Come On Down Now!

Today is Good Friday, arguably the darkest day of the church year. This is the day that we "celebrate" the death of Jesus. For those of you just tuning in, here's a little recap of how we got to this point:

Jesus was born (we celebrated that around Christmas). He told a lot of stories about things we really don't understand today, implying that life was much different than what we thought/were living. He walked around the country side arguing with religious leaders, feeding hordes of people with a few scraps of food, casting out demons, and healing people. All the while he predicted that this was going to come to an end and they were going to kill him.

As today drew nearer, they journeyed to Jerusalem, Jesus were mistaken for a warrior king (the people were hoping for something a different than Jesus), eventually he ate one last meal, was arrested in a garden, and here we are: Good Friday!

Even though the story is a bit more involved than that, the end result remains the same: Jesus has been sentenced to death because of everything that he has done in the short time that he has been alive. The religious and political leaders were not comfortable with his work in their area; there was a fear that a carpenter's son was going to rise to power and overthrow the empire. Preaching the imminent kingdom of God was a scary thing to hear when you were sitting on top of an empire built on fear, power and perversion.

Nobody wants to be overthrown by what seems to be a band of peasants in a revolt. So, in order to protect their interests the powers that were decided to put him to death instead of allowing him to continue spewing his mystical nonsense every where he went.

Telling people that their faith will set them free; that in order to be first in the kingdom of God they must become like servants; that God has a plan that nobody is entitled to know, not even the Son; that people can be healed do demon possession and leprosy in by invoking the name of God. That cannot be allowed!

In order to snuff out the problem you go right to the source, which in this case was Jesus. He was the head of the band of misfits that were at the core of these miscreant teachings and subversive acts. You take out the leader and the rest will scatter like frightened rats, which is exactly what happens...

For all the work that Jesus did in his ministry, all the disciples that he raised up, all of the people he fed and healed in his journeys, he was hung on a cross to the tune of "Crucify Him!" Peter denied him, Lazarus sold him out to the empire, and even the robbers next to him taunted him.

He was ridiculed, degraded, beaten, spit on, taunted, beaten, stripped and left to die alone... because of us.

We put him there, on that cross.
We taunted and spit on him as he drug his cross to Golgatha.
We refused to stand up tall and say, "I am a part of the Way"
Jesus was on that cross because of us.

The Son of God taught, rebuked and raised up church leaders who in the end walked away in shame. The Son of God shone a light on the woes of this life that interfered with the coming Kingdom
The Son of God died unknown, alone, and full of disgrace.... he died a criminals death because of us.

I realize that this sits really heavy on your hearts. I realize that this is not what you want to hear. You do not want to be blamed for the death of the savior of the world. You do not want to be held responsible, and the good news is that you aren't.

It may have been our, collective, actions that put Jesus on that cross. It may have been us who walked away at the last second and refused to accept any knowledge of his actions/teachings. It may have been our political leanings and need for power that disallowed us to hear the truth in his words, but it had to be done.

The death of Jesus was a requirement. It was foretold by Jesus himself. It was prophesied over and over again (at least 3 times in the Gospel of Mark). Jesus had to die so that we might proclaim, "Truly, this was the Son of God," like the centurion at the end of this story.

Even though this is likely a roman soldier poking one last jab at Jesus, it is the first instance where a person, in the Gospel of Mark, a knowledge of the true identity of Jesus. From the beginning of the Gospel, we read this as the opening sentence:“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” At his baptism, the voice of God announced that Jesus was God's Son. At his transfiguration, the voice of God announced that Jesus was God's Son. All along the way, the demons knew that Jesus was the Son of God, and it terrified them. Yet now, for the first time, a person said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” This is the jumping off point for the rest of the story... it is possible that we are finally connecting the dots and putting together all of the experiences we have had along the way.


Here, at his death, Jesus was named as the Son of God. He always had been the son of God, but on that day someone spoke it out loud. Here, on the darkest day of human history, the love of God shined forth in Christ’s self-sacrifice. Here, at the depths of human sinfulness and iniquity, God extended forgiveness to us all. Here, under the crush of all that was twisted, perverted, and gone wrong, the Son of God suffered and died at our hands that we might live and be made new by his hands. Here, Jesus accepted humiliation, degradation, and the loneliness of being forsaken by God in order to bring us glory, honor, and fellowship with God, himself, and each other.

It is in the darkest of places that God is most near... and it doesn't get much darker than dying a criminals death, alone, in the middle of nowhere, with all of your friends, colleagues, and benefactors watching... it is in this place that the veil between the divine and human is ripped apart... in this place we no longer have to cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Christ has done it already.... amen.

January 27, 2019: Child of God? (Matt 4:1-11)

Good morning! To start off this morning I have a rhetorical question for you: what does it mean to be a child of God?

Now, like I said, this is rhetorical for now, but you are always welcome to stop in and chat with me about it if you want!

What does it mean to be a son or daughter of God?

To be honest with you this line of inquiry has taken me many places in conversation, in prayer, and in thought because it’s not easy for me to put my finger, precisely, on one particular answer. I am thankful for the text we have today because it offers some insights worth exploring as we ponder this question.

Undoubtedly we can agree that Jesus is the Son of God, the Word incarnate, and all of those things. Just as we know this the tempter in our text does too! In fact the Tempter makes a statement to this effect 2 times: If you are the Son of God…

Some read these statements as a condition of Jesus’ position, “If you are really the Son of God, then you can do great feats and nobody would care! If you are the Son of God, go ahead and prove it, show me your power!”

Others would read it as a statement of fact, along the longs of “since you are the Son of God you… you would have no problem doing these things—you are above creation and can act as such.”

In either case the audience waits with bated breath for Jesus’ response, kind of!

I say, “kind of,” because Jesu was at the end of a 40 day fast when the tempter arrived on the scene. There is no indication that Jesus fasted in community, he was all alone with the lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Right from the get-go we have Jesus being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil, but not until after he is nearly wiped out by not eating for forty days and nights—he was famished, then the test begins.

I guess the assumption the Devil made was either Jesus wasn’t the Son of God and could be tricked into his own demise, or Jesus was the Son of God, but was more interested in self-preservation and power displays than reconciliation.

Needless to say, the Devil was wrong three times:

1. Since Jesus had been fasting, he is tempted to make himself a meal (Stones into bread)
2. Since he is the Song of God he has command of the angel armies who will protect him (throw yourself off the temple) 
3. Maybe Jesus wanted to part with his heavenly kingdom and rule Earth (worship the Devil to gain said power)

Nope, no way, not going to happen!

Jesus did not deny that he was the Son of God, but he did something very powerful. He placed himself squarely in our shoes!

He came down on the side of humanity.

Let’s remember that Jesus is fully divine, but also fully human.

We have just exited the Christmas season where we hear the story of the birth and lineage of Jesus. The whole story is a very human affair: the parents had to be registered for the census; the magi took a vacation to the west; the family tree of Jesus was explored; etc. All of this stuff is in the wilderness fasting for 40 days and nights. All of these experiences: the hunger, the heat, the wind, the pain.

It was a fully human Jesus who was being put to the test.

It was a fully divine Jesus that pointed right back to the power of God.

Fully diving; fully human; Son of God… that’s pretty powerful imagery there, but who are we kidding? We are not Jesus! We may be children of God, but we most certainly are not THE son or THE daughter of God.

So, what’s the point?

The point is we don’t have to be Jesus. We are not fully divine, but we are beloved children of God and Jesus, in his temptation, gives us hints as to what it takes, or what it looks like to live into that beloved position:

We do not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

We are not to test the LORD our God.

We are to worship the LORD and serve only God.

Even when we are at our lowest we worship God; we trust in God; we read, pray and meditate on the Word of God, because the Word became flesh and knows the aches, pains, glories and celebrations that come with this life.

Being incarnate allowed God, in Jesus, to enter into every possible space where we might find ourselves, even death. And bring us to new life!

Jesus was lead into the wilderness to be tempted.

Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights.

Jesus was baptized.

Jesus was born into a family who loved him.

Jesus made friends.

Jesus made enemies.

Jesus died and rose again, for you, for me, and for absolutely everybody!

So, even in our darkest moments Jesus is there.

You can worship God, you can trust God, and can live into the promise of resurrection found in the Word of God, because God knows the pain and joy!

In closing this morning, I want to share with you a poem that I wrote several years ago that brings all of this home for me. This is a piece I called “My Father’s Son” and it goes something like this…

I look back at my life and wonder, “What do my parents think of what I have accomplished?”

When my dad’s friends ask about his sons, doe she stand up proudly and proclaim his oldest is working on changing the world, while his youngest is a thriving family man?

I hope so!

When my mom’s co-workers ask about me does she stand up confidently and tell them all about the adventures I share with the kids at work; and how well my brother is doing in raising his own?

Do they tell our stories with a smile, with joy in their hearts at their ability to call us their sons?

I hope so!

I want my parents to be able to look back at my life and be able to say, “That’s my boy!” I want to be my father’s son! I want to be my mother’s little boy.

Are they proud of me?

Do they proclaim these things, letting the world know?

I want to know, but sometimes these things remain just outside of our reach.

However, I know for certain that my parents don’t fully comprehend what it is I am doing with my life. My path has taken me through unorthodox relationships; I have studied things that haven’t produced jobs; and I’m thinking about walking aay from a well paying job.

All of these things just don’t add up in their minds, but I’m still their son.

My dad might not be able to explain, fully, what it is I’m doing.

My mom might not be that interested in my struggles to save the world, but they know that I’m their boy and they got my back no matter what!

That is what it means to be a child of God. ~Amen

Reflection #3: Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18

A reading from the 19th chapter of Leviticus:

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord. 17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

***

You shall love your neighbor, which is the second greatest commandment. Right after loving your God. So often we find ourselves asking the big question, "HOW?"

How do I love God?

How do I love my neighbor?

How do I determine the rate of acceleration of a falling object tossed off the Empire State Building?

How do I know who my neighbor is?

How?

How?

How?

Unfortunately, the book of Leviticus is full of things that we are not supposed to do, which often times gets thrown at people with condemnation and persecution. I have personally experienced this many times, when people like to pick out 19:28, which says do not cut yourself for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. To this I often want to retort: do you wear poly-cotton blends, eat shellfish of any kind, or shave the hair at the side of your head (men)? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you suck too!

However, we are not called to do this. If anything we have fallen into the trap of using the law to prosper ourselves. It is to our personal benefit to highlight the shortcomings of others so that we might be elevated. This is what bullying is, and us Christians are really good at it!

However, if we are to cherry pick any pieces of the law, why not pick the parts that answer some of our "How" questions. For instance, the passage found at the beginning of this post would be a good one for "How do I love my neighbor?" Let's take a quick look at what it offers.

1. Judge appropriately, especially the poor and mighty (Keep an appropriate perspective)
2. Speak the truth in love about others (Keep a civil tongue, and see #1)
3. Love your neighbors, offering them assistance and guidance when necessary (see #1)
4. Let things go, do not hold on to the past as it impedes the future
5. Love your neighbor as yourself!

This is not a very extensive list of things, but in the process of unpacking these "shall dos" from the re-imagination of the Leviticus text, there is a lot going on there. However, what it all really boils down to is we have to take care of other people, regardless of where they are, who they are, or what they may have done to us in the past. Life is about so much more than the squabbles over the snow being thrown over your fence (or sand or poop or insert throwable material here). It matters, but it should not be the climax of our relationship with our neighbor. It's bigger than that. They are blessed children of God just like you are, so act like it!

This is personally convicting to me, and if you would like to hear more about it reach out--let's talk.

Let us pray:

Most loving and merciful God, you provide us with the tools of interaction so that we might love our neighbors as ourselves. We fall short, constantly, of this command and more often than not come up with excuses as to why we have failed. We come to you this day for the strength, knowledge and compassion to carry out your call to love our neighbor, regardless of what that might look like. We need you, we long for your presence, and we know that you're ever present. Soften our hardened hearts so that we may see your presence in the world and follow your example. In the name of Jesus we come to you in prayer.

Amen.

Reflection #2: Matthew 22:15-22

A reading from Matthew, the 22nd chapter:

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" 21 They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." 22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

***

Family & Friends.

God & Country.

Flesh & Blood.

Mother & Father.

Brother & Sister.

Our lives are full of endless connections. We are always having to decide were our allegiances lie, and more often than not it is a very tight, narrow space that we find ourselves trapped in. However, unlike Jesus in this week's gospel, we don't often find ourselves amazing people into leaving us alone. In fact, we often create and re-create rifts between the two objects of our attention, love, affection, or interest. The list above quickly becomes:

Family OR Friends.

God OR Country.

Flesh OR Blood.

Mother OR Father.

Brother OR Sister.

What do we do when our choices seem to pit one love against another? Does one choice make us a better person? Does choosing wrong condemn us? All through our days we are faced with touch decisions about where we are going to hedge our bets, who gets our allegiance, and where we're going to send that financial support. All through our days there are outside forces trying to convince us that their cause is better than the others, that they need our support, and that our money will go further with them. So, what do we do?

This is an honest question.

There are a lot of honest answers out there, however I do not have one for you. I find myself struggling with these sorts of issues on a regular basis. I find myself torn between options, thoughts, commitments, and ideas. Every where I turn there is another choice, an other option, another adventure waiting to unfold before me. In the Gospel we hear Jesus proclaim that what is Cesar's should be given to Caesar, and what is God's should be given to God. Where does that leave us?

We are blessed children of God.

We are blessed children of God.

We are blessed children of God.

We ARE God's!

Let us pray:

God. We may not always know what to do in our lives. We may not always focus on doing your will in the world. Guide us. Teach us. Show us the path that you would have us traverse. We cannot do it of our own volition, because we always mess it up. This world would have us believe it is an either/or system and we have to divide ourselves according, but you are the creator of all, are in all, and use all, so open our eyes so that we may better see you in the world. Be with us as always, in the name of Jesus we beseech you.

Amen

Reflection #1: Philippians 4:1-9

A reading from Philippians, the 4th chapter:

1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. 2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

***

Rejoice.

Pray.

Meditate.

Give thanks.

Share.

All easier said than done. When times get tough, it is easy to forget to whom we belong, and from whom we are empowered. It is hard to lean on the creator when we see the issue with that same being: why did God let this happen, why is God making me go through this, why is God? Why, why why?

Enough!

God is with is regardless of the circumstance, and we are called to rejoice, pray, meditate and believe that God is with is throughout. That's the promise of the spirit, the work of the comforter, the job of the other who is coming--who is here! Like Paul says above, "the peach of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds."

Rest assured that God has us in the palm of God's hand, protecting us, crying with us, suffering with us.

We must rejoice in the love.

We must pray our concerns.

We must meditate on all that is good.

We must give thanks to God.

We must share the Good News... regardless!

Let us pray:

Most gracious creator God, you stand by us in all times of joy and sorrow. Found in the midst of chaos is your grace. Remind us that we are your beloved children who you love beyond measure. Pick us up when we fall down, and reset our feet as we stumble ever forth in the quest to spread the Good News... Jesus! When times get tough, push us ever forward instead of allowing us to fall back into despairing thoughts. We need you, we want you, now more than ever. Be present in our lives, and the lives of those we encounter. In the name of the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ. ~amen~