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.

Lenten Sermon for Matthew 20:25-28

 

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:25-28).

One of the values that we hold dearly as members of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and as the body of Jesus Christ as a whole is the value of “Sacrificial Service.”

Before we even begin to talk about sacrificial service, I want to talk about what it is not.  Sacrificial service is not servitude.  There are plenty of people who get this confused. 

Sometimes people with power twist the idea of sacrificing for the sake of others through service…giving of your God given time and talents…into a command to use your time and talent for their own selfish reasons and selfish gains, and not necessarily for holy reasons.  How many people are compelled by employers to give more and more of their time and talent for the sake of profits rather than all that the Lord desires? 

Servitude is losing your sense of who you are as you perform a task.  Sacrificial service, on the other hand, is being who you were created to be by God and serving out of a sense of love rather than a sense of fear or misguided duty or force.  We are not called to servitude.  We are not called to be doormats for others, to be used and tromped on over and over.  Rather, we are called to sacrificial service, which is done out of love for God and love for others.

In fact, Jesus tries to transform those in power from being proponents of servitude and control into servant leaders who model leading through service to others. 

If the difference between the two is hard for you to grasp, just listen to Jesus and take a look at his own life.  Jesus is our leader.  We follow the way of Jesus.  But, he in no way leads us through intimidation or fear.  Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” 

And then, right before he faced the cross, he let us see exactly what that means. 

Jesus took off his robe, got down on the ground, and washed his disciple’s feet.  He took on the role of a servant, out of love for his friends, to provide for their needs.  That is what a holy leader does.  A holy leader chooses to use their time and talents to benefit someone else.  They model what they hope to see from everyone else.  And so, as Christians, as Godly influencers in our daily lives, we follow the one who took on the role of a servant, aiding others out of love and care.

Jesus did more than wash feet.  That was just a really good sermon illustration.  For his very real example of sacrificial service, Jesus sacrificed his own life for the good of others…even for and especially for…those who did not deserve it.  He sacrificed his very life that we might have life. 

It is choosing to take the bullet for someone who does not deserve such a gift. 

It is choosing to spend all your money, using your last sweat and tears, to prepare a lasting feast for the hungry. 

It is giving up all you have known in life so that your children can have a better life. 

Sacrificial service is using the time you have been given by God and the talents that you have been given by God to love and care for those around you who need such a graceful action.

And, we do it, not to make God happy, but because we are already a part of it.  Sacrificial service is who Jesus is.  And, we are a part of Jesus’ body.  So, we love as Jesus loved us.  We sacrifice as Jesus sacrificed for us.  We are a people who have been set free from sin and death and power and control so that we can love…love in the same sacrificial serving way as Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

 

I have never been much into creating sermon titles.  Like this one for example, I gave it the exciting title, “Sermon for Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32.”  I know, it just makes you want to run to church, does it not?  “I can’t wait to see what the ‘b’ part of verse 11 is!”

However, if I were to give this sermon a title, there are an abundance of possibilities.  “The Once Lost and Now Found Son” might be appropriate.  Or simply, “The Repentant Son,” might work fine.  After-all, this sermon is about this brat of a kid who asks his loving father for his share of the inheritance.  And, if you are asking yourself, “Hold on here, don’t we get inheritance after someone is dead?” you would be absolutely correct.  That is precisely what puts this son in the “I’m going to call him a brat, but I could have used a much more inappropriate name” category.  He is essentially telling the world that his father is dead to him.

It is a lot like the day that your mother-in-law accidentally sees on your kitchen table the remodeling designs you had drawn up for her house.

            “What is that?  That looks a lot like my house!”

            “Well…it isn’t quite your house, is it?  This one has a three car garage on it.”

            “It is too my house.  And, why would I need a three car garage?”

            “Well, I was going to surprise you…”

            “No you were not.”

            “Yes, I was.”

            “No you were not, you titled these plans: “After the old bat dies.”

And, this is exactly the attitude of this little brat.  Any self-respecting father in the ancient world would have written this insensitive, conniving, selfish, little twerp off.  There would be no inheritance for him.  But, that is not what happens is it? 

Instead of sending the child packing, empty handed, the Father actually divides his land and gives the money grabbing twerp all that he asked.  The Father shows a reckless sort of love to his son.

As you would expect, that love falls flatly on the floor as the son turns his back and walks out the door. 

And, just in case you were wondering if this is one of those stories of the enterprising young man who used his small inheritance to build up a great and thriving business, this is not that story.  Rather, this is the more typical, very real story of the kid who wasted his money on stupid things.  He is like the guy I know who spent all his money on a nice ring for his girlfriend, but forgot to the little things like buying food, and paying the electric bill, and buying gas so that he could get to work.

The son finds himself feeding the pigs, staring hungrily at the scraps of food that the pigs are eating.  It is only at this point, when he is at his lowest in life, that he comes to the conclusion that he needs his dad.  He comes up with a sneaky sort of plan to get back into his father’s good graces, but the plan is unneeded because his father is already waiting for him with an all embracing sort of eternal love that was never lost, though he was.  He was lost, and then he was found.  He is the “The Once Lost and Now Found Son.”  He is the “The Repentant Son.”  And, the song that we would sing with such a sermon title would be “Amazing Grace.”

Of course, the story does not stop there, and neither do the sermon titles.  Another sermon title could have been, “The Really, Really, Really, Really Angry Older Brother.”  Or maybe simply, “The Unforgiving Brother.”  After-all, the story continues with the older brother finding out about his younger brother’s return, and about the party that was thrown for the little slime bag.  The older brother refuses to celebrate the kid who ruined his father’s life, even if his father is willing to put that all behind.  “The Unforgiving Brother” would seem like an apt title, but, I think that I would go for “The Lost and Forgotten Older Brother.”

After-all, the older brother is forgotten.  Every single day, it seems, the father would stare at the horizon, searching for his lost, younger son…you know, the one who broke his heart and ran off.  And, every single day the older brother was the responsible one who worked hard and cared for everything in order to be a good son to his father. 

Notice that the older brother was still out, working in the field, when his brother came home.  He was still out, working in the field, when the party started and the fatted, 4H calf was prepared for the feast.  He was still out, working in the field, when the dancing and singing began.  He was still out, working in the field, and no one, even the father, thought to go and get him.  Why are the good and responsible ones always forgotten?

Once a woman sat in my office, anger seething from her lips, as she described how her entire family’s world revolved around her sister.  Her sister was a drug addict who had sucked all her parent’s attention and money.  This was so much the case that when she, the good daughter who cared for her parents and helped them out all the time, fell on hard times because of illness, there was no help left for her.  There was no more time.  There was no more money.  She, the good daughter, had been forgotten. 

After the anger drained from her face, she fell into a deep sort of sobbing as she came to the realization that she, the good one, had been forgotten.

“What does being good get you?” she asked.

If either she, or the older brother in the Bible story had their way, there would be a price to pay for being a wretch.  “Justice needs to be shown, and consequences need to be had!” they would argue.  And, part of me truly agrees.  You cannot act like a jerk and expect everyone to bend over backwards for you.  And, for those of us who feel like justice has been completely forgotten, and feel like we have been completely forgotten, we would sing the hymn, “O God, Why Are You Silent.”

But, if I were to settle on a final sermon title, I think that it would be, “Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

Because, when the father is faced with the betrayal of a son who asks for his inheritance and declares him good as dead, the father provides for the son and gives the inheritance anyway.  “Show Love and Forgive Anyway.”  And, when the wayward son shows up, destitute, the father embraces him before the son can even get out the words, “I’m sorry.”  The father celebrates his return and provides for his needs anyway. 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.”

And, when the older son confront the old fool and points out just how unfair he has been to him, the eldest son who has stuck by him the entire time and never defied him while that son of his devoured the father’s property with prostitutes, the old fool replies, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  But, we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

The older brother was not wrong.  The younger brother was terrible.  And, the father had forgotten him, the good son, and taken him for granted.  All of that is true, but it still does not change the fact that it is love and forgiveness that saves. 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

When Jesus was betrayed, denied, and abandoned by those he loved dearly, he could have quite rightly flared with righteous anger.  The whole lot of them could have been rightly wiped off the face of the earth, along with all those who wrongly accused him and nailed him to a cross to die.  But, that was not what Jesus chose to do.  Rather, Jesus chose to show love and forgive anyway.

Do you know what I love about this story of the dysfunctional family?  I love that we do not know how it ends.  Did the brother enter into the party or did he storm away?  Did he reconcile with his younger brother, or did a destructive feud begin?  When the older brother was shown the door to the party, did he follow his father in?

I love that we do not know how it ended, because it allows us to finish the story.  So, we ask ourselves, would we follow our father into the party?  Would we choose love or would we choose hate?  Would we see that in Jesus there is a deep, deep wisdom that sometimes we just need to trust?  Would we show love and forgive anyway?

After-all, we have a God that will search for us and find.  We have a God that will embrace us with welcome arms, even before we are able to utter the words, “I’m sorry.”  We have a God that truly believes that grace and forgiveness have a healing power that is far better than any other course of action we could choose to take.  We have a God who will find us, just as we are, and show us love and forgiveness anyway.  And, the song that we would sing would be one that talks about God finding us.

Lenten Reflection on John 1:35-42

 

“Come and see.”  Jesus’ first invitation to those who would become some of his most trusted followers was actually quite simple, “Come and see.” 

I once posted a sermon online that said as much.  I said something to the effect that, “You do not have to have all the answers to the faith in order to invite someone to follow Jesus.  It is really as simple as saying, ‘Come and see.’”  The message seemed faithful enough.  It came right from the Bible after-all.

But, the internet loves throwing surprises your way.  Two days later I received a comment on my sermon from some very, very wise person on the internet that excoriated me being such a weak person of faith.  “How can you even call yourself a pastor?” they asked.  My sin?  Well, they let me know that Matthew 10:17-20 would explain it all.

¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

I got the insinuation.  The insinuation was that if I were a true Christian, I would not have such a weak testimony as “Come and see.”  If I trusted Jesus enough, I would be able to share some life changing words to all those who are seeking to kill me at the grocery store and the barber shop.

Now, I do not know what kind of people this commenter hangs out with, but none of my friends have ever flogged me or drug me in front of any councils for trial.  Again, we might hang out with different crowds, but the women in my Bible studies have never tried to crucify me.  They are wonderful, beautiful people, as you might expect.  I do not need to worry about having the right words.  My life is not at stake.  What I do need is to have a good, loving, and trusting relationship with those with whom I share the good news.  That is all. 

Granted, some people might feel as if sharing their faith is the same as facing a death squad, but I assure you that it is not.  If people love you, they love you for who you are.  And, if they love you, then they will also love to know more about you and about the things in which you are interested.  That includes your faith.  In such a loving and trusting relationship, “Come and see” is more than enough.

After-all, it was good enough for Jesus!  He did not sit down and put everyone through a Bible quiz before they could follow him.  Jesus simply said, “Come and see” because, with Jesus, it is always about loving relationships. 

That is how the world is changed.  That is how the love of God is shared, within loving relationships.  “Come and see.”

In this way, we followers of Christ are “intentionally invitational.”  We have a “Come and see” attitude.  We intentionally invite those we know and love to “Come and see.”  And, when they come and see, Jesus has an opportunity to live in them, and they in he.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus again invites us:  “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 

How much better of an invitation can you possible get than that!  It is so gentle.  It is so enticing.  It like inviting a friend to come to the spa and have a massage for the soul. 

We invite people to come to good restaurants, to go on vacations, and to go do interesting things with us all the time.  Why would we not want those in our lives to have their burdens lifted and have more rest?  What better gift could you give a person these days than the gift of true rest?

“Come to me,” Jesus says.  “Come and see,” Jesus invites.  Jesus is intentionally invitational.  He is always inviting others into a life of divine rest and love.

So too, our lives as followers of Christ revolve around the value of “intentional invitation.”  We are “intentionally invitational” with those in our lives for whom we care.  We want others to have that heavenly rest.  We want others to find meaning and purpose in their lives.  We want others to know the one who loves them as they are and gives them life and saves. 

We are intentionally invitational because we care.  So, yes, we do say, “Come and see.”  Come and see Jesus.

Reflection on Luke 13:1-9

 

Texts from a Russian soldier to his mother have been haunting me ever since I read them a week or so ago.  The Russian soldier was in complete shock that he was being asked to attack civilians.  The texts were sparse on words, but the silence between the words said everything as the soldier asked the one who raised him, the one who taught him right from wrong, his mother, about what he should be doing.  The only reason that we know of this soldier’s dilemma is because his phone was found on his fallen body by Ukrainian soldiers. 

The world has long absolved ground soldiers for immoral actions they are forced to do under command.  After-all, the ground soldier has no power to influence the affairs of powers well beyond their reach.  None of us have the power or ability to change the horrors of the world.  

But, the world’s absolution does nothing to help a soul that feels twisted and torn by the conflict raging within.  These soldiers’ souls are torn between the things that they can and cannot control.  For some, it can be absolutely paralyzing.

I wonder if the soldiers who carried out Pontius Pilate’s orders to kill innocent civilians during a holy ritual were deeply affected?  I wonder if seeing these innocent people’s blood splattered across the blood of the animals they sacrificed was paralyzing for the souls of the soldiers?  I wonder if the lives of those innocent people’s mothers became paralyzed in the same way that the Russian soldier’s mother’s had?  She cannot bring herself to touch anything in her son’s room.  She does not want to lose him, even though she already has.  Maybe she will never touch anything in his room and it will become a museum to the dead and a shrine watered by the tears of the spiritually despondent?  I wonder if the mothers of those innocent lives were ever able to find a way to move forward?

At the time, nearly 2,000 years ago, people wondered if those innocent Galileans had done anything to deserve what had happened to them at the hand of those soldiers.  Was there a divine reason behind the horrid slaughter? 

Looking back at history as we moderns have the luxury of doing, we can clearly see that the tragic events in Galilee were likely just the unfortunate consequence of having a power hungry and bloody ruler like Pontius Pilate.  But, when you are closer to the event…and closer to the people…it is a lot harder to see things that way.

Why do bad things happen to those we love?  Is God punishing us?  Is there a purpose for all of this?  Is this horrid event deserved?

We actually have the precise quote in the Bible that Jesus shares as thoughts from the people of the time: “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”  In other words, “Did they deserve it?”

“Or,” the questions continue, “[what about] those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?”  “Did they deserve it?”

Within seconds Jesus answers these deep and troubling questions quite simply: “No, I tell you…”  Do good people who suffer horrible things somehow deserve it?  “No,” Is tragedy a heavenly punishment?  “No, I tell you…” Jesus reiterates.

Can we just pause right there and let that sink in?  So many people get stuck in their lives and in their faith because they do not understand that Jesus’ answer is “No.”  How many people cannot move on in life because they somehow feel like the loss of a loved one is somehow their fault?  How many people cannot look up toward heaven for the remainder of their lives because they have never been told that it was not their fault?  Jesus says so. 

“Was my child taken from me because I am being divinely punished?” 

“No.” 

“Did I lose my sight because I needed to be taught a heavenly lesson?” 

“No.” 

Did I grow a gut because I ate way too many Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? 

“Well…Yes, yes that is the reason.  But, as for the reason you ate all of that comfort food?  The death of someone you love,” Jesus would say to me, “is not in any way your fault, nor is their absence in any way a divine punishment.”

I think that I just needed to say that, just to speak that truth out loud.  Maybe, you needed to hear it.  I know that some of you, or someone you know, just cannot move forward in life or look upward because Jesus’ answer to tragedy has never been shared.  You see, it just is not in Jesus’ nature to teach us through torture or punishment.  The world may work that way, but Jesus just does not work that way. 

With that in mind, recall that I said that we were only going to pause, pondering on Jesus’ glorious “No,” but Jesus has more to say.  This was Jesus’ full answer: “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

You see, getting stuck in life does not allow you to look up to heaven nor does it allow you to move forward in life.  Ask anyone who has gotten stuck in addiction.  It is just the same story again and again.  Get high,  feel good, then soon after feel guilty, resolve to change, try being sober for a few days, get tempted, get high feel good, then soon after feel guilty, resolve to change, try being sober for a few days, get tempted, get high…well you see how this works.  Life just becomes a big cycle that revolves around substances, but fails to revolve around the important things, like those who love you. 

And such a trapped life certainly does not revolve around the one who created us and loves us eternally. 

Getting stuck in life keeps us from look up to heaven, and it does not allow us to move forward in life.  I know a soldier who was forced to kill in the battlefield.  The enemy he saw approaching was so very young.  But, those young faces held guns.  So, the trigger had to be pulled. 

The guilt of such a traumatic event started to torture the soldier’s soul so much that daily functions of just showering and eating started to become impossible.  He dropped out of the faith.  He just could not contend with the eternal questions pressing on his soul. 

I understand that his example is extreme, but I think that most of us have been brought to feel that way at one time or another.  The guilt or anxiety of a situation just leaves us unable to move, and sometimes is bad enough that it creates a chasm between us and God.  That is just the truth.  Getting stuck in life does not allow us to look up to heaven nor does it allow us to move forward in life.

To this “stuckness” Jesus urges us to, “repent,” because nothing good can come out of getting stuck in life. 

Remember now that repentance in the Christian scriptures does not mean “feeling really, really bad” about something.  What “repentance” actually means is: “thinking the way that God thinks.”  Like it says in Philippians 2:5, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…”  Start thinking the way that Jesus thinks, because nothing good comes when you are unable to move forward or look upward.  Jesus means that literally.  Good things do not come out of stuck individuals.

Jesus tells this parable about a fig tree that is unable to produce any figs.  The owner of the tree has never been able to enjoy the tree because it has never given any enjoyable fruit.  The owner wants to just cut the thing down because it is not any good in its current, unfruitful state.  And, when we are stuck in life, we do not bear fruit either.

Now, before we start listing in our heads all the useless and stuck people in our lives and imagining them being eliminated, the gardener has an idea.  “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.”  So, just to be clear, the gardener intervenes and suggests that he try to care deeply for the poor fig tree.

This sounds kind of familiar.  It kind of sounds like a man who intervenes in the world, with a deep, deep love for those of us who are stuck…stuck in sin, stuck in death, stuck in depression, stuck in bad health, stuck with no path forward, stuck in our relationships, stuck with an inability to forgive, stuck in our old ways…and goes to the cross to put to death all of that “stuckness.”  On the third day, that man rises to new life, offering new possibilities.  He rises with a “resurrection mindset.”  Jesus Christ intervenes in our lives with a deep, deep love so that we can look up and look forward.

“Looking up and looking forward” is the resurrection mindset.  It does not focus on what we do not have, but on what we do.  It does not focus on what once was, but on what God is doing now.  It does not get tripped up by the faults of the past, but moves us forward in love.  The resurrection mindset is a mindset of looking up to God and looking forward with God.

But, notice that sometimes, it takes a gardener to pull us out of the mud and plant us in better soil.  Sometimes, it takes someone who does not live inside our stuck minds to show us a resurrection mindset.  If we were to pay attention, we would see that Jesus sends us special people who help us to look up, and look forward. 

I hope and pray that is exactly what we can be for each other as members of the body of Christ.  I pray that we can have the mind of Christ, which is the mind of the gardener.  I pray that Christ will lead us, like the gardener, to take the time and the effort to help others look up, and look forward, that they too can get caught up in the resurrection mindset. 

After-all, tragedies and struggles are like weeds that grow up and threaten to choke us out.  But, the mind of Christ seeks to clear out the weeds trapping one another, so that we all have the chance to grow in some good, divine soil, so that we can grow to be the people that God created us to be. 

We are a people who have been created by God to look up and look forward in life.  And, we are a people who have been created by God to care deeply that others have the chance to look up and look forward, having a resurrection mindset…the same mind of care and love that was in Christ Jesus our Lord.