Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will bring worries of its own”Life is always changing. And since we are a part of life, we can’t escape the inevitable. We are going to change. Some of these changes are good and then some are not. We age daily, changing slowly with each passing day. When you’re young, that’s often seen as a good thing. When you’re older, it’s not so much welcomed or embraced. There are changes we have no control over, like height and weight that fluctuates and moves in all sorts of directions as if they have a mind of their own. And some we do control but maybe not exercise, Like clothes, tastes, or opinions seem to come to mind. A change of diet might help you live longer; changing your position might help you see better; and I could add changing from one behavior to another might help you as well as society. Some changes are easier to embrace. Yesterday the weather was nearly perfect at 72 degrees and sunny; not a cloud in the sky! This morning, I awoke to a cold, rainy greeting. And that's perfectly acceptable in my opinion. But some changes are harder to handle. One minute you’re planning a dinner date with someone you love, and the next minute you’re planning his or her funeral. Inevitable, or unavoidable, but not necessarily welcomed. Of course there are those for whom moving into something new can be difficult, while others find it invigorating. Changing a job or a career because you have to out of necessity to survive is not the same as starting a new job that you carefully discerned in hopes for a better life. My family knows this all too well. We left a life behind one life to make a new life in a new state, a new school, and a whole new church community. A few years later, when we moved back we found our old community was no longer what it once was. This change brought us new schools, a new church, and even new friendships. I can’t say that it was easy, but each new experience has brought about new growth in each one of us. Some changes are major and make a huge impact on your life or own who you might become. But most changes go by unnoticed until it's too late to reverse the action. For some reason going bald falls on either side. It’s inevitable. We are going to change. While the bible gives us examples of God changing God’s mind, I believe it’s safe to say God’s infinite grace never changes; nor does God's faithfulness or promise to us. We can always count on God to be the same, and yet is constantly different all the same. God is always moving because God is always present. And unless we reject God from our lives, that presence isn't going to change even if location or our state of mind does. Just as the caterpillar changes into a beautiful butterfly, so too are we able to be transformed as God's beloved children. In his infamous letter to the Roman churches St. Paul writes, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2). Change is certain just as it is mysterious. It's also unexpected as it is transformative. It takes on different shapes, and has different meanings depending on any number of factors. That's what I love about it. And I try to live as best as I am able in the great unknown; always anticipating and anxiously awaiting what will happen next. (Of course, this is also what gives me the most anxieties.) By not knowing what tomorrow will bring, allows me to stay in the present moment. This is the place where real life happens in real time. This is where changes occur most frequently and most organically. More than simply a practice of mindfulness, living life without a notion or a clue of where the Spirit will lead me allows me to move as God moves. And it forces me to rely solely on God for grace and mercy, and faith and strength. This spiritual practice is what gets me through the difficulties I often face when I fast during Lent. It also helps me celebrate the feast of Lent to the best of my abilities. And even those abilities are bound to change. At least, that's the goal of Lent, right? To change our behavior or grow spiritually closer to God? Perhaps this is why Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will bring worries of its own” (Matthew 6:34). Instead live in the present, where “Today’s trouble is enough for today” and the Spirit of God remains active. Prayer: Lord God, deepen in me the vision of what is yet to come, that I may find in every change, not an ending, but a beginning; a sign of a new creation within me.
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I imagine the Hebrew people were saying the same thing when they were faced with another obstacle out in the wilderness. During their great Exodus story God remains patient, putting up with their incessant whining and complaining. Just as it was in Egypt, God hears their cries and comes to them; caring for their needs by sending them food and water, and a fiery light to guide them. When they bemoan about these gifts, God snaps and sends them something to really complain about…deadly snakes! I hate snakes, so I can sympathize with them. And their complaints do seem legit. I mean here they are, stuck in the wilderness – with no end in sight. It’s not like being stuck in traffic and complaining about being late to wherever you’re supposed to be. They don’t have a clue to where they’re going or why it’s taking so long to get there! Living with uncertainty is too much for them, and they begin to crack. Don’t you find it odd that the very gift God has given them has become the very thing that breaks them? They want to go back to the way life used to be – enslaved in Egypt rather than live in freedom. They’d rather face the devil they know than to face the mysteries of God’s promise. If Lent has taught me anything it’s that we humans don’t like to wander for too long in our wilderness. It makes us uncomfortable, and puts us on edge. We like to know where we’re going and how long it will take. We like to have some control of our life, even over God. And when things don’t go as expected, when there’s traffic on our road of life, we make sure God gets an earful. In return, we get a bunch of snakes. Seeing the error of their way, the Hebrew’s turn to Moses who goes to God on their behalf. If there is one thing they’ve learned on this journey – and we can take this to heart too – is that when they cry out to God, God listens. And God reacts, even if it seems a bit outrageous and weird. God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. “Everyone who looks upon it shall live.” Moses knows better not to ignore God’s strange request. Because of his faithfulness, all the Israelites who died are immediately given new life, and all who were bitten are instantly healed. You might say gazing upon this bronze serpent is the medical antidote to the deadly vipers that attack and harm us. If you’ve ever been to a hospital or a doctor’s office, you might have noticed the logo for American Medical Association has adopted a similar image – a reminder that sometimes our flesh and bones have to be ripped open or broken before we can be made right again. In his book A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway wrote, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” As Hemmingway’s real life struggles remind us, life is hard. Sometimes we feel like the snakes get the best of us. The darkness of the world tricks us to believe life is stronger than we are. It bites at our heels until we feel like we can’t go on any further. It fools us to think we’re alone, lost with out any hope in sight. But this Jewish story tells us something different. No matter how bleak life might seem there is always hope, because God came to be with us, to intercede on our behalf. Just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent on a pole… so too will the Son of Man be lifted up for our sake. Popular for a reason, John’s famous bible verse reminds us that we are loved so much that God would send his Son to die for us, just so we can live. Think about that: from death, comes life. Jesus says that anyone who looks upon his cross, and believes, will be healed. He is telling us that salvation is linked directly to our healing. They are one in the same. But this is no ordinary medicine, in which we all of a sudden get better only to die again at a ripe old age. His healing is everlasting. By quoting from Numbers, Jesus reminds us that everlasting life doesn’t begin in some far away utopia – it begins the moment our eyes and heart gaze upon the cross. Jesus doesn’t wait to heal us from all the toxic and venomous attacks we endure. Instead he is here now, ready to save us from the snakes that slither into our lives: self-doubt, fear, jealousy, greed, addiction, or worry. Like Paul writes to the Ephesian churches, we are all dead because of our sin. We are led to believe the things of this world will save us, keep us comfortable, and drive those snakes away. We can’t save ourselves. But Jesus can. God, who is rich in mercy, comes to us in our dead state and makes us alive again in Christ Jesus. The cross is our immediate healing and salvation. The snakes can’t win. God hears our cries, and gives us the antidote – the grace of God’s love that comes to us through Jesus Christ. We can accept God’s love and begin living in divine eternity today. Or we reject it and continue to suffer in a hell of our own making. Hemmingway was right. The world will break us. It’s full of snakes that strike and strangle the life out of each and every one of us. But just as the cure for the snake is a snake, the cure for all of human life is the sacrifice of one man’s life. So perhaps Lent is not so much about you and I, as it is about the One who truly delivers us from the hardships we suffer and the complaints we offer. Lent is a time for each one of us to get closer to Jesus and fix our eyes upon him by turning away from the evil that slithers and strikes out to bite us. It’s a time to embrace the challenge of the Gospel, to pick up our cross and follow the Christ, who came not to condemn the world but to save us all. I hope that you will leave here today knowing this: God does not give up on you. God does not abandon you. Or leaves you all alone to struggle. God knows first hand what it’s like to live in this world. And to suffer at the hands of betrayal and injustice. For God loves you so much that he was willing to come to you, and rescue you, even if it means that he has to give up his life for you in order to do so. And this is why it's called the Good News. Works Cited Bartlett, David L., and eds. Barbara Brown Taylor. Feasting on the Word: Year B Vol. 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008. Helmer, Ben. Snakes. 03 11, 2018. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2018/02/11/snakes-lent-4-b-february-18-2018/ (accessed 03 09, 2018). Remember Sunday's are mini Easters where we feast on the celebration of a resurrected life. Today we are allowed to step away from our fasting (if you desire) and to enjoy the great gifts God has given you.
While I step away from writing a devotional, I would like to offer you a video to watch. It was produced by the Brehm Center from my seminary Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. It is a short interview with Bono from the rock band U2 and the legendary theologian and author Eugene Peterson who wrote the magnificent work, The Message, a realistic and poetic translation of the Bible. Please take the time to watch this short film: The Psalms (click here) A few years ago I took a class on the Book of Psalms... in it’s original Hebrew text. Let me just say, it is something I hope never to do again.
However just as hard as it was, it was also enlightening. One thing I remember taking away from the class came from a favorite Old Testament theologian of mine, Walter Brueggemann, who teaches the psalms make it possible for us to talk about things that we can’t talk about anywhere else – the make it possible to be real. By definition psalms are prayers, poems, and songs of praise. They are words we lift up to God. Sometimes those words are joyous, other times sorrowful, and even a bit angry. But we are allowed this vocabulary of sorts to say what we want to say to God. They allow us to have an honest conversation with God, and to do so with in the form of poetic praise. In Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis emphasized the importance of studying the Psalms as poetry, with its unique forms and characteristics. He wrote: "What must be said … is that the Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung: not doctrinal treatises, nor even sermons. … Most emphatically the Psalms must be read as poems; as lyrics, with all the licenses and all the formalities, the hyperboles, the emotional rather than logical connections, which are proper to lyric poetry. They must be read as poems if they are to be understood; no less than French must be read as French or English as English. Otherwise we shall miss what is in them and think we see what is not." The poetry with which we are most familiar is based on rhyme and rhythm. Hebrew poetry is very different— it is not the rhyming nor the rhythm of the words, but the relationship of two lines (most often) of poetry. This is the heart of the poetic style. This relationship is most frequently referred to as parallelism (think of words in stereophonic). By the use of various types of parallelism the first line of poetry is expanded upon in the second, either by clarification, completion, or contrast. It’s a lot to digest, and there is so much more I could write about. Suffice it to say when you read the Psalms try to read it as if you are reading a poem, or sing it as if it is a song. Let it come from your heart and your soul as a way to praise God from the same place. Lent provides us a time to soak in these words, slowly and rhythmically, and allows us to find the right word or phrase that moves us closer to God. This is a spiritual practice that is called letico divino, or slow read. It’s a great way to get the Holy Spirit to direct your attention to scripture as a means to address issues that are weighing on your heart. (there is much to say about that too!) Below is a psalm I wrote while sitting on the beach in Maui, HI. I had just finished cancer treatment, celebrated my wife’s 40th birthday, and our 15th anniversary. Needless to say I had much joy to praise God for. I invite you to try to write one of your own. A Psalm Of Praise, A Poem of My Heart I praise you great creator, Lord God of my life: You gave me my first breath, and faithfully hold my last: Your mercy is great, from your love I cannot hide: I live by your generosity, without it I am nothing: Kind and majestic Creator, blessed be your name Whose imprint on all creation cannot be hidden from my sight; Your beauty shines forth even in times of despair, I praise you holy name In you and through you, light illuminates the world; enlighten me my God You know my hiding places for no secret can be kept from you; forgive me LORD; Your wisdom knows no boundaries, your heartbeat is all time; comfort me my Creator From your divine righteousness, a child was born into this world Your Kingdom has risen anew to speak your hallowed name; May your mercy endure all eternity, so my life can forever sings your praises Through you, O LORD, a king has come to lead us to your favor You took his life before our eyes, so that we might see the truth; You placed him on a throne so we can come to you, with thanksgiving and praise My heart longs to be among his glory, to walk in righteousness I give you my life and all that is in it, to find rest in your delight; Yet I am separated, like light from the outer darkness, I know not why? For in my sins I falter, yet you do not abandoned me Your wrath is fair, and your righteous face turns away; But your arms, my LORD, are always open, your eyes are never shut Without you, I am nothing more than an unmarked grain of sand, lost in the wind But you, my LORD, who made me in your image, you call me by name; I have no excuse to be nothing more than submissive to your mercy For you, my LORD, are God alone; gracious and true is your Spirit I shout for joy and sing your praises; the clouds carry your name to all the worlds; To my children and theirs to come, your name will reign supreme for all eternity. If you are lucky enough to know our dog Daisy- you are lucky enough. In taking Daisy into our home, we have been blessed with not just another being, but another source of love and wonderfulness. We all allowed her in faithfully, truly, and without hesitation. Today I chuckled at the thought of how difficult the same situation would be if we were to put God in place of her name. If you are lucky enough to know God, you’re lucky enough sort of thing.
Prayer: Dear God, I sometimes have trouble making sense of you because your love is more than I am used to. All you ask of me is to receive it, and to share it with others as freely as you have given it to me. Help me today to do just that. Amen.
[1] Yancey, Philip. What’s So Amazing About Grace? (Zondervan: 1997) p 52.
Sadly, by the time we grow up holes become something we try to avoid. Our wisdom tells us potholes damage our alignment. Sinkholes swallow our security. Rabbit holes lure us in a misleading adventure. And of course, the elusive black hole is impossible to escape.
Metaphorically speaking, we human beings often dig holes for ourselves; financially, spiritually, mentally, etc. We are good at digging deep into relationships that are hard to get out of, or making life choices that feel impossible to escape. As a result, it is the dark, empty hole that gets the bad rap. Is this fair? The Psalmist writes, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and he set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm” (Psalm 40:1-2). When we put our trust in God, we have a foundation to stand on, even in an endless pit. Tony Evens writes, “Sometimes God lets you hit rock bottom so that you will discover God is the rock at the bottom.” God knows the holes we dig make us feel dark and alone. And God sent his Son to be “the light of the world, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Jacques Lussenyran, a French resistance fighter and author of And There Was Light, became blind at age seven. Ten days after his accident he made a great discovery. "I had completely lost the sight of my eyes; I could not see the light of the world anymore. Yet light was still there...The light dwells where life also dwells: within us." In our dark holes, God is there, shining a light on us because we are alive even if we feel spiritually dead. Instead of thinking about our dark places that we create as something to avoid, perhaps we take a different direction and see them as a place to meet God in our vulnerability and weakness. Maybe we embrace them as they happen because they offer us a place to settle into prayer and listen in the silence for Gods rescuing words. Through Jesus’ shining light God helps us to see these dark holes as places of refinement, resurrection and renewal. For it is only in holes do we find the roots of life itself, and the minerals and nutrients that feed us. Just as we have to dig holes to find oil, diamonds and other valuable resources, we also have holes to help us reconnect with God. Jesus told the parable of the man who found a hidden treasure buried in a field; “then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Our Lord and Savior was placed in a hole, and three days later emerged alive and renewed. Our greatest fear, death, had been defeated. As I stood and watched Sean slowly turn the color of mud, I realized all the best things come from the earth; including you and me. So if you find yourself in a hole, pit or rut just remember all the good things that God has already placed in there for you; including his beloved Son. Prayer: Creator of the heavens and earth, you fill your creation with energy and light. Even as I sit in my darkest place, you allow a beam or two of you love to shine through to let me know you're there. Thank you.
This is what the Spirit of God gave to Jesus in wilderness. He needed to be alone in his thoughts and prayers because what God was calling him to do was going to be some big stuff. He needed to remove the distractions of every day life in order to see life differently –not through his eyes, but through God’s.
We all must find time to be alone, truly alone, in order to hear God. You might not get a chance to have an entire beach to yourself or to walk alone along the shoreline of Walden Pond, but there are plenty of ways to find someplace special to be with yourself without the distractions of others to get in your way. I suggest shutting down your phone, turning off the television or radio, and then sit in your favorite chair and listen to the small noises in your home and neighborhood where God whispers to you loudly. It might sound intimidating at first, but remember that out in that wilderness, Jesus was not truly alone. There were animals, devils, and of course some angels waiting on him (Mark 1:12-13). And on the beach I had a small group of seagulls who, like me, enjoyed the silence as we all looked out to sea. Like Jesus I knew I was not truly alone. In the heat of blinding sun, the voracity of the wind that pushed me backwards, and in the roaring ocean that pounded the shoreline with rhythmic punches, I could feel God surrounding me. And I could hear God screaming, “Stop moving. Sit here. Be still.” I did. And the heavens began to tell of God's glory. First I listened. Then I spoke. Then I sang. Then I prayed. And sang some more. Prayer: God, thank you for reminding me that you are always present in my life. Help me to find some quiet moments throughout the day where I can spend some time with you. And in those moments of solitude, teach me to see myself, and to be myself, without shame or embarrassment or guilt. Amen.
Lent is a journey that takes us directly to that cross where Jesus gave his life to save ours. This is scandalous in so many ways. But the very idea that God would come to us, only to die for us, so that we all may live forever together, is a powerful thought; mostly because the justice is so pure.
The cross is not only a journey to a particular destination, but it is also an action that we must undertake. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be a disciple of mine, my pick up their cross and follow me.” For Fr. Gahigi, like many others and myself, forgiveness would be his cross. Jill Carattini writes, “Jesus extends to the world the possibility of reconciliation by simply embodying it. His suffering, and willingness to be broken by the very people with whom he is trying to reconcile, is the very road to our healing and wholeness and holiness. Far from the suggestion of a moralistic god watching a world of suffering and brokenness from a distance, the costly ministry of reconciliation comes to a world of violence and victims through arms that first bore the weight of the cross.” (1) You might say that it is in our forgiveness that we find our salvation. Our cross is our destination and our purpose. As we walk towards the cross we must faithfully hold fast to the promise of the Lord who said, “I will remember their sins no more.” With a clean heart and faithful spirit, we can approach God with confidence; faithfully believing God loves us and accepts us. With faith in the righteousness of God, we can accept others as they are, and accept ourselves as imperfect as we are. Better still, we can risk forgiving and being forgiven. Prayer: Dear God, help me to see my own forgiveness in the cross of Christ so that I might be able to forgive and live faithfully to your righteousness and will. Amen. (1) Jill Carattini. A Slice of Infinity: The Suffering of Forgiveness. Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Sept 20, 2011. http://rzim.org/a-slice-of-infinity/the-suffering-of-forgiveness/ I have three kids and a dog who sheds hair daily like an elm tree drops leaves in autumn. A day doesn’t go by without some sort of word or phrase mumbled under my breath as I pick up after them. A pair of shoes, backpacks weighed down with text books, or a piece of Lego...those (mumbles incoherently) Legos!...litter the ground like land mines. Luckily when I trip and fall there is a nice soft pillow of dog fur to land on (mumbles something else). And let’s not even talk about the dishes that get stacked on the counter top right above an open and empty dishwasher. This is an exhaustive list. And I suspect we each have one of our own. Like life itself, parenting is an everyday job. We knew that going in. But like most jobs – ministry excluded – most people get a paycheck at the end of the week. Parents only get bills and the rather too frequent open hand needing money for some school event. It might not be the most politically correct way to state this but parenting is not to far from indentured servitude. Then again, so is life. Sweep. Wipe. Clean. Pick up. Mumble. Trip. Put Away. Wash. Fold. Make. Clean. Plate. Wipe. Sweep (again). Mumble. Repeat. This is our life. It is one we purposely chose. And in doing so, we know that it will come with certain acknowledged difficulties, and repetitive exercises in patience. Sometimes I feel my spiritual practices during Lent are no different. Try. Fail. Pray. Repeat. Jesus never said it was going to be easy. At least (I guess) none of us are spending 40 days and nights fasting in a read wilderness, surrounded by real animals, and sleeping on the hard uneven ground; although both the struggles of life and parenting often feel like it. In a set of old notes I found this quote written down, “Nothing you do in the service of Jesus is wasted.” Whether we are actually serving others in our homes or workplaces, or serving ourselves the spiritual food we need to get us through our Lenten journey, none of it is wasted. Jesus says, ‘Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing’ (Matthew 10:42, MSG). And so I tell myself (or mumble to myself) each act of giving or serving, each sweep of the broom and every shoe brought back upstairs, each kiss, prayer, smile, listening ear and compassionate heart, every word and each incoherent mumble are the small acts of kindness or what I like to call “Christness,” that I can do. As you struggle or sail through your Lent, take some time to acknowledge the big and little things you do for others and yourself. Then offer it up to God as a small gift of gratitude that you are living and able to do this thing because of the gift of life and ability that God has given you. And as your head rests on a small pile of dog hair or your foot is bandaged up from stepping on another random Lego, try to remember God has been serving you repeatedly as well. Fun Fact: We are halfway through this journey! Prayer: Lord, help me to embrace sacrifice. Help me to be willing to take up my cross and follow you. Help me to be willing to be identified with you and not ashamed to acknowledge you whatever the circumstances. Today I offer you my body as a living sacrifice. Suburban Land Mines
With all that’s going on in our world, how might Jesus react in today’s political and religious climate. What he might do if he walked into the U.S. Capital or sat in with the Supreme Court?
Would he take a position on gun control if he sat with students and parents who lost their loved ones in Parkland, Columbine, or Sandy Hook? Something tells me if he were here today, there would be a target on his back as big and bold as it was some 2,000 years ago. Speaking for myself, Jesus is irresistibly attractive when he confronts the bad guys, or one-up’s the wise. I like being on his side of justice. But when Jesus shifts from being the Son of Mary and Joseph to speaking as the Son of God, I get an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing I have more in common with those Jesus is reprimanding than with the righteous one himself. We don’t have to look very far to see how our religious and political laws, or simple everyday life, clash wildly with what God wants from us all. Which is why we need Jesus to come inside and do a little house cleaning. Uncomfortable as it is, John’s gospel reading is perfect for Lent. This is our time to take inventory and to toss away the stumbling blocks and trash bags we carry, so we can make more room in our lives for God’s love and peace. I believe this is exactly what Jesus is doing at the Temple. In the midst of the religious and political chaos, Jesus enters the sacred space whose name literally means "The house of many nations.” His restoration project begins in the Court of the Gentiles, an area where the local merchants were allowed to set up shop; selling the sacrifices that God demanded. This area of the Temple was a dedicated place for non-Jewish people to worship or pray to God. But the animals and sellers have made it impossible for people not only to get in but to also find peace. Think about how we get distracted by Daisy barking! Now add hundreds of mooing cows, bleating sheep and squawking birds! Jesus sees the barrier that the religious leaders have allowed to be put in place. And naturally he doesn’t like it. So naturally he begins to tear them down. Imagine that, God not liking walls. Years ago I worked in a record store. As CD’s where becoming popular, my boss, Joe, knew the store needed to be remodel and reconfigured to make room for this new format. Now, we worked with this guy Billy Ropple, who was a big, hulking kid. When Joe asked Billy to take down the back wall, this 6’2” chunk of punk rock muscle and rage happily went to work. When demoing a wall, most people use crowbars, sledgehammers, drop cloths, and gloves. Not so with Billy. He just threw his body into the wall. With his physical strength alone, he smashed holes in the drywall and ripped out the wood studs like they were matchsticks. With zero regard to the mess he was making...Billy’s pent up rage exploded like a wrecking ball of aggression. To an outsider, it probably looked like a violent rampage, but for us it was truly exciting to watch. By the end of the week the remodel was complete and we were ready to welcome and embrace the future. Like Billy Roppel, Jesus’ aggressive action was not hostile or belligerent. It was assertive and energetic. Jesus’ action and reaction to what was going on was a restorative act of passion – the same passion he would use to restore and reclaim us as children of God. To read Jesus’ actions as being an ungodly temper-tantrum we might miss the point of this story: God’s radical presence is among us; bringing about the changes needed for God’s Kingdom to be complete. Jesus saw that the Temple needed to be reclaimed for its intended purpose. How can you be a house of many nations, if you refuse people from coming in to worship God? As far as those in power were concerned, the Temple was fulfilling its function as a place to honor God. I don’t believe they were intentionally disobeying or opposing God. They were only doing what they thought God wanted. I can understand that. But a closer inspection of the place would reveal that there were many inside the temple who had forgotten its true purpose. Instead of being a “House of Many Nations” the Temple had become tainted with exclusivity and economic exploitation. Like any lopsided structure, the whole thing was bound to collapse. Jesus’ passionate display of God’s justice was just the tipping point. When they confronted and questioned his authority, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple. And I will build it again in three days.” To most people it was laughable. But as John noted, it’s only as they look through the lens of his death and resurrection, do the disciples get what Jesus is saying. I wonder if he knew that this statement would be use to justify his crucifixion? Even as we have the privilege of hindsight, we continue to put up walls to keep people out; some are even decorated with stain-glass. No matter how hard we try, we all get caught up in the human spaces we construct. Bigotry, jealousy, envy, power, greed invade our physical and spiritual structures gradually and subtly. If we are not careful, if we lose our focus on what God is calling us to do and be, we might find our sacred space full of cattle, sheep, turtledoves and moneychangers. Lent is a time for us all to look at our spiritual structures and do the necessary repairs and renovations. It’s a time to clean out what we don’t need so we can make room for what God is building in each one of us – a true spiritual Temple with Jesus as the cornerstone. Lent is a time to look in all the nooks and crannies of your life, and ask God to help you to be more open and accepting of others; to be patient with yourself so you can be kind and gracious to those in need; to be forgiving knowing that you have already been forgiven; and to encourage others to love you by the way you love them. As the Christ, Jesus replaced all earthly temples once and for all. Jesus has removed the barriers that divide us, and by his love he draws us all together. Through him, we become part of much more inclusive structure built with Divine intentions and specifications. Yes, Jesus was human like us. But he was also divine. Through him we become a true house of many nations…where all people are welcomed to not only be like his humanity, but to also partake in his everlasting divinity. |
Ian MacdonaldAn ex-copywriter turned punk rock pastor and peacemaker who dedicates his life to making the world a better place for all humanity. "that they all might be one" ~John 17:21“Prius vita quam doctrina.”
~ St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) * “Life is more important than doctrine.”
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