Tag Archives: Jesus

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5264996529_ea04afe959_zRipples

I am looking at myself. I must have been 8 or 9 years old sitting on the bank of a creek. My mother, an artist by trade, painted me sitting there looking at the stick I had just tossed into the water. Surrounded by the beauty of trees, rocks, and hills I watch the ripples extend in all directions. Up and down and side to side the ripples move across that stream. My stick moves quietly down the slowly moving stream, bumping, rolling, and bouncing its way perhaps all the way to the ocean!

That was long ago and far away but still my mind goes back. I still love to toss rocks and sticks into the water.

Like that stick changing the face of the water by its presence, so does everything around us change by our presence. A kind word or a harsh one, an act of generosity or of selfishness changes forever our world rippling across time.

Easter Sunday has just come and gone reminding us of God’s power to change us forever. Jesus’ solitary Life, freeing us from captivity to ourselves, was a tidal wave reaching across all of time changing our lives forever. As you and I are caught by its force we are changed. We in turn change others, who then change others continuing the ripple across time.

Easter Sunday is behind us but its wave crashing across our lives stretches to this day and all our days. That one act of obedience in death forever changed the world, time and eternity cascading across time. Our every action, word, or attitude which springs from a life changed forever by His, ripples across the stream wherever we are.

Area 51

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Area_51Area 51

The first time I knew about ‘area 51’ was when the movie Independence Day portrayed aliens bent on the destruction of earth. These beings had visited the earth before and we met them at the secretive ‘Area 51’. They were ruthless, savage, beings who hated all things human and were bent upon the destruction of what they saw as vermin.

As members of the human race we find it difficult to understand how anyone could be so certain that there is no good in us to the point that we should be destroyed without pity. But this is how these aliens viewed us earthlings.

‘He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own creation, yet his own people did not receive him.” John 1:10-11.

“Who among you can find fault in me?”(John 8:46) Then why are you plotting to kill Me?” (John 7:19) Though Jesus was light, love and all that is good, pure, unpretentious, and self-sacrificing, He was alien to this world. It seems we felt toward Him similar to how those aliens felt toward earth’s inhabitants. “He came to His own.” Being betrayed by a friend’s kiss, abandoned by friends and family alike, He faced those of He came to save crying “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”.”We don’t want this Jesus. We would rather have this murdering Barabbas among us.” (Matthew 27:21-23) Could nails or spear pierce the heart more than these words uttered by those He loved enough to die for?
Examining my own fragile love, observing how easily I can judge another for less than I myself have done; I think I am one of a race of aliens so extraordinarily different by nature than one such as Christ as to be a member of another race. For me this explains how we could treat Him so badly, so very badly. At the heart of it, this Christ is so different from us. The members of our race seem capable of an endless, sordid list of ever worsening deeds of destruction, torment, greed and self gratification.

Watching the news, witnessing the endless stream of brutality and sordid behavior among us, it is not hard to understand how One such as He could meet such a fate. Perhaps the real surprise is not that we killed Him but that His time among us lasted as long as it did.

Wonder of wonders that He could love endlessly a worm such as me… such as you.

“Oh, love that will not let me go. I rest my weary soul in thee. I give you back the life I owe. And in your ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.” (Kurt Kaiser)

The Blindness that Stalks America

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The Blindness that Stalks America

“The One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone …” (John 1:9) “…They loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light … They stay away from the light…” (John 3:20)

In John 9 a man born blind receives his sight by washing mud off in a pool. Just like that! But the religious leaders who question the man never do see. This story’s line culminates in the extinguishing of that Light by the blind but the Light’s rekindling by God. Those who embraced that Light saw and were forever changed.

Each of the gospels reveals the progression of blindness in the minds and hearts of those who did not want to see. Like the woman whose cataracts were removed and then spent the next week in exhaustive house cleaning somewhere inside most of us have some trouble with light and what it reveals to us about ourselves.

Mark’s gospel (2:1-3:6) reveals a progressing darkness; from an honest questioning, “Who can forgive sins but God?” (2:6) to “…the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to discuss plans for killing Jesus.” (3:6)

There is an open door of questioning and discussion about race, budgets, healthcare, welfare, taxes, sexuality, and the like. When the darkness of partisanship, denominationalism, conservatism, liberalism or whatever ‘ism’ you want to call it, closes that door the result is a desire to extinguish light. This desire to put away opposition or the light of another’s perspective now characterizes our national and local political discussions. Like the crucifixion of our Lord, no matter who ‘wins’ the end will likely be ugly. Whether theologically or politically; may we embrace light, a willingness to allow that light to question us, our true motives and our heart’s desire. We may be less popular or accepted but we will sleep better at night and in eternity.

Of Politics and Courage

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This morning I read in Matthew 2:3-5 of the interchange with Herod and the priests and teachers regarding the birth of the Messiah and where He was to be born.
What strikes me is this:  These leaders studied the Scripture and they knew, THEY KNEW, that the Messiah was to come and from where He would come.
But there is no evidence they worshiped Him or followed Him.  There is no evidence that as Herod mounted a military campaign to destroy this Messiah they lifted a finger to try to prevent this carnage of the innocents.
Today there is no shortage of ‘priests, preachers, scholars and teachers’ who study the Word of God and who may even be consulted for their knowledge.
But the greater question which is posed by Matthew is this:  What do we do with this knowledge ? Do we have courage to do what is right even when our position or repuation are in question? In the midst of life and all that comes with it our true motives and priorities are challenged by what we do with what we know.
Our world is racing into oblivion.  We are killing each other and our world.  If we know the truth, if we understand the implications of the Scripture and the Gospel, how do we respond when proclaiming that message threatens us, our importance, our position, or our well being?
As we stand in our holy attire, wrapped in a feeling of righteousness because of what we know, are we stading silently to gain the favor of Herod as he inwardly hates all we stand for?
Herod was more concerned with preserving his own power and status and he used religion when it was convenient to him or ignored it when it got in his way.
When it is inconvenient to be known as His follower or if acting and speaking the Truth in Love means loss, do we lose our voice and do our feet and hands cease from obedience to His call?
Do we belong more to Herod and his kin than to the Suffering Messiah?
Lord, I fear that in my comfort with my religion I may be more like these tepid, cowardly followers of Scripture and law that I would like.  If my understanding of Your Way does not cause me to live a life of courage and power then perhaps I may be unknowingly participating in the ‘murder of the innocents’.  God help me, help us to abandon our quiet lives for lives of courage out of love for You.  Amen.