Lent - Pt 39

And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26 ESV).

Continuing our journey through Lent takes us through the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry. So much has been written about these days that it is often difficult to notice some of the more obscure moments. Today, our reading takes us to one of those moments. It is given just a passing nod by Luke; however, it was much more important than we would not today. It was the conscription of Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus. All of the Synoptic Gospels mention this part of the story. Specifically they recall the name of this man and record it. That alone is significant. However, there are some other things we ought to note that impact this part of the passion. Since Cyrene was located in modern day Libya; and, many have suggested that Simon was a dark-skinned African man who had come to Jerusalem to worship during the Passover. However, since only his hometown was specified and many Jews lived in Cyrene during this time, his ethnicity is unknown for certain. The known facts given about Simon of Cyrene include the following. First, he was a worshiper of the God of the Jews. This likely meant he was a dispersed Jewish man who had returned for the Passover celebration. Second, he was a father and had brought his two sons, Alexander and Rufus, to celebrate the Passover (cf. Mark 15:21). They were likely old enough to travel to Jerusalem from Cyrene, likely 12 or older at the time. Nothing is mentioned of their mother so her status is unknown. It should also be noted that people from Cyrene were among the first Christian believers at the Day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:10). Perhaps Simon, Alexander, and Rufus were among those who heard and believed. In addition, some believers from Cyrene fled Jerusalem following the death of Stephen (cf. Acts 7) and began sharing their faith in Antioch. Do you see how this event almost seems insignificant or coincidental? He was just a nameless face in a sea of faces to those soldiers. Yet, they picked him. As a result of this one moment he likely saw the blood of Jesus and perhaps touched the broken body of Christ on the day he died. He would have been still in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost. He would have heard Peter’s sermon, likely becoming a part of those first thousands to believe. It is not a stretch to then understand the further mention of Rufus later in the Book of Acts. They must have took their message back to their home and become the first of many to embrace the missionary task of introducing the Gospel to others in their circles of influence. This is God’s methodology. I wonder how you may have been touched by the sacrifice of Jesus? I wonder who you are called to tell your story to this year of Lent?

Lent - Pt 38

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:12-17 ESV).

The NIV translates verse 1: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” In this unexpected act of foot washing, Jesus was communicating something profound about the nature of divine love. Love is not simply what Jesus does, but love is who he is. As we near the close of our forty days of Lent, we ought to pay particular attention to the many actions of Jesus in this last week of his earthly ministry. It communicates much more than mere detail. Often when we consider loving someone, we think in terms of actions and behaviors. We ask ourselves, “What’s the loving thing to do?” But Jesus’ unexpected, self-effacing act of service leads us to ask the antecedent question, “Who am I?” Without first asking this question, we can unknowingly place limits on our love because we are not operating out of a gospel-transformed identity. For example, if we functionally see ourselves as orphans needing to look out for ourselves instead of as God’s beloved children, we will limit our generosity towards others out of fear of not having enough. Likewise, if we think we are righteous by our own hard work, there will be boundaries to the way we are willing to serve others because our pride keeps us from serving those who “aren’t deserving.” When we look to Christ we find a beautiful freedom to serve others, arising from the security of his identity: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant …” (Philippians 2:6-7, NIV). Jesus was able to serve in a way that no one expected because he knew the Father’s love intimately. The same heart that led him to wash the disciples’ feet would lead him to the cross. Because of Christ we have the same privileged status and security with the Father, and so we become free to serve in the radical, loving ways in which he has served us. Put that into practice as we approach Easter!

Lent - Pt 37

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:14-16 ESV).

Even when Jesus’ life was slipping away from him, he remained remarkably in control. He predicted his arrest and crucifixion before the religious leaders met to conspire against him. He knew that Judas, one of his trusted apostles, would betray him. How disturbing that must have been to Judas to know that Jesus could see right through his charade. Though humans have their plots and schemes, it is God’s plan that always prevails. Nothing can interfere with what he has purposed to do. And nothing is more central to God’s eternal plan than that Jesus, the Son of Man, would be delivered up to be crucified. The amount paid to Judas was a prophetic fulfillment (cf. Zechariah 11:12-13) that should be understood. By God’s direction the prophet demanded wages. He was basically asking, “What am I worth to you?” Zechariah may not have understood the meaning or significance of what happened next. He received 30 pieces of silver. Likewise, Judas approached the Jewish leaders and asked what they were willing to pay him to betray Jesus to them. He was also asking, “What is He worth to you?” You’d think they’d be willing to pay anything to be rid of Him; however, they gave what had been foreordained, unknowingly fulfilling Scripture. They thought they were being sly. This was the price to be paid for a slave who died (cf. Exodus 21:32) It showed how little they thought of Jesus. Little did they know the final outcome of their act would be the crowning even of history. Our encouragement from this event is in the midst of our own chaotic journey. When things seem not to cohere, when life seems unmanageable, great comfort may be found in remembering Jesus’ own experience at the end of his life. Though humans plotted against him and succeeded in executing their plan, nevertheless they could not thwart the plan of God. This is our hope. There is great contentment to be found in knowing that nothing can interfere with the plan of him who is in control! He is at work in all the particulars for his good purposes. By looking to Jesus, particularly his death for us, we discover what is central to God’s plan for us: through Jesus’ death we find life, through his blood, which is shed for us, we experience the exodus from enslaving sin and the freedom of living in his love.

Lent - Pt 36

And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city. (Mark 11:15-19 ESV).

Every year at Passover thousands of Jews came from all over Israel and Judea to offer sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. Since many traveled long distances, they often purchased their animal sacrifices in Jerusalem rather than hauling them from home and risking an injury or a blemish that would make them an unworthy sacrifice. It was a convenience for Jewish worshippers to purchase their sacrifices once they arrived. However, the market for these transactions had been set up in the Court of the Gentiles, where non-Jewish seekers of God came to worship. Thus, at Passover, the temple courtyard was filled with livestock, sellers of livestock and money-changers, who exchanged regional currencies for Jewish money. When Jesus saw this, he was angry, so angry that he overturned tables and placed an embargo on merchandise. We might wonder why? Weren’t the merchants just trying to help the travelers worship God? Perhaps. But they were doing it at the expense of those from “all nations” who were seeking God, counting their worship as insignificant. In calling them “robbers” Jesus may have been referring to their greedy financial transactions and the way they were robbing Gentiles of their place of worship. There is more, however. In a similar account of his cleansing the temple, Jesus was asked for a sign of his authority. He replied, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). But he wasn’t speaking about the building; “he was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2:21). In other words, when he died, the temple and its entire system, the priesthood, the sacrifices, and the glory died with him because he himself was the Passover Lamb, high priest and Shekinah glory. Thus, when the temple curtain split at the death of Christ (cf. Mark 15:38), the barrier between God and humanity came down for everyone. Jesus became the “house of prayer for all nations.” Today there is no need to travel to the temple in Jerusalem to worship. Nor is there any distinction between Jewish and Gentile worshippers. Worship is no longer attached to a place, but a person. Jesus is the temple. He is where we meet God. Come to Him!

Lent - Pt 35

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” (Mark 14:3-9 ESV).

Our reading today is one of the most striking examples of the contrast between the way of the world and the way of Jesus. Our culture prizes success measured by the value of the things we place around us. The picture I have chosen today is actually a backdrop used by professional photographers to simulate the softness and serenity of the exchange of vows between two people about to be married. I’m sure it is a real place; however, it is not real. When I went to the manufacturer’s site, I found it instructive reading the instructions for the care and use of this product. I have absolutely no problem with using such things for documenting special moments in our lives through professional photography; however, isn’t it interesting that we typically must find a facsimile of reality to create the “perfect memory”? Today our brief meditation reminds us that when we worship the wrong things nothing else will come out quite right. Our call is to worship the living God who has given himself for us in the sacrifice of Jesus. This is the genuine reality that will bring a new sense of what matters. This allows us to correctly prioritize our life. In turn that produces an incredible truth. Suddenly we find ourselves “wasting” our lives on Jesus by giving them to his agenda rather than our own. That will include caring about justice for the poor. Contrary to what is sometimes assumed, Jesus is not minimizing our responsibility to the poor in this passage. He actually is quoting from Deuteronomy 15, which encourages radical generosity to the poor. However, such generosity flows from worshiping God. First things first! Put God ahead of all else as the only one worthy of your worship and you will find you are pouring yourself out in all sorts of beautiful ways in service to others. When we value these things we will see Jesus more clearly than ever before!

Lent - Pt 34

[Jesus said] “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:27-33 ESV).

The weather is beginning to warm enough so that the danger of a freeze in our area is minimal. It will soon be time to plant some tomato plants. I must confess that I usually start with larger plants. I’m not very good at “waiting.” There was a time when I actually built a walk-in greenhouse and grew most of the plants and flowers we wanted from seeds. I recall that it was tedious and difficult to wait for the sprouting plants to emerge from the soil. I wanted to see what was going on underneath the soil. I suppose I should have paid better attention to the Scripture. The seeds were dying in favor of the new life of the resulting plant! This is basis for our reading today. Here, Jesus predicts “what kind of death he was going to die”; it would be one that would destroy Satan’s death grip on the world, raise Jesus in victory from the horrors of the crucifixion and grave, and draw people from all over the world to him (v. 32). He also reiterates his sobering template for all who would follow after him and be known as his disciples. From the early days of his ministry in John, Jesus has been alluding to his “hour.” This is a reference to the appointed time when he would undergo suffering and death for the sins of the world. But through this humiliation Jesus also strangely radiates the “glory” of God to humanity. God “glorifies his name” not only through the earthly ministry of Christ but also his death. The lesson is very clear. Seeds are living things that must die in order to reproduce; they carry the promise of future life. On the surface, Christ’s death looks to the world like a disaster, but by falling “into the earth” (v. 24), he is able to raise up followers and bring “many sons to glory” (cf. Hebrews 2:10). However, following Christ carries a cost: many of the original disciples were to die excruciating deaths themselves, leading Tertullian to conclude that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Christ’s disciples must always “die” to themselves to find “living hope” (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5) in Christ. Here Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s observation on discipleship rings true: “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Don’t miss the truth that this process is the way to life! Celebrate that today!

Lent - Pt 33

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:23-27 ESV).

After spending days and nights with Jesus, witnessing his words and works first hand, Peter could make an absolute confession that Jesus was the Christ, the promised one of God. Those further from Jesus were less resolute in their faiths, often believing him to be a prophet, but those who followed him regularly knew that he was not simply a messenger, but the message itself. After Peter’s confession, Jesus tried to help them understand his mission and what it looked like to follow him, but Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they were expecting, and following him was not what they thought it was going to be like. Jesus issues a clear call to those who might follow him, that allegiance to him requires denying yourself, taking up your cross daily and following him. Then and now his words are difficult. We live in a culture that teaches us to glorify ourselves and to pursue comfort, control and the satisfaction of our desires above all else. To deny oneself and pursue the things of God can feel like death, but that is what Jesus calls us to. He tells us that to follow him we will have to relinquish all control and endure suffering and rejection, but he also promises that this will make us like him. In him, triumph will come through suffering. Jesus is calling us to lose our lives as we know them, but only so that he might give us real and eternal life in him. In the Early American West, settlers traveled across the plains and mountain passes in covered wagons. In the early stages of the Western Movement, a group of travelers would employ a “Wagon Master” to lead them. He would be the one who had traveled the route before, leading other groups safely across the plains and mountains. Later, as the trail was established, groups would voluntarily band together signing covenants submitting to one of the members of the group as the leader. That part of the movement led to the ultimate demise of the settling of the western lands. Later the government stepped in with military escorts; and, finally the rail system was developed allowing people to move under the protection of the lines. The key is in following a leader who knows the path. This is the wonder of Jesus becoming flesh and enduring rejection and death. He KNOWS. He is THE way.