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Posts Tagged ‘hope’

Miracles Keep Coming

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on September 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 2:32
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.” [Peter speaking]

If it wasn’t enough that Jesus healed hundreds of people throughout his ministry, fed thousands with very little food, raised people from the dead, and in general, transformed the lives of those who came into contact with him, then he died and rose from the dead himself. That’s a miracle and that’s the point.

Jesus fulfilled the Jewish prophecies about the Messiah throughout his life, from birth to death and resurrection, and yet, unbelief abounded. They had heard of the promised Messiah and how he would bring change and miracles, but when it actually started happening, they said, “not like that.” The miracles (and changes) were not the ones they expected or wanted. Miracles can shake up a person’s world.

Miracles are not always tidy. Miracles challenge the norm. Miracles defy expectations. Miracles are outside of our control.

Of course, not every miracle is the parting of the waters or a blind man being able to see. Some miracles are very basic: people forgiving other people, marriages remade, illness overcome, families restored, addicts staying clean, babies born. Are these anything less than miraculous?

Today I acknowledge and give thanks for the everyday miracles in my life: abundant food to eat, my house and working vehicles, a stable job, a marriage still together despite the odds, my adopted children, my rescued pets, my good health, my faith, my family’s wealth compared to most of the world, my citizenship in a free and prosperous country (as an immigrant family, we could have ended up anywhere), my natural gifts and talents…. all miracles.

Tomorrow will bring something new. Anything can happen. Teach me Lord, to face each and every day with an expectation of your presence: the greatest miracle of all.

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Pick Your Last Days

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 2:14, 16b-17
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say…. this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel [2:28-29]: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams….”

When, exactly, are the Last Days? Good luck with that. Theologians and other Christian writers have written volumes about this phenomenon while the Pentecostals and Charismatics have been waving the Last Days banner since the turn of the 19th century. People have been talking about the Last Days for a long time. Is it possible that we’re still in the Last Days? Have the last 2000 years been the Last Days?

In his post-Holy Spirit filling in Acts 2, Peter certainly implied that the Last Days were beginning that day. He saw the outpouring of power and the speaking in tongues (other languages) that day as a sure sign of Joel’s prophecy being fulfilled.

Here are the choices I see: either we are still in the Last Days… or the Last Days haven’t really started yet… or we’re on the other side of the Last Days. Pick your camp!

I think the disciples and newly committed Christ followers in Peter’s time, believed the Last Days were right then and that it was indeed … a matter of days or weeks, at best, before Christ would return and the world would end as they knew it. They lived and died as martyrs because of their commitment to this idea. They lived fully and without compromise.

But, in the same way that Nineveh was spared when Jonah finally did what he was supposed to do, e.g. warn Nineveh’s residents of coming destruction if they didn’t change… so has the world has been spared… for now. We are still here.

But are we paying attention to the Joels and Jonahs of our own age? Are we reading the signs of warning? Are we taking seriously that we may be on borrowed time?

There are still men and women today prophesying… seeing visions… and dreaming dreams. Their words speak of spiritual deserts, economic chaos, environmental collapse, human suffering at the hands of evil, starvation and traumatic illness.

Not everyone can be a prophet or a watchman on the wall, but we can be listeners. We can change our own small world. We can love our neighbor and love our environment. We can pray for change. We can pray for healing.

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Who Were Those Guys?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on September 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 21:2
There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas, called the Twin, and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, also the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples.

Two “other” disciples: who were they? Were these two who had joined the disciples just recently? Were they hanging out because of the witness of Thomas, let’s say? There are few clues. In any case, they are unnamed. Why? There are a few other examples in scripture where followers are numbered in some way but unnamed.

This is where my imagination really kicks in. Somehow there is significance in these two guys, apparently fishermen (since they all go out to fish with Peter), being present at Jesus’s appearance. And although the emphasis in this last chapter of John is on Peter and his mission for Christ, these two unnamed guys were there for a reason.

In the same way that Thomas needed Jesus to solidify his faith in Jesus’s second appearance, I think these guys needed something similar. In fact, I believe God uses time and place so economically that each one of the disciples that day had a particular need to see Jesus face to face. Only Peter’s conversation is recorded, but I’m sure each disciple had a conversation around that campfire and over the meal.

This was a time of confirmation.

We all need confirmation at one time or another. Did I really hear correctly? Is this really what I should be doing? Am I choosing the right way? Is this my time?

Jesus had breakfast with 7 guys to confirm their faith and their missions. Each one was sent forth. Outside of Peter and the sons of Zebedee, these other disciples played fairly small roles in the overall story. And yet, here they are in the third sighting of Jesus after the resurrection.

If Jesus would do this for them, then he’ll do the same for me. And so I ask, confirm the stirrings of my heart this day, Lord. Give me courage and fortitude. Give me confidence and curiosity. Amen.

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Is Doubt a Bad Thing?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 20:24b
But he [Thomas] said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

Poor Thomas has become legendary by the phrase, “doubting Thomas,” used in both secular and religious circles to mark someone as “unwilling to believe.” So often, the implication is that he was a second-class disciple because he didn’t believe at the first. And to make matters worse, Christ himself admonished Thomas by saying, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” [verse 29]

But I think we are being a little unfair. After all, the rest of the disciples DID get to see Jesus appear that first time in the locked room. We don’t know if they would have done any better than Thomas, had any of them missed that gathering. Direct experience is powerful. And it is for this reason that many people over the years have become believers: a direct experience with God in Christ.

Everyone else is initially dependent on the testimony of others. Is our story compelling? Is it complete? Is it loving? Is it inclusive? Is there room for doubt?

I think there is a healthy place for doubt. In some cases, it’s better to face the truth of our fears, our concerns, our uncertainties and engage them. To camouflage doubt is much more serious and weakens faith even more when the tough times come along. There must always be room for questions and those who don’t doubt must embrace lovingly those who do.

Christ returned to the locked room specifically to meet Thomas there, to meet his doubt. The transformation of Thomas in that moment is worth noting: he went from doubt to total belief and faith. I am convinced that Thomas was never shaken again by doubt. When doubt is authentically washed away by the revelation of truth, it sticks.

But we should not fear doubt, instead, lay it at the foot of God who will address it. Sometimes the road from doubt to faith is a slow journey. For instance, if we have doubt in ourselves, it often takes a series of positive experiences to reveal our ability to do or succeed at something. And the building of our faith in God may be the same way. Each person is different. Some achieve faith in the blink of an eye and some along a path that is only illumined one stone at a time.

My own doubt in God’s love for me has traveled in waves over the years. Naturally, it tends to rear its head when circumstances are most difficult: when my marriage was in crisis, when I couldn’t bear children, when our finances were stripped bear, when our parents died, and so on. But each time, I can say, Christ appeared in the locked room of my heart. His presence replaced doubt with hope and I was made new again.

I am on the slow path, I guess. And although I am not Thomas, I am stronger for each doubt challenge along the way.

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A Folded Cloth

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 20:6-7
Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

I have always been intrigued by the folded cloth that was set aside separately from the rest. John is the only writer who adds this small detail. When I was still performing and touring my own show (Pente, a show that depicted the 5 women in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1), I included this tidbit in Mary’s monologue at the end of the show.

There is no real way to know who folded this cloth. I can’t quite imagine that Jesus, resurrected, pulled off the linen burial clothes and then took the time to fold his head cloth. But my imagination does go to the possibility that Mary, his mother, visited the tomb even earlier than the other women or disciples. I can imagine that she discovered the missing body and in her love for her son, folded his head cloth, perhaps after taking in the aroma of him one last time. I have no proof: it’s strictly an image I have carried for a long time.

For me, the folded cloth is an acceptance of Jesus’s transformation, his resurrection. Mary had pondered long all of the prophecies and experiences. And now, she could see that all had happened as Jesus said it would. She finally knew, without a doubt, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, who had died and risen as he had promised he would.

For me, she left the folded cloth, the former life, and stepped into her own new life. Today, I fold away the mistakes of my yesterdays and begin again. Each day is a new opportunity…. a new beginning. Thanks be to God.

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Cost of Betrayal

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 19:11b
“…Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” [Jesus speaking to Pilate]

Although Jesus knew that one of his followers would betray him, the suffering was still heavy to bear. Imagine, in this scene, Jesus tells Pilate that Judas, who betrayed him, has committed a greater sin than Pilate who would be condemning Jesus to death. I believe the chief priests, who brought Jesus to Pilate, were also betrayers. They twisted the truth to achieve their own goals. As leaders of the faith, they betrayed the people.

I have experienced betrayal and I can testify to the depth of such pain. To give someone trust, to open the heart and expose it willingly to someone, and then have it crushed through betrayal is a misery like no other.

Love is a contract. Relationship is a contract. Friendship is a contract. It may not be a written one, like a marriage vow or certificate, and yet, as the onion layers of our hearts are removed in order to love more deeply, we are placing more and more trust in that contract. Contracts of this kind are strengthened by our transparency and destroyed by lies and deception.

And yet, love requires that we accept the possibility of betrayal. This is the greatest challenge of all. Once injured by betrayal, the tendency is to protect the heart from another incursion. But love is anemic without trust and vulnerability. It is not love at all.

Jesus loved Judas despite the eventual betrayal. Jesus loved all the disciples, knowing they would fail him and flee. Jesus loved Peter who denied him three times in a single night.

Our only safety in loving others is Christ. He is the healer of betrayed hearts. Without his presence within the heart, we will develop a heart of stone. It all starts innocently enough, a protective shield from the disappointments and betrayals we have experienced over the years, but eventually, if left to our own devices, the protective layer begins to soak through and our hearts are hardened. This is the highest cost of betrayal.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart…” [Psalm 51:17a] The heart of stone must be broken in order for healing to begin. [Ezekiel 36:26]

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Joy, Suffering and Holiness

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 17:13-14; 17
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they [followers] may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world….For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”[Jesus praying]

Three promises are embedded in these passages: joy, suffering, and holiness. These are part of becoming a follower of Christ.

I believe Jesus had joy because he completed his task on Earth. He accomplished what his Father had sent him to do. He was faithful. And out of his accomplishment and faithfulness comes joy. His joy is available to us because HE did the brunt of the work. As Julian of Norwich says, “All will be well…” Despite our circumstances, joy is available. “It is finished!” But we continue to struggle… we continue to make our own joy.

I believe Jesus understood his own suffering and anticipated his followers to experience suffering as well. Jesus was outside the norm of the day. He challenged the religious leaders of the time. He promoted actions and thoughts of paradox: love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, etc. But these teachings are no better understood or walked out today. Most Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of suffering for an ideal like the lion and the lamb dwelling together. Jesus world and our world are not that different, both worlds are equally violent. Perhaps the biggest difference is that we, in the West, have more to lose. Which bring us to the challenge of holiness.

I believe Jesus offered his followers a holy life by walking outside the the ways of the world. In order to know this life, we would have to willingly step away from our consumer lifestyle. Sanctification (holiness) comes from casting ourselves fully at the feet of Christ. It’s submission to the way of Jesus. It’s humility for the sake of the other. It’s letting go. It’s living sacrificially.

Oh, most patient Lord, forgive me for looking for my own joy, for running from suffering, and fearing holiness. Show me the narrow way.

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