imitation

Scripture:

A reading from Acts

³⁶Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. ³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” ³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. ⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. ⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

 A reading from Luke

 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying…

 While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.’ When Jesus heard this, he replied, ‘Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.’ When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, ‘Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, ‘Child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.

Observation:

These two stories take place at different times and places.  The healer and the patient are different people.  A child and an adult woman are raised from the dead by Jesus and by Peter.  Though Peter is present in the Luke story, Jesus is not "present" in the Acts story.  And yet there are many things similar about these stories. Both Jesus and Peter are summoned to a home of a faithful person.  There has been a death in both places.  Both of the deceased are female.  Both Peter and Jesus say to the dead person, "_____, get up." In Mark's version of the story, Jesus says to the girl "Talitha, Cum" or "Tabitha Cum".  (The ancient manuscripts differ on the words).  Essentially, we can say that Peter and Jesus say the same words.   Both men lift up the woman/girl as she gets up.

Application
Why does Peter think he has the power to raise a dead woman?  Because Peter is audacious enough to believe that he is able to imitate his master.  Like an apprentice, Peter is learning how to act and live like his rabbi Jesus.  He has seen and heard Jesus do this before.  He is simply repeating what he has seen and heard!  And it works!  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  In this case, it is the practice of Jesus' disciples to do what Jesus did.  There are people whose lives are worth trying to emulate.  We can learn how to act, speak, react to failure, deal with stressors, celebrate, manage conflict, make healthy choices by watching and imitating good examples.  Jesus lived a life worth imitating.  Those of us who are learning his ways, hope to live that way too---developing habits, thoughts, and words worth repeating by others.  In this way we make disciples.  As we imitate Jesus and others imitate us, so Jesus' way is multiplied and the kingdom grows.  Wat are you doing in your life that is an imitation of something good you learned from someone?  In what ways are you seeking to imitate Jesus?  Ans what are you doing in your life that is worth imitating?

Prayer     
Jesus, you lived a life worth imitating.  Help me t learn yur ways and words and practice them for others to see and know you.  Amen. 

What's love got to do with it?

Scripture John 13

When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

Observation:

This takes place on the night when Jesus was arrested.  In the Gospel of John, just before his arrest, he begins a long monologue to his disciples.  It is four chapters in length and ends in a long prayer, chapter 17.  These chapters serve as Jesus' last will and testament.  He is saying goodbye, leaving them with instructions, resources, promises, words of affection and love.  And finally he prays for them, for their ongoing mission, and for the people they will encounter on the way.  As Jesus says goodbye, he gives them a glimpse of what's next.  Its clear that what he started isn't ending with his death.  Its only just beginning there.   

Application:

Notice Jesus does not say:  By this everyone will know you are my disciples, that you are a member of a congregation.  Or that you go to worship on Sundays.  Or that you give a tithe. Or that you wear certain clothes and avoid certain foods.  Christianity has developed criteria for belonging that Jesus himself did not require.  Discipleship is characterized by love.  They'll know we are Christians by our love. Not romantic love.  Not even brotherly love.  But agape love.  Jesus kind of love.  He commands them to "Love one another just as I have loved you."  So how did Jesus love them?  With grace.  Patience.  Consistency.  Presence.  Generosity.  He chose them.  He identified them as people with the potential to learn and carry on his mission. He chose them not because they were special but because he recruited people who were generally overlooked, under appreciated, or even disregarded.  He chose them because they represent this movement of anybodies.  He chose unlikely disciples to build a church.  Maybe you're one of those, an unlikely participant in the movement of God in the world.  Maybe you don't even see yourself as part of something greater yet.  But you are!  You have been chosen, called, selected, and recruited to continue the love revolution!  The quality of our IN relationships is important.  We are stronger and more capable when we actually love each other.  We are called to do hard things sometimes.  And we need supportive, sustaining love to do them.  The great news is the only job we have to do together is to learn and enact Jesus' way of love.  It's a lifelong endeavor and I have a long way to go to love like him.  But we're learning.  Daily I am placed in the lives of people who need Jesus' love--mercy, compassion, hope, joy, peace, friendship, personal investment in their lives.  I can only love as much as I have been loved. Because of you all, I am able to love far more people better. When we take the walk together, the walk gets easier and the burdens get lighter.  When we push in and show up, Jesus appears.  So how can we love one another better as disciples and friends?

Prayer 
Lord, with patience, grace, and presence you loved your disciples.  Help us to love one another, to care for each other, to be real with each other, to encourage and support each other, to bless and serve each other.  So that they might know we belong to you and thirst for the love we share.   Amen. 
    

the rules

Scripture:  Exodus 20
 hen God spoke all these words:
 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before^* me.
 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation^* of those who love me and keep my commandments.
 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
 Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
 You shall not murder.^*
 You shall not commit adultery.
 You shall not steal.
 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
 You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid^* and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.’ Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

Observation:
 These are the Ten Commandments.  God gives them to Moses and the people of Israel when they gather at the foot of Mt. Sinai, after the harrowing escape from Egypt.  The escape was a massive rescue operation performed by their God --Yahweh--who detested the cries of suffering God heard rising from the Israelites, who were treated brutally as slaves.  They were slaves for 400 years before rescue.  The rescue required bold advocacy, public nonviolent resistance, and powerful opposition to the rule of the Egyptian king.  Now the people are free at last!
But their freedom was won for them by their God, whose desire is to live in a covenant relationship with the people.  Therefore, their freedom includes responsibility and rules.  If they are going to live together as a household of faith, they will have rules to follow that define their character and identity. Will they obey the rules?  What will be the consequences for failure to comply?  Like any household, what discipline will be applied to establish authority and obedience?    

Application
 With freedom comes responsibility.  There are rules.  If all of the rules are negative, what you cannot do, how do you know what you can or ought to do?  These rules mostly prohibit certain behaviors, including ancient customs around the crafting of idols for worship.  This God is not an object, but a person.  With language and presence and the ability to move and act.  The rules govern their relationship with God and with other people. Jesus says that the summary for all the rules is love. Love God, love the neighbor.  Love is to guide our action and our words.  
These are not suggestions.  They teach Israel how to live in relationship with their God. Israel will fail to comply.  There will be consequences.  But the relationship will remain intact.  In any household, good parents have rules.  But if a child breaks the rules, they still live together.  They still love one another.  There is forgiveness.  Some parents are harsh disciplinarians with limits to forgiveness.  But not God.  There is always forgiveness and mercy.  Think of a time when you broke the rules.  What were the consequences?  How was forgiveness or mercy shown? What can love do when someone fails? When guilt and shame are present, what provides hope?

Prayer     
Lord, you give us a certain amount of freedom to test our limits.  You give us boundaries and rules for protection and for identity as your people.  You command and we sometimes obey.  When we don't, there are consequences in our lives.  But with you there is mercy and forgiveness and love.  Help us to be loving toward others.  I pray for people who have been found guilty of a crime and await sentencing.  Amen.   
   

baptized

Scripture:  Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Observation:

Jesus enters into the ongoing spiritual practice of John, the desert prophet calling God's people to repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John's wilderness work reminded the people that their covenant relationship with God required an active pursuit of God's justice.  It reminded them of the exodus experience, in which they had to depend on God alone to live.  Baptism was a sign of covenant renewal and a washing away of the dead self enslaved to sin.  This is a new way of returning to God, receiving forgiveness, and renewing one's devotion to practice the faith.  John's way did not involve clergy, priests, temples, or sacrifices.  Only a heart of repentance and the Jordan river. 
Jesus came to be part of the liberation of Israel, God's holy people.  He came to set right a world turned upside down.  Jesus was not himself yet an innovator, but a follower and practitioner in this way of John.  Jesus was part of a longer narrative about God and people that goes back to the Genesis beginning story.  He stands in a tradition of prophets, priests, and kings.  And he participates in the narrative arc of Jewish teaching, customs, and rituals.  He does, however, also participate in this innovative practice of John the baptizer.   Jesus shows us that faithfulness includes both religious tradition and inspired innovation.  Both can draw us closer to God.   Jesus' identity as beloved son of God reminds us of Genesis 22 where Abraham is challenged by God to sacrifice his only beloved son Isaac.
 
Application  


This story is why Christians are baptized.  We follow Jesus into the water.  Jesus' baptism aligns him with the innovative and radical teaching of John the baptizer.  Even Jesus has a teacher.  And place is important too.  A return to wilderness and water, the borders and margins. These are places of subsistence and survival, of danger and detachment.  They are outliers, revolutionaries, spiritual radicals.  Baptism is entry into a relationship with Jesus the radical son of God.  His baptism signifies that Jesus is the son of God, the one who pleases God.  To align ourselves with his way of life is to live a life pleasing to God.  He has come to set right what is wrong in the world.  He will recruit others to work with him. Baptism is belonging to and learning the ways of Jesus---radical teacher of the God-centered life.   

Prayer 
Lord, baptism connects us to you and through you to God, who desires to love us like a parent loves a child.  Help us to accept that we are loved.  Help us to live as you lived, setting out to do what is right.  Amen. 

four women

Scripture;  Gospel of Matthew 1.

An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

Observation:
Matthew starts his gospel with this geneology. It connects Jesus, son of Mary, to some important characters in the Old testament:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah.  Four women whose stories of sexual exploitation, rape, or foreign marriage for security were well known "sins of the fathers".  From Judah to David, the Messiah's line was riddled with questionable sexual ethics.  There were good men and wicked men, good kings and bad kings listed as his ancestors.  You can read their stories in Genesis, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and Ruth.  This ancestral history  connects Jesus to royalty, to priesthood, and to Abraham the founder of Israelite faith.   It also connects him to exploitation, abuse, and shame.  The women in Jesus' story matter.

Application:
Jesus' story is a family story.   But among all the men in the biblical history, it is the women who stand out here. Why?  Jesus' own parentage was questioned.  Who was his "real" father?  Was his mother a rape victim or a whore?  When we look back at Abraham and David, we see that the great ancestors of the faith came from a messy family; one that included sexual violence, marital infidelity, and mixed racial/ethnic marriage.  (Ruth was not Jewish).   Jesus' kingship comes through the human family---full of sin, corruption and brokenness.  Our royal status as children of God  is not granted to us because of our purity or our goodness.  It is bestowed on us as a blessing or gift.  But, as we will see with Jesus, the royal identity comes with responsibilities.  We are called as God's children to act out of our identity, to use our God-given authority to recognize and serve the vulnerable and the exploited. Jesus' own family history taught him that all God's children are beloved, even the rotten ones.  And that God can transform a family from one generation to the next.  And mothers are sacred. Patriarchy is disrupted by the presence of these women, including Mary the mother of the Lord.   

Prayer     
God, the human family is imperfect.  We see that Jesus' family story included sexual exploitation, rape, and coercion.  We pray for victims of sexual violence and abuse;we pray for women and children who are forced into marriages or sold as slaves. And we ask that you bring healing and an end to family cycles of abuse.  Amen.  

the with-ness of God

Scripture:  Matthew 11
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Observation:
 Jesus offers a high invitation culture, in which he shares his life with other people. He "yokes"himself with us.  To share a yoke alludes to the farming practice of teaming a seasoned ox with a young ox to teach the younger ox how to work at a steady pace.  A young ox will overwork to exhaustion and be less productive in a long, hot day of plowing the field. So, a wise farmer teams a mature ox with a young one, in order to train the younger ox for an easier and more enduring pace.   The best way for us to learn is by imitation.  Like a master and apprentice.  This is the way of discipleship. One-to-one mentoring, walking side-by-side in the work of ministry to which we are called.  The field is the community in which we find ourselves.  The yoke is the practice of Jesus--to forgive, heal, and serve.  His yoke is love.  His yoke is easy and light because the love we offer others is merely a reflection of his never-failing, constant, consistent, complete love for everyone.  To love is to have been loved.  To love greatly is to realize how greatly you are loved. 
 
Application 

The bible is a journey story in which the creator God is companion with his beloved creatures, humans.  God is described as walking beside and with us.  God promises to be with God's people over and over again. In hardship, in suffering, in weakness, in fear, in danger, in struggle, in death itself--God promises to come with us.  The story of Jesus is the enfleshed with-ness of God.  Jesus is called Emmauel, which means God is with us.  The gospel of John says that in Jesus, God's Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus calls companions to himself to teach them what it means to experience the with-ness presence of God in the world---in the flowers and birds, in the abundance of food, in the beauty of friendship, in words of forgiveness, in acts of mercy, in the face of the child, in the longings of the poor, in the suffering of the weak and vulnerable.  God is with us in these ways. Jesus teaches them how to embody as image-bearers, the presence of God for others.    Through acts of love, people encounter God-in-the-flesh.   Discipleship is our training in bearing the image/presence of God, walking beside us.  Going with us.  And, amazingly that is often enough.  Be with me.  Be my companion. Walk beside me.  Hold my hand.  That's really all any of us wants, isn't it?  Someone who cares enough to yoke him or her self to me.  So that I might learn my own belovedness as child of God.  Today, who are you walking with as companion in their earth journey?  

Prayer

 Jesus, walk with me.  Hold my hand.  Lead me.  Teach me to be like you.  Compassionate servant.  Patient friend. Constant companion. And when I fail, show me the way.   Amen.   

 

be loved

Scripture: John 14
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.  ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Observation:

Jesus promises a spiritual presence in his physical absence.  He does not abandon anyone.  We are never alone in the spiritual journey.  His Word dwells inside the hearts and minds of those who love him.  His Word is love, shalom, peace, mercy, faith.  To love and practice what he commands is to love him.  To love him is to love God.  Jesus promises to make a home with those who keep His Word.  Christianity is not about Jesus making a home in heaven for the faithful.  It's not an evacuation plan for dying believers.  Instead, Jesus dwells inside those who are living the way he lived.  Jesus shows up in those who embody His Spirit of peace.We are invited to be the peace the world needs. A peace that knows no fear, no trouble, no despair.  

Application:

Jesus invites his followers to live with spiritual integrity---to live the way he teaches.  His commandment is to love others. The church, I confess, has not always practiced the love of Christ.  We are sinners.  Forgive us. Author and disciples Shane Claiborne says that the church taught him what to believe about God, but not how to love like Jesus.  But I believe we can learn.  Discipleship is to learn how to be loved By God and how to love others like Jesus.     
On my way out of court today (I was accompanying a friend whose husband is standing trial), two women and a man caught my attention. When they stopped ahead of me on the sidewalk, the woman saw me and said "God forgive me."  She noticed I was dressed like a priest or pastor.  I said nothing.  But as I walked to the parking garage I was moved to speak to her.  If I saw them in the garage, I thought, I would say something.  Sure enough, I practically ran them over and they spotted me.  I opened my window and said "God did, does, and God will forgive you."  They told me after she said it, they started talking about God and sins.  She was a formerly incarcerated, recovering addict, single mom named Jen.  She was also a person of faith without a church community.  I spent twenty minutes talking with them, inviting them to dinner church and the returning citizen support group. I gave them my number and asked them to call or text me.  Tomorrow she has to go to court at 9 am.  She's facing more trouble, more hardship.  I will be there, too.  Perhaps God is speaking to her through me, bringing her peace, hope, forgiveness, and love. God has not abandoned her, even though she admits abandoning God.  I believe this was a holy encounter, directed by the Spirit of Jesus. We crossed paths because she needed to hear a Word from Jesus--Peace.   

Prayer 

Lord, you breathe your Spirit inside us, send us out on your behalf, and command us to love as you love.  Make us aware of those to whom we are sent. Give us courage to speak your grace. I pray for Jen.  Amen. 

the Jesus way

Scripture: John 14
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know^* my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’
 Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.


Observation:
The gospel of John insists that to see, know, love, and trust Jesus is to see, know, love, and trust God.  Jesus embodies the vision and values of God the Father (creator of life).  To follow Jesus is to embrace a particular way of life.  This way of life is demonstrated by Jesus' teachings---both works and words. If we want to understand the mind and heart of God, see Jesus.  Jesus invites us into his life, because it is a good life.  With Jesus, we experience the fullest life possible---a whole life.  It is characterized by love.  Jesus is a master of human relationships, practicing forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation with others. Jesus called disciples and trained them in his competencies and character, so that they might carry on his works of love in the world.  He promised them a place with him---ongoing relationship and a sense of home.  He promises to authorize their prayers/works, as if he himself were doing it.  He shows us that God is a relationship---God is pure,constant , unending, unfailing love.

 Application:
Discipleship is about a relationship with Jesus.  He teaches what it is to be fully alive in God, to live as if people and places matter, to be dedicated to the healing and restoration of all that God has made. He says that light is stronger than darkness, love stronger than hate, life stronger than death.  Jesus' resurrection signifies that he still exists, that he is still available, and that we can know him two millenia after he walked among people. Resurrection means that we don't have to be afraid and that his teaching still matters.  It transcends its original context and audience.  If you want to know about God, listen to and look at Jesus.  He is available in the gospel stories of his life.  I continue to get to know Jesus every day.  And I learn something from him every day.  He teaches me how to love, who to live, and what love can do.  He gives me courage to love others with compassion and humility.   

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, your way is good, if not easy.  I am still learning and sometimes I feel like I'm just beginning.  But I trust your love.  I desire your peace.  I am amazed in your power to heal and to forgive. Thanks for including me somehow in your life.  Amen.   

he appeared to me

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.  For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.^* Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Observation:

Paul was sent to the Gentile world, religious outsiders, non-Jews- people who were not educated in the story of God and the faith of the Jewish people.  He was sent to share their message about Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi who was killed by the Romans for a crime he didn't commit.  He was raised from the dead and appeared to his followers.  Paul himself, a persecutor of the Christians, encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was on that road to find and arrest followers of Jesus who were spreading "the lie" about his resurrection. Then, Paul has a vision.  He sees Jesus.  And is struck blind.  He is led to a city, where a disciple of Jesus tends to him and heals his blindness.  And that changes the direction of his life.  He was not part of Jesus' inner circle, was an opponent to the Christian community.  And then, something happened to him that turned him around 180 degrees. He became the most important figure in 1st century Christianity, and the writer of 2/3 of the New Testament. Paul made the Jewish story of salvation accessible to everyone.  Because he believed if this was good news for him, it was good news for everybody. 

Application:

Anyone can become part of what God is doing to rescue the world from the powers of evil, suffering, and death .  The firmest opponent, anti-church person can become an integral part of the gospel mission.  Paul had a kairos, as one untimely born, and it changed his life.  Nobody is beyond the reach of Jesus, who desires that everyone experience the power and freedom of his resurrection. What would the church be without Paul's ministry, witness, and writings?  We all know someone who is not a "church person".  So, what good news do we have to offer people?  What kairos experiences of God's grace might we share?  Where have we seen the risen Jesus changing hearts and minds, inviting people into his life, giving peace and healing and love?  What great mercy work do we get to participate in and share with others?      

Prayer
Jesus, 2,000 years later you still come to us.  We see you.  In the homeless mother;  In the hospice nurse's compassionate care; in the lives of our friends doing what they can to serve their neighbors.  Help us to recognize you among us and tell others who and what we see.  Amen.   

Go

Scripture: Matthew 28
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Observation:

Jesus was crucified by the Romans and buried by his friends.  The following Sunday, the tomb is empty and he appears alive to his followers.  Men and women.  He has a glorified body, a different kind of body, wounded and healed.  He has broken the bonds of death.  His resurrection tells us that his life's work is ongoing, never-ending, and completely confirmed as right ad good and true---universally--for all people in all times and places.  Because his way and words and works were love, healing, forgiveness, mercy, peace, healing, friendship, sacrifice, welcome.  His way is the best way to be human in the world.  Some do not agree with that characterization.  I suspect the church's pale version of his love or outright perversion of his gospel over the centuries has done considerable damage to his message and reputation.    
At the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gathers with his disciples on the mountain.  (Same place he taught the sermon on the Mount--see Matthew 5-8).  According to Matthew, his resurrection was divine authorization to continue the mission through the lives of his followers.  These people worshiped him and doubted.  Doubters and worshipers.  Sounds like church.  Jesus sends these people to make disciples.  Perpetuate his work by teaching others, showing others what he had taught and shown them.  Spread the love by loving others as he loved them.  Baptizing, reaffirm their birthright as God's beloved children.  Remind them that they are born children of the heavenly Father.  Adopt them as daughters and sons.  Wash away the stain of sin.  And teach them to obey. Notice he doesn't promise them success or acclaim or greatness.  Notice, he will not measure them by how well they accomplish them mission.  He just promises to be with them always.   

Application 
The church's mission is not to erect buildings.  It is not even to gather for worship.  It is not to convince doubters that they are saved.  It is to make disciples.  Only disciples can make disciples.  So, what did he teach?  What were his ways?  We must become learners.  Imitators. Apprentices to Jesus.  We won't get it right. Our imperfections and mistakes are anticipated.  It's why he was so forgiving and why he chose uneducated fishermen.  If they could do it, anyone can.  So it is with me and you.  If I can do this, anyone can.  What can we do as disciples of Jesus? 
Jesus healed and fed people.  He accompanied and showed compassion to abandoned, ignored, rejected, and despised people.  He saw their pain, their fear, and their anxiety.  He comforted them. He freed people from blindness, paralysis, prejudice, animosities, and distrust.  He told stories.
Maybe we can do these things?  Why don't we start with food.  Easy enough.  We feed people, especially hungry people. We don't have to count how many people we feed.  We don't have to publicize or start a program to do this.  One person.  Show the love of Jesus to one person. See what happens. 
We are learning together in huddle what it is to be a disciple of Jesus who makes disciples of Jesus.  Persist.  Practice.  Ask.  Reflect.  What is Jesus about?  How can I be about that, too?   

Prayer
Lord, help us to trust your ways and be like you.  What can we do today to show that we are your disciples, your apprentices?  Amen. 

             
    
    

by his wounds, we are healed

Scripture: Romans 7
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

Observation:
I said yesterday that I would write a little something about the human condition, Sin and goodness.   Easter faith is couched within a certain understanding of the human situation.  It is, after all, a Jewish story involving Sin, guilt, punishment, forgiveness, and redemption. 
In the letter to the Romans, Paul is making a case for the death and resurrection of Jesus as an antidote for Sin.  Paul is describing his personal inner struggle, a universal struggle to know and do what is right and good.  Paul is describing the human condition from a Jewish, biblical, theological perspective.  Jews and Christians believe that humans are made in God's image, there is goodness in our DNA; and we are tragically flawed creatures.  (See Genesis chapter 1-11).  We are capable of disobeying God and our own best inner voices.  We will kill in anger or envy when our egos are wounded.  Hatred is a kind of spiritual killing, isn't it?  We will sometimes ignore the right thing to do what is easy or safe or pleasing or more comfortable. We will remain silent in the face of great injustice.  And we can often know the difference between right and wrong, what is just and unjust, good or evil.   Jews believe that their God gave them a law (commandments, see Exodus-Deuteronomy).  This law set them apart as God's holy people, called into obedience as a sign of loyalty to this God.  But the people ignored the law.  Despite all that their God had done for them to secure their freedom and provision.  Sin, the condition that causes disobedience, could not be remedied by knowledge of God's law or by communal accountability.  National, systemic injustice plagued them as much as personal sins against one another.   
In Romans, Paul is describing this dual nature of the human mind and body---divided between what is Godly and what is Sin.  Sin is a condition of the heart and mind, an infection of sorts, that plagues all humanity.  It is a denial of God and the right way of God that has been revealed through the law of God (commandments) to God's people.  Sin distorts the law.  Sin ignores responsibility and rules and abuses freedom.  Sin is greater than immoral behavior or bad choices.  Those things are "symptoms of the disease." Sin is also corporate, national, and systemic.  Doing away with "bad people" does not reduce or eliminate the infection.  In fact, it multiplies its effect.   
Talk about Sin is unpopular today.  Some Christian leaders deny it, refuse to discuss it because they think that people don't want to be told how bad they are.  I disagree.  The Jewish/ Christian story compels us to wrestle with the flawed human condition---to see the world through the lens of sin, and injustice.  There is something beautiful about our flaws though.  We are like God, but we are not God.  We are capable of such goodness, such sadness, such anger, such passion, such mercy, and such depravity.  We are individuals and we share a common, universal truth---no one is without Sin. 

Application
The story of Jesus is set within a particular theological anthropology---a way of thinking about God and the human condition.  That way of thinking has lasted thousands of years because it resonates universally with so many people.  There is one God.  That God is the good creator.  But creation is imperfect, flawed, distorted.  Why?  Because it had to be.  In order for God to be God, that which God made could not be confused with divinity.  The gift of imperfection is that we can know God---that which is greater than all things. Sin is easily identifiable and seemingly incurable.  Certainly inescapable.  And yet the story of Jesus teaches us that "goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death." (Bishop Desmond Tutu). The biblical God provides a way out, an antidote.  It is found in Jesus.  And distributed through the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of communion.  "By his wounds, we are healed".  If we deny Sin, we do not need Jesus or salvation.  But denying an illness, living with the symptoms, and ignoring a cure does not seem like a way to live.  There is another way.  

Prayer    
Lord, we are sinners.  And we are made in your image.  And because of Jesus we are set right.  Reborn.  Renewed.  Reconciled.  Restored.  Help us to do what is right.  And help us to be grateful for the gift of forgiveness when we don't. Amen.  

believing is seeing

Scripture:  John 20
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
 But Thomas (who was called the Twin^*), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Observation:

The Easter experience was initially articulated as frightening, unbelievable, strange, and unexpected.  That Jesus died and was somehow alive again destroyed the natural order of things and upset those who were closest to him in ways that demonstrate their inability to believe the impossible.  They are, after all, only human.  And they were experiencing something abnormal and inexplicable.  He was somehow the same and different.  He was a physical body with wounds.  And he could somehow pass through solid walls.  He was present and absent to them at the same time.  He was recognizable as Jesus and also unrecognizable.  His resurrected body was both old and new to them. 
Some might argue that the first "believers" were somehow in a collective state of denial or a dissociative mental state, whereby they "experienced" Jesus as both alive and dead at the same time.  Psychology may suggest that their experience was of a community mourning.  But then we read the story above.  They didn't all share the same Easter experience, and yet they did all come to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Most of them would stake their lives on it.  
Thomas, one of the 12, was not with them in the room when Jesus first appeared to his disciples on Easter night.  They were afraid that they would be accused and punished as associates of Jesus.  They were so afraid that they remained behind locked doors.  Where was Thomas? Why was he absent from the group?  He refused to believe the others' story about Jesus.  Without physical evidence and proof, he could not believe it.  He sounds like any reasonable person in their right mind responding to this story.  Seeing is believing. 
 But a week later, he experiences the physical presence of Jesus.  And Thomas interprets this experience as a God-moment, a kairos.  All he can say is "O My Lord and O my God."
The gospel writers reported the experience with little interpretation or assignment of meaning. What they could say was Jesus was alive. The tomb was empty.  He was raised.  "I have seen the Lord" was the first Easter sermon, given by a woman named Mary Magdalene. 

Application:

Doubt and disbelief are real and reasonable responses to the story of Easter. In the above story, Jesus himself acknowledges their fear and doubt.  He offers them peace (an extension of his person, vulnerable and open for them to receive); he makes himself available to them physically; he breathes on them the Holy Spirit (invisible presence of God giving them insight and understanding); he reconnects them to his mission and sends them out to forgive sins.  (This emerges as an initial interpretation of the event of Jesus' death and resurrection; it produces or at least announces the full forgiveness of sins.  So, what is that about?  See my next post.)  For us, we might notice that the first believers were no more faithful than we are.  They struggled with doubt and fear.  They did not understand the meaning of Easter Sunday. That would come in time and we will pay attention to the emerging interpretation found in the New Testament witness in the days ahead. Suffice it to say for now, Easter provokes a response.  Doubt,faith, wonder, awe, fear, amazement.  Believing this is seeing God and the world in a whole new way.  It's THE kairos moment in history. 

Prayer:
Lord, I am sometimes skeptical, even doubtful of your resurrection. I want more proof of life.  I want you to appear to me, too.  I want to see and I am afraid to see, because if it is true then everything will and must change. On the days when I do believe, I do see things in a new way. Give me that kind of vision always.  Amen.    

impossible surprise

Scripture:  Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Observation:

3 women go to the tomb of Jesus to prepare his body for a proper burial.  They aren't certain how they will access the sealed tomb.  In their grief, they haven't thought ahead. When they arrive, the tomb is already open!  Inside, they find a man in a white robe.  It is not Jesus.  He says, "You seek Jesus of Nazareth who has been crucified.  He was raised.  He is not here."  He orders them to look at the place where they laid his body. His absence is supposed to mean something to them, remind them of what Jesus said to them before.  And then he orders them to go and tell the others that Jesus is going to Galilee and will see them there.  But, instead they say nothing to nobody, for they were afraid.  And that is the end of the story.  It begs a lot of questions.  1. Who rolled away the tombstone.  2. Who was the man in white?  3.  Why didn't Jesus himself appear to them?  4.  Why must they return to Galilee?  5. Why does God choose terrified women as the first witnesses of the resurrection?

Application:

Resurrection is not normal or natural.  It was unexpected, surprising, and terrifying.  His absence and their silence are about all Mark gives us.  Crucified and raised.  Two passive verbs describe Jesus' state of being.  Apparently, he is also traveling on the road to Galilee.  Dead people don't typically travel. 
Initially, Easter's message is delivered by an unknown surrogate. Is he an accomplice?  In Matthew's account, he is an angel. In Luke's story, there are two men dressed in white.  In John's story, two angels in white appear to Mary Magdalene.  In Matthew's and John's accounts, Jesus also appears outside the tomb.  In Luke's gospel Jesus appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, yet they fail to recognize him. He walks and talks with them.  And when they break bread for supper together, they see that this man is in fact Jesus, and then he disappears! The accounts differ.  Where the account of his final days and hours are strikingly similar, the accounts of Easter vary dramatically.  All four accounts suggest one thing though:  Jesus is no longer dead.  He is, somehow,  alive. 
The first followers of Jesus struggled (and even failed) to believe, understand, trust, recognize, and interpret what happened on the Sunday after his death and burial.  And yet without their testimony, their telling of the story, their interpretation of this surprising experience, would Christianity exist at all?  Why didn't the first century church edit these stories to tell a more favorable, consistent, and credible story?  Easter faith is a bold, audacious, foolish, unprecedented claim that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died and was buried.  And that he rose from the dead.  The inconsistencies and blemishes point to two things:  the crazy realness of this experience and the need for faith to believe the impossible.  Before we consider the meaning of this story, we need to sit with it.  He was dead and was made alive again.  How do we feel about this story?  What response do you have to it? If you were hearing this story for the first time, what would you think?  What else is possible, if this is true? What can we say about Jesus, about God, in response?

Prayer
    It's hard to believe, Lord.  An impossible surprise.  What else compares to this story?  Easter faith is the news that the impossible has happened, a man was raised from the dead.  Help me to believe this news and see Jesus in a new way---as more than a teacher and leader and spiritual man and healer and prophet of divine justice/mercy, who was killed because of his work.  He is alive!  Amen.  

      
   
  

one who serves

Scripture: Luke 22

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it^* until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.^* But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.
 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Observation:

Known as the Last Supper, this is the Passover meal Jesus and his disciples eat together before he is executed.  Passover is the Jewish celebration of their liberation from slavery. (See Book of Exodus chapters 1-12).  God rescued them from their Egyptian oppressors.  That story is really very dark.  The order of Pharaoh to kill all firstborn male Hebrew babies, an order from which Moses was saved by Pharaoh's own daughter, was carried out years later by God against the Egyptians, including Pharaoh (who lost a son).   God sends death to Egypt to liberate the people of Israel.  In order to escape death, the Hebrews had to slaughter an unblemished lamb, eat it, and spread blood on their doorposts as a sign for death to pass over their homes.  The Passover meal re-presents these events.  Jesus was enacting this meal with his disciples when he changes the meal into something new---Bread and wine become flesh and blood.  He is becoming the Passover Lamb, slaughtered to save them from death and to set them free.  The new covenant is a new promise God makes with God's people; forgiveness of sins, an end to condemnation and punishment, and a way to total peace and life with God.  In the meal, we receive Jesus.  As they sit at the table eating this meal, Jesus teaches them about humility and service.  These are the qualities that characterize Christ and his followers. 

Application:

Meals are signs.  Food is more than physical sustenance.  It carries the weight of divine presence.  God is present in humility and suffering.  God is present in the family gathering around the table.  God is present in the one who serves.  This God is no all-powerful Genie, no warrior King.  This God is disguised as a humble teacher who gets executed as a criminal.  Before he goes, he institutes a new meal to remember him.  His body and blood, no one elses, sets us free.  You don't have to be a sacrifice or a scapegoat.  You don't have to try to save people.  You don't have to do anything at all.  Trust that God has done what was necessary for you to have life.  Trust that you are loved.  Trust that simple things like water and bread and wine carry the power of God to us.  Also, life is about service to others.  Your best life and mine comes when we attend to other people, when we put other people's needs before ourselves.  On Good Friday, we see a man who gave his life.  He did so because he loves us. 

Prayer:
Lord, on the night you were arrested, you took bread and cup, gave thanks, and gave it to your disciples saying; "Take and eat, this is my body for you", "take and drink, this is the new covenant in my blood for you", "remember me."  As often as we eat and drink it, we proclaim the saving power of your death.  Amen. 

washing their feet

Scripture: John 13

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet,^* but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, “The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.” I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.’

Observation:

Jesus demonstrates love, affectionate and generous, by kneeling at the feet of his friends and washing their feet before dinner.  Roads in Israel were dirty, stony, and hard on one's feet. Walking in sandals meant dirt, cuts, scabs, blood, and blisters. Foot care was important because you were on your feet so much of the time, working or traveling about.  Infections or sore feet could prevent a person from carrying on.  It was customary to offer guests a way to wash their feet---sort of like taking off your muddy boots before entering the house.  In some homes, a servant would attend to a guest's feet.  But in most houses, a basin and towel were provided for guests to clean up dirty, sore feet themselves.
Jesus teaches them humility through service.  Notice Peter is embarrassed to have his teacher wash his feet.  He knows the social rules and the pecking order.  By denying Jesus, Peter is honoring his lower status and Jesus' higher one.  But Jesus is offering a new teaching about status and privilege that is critical to their life together.  Notice, Jesus washes all of their feet--even his betrayer and those who will abandon him in the end. Nobody is exempt from Jesus' loving care.

Application:

We've made the Christian life more complicated than Jesus' teachings. He practices an incarnate, bodily presence with humility and affectionate, compassionate love.  I think about the ministry of Mother Theresa, physically touching and loving the sick and dying of Calcutta.  I think of the ministry of Revolution in Lancaster, offering hand massages and friendship to the women staying in homeless shelters downtown. I think of Shane Claiborne's Simple Way community in Philadelphia living in close solidarity with the homeless and poor on the streets of Kensington.  I think of Pope Francis washing prisoners' feet, including a Muslim.
We don't see much humility from leaders these days.  They are detached from the hardship and struggle of people on the ground fighting to survive. And too many churches have preachers and hearers of the Word, but no doers of the Word.  Their faith in Jesus does not include humble service. This is because we have churches with no discipleship. Discipleship involves action, driven by compassion toward those who are in need and expressed in humility and self-giving love.  It's more risky, more challenging, more painful, and more beautiful when we walk with someone through suffering.  We are building a church of disciples here, learning to practice Jesus' brand of love, touching lives one person at a time.  It's not easy.  But it's good.  Whose "feet" are we "washing"? Tomorrow night at 7pm, we will practice foot-washing as part of our Maundy Thursday gathering.  

Prayer:

Lord, your love is expressed in humble service.  Thank you for loving us when we are dirty, sore, and weary.  Thank you for washing us clean, tending our hurts, and providing us rest.  Let us live by your example, for our neighbors.  Amen.  
   

the king's authority

Scripture: Mark 11:27-33
Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?” —they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Observation:
 The Jewish leaders had a problem.  Unauthorized, itinerant rabbis who attracted large crowds.  First, John was preaching and baptizing in the Judean wilderness by the Jordan River.  Crowds went out to hear him and be baptized as a sign of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  If, however, they officially authorized John's ministry as God's work, the temple system and all of ritual Judaism would be called into question or even abandoned!  Jesus' works, words, and ways also confounded the authorized public religious leaders. He fed thousands and told them to practice personal piety, to ignore ritual cleanliness, and to serve others with humility--even those considered enemies or outcasts!  Who gave him permission to take public action as a rabbi? 
 Like the degree and certificate of ordination hanging on the wall of my office that say I am qualified to preach and teach, the office of rabbi was conferred on those who were properly educated, graduated, and authorized. The Pharisees exercised their office under the authority of the high priest and under the authority of the Rabbi in his school they studied.  They were highly educated men. Neither John nor Jesus practiced ministry under the authority of anyone.  They were not sanctioned by the religious institution. And so they question Jesus.  Who did he think he was anyway?  Who gave him permission to say and do these things?   Where was his certificate, his degree?
Jesus' authority came from God, His Father.  He says that he doesn't do anything unless it comes from the Father. But many leaders did not respect his authority or his powers.  Jesus was condemned and executed under the title "King of the Jews."  Christ is itself a title meaning anointed one or Messiah (also a Kingship).  The first Christian confession was "Jesus is Lord" as opposed to "Caesar is Lord."  Jesus' orchestrated a coup d' etat. Christians are those who have pledged allegiance to Him and work under His authority.     

Application:

Who is authorized to share God's grace; to offer mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, and love to people who need it?  Ordained clergy?  The ones wearing the collar and the robe?  NO.  Everyone who has received it is sent to give it.  Jesus' movement of anybodies is for everyone.  Jesus talks a lot about the "Kingdom of God", or the "reign of God."  God's rule on earth is represented first by Jesus himself.  He shows us what it means to live under the kingly rule of the God of the universe, as a humble servant.  And then he invites and challenges disciples to do likewise.  His disciples were not authorized priests, but fishermen and tax collectors---uneducated anybodies.  He still recruits anyone and everyone.  The responsibility of the kingdom is ours to bear and share with Him  That's what he meant when he said, "Those who would be my disciples must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me." We all have a part to play, a cross to bear.  We don't carry Jesus' cross.  Only he does that.  But we are responsible for our part in God's restoration project. 
The King authorizes and empowers his disciples to continue his work in his absence. He told his disciples, whom he sent out to continue the love mission, that the Spirit would guide, equip, protect, and help them.  Christians are inspired to follow Jesus and continue his work.  Martin Luther called it "the priesthood of all believers" or "the vocation of the baptized." Jesus was under the authority of the Father and we are under the authority of the Son.  When we pray in Jesus' name, it's as if he is signing our requests himself.  Disciples of Jesus are sent out to serve others under his authority and with his power.  So, offer healing and forgiveness to people.  Tell them they are loved.  Show them mercy and generosity.  Stand against powers of injustice and oppression. Do Jesus' work until someone asks you, "who do you think you are, who told you you could do that?"  And then tell them, "Jesus did". Some will try to stop us. But we can trust the Lord to be with us even when it's hard.

Prayer
Lord, you invite me into your world, your works, your ways.  You challenge me serve others like you did.  Too often I fail to take up the responsibility that is mine as your authorized agent of grace. Send your Spirit upon me and empower me to do your work with my hands, my mouth, my feet, my heart and mind.  Amen.  

fruitful faith

^{Scripture: Gospel of Mark 11}

When Jesus and his disciples left Bethany the next morning, he was hungry. From a distance Jesus saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went to see if there were any figs on the tree. But there were not any, because it wasn’t the season for figs. So Jesus said to the tree, “Never again will anyone eat fruit from this tree!” The disciples heard him say this.

After Jesus and his disciples reached Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began chasing out everyone who was selling and buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus would not let anyone carry things through the temple.  Then he taught the people and said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship for all nations.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”

The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses heard what Jesus said, and they started looking for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.

That evening, Jesus and the disciples went outside the city.

As the disciples walked past the fig tree the next morning, they noticed that it was completely dried up, roots and all. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree. Then Peter said, “Teacher, look! The tree you put a curse on has dried up.” Jesus told his disciples: Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.

Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.

Observation:

One of the teaching techniques Mark uses in his gospel is a sort of sandwich device, in which a story is interrupted by another story.  In this case,the story is about an unfrutiful fig tree that Jesus curses.  It is interrupted by a protest in the temple marketplace.   Mark wants to say that these stories interpret one another somehow.  In this case, the unfruitful fig tree is a reference to the temple market place.  And the curse on it is like Jesus' protest in the temple.  Jesus means that human institutions can become like unfrutiful trees.  And when they do, cut them down.  The temple had become a corrupt business in which the royal priesthood became wealthy on the backs of religious donors.  They had to pay temple taxes to keep it running. The selling of animals for the ritual sacrifices was becoming a massive market place for all kinds of transactions. Jesus condemned these practices because the temple was meant to be a place of communion with God and not a dehumanizing business transaction.  Somewhere along the way, the true intention of the temple was distorted or even abandoned because of greed and compulsion.  But Jesus invites his disciples into a life of forgiving prayer.  This was the heart of the temple's function, anyway.  Forgiveness of sins.

Application:
  
When religion becomes a stale list of "have-to's" and requirements to complete, it is as good as dead.  I think a lot of people have abandoned religious faith because all they see is a religion of "shoulds" and duties.  They hear churches asking for money to pay salaries and building maintenance costs. People become dollar signs.  Churches host events, but fail to build relationships with anyone.  Churches do transactional ministry for the "less fortunate", providing food or clothing or money for bills without any interest in the person- without empathy, affection, or care.  You can go to a church today and be unseen, unnoticed, anonymous.  This is the kind of religion Jesus protests against.  And we should, too.  
I hate that we count the number of people in our worship attendance and the amount of income we receive as signs of vitality or worth as a congregation. I hate that I think this way sometimes myself.
The true sign of a faith community's health is its fruit.  We are meant to live fruitful lives that produce the things that give life.  Paul called them the fruit of the spirit---love, peace, joy, patience. kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,self-discipline. We are made to grow in our understanding and practice of these characteristics.  Jesus intends for people to live in communion with God and one another. Our relationship with God is not meant to be like a transaction.  But sometimes we treat it that way.  This is why forgiveness is so important.  Forgiveness in our hearts changes hostility into peace.  Forgiveness embraces the one who hurt us.  Forgiveness releases us from the need to retaliate.  Forgiveness is the beginning of communion.  Forgiveness restores the relationship and makes us family to one another again.  That is the heart of religion, to bring the human family together again. Like a single tree bearing fruit for the world to enjoy. 

Prayer:

Lord, you despise religion that is dehumanizing, transactional, and greedy.  Forgive us.  And make us fruitful. Bring your children together in your way of peace. Amen.