would do the same for me.  After-all, we are not a people who dwell in the shadow of death.  We are a resurrection people, who live lives of shouting “Alleluia” and trusting always that Christ has arisen.  We are a people made alive again by Jesus Christ.  We are a resurrection people. 

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

 

When my son Isaac was a little younger, the daily washing of feet was just as important as it was in ancient days.  The feet of a two year can get pretty nasty and black when going about their day, as did the feet of sandal wearing ancient people.  So, just like in ancient times, the washing feet was an important, practical matter.  We did not want the floors of our house to fill up with little foot prints. 

 

But, something strange happened whenever he would lay back to have his feet washed.  Rather than the wet wash cloth tickling his feet and waking him up, as one would expect of a two year old, the warm water and gentle scrubbing would put him fast asleep with a smile on his face.  It was like our little act of service to him as we washed his feet was all the love he needed to feel completely at peace.

 

The cleaning of his feet was love, and it brought about peace.

 

One day, Mary cleaned Jesus’ feet, with costly perfume.  She wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair as he prepared to face the horrors of the cross.  It was almost as if Mary’s small act of service was all the love Jesus needed to feel at peace, and face his future.

 

The cleaning of Jesus’ feet was love, and it brought about peace.

 

Very soon the disciples would lose the one who loved them, Jesus, to the horrors of the cross.  They did not understand how bad the days ahead would be, but Jesus did.  So, Jesus bent down like a servant and washed their feet.  It was an act of service to provide all the love and peace that Jesus knew the disciples would need in the horrible days to come.

 

The cleaning of the disciple’s feet was love, and it brought about peace.

 

Afterward, Jesus instructed the disciples to wash one another’s feet.  After-all, he soon would only be present with them in Spirit.  He instructed them to do it because did it, as their teacher.  He instructed them to do it so that they may never lose Jesus’ love and peace, this simple act would keep his love very present and close.

 

The cleaning of each other’s feet is love, and it brings about peace.

 

 

One evening, after playing outside with Isaac, Isaac looked at the bottoms of my feet and declared, “Your feet are terrible.”  So, he went into the bathroom, turned on the sink, wet the washcloth from his bath, and proceeded to clean my feet with his little washcloth and little hands.

 

He did it out of love, and it brought about peace.

 

For the most part, in our modern world of closed toe shoes, we do not need to serve one another by washing each other’s feet.  But, we do it tonight.  We do it, not because Jesus expects you to then go around and wash other people’s feet as you head to the store.  That would be kind of creepy.  Rather, it remind us that serving one another…loving one another as Jesus loves us…brings about a deep, and holy peace.  Serving brings about a deep, holy peace in both the one who serves and in the one being served.  It is a holy love. 

 

May Jesus, move you to a place of peace as you follow him and serve one another out of love.

The Passion According to Luke 22:14--23:56

 

This Sunday is Palm/Passion Sunday.  On this day we give our full attention to Jesus' last hours.  Following is the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke 22:14-23:56.

¹⁴When the hour came, [Jesus] took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. ²¹But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. ²²For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” ²³Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

 ²⁴A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ²⁵But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. ²⁶But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
 ²⁸“You are those who have stood by me in my trials; ²⁹and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 ³¹“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, ³²but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” ³³And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” ³⁴Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.”

 ³⁵He said to them, “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “No, not a thing.” ³⁶He said to them, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted among the lawless’; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.” ³⁸They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” He replied, “It is enough.”

 ³⁹He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. ⁴⁰When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” ⁴¹Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ⁴²“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” ⁴³⟦Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. ⁴⁴In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.⟧ ⁴⁵When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, ⁴⁶and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”

 ⁴⁷While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; ⁴⁸but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” ⁴⁹When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. ⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? ⁵³When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”

 ⁵⁴Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁵When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” ⁵⁷But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” ⁵⁸A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. ⁶¹The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” ⁶²And he went out and wept bitterly.

 ⁶³Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; ⁶⁴they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” ⁶⁵They kept heaping many other insults on him.

 ⁶⁶When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. ⁶⁷They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸and if I question you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.” ⁷¹Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”<sup>23:

 1</sup>Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. ²They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.” ³Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.” ⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.” ⁵But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.”

 ⁶When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. ⁹He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

 ¹³Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”
 ¹⁸Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!” ¹⁹(This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; ²¹but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” ²²A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.” ²³But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. ²⁵He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

 ²⁶As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. ²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
 ³²Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴⟦Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”⟧ And they cast lots to divide his clothing. ³⁵And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” ³⁶The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, ³⁷and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
 ³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

 ⁴⁴It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. ⁴⁷When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” ⁴⁸And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. ⁴⁹But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

 ⁵⁰Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, ⁵¹had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. ⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. ⁵⁴It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. ⁵⁵The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
 On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. 

Gospel (alternate): Luke 23:1-49

Through the teachings and events of the passion story we see and hear the great contradictions that characterize the coming of God’s reign. The leader serves the followers, proud Peter is revealed in his cowardice, and Jesus—the innocent bringer of life—is arrested, beaten, executed, and buried.

¹Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. ²They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.” ³Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.” ⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.” ⁵But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.”

 ⁶When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. ⁹He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

 ¹³Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”
 ¹⁸Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!” ¹⁹(This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; ²¹but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” ²²A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.” ²³But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. ²⁵He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

 ²⁶As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. ²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
 ³²Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴⟦Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”⟧ And they cast lots to divide his clothing. ³⁵And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” ³⁶The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, ³⁷and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
 ³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

 ⁴⁴It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. ⁴⁷When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” ⁴⁸And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. ⁴⁹But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

 

Scripture

All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Lenten Reflection on 2 Corinthians 9:6-9

 

2 Corinthians 9:6-9

 ⁶The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. ⁹As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

 

Now, we explore our last congregational value: “Giving of Yourself.”  This value of giving does not stem out of the church’s need to get more money.  In fact, “giving of yourself” is about more than just money.  Every part of our being is a gift from God, to be used by Jesus Christ in his mission of love.  Let me say that again, every part of our being is a gift from God, to be used by Jesus Christ in his mission of love.

We do not give of ourselves to be known as a good person, nor do we give to win any sort of heavenly reward.  Jesus Christ has already won us our reward on the cross, and, that was not of our own doing.   Giving of ourselves is about love.  This is about God loving us, this is about loving God, and this is about loving others.  Or, as Paul explains it, it is about planting seeds that will sprout.

When I was a child, I wanted to do something really, really special for my parents, because I loved them and they loved me.  So, I took the $14 that I had saved and grabbed a set of new dishes (plates and bowls) that was marked $13.99.  It was a gift of love. 

Unfortunately, as anyone who is older than 11 knows, $14.00 would not be enough for a $13.99 item.  When the total, including tax, came in well over $14, my heart was crushed.  After-all, this was not just a matter of not having enough money to buy myself some candy.  I was trying to give something special to someone out of love.

I think that the cashier saw that look of utter defeat on my face because she said, “You don’t worry about a thing.  I will take care of the rest.”  And, there we have it.  A poor boy, gives his all out of love and a minimum wage earning cashier helps him to do it.   The cashier even helped me carry the heavy box of dishes out to the car where I hid it under my coat in the trunk.  We did not worry about locking our car doors back then.

I thought about that cashier the other day when the man in front of me at the grocery store had the same familiar look of defeat on his face that I had as a child.  All this individual was trying to do was buy some eggs, milk, and bread.  All I was trying to do was buy a couple of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.  I thought about the love of the cashier, I looked at the cash in my hand, put back the candy, and provided what the man needed. 

I want to be clear; this has nothing to do with me being a great guy.  Rather, it has everything to do with that cashier years and years ago who planted God’s seed of love and giving into my heart.  It has to do with the author of that “giving” sort of love, Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave his time, stopping to heal a woman from bleeding when he was already doing another task.  Jesus has the time to love. 

Jesus gave of his gifts as he multiplied the loaves and the fishes out of love for those who were hungry and seeking his help.  Jesus has the gifts to love.

Jesus gave his life on the cross out of love for us all, that we might be saved from sin and death.  Jesus gave it all. 

Jesus gave of himself, and that seed of love has sprouted again and again like a perennial that keeps sprouting and multiplying every spring.

Planting seeds of love reaps a harvest of abundant love.  That love can be planted through our money, our time, our talents, or a combination of them all.  But, in each case, it holds true that you can only reap a harvest if you planted it in the first place.  “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

Here the thing: God does not sow sparingly.  Paul reminds us that “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” 

You have been blessed in abundance, so that you can share joyfully in abundance.  And, all of us have been blessed in abundance.  Some of us: money.  Others of us: time.  Still others: talents and knowledge.  Every part of our being is a gift from God, to be used by Jesus Christ in his mission of love. 

We have been blessed in abundance so that we can love in abundance.  After-all, Jesus Christ loves us in abundance; enough to die for us.  Therefore, we hold high the Christian value of: “Giving of Yourself.”

Reflection on John 12:1-8

 

I was once told, “If you want to find God, start looking around for the love.”

So, in this story of Mary, Jesus, and Judas, I started looking around for the love. The love was not hard to find. All I had to do was look in Mary’s hands. Mary carried a pound of costly perfume (worth about the year’s worth of wages) and placed it on Jesus’ feet, anointing Jesus with perfume, spread tenderly with her hair to prepare Jesus for his future, which would unfold very shortly. It was an act of love. Mary was loving Jesus into his future.  This was not the first time Jesus was loved into the future.  Jesus was loved into the future at the very start of his ministry by his mother.

Do you remember the start of Jesus’ ministry? Jesus and his mother were at a wedding and the wine ran dry. Jesus had no plans of doing anything in response to this wedding crisis, but it was his mother who saw Jesus’ potential. It was Jesus’ mother who knew what Jesus could do. It was Jesus’ mother who lovingly knew that it was his time to begin his ministry, even if Jesus did not realize it. It was Jesus’ mother who loved Jesus into his future ministry. Where was God at work? Look for the love.

Loving people into their futures is essential to life in God’s kingdom, and like bookends to the Jesus story, it happened again just before Jesus’ death and resurrection. As Jesus faced the future of his difficult ministry which included death on a cross, there was a woman present who would once again love him into his future. She would anoint him lavishly. She would anoint him with tenderness and love. She would take the perfume and anoint his feet with her hair. She would anoint Jesus for his future death and burial. She would love him into his next step in life. She would anoint and love him into his future.

I am not sure how many people realize just how important all of this is. Judas obviously does not understand. He complains about the attention devoted to Jesus. He complains that all of that love could have been sold to help the poor. Indeed, perfume that was worth a year’s worth of wages could have fed a great many people. As important as loving the poor is to God (and the writer of John is certainly skeptical that Judas cared about the poor in the first place), loving people into their futures is also important to God.

It is the love and the encouragement on the smiling faces of young parents that gets babies off of their knees and onto their feet. Would any of us be walking around if it were not for our parents loving us into our futures with their guiding hands?

Love and the encouragement that it provides is what gets students from being only students to becoming leaders. Every single leader has someone who loved them into the future and said to them, “You are good enough for this.”

Love and the encouragement that it provides is what allows people to die peacefully as their children say, “We love you, and it is OK to go home to God. We will be fine. You have permission to die and be in the eternal love of God.”

In the ancient world, kings were anointed with oil and the dying were similarly anointed. Kings were anointed and loved into the difficult task of leading an entire people, and the dying were anointed and loved into the difficult task of giving up this life.

 For Jesus, he faces a future with both. He would soon be riding into Jerusalem, hailed as a king, and he would soon be facing the death that the designation of king would bring. And, in all of this difficult future, Mary is there to lovingly help him to take those next steps forward. Jesus was loved into his future.

Living into our futures is not something that we do alone. God does not prefer that we be self-made men and women. God does not prefer that we need no one and go it alone. There is no riding alone into the sunset in God’s kingdom.  God did not create us as creatures that live and work alone. God did not create us to face problems and challenges with no one there to help. God did not create us to be gods who need no one else, including God.

We are a people who were created for each other. We are a people who were created to share love with one another. We are creatures created to display love, and so we do. We love each other into our futures.

Just this week I sat with a family that had gathered around the bed of the ever loving mother and grandmother of the family.  She took her last breaths in the comfort of her own home with those she loved most at her side.  This woman was loved into her eternal future with Jesus in the exact same way that she had been present for and loved her children and grandchildren into their future careers and lives by being there for every ball game and by being there for those after-school homework sessions. 

We love each other into our futures, and that is what makes this life a life of grace upon grace.

We will always keep the poor with us and love them into their futures. We will not forget the poor. Loving the poor will always stay central to what living in God’s kingdom is about. But, in doing so, we will not forget to love other people into their futures either.

Loving people into their futures a part of what living in the kingdom of God is all about. There is not a limited amount of love. There is not only so much love to go around, and if you do not get any, tough luck. You do not need to stop one act of love just because there are others who also need love. That is not how love works.

Rather, love is something that can grow and expand. It can start at a single cross and expand throughout the entire world. Jesus understands this, and so does Mary. Her small act of love allows Jesus to face his own difficult act of love as the shadow of the cross looms.  Loving people into their futures is probably one of the most important acts of love you will ever experience or undertake as a disciple of Christ.

Know that you are never alone. Know that God’s love is always with you to bring you from death into life. Know that you are loved into the future every step of the way.