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Passion Week – The Crucifixion: John 19:23-30 / “Thief” by Third Day

19 Apr

The above image is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard. The image itself is called “The Crucifixion” as was created by Eric Gill.

John 19:23-30 [ESV]
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Dear God, I spent some time with this image this morning before I left town for the day, and I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Now, its late in the evening and my wife has gone to bed. I have some time to really sit with it and consider what Eric Gill wanted to share.

  • Jesus is obviously the focus of the image. He has the halo around him that Catholics and some others put around Saints and the Holy Family. He looks thin. He has his thorn of crowns. He is totally naked, but Gill gives him some modesty by covering him with someone’s outstretched hands. Could this be Jesus’s mother helping to cover her boy?
  • It appears that three women have the halo as well. One has her face hidden and the other two are shown. Is this Gill showing us Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mary’s sister, and Mary Magdalene?
  • There is one man in the picture. Is this John? He is standing near the three women, so I would say it is probably John, readying to take care of Jesus’s mother.
  • Oh, there are two other men in the picture too. One is on the cross on the left and the other on the right. The one on the left is only shone by his face, but he has the Saint halo. There are five haloed people in this image, and he is one of them. The other man on the cross is shown not only with no halo, but his nakedness is shown as well. Gill allowed Jesus and the other dying man some modesty, but to the man who mocked Jesus Gill gave a complete humiliation.
  • Gill included the writing at the top of Jesus’s cross, and he gives us the version of the cross that looks more like a capital “T” than a lowercase “t.”

Last night, I sat with the image of the last supper. Now, this image shows the culmination of what happened over the next 18 hours. It happened that fast. No due process. No jury of peers. Just humiliation and death.

I was talking with my dad this evening about how sometimes the plan we would lay out on paper is the wrong plan, and the plan that will accomplish your actual will looks terrible on paper. I would say that this whole thing with Jesus is a prime example of that.

Then there is the haloed man on the cross to Jesus’s right. While I was driving today, I heard a song I hadn’t heard in about 20 years. It’s called “Thief” and is by Third Day.

—

“Thief” by Third Day

I am a thief, I am a murderer
Walking up this lonely hill
What have I done? No, I don’t remember
No one knows just how I feel
And I know that my time is coming soon

It’s been so long, oh, such a long time
Since lived with peace and rest
Now I am here, my destination
I guess things work for the best
And I know that my time is coming soon

Who is this man? This man beside me
They call the King of the Jews
They don’t believe that He’s the Messiah
But somehow, I know that it’s true

They laugh at Him in mockery
And they beat Him ’til He bleeds
And they nail Him to the rugged cross
They raise Him, yeah, they raise Him up next to me

My time has come and I’m slowly fading
I deserve what I receive
Jesus when You are in Your kingdom
Could You please, please remember me?

And He looks at me still holding on
The tears fall from His eyes
And He says I tell the truth
Today, you will be with Me in paradise

And I know that my time, yes my time is coming soon
And I know that my time, yes my time, is coming soon
And I know Paradise, Paradise is coming soon

Songwriters: Bradley B. C. Avery / David Carr / Johnny Mac Powell / Mark D. Lee / Samuel Tai Anderson

—

Father, in the end, so much happened in 18 hours. The world changed in 18 hours. All of human time and space changed in 18 hours. Mercy came to the world in those 18 hours. And the plan looked absolutely terrible on paper, but it’s exactly what we needed. We needed our Passover Lamb. I needed a Passover Lamb. I needed mercy. I needed grace. I needed freedom. And the sacrifice all came in these 18 hours. But at this point on that Friday night, the plan looked like it had all fallen apart. We just never know what you’re up to. They didn’t know it then, and I don’t know it now. But I trust you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 19, 2019 in John, Passion Week, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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John 11:32-46 — The Raising of Lazarus

13 Apr


The image above is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard. The image itself was created by Kevin Lindholm and is called “Take Off the Grave Clothes.”

John 11:32-46 [ESV]
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

Dear God, I’ve heard this story many, many times before, but in the spirit of what I’ve been doing with Martha and Mary recently I wanted to spend a little time with it. I went to my new favorite book this morning to see if any of the Martha and Mary stories were in it, and I found Lazarus’s resurrection.

In the spirit of using this book, I want to see what the artist put in here that I might not have thought about before. Let’s see what I can see in the image:

  • He made what the Bible describes as a cave with a stone into more of a tomb in the ground made out of bricks. Hmm. I wonder why.
  • I don’t know if it is Mary or Martha, who has her hand over her mouth, but she is there. Her hair is shorter than I would have expected it to be. Her hand is over her mouth. She is looking at Lazarus.
  • The man helping Mary/Martha isn’t looking at Lazarus, but is looking at her to see her reaction. I never thought much about whether or not the mourners there were mourning because they missed Lazarus or if they were weeping to comfort the sisters. This man seems really interested in Mary’s/Martha’s reaction.
  • Lazarus is partially unbound and exposed. He has one eye open and his left hand and are are free.
  • Radiance is coming from Jesus. Is that the sun behind him? Is the radiance from him? But all of the shadows are falling away from Jesus so it was an intentional choice by the artist to have the source of light be from Jesus’ direction.
  • I think there are a couple of people over Jesus’s left shoulder. Were these mourners? Was one of them the other sister? Disciples?

I guess the thing that I notice in this story is the last phrase: “…but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.” What was their motivation? Were they snitches? Were they trying to believers of the Pharisees?

Another thing I’ve learned over the last week as I’ve looked at this story a little more carefully is that there is a lot more to this story than the verses Bustard chose to include here. The first part of this story is really quite interesting in terms of Jesus’s delay, Martha’s approaching of Jesus without Mary, and then Martha’s retrieval of Mary, bringing her to Jesus. In fact, for the woman in the image above to be showing the emotion that she is, and for the man to be so concerned about her, I’ll bet that the artist was thinking about Mary when he drew her.

Father, there are obviously a lot of moving parts to this story, but I think the lessons for me are to be at peace, have faith, and worship you regardless of the answer you give to my prayers. It also tells me that it’s okay to mourn and feel anguish. It’s okay to weep. It is okay for tragedy to upset me. It’s what I do with that angst and frustration that I need to submit to you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 13, 2019 in John, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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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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Peter & John — John 19:25-27

25 Nov

John 19:25-27
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

 

Dear God, for the purposes of what I’m doing here, I am going to assume that John is referring to himself in verse 26 when he mentions “the disciple he loved.” I wonder what it was about John that made Jesus decide to do this. Was it his dependability? Was it that he knew John would be the last of the disciples to die so he’d be around longer? Or was it simply that he was the one who was there? Of course, we don’t know that none of the other disciples weren’t there. We’ve assumed, but we don’t know that.

I’m guessing it was a combination of trusting John and his availability at the time. But I wonder why Jesus didn’t assume that his siblings would take care of her. I know that it is vague about whether or not Jesus’ siblings were from a previous marriage for Joseph and Mary had no other children besides Jesus. I’ve never subscribed to that belief, but this story would seem to support that theory. On the other hand, perhaps Mary had been following Jesus and his siblings just didn’t understand or know how to relate to everything they were seeing. They didn’t know what to make of Mary, Jesus, or the disciples. James (Jesus’ brother, not John’s) finally figured it out, but I don’t think we know about any others. John was probably his best option and as he hung there dying, he needed John’s help for his mother.

I suppose there is something to be said for just showing up. John was there. We don’t know how close he was able to stay all day, but he seems to have some good information about things that were said and done throughout the day so I think he was certainly lurking in the shadows, if nothing else. But there he is, the temperamental disciple, now pensively and fearfully following Jesus to the cross. There is no asking if he should call down fire on the church leaders. He’s not rebuking people. He’s just there, being traumatized and watching his world change before him in ways that he cannot begin to understand. Again, though, to his credit, he’s right there and in a position to hear Jesus for what John thinks will be for the last time.

Father, I don’t know what I have to offer, but I at least offer you my presence. I give you my submission to your will—as best as I know how. I give you my ego—as much as I am capable. I give you my dreams that focus on my own comfort, reward, and enjoyment. And I give you my willingness to embrace the task that you have given me to do. The task of testifying to the Gospel of your grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 25, 2018 in John, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — Luke 24:8-12

13 Nov

Luke 24:8-12 NASB
[8] And they remembered His words, [9] and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. [10] Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. [11] But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. [12] But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

Dear God, this time must have still been so foggy for Peter and the rest of the disciples. In this telling of the story, the others don’t believe so Peter goes alone. In another telling, Peter and John both go. Either way, there are no examples of the story where they all go. Maybe they were afraid of being caught. And maybe it would have been bad for all 11 of them to be seen at an empty tomb.

Now that I think about it, it was a brave thing for Peter and John to come out of hiding and go to the tomb. I wonder if Peter’s regret from Friday had grown into determination on Sunday. He was still in the fog and trying to make sense of everything that was happening to himself. I’m sure he was trying to think back and remember everything Jesus had said that Peter didn’t understand at the time. Could this really be true?

Father, help me to know and understand from moment to moment the things that you need me to know and understand. And for those things that knowing and understanding would hold me back and keep me from pursuing you and found your work, keep me intentionally ignorant and give me peace in that ignorance.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 13, 2018 in Luke, Peter and John

 

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Peter & John — Matthew 27:56

17 Sep

Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

Matthew 27:56

Dear God, it’s interesting that Matthew skips so much detail. We will find out in other Gospels that John was there with his mother. We will get Peter’s redemption scene along the water. There’s just a lot that Matthew leaves out.

I can’t remember how much the other Gospels mention her, but I’m curious to see how much them mention James and John’s mother. I know she gets mentioned as a foolish person asking for greatness for her sons, but I don’t remember anything beyond that. In this case, Matthew is careful to point out that she is here at the cross, but she’s not there at the tomb on Sunday morning. Was she too busy being worried about her boys? Was she part of hiding them? Of course, anything would be a guess, but it is notable that somewhere between Friday night and a Sunday morning her priorities shift.

Father, I’m grateful the other Gospels give us more about Peter’s redemption. I’m also glad we get more details above John. Continue to teach me as I go through this process and get into Mark tomorrow.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2018 in Matthew, Peter and John

 

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Emails to God – Counting myself as a shepherd (Luke 2:8-20)

11 Dec

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Dear God, this was the passage on which the pastor preached on Sunday. The story of the shepherds has touched me over the last few years. There are a few things I realize now that I didn’t realize before:

  1. It is possible that the shepherds either knew or knew of Joseph and Mary. Verse 6 says, “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born.” While they were there. We always get this image of Mary and Joseph coming into town and Mary instantly going into labor. But that isn’t the case. And these are not people who could have afforded to stay in a motel every night. They were likely camping outside of town. They might have met the shepherds. They might have been familiar with the stable where she gave birth, and thought of it at the last minute as an option. In fact, I wonder just how many children were born in similar situations during those days.
  2. The shepherds “spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child…” They didn’t just show up, meet Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and then leave. They couldn’t contain their excitement over what was going on. They were pumped and they went out to “spread the word.”

The pastor made the point, which I think is a good one, that we are the shepherds in this story. The Holy Spirit has taught us about Jesus (through others and/or directly into our own souls), and we have embraced Him as our God. Now, what will we do? Will we just enjoy the view and leave, or will we “spread the word” concerning what we have learned about this Jesus, our God?

Father, I am not much of an evangelist. Part of it is apathy. Part of it is fear. Part of it is being shy. But I know that you have put people in my life over whom I have influence. They include  coworkers, volunteers, patients, friends, and family members. Help me to share your news with them. Help me to live out your power and grace in my life and to spread the word to them about what your power and grace can do for them. Help me to embrace the role of a shepherd so that others might be “amazed at what [I] said to them.”

 
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Posted by on December 11, 2012 in Luke

 

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Emails to God – Suffering for the Lord (Luke 1:26-38)

08 Aug

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Dear God, it seems to me that Mary was put in a really tough position here. I realize that she has been revered since her death, but her earthly life was not easy. It seems to me that there are a lot of instances in the Bible when you feel like the good of the many outweighs the good of the one. Noah’s call was not an easy one to follow. Nor was Moses’. Generations of Israelites suffered in slavery. Ruth suffered until she married Boaz (which eventually produced David’s lineage). The apostles lived difficult lives. Even Jesus lived a challenging life and suffered a terrible death. And then there are Mary and Joseph. They were poor, faced being ostracized from their community, traveled during pregnancy, gave birth in a manger, ran from Herod in the middle of the night to Egypt, relocated a couple of times after that, etc. It wasn’t an easy call.

In looking at these stories I wonder why we, as American Christians, sometimes feel like our suffering should be mitigated or minimized. I think we have created this idea of a God who wants each of us, individually, to be cozy in our homes. I know that thought is certainly appealing to me. But is it consistent with what we read in the Bible? Did our heroes live easy lives. Even David had to fight wars and face insurrection from his children. Your prophets were rejected. Stephen was stoned.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I need to be careful about what exactly it is I expect from you and our relationship. I need to be careful about not expecting to be able to look back on my life and evaluating its success based on whether or not it looks good on the surface (e.g., did I have a good career, did I make a lot of money, did I live a long time, did I retire well (and young), did I live in comfort, did my family live free of disease, etc.). You haven’t promised me any of these things, and I have no right to expect them from you. And if you do give me these things then my first question should be, God, what is it you want me to do with this blessing?

Father, I confess to you that there are times when I start to worry about my career and wonder if I should be accomplishing more (and making more money). I wonder if I am starting to get to an age where I will be too old to get that one great job that will set me up for retirement. As my children near the end of high school I start to wonder about my legacy through them and how I will be perceived as a parent through their accomplishments. These are all sins because they take my eyes off of you and turn them to myself. They take my eyes off of today and turn them to tomorrow. They ignore the idea that my suffering might be for the good of so many more. So I will start the way Mary started. “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

 
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Posted by on August 8, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – Jesus’ Insensitivity (Luke 2:41-52)

07 Aug

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Dear God, I hope this isn’t blasphemous to say, but it is nice to know that Jesus could be a clueless kid every once in a while too. He had no evil motives here. He had a unique opportunity to learn more about God in the Jerusalem temple so he took it. He just didn’t stop to think about how his actions would impact other people. He had not yet learned courtesy. I don’t see this as a sin. I see it as insensitivity that needed to be corrected. Verse 51 is the key: “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” He submitted to them and their authority over him.

As a parent of teens, it is sometimes hard to discern between when they are being sinful and when they are simply being thoughtless. In fact, there are times when my wife has to figure out the same thing for me—am I sinning against her or just being thoughtless. Frankly, it is refreshing to know that there is a difference.

Father, help me to be thoughtful of those around me. Help me to teach my children thoughtfulness. Help me to be able to recognize when my child is just being thoughtless and to train them to be thoughtful. Help me to also recognize when my child is being willfully sinful and train them to repent. And, of course, help me to learn these lessons for myself as well.

 
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Posted by on August 7, 2012 in My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

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Emails to God – The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10)

22 May

1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Dear God, there are different tellings of this story in the Gospels, and it is interesting to see the different details that each write shares. Matthew seems to be more nuts and bolts about the story. Perhaps it’s the accountant in him. He doesn’t tell us the story about Jesus appearing as a gardener. He doesn’t tell us about Peter and John running to the tomb to check it out for themselves. But I just looked at the other four stories and I think this is the only one that mentions the earthquake.

In times like this I always try to take the story’s details and try to figure out what the author’s message to me is. What is it that Matthew wants me to take away from this? In this case, I think he wants me to know that:

  1. It was the women who were out working to ensure Jesus was buried correctly. In fact, the disciples didn’t do anything to take care of Jesus’ body after the crucifixion (that was left to a couple of Jewish church leaders) and they were apparently not going to do anything to ensure his body was buried correctly (perhaps this was considered “women’s work” at that time, but it’s still interesting).
  2. The women felt God move supernaturally. They felt the earthquake. They saw the angel. They saw the stone had been moved. They saw the guards “like dead men.”
  3. The angel told them that Jesus was alive, “just as he said,” he was going to Galilee, and that they needed to tell the disciples to meet him there.
  4. The women actually saw Jesus himself, and He also told them to tell the disciples about meeting Him in Galilee.

Father, I guess my overall take away from this story is that this wasn’t a vague, mysterious resurrection. You demonstrated your power. You communicated with the women who were trying to care for Jesus. You reminded them that this had all been predicted before. Then Jesus actually appeared to them. There was no room left for interpretation. Thank you for this story. Thank you for the resurrection. There is a gentleness about this story that is sweet. It seems to be about reassurance (to the women) and forgiveness (of the disciples). There is no vengeance here for the terrible death of Jesus. There is only a continued execution of the plan. How great is that?

 
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Posted by on May 22, 2012 in Matthew

 

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