Tag Archives: Jesus

Jesus is calling…

19 Wednesday Apr 2017

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Ring, ring…

Ring, ring…

(Humanity answers the phone…)  “Hello…”

“Yeah, it’s me…Jesus.  I have a few things to tell you.  I just have to get these off my chest.”

“So, I’ve been thinking.  I’m thinking that you all have a slight problem. Ok, a big problem.  Many of you claim to be my followers.  Yet, when I look around, I’m not seeing much following going on.  I’m seeing a lot using my name and pretending to be followers going on.  You know, the whole consumerism thing going on in the West.  Yeah, that’s not something I’m really about.  Remember how I taught to give away all the stuff that got in the way of following me?  No…I’m not surprised.”

“Yeah, and about enemies.  You don’t seem to understand what I was saying.  I said to love your enemies.  Yet you seem intent on killing them.  But not with kindness…or love.  No just killing them.  I think we have a failure to communicate here.”

“Yeah and the poor, the marginalized, the persecuted, the defenseless.  Yeah, do I really need to go into detail here.”

“Oh, and you’re not going to like this one – putting country or political party above me is not my cup of tea.  We had this same problem in the past.  Just in case you haven’t learned this, no worries, you will.  The end result is always the same.  Country and party end up as something else.”

“Hello…are you still there?  Figures.  I’ll try again later.  Maybe you’ll listen.  Regardless, please hear this.  I still love you.  Even when you ignore me.  Even when you stop listening.  Even when you use my name but go on your own path.  Oh, and I’ve got you covered.  Just in ways you may not understand.”

“And for the few of you who are listening and doing your best to follow…thank you.  Keep it up.  Trust me, it’s worth it.”

“By the way, the dinner invitation every week stands. You can come to my place and you’ll be fed the best food and drink ever.  And we’ll talk about things that make you feel so very alive and ready to face the week. And of course the company will be interesting and sometimes challenging.  But like them, you’ll be my guest.”

“Talk with you again soon. Peace.”

(The call ends…)

We are so removed from violence

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

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So for Holy Thursday, last week, I made a last minute decision to add in a specific prayer of intercession for the victims of violence, terror, and war.  I came across a website (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_April_2017) which lists terrorist incidents in the world.  It lists them by day, with the number of victims, and the location.  If you want, you can go to the bottom of the page and see incidents for a specific year or month.

During the prayers, I only read off the locations for incidents that happened between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday.  There were 25 incidents in those 5 days.  25.  Let that sink in for a moment.

In the US we are so far removed from violence and terrorism.  Yes, there are incidents here and there, but they are pretty rare compared to places like Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan which seems to dominate the list.

25 incidents across the world.  And that’s just related to terrorism.  That’s not counting war or war-acts, like when we bombed “militants” in Syria and killed 36 militants.  Or other wars – either declared or happening anyway.

And that’s not counting other acts of violence that happen in the world each day.  Violence against women and children, violence in the form of crime, violence because of gangs.  Those are traditionally thought of as violence.  Some would throw in violence against nature in that mix along with violence against animals.  There’s plenty of that to go around as well.

Death and destruction seem to have a hold on the planet and humanity in particular.

Yet here we are post-Easter.  We are told that Jesus has conquered death.  But sometimes it’s hard to believe it when we see violent acts continuing.  Sometimes even in God’s name.

But Jesus never said there would be no more death or violence.  Just that death has been conquered.  That means that death does not have the final say.  Death is not the end of the story.  Ultimately, God has the final say.  And while we may not like the fact that violence continues to stubbornly exist along with death, we have been promised that these things will come to an end.  It’s just not on our time.  It’s a reminder that time didn’t start when we were born and it doesn’t end when we die.  God looks at time far different than we do.

For the month of April, 2017, there have been 78 incidents as of this writing.  There were too many dead and injured to count up.  Death keeps rearing it’s head – in the name of God, in the name of country, in the name of ideology, in the name of theology, in the name of whatever.  Yet, regardless of whose name it happens, or rather it is claimed in, we should remember this – just because something is claimed in the name of God or country, doesn’t mean God or the country agrees with it.  I imagine God is looking upon humanity and saying – “here we go again…When will they ever learn…I don’t desire conformity of belief, but rather love.”  And God will continue to live out that love in creation.

Good Friday

14 Friday Apr 2017

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All week-long we’ve been looking at Holy Week.  And today is the day that so many people just don’t know what to do with.

Good Friday.  The day that Jesus was crucified.  Yet it’s good.  It’s a mix of a day.  A day of sadness and ultimate joy for Christians.  It’s a day that has been used in anti-Semitic ways too.  It’s a day that some Christians would rather skip.  Easter is so much happier – there’s an Easter bunny don’t you know.  He hands out chocolate – he’s like Spring’s version of Santa.

But you can’t get to Easter without going through Good Friday.  You don’t get to new life until there is death.  Something has to die in order for there to be new life.  What about Babies, you say.  Well, sitting inside the mother’s womb has to end in order to the baby to be born into the world.  Imagine how frightening that must be – your whole world, everything you’ve ever known – all of a sudden it’s ending.  You don’t know what is on the other side.

Death leads to life in nature.  When a tree dies and falls, fungus starts to grow on it eventually.  Bugs make it their home.  Animals seek protection in the hollow of the trunk.

Death leads to life – and it is good.  In the creation story we hear about how God creates out of nothing – the nothingness ends and creation comes into being.  In other versions of the story, God creates out of the chaos.  The chaos ends and order and life begin.

Death and life go hand-in-hand.  Yet, we don’t like to think about death.  Too often we think that death is the end, a permanent end.  Yet, we Christians know this is not the case.  Death doesn’t have the final say, it is not the final end.  We have been promised new life.  Death leads to life.  In the end that life will not look the same, but it will be life.  Death is not the end, it the end of the old, and the beginning of the new.

Good Friday is good because death no longer has the final say – that way died.  New life begins.

 

Maundy Thursday

13 Thursday Apr 2017

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Today is the day that Christians celebrate the Last Supper.  It also the day that many Christians will participate in a foot washing during the service.

I have to say, I was always uncomfortable with this.  I don’t like feet.  I don’t think I’m alone in this.  I don’t like to have my feet uncovered in public.  I’m not ashamed of my feet, I’m just not interested in showing them off though.  I’m sure there is some deep seated reason for this – I don’t know what it is, nor do I really care to find out.  It just don’t affect my day-to-day life that much to worry about.  And the only time I really think about it is on Maundy Thursday or when we go to the beach.

At any rate.  The washing of feet is difficult for many people.  Maybe it’s because of the association of dirt with feet.  We’re being asking to do something dirty – wash feet.  Not only that, we’re being asked to accept the fact that Jesus – God – washed people’s feet.  How crazy is that?  Talk about bringing yourself low.

Yet, that’s exactly what Jesus did and calls on us to do – to bring ourselves low.  To self-empty.  To wash another person’s feet.  And in the act of washing, to have our pride washed away.  Jesus calls on us to be servants, not saviors.  He’s got that role covered as we’ll hear about tomorrow.

We’d much rather participate in the supper part of the service.  Who doesn’t like food anyway?  Food can be dirty too, but it’s a different kind of dirty – it’s just messy.  But it tastes good and is pleasing to our bodies.  But touching feet?  That’s a whole different story.

And yet here we are on Maundy Thursday.  Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and then does dinner.  I can hear all the moms out there saying – “I sure hope he washed his hands after touching their feet.”

It reminds me of another saying of Jesus. Matthew 6:21 has Jesus saying “Where your treasure is, there your heart will follow.” It means that we do the act so that our heart will follow.  If we waited for ourselves to get comfortable with washing feet, then we’d never do it.  We’d never be comfortable with serving others in “dirty” ways.  We’d never get comfortable with praying for our enemies.  We’d never get comfortable for breaking down barriers and walls with “those” people.  We’d never get comfortable with eating with outcasts.  Instead, the Spirit empowers us to do these things before we are comfortable doing that.  God is the one who is the primary cause, the primary actor, in our lives.  And we can respond – even when it is uncomfortable.

This is my lesson for Maundy Thursday.  It’s why I’ll be participating in the foot washing tonight.  I’m not comfortable with it.  But Jesus doesn’t call us to comfort.  He calls us to serve.

Holy Week Wednesday

12 Wednesday Apr 2017

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We don’t hear much about what happened on the Wednesday of Holy Week.  We hear that Judas makes a deal with the chief priest to hand over Jesus and then looks for an opportunity to carry out the plan.

Often, most Christians will think of betrayal.  That’s the way it is translated in English in many biblical translations.  Here’s the problem – that’s not the best translation of the Greek.  (A sidebar – This is also a good reason why literal interpretation of an English translation is highly faulty) The Greek word used for this is παραδιδομι (pronounced paradidomi).  It means to hand over and it can also be translated as betrayal.  I’m going to be jumping ahead to Friday here, but I think understanding what’s happening on Wednesday makes a bigger impact to understanding what happens on Friday.

Many of our English translations translate this word as “betrayal” when it is used in regards to Judas, but then the translations change.  They translate the term to “hand over” when it relates to the chief priests, Pilate, and the Roman soldiers.  So why betrayal for Judas, but not for everyone else?

Maybe we humans want there to a human bad guy to start the chain and so we cast Judas as the guilty party – the one who causes it all to start.  That’s satisfying isn’t it.  Yet it removes us from any participation.  We’re no longer the ones crying out Crucify him! Crucify him!  It was Judas’ fault.  We’re no longer the guilty ones along with the rest of humanity.  Only maybe that’s not totally the case.

If we look at the Gospel of John, we see in John 13:2 that it was the devil who had already put it into the heart of Judas to paradidomi Jesus.

For John, it starts with the devil and goes forward.

Except, death and sin and the devil don’t get the last laugh.

In John 19:30 Jesus received the wine and said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.  Or at least that’s what most English translations have.  Yet, that’s not exactly it.

First, Jesus doesn’t say “It is finished.”  That’s an active present statement.  It means it is done and complete.  That’s it.  Game over.  The Greek word here is τετελεσται (pronounced tetelestai) which is a perfect passive word.  A better translation is “It has been accomplished.”  What’s the difference?  Significant.  The perfect passive voice in scripture is often considered the Divine passive.  Which means that it is God’s action that is happening.  And furthermore, the perfect passive indicates that something isn’t just done – but the effects of what happened carry on into the future.  It’s not just a one time event that is done and complete.  It’s an event that is done, but still has an effect today and into the future.

And how about when Jesus gives up his spirit.  Again, that’s not exactly what it says.  The Greek says – παρέδωκεν τὸ πνεῦμα.  παρέδωκεν is a form of παραδιδομι which I’m translating as “hand over”.  τὸ is the definite article, in simple English, this means “the”.  And finally πνεῦμα means Spirit.  There is no possessive in the statement.  It’s just not there.  Instead, when we translate the Greek, it should say “He handed over the Spirit.”

Satan is the one who starts the process of handing over Jesus.  But it is God who has the last laugh.  Jesus hands over the Spirit to continue to work of God in the world.  God hasn’t been defeated in Jesus’ death.  Rather, Jesus overcomes sin and death and hands over the Spirit to continue his work in the world.  Holy week isn’t just about Jesus dying and being resurrected (although that is powerful in its own right).  It’s also the handing over of the Spirit to continue the work of God in the world.

There isn’t a betrayal.  There is a handing over that carries on through many actors who just don’t know what to do with Jesus.  And in the end we have Jesus, God self-emptied  who hands over the Spirit.  That’s powerful.

On this Wednesday of Holy Week, as we prepare to enter into the holy three days, let us take a breath and remember.  Let us let go of our need to scapegoat.  Let God wash over us and hand over the Spirit to us to work through us for God’s glory.

 

Holy Week Tuesday

11 Tuesday Apr 2017

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There are many sad verses that accompany Holy Week scripture passages.  The beginning of the week usually doesn’t get much attention, even though there is literally a ton of activity and dialogue and teaching surrounding Jesus.  And all of it is so important because it tells the story of how things turn on Jesus throughout the week.

Today I want to highlight one of these verses – Matthew 22:46.

No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

(Source: NRSV bible)

Throughout the day, Jesus spent time in the Temple in Jerusalem, teaching and talking.  We’re told in Matthew 21:45-46 that

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.  They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

They had to shame Jesus to turn the crowds.  They had to discredit him.  They had to show that he was a threat to the people.  How?  Well, one way would be to show that if Jesus was a threat to the Roman empire, the empire would come down on everyone.  Hence, people would die.  They were essentially saying to the people – you want your prophet and the death that comes with it from Rome, or would you rather be alive and have the status quo?

The Pharisees gave it a shot and it didn’t work.  The Sadducees, not to be outdone, tried.  Failure.  And finally the Pharisees, lead by a lawyer, tried one last time.

And when those attempts failed, discussion ended.  The break of the relationship was complete.  There would be no reconciliation.  No more discussion.  Only war.  Only death.  There were no other options.  Jesus simply wouldn’t comply.  Or seen from another angle – they weren’t open to other possibilities or to listening and learning.  Too much was at stake.  When you are leadership in the status quo, you have everything to lose.  When you are leadership in the status quo, there is no incentive to change.  You must grasp onto all that you have.

And when those who are attempting to upset the status quo gain some traction, look out.  The status quo will turn violent, will stop talking when the “other” can’t be reasoned with to maintain the status quo.

On this Tuesday of Holy Week, I can’t help but think – How is Jesus upsetting the status quo today?  In our world?  In our church?  In our lives?

And how are we reacting?  Have we shut down communication with Jesus because he’s not doing things our way?  Because he’s calling on us to do things differently – not the way they’ve always been done?

Are we angry with Jesus because he just won’t stay up on the altar and stick to the text?

Are be upset because Jesus calls up to pray for and to love our enemies?  How dare he!  Doesn’t he know we are “in” and they are “out”!

Are we mad as hell because Jesus demands loyalty to him and to the Father’s reign over all else – even the flag that is in the sanctuary?  Or maybe we just shouldn’t bring that up – it might upset people.  It might make us consider that God and country are not one and the same.  That might be unnerving to us.

On this Tuesday of Holy Week, we see a transition taking place.  It’s ultimately a transition of who Jesus is.  Or rather, recognition of what Jesus is actually calling for.  It’s far different from what the crowds wanted.  It’s a far cry from what the leaders of the Temple wanted too.  Yet, it’s what Jesus wanted.  How will we respond?

 

 

Why do so many want to be blind?

27 Monday Mar 2017

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Yesterday’s Gospel reading was about Jesus curing the man born blind.  His neighbors, the Pharisees, and even the man’s parents didn’t like this change – it was out of the norm.  Turns out the only ones who could really see were Jesus and the man.  Everyone else had blinders on.

The neighbors had blinders on – the man lived in a community, but the people around him didn’t even know his name.  They just knew him as the name who was blind and who begged.  It would have been too messy for them to get to know him. They would have had to do something, and well, they are really busy, don’t you know.  Better to just walk past.

The Pharisees had blinders on – they saw the man as a pawn.  They knew what they believed and so this man could provide ammunition for them.  He only mattered so long as he was useful to them – if he gave them the answers they were looking for.  Their blinders were with a narrow view – right thinking and belief.  Everything else outside of their purity test was messy and didn’t belong.  Anyone outside of the orthodox thinking was labeled as an other and sent out and away.

The man’s parents had blinders on too – they were afraid and so they hung their son out to fend for himself.  This shouldn’t be shocking though – why was the man begging at all?  Apparently his own family didn’t care for him.  Maybe he was the family secret that his family didn’t want to talk about.

How many of us have blinders on?  How many in our society have physical sight, but are spiritually blind?  We find it messy to even notice those who are begging for food – those that we pass by over and over and over again.  If we found out their name, we’d feel like we’d feel like we needed to do something.

How many of us have blinders on? How many in our society see people as a pawn in a political or religious game – to be used to support our ideas and beliefs about what is right.  When people are just something to be used, we’ve made our beliefs and thoughts idols where we sacrifice others at the altar of being right.  All in the name of God of course.  That makes it all ok right?

How many of us have blinders on? What family secrets are we hiding?  What family secrets do we just not talk about?  What about the family members who have committed suicide, have a drug addiction, spent time in jail, have a pornography addiction, are homosexual, have committed a sexual crime, suffer through a financial crisis, are in dangerous and abusive relationships, and more?  It’s not polite to talk about these things and people.  We might feel the need to do something about it – so much better to keep the blinders on and not see them or talk about them.

Yet Jesus takes the blinders off our eyes.  He shows us the mess and forces us to look at it.  And he comes to the mess and heals the blindness, so that there can be healing for those that are broken.

It’s time to take the blinders off.  Yet I don’t think any of us willingly take them off.  I think that we, like the parents of the blind man, are too afraid to see what’s really going on around us.

Instead, Jesus is the one who takes the blinders off of us when he determines we’re ready.  Ready for what?  Ready to respond, to live our his call to care for those around us – our neighbors who have a name.  When the blinders come off, it’s time to look around and actually see the world around us.

Control

16 Thursday Mar 2017

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Humans love to be in control.  We love to determine who gets what and how much.  We’re really good at it too – or we should be given how so much of human history is made up about humans squabbling to control land, people, resources, etc.  In reality though we suck at control.

Most of our political battles are about control over something.  Take immigration.  The battle over immigration is about who gets to enter, how much they can get harassed, and how assimilated they need to be.

Same thing with poverty. The battle of control is over who gets what and how.  With poverty, there are assumptions made – that if you are poor you shouldn’t have anything (anything at all) that is “nice.” The assumption is that poor people are supposed to be miserable all the time.  So those that can implement policies that make sure they can control how the poor feel – miserable.

Politicians are big on control.  So are churches so very often.  Politics and organizational religion is often very focused on controlling what you can do and what you must believe and who you can talk with.  It’s been this way for a long time.  Jesus got himself in trouble for doing things that went against the norm, for restating the Law, and for hanging out with the scum of society.

Of course, not all politicians and not all religious leaders or denominations are control freaks.

Here’s the thing with having and using control over others.  Often it becomes subjective.  Those in control get to determine who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, who’s in and who’s out.  The problem comes when you go to a different jurisdiction (somewhere where other people are in control).  There is often a different set of good and bad guys.  They could, in fact, be the exact opposite of what you just experienced.  It’s all based on context and preference.  Mostly it ends up being someone in control determining who’s in and who’s out.  And then lots of people rationalize it to make sense of it.  There must be a reason, don’t you know.

Maybe if we spend less time trying to control people and more time trying to help people, we’d be better off.  But then again, we’d have to admit that we don’t have all the answers.  And then what? We’d have to get along with people.  Scary, isn’t it?  Control offers stability.  Yet, at what price?

Love your enemies…

07 Tuesday Mar 2017

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Let’s hop in the way back machine, or TARDIS if you prefer, and head all the way back a couple of weeks to February 19, 2017.  So long ago, I know.  The lectionary reading for that Sunday had quoted Jesus as saying:

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

This is from Matthew 5:43-45 (NRSV).

Here’s a few really practical questions – what in the world does Jesus mean by this?  And what would it look like to actually live this out?

First, let’s just cut to the chase – we’re all guilty of not following this.  In some sense, it’s impossible for us mere mortals to follow this.  We all have enemies, whether we want to admit it or not.  Jesus isn’t dismissing this fact.  What’s he’s saying here is about how we treat our enemies.  Do we treat them like enemies, or do we treat them differently?

When I read this, I see Jesus saying that we are to treat our enemies with love.  That’s not easy.  In fact, it sucks!  Royally!  What fun is having an enemy if we can’t blame them for everything bad in the world?  Who are we supposed to demean and dehumanize?  Who are we supposed to call names to?  Who are we supposed to direct our irrational rage and anger at?

Maybe Jesus is getting us to see our enemy different for a reason.  Yes, to force us to deal with the fact that we are called to be peacemakers.  But there is more.  Maybe to examine what it is that makes our enemy an enemy.  Maybe if we did that we’d see something really ugly – a piece of ourselves that we really don’t like.  Maybe that’s part of what makes our enemies an enemy.

When Jesus calls on us to love our enemy, maybe it’s more than just faking it until we make it.  Maybe it’s Jesus putting a mirror in front of our face and saying “look.”  Look and see what you don’t like about this enemy.  We’re probably projecting a crap load of bad stuff on them, and judging them.  We personify the bad crap into someone else and then blame them for this.  Maybe Jesus saying to love our enemy is about seeing the person for who they really are, and detaching all the crap that we project and assume on them.

So the second question is how do we actually live this command out?  It depends on context – you and your enemy.  The idea is that this won’t be easy or short. It’s a long-term commitment.  I think it starts with praying for our enemies and what we do and say will grow out of that.  But the point is that there is movement in the direction of love towards another person.  And in the process, there is love of self and God.  But really, it starts with love of God.  When we start with God as the foundation, then our wants and focus changes.  How we see others start to change.  We’re not looking for perfection here – ain’t gonna happen.

Instead, we are responding to something else – God changing our status from an enemy of God, to a child of God.  And you know what – so is that person we call an enemy.

I don’t think Jesus is calling on us to make our enemies into best buds.  I think the point is that we aren’t harboring ill will against someone else, we place them in God’s hands, and we treat them with the human dignity they deserve – they too are children of God.