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Passion Week – The Triumphal Entry: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-16

14 Apr

The image above is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard. The image is called “The Triumphal Entry” and was created by Diego Jourdan Pereira.

—

Matthew 21:1-11

As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.” This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said, “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’” The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

—

Mark 11:1-11

As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’” The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it. Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!” So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

—

Luke 19:28-44

After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on. As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!” But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

—

John 12:12-16

The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s cold.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

Dear God, I want to spend some time with the Triumphal Entry today. It is Palm Sunday after all. My wife and I went to a special church service this morning where a man who is with “Jews for Jesus” came to walk the congregation through the different parts of the Passover meal. So now, as we enter Passion Week, I want to take some time to really sit with this week in a different way than I ever have before. Of course, that starts with Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups and what I’ve been getting out of the different artists’ interpretations of the stories.

So here I am with the Triumphal Entry. The first thing I did was look to confirm that the story shows up in all four Gospels. It does, although John seems to have a different focus than the other three. The first three give a lot more backstory, but John focuses on the crowds, the excitement, how the prophecy angle impacted the disciples after it was all said and done, and the Lazarus connection (remembering that one John gives us the Lazarus resurrection story).

So what did Diego Jourdan Pereira notice in this story? First, this image is a little difficult for a left-brained person like me to decipher. It’s hard to tell what I’m seeing here. I see the donkey with its head down. I see Jesus, who appears to have his head down. Are those lines in the background palm branches? I ended up having to go to the commentary on this piece a little sooner than I like. Here’s what Ned Bustard said about the piece, including a quote from the artist:

According to Jewish tradition the glory of God appeared through the Beautiful Gate and will appear again when the Messiah comes (Ezekiel 44:1-3). And it is said that Jesus entered through this gate on Palm Sunday. But the gate, disciples, crowds, cloaks, palm branches, and hosannas are all missing from this depiction of the Triumphal Entry. All that remains is a downcast donkey and a sorrowful Jesus. The artist explains, “The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to me that while everyone else was celebrating around him, Christ’s mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the destruction of Jerusalem and his own impending fate on the Cross. His tears are internal as well as external.” But Jesus would not turn aside from the path. Luke 9:51 says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”

I’m having so many thoughts, it’s hard to sort through them. I guess my day started with a revelation that might have been more obvious to other Christians–you intentionally made Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection part of Passover. Jesus could have been killed any time and in any way, but your plan was to have his death and resurrection exactly coincide with the Passover celebration in Jerusalem that year. Why had I never thought of that? I guess I can be a little dense.

Then I have the thought from Luke 9 that Bustard brings out in the end of his description–that Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” We’ll see the emotions of Jesus play out over the next few days. In fact, he probably shows more emotion during this week than he does in the rest of the stories about him. He clears the temple out of anger. He curses a fig tree. He sweats blood. But when it comes down to it, he didn’t have to do this. He could have bailed, except for the fact that he was following your will, and your will was for him to walk this path. He was to be our Passover lamb.

Father, hep me to sink into this week. Help me to spend this week worshipping you–every aspect of you. You are GREAT and yet you are humble. You are all powerful, yet you are sacrificially loving. You can look through the screaming crowds of the Triumphal Entry and see the wickedness in each of us, and yet you proceed. You knew better than to believe the love you were getting from the crowd. You knew that some would turn on you and some would simply disappear. The more I sit with these ideas the more humbled and thankful I am.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 14, 2019 in John, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Passion Week, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups, Uncategorized

 

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Mary & Martha — John 11:28-29

10 Apr

John 11:28-29 [NLT]
Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” So Mary immediately went to him.

Dear God, I’m reading A LOT into this story, and I might be way off base on some of it, but I’m trying to get a feel for why Martha went to see Jesus without Mary the first time. Martha was doing a lot of walking here, going back and forth. And why did Jesus stay where he was instead of going with Martha to the house? Was he trying to avoid all of the mourners as long as he could?

I have never had to face a significant loss like Martha and Mary did here. The closest I’ve come is a mother-in-law nine years ago and my grandparents in my 20s. I would imagine, however, that my response would be much like Martha’s. I would want to keep in motion. I would want to take charge and do the work that needs done. I’m not sure how I would process the mourning part of the experience.

Father, Mary has always been the one held up to us as an example and Martha the cautionary tale. I do think Martha has her good points, however. I just think she needed to be a little more well-rounded. Of course, Mary did too. But Mary allowed herself to grieve. She allowed herself to sit at Jesus’ feet. She allowed herself to give the perfume. Help me to reach that level of sensitivity, generosity, and peace.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 10, 2019 in John, Mary & Martha

 

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Mary & Martha — John 11:21-23, 29-35

09 Apr

John 11:21-23,29-35 [NLT]
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” So Mary immediately went to him. Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept.

Dear God, it is interesting that John records both Martha and Mary as having said the same thing to Jesus when they first saw him: “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” I would imagine they had been saying that to each other for the last four days. Were they angry with Jesus? Were they disappointed?

Martha adds something to hers. She adds a little expectation: “But even now I know God will give you whatever you ask.” (Hint, hint) And Jesus seems to take the bait and tells her that her brother will rise again.

But his response to Mary is different. Martha was seemingly a little bit more reserved emotionally than Mary. The way this story is told, her words to Jesus were from a place of sorrow, but she was also likely a little more stoic. Mary, on the other hand, was weeping. I imagine her sentence being said to Jesus between sobs. In fact, these are the only words Mary speaks in the whole story. And the people seem to be with Mary, comforting her, instead of with Martha. John’s telling doesn’t really mention anyone following Martha around, but Mary probably came across as being more in need. Certainly, watching Mary’s response evoked a surprising response in Jesus—weeping and anger.

Father, I’m not sure if there are too many applications in this story in my life except to appreciate how different we all are. Martha and Mary were very different people and had different needs. They also evoked different responses out of the people around them. And you loved them both. Thank you for loving me as well, even though I am sometimes a terrible mess. Your patience with me is extraordinary, and I am grateful for all that you do for me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 9, 2019 in John, Mary & Martha

 

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John 12:1-8

06 Apr

John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Dear God, I have to admit that I never noticed this before, but I think it is interesting. Frankly, it makes me think that I should spend some more time with Mary and Martha and who they were as people. Who said what and when?

Mary and Martha appear to have definite personality types, and I am starting to get the picture that there was something about Mary that irritated left-brained, Type-A personalities, but Jesus liked. He saw a value in Mary’s seeming immaturity and irresponsibility. Martha got mad at her sister for not helping out and Jesus told her in Luke 10:41-42, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

In this story, when Judas gets mad at Mary for wasting the perfume, Jesus says, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

So as someone who is more like Martha and even Judas than I am like Mary, what does Jesus have to say to me? I think you probably need me to know that I worry about a lot of stuff and a lot of details, but I allow myself to take my eyes off what what I should be concerned about—you.

I was talking to my wife this morning about fundraising for the nonprofit where I work. Last night, I was at a very expensive private school, and a parent at the school was telling me how they do their fundraising gala every other year. I won’t go into the details, but it is basically evident that the strategy is to get as much money as they can from people by appealing to their egos. Whether it is putting a name on a building or even auctioning off good parking places for 5-figure amounts, people are encouraged to give as a way of increasing themselves. The value given in exchange for the donation focuses on building up the donor.

When I am planning an event for our nonprofit, it is tempting to sometimes fall into that trap. But that’s not what you have called us to do. If I am going to “treat fundraising as ministry” then the value exchange isn’t about appealing to and increasing the donor’s humanness. It is about helping them to decrease as you increase. It is about putting them in touch with a world that is beyond the one that they know. It is about loving them and caring about them. It is about glorifying you. It is about the peace and joy that you give to us when we give of ourselves sacrificially.

Father, all of that sounds very noble, but it is harder to put into practice. Even now, our nonprofit has an event coming up soon and I have a couple of things designed to give donors some recognition (putting their name on a table or listing them in a program). Some of that is necessary and I get that. But help me to focus on what’s important in this and the other areas of my life. When it comes to my children, help me to ignore the things that the world measures as success and to care about, pray for, and nurture the aspects of their lives that will impact their souls. Help me to learn the lesson you want to teach me through Mary’s life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2019 in John

 

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Hebrews 12:1-2

03 Apr

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Dear God, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus…” How hard is that? Well, it turns out that it’s actually pretty hard.

I woke up this morning, and part of my habit is to look at my phone, check the time, and then open up my USA Today app to see what’s happening. They have a “Five Things You Should Know Today” article that I like to read. Today, however, I decided that I would start by looking a the http://www.biblegateway.com verse of the day. It turned out to be Hebrews 12:2. Since I felt like the verse needed the context of verse 1, I decided to combine the for the purposes of this prayer.

When I read the verse, I thought, yes, I need to keep my eyes focusing on Jesus and part of that is getting myself to read scripture first thing instead of the “Five Things [I] Should Know Today.” Really, what’s more important anyway. Will knowing that news change my actions today? Can I do anything to affect change on what is happening around the country or the world? No, probably not. There is a small chance that I can respond to something by financially supporting a cause around the country, or see something happening somewhere else and get involved in that cause locally, but 95% of the time the information is not something that I NEED for my day.

Scripture, however, is another story. YOU are another story. You should be my first read. You should be my first thoughts. You should be my all in all. I should keep my eyes on Jesus/You/Holy Spirit—my God. You are what I NEED for the day. You are what I SHOULD KNOW. That is how my life will make a difference.

Father, help me to be mindful of this lesson and to live in its importance today and every day. Show me how to keep my eyes on Jesus throughout the day, all day long. Give me wisdom tonight, especially, as I advocate for a cause with some people I’ve never met, but for whom this could be a divine appointment.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2019 in Hebrews

 

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Narrowing on Jesus and Widening my Love

21 Mar

No verse.

Dear God, I had a great conversation with some old friends of my wife last night, and one part of my conversation with the husband of the couple has kind of stuck with me this morning. I want to spend some time with you unpacking it a little this morning.

We were talking about loving other people who don’t believe the same things we do (religiously, politically, etc.) and he said (paraphrasing), the more I live the wider and wider my love for others gets and, simultaneously, the narrower and narrower I focus on Jesus. I really liked that, and I can relate. I know I still have a long way to go in loving others and not judging them, but I know I was better yesterday that I was the day before, and I hope I am going to be better today than I was yesterday. The more I focus on you/Jesus/the Holy Spirit (the Trinity), the more I start to see others with your eyes, and your eyes seem to be so merciful and loving. And then the ability to give that love and grace to others brings me a peace that I cannot have when I am judging them.

Father, thank you for sharpening me with some other pieces of iron yesterday. Thank you for sharpening me through my wife, my friends, and really everyone with whom you bring me into contact. Thank you for sharpening me through your scripture and through my prayer time with you. Thank you for caring enough about me to take the time to sharpen me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 21, 2019 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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The Temptation of Christ — Matthew 4:1-4

09 Mar

IMG_1704
This image is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard. The image was created by Matthew L. Clark.

Matthew 4:1-4
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

 

Dear God, I might or might not have noticed this before, but this morning what strikes me about this passage is the fact that the Spirit appears to Jesus in the form of a dove at his baptism, and then it is the Spirit that leads him into the wilderness to be tempted. You didn’t shield him from temptation. You actually led him into it so that he could learn and be stronger.

That’s one of the hardest things to understand as a parent. Where is the line between protecting our child and getting in the way of the lessons they need to learn for later in life? And it changes with every age. There are the early stages when they reach for an electrical outlet and we physically prevent it because they cannot understand. Then there is the phase where we warn them with words, but sometimes they disobey us and get hurt anyway. And then there are the times when they are adults that we offer them our love, but we also offer them tough love and truth (not that tough love isn’t appropriate during the earlier parts as well).

In the spirit of looking at the art that Ned Bustard put with these Bible stories in Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-ups, I want to spend some time with the artist who did a piece about this picture and see what he/she noticed that I might have missed or interpreted differently. In this case, Matthew L. Clark did this piece called “Temptation.”

So what do I notice in this piece?

  • Jesus looks pretty haggard. I’m not sure that I’ve ever thought about what he would look like after being in the wilderness for 40 days with no food, but I suppose he wouldn’t have looked like the pretty pictures of him I saw in Sunday school. This is a good point by the artist.
  • This image focuses only on the first temptation. The first words at the top are not explicitly said by Satan, but they carry that feeling of self pity that we all get from time to time. Self pity is the root of a lot of sin. “I have the right.” “I deserve better.” “How dare you?!?” In this case, Clark is suggesting that part of Jesus’ temptation is the idea that he might be questioning what all of this is for. “Why did the Spirit lead me out here for 40 days to do this?” “Is this suffering necessary?”
  • The words “Stones” and “Bread” set the stage for the temptation Clark is addressing. It’s hunger, but he is also suggesting in the first one that it’s also about doubting you and doubting the Spirit.
  • I couldn’t tell what the image is at the top of the top speech bubble. In the description, it is apparently batwings. It is to indicate that this is not scripture. Clark says he took the line from Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring.
  • I wondered what Satan is wearing in the picture. Is he a king? Again, thankfully, Clark gives us an explanation. He has Satan appearing to tempt Jesus as a Jewish holy man. Someone whom he should trust. How many times have I been led astray by those I trusted? How many times have I led others astray who trusted me

Finally, here is what Clark has to say about his piece:

I think an important thing not to overlook here is the fact that this was a real temptation. Jesus had to really be tempted if this episode was to have any significant meaning. As such, I tried to show him emaciated and weak. At least physically weak. I have no idea if forty days of fasting leaves one spiritually weakened or strengthened. But I assume it would be immediately weakening or Satan would not have chosen that time to act.”

Father, I will face temptations today. Help me to recognize them when they come. Help me to renounce self pity and embrace the work you have given me to do today. Guide my heart into the channel of your will for me regardless of its benefits or costs to me. And help me to know how to parent my grown children. Help me to not do anything that will get in the way of what you are trying to do in their lives. Love them richly. Love my wife as well and help me to know how you need me to love her. Again, do all of this for your glory, your plan, and so that your will and kingdom will come to earth.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2019 in Matthew, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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The Baptism of Christ — Matthew 3:1-2, 11-17

02 Mar

IMG_1695
The image above is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-ups by Ned Bustard. While not all of the images in the book were created by Bustard, this one happens to be. It is called “Baptism (after Otto Dix).”

Matthew 3:1-2, 11-17
1 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

11 “I baptize with[a] water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.
16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened[d] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Dear God, when I think about this story it always makes me wonder where baptism came from and why it all of a sudden appeared with John. And why did Jesus need to be baptized? It’s really interesting.

But today isn’t about wrestling with that question. The point of this series is to take an artist’s interpretation of this story and see if there is something she or he saw that I missed. In this case, Ned Bustard (and Matthäus Evangelium) did some interesting things that I’m noticing here:

  • The first thing I noticed was that the Holy Spirit, as represented by a dove, seems to be funneling through the water in John’s hand. The image makes me think about your Holy Spirit entering the world through us through our baptism.
  • John is wearing his trademark animal skins for clothes. No shoes, of course, but that leads me to the next point.
  • He is not in the water with Jesus. It would have been easy for the artist to put John in the water with Jesus, but John is intentionally drawn as standing on dry land. I’m not sure how to interpret this except to say that this baptism is all about Jesus.
  • Visually, the artist depicted John as being completely dry. The lines that make up his body run in every direction. Up, down, crisscross, diagonally, etc. On the other hand, Jesus is drawn under the water  as represented by the water flowing over him. Except for his specific facial features, nipples, abdomen, and belly button, everything else is drawn vertically and seems to represent the water flowing over him.
  • John is just using his hand and seems to be getting a lot of water to pour from that method. This again leads me back to the idea that there is more than just water flowing over Jesus, but it is your Holy Spirit flowing through the water that is pouring from John’s hand.
  • Jesus’ face looks sad, and John looks very serious. I don’t know why the artist chose these facial expressions. Perhaps the artist was thinking about what was about to come in Jesus’ live over the next 40 days?
  • Jesus is clean-shaven with a nice haircut, and John has long hair and a beard. This certainly shows a difference in the style of the two men.

I intentionally didn’t read Bustard’s description of this piece until after I had gone through this exercise. Here is what he had to say about it:

Baptism (after Otto Dix)

Dix (1891-1969) was a German artist, painter, and print maker know for his harshly realistic depictions of the brutality of war; but his post-World War II work was largely religious in nature. This linocut is based on Baptism of Jesus, a lithograph from Matthäus Evangelium. Art historian James Romaine observed that the Holy Spirit is funneled through the hand of John like a sieve, baptizing Jesus in both water and in the Spirit. About the Bible, Dix is quoted to have said, “You have to read every single word. For the Bible is a wonderful history book. There is great truth in all of it. Most people don’t read the Bible, but reading the Bile, reading it as it is, in all of its realism, including the Old Testament: It’s quite a book. Quite a book, you even say it is the book of books…simply magnificent!”

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Reading Bustards description reminded me of something I noticed, but forgot to mention. I am a believer in both the baptism by water and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I think there is good evidence for it in not only the book of Acts, but in my life as well. This image shows that both water and the Holy Spirit were involved in Jesus’ baptism, with Bustard’s interpretation making that point a little more obvious than the original.

Father, help me to remember today that I am covered in your water, in your Holy Spirit, and in Jesus’ redeeming blood. Help me to remember that I am not only covered by these things, but filled with them as well. I am no longer my own. I am a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. Help me to remember that.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 2, 2019 in Matthew, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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Mark 10:1-12

01 Mar

Mark 10:1-12 (NLT)

1  Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.

2 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”

3 Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”

4 “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”

5 But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. 6 But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, 8 and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, 9 let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

10 Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. 11 He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

Dear God, I wonder why the Pharisees picked this topic to trap Jesus. There were a lot of things they could have asked him about. Why divorce? What were they hoping he would say? Were they trying to get him to say that divorce was okay so they could pounce on him? Was one of them wanting a divorce? It seems like a weird thing to ask him.

“He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts.” When I think about it, this is a surprising line. Why would Moses (or you through Moses) have made this concession in the first place? Is there a point that my hard heart/stubbornness can change your law?

Then I have to ask myself where my own heart is hard? Are there beliefs that I have that I stubbornly hold onto for selfish/self-indulgent reasons? Just because Jesus mentions in verse six that “God made them male and female,” I wonder about the gay marriage thing and if the belief that is spreading in our generation that gay marriage is biblically okay is an example of this hard-heartedness. I have certainly evolved on this issue over the course of the last 20 years. Is that me finding truth, or is it the hard hearts winning?

Well, I probably just touched the third rail of theological topics there, so I’m going to move on and wonder what other areas in my own life might be driven by a hard heart. The scary thing is that I can’t immediately think of any. That scares me because it makes me think I am likely blind to my own stubbornness.

Father, help me to hear your voice. Help me to know your truth. Help me to accept your will and submit to it. Help me to stand up for your Kingdom.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2019 in Mark

 

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What if God had done Christmas our way?

24 Dec

Dear God, several years ago, I had a thought. It started with the Christmas story and the shepherds. I wondered what would have happened if, instead of going to the shepherds in the fields with the angel chorus, you had gone to the church leaders or governmental leaders. What if you had gone to the private businessmen who were prominent in the church and announced to them that a savior was born that night? Had I overlooked how strategically important it was that you had chosen shepherds?

Then I started to think about Mary and Joseph, probably living outside of town in a tent or something while they were in Bethlehem for the census. All of a sudden, she goes into labor and has to go to a stable because they can’t find a room to rent for the night in which she can deliver the baby. But did the shepherds know of the pregnant couple visiting Bethlehem? Had they seen Mary and Joseph?

So now my mind was really clicking as I thought about these things. What if? What if? What if?

I suppose it starts with what our human wisdom would have done to bring about the Messiah. What if you had brought the idea to the temple’s leadership and asked them to submit plans for bringing your son into the world. I can see a few options they probably would have put on the table.

  • He should be born to a righteous priest and his wife. They would probably first ask, “Do we have any priests who are descendants of David?” Then the boy should be raised in the church and taught all of the doctrine that had been handed down over the years. He will ultimately become the leader of the church and will evolve into the leader of a great army that will topple Rome and bring about the revival of Israel. Yes, that is how it should happen.
  • He should be born to a prominent family where the father is a descendant of David. Like Samuel, his family will ensure that he is brought to the temple be raised. He will be taught all of the doctrine that had been handed down over the years. He will ultimately become the leader of the church and will evolve into the leader of a great army that will topple Rome and bring about the revival of Israel. Yes, that is how it should happen.
  • Another group would probably questions why he should be born at all. Let him appear among us. God’s Messiah will come to us straight from Heaven. He will ultimately become the leader of the church and will evolve into the leader of a great army that will topple Rome and bring about the revival of Israel. Yes, that is how it should happen.

The ideas would flow for a while and then you would say, “No, no. You don’t understand…

  • If he has an earthly father, he will not have my DNA. You don’t realize this can happen, but his mother will need to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit. He is my son, not yours. Yes, we will be playing a little loosely with the line of David part, but we can get a woman who is married to someone from David’s lineage. That will be close enough. Of course, in order to prove it’s my child, the mother will need to be a virgin until after he is born, but I can do that. No problem.
  • If he is born into a priestly family, he is going to be raised in the box of the religion that you’ve created over the past three thousand years. No, no priests. Maybe we can give him a cousin from a priestly family. That will be close enough.
  • If he is born into a family of wealth, he won’t understand suffering. He will expect privilege. Additionally, a prominent earthly father will feel the pressure to leave him in the church and then I’m right back where I started with him growing up in the box of religion. Also, you don’t realize it, but this kid will spend the first few years of his life on the run. I need a family that is willing to be flexible.”

“No,” you’ll continue, “here’s what I have in mind…

  • First, I’ve known all along what I’m going to do. I just wanted to see what y’all would come up with. When they look back on his time on Earth, some people will look back and think that things were orchestrated intentionally to fulfill the prophecies about him, but the truth is that I’ve been planning this all along and I gave prophets of the past insights into the future so that after it happened, all of you would know that I know exactly what’s going on and what I’m doing.
  • To that end, the first priority is that I need him to be raised by good people. I mean REALLY good people. I need people who love me and will do anything for me. I need people who are willing to do the right thing at any given moment, whether it makes sense or not. I’ve got a guy picked out that you won’t believe. And the woman–well, she’s exactly who I need.
  • On the night he is born, I need a way to affirm his parents and to let people know that this was real. There’s going to have to be an announcement, but I need to pick my audience carefully. What I’m going to do is announce it to the shepherds out in the fields. I can’t have the angels show up singing over the stable and if I send them to the people in town then they might try to take the baby from the parents. If that happens, the plan is dead. But the shepherds will go and find the parents. They will tell them what they saw and it will encourage this sweet young couple that I’m with them.
  • You don’t realize this, but it will be important that he is raised poor. He will see suffering. He will see sickness. He will see prostitution. He will be an immigrant, living in a foreign land for his formative years. He will know what it’s like to be an outsider and have his feelings hurt. He will know what it’s like to know Egyptians and people from other nations and love them. He will know that I’ve sent him to be the Messiah for everyone, not just the Jews.
  • I also need to keep him poor and obscure while he is younger because I’ve got to keep the kings of the time from killing him out of jealousy and fear. I have no intention of taking away the thrones I’ve given them, but they don’t know that. I’m actually sending him to save them too.

“So here’s my plan. I’ve got this couple picked out. You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but they are perfect. I can’t tell you who they are yet because if I do you won’t be able to keep yourselves from messing everything up with your wisdom. They will end up having to move around a lot his first few years because his life will be in danger. In fact, a lot of innocent children are going to die at the hand of a jealous king. I’ve already seen it. But they will be in my arms.

“He is going to grow up and keep a low profile until he is about 30. Then he will take everything he’s learned through the experiences he’s had and the DNA he has as my child and preach truth. It’s going to surprise you. He’s going to tear down some of the things that religion has built over the last 3,000 years. He’s going to reveal my heart for all of mankind to you.

“Now this part is going to surprise you, but he is ultimately going to die. There will be no wars. No armies. No overthrowing of Rome. See, you don’t need a man to lead you to victory. You need a lamb that will be your salvation. In fact, it will be the very church that you wanted to raise him that will kill him. In the end, the Romans won’t want to do it, but the church will insist that they do. It will be the church’s jealousy and insecurity, not Rome’s, that will take his life. But that’s what you need. You just don’t realize it.

“Finally, because he is my son, and because I am God and I am capable of doing so much more than you could ever have imagined for this plan, I am going to raise him from the dead. After this happens, history will completely shift. You’ll be amazed.”

Father, I’m a Gentile, sitting here on this Christmas Eve roughly 2,000 years after you put your plan into action. It worked. I have chills as I type this. You are my God. Thank you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 24, 2018 in Musings and Stories, Uncategorized

 

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