In my last post I shared a shortened version of my first preaching message in over 10 years. I wanted to do a series focusing on the Last Supper and in particular the 4 actions we see Jesus doing with the bread that is representative of his body. Jesus took (chose), blessed, broke, and gave (shared) the bread to his disciples. I covered these first two actions in my last post and so tonight I’ll share the shortened version of my message discussing the latter two.
Preaching about being broken and being shared had a very different vibe altogether compared to being chosen and being blessed for obvious reasons. Chosenness and blessedness are things we readily invite into our lives and the more the merrier. But suffering and brokenness enter our lives much like uninvited guests. They arrive at inopportune times (as if there is ever an opportune time for suffering), stay longer than you wish, and make a mess of everything. From our vantage point nothing broken is perfect. When a drinking glass gets a chip on it we don’t say, "Now that’s better." Instead we throw it out because not only does it not look good anymore but that chip detracts from it’s useability. So when we read in Hebrews that Christ is ‘perfected’ through suffering and in 1 Peter that we are to rejoice that we participate in the suffering of Christ we think that suffering must mean something different in Greek.
In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.—Hebrews 2:10
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him –Hebrews 5:8-9
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.—1 Peter 4:12-13
How could suffering make Christ perfect and why in the world ought we to rejoice in any way about participating in it?
A couple years ago I followed along with a very helpful conversation about incarnation and suffering. Incarnation is about much more than just the Word becoming flesh. It is about the Word experiencing everything that flesh and blood human beings experience. The visual image that was presented in this conversation was that of Mary wrapping Jesus in cloth and placing him in a manger. This image was laid along side of the image Joseph of Arimathea wrapping Jesus crucified body in cloth and placing him in the tomb. Both of these pictures bookend the story of incarnation. From birth to death Jesus experienced the depth, width and breadth of our human lives.
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—Hebrews 2:14
Jesus freely participated in humanity and was perfected through suffering. This leads to two life changing truths:
In this whole ordeal we see that our creator is no stranger to suffering. The God who created us and loves us also understands the depth of our brokenness and suffering because he experienced it all firsthand. Anyone who has ever felt the pain of rejection, betrayal or outright physical abuse can know that God is in their midst as a fellow sufferer.
We also can know that suffering has an expiration date. Suffering and brokenness do not get the last word. The resurrected Christ and the kingdom that he ushers in offer the confident hope that all will be made new.
The fourth and final action of Jesus is the giving of the bread to his disciples. As I worked on this particular aspect of the meal I had avoid the easy temptation to discuss ‘giving’ in the ways we typically think. I could have talked about giving food, water or clothes to those in need. I could have talked about the giving of our time, energy and resources to Christian causes. While all of these things are very important and very biblical I think they miss something critical. Jesus didn’t give us ‘stuff’. He didn’t just give us his time, energy and resources. He gave us himself. He gave his very life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)
What Jesus shares with the disciples is broken bread that represents his very self and he invites us to do the same. We are invited to share our lives with others in a way that is truly transformational. Even the broken parts of our lives become opportunities to connect with others. I doubt there is anything more universal than suffering. We are broken people in a broken world. If you were speaking to a large group of people and asked if anyone were fans of a particular sports team and put those people together they would have a community of sorts. They could chat about their beloved team and sense a level of closeness with each other on the basis of that commonality. But if you were to ask that large group if anyone has ever lost a loved one to cancer, not only would you have many more people but you’d have an immediate sense of community and a level of intimacy that the sports group could only dream about. Suffering unites in a unique and universal way.
But the sharing we see in this supper is not just sharing for the sake of sharing. It is the kind of sharing that gives life. Jesus shared his life in order to give life. I love what the apostle Paul does in his letter to the Corinthians. He doesn’t share his struggles for the sake of sharing or in order to gain sympathy. He shares it in order to proclaim the all sufficient grace of Christ!
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:8-10
We share our lives in order that we may share His grace with a broken world. We can stand together with others in the midst of suffering and declare the two truths I mentioned earlier. God is no stranger to suffering and suffering doesn’t have the last word. God does.
We are chosen. We are blessed. We are broken. We are given.
Next week I will share how I wrapped up this series as I did my first ever communion service!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Chosen and Blessed = Bacon and More Bacon
Ten years ago I thought I’d preached my last sermon. I was wrong. This past weekend I came out of retirement, so to speak, and shared a Sunday morning message with a very friendly group of folks in Dekalb, Illinois. Someday I’ll write about that ten year gap in preaching, why I stopped preaching and why I’m starting back up, but not tonight. I need to spend some more time finishing up this weeks message and so tonight I’ll just share a shortened version of last weeks message.
I am a firm believer that we have just as much to learn from Jesus’ actions as his words. Jesus provides patterns and rhythms for our lives and the more we watch the ‘how’ the more we understand the ‘why’. To begin I read the Last Supper account in Luke 22, focusing on the taking, blessing, breaking, and the giving of the bread. When we participate in these actions we are to do them while remembering Jesus. These actions ought to remind us of him and his invitation to participate in them means that we are to also connect with these actions. When we take bread we are to remember how Jesus was taken (chosen) and how we are taken (chosen). When we bless the bread we are to remember how Jesus was blessed and how we are blessed. For the first week I wanted to focus on these two actions so I could give each action more time than having to hurry through all four actions and not adequately deal with each one.
First we are taken, chosen. Last weekend was an event beloved by men all across this country called ‘NFL Draft Day’. College football athletes had already competed in the NFL Combine where they ran, threw, caught, jumped and did every conceivable quantifiable exercise in order to be evaluated by scouts. By the time draft day arrived the experts already had thorough evaluations of all athletes as well as lists of the needs for the teams drafting. If a team had weaknesses in their offensive line (insert Bears joke) these experts had the highest rated athletes to meet that need. Players were ‘taken’ according to their own ability as well as according to the needs of the team. Choosing or selecting is something we’re very skilled at in this world. If you want to see this art form in everyday life just go watch ladies shop for clothes or guys shop for power tools. When we choose items we evaluate all sorts of factors that have everything to do with the item we are choosing. Whether it’s appearance, cost, usefulness or convenience the factors we look at involve the item itself compared to other items.
What I find interesting when God chooses Abraham in Genesis 12 is that there are no factors listed. The passage says absolutely nothing about why he was chosen to be the father of many nations. You’d think if he were filling such an important role in human history God would have given us some sort of idea why he chose this guy.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.—2 Peter 1:3
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.—2 Peter 1:10-11
These 3 verses tell us quite a bit about God’s choosing. First, he doesn’t call us because of anything to do with us. We aren’t chosen because we are the ‘best available’ on the draft board. He called us, chose us, because of HIS glory and goodness. God’s choosing has everything to do with Him. Second, we have some pretty bold promises if we are grounded in the knowledge that we are called by God. Through that knowledge we have what we need to live a godly life and being sure of our calling and election keeps us from stumbling. Those are some pretty big claims! These claims speak to the importance of knowing your true identity. People that are uncertain of who they are, or in this case ‘whose’ they are, find themselves continually in need and continually stumbling through life. How many problems can be boiled down to identity issues? How many people are burnt out trying to please everyone in the hopes that their value may be affirmed? How many people are absolutely devastated by the hurtful words of others? I am fully convinced that were people to understand the pure delight they bring to the Father and the fact that they are beloved by Him, they would be transformed to their core. They would live life differently grounded in that knowledge.
Second, we are blessed. Being chosen and being blessed go together like peanut butter and jelly or like bacon and more bacon. Whenever you see one in scripture you see the other. Abraham is chosen and receives a blessing. The prodigal son is embraced as a son and kissed (blessed) by his father on his return. While working on this message I couldn’t help but picture again and again the image of the father holding and kissing his son repeatedly. Being chosen is the embrace before the blessing. The Father pulls us in close so we can hear the blessing he has for us. You can’t hear a blessing from a distance. The image of a father yelling a blessing from the front porch all the way across the field to the returning son pales in comparison to what we see described. What if the father had thrown his arms around the son and pulled him in close only to say, "I’m not very happy with you." Wouldn’t that have been a hurtful betrayal? Invite the son in close only to deny a blessing and bestow a curse. The fear of this happening is why, I think, people keep God in the distance. Living in this world we are all to familiar with betrayal and the cursing words of others that we can barely comprehend the possibility of a blessing. Much less a blessing from a God that knows what we fight tooth and nail to hide from others. Their gut feeling is that if they are brought close to God that conversation is not going to go well for them. And so they intentionally deny the invitation to be taken, brought close, only to also miss the blessing.
There are also unintentional things that get in the way of hearing God’s blessing. Do we really need to be as busy as we are? Truth is that if something is important we take time for it. The problem then is not that we don’t have time for the important things but that we aren’t treating the important things as importantly as we should. We habitually treat as important and valuable things that in actuality aren’t important or valuable. We run around with flailing limbs all the while missing out on so much. Stop for a second and realize what you are doing and what you are missing. Be still. While driving the 3 hour trip from Holland, Michigan to Dekalb my wife experienced something extremely rare. I was quiet. For those that know me I can be very talkative but when nervous or anxious I go to my default introvert mode. For the most part I think I’m an introvert posing as an extrovert. So here my wife and I were for 3 hours 1 foot apart from each other and my mind was somewhere else entirely. Physically present but mentally absent as I was thinking through what I had prepared and dealing with the anxiety I was feeling about my 10 year break from preaching. While sitting in the Sunday School class and especially while singing during worship I had to fight to be present. Hearing the Father’s blessing requires us to be still and be present.
In Luke 22 it mentions that the passover is the day the lamb was sacrificed. Prior to passover Jesus entered a very festive Jerusalem on what we know of as Palm Sunday. The reason for the city being so jubilant actually had a lot to do with the feast they were celebrating. That Sunday was the day that the lamb was selected and so people were celebratory because a lamb had been selected which would spare the lives of their families. Little did they know that the Lamb had already been selected and had already been blessed.
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."—Luke 3:21-22
It is here where we see the Son taken (chosen) and blessed by the Father. The blessing did not come from a distance as the Spirit descends upon the Son. The Father closes the gap and says to the Son the very words we need to hear ourselves. Jesus invites us to participate in the very same relationship with the Father that he himself enjoyed. In Christ we are brought close to the Father as his sons and daughters. In Christ we are told the truth about who and whose we are. We are His and we are loved.
I am a firm believer that we have just as much to learn from Jesus’ actions as his words. Jesus provides patterns and rhythms for our lives and the more we watch the ‘how’ the more we understand the ‘why’. To begin I read the Last Supper account in Luke 22, focusing on the taking, blessing, breaking, and the giving of the bread. When we participate in these actions we are to do them while remembering Jesus. These actions ought to remind us of him and his invitation to participate in them means that we are to also connect with these actions. When we take bread we are to remember how Jesus was taken (chosen) and how we are taken (chosen). When we bless the bread we are to remember how Jesus was blessed and how we are blessed. For the first week I wanted to focus on these two actions so I could give each action more time than having to hurry through all four actions and not adequately deal with each one.
First we are taken, chosen. Last weekend was an event beloved by men all across this country called ‘NFL Draft Day’. College football athletes had already competed in the NFL Combine where they ran, threw, caught, jumped and did every conceivable quantifiable exercise in order to be evaluated by scouts. By the time draft day arrived the experts already had thorough evaluations of all athletes as well as lists of the needs for the teams drafting. If a team had weaknesses in their offensive line (insert Bears joke) these experts had the highest rated athletes to meet that need. Players were ‘taken’ according to their own ability as well as according to the needs of the team. Choosing or selecting is something we’re very skilled at in this world. If you want to see this art form in everyday life just go watch ladies shop for clothes or guys shop for power tools. When we choose items we evaluate all sorts of factors that have everything to do with the item we are choosing. Whether it’s appearance, cost, usefulness or convenience the factors we look at involve the item itself compared to other items.
What I find interesting when God chooses Abraham in Genesis 12 is that there are no factors listed. The passage says absolutely nothing about why he was chosen to be the father of many nations. You’d think if he were filling such an important role in human history God would have given us some sort of idea why he chose this guy.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.—2 Peter 1:3
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.—2 Peter 1:10-11
These 3 verses tell us quite a bit about God’s choosing. First, he doesn’t call us because of anything to do with us. We aren’t chosen because we are the ‘best available’ on the draft board. He called us, chose us, because of HIS glory and goodness. God’s choosing has everything to do with Him. Second, we have some pretty bold promises if we are grounded in the knowledge that we are called by God. Through that knowledge we have what we need to live a godly life and being sure of our calling and election keeps us from stumbling. Those are some pretty big claims! These claims speak to the importance of knowing your true identity. People that are uncertain of who they are, or in this case ‘whose’ they are, find themselves continually in need and continually stumbling through life. How many problems can be boiled down to identity issues? How many people are burnt out trying to please everyone in the hopes that their value may be affirmed? How many people are absolutely devastated by the hurtful words of others? I am fully convinced that were people to understand the pure delight they bring to the Father and the fact that they are beloved by Him, they would be transformed to their core. They would live life differently grounded in that knowledge.
Second, we are blessed. Being chosen and being blessed go together like peanut butter and jelly or like bacon and more bacon. Whenever you see one in scripture you see the other. Abraham is chosen and receives a blessing. The prodigal son is embraced as a son and kissed (blessed) by his father on his return. While working on this message I couldn’t help but picture again and again the image of the father holding and kissing his son repeatedly. Being chosen is the embrace before the blessing. The Father pulls us in close so we can hear the blessing he has for us. You can’t hear a blessing from a distance. The image of a father yelling a blessing from the front porch all the way across the field to the returning son pales in comparison to what we see described. What if the father had thrown his arms around the son and pulled him in close only to say, "I’m not very happy with you." Wouldn’t that have been a hurtful betrayal? Invite the son in close only to deny a blessing and bestow a curse. The fear of this happening is why, I think, people keep God in the distance. Living in this world we are all to familiar with betrayal and the cursing words of others that we can barely comprehend the possibility of a blessing. Much less a blessing from a God that knows what we fight tooth and nail to hide from others. Their gut feeling is that if they are brought close to God that conversation is not going to go well for them. And so they intentionally deny the invitation to be taken, brought close, only to also miss the blessing.
There are also unintentional things that get in the way of hearing God’s blessing. Do we really need to be as busy as we are? Truth is that if something is important we take time for it. The problem then is not that we don’t have time for the important things but that we aren’t treating the important things as importantly as we should. We habitually treat as important and valuable things that in actuality aren’t important or valuable. We run around with flailing limbs all the while missing out on so much. Stop for a second and realize what you are doing and what you are missing. Be still. While driving the 3 hour trip from Holland, Michigan to Dekalb my wife experienced something extremely rare. I was quiet. For those that know me I can be very talkative but when nervous or anxious I go to my default introvert mode. For the most part I think I’m an introvert posing as an extrovert. So here my wife and I were for 3 hours 1 foot apart from each other and my mind was somewhere else entirely. Physically present but mentally absent as I was thinking through what I had prepared and dealing with the anxiety I was feeling about my 10 year break from preaching. While sitting in the Sunday School class and especially while singing during worship I had to fight to be present. Hearing the Father’s blessing requires us to be still and be present.
In Luke 22 it mentions that the passover is the day the lamb was sacrificed. Prior to passover Jesus entered a very festive Jerusalem on what we know of as Palm Sunday. The reason for the city being so jubilant actually had a lot to do with the feast they were celebrating. That Sunday was the day that the lamb was selected and so people were celebratory because a lamb had been selected which would spare the lives of their families. Little did they know that the Lamb had already been selected and had already been blessed.
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."—Luke 3:21-22
It is here where we see the Son taken (chosen) and blessed by the Father. The blessing did not come from a distance as the Spirit descends upon the Son. The Father closes the gap and says to the Son the very words we need to hear ourselves. Jesus invites us to participate in the very same relationship with the Father that he himself enjoyed. In Christ we are brought close to the Father as his sons and daughters. In Christ we are told the truth about who and whose we are. We are His and we are loved.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Driving Lessons
- I don’t remember ever having a formal discussion with my wife before or after getting married about who drives when we travel together but looking back over our 9 years of married life it’s pretty clear that I do the driving. Whether short trips or long I do virtually all of the driving and there are 2 major lessons that I have learned over these years.
Lesson 1: She notices a ton more than me when I’m driving.
Maybe it’s because I’ve got a destination and objective in mind or I’m talking a ton while focusing on the road ahead but it’s pretty clear that she is able to notice the bigger picture much better than me. There are countless times when there is no rush that I happen to notice something new along the way. I’ll see a new store open, an old store closed, and think that this is a new occurrence only to be informed by my wife that it’s been that way for weeks or months. As a passenger she has the freedom to actually observe her surroundings in a way that I cannot. While I am busy avoiding the crazy drivers filling the roadway she is able to enjoy the ride so long as I’m not being a crazy driver myself.
Lesson 2: I am a horrible passenger!
I can’t overstate this fact enough and I know my wife is nodding as she reads this. Perhaps this is why she lets me drive virtually all the time. The only thing worse than my driving is having me as a passenger. One of us has been pulled over 4 times since we got married and it’s not her. Granted, I get out of any and all tickets because I am the smoothest man alive but Lori has yet to be pulled over once since we exchanged vows. That says plenty about her driving and the few times she drives she deserves some peace and quiet when it comes to my driving comments. And as far as passengers go Lori is wonderful! She reserves her comments until after her breath returns and I have managed to avoid another accident. It was the other driver’s fault of course. I’m not sure how she does it but I’m guessing it has a little to do with radical trust.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.---Romans 12:2
You’re probably wondering what a verse like this would have to do with the driving lessons above but I think there is plenty to be learned here. Here are two lessons we see in this passage.
Lesson 1: Drivers Conform.
The more we are behind the wheel the more we start driving like everyone else. This is something we actively do. There is nobody forcing us to live in ways that conform to the patterns of this world but in an effort to blend in we naturally steer that way. Chances are that we don’t even notice how much we blend in. We can get so focused on where we’re going and the traffic in our immediate area that we miss most of what’s going on. Conforming happens when we’re in control and along with a false sense of power we struggle to trust others with the wheel. I wonder if my comments about life addressed to God resemble my comments about driving to my wife.
Lesson 2: Passengers are Transformed.
In contrast to us changing to blend in with the world this is more about letting God mold and shape us. When we try to do the forming we end up conforming. When we slide over to the passenger seat we are in a position to be transformed. This passenger view provides quite a few perks provided we learn to trust the driver. If you struggle with trust you just may be too scared or nervous to notice the possibilities.
The first perk is rest. The main issue that requires me to be a passenger is exhaustion. If I worked the night prior and Lori is in a hurry to hit the road I try to get some shuteye during the first part of the trip. I do manage to fall asleep because falling asleep is my spiritual gift but I struggle to stay asleep. Every little tap of the brake or turn of the wheel is enough for me to sit straight up and look around wide-eyed fully expecting to see our car sliding under a semi. Trust helps us get rest when we need it because we’re not worrying about who is in control. Another perk is the ability to actually enjoy the ride. There’s nothing worse as a driver than having to miss something because you have to keep your attention on the road. You can only steal a quick glance while passengers are able to give something their full attention. I have lost every game of ‘yellow car’ for the sole reason that my wife has free reign to look down every alley. That is why I purchased a little yellow matchbox car as her trophy and the game is forbidden when we travel.
So who’s in control of your vehicle as you travel down the road of life? Maybe it’s time you handed over control. Maybe you’ve handed over control but you’re still learning to trust. Maybe you’ve learned to trust and are now able to not only enjoy where you are currently in life but are also able to discern his ‘good, pleasing and perfect will’. The issue of control is an ongoing one as there is always the temptation to return to the driver’s seat. But if the destination is transformation there is only one seat where you can fully enjoy the ride.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Bath Time!!!!
Of all the experiences we have in this world I doubt there are many that can compare to that ‘just out of the shower’ feeling. I’m not sure what it is about being clean that is invigorating (maybe it’s the chemicals in bodywash) but I like it. For many people a bath is how you start your day and so it symbolizes a fresh new beginning and it’s only downhill from there. Or maybe you’ve just finished some sort of physical labor type activity and getting a bath symbolizes completion and now you are free for the more fun things in life. In either situation a bath is a highlight but there are definitely times when a bath is SCARY!
Unless you are a caregiver for someone in need chances are that you have not had the regular experience of giving someone a bath or been the recipient of a bath by someone. Perhaps due to some sort of an injury to yourself or a loved one you have had a few of these experiences in your lifetime but I reckon there are quite a few who have never had any experience like this. It is truly one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had.
A couple of years ago I was assisting at a special needs camp and the camper I was assigned to had physical limitations and required assistance in getting ready for his day. Being that I did not know Tom and I had never helped someone bathe before it was an interesting first day. Frustrating might be a better description. Each morning afterward I was up by 4:30am so that I could be up and ready and have a couple hours to myself before I would need to start Tom and I’s routine. Many lessons were learned when it came to vulnerability, trust, patience and compassion. I can only imagine what it was like to be in Tom’s place and have to be so vulnerable to someone he didn’t even know at first. I can only imagine the amount of trust he had to place in my very literal hands as we worked and maneuvered together to do what needed to be done. No imagining on my part was necessary when it came to learning about patience. My wife can attest to my impatience and that was challenged to the extreme that week. I had to relinquish all control and go at the pace of another. If there was one thing that I needed and didn’t have on that first day it was the kind of compassion necessary to truly care for the needs of someone like Tom. If there was one thing learned in those early mornings alone it was the depth of the compassion of Christ. I needed to tap into that deep well in order to have what I did not have naturally.
I recently listened to Brennan Manning speak of Christ as the ‘Son of Compassion’. He warned that we are misguided if we try to compare our human, far from impartial, shallow, self-serving kind of compassion to the compassion of Christ. The compassion that Christ has for those who are suffering is a compassion that resonates in the womb of the eternal. This is so much more than the kind of ‘My heart goes out to….’ that we so regularly hear during times of tragedy. The heart of Christ doesn’t simply ‘go out’ to people in such times but is instead twisted and wrenched, torn and broken, opened and poured out. It is this ‘Son of Compassion’ that we see washing the feet of his disciples.
John 13:4-10
So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."
I could spend hours writing about the significance of who is doing the washing but I’m going to fast forward to those of us getting a bath and the two words I used in describing Tom’s side of our experience: Trust and Vulnerability. Trust is a huge deal because without trust you will never be vulnerable. There will always be barriers, there will always be distance and there will never be a true intimate relationship if there is not trust. It is by trusting Jesus that we open our lives up to the reality that we need a bath. Then it’s bath time and just like in this story there are those of us who need our whole body washed and there are those of us who just need our feet washed. Everyone needs their whole body washed at some point (baptism) but in a spiritual sense this is not something people need to have done over and over and over. I do, however, think we regularly need what Peter needed as Jesus offered to wash his feet. Life has its way of collecting dirt as we go along and it’s easy for people to reject Jesus’ invitation to wash the more objectionable parts of their lives. "That’s ok Jesus. You’ve done enough. I’ll wash that area myself." We don’t like to admit it but when it comes to this kind of spiritual bath we need help. The truth is that He can reach areas we can’t no matter how hard we try. Trust Him. Be vulnerable. Be clean.
Unless you are a caregiver for someone in need chances are that you have not had the regular experience of giving someone a bath or been the recipient of a bath by someone. Perhaps due to some sort of an injury to yourself or a loved one you have had a few of these experiences in your lifetime but I reckon there are quite a few who have never had any experience like this. It is truly one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had.
A couple of years ago I was assisting at a special needs camp and the camper I was assigned to had physical limitations and required assistance in getting ready for his day. Being that I did not know Tom and I had never helped someone bathe before it was an interesting first day. Frustrating might be a better description. Each morning afterward I was up by 4:30am so that I could be up and ready and have a couple hours to myself before I would need to start Tom and I’s routine. Many lessons were learned when it came to vulnerability, trust, patience and compassion. I can only imagine what it was like to be in Tom’s place and have to be so vulnerable to someone he didn’t even know at first. I can only imagine the amount of trust he had to place in my very literal hands as we worked and maneuvered together to do what needed to be done. No imagining on my part was necessary when it came to learning about patience. My wife can attest to my impatience and that was challenged to the extreme that week. I had to relinquish all control and go at the pace of another. If there was one thing that I needed and didn’t have on that first day it was the kind of compassion necessary to truly care for the needs of someone like Tom. If there was one thing learned in those early mornings alone it was the depth of the compassion of Christ. I needed to tap into that deep well in order to have what I did not have naturally.
I recently listened to Brennan Manning speak of Christ as the ‘Son of Compassion’. He warned that we are misguided if we try to compare our human, far from impartial, shallow, self-serving kind of compassion to the compassion of Christ. The compassion that Christ has for those who are suffering is a compassion that resonates in the womb of the eternal. This is so much more than the kind of ‘My heart goes out to….’ that we so regularly hear during times of tragedy. The heart of Christ doesn’t simply ‘go out’ to people in such times but is instead twisted and wrenched, torn and broken, opened and poured out. It is this ‘Son of Compassion’ that we see washing the feet of his disciples.
John 13:4-10
So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."
I could spend hours writing about the significance of who is doing the washing but I’m going to fast forward to those of us getting a bath and the two words I used in describing Tom’s side of our experience: Trust and Vulnerability. Trust is a huge deal because without trust you will never be vulnerable. There will always be barriers, there will always be distance and there will never be a true intimate relationship if there is not trust. It is by trusting Jesus that we open our lives up to the reality that we need a bath. Then it’s bath time and just like in this story there are those of us who need our whole body washed and there are those of us who just need our feet washed. Everyone needs their whole body washed at some point (baptism) but in a spiritual sense this is not something people need to have done over and over and over. I do, however, think we regularly need what Peter needed as Jesus offered to wash his feet. Life has its way of collecting dirt as we go along and it’s easy for people to reject Jesus’ invitation to wash the more objectionable parts of their lives. "That’s ok Jesus. You’ve done enough. I’ll wash that area myself." We don’t like to admit it but when it comes to this kind of spiritual bath we need help. The truth is that He can reach areas we can’t no matter how hard we try. Trust Him. Be vulnerable. Be clean.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
While it was still dark.....
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb….—John 20:1
I have worked nightshift for over 9 years and so I have a different routine than most. Rather than sleeping during the night and working during the day I am quite used to the opposite. As such, I get a steady dose of the dark night. The unit where I work has a residential pet named Spot, an Australian shepherd who occassionally steals my food if I’m not careful. In the middle of the night he he will wake up from his doggie dreams and come to the office doorway and give me the look that says I need to drop what I’m doing. As he runs around in the backyard I get the chance to look up at the stars in the dark night sky. Darkness for most people can be disturbing or even terrifying. Some may find it peaceful but I assume that that is only the case when one is in a familiar setting or reasonably safe environment.
Typically people think of daytime as the beginning of the day as that is when people wake up and start their activity. Nighttime is then the time when people come indoors and end their activity so they can sleep and get ready for the new day in the morning. Jewish tradition is much different and we see it most clearly in how they honor the Sabbath. Sabbath begins sundown on the 6th day and ends sundown on the 7th. That routine involves beginning with night and ending with the daylight. Why do they have such an odd arrangement to their day? The roots go back to the creation story itself.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
In Genesis we see the regular pattern of evening followed by morning. In the bigger picture we at first see a formless void of darkness but God speaks and light breaks forth. This pattern of night to day is a daily rhythm that testifies to the creative direction since the beginning. Light from the darkness. Life from death.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.—1 Peter 2:9
Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.—Matthew 4:15-16
Earlier I did a post on the suffering of Christ but I want to do one more thing before we arrive at the resurrection. I want to spend some time looking at someone who is very representative of where we find ourselves as Christians from time to time. Let’s look at the situation of Mary on her way to the tomb. This is not some sort of serene and peaceful darkness where Mary finds herself. Inside she is anything but peaceful. I can only imagine the fear, doubt, and grief that flooded her mind as she made her way toward the tomb. I am really good at having those internal conversations or recounting past conversations and so it is easy for me to place myself in her shoes in that sense. I’m sure she is placing the expectations she had alongside of the recent events and wondering where everything went wrong. How do you go from the celebration of Palm Sunday to this? I’m sure the whole thing was a blur. Unanswered questions start piling up with no clear place to start. It was dark.
When you turn the lights out on people there are two universal reactions: fright and freeze. When things go dark it catches people by surprise and you immediately stop what you’re doing because you can’t see and things get complicated. It’s in the dark times in life that it is easy to lose hope, give up, and stop moving forward but that’s not what we see Mary doing. Others are huddled together in hiding, unsure if they will be next if they show themselves. But Mary is making her way to the tomb and facing the one big thing that is to blame for her darkness. Later on she will get to see that amazing moment when darkness turns to light but for now it is dark.
What is your current darkness? What are the areas in life needing light and life to dawn anew? No matter how dark things are, no matter how tough the questions or severe the doubts, don’t give up hope. Don’t stop moving forward. The day is coming.
I have worked nightshift for over 9 years and so I have a different routine than most. Rather than sleeping during the night and working during the day I am quite used to the opposite. As such, I get a steady dose of the dark night. The unit where I work has a residential pet named Spot, an Australian shepherd who occassionally steals my food if I’m not careful. In the middle of the night he he will wake up from his doggie dreams and come to the office doorway and give me the look that says I need to drop what I’m doing. As he runs around in the backyard I get the chance to look up at the stars in the dark night sky. Darkness for most people can be disturbing or even terrifying. Some may find it peaceful but I assume that that is only the case when one is in a familiar setting or reasonably safe environment.
Typically people think of daytime as the beginning of the day as that is when people wake up and start their activity. Nighttime is then the time when people come indoors and end their activity so they can sleep and get ready for the new day in the morning. Jewish tradition is much different and we see it most clearly in how they honor the Sabbath. Sabbath begins sundown on the 6th day and ends sundown on the 7th. That routine involves beginning with night and ending with the daylight. Why do they have such an odd arrangement to their day? The roots go back to the creation story itself.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
In Genesis we see the regular pattern of evening followed by morning. In the bigger picture we at first see a formless void of darkness but God speaks and light breaks forth. This pattern of night to day is a daily rhythm that testifies to the creative direction since the beginning. Light from the darkness. Life from death.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.—1 Peter 2:9
Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.—Matthew 4:15-16
Earlier I did a post on the suffering of Christ but I want to do one more thing before we arrive at the resurrection. I want to spend some time looking at someone who is very representative of where we find ourselves as Christians from time to time. Let’s look at the situation of Mary on her way to the tomb. This is not some sort of serene and peaceful darkness where Mary finds herself. Inside she is anything but peaceful. I can only imagine the fear, doubt, and grief that flooded her mind as she made her way toward the tomb. I am really good at having those internal conversations or recounting past conversations and so it is easy for me to place myself in her shoes in that sense. I’m sure she is placing the expectations she had alongside of the recent events and wondering where everything went wrong. How do you go from the celebration of Palm Sunday to this? I’m sure the whole thing was a blur. Unanswered questions start piling up with no clear place to start. It was dark.
When you turn the lights out on people there are two universal reactions: fright and freeze. When things go dark it catches people by surprise and you immediately stop what you’re doing because you can’t see and things get complicated. It’s in the dark times in life that it is easy to lose hope, give up, and stop moving forward but that’s not what we see Mary doing. Others are huddled together in hiding, unsure if they will be next if they show themselves. But Mary is making her way to the tomb and facing the one big thing that is to blame for her darkness. Later on she will get to see that amazing moment when darkness turns to light but for now it is dark.
What is your current darkness? What are the areas in life needing light and life to dawn anew? No matter how dark things are, no matter how tough the questions or severe the doubts, don’t give up hope. Don’t stop moving forward. The day is coming.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Suffering and the Perfection of Christ
In my last post I mentioned that when it comes to this particular week on the church calendar my wife and I have different preferences. My wife gets really uneasy about the whole crucifixion part of the narrative and cannot wait for Easter morning to arrive so she can celebrate the risen Lord. My attention for the weeks leading up to Easter is solely on Good Friday as that is what has had the biggest impact on me since a particular Good Friday back when I was in the 7th grade. I will write about that later but for now I want to go through some things that I think are extremely important when it comes to the suffering and death of Christ.
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.—Hebrews 2:10
Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.—Hebrews 5:8-9
The thought that Jesus is somehow perfected through suffering is a challenging one. How does what he endured on the way to the cross and on the way to his ultimate death perfect him? Nothing about what we see happening to him in the gospels seems perfect in any way. It all seems so unnecessary and in my head I can’t help but hear one of those infomercial voices saying, "There has to be a better way!". A couple years ago I was going through an online conversation about the incarnation and saw these two verses paired together and they hit me like a ton of bricks.
She wrapped him in cloths and laid him in the manger.—Luke 2:7
Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock.—Luke 23:53
We generally talk about incarnation, the Word becoming flesh, during Christmas because it is there where we see God doing something new. However, these two passages about his birth and his death are what truly bookend and complete the incarnation. The incarnation isn’t complete until God in Jesus experiences the full width, depth, and breadth of humanity. God experienced all that it means to be human and that includes suffering and death. Jesus is the perfect and complete author of salvation because he was fully man that he might represent us and was fully God that he might save us.
Jesus offers us no explanation of suffering but instead offers us his participation of suffering. His participation in suffering allowed for a kind of identification with us that could not have happened otherwise. It was his participation in suffering that powerfully changed my life when I needed it. Years ago, following the funeral of a friend on Good Friday I remembered what day it was and found it puzzling. This was the worst day of my life and was what I presumed to be the worst day of Jesus’ life and I asked God a big question. What possibly could be ‘good’ about this day? The immediate realization/revelation that God in Christ knew all about pain and suffering spoke immediately and profoundly to me in the midst of my pain and suffering. I was not alone in my suffering. You are not alone in yours. Ever.
In the resurrection of Jesus we see that death does not have the final word but we live in the ‘not yet’. Our prayer is still ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ because we know that the day when all will be made right is not yet fully here. Until that day we only see a shadow or reflection of resurrection in the midst of the tremendous suffering and death in our world. But until then we can offer the simple but powerful reassurance that God is with us.
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.—Hebrews 2:10
Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.—Hebrews 5:8-9
The thought that Jesus is somehow perfected through suffering is a challenging one. How does what he endured on the way to the cross and on the way to his ultimate death perfect him? Nothing about what we see happening to him in the gospels seems perfect in any way. It all seems so unnecessary and in my head I can’t help but hear one of those infomercial voices saying, "There has to be a better way!". A couple years ago I was going through an online conversation about the incarnation and saw these two verses paired together and they hit me like a ton of bricks.
She wrapped him in cloths and laid him in the manger.—Luke 2:7
Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock.—Luke 23:53
We generally talk about incarnation, the Word becoming flesh, during Christmas because it is there where we see God doing something new. However, these two passages about his birth and his death are what truly bookend and complete the incarnation. The incarnation isn’t complete until God in Jesus experiences the full width, depth, and breadth of humanity. God experienced all that it means to be human and that includes suffering and death. Jesus is the perfect and complete author of salvation because he was fully man that he might represent us and was fully God that he might save us.
Jesus offers us no explanation of suffering but instead offers us his participation of suffering. His participation in suffering allowed for a kind of identification with us that could not have happened otherwise. It was his participation in suffering that powerfully changed my life when I needed it. Years ago, following the funeral of a friend on Good Friday I remembered what day it was and found it puzzling. This was the worst day of my life and was what I presumed to be the worst day of Jesus’ life and I asked God a big question. What possibly could be ‘good’ about this day? The immediate realization/revelation that God in Christ knew all about pain and suffering spoke immediately and profoundly to me in the midst of my pain and suffering. I was not alone in my suffering. You are not alone in yours. Ever.
In the resurrection of Jesus we see that death does not have the final word but we live in the ‘not yet’. Our prayer is still ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ because we know that the day when all will be made right is not yet fully here. Until that day we only see a shadow or reflection of resurrection in the midst of the tremendous suffering and death in our world. But until then we can offer the simple but powerful reassurance that God is with us.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Worship, Participation and the Cross
Whenever I come across a song that really resonates with me I have a tendency to listen to it over and over for a lengthy period of time. My wife started helping lead children’s worship where we attend and so she has a couple music cd’s she is currently working through. A week ago one of the songs got my attention and so my wife had to deal with me playing it repeatedly all week long. On the way to church yesterday morning we listened to it a couple more times. Imagine my utter joy, and my wife’s utter misery, when the first song we sang as a congregation was that same song! The main chorus is a very simple and repetitive "Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God forever." As I sang and as I listened I couldn’t help but feel that in some way the hundreds of people that showed up to church on this particular Sunday morning decided to participate in the worship song that I had been singing all week. This song had been moving long before the congregation showed up to join in.
The truth of the matter is this sort of dynamic is present each and every time we gather for worship. Praise and adoration of God has been sung for forever in the literal sense with no breaks and on repeat as some rather interesting creatures give glory to God. God does not wait for us to strike up the band, warm up the piano seat, or whatever else we do to prepare for worship. Worship does not start with us, wait for us or depend on us and it’s going on whether we like it or not. The big question is whether or not we’ll join in on the song that is being sung. If you want to know the words to this song there are plenty of places in scripture providing the lyrics.
My favorite word recently has been ‘participation’ as I’ve seen that it can be used to describe many of life’s experiences. This past week was the last week of basketball coaching for the year as I coach the guys at work. Participation for us was not a matter of simply showing up but involved us engaging and interacting for practice and games. This participation included struggles and achievements, success and disappointment. Similarly, worship is not something you just show up for and worship is inclusive. It is wide enough to include the whole range of our experiences. Our suffering and our joy as participants are both welcomed as we gather.
I think this range is particularly important as Easter draws close. From the lows of Good Friday (which I’ve always found to be oddly named) to a victorious Easter morning we participate in so many different ways. For my wife the resurrection can’t come soon enough and a few years ago she was overjoyed when we went to a celebratory Easter service just a couple hours after a very solemn Good Friday service. I, on the other hand, find myself fighting to keep the knowledge of Easter morning at bay so as not to detract from what happens at the cross. For those that love reading mystery or thriller novels I can only imagine how much a knowledge of what happens in advance would remove the suspense of the moment.
As I approach Easter this year it seems that there are many that I know who have had to deal up close and personal with death. A father and husband. A wife and mother. A son and brother. A daughter and sister. For the loved ones left to deal with the loss I can’t imagine what an event like Easter stirs up as they hear once again about the death and resurrection of Christ. I remember where I was when the realization that Christ participated in suffering and died sunk in for the first time. Sitting on the floor of my room on a Good Friday following the funeral of a close friend it became clear to me that God is no stranger to suffering and those who suffer.
It seems like forever since I was doing an internship in Indianapolis and staying with a wonderful host family. One Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of the television in the neighboring living room at full volume. Tom, the dad, had come across a song that he fell in love with on a Gaithers VHS tape and needed the television turned all the way up so he could hear it upstairs while he got ready. When the song would finish he would come downstairs, rewind the tape, and the song would once more fill the house. Tom was not alone in his worshipful participation with this song but the rest of us really weren’t willing participants. We were taken captive more than captivated on this particular morning. When I heard that he had passed away I immediately wondered if he was happy with the current volume and intensity of worship.
Whether it be in communion, baptism, or worship, the whole range of our lives is offered up to participate in the song that was sung, is being sung, and will be sung forever, day and night:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.—Revelation 4:8
In joy or in pain we all have the opportunity to worship as we are. The question still remains, "Will we?".
The truth of the matter is this sort of dynamic is present each and every time we gather for worship. Praise and adoration of God has been sung for forever in the literal sense with no breaks and on repeat as some rather interesting creatures give glory to God. God does not wait for us to strike up the band, warm up the piano seat, or whatever else we do to prepare for worship. Worship does not start with us, wait for us or depend on us and it’s going on whether we like it or not. The big question is whether or not we’ll join in on the song that is being sung. If you want to know the words to this song there are plenty of places in scripture providing the lyrics.
My favorite word recently has been ‘participation’ as I’ve seen that it can be used to describe many of life’s experiences. This past week was the last week of basketball coaching for the year as I coach the guys at work. Participation for us was not a matter of simply showing up but involved us engaging and interacting for practice and games. This participation included struggles and achievements, success and disappointment. Similarly, worship is not something you just show up for and worship is inclusive. It is wide enough to include the whole range of our experiences. Our suffering and our joy as participants are both welcomed as we gather.
I think this range is particularly important as Easter draws close. From the lows of Good Friday (which I’ve always found to be oddly named) to a victorious Easter morning we participate in so many different ways. For my wife the resurrection can’t come soon enough and a few years ago she was overjoyed when we went to a celebratory Easter service just a couple hours after a very solemn Good Friday service. I, on the other hand, find myself fighting to keep the knowledge of Easter morning at bay so as not to detract from what happens at the cross. For those that love reading mystery or thriller novels I can only imagine how much a knowledge of what happens in advance would remove the suspense of the moment.
As I approach Easter this year it seems that there are many that I know who have had to deal up close and personal with death. A father and husband. A wife and mother. A son and brother. A daughter and sister. For the loved ones left to deal with the loss I can’t imagine what an event like Easter stirs up as they hear once again about the death and resurrection of Christ. I remember where I was when the realization that Christ participated in suffering and died sunk in for the first time. Sitting on the floor of my room on a Good Friday following the funeral of a close friend it became clear to me that God is no stranger to suffering and those who suffer.
It seems like forever since I was doing an internship in Indianapolis and staying with a wonderful host family. One Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of the television in the neighboring living room at full volume. Tom, the dad, had come across a song that he fell in love with on a Gaithers VHS tape and needed the television turned all the way up so he could hear it upstairs while he got ready. When the song would finish he would come downstairs, rewind the tape, and the song would once more fill the house. Tom was not alone in his worshipful participation with this song but the rest of us really weren’t willing participants. We were taken captive more than captivated on this particular morning. When I heard that he had passed away I immediately wondered if he was happy with the current volume and intensity of worship.
Whether it be in communion, baptism, or worship, the whole range of our lives is offered up to participate in the song that was sung, is being sung, and will be sung forever, day and night:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.—Revelation 4:8
In joy or in pain we all have the opportunity to worship as we are. The question still remains, "Will we?".
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