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Posts Tagged ‘narrow way’

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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Way of a Sinner

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , on June 12, 2009| 2 Comments »

Psalm 1:1
Blessed is the man [or woman]
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

Lately, it has become popular to use the phrase, “way of Jesus,” but here is the “other” way… the way of a sinner. Contemporary Christians don’t like using this term much. It somehow feels too old-fashioned. After all, what is a sinner anyway?

Most people envision a criminal who has broken the law, someone worthy of punishment like jail or public humiliation. A sinner is that other guy or gal who is an evildoer, a villain, a reprobate. In fact, if you look up sinner in a thesaurus, most of the synonyms are similar in nature… baddest of the bad, worst of the worse and so on. And so our natural tendency is to say to ourselves, “I’m not THAT bad.”

But on the way to becoming the baddest of the bad are the little things we overlook.

This morning I have been quite convicted. Here’s a list of my sins between 6 and 9 am: anger, impatience, pride, indulgence, lying, exaggeration, cataloging of my children’s wrongs, disillusionment, unkindness, and procrastination [see I Corinthians 13]. Pretty amazing for only 3 hours into a day.

The point is that all of us have a tendency to take the way of a sinner. It’s the wide road, not the narrow road [see Matthew 7:13-14]. It’s the path of least resistance. To go the way of Jesus is to step out of that other way. (If we don’t literally step out, we’ll be pulled along by all the others… you see, it’s crowded on the wider path.)

I believe if I can just take one or two steps off this wider way… even if I can’t find the narrow path at first, the Lord will help me. If I can just stop and wait before I speak… for it’s my mouth that gets me in trouble first [Proverbs 11:12]. If I can just trust God enough and tolerate the “unknown zone,” a way will be illumined.

OK, here goes. I’m stepping out. Who wants to come with me? [Matthew 18:20]

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Pilate Satisfied the Crowd

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , on April 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Mark 15:14-15
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

In the end, Pilate satisfied the crowd because it was easier. He had no fear of Jesus. He discounted the warnings of his wife. He viewed the whole matter as an inconvenience. He made a few lame attempts at releasing Jesus instead of Barabbas. And I’m sure he even knew it was the priests who were driving the crowd. But most of all, he knew Jesus was innocent. He took the path of least resistance. Truth was not essential.

Today, I read in Luke 21:34… “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life…” where Jesus warned the people that these things will prevent a person from recognizing the truth of events unfolding in the end times. A dissipated heart could be interpreted as a heart wasted away by misuse, drunkenness as “self-medication” and anxiety as fear of self-control (for in the end, anxiety occurs when we can’t control our circumstances). All of these prevent us from seeing the truth. And so, we take the easier path, just like Pilate. We have lost the ability to feel the pain of others, we run from our own pain, and we build walls around our world to keep out the messiness of life.

Today, I will seek courage for seeing truth and choosing the way of it. Today, I will exercise my heart, my mind, and my soul for the sake of Christ.

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