Torn, broken, alone

Beyond the imagining, beyond the horror and tears and pain is the desert of grief: that wrenching apart, the severing of community, the deformed lives that are left in the wake of the unthinkable.

Like teutonic plates capable of raising mountains or opening deep chasms, this moment of death has shifted the world.  It is not the same.  It never will be.

"Beneath the cross of Jesus..."

Forgiveness.....the beginning

Begin with yourself.

Even if it means making a list of all the things for which you need forgiveness: not being smart enough, yelling at the children, really, really not liking your next door neighbor, not working up to your potential, driving too recklessly, resenting the needy who never seem to go away, envying the successful. 

Go ahead.  Listen to that nasty, belittling, demanding voice in your head and write it all down.

Now forgive yourself.  You, child of God, forgive yourself.  Breathe deeply, and begin again at the beginning.

This is the gift God gives to you through Jesus.  Until this moment, you probably didn't know how much you needed it.

Expectation v. gift

from artist He Qi:  women at the tomb

They lugged the spices with them because they were expecting a dead body.

What they received was a gift - the gift that is visible only after the death.

That is God's way.  Let it go and it will come to you.

What is truth?

That's Pilate's question, "What is truth?"  You are not really clear to whom he is speaking....Jesus, or the world in general.

The world in general has a bundle of answers to this question (like 'statistics don't lie' or 'the one who dies with the most toys, wins') and it would have you believe that anything which you believe sincerely enough qualifies as truth.  This eliminates the possibility that you could be 'sincerely' wrong or deluded or mired in denial.

Christians believe that Jesus is truth; we believe that Jesus' forgiveness is true forgiveness and his promises of life upon life are trustworthy.  Jesus is truly God and truly loves the world for its own sake. 

If that sounds complex it is because nothing which is connected directly to the Divine can be simple. Pilate figured that much out, but, in the end he decided that washing his hands of the whole question would rid him of its demands in his life.  He was deluded in that as well.  Many of us are too. John18

Dinner with Friends

An evening spent sharing a meal with our closest friends brings more than joy; it creates a particular sense of belonging to one another.

At his last supper with his friends, Jesus offered us an insight into the fellowship of his coming kingdom. Sharing that meal with him were Judas who would betray him into the hands of his killers and Peter who would deny ever knowing him.

When we are invited to be a part of the Lord's supper, perfection isn't an entry requirement.

Passion: a whole new meaning

We know what the world means by 'passion.'  It is what gets a PG-13 movie rated R.  It's what gets your teenager into trouble....well, maybe it gets folks of every age into trouble.

That's not the kind of passion we are talking about this week.  Holy Week is about a passion rooted in deep love and linked to suffering: a pouring out, a hard to imagine sacrifice, and a gift for the world.

Jesus' mission in this world was to love it into life.  It took death to accomplish this.   Jesus also understood that death is a reality we will all face; now we can face it in trust and expectation.  But just like Jesus, the glory of God lies just on the other side of the ending we call death.  God calls it a new beginning.  Blessed Holy Week.

OR

Which do you have?  Which are you looking for?

 

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you....

Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."  John14.27

The Breath of Forgiveness

Remorse: a sense of guilt
Repent:  turn away from evil toward good
Confess:  speak the truth
Breathe:  the gift that comes with forgiveness.

It's worth the journey.

Start today.

"Your humble servant....."

Is it possible to trust humility? 

Don't we really think that there is some hidden agenda that we just can't discern yet?

Could it be that we have no idea how to act around true humility?

Can you name someone you know that you'd describe as 'humble'?

To her knees

She knelt down, poured a year's wages in the form of perfume over the dry and dusty feet of a man she believed was her Lord, her Savior, the Son of God.  I see it as an act of love, beyond logic or planning or accounting.

What has driven you to your knees lately?  Ever?
Please God, send us to our knees in love to another.

A little over the top?

Did someone get carried away here?  Isn't this just a little over the top?
Or does it simply look like too much fun....a laugh waiting to happen?

It was enough perfume to feed a family of four for a year and Mary poured it over the feet of Jesus.  It was outrageous.  It was extravagent.  It defied all logic.

But it stands as an unbounded act of love - so over the top it takes your breath away.  May each of us know love that is so deep that all our practicality flies right out the window and we simply give it our all.    John 12

The Well of Resentment

The first frame of the comic strip would picture a woman (who on most days was a joyous mother and wife) seated at the bottom of a well.  She called it her 'Well of Resentment.'  No one could reach her to pull her out; she needed to stand up and let go of the resentment which kept her isolated and angry.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the Elder Brother has his own Well of Resentment.  If he refuses to stand up and leave the anger and resentment behind he's going to miss the party.  The Father invites him.  Which way will he turn?  To the Father or into himself?

It's about the money

He ran away from home and took his share of the family fortune.  Perhaps there was a scene where he said, "I want what is mine, and I want it today" to the shock of all who heard.

This younger son made several miscalculations regarding the family fortune.  First, without a family no amount of money would be enough.  Second, strangers were much less likely to be helpful in an emergency than he expected.  Third, emergencies always happen.

And fourth, the largest miscalculation of all: the real family treasure was the Father whom he rejected.  How blessed he was that when he huffed and puffed and tore out of the house to find his future, his Father remained rooted.  One day the Father would be there to welcome the wayward one home again.

So your Father in heaven waits for you. 

Who is this Father?

A love like this breeds resentment.  It is a love that is simply not interested in human definitions of 'worthy.'   This love loves; take it or leave it.  Turn around and come to the Father's house and live in this love or stand out in the field with your arms crossed and your nose out of joint and refuse to participate in the party.
   
Whatever you choose, this Father's love will not fail or falter....not because of what you have or haven't done, but because that is who this Father is.      Thanks be to God.

Welcome home

 

He walked out.

He disrepected his father and all that the father had taught him.

He convinced himself he knew better.

 

It is a good thing that the Father was a better father than the son was a son.

But then God is always way ahead of us on this curve. 

 Love is what God is made of and there is, and will always be, more than enough to go around.

He's called the Prodigal Son, but it was the father who was prodigious in love.

Thanks be to God.     Luke 15

All or nothing at all

All of us want to be in relationship with the God of love and mercy: whose arms are always open, whose heart has room for us (we are ambivalent about some other people) and who, when we are lost will come to find us.

We are not so enamoured of the God who calls us to follow Jesus.  Following Jesus can have some drastic consequences.  Like death.  And a tomb.  And a resurrection.

All things considered, we'd just like to have the God of mercy and not the God who expects anything of us.

Yet, I think, it is 'all or nothing at all.'  One half of a god is no God at all.