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Archive for the ‘Time Up to Pentecost’ Category

My Assigned Task

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on April 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Mark 13:34
It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

What is my assigned task? I have been a Christian for 30 years and yet, I’m still asking this question. That’s a bit absurd, I think. I know there are tasks that are assigned to all of us as believers: the great commission and all that. And apparently, I’m not alone in wondering about my particular task or Rick Warren wouldn’t have been able to build an empire on a similar question, “What on Earth am I here for?” and the Purpose-Driven Life.

But I want to play with the house and servant metaphor a little more. It’s important to remember that each servant cares for certain aspects of the house and yet, if properly trained, also pays attention to the “big picture” of the house as a whole. If a servant only tends to one small area and never lifts his/her head to look around, things could get off balance, areas of the house may go unattended for a long time. Who will notice?

And the one at the door? The one whose role it is to watch. What exactly is the watchman watching for? Certainly, the watchman is looking for signs of the returning Master. And the watchman is looking for signs that signal coming danger like the Robot in Lost in Space).

And yet, I am wondering if the watchman has even a greater role: not just to look out on the horizon but also to look inside. Sometimes the danger is within the house when the servants are falling behind in their tasks or become lazy or worse, they become unwilling to come out of the house.

If we never come out of the house, we may not realize that the house could use a refresh… new curtains, updated furniture, a paint job, or a more efficient way to use energy. Without coming outside, we may miss the other people who could help work inside the house, those who could do some renovating and expansions. But of course, that means change. And so often, if we’ve stayed inside the house too long, change is frightening. We get so comfortable inside our house and like it “just the way it is.”

Am I a watchman? Sometimes, I think I am. Or maybe, I’m just a regular little servant girl who has heard the watchman calling… “Come look! Change is coming to the House.”

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Son of Man, Son of God

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , on April 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 22:69-70
“…But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You are right in saying I am.”

There is much written about Jesus’ references to himself as both the Son of Man and the Son of God. I find these fascinating and hope to spend more time looking into it. But for now, I would share these thoughts.

One of the best discussions on the Son of God I have recently read comes from Brian McLaren’s Generous Orthodoxy. He tells how in the Middle East, it is often said that something is the “mother of” something else… meaning it is the ultimate. An example might be the “mother of all wars” which would mean the ultimate war. Apparently, “son of” works in a similar way. And so, when Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man, the “construction suggests ‘carrying the essence of’ or ’embodying the heart of'” . In the same way, Son of God would mean “carrying the essence of God” (as in carrying the family likeness or genetic code) [pg. 72].

There is so much more that could be said, but what struck me today as I touched these verses from Luke was that Jesus was informing the Council of Elders that from that point forward, because of His suffering, death, and resurrection to come, the “essence of man” would now have a place next to God. (See Daniel 7:13-14) We inherit this place by our union with Christ Jesus.

And just as the disciples “experienced God” by being with Jesus, so can we.

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Progressive Denial

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , on April 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 22:55-57
But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

When Peter denied Christ in the courtyard, each denial escalated. First he denied knowing Jesus, then he denied being among the disciples and finally, he even denied being a Galilean. Sometimes, it takes this progression before we encounter the mirror of Christ.

I struggle with bad eating habits every day. As a result, my weight and well being are doing a ying-yang every few weeks. In the end, the culprit is in my head. It’s where the denial starts. I’ll have “one” cookie or “one” piece of candy, then later, I’ll be tired or feel cranky and therefore I “deserve” a treat, perhaps a granola bar (almost healthy) or two and by evening, I might as well have a quesadilla with chips, salsa, and guacamole since I’ve already blown it for the day (dare I mention the late night ice cream snack?).

Another example is my failed commitment to stay in touch with my distant relatives in Estonia and Germany. I have promised to call them and email regularly, but the day comes and goes and the call is not made, the email is not written and soon, so much time has passed that it feels too embarrassing to call or write at all. It’s a vicious cycle really.

This same progression can happen anywhere and anytime. It can happen with our prayer times, our reading, our plans to reach out to others, to attend church, to visit a friend… it doesn’t matter. One denial will lead to another. One lie will create another. One deception will birth another.

We’ll never know what would have happened if Peter had not denied Jesus that fateful night. Peter had projected out what he thought would happen… he feared for his life. How often do we project a false scenario of the future to justify our actions and decisions?

Today, I pray, let me not wait and deny the truth. Give me courage to face my self-betrayals and bring them into the Light of Christ.

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Jesus as Mirror

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 22:48
… but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Jesus often taught by asking questions, similar to Socrates. In this case, as a crowd came to the Mt. of Olives to arrest him, Jesus asked Judas to “see” himself, much like in a mirror.

More times than I would like to confess, I catch myself charging along with an idea and while caught up in the midst of it, I lose sight of myself and I lose sight of the big picture. What I really need is someone who can gently hold up a mirror to me. In some cases, I have been fortunate and a friend or a colleague at work have taken on the challenge. But more often, I am too “busy” to look. And so, it is only Jesus who can step in and reveal my truth. Sometimes, these revelations are painful. Sometimes, the damage has been done and all I can do is confess, ask forgiveness and move on. Sometimes, there is still time to step back, regroup, and correct my course.

The first time I married, I was only 18, but I thought I knew everything! I wanted to be out from under my mother’s authority. I wanted to do what I wanted to do. There was no stopping those plans. My mirror did not rise up until I was walking down the aisle. And then I saw with complete clarity that I was making a huge mistake. It was not because the man was unkind or unloving or unworthy. It was because of me and my motives. Like Judas, really, I betrayed my first husband by continuing to walk down that aisle. I did not have the courage to stop and turn around (to be a “runaway bride’). Of course, I didn’t know anything about the way of Jesus back then either.

Jesus, be my mirror today. Show me my motives before I act thoughtlessly. Guard my tongue.

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Consider the Lilies

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , on April 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 12:27-28
Consider how the lilies grow. …If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

Flowers are beautiful with no effort on their part. They reflect and express their true essence. There is a natural provision for them (and if not, they play their part in the cycle of life and death). Isn’t it likely that human beings would be loved and cared for by God?

Jesus identifies our inability to allow God to care for us because of our “little faith.” Since we don’t believe God will really care for us… or even more likely, we don’t like the methods or the determinations… we intervene. We decide for ourselves. There is a stark divide between what we “need” and what we “want.”

Most Americans want more than we have, despite the fact that by the standards of most of the world, we have more than enough. We have lost our ability to look within ourselves for our satisfaction. Jesus says, “…seek His kingdom” which is within. And there is our contentment, our provision, our hope, our joy.

Today my schedule is packed with external responsibilities like meetings, work, and kids. Here is my prayer: that I retrieve 30 minutes to be still, to look within, to celebrate the gift of life.

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Exhausted From Sorrow

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , on April 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 22:45
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

Sometimes we just don’t realize how exhausting it is to live in sorrow. What is the source of that sorrow? Is it grief because of a loss? Is it depression and being overwhelmed by the responsibilities of life? Is it heartache from a loveless relationship? Is it from the accumulation of pain from illness? Is it the trials we face through wrong choices (our own or a loved one)? Is it just the sadness from disappointment?

What caused the sorrow of the disciples that fateful night as they prayed on the Mt. of Olives? It was Jesus we read about who prayed in anguish and sweated drops of blood. He had asked the disciples to pray that they not be tempted. But they fell asleep, exhausted from sorrow. Perhaps they shared some of his pain that night after all. But, it was too much for them to bear.

Sorrow comes to all of us. It is important to be mindful of our sorrow, not to dwell in it, but to consciously reveal the depth of it to Christ, who is able to bear it for us. So often, people in depression and grief sleep. It is an escape from the pain. But it is in wakefulness to the Holy Spirit that we can receive relief.

I confess my sorrow. In particular, I confess the sorrow I have stored away in the deepest part of my heart that has found residence there for many years. It is time to reveal it and let it go.

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Raising the Dead

Posted in Sermon Echoes, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on April 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Yesterday, Pastor Craig gave a powerful message for Easter calling us to strength, calling us to engage that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead to raise us from our own crucifixions. When we face our most difficult trials, we must look to the One who can teach us, who can show us, who can uphold us from within.

Like all of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), strength is like them and comes from within; it, too, is an attribute of the Kingdom of God within us (Luke 17:20-21).

There is a tension between our own way and the way of Jesus. There is a tension between our own ways and the ways of the kingdom of God. We must surrender to this Way daily (… your Kingdom come, Your will be done in Earth as it is in heaven…). Note, I have changed “on earth” to “in earth” because I also think of Earth as my body… the flesh, the three-dimensional self and then the three-dimensional world/environment around me. “For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)

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