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Posts Tagged ‘way of Jesus’

Lazarus Come Out!

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on July 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 11:43-44
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

We are just like Lazarus. We are dead to the true fullness of life that is available to us. We’re wrapped up in grave clothes. And for us, it’s all normal.

One of my favorite types of books to read is fantasy. I enjoy those battles between good and evil and in particular, that good always wins. Across a great number of fantasy authors, there are certain accepted norms which are often incorporated into their stories. The dragons and trolls and fairies are very similar from one book to the next. There are types of magic and types of power. Another, somewhat universal idea, is the “true name.” There is power in the true name of a person. There is particular power when someone knows a person’s true name and uses it.

This is how I feel about Lazarus. Jesus called his “true name.” Jesus called out the “real” Lazarus, the one who would now move into his actual potential. Lazarus, from that day forth, would be changed. He was drawn out of the dark and into the light. He was dead and then truly alive.

Jesus knows all of our true names. And He is calling us.

The world of Christ is different than the world we have manufactured. If we answer His call, we will be unsteady at first, even a little overwhelmed. The rules are different. The focus is different. The landscape is different. Our perceptions are different. But eventually, the useless “grave clothes” come off and we can move freely. Once death is overcome, what is left to fear?

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Follow the Rabbi

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

John 12:26
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

People in Jesus’s culture understood what his call of “follow me” demanded. He was offering his rabbi’s yoke; he was asking them to acknowledge his authority as their “master” (literal translation of the word rabbi from Hebrew).

This is not so easy for our modern day culture, particularly here in the West where rugged individualism is the norm. Most of us don’t trust anyone who would be called the master. It conjures up all kinds of negative images. My mind immediately goes to the idea of a “slave-owner” — not exactly a role model or a yoke I would want to take on by choice.

But Jesus is the epitome of the benevolent dictator. That’s another word that will turn everyone off: dictator. In our age, we have seen power corrupt and that’s all. The idea that anyone could be powerful and benevolent is an oxymoron.

So, following Christ Jesus, is no easy decision. It is a decision of humility and trust. This is where faith begins. And truthfully, most of our lives then are spent in struggling with this relationship. We keep testing and challenging him: Is this really what is best for me? Is this the best you can do for me? If I give up everything, what will be left for me? Eventually, we figure out the first lesson: it’s not about “me.”

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Hour of Decision

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 12:23
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified….”

There are several places in scripture where Jesus refers to “the hour.” Sometimes he speaks of it as a time that cannot be known or that the hour was approaching or that the hour had not yet come. But here in John 12, the tone changes and he identifies the time as “his hour.” From that “hour” forward, everything would be different.

I’m pretty sure most of us can’t predict when one of our “hours” is necessarily approaching, but when it does come, I think we know it for what it is. Now, I am not talking about the hour of a person’s death. I am talking about an hour of decision… an hour of transformation… an hour of self-discovery. These “hours” or times usually place a question before us: will you go or stay, will you accept or reject, will you agree or disagree, will you lie or tell the truth, (to name a few). These are those decisions that cannot be taken back.

Preparation for these “hours” is general, at best. As a Christian, the obvious things apply such as prayer, study, worship, and sensitivity to the voice of God. But perhaps it is more telling how we walk out our decisions after they are made.

I have a friend who is in a terrible marriage (who doesn’t know someone like this?) and continues to grieve and cry and rant over the circumstances. I understand in my heart and yet, I cannot help but think that the “hour” came and went. If a person decides “to stay,” then the rest of the time should be spent making “to stay” work. If not, then go, and make “leaving” work. One cannot both stay in body and leave in spirit or heart (or vice versa). It is living a lie.

When Jesus resurrected Lazarus, it was His last great miracle. He did not tell anyone “not to tell.” His time had come and everyone needed to know it. So He climbed on a donkey and entered Jerusalem publicly inviting His enemies to finish what they had started. He accepted every step, every curse, every attack, and every pain after His decision. We must do the same.

We have been fooled into believing that the decision itself is the hard part. Not at all, it’s the life after the decision that is the challenge. Thanks be to God who helps us walk out our decisions, both good and bad.

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Hosanna! But Not That Way

Posted in Feast Days and Holy Days, Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , on July 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 12:12b-13a
…when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “ Hosanna! … ”

Hosanna means “save us.” But unfortunately, the crowds who cried, “save us!” at the triumphal entry of Jesus in Jerusalem (now marked as Palm Sunday) did not particularly like his methods. In fact, by the time Passover had arrived, they realized he was not going to overthrow the Roman occupation in the way they expected. In fact, he was unwilling to declare his sovereignty over Israel at all.

I think Judas Iscariot suffered from the same disappointment. He had his own “mental model” of how things should go and finally, decided to take things into his own hands. Perhaps he believed that Jesus, once forced by the Sanhedrin to declare himself, would establish his kingdom. (This is just a personal interpretation of the Judas story.) In any case, Judas’s way changed the course of history.

But don’t both of these cases, the crowds of Jerusalem and Judas, mirror our own efforts to control the outcomes our circumstances? In prayer, we cry out for help, but when help comes, we don’t like it or worse, don’t recognize it (like the story of a man stranded on a roof in a flood and prayed for rescue but did not recognize God in the rowboat of a neighbor or the motorboat and helicopter of strangers–he drowned, by the way).

I think God is in the prayer answering business. All prayer is answered: we must learn to accept the answers. When we say God hasn’t answered our prayers, what we often mean is that God hasn’t answered us immediately and miraculously.

We sometimes err in thinking that the phrase “Your will be done … ” means that God can choose either to answer our prayers or not. But I really think it is just a reminder that we acknowledge and accept His answers because they will always be within His will. These are the only answers we should be interested in receiving.

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Just Say the Word

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 7:7
“Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

The centurion who came to Jesus asking for the healing of his servant had total faith and confidence that Jesus was able to do it. What he didn’t know was whether Jesus would choose to do it.

So often, as I pray for the healing for one person or another, I feel like a little girl in a classroom with her hand up, waving and snapping my fingers, “choose me, choose me–heal my friend, heal my daughter.” It’s like I’m trying to convince Him that my request is worthy.

I suppose there is some support in scripture for persistent “whining,” look at the story of the widow and judge [Luke 18:4-5]. But, of course, this judge was not a godly judge. And then there’s the clever Greek mother [Luke 7:24-30] who pleaded for the “crumbs under the table” so that Jesus might choose to heal her daughter.

But even in his own time, Jesus did not heal everyone. Those He did heal were by His choice and His timing and for the glory of the God and the advancement of the kingdom (that is, the building of koinonia… groups of believers who would live as Christ taught).

In modern times, we have doctors and therapists and practitioners who do what they can to encourage the body to heal itself. They provide altering drugs and change the environment in which the disease or pain lives. But, in the end, the healing is still an act of God. We must grow in our confidence and faith that Jesus can and will “say the word” of healing for our loved ones and ourselves. We must carry our faith and hope to the very end. We must wait for His word despite all circumstances.

And when he does not “say the word” and that healing does not come and there is death instead, we can know that we stood firm in our faith and trust and then our acceptance of His silence will come easier. This I believe.

Oh, Lord, just “say the word” today for Lily B, Sarah W, Janis U, Anne W, Linda D, Chelsea A, and Gerda S.

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Late on Purpose

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on July 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 11:21, 32
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”… [32]When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

While it’s happening, we can’t imagine why God would allow bad things to come into our lives. Both Mary and Martha loved, adored and trusted Jesus, and yet, despite their complete confidence in his ability to heal, he was unable to arrive in time [at that point, I don’t believe they knew he delayed intentionally].

I always thought the women were expressing their disappointment in him and perhaps even chastising him a little. (Hey! You’re late! You missed the bus!) Instead, I believe their words expressed something else entirely: their faith in Him. In other words, they were confirming that there was a greater purpose in their brother’s death and trusted Jesus in that purpose. They allowed their faith to be stronger than their understanding.

They still experienced sadness as did Jesus. The circumstances were difficult. It was a trial. And yet, their faith was unshaken.

When we walk through the challenges in our lives, we must take heart from the story of these two sisters. We can always imagine in our human way that situations could have worked out differently, but “his ways are not our ways.” [Isaiah 55:9] If we can get better at accepting the “now,” we may see the miracle of tomorrow more readily.

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Give From Within

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , on July 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 11:41
But [dedicate your inner self and] give as donations to the poor of those things which are within [of inward righteousness] and behold, everything is purified and clean for you. [Amplified]

This is powerful stuff: giving from within. This is a type of giving of oneself that has no obligation attached to it. This is freely giving. This is giving without worry or fear. This is giving of our time, energy and knowledge. This is giving our love.

We have too often translated the word “giving” into money. God is not interested in our money. I just had a mind picture of myself standing before Jesus and handing him a wad of dollars. Oh, he took the money but he simply handed it off. He kept none of it. But he was still standing there, waiting for me to give the stuff that really counts. To give from within.

I think my biggest fear is becoming empty. I am afraid if I give too much, there will be nothing left. But this is exactly where Christ comes in…. literally. He cannot (or will not) fill a place we keep cluttered with “stuff.” When Jesus asked the rich man to give away his possessions [Matthew 19:15-19], it was the physical manifestation of emptying oneself. In the same way that we hold on to our things, we hold onto our inner selves, our hearts.

Instead of “keep away,” today I should play “give away.”

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