Walking through Lent - Easter Sunday

Luke 24:  36-49 (excerpts) - SH

36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 

45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus is alive forevermore -- and his resurrection leads to the next promises that come in the drama of redemption:  what the Father will send.

We have received what the Father has promised (the Holy Spirit), and therefore "we have been raised with Christ" (Col. 3: 1).  We share in the beginnings of his resurrection now.

What are resurrected people like?

"They have suffered hurt without rancor, are gently corrective toward wrong rather than judgmental, and do not try to set things straight as much as order affairs lovingly, intent upon carrying along joyfully any who may be weak, trustfully biding God’s timing.  They live like people raised from the dead; they don’t have to prove anything to themselves or to anybody.  They are not compulsive people trying to make good or to live up to requirements.  They are subject to grace alone, and act clean, singularly pure amid all kinds of complexities that won’t go away."   (From Dr. Calvin Seerveld's meditation on Jesus' resurrection published in Christian Courier, April 2007).  

Walking through Lent - Holy Week Saturday

Luke 23:  55-56 -- SH

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Those who loved Jesus saw that he had not been buried properly.  They would remedy this, but it would have to wait till Sunday.  The same faithfulness that led them to care for the body of their rabbi shaped their obedience to the Sabbath commands.  

But they forgot two things:  (1) after a woman had anointed Jesus' feet earlier that week with costly perfume, he declared that she had prepared his body for burial; (2) he also declared that something surprising would happen on the third day.....

Good Friday

Luke 23:  44-49 -- SH

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Three realities:  darkness at noon, a torn curtain, a dead body.

Three types of observers:  a centurion, the breast-beaters, the Galilean women.  

The combination of all six are overwhelmed with the power of this moment.

What kind of a God would have us know Him in the deepest possible way by having us gaze at an emaciated, bloodied body spread-eagled on rough-hewn beams?  What kind of a God would do this?

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Walking through Lent - Holy Week Thursday

Luke 23:  33-34 -- SH

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

When I was 22, I left my small hometown and moved to downtown Toronto.  A week later I received a ticket for turning left at a "No left turn" intersection.

I went to court and told the judge I was new to Toronto and had never encountered such an intersection before.  He let me off the hook, but he shouldn't have.  Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

Grace follows a different path than law does.  Jesus uses one of his final living breaths to pray that his murderers and mockers be forgiven, because they are acting out of ignorance.

I will never understand the mysterious paths of grace.  All I can do is give humble, adoring thanks.  

Walking through Lent - Holy Week Wednesday

Luke 22: 31-32, SH

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Take a moment to live into these incredibly dramatic and powerful words.

• It is the Last Supper, and Jesus is just about to tell Simon Peter that he will betray Jesus three times.
• Satan has been given permission to "sift" Simon; sifting separates the useless outer shell from the inner kernel.  Satan's sifting accomplishes the Lord's work.
• During the sifting, Simon's faith will falter, but through the prayers of Jesus, it will not fail.
• The outcome will be that Simon Peter will repent (turn back) and be equipped to strengthen others.  God's purposes will triumph through Satan's attacks.

I turn to these words often when I am sifted.  

Are you ever sifted?

Walking through Lent - Holy Week Tuesday

Luke 22:  4 - 15 - SH

Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

The Last Supper

7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer."

Look at the instructions Jesus gives to Peter and John for finding the upper room which he has reserved for their Passover meal.  Why didn't he just say, "it's the upstairs room at 45 Benjamin Boulevard in the East quarter of Jerusalem?"

One preacher speculated that Jesus did not want to give an address, because then Judas would know where the supper would be held, and he could easily arrange to have Jesus arrested in this private place.  And Jesus did not want this supper interrupted; "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you."  

Read the Passover accounts in the gospels;  during the meal, the disciples argue about who is the greatest, Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times, and tells Judas that he knows he will be the betrayer.  Eagerly desired this meal with this dysfunctional crew?  

Are we any different?  Remember this eager desire of our Lord's the next time you participate in Holy Communion.  

Walking through Lent - Holy Week Monday

Luke 19:  45-46 - SH

When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Holy Week is a time of intense emotion.  Palm Sunday's most dramatic moment involves Jesus weeping loudly;  Jesus' arrival at the temple leads to angry evictions.  A place of prayer -- the temple building -- has become a shopping mall.  Holy anger sits very close to holy sorrow.  

Now we are the temple where God dwells through His spirit.  It's a high calling:  we ARE a place of prayer.    This week is filled with pressures of many kinds in our community; this Holy week is a rich time to remember who He is and who we are.  

40 Days of Lent: Day 40

Luke 19: 35-36, 41-42  -- Syd H.

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road...

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes."

Put yourself in this scene:  thousands of people are cheering boisterously as a rabbi plods toward Jerusalem on a colt.  He comes over the top of a hill and sees the city spread out ahead of him.  He stops.  And then he buries his head in his hands and weeps loudly, so that his wails can be heard above the din of the crowd.  What an intense moment!

On the road to the cross we have the privilege of weeping with Jesus:  weeping over blindness, apathy, idolatry, oppression and injustice.  Weeping over all those things which -- on this Palm Sunday -- are about to be covered by the blood of the Lamb. 

Palm Sunday

Luke 19: 35-36, 41-42  -- Syd H.

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road...

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes."

Put yourself in this scene:  thousands of people are cheering boisterously as a rabbi plods toward Jerusalem on a colt.  He comes over the top of a hill and sees the city spread out ahead of him.  He stops.  And then he buries his head in his hands and weeps loudly, so that his wails can be heard above the din of the crowd.  What an intense moment!

On the road to the cross we have the privilege of weeping with Jesus:  weeping over blindness, apathy, idolatry, oppression and injustice.  Weeping over all those things which -- on this Palm Sunday -- are about to be covered by the blood of the Lamb.  

40 Days of Lent: Day 38

Luke 18: 35-43 -- Deborah R.

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. 

This is the second time the disciples, those leading the way, were rebuking someone who wanted Jesus help. (Remember about the young children earlier in this chapter?)  You would think that they would have learned by now. 

Jesus had just finished telling the disciples about what was to happen in Jerusalem: he will be mocked, insulted, spit upon, flogged and killed. (v. 32) Given what he was about to face,  how could he be worried about one more blind person? But he was. And to that one man it made all the difference in his life. He began to follow Jesus.

How often are we in such a hurry for what we think is important and don’t have time to stop for those in real need? Perhaps if we stopped to help as Jesus did, those who are spiritually blind will see Jesus for the first time and decide to follow him.

40 Days of Lent: Day 37

Luke 18:  18-22 -- Deborah R.

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’]”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Treasure in heaven. Who would not want treasure in heaven? Obviously not this person since he went away sad, not willing to exchange what earthly things he had for treasure in heaven.

The truth of it is that to inherit treasure in heaven we have to let go of that which we hold to most tightly:  home, family, possessions, career, ambition, position, power. That is following Jesus all the way to the cross.

Sadly, this person didn’t know that following Jesus to the cross also meant resurrection – receiving many times as much in this age, and the age to come—eternal life. Ironically, he missed out on the very thing he wanted.

40 Days of Lent: Day 36

Luke 18: 15-17 - Deborah R. 

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to live and die out the greatest transformational event in all of human history—and yet he stops to invite little children to come to him.  Jesus knows about little children. He knows they are totally dependent on some else, they need someone who can provide for them, love them and care for them. They are weak and need someone strong.

In his own weakness and humility Jesus also looked to one to provide and care for him: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” was his dying cry.

Isn’t that what being humble is about, recognizing our weakness and depending on the one who is greater than ourselves? Let’s become like little children and commit our lives into the hands of our loving Father.

40 Days of Lent: Day 35

Day 35 -- Luke 18:  9-14 - Deborah R.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

You know that way to read scripture—identifying with a character in the passage? This is one that hits really hard since I often find myself in the very first clause. It is so easy to depend on the doing: going to church; not just reading but studying the Bible; praying regularly etc. etc. etc.

But Jesus is very blunt. Those doing things do not justify us before God. It is always the being, having a humble heart.

Jesus, the ultimate example, is on his way to demonstrate the greatest humility the world has ever know—being obedient unto death, even death on a cross! The daily prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner” can re-orient us from our self-confidence to complete trust in God. Isn’t that what pleases him?

40 Days of Lent: Day 34

Luke 17:  11-19 -- Cam F. and Mark dV

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a   loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”   When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.   

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him and he was a Samaritan.  

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”  Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

In this season we long for a restoration that is not yet here.  

There were thousands of lepers in Israel, but on this particular day, only 10 receive the restoration of their health.  Only 10!  Clearly the kingdom is not yet here.  

And only one of the ten returns to Jesus to give thanks.  Again, the kingdom is not yet here.  

The kingdom does not come in fullness, but a miracle begets another miracle. The hope is that the gift of healing compounds - one Samaritan, a half breed “foreigner”, returns in gratitude and praise. 

What Kingdom miracles have you seen? Take comfort and know that what has begun is only a tiny beginning.

He Will Fight

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Ex 14:10-14). 

This Lent I'm struck by some parallels between Jesus facing the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Israelites facing the Red Sea:  both faced an overwhelming challenge.  God did part the Red Sea;  what about the many situations where believers have asked for justice on big issues and small issues and God did not seem to come through? I can relate to the Israelites. When I am in the trenches of trying to make a grade, launch a project or love someone well, how do I know that the Lord will fight for me as I work?

Knowing that his betrayer was coming Jesus said “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matt. 26:24). A friend of mine once said, “Yet Jesus did not have his prayer answered with immediate justice in this life” and continued, “The question that Jesus poses for us is this ‘Will we continue to trust our heavenly Father if he does not answer our prayers immediately, but instead asks us to follow Christ by enduring injustice in this life?’” Will we put one foot in front of the other trusting “the fight” in his hands?

When confronted with a seemingly impossible task the Israelites fell into self-pity with their prayer, “What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” But they are assured, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm...the Lord will fight for you” and then they walked through a dry seabed between walls of water - a tremendous act of courage and trust; it was a risk.  Similarly, we are called to take action that is risky. In more than one season Rom 8:28 has provided me with the assurance to take the next step: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom 8:28a).

I opened with, “How do I know that He will fight for justice?” When it looks like we are losing and when it looks like God is losing and when it looks like all hope is lost, what can we do?

What is your next step? Ponder this truth as you take it:  He did fight for me. He fought for my soul, my purity, my future - and He won. Historically, the most wicked evil that the world has ever known, the killing of the Son of God, was turned on its head through resurrection.  I don’t know how He will resurrect this particular situation for justice, but He is the Lord of history and He died for me, so He knows how to do this and He will do this.

As we set out into the knowns and the unknowns of life this summer we will make plans; some will succeed and others not. When the latter happens we believe that there is always a deeper provision, and a deeper justice at work behind the scenes. He has a relentless commitment to work things out (Rom 8:28). At the cross he did work things out. Know that in the present leg of your journey: “The Lord will fight.”

40 Days of Lent: Day 33

Luke 17:  5-6 -  Cam F. and Mark dV

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”   He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you/

Faith is a funny thing. It is hearing and pursuing what we cannot see, but know is real.  

On this Lenten journey I have been reflecting on my faith. In my usual prayers I ask God for good grades, good health and that God might bless food to my body. From this passage I have been challenged to ask God for 

something else:  more faith. The disciples did this and Christ honored it.

Jesus saw the potential for things to occur that they never would have imagined possible. This small group took Jesus’ teaching on faith and started a movement that shaped the world we know today in significant ways,   ways that they never would have perceived at the time. 

If we have faith like a mustard seed, we can tell a tree to be uprooted and planted into the sea. Today, as an entire community let us ask God for more faith - who knows what could happen?

40 Days of Lent: Day 32

Luke 18:1 - Mark dV

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

As human beings we find it difficult to persevere in prayer. To encourage us to pray, Jesus seeks to remind us of whom we are praying to by drawing a comparison:

Judge - needs to be worn down. (v5)                            God - does not need to be worn down.(v8) 

Judge - no interest in listening (v.4)                                God - eagerly listens. (v7)

Judge: puts it off, (7b)                                                   God: seeks justice quickly. (v8)

What’s on your heart right now?  (This is an invitation to pray.)

40 Days of Lent: Day 31

Luke 16: 7-10 -- Mark dV

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only 

done our duty.’"

Do Jesus' words here feel harsh to you?  

A posture of service is better than a posture of entitlement. The servant is hungry, but he must serve. The servant is called to follow Jesus who “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death...therefore God exalted him to the highest place”. 

Our God is holy. When we do work for him we are unworthy servants, doing holy work. Our duty is our privilege. Our hearts do not say,  “My work is hard - where’s my congratulations?”, but “My work is holy - I am an unworthy servant for a bigger cause”.  

Today, please know that your work for Redeemer is holy and ultimately for a bigger cause.

40 Days of Lent: Day 30

Luke 17: 5-6 -- Mark dV

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”   He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

I have always struggled to relate to this passage; why would I want to uproot a tree and plant it into the sea? This is not normal now, but neither was it then. Trees don’t do this.

Jesus said with “faith as small as small as a mustard seed” the abnormal was possible. Can I have a baby faith and expect the seemingly absurd to happen? Yes. I have come to the conclusion that Christianity is less about the size of a personal faith, and more about the size of a personal God (without discounting the necessity of the former). This may sound cliche, but it’s what I need to know when I am praying for what is seemingly absurd: faith is less about me and my capacity and more about Him and his capacity.

Contemplating the cross at lent reminds me of His capacity.

40 Days of Lent: Day 29

Day 29 - Luke 16:  13-15 - SH

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them,“You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight."

When I was in my late 20s, I went to visit a man from our church who was close to death.  At one point he whispered, "thanks for coming to say good-bye, even though doing this makes you terribly nervous."  He saw through me, and his honesty made me smile.

There's no sense in beating around the bush on the way to death.  Jesus lays it out here in stark black and white:  "folks, you've got to choose. You can't put God in your back pocket as an insurance policy while pursuing other things like money."

"Lord Jesus, as I follow you to the cross, search my heart and grant me courage and grace to put to death the things that hinder my following you."  

40 Days of Lent: Day 28

Day 28 - Luke 16:  16-17 -- Robb P

 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it.  It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law."

How does this make sense -  the good news (gospel) takes over from the law and prophets, but not the smallest stroke drops from the law?

In fact, the teachings of Jesus are more demanding that the Law, not less. It is not merely what we do, but it also involves why we do what we do and who we are. The good news of the Kingdom transcends rather than replaces the Law. 

As the LORD prophesied through Jeremiah, "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Consider. How do we treat people? Who or what do we actually serve? What or whom do we love? What are our priorities?