The Call of Christ- March 31, Wednesday of Holy Week

John 12:20-36 TNIV

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Those who walk in the dark do not know where they are going. Put your trust in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

“Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12)

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9)

“whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10)

These are some of the tough sayings of Jesus that we have meditated on through this Lenten journey.  We’ve read, thought and prayed about dying to ourselves so that Christ might richly dwell within us.  We’ve tried to realize during this Lenten season that the Christian life isn’t about us and our self-will, it isn’t about getting more stuff and making a name for ourselves, it isn’t about building ourselves up.  Life, for the follower of Jesus Christ is about carrying the cross and following Christ.  It’s about humility, love, self-sacrifice, and obedience to the Gospel.

I often wonder about how we approach this calling of Jesus to ultimate self-sacrifice.  Even though we don’t actively think it, we often view these thoughts as perfectly well and good as long as they just stay as thoughts.  As long as we don’t think too hard or consider too concretely what these thoughts mean for us we’re fine with them.  Jesus, however, didn’t have this luxury and neither do we when we examine these scriptures in light of the events of the coming days.

Over the next few days we will meditate and think deeply on Jesus’ death.  We will remember that he was betrayed, unjustly accused, beaten, and crucified.  This is what our Savior went through, this is the reality out of which he calls to us “Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” and “take up your cross and follow me.”

Out of this we are forced to reconcile our lives with the call of Christ.  Are we loving our lives and forsaking Christ?  Are we truly carrying our cross – the cross of Christ that we may die to self and truly live?  Are we truly following Jesus?

There is no room for “maybe” or “a little bit.”  The call of Christ is not maybe, it is either life or death and the only way to true life is through death.  The paradox is great, but our God is greater still.

Let us remember Jesus’ call to us over the next few days.  Let us journey to the cross with him that we may truly die to ourselves so that we might live.  May God grant us strength and may his name be glorified as we take up our cross and follow Christ.

Closing Prayer:

O Lord and master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.  But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.  O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother or sister for blessed are you always.  Amen

– The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem

Rejected – March 30, Tuesday of Holy Week

Luke 20:9-19 TNIV

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’

“But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

” ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

According to the Gospel of Luke, after Jesus enters Jerusalem he tells this parable after he was questioned by some of the religious leaders.  In this parable Jesus more or less describes what had been happening in Israel from the days of the prophets.  He tells this story so that they may see that they are really the tenants of the land and the prophets are the ones they beat and sent away.  Jesus then tells them of the Landowner’s son who they killed.  This is exactly what happens to Jesus – the Son of God.

Somehow the cheers and joys of Palm Sunday get swallowed up in the anger, pride, and lust for power of the religious leaders.  Somehow the people desire to have it their own way and take the Son and beat him and kill him.  Jesus predicts his death in this parable.  He knows what will befall him and yet he continues forward.  The challenge for us as we read this passage is to examine our hearts.  Are we ready to accept Jesus or are our hearts hardened like the tenants in the parable?  Are we willing to accept the Son or are we too caught up in ourselves and our sinful desires that we will join with the crowd in just a few days and yell “crucify him!”?

As we read this parable we are faced with the grim reality that all-too-often we are just like the religious leaders – we indeed are the tenants in the story.  Too often we allow ourselves to be caught up in the drive of our self-will and we reject Jesus.

As we journey to the cross this Holy Week let us realize the sin, pride, and greed that lies deep within each one of us.  Let us cast aside these things and so “no” to our self-will so that we may truly say “yes” to God.  This is the great call of Lent and of Holy Week.  Let us descend to the cross with Christ that we may continue to live out our baptism – dying to self and raising with Christ.

May God grant us mercy as we deeply examine ourselves during these holy days that may truly be able to receive the King of All!

Closing Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a Sinner!

The Bridegroom – March 29, Monday of Holy Week

Matthew 25: 1-13 NIV

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

” ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’

“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

As we begin Holy Week this may seem like an odd passage for us to read.  We wonder what exactly the second coming has to do with Easter.  The fact of the matter is that we often hurry toward Good Friday and toward Easter and often we skip over our need to prepare ourselves for the days to come through repentance.  Yes, we have been preparing ourselves during the whole season of Lent, but as we enter Holy Week we must remain watchful so that we may continue to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus Christ.

We must remain watchful so that we do not “fall asleep” spiritually like the five foolish virgins.  We must remain watchful so that as Jesus Christ – the Bridegroom makes himself known to us on this most holy of weeks we can fully receive him and enter into the fullness that is his passion and resurrection.

So often we let our hearts become distracted as Easter approaches that it seems as if we focus on everything except preparing ourselves for the joyous celebration of the resurrection.  As we do this we become blind to what God is seeking to do in our lives as we approach this day.  We become blind because we focus on ourselves and on the distractions that surround us and are not prepared to receive Christ.

As we move through Holy Week let us prepare ourselves through repentance.  Let us get ready to see Jesus and to walk with him through the entire events of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.  Let us be ready so that we can see and embrace everything that he wants to do in our lives.

Closing Prayer:

O Lord and master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.  But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.  O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother or sister for blessed are you always.  Amen

– The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem

Expectations and the Kingdom- March 28, Palm Sunday

Luke 19:29-40 NIV

As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Today is a day of mixed emotions.  On the one hand we celebrate with joy the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem but on the other hand we realize that in just a few short days Jesus will be crucified by the very same people who celebrated him so wonderfully on this day.  The same people who yell “blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” are the same ones that in just a few short days will yell “crucify him!”  How can this be?

Today as we think about this paradox we can only conclude that the people must have misunderstood Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem.  They think that he is coming to conquer, to set up his earthly rule, and to usurp the government.  They, just like what we mentioned with the disciples (here), had an idea of what a Messiah was supposed to look like.  They were all excited because as Jesus entered they had in their mind what he was going to do and then when he didn’t meet those expectations they shouted “crucify.”

Today we celebrate this day because we know that Jesus’ entrance points beyond what happened just on that day.  Jesus’ entrance does indeed point to a kingdom, just not an earthly one.  Today we look to the eternal and heavenly Kingdom of Jesus – a kingdom that is not entered through power and might, but through humility and repentance.  This is why we celebrate Palm Sunday.

On Palm Sunday we are again forced to consider what preconceived ideas of Jesus we are carrying around.  We must prepare our hearts to receive Christ for who he is or else we will quickly turn on him just like the crowd.  We are also forced to realize that we cannot enter the Kingdom of God through force, power, might, money, popularity, or sheer awesomeness.  The only way into the Kingdom of God is through confession, humility, casting aside our earthly cares, abandoning our own strength, and relying on the mercy and grace of Christ.

May God give us all strength to accept and rely on him for who he is so that we may fully enter his kingdom.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, as we think about your triumphant entry into Jerusalem let us not forget that you entered so that you could be lifted up on a cross for the salvation of humanity.  Keep this holy lent before us and let us cast aside all earthly cares that you may increase and we may decrease.  Amen.

– Anonymous

Anticipation – March 27, The Sixth Saturday of Lent

John 11:1-44 NIV

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

There are so many things we could discuss with this passage of scripture.  So many wonderful truths contained therein, but there is one that jumps in front of them all as we approach Easter – we are like Lazarus.  We are like Lazarus in that we will die.  Death has come into the world because of the fall of Adam and we will surely die.  “But Lazarus was raised,” you may interject.  Yes, but even in his risen state he was still to die again.

I think this might be the reason Jesus wept.  Yes, his friend Lazarus had died, but he knew ahead of time that he was going to raise him from the dead, or “wake him up” as Jesus says.  I think one of the reasons Jesus wept is because he saw the pain that the decay of sin brought into the world.  He saw the havoc that death brought and his love for Lazarus (and also for us) caused him to weep.

But a reminder of our death is not the reason that this scripture is before us today.  Today, this scripture reminds us of the all-encompassing nature of Christ’s work.  Today we look at Lazarus not as a man who died, was raised, and the died again, but as a prequel or anticipation to the resurrection.

In just a short week (and a day) we will celebrate Easter.  We will celebrate the fact that Christ is risen from the dead and that by conquering death he has given us life.  We will joyously sing and proclaim that death could not hold Christ and that he has defeated sin and death.  We will remember that Christ is not like Lazarus, he will not die again.  No, he is risen indeed!

What Lazarus reminds us of today during Lent is the greatness of Christ’s resurrection. It gives us an anticipation of the resurrection.  Christ has conquered death and sin, therefore death and sin no longer have a hold on us.  Yes, we will die like Lazarus, but we will rise again.  Just as we say in the Apostles Creed every Sunday – “I believe…in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”  What Jesus has done for Lazarus he will do for all of us!

I am also stuck by the thought that even as Lazarus hears the voice of Christ and exits the tomb he is still in his grave-clothes.  In order to fully respond to Christ he must remove these grave-clothes that bind him.  So it is with us.  In order to fully follow Christ we must hear his voice and strip ourselves of the clothes of our sin and death.  Lazarus also reminds us this day that we must cast aside everything which hinders us and follow Christ.

Today we catch yet another glimpse of the fullness that is to come.  Today we are reminded that our place is not in the tomb, but with Christ our life.  Today, we are reminded that if we hear Christ’s voice we must respond and “come out” and remove the clothes of sin and death that bind us.

Let us be attentive to the voice of God that calls us from our death in sin to life in Christ Jesus.

Closing Prayer:

O Lord and master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.  But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.  O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother or sister for blessed are you always.  Amen

– The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem

Praying in Weakness – March 26, The Sixth Friday of Lent

Luke 18:9-14 NIV

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

We’ve already read through this passage once during Lent (here) but I read something today that brought my heart back to this passage that I thought would be worth sharing and thinking about.  Not only does this passage teach us about humility in life, but it also teaches us something very valuable about prayer.  Today I read this:

I often tell people who say they are struggling with prayer to quit trying to pray like a Pharisee and learn to pray like a [tax collector]. We often want to pray from strength – to approach God when we at least feel spiritually alive. The [tax collector] refuses to lift his eyes to heaven. The contradiction of his life and the goodness of God are more than he can bear. And yet he prays. And, ironically, it is he who goes down to his house justified rather than the Pharisee.

As I pondered this statement I realized the truth that it contained.  So often I keep myself from praying because I don’t feel holy enough to pray.  Sometimes I don’t allow myself to pray or to read the scriptures because it seems as if my heart is not fully committed and longing for God.  Why is it that I feel as if I can and should only pray when I am right with God or when I’m in the mood to pray.

It seems to me that the times I need to pray the most are the times that I am hesitant to pray.  Am I only willing to pray when I feel strong and competent before God?  Am I only willing to pray when I feel worthy enough and holy enough to approach God.  If this is what is in my heart then am I really any different from the Pharisee?  Sadly I am, indeed, just like the Pharisee if this is my attitude.

We need to break this attitude as it creeps into our lives.  We need to be people who learn to pray in all circumstances…especially when we feel weak and undeserving.  What the tax collector teaches us is that we can humbly approach God at all times.  Even in our weakest moments, when life is overwhelming, and we don’t feel as if we even deserve to pray we can and should approach God.

We need to realize that God is with us when we are down, when we are overwhelmed, and when we feel as if we can’t approach him.  His love for us continues on even when we don’t feel it and when we don’t feel like we can approach him.  It is during these times that we must humble ourselves like the tax collector and pray.  Even if our prayers don’t seem like “good ones,” if we stumble over words, or if we don’t have the words to pray God is still there, he hears us and he will answer us.

So what about you?  Do you only pray when you feel strong?  Do you allow your weaknesses and shortcomings keep you from approaching God?  Are you like the Pharisee – only willing to pray from your strength or will you be like the  tax collector and pray despite your weakness.  After all it was the tax collector that went home justified before God.

Let us continue to learn to pray during this Lenten season.  As our fasting and our reading reveals our weaknesses let us not be fearful of approaching God, but let us approach him all the more for his mercy is great and he loves us dearly!

Closing Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a Sinner!

Both Ends of the Spectrum – March 25, The Sixth Thursday of Lent

Luke 1:26-38 NRSV

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Are you confused yet?  Why on earth are we reading about the birth of Christ when we’re getting ready to celebrate his death?  I admit that this does, at first glance, seem to be an odd passage of scripture to read during Lent until you realize that today is 9 months until Christmas.  Today, is the day on the Church calendar when we celebrate the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary and announcing to her the birth of Jesus.

Today, in the midst of our Lenten fast we briefly turn our minds to celebration.  Today we remember and celebrate the day when the Gabriel came to Mary and told her the Lord’s plan and she said “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Today we get a wondrous glimpse of the full spectrum of our salvation.  Well look ahead one week and we see Good Friday and the Cross on which our Lord will be crucified.  We look beyond Good Friday with hope knowing that the Resurrection will soon be at hand and while we look forward we remember today the words of the angel and Mary’s response.  Today we recognize that Jesus Christ didn’t just pop into the earth to be crucified but he came even as a child.  He came as a child to die and rise again for us and for our salvation.

Think about this for a second.  The Lord and uncontainable maker of the Universe humbled himself so much that he allowed himself to be contained in a a womb for 9 months.  Today we rejoice in the fact that Christ our God took on every part of what it means to be human and yet was without sin.  We realize today that we worship a God who came as a baby, lived life, and knows what it means to be fully human.

Jesus knows what we are dealing with because he experienced it.  The writer of Hebrews reminds us that he was tempted in all things and was “yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).  Because he has experience all this and yet remained holy he can help us in our journeys as we strive to overcome sin.

Today we also remember something else as we look at the fullness of God’s saving work through Christ.  What we also remember is that Mary, a young teenage girl, said “yes” to God.  We are reminded that even in this great and history changing act God gave her free-will and she said “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  In a sense Mary typifies the Lenten struggle that we face.

Throughout Lent we have been learning to say “yes” to God and “no” to our self-will.  We have struggled to pray, struggled with sin, struggled with our priorities, weaknesses, and fears all in hopes of being able to more fully say “yes” to God.  In today’s gospel reading we see Mary, a young girl who quickly dismissed the shame that would become her for being pregnant outside of marriage, she dismissed the inconvenience this would cause, and all sorts of other things just to say “yes” to God.  She serves as a great model for us during our Lenten journey.

So today let us remember the whole scope of the work of Christ, that he was conceived and born that he might draw us to the Father.  Let us also learn from Mary what it means to lay everything aside so that we might truly and whole-heartedly say “yes” to God.

Glory to God in the Highest for today Christ is conceived that he may cleanse us from our sin!

Closing Prayer:

Father, we thank you for sending Jesus Christ your Son.  We thank you that he came for us and for our salvation.  We thank you Father for the complete work of Christ from birth, to death, to resurrection.  Help us to learn from Mary’s example and continue to know what it means to say “yes” to you and “no” to our self-will.  Amen.

Huh? – March 24, The Sixth Wednesday of Lent

Luke 18:31-34 NRSV

Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “see, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.  For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon.  After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.”  But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Isaiah 53:5-6 NKJV

But he was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Easter is quickly approaching. Very soon we will be proclaiming “Christ is Risen” to all who will listen and we will be celebrating joyously the work of God.  But before we go there we have to go through Holy Week.  Not just the joy and “hosannas” of Palm Sunday, but the betrayal, bitterness, and death of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  Jesus knew that this was coming.  He knew how they treated the prophets and he knew what was ahead of him.  He knew the pain and suffering he was about to endure but he still went forward.

In today’s reading Jesus pretty much tells the disciples what is coming.  Jesus doesn’t candy-coat his language, he speaks plainly and clearly and yet the disciples “understood nothing.”  Sometimes I wonder how the disciples could be so dull.  Could they really not understand?  But just when I start to think this I wonder to myself “Am I the same way?”

Chances are the disciples didn’t really get what Jesus was saying because they had expectations.  They recognized that he was the Messiah but they all had different expectations of what that would bring.  Would he come and free Israel from Rome?  Would he overthrow the political powers?  Would he bring economic stability to the region?  Each one of them had an idea of what the Messiah would do and I bet that die on a cross was low on that list.  I think this might be the reason why they didn’t get it.  This might be the reason that Luke tells us that they “did not grasp” what Jesus was saying.

How many times do we share this same trait with the disciples.  How many times do we think God should work in one way or another and when he works in a different way we don’t see it?  How many times to I place my expectations on God as if he was here to do some sort of cosmic magic trick for me?

Sure it’s easy to look back after Easter and after Pentecost and say, “Well yeah, of course Jesus was going to do that.” but while we’re here it isn’t so easy.  Jesus clearly sees the cross that he will carry.  He clearly sees what is going to happen and yet he continues on to Jerusalem.

What about us?  Can we even see the cross which we are called to carry?  Are we truly able to follow Jesus or are we allowing the cares of this world and the stuff of this life fill us up with certain expectations so that we can’t even grasp what Jesus is saying.

Lent, and especially the upcoming Holy Week teaches us to put aside our wrong expectations.  Lent helps to teach us to say “no” to our self-will so that we may truly see and be able to carry the cross of our Lord and Savior.

What are your expectations that keep you from seeing the real mission of Jesus?  Are you willing to see the cross and carry it?

Closing Prayer:

We pray to God to know his passion, death, and resurrection – which come from the goodness of God.  We pray to God for the strength that comes from his Cross – which also come from the goodness of God.  We pray to God…for he is the goodness of everything.  Amen.

– St. Julian of Norwich *

* Julian (1342-1416?) was a very reclusive English woman who received a series of sixteen revelations in 1373.  After she spent several years meditating on them she recorded them.  Few other details are known of her life.

Identity – March 23, The Fifth Tuesday of Lent

This morning I was getting ready to get into the church elevator and I saw a line of kids from the preschool.  I noticed they had their jackets on and so I asked the first student in line if they were going outside.  He quickly replied “yeah, and I’m… I’m Spider-man” as he unzipped his jacket to reveal a Spider-man t-shirt underneath.

In reflecting on this interaction I got to thinking about us and how we identify ourselves.  This kid, in his imagination thought to himself that if he put on a Spider-man shirt then he could identify himself as Spider-man.  He didn’t excitedly tell me that he had put on a Spider-man shirt.  No, he told me very emphatically “I am Spider-man.”  Somehow in that kid’s mind putting on the shirt formed how he identified himself.  I wonder, do we ever think like this?  Look at what Paul says:

Galatians 3:26-29 TNIV

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

What this little kid said this morning reminded me of this passage.  Paul says “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”  I really think this little kid gets it and somehow we overlook this all the time.  Just by the fact of wearing his Spider-man shirt he identified himself as Spider-man.  Why do we so often forget this when it comes to Christ.

In our baptism we have put on Christ and yet so often this identity is lost on us.  Instead of identifying ourselves with Christ we identify with the world.   Instead of living like we are clothed with Christ we act and prioritize our lives like we know nothing of Christ.

Sure, this little kid was acting out part of his imagination, but putting on Christ in our baptism is not imagination, it is reality in the truest sense.  What is real for us is that we are in Christ and the more we identify ourselves in this way the more we can allow the Spirit of God to work within us.  The more we learn to re-identify ourselves the more we can continue to be transformed and shaped.

During Lent we journey with Christ to the cross.  We learn, during this time, to put away our old self-identity and to realize that we are in Christ.  During this Lenten season we learn that we have put on Christ and we discipline ourselves so that we may more fully act like it.  It would be good for us to learn a lesson from this small pre-schooler so that we may live out the reality of our baptism – that those who are baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Closing Prayer:

O Lord and master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.  But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.  O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother or sister for blessed are you always.  Amen

– The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem

Doing or Being? – March 22, The Fifth Monday of Lent

In my office I have a white board on which I write pressing things that I have to do.  I also keep scraps of paper on my desk with other things that need to be done.  I keep my calendar open on my computer at all times for fear that I might miss something that I am supposed to do.

Sometimes it feels like I’m rushing from thing to thing, or place to place.  It seems like I am constantly doing things (contrary to the running joke in our youth group I actually do more than just play basketball and go to Bojangles).

We’ve talked about finding time in the busyness of life to be still before God (here), but I wonder if this is a bigger issue for me and for us.  Maybe just taking time isn’t enough maybe the issue continues on our theme from the past few days in how we prioritize.  Or maybe, just maybe, the issue is deeper still.  Maybe the issue is how we view ourselves.  My one college professor used to say all the time that “we are called human beings and not human doings for a reason.”  Maybe the issue is that we’ve bought into the idea that we are indeed “human doings” instead of “human beings.”

I think this is no clearer seen than in this short passage from the gospel of Luke:

Luke 10:38-42 NIV

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This is a short Gospel lesson but I think the implications are huge for the way in which we live life right now.  Two women, Mary and Martha, are named.  Martha goes about the expected and well-intentioned task of being hospitable.  Martha is busy.  She is busy preparing things for her guests.  She is busy doing.

Mary, on the other hand, doesn’t do what is expected.  Instead of busying herself she stops and she sits at the feet of Jesus.  Instead of doing she focuses on being…being at the feet of Jesus.

I’m sure Martha wanted to sit down and rest at the feet of Jesus too, but she knew things had to get done.  She knew that the food wasn’t going to fix itself and that she needed to do the stuff in order for it to get done.  She couldn’t sit down because there were important things which she should be doing.

I think the difference between the two women is that Martha got caught up in the expectations, responsibilities, and doings of life.  She sees herself as the person who has to get things done.  But Mary, Mary is different.  She doesn’t focus on the doing, instead she wants to become a follower of Christ and so she does it…no matter what she should be doing.

What Martha does isn’t bad, but it isn’t the best. “One thing is needed” Jesus says, it isn’t to do, but rather to be.  One thing is needed – to be at the feet of Jesus.  Mary hows us what is better, the question is “do we follower her example?”

For some reason our society is focused on doing.  We move from doing one thing to going elsewhere to do another thing.  We are so influenced by this mindset that we tend to view everything in terms of doing and being has no place for us.  Doing is easy.  I can put the things I need to “do” on my white board or my scraps of paper, but I can’t put being on there.  Being is hard.   Being involves the willingness to sit at the feet of Jesus when every one else says you should be doing things.

Lent is a time when we focus on sitting at the feet of Jesus. During Lent we learn how to “be” rather than to “do” all the time.

Being is contrary to what society says, but at the same time it is indeed the “one thing” that is needed.  So how do you live your life? Are you a human being or a human doing?  Are you willing to throw everything aside and just sit at the feet of Jesus or are you so consumed by all the “doings” of life that you don’t even consider that as a possibility?

Closing Prayer:

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you O God.  Help me Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit to find my rest, my joy, and my fulfillment in your Son.  Help me to allow the cares of the world to fall away and to know that you are God.  Amen.