Overturning Tables

Several of the Gospel writers record a very similar account of a particular event in the life of Jesus.  Matthew 21 is my favorite account of the story.  Jesus has just rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the Highest!" As he enters, obviously drawing a crowd, He goes straight to his "Father's House," the Temple. Upon entering He does something He must have wanted to do since he was a boy astonishing the teachers with his wisdom.  He turns over the moneychangers' tables and begins to admonish them, quoting from the book of Isaiah 56:7, "MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE PEOPLES!" but, "you have turned it into a robber's den!" Then He does something that seems to make the Scribes and Chief Priests even more upset.  He heals the lame and the blind in the temple.  He also accepts praise from a group that his own disciples once tried to get rid of and many today wrongly believe should be seen but not heard in church, the children! While Jesus gladly accepted the praise of those who were the least in society, who had the fewest rights and who were the most helpless, the priests where indignant that He would not only disrupt business as usual in the temple, but then allow these undesirables to give praise to Him right in the temple court.

I understand why this was so unsettling for the priests and Sadducees and Scribes working in the temple.  They did not understand who Jesus was, or why he had come.  They had not experienced his saving grace or accepted his free gift of forgiveness of sin.  The church today, however, knows and understands all of those things, so surely we would never react the way the Chief Priests did toward anyone who was seeking to worship the Savior? While most of us would be quick to answer, "No, of course we wouldn't," I came across a news story that demonstrates a church that did just that in the name of "distraction free worship." All this family sought to do was worship on Easter Sunday morning, the church should be the one place that the family of a special needs child should be able to come and feel loved, accepted, and wanted, not feel like a burden or an inconvenience. There should be no one excluded from worship, but all should be freely allowed to come and express in whatever way they are able their praise and honor to the Lord.

What is it that you are doing to make sure that your church is, "A house of prayer for all people?" What is your congregation doing to allow the "Little children" to come to Jesus? What are we, as God's people doing to reach out to those in our society who are the most hopeless and helpless and who have no voice?  Are we defending them, accepting them, loving them as Jesus did, or are we ignoring them and turning the other way in the name of connivence?

Remembrance

For many families this is a weekend for bar-b-q and fun in the pool.  I have many wonderful memories of the whole family at my grandparents pool on weekends like this, or at the beach or a spring where we would enjoy hamburgers and hotdogs and get burnt to a crisp while splashing in the surf or tubing down the rapids at Rock Springs in the wonderfully cold water.  I don't know about any of you, but I never really thought about why we celebrate this unofficial "Beginning of Summer" weekend when I was a kid.  I just enjoyed it.

Now that I'm grown I have a better understanding and know that this day is set aside as a remembrance.  I love that I live in the USA and enjoy so many freedoms the rest of the world, especially women in the rest of the world, do not have.  I thank God for the veterans who have fought and especially for those who have died for that.  Today is a day to remember them.

But, even as we remember their sacrifice, there is one who paid a bigger price for us, and he has also left us a symbol of remembrance.  I was blessed with the opportunity to worship with my brother and his wife yesterday, and, as we took communion as the ultimate symbol of remembrance, the pastor challenged us to remember the life and death of the One who gave all for us.  He did not give himself for us out of a sense of duty, nor out of a sense of pride, but out of the purest love, agape. He didn't give himself for the life of a friend, or even for the life of a country, but for the redemption of the whole world and everyone in it.  Most importantly he didn't fight in a battle to save his own life, but he freely laid it down because he knew it was the only way any could have true peace with God and even with ourselves.  This Memorial Day remember and be thankful.

What's to Celebrate?

News travels very fast in the world  today.  I went to bed early last night, not knowing what had happened half way around the world. This morning I woke up to facebook posts, blogs, and news stories informing the world about the death of Osama Bin Laden.  The reactions were mixed, some posts were jubilant, some were attempts to put a comical spin on the situation (as I'm certain many late night comedians will attempt to do), others were concerned and sincere. As I consider the events of the last few days, I cannot help but wonder what they mean for the future.  Undoubtedly some of Bin Laden's followers will want to strike back and avenge his death. After all defending someone that we sincerely believe is right is a natural human response that even the Apostle Peter was prone to give in to.  Surely this event is not the end of terrorism and all the horrors that it brings any more than Hitler's death brought an end to war or genocide on the planet. So what are we celebrating and what should our response as Christians be?

I remember 9/11/2001 very well.  I remember coming into the day room at the dorm and watching live coverage as the plane hit the second tower.  I remember the feeling that, I think, struck all of us at that moment.  The feeling of wanting revenge and of needing to blame someone.  But Romans 12 gives instructions to Christians what to do.  Verse 21 says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  Paul wants us to remember that we are to reach out in peace, as ambassadors representing the goodness of God.  We need not seek retribution, just as Jesus did not seek it on the cross.  We should not rejoice of the death of one who has done so much wrong, but we should pray for those who are angered by it, that they would find the peace of God.  I want to close this blog with the facebook status I found to be most appropriate and thoughtful.  "Rejoice that he will no longer kill. But mourn that he never knew Christ."

A Royal Wedding

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I am a bit of a Disney Fanatic.  They also know that my favorite Disney movie is Cinderella.  The classic and beautiful story of the common girl who became a princess.  Today, a real life Cinderella story of sorts took place.  The wedding of Prince William, future king of England to the commoner, Kate Middleton captivated most of the world today.  It was a beautiful ceremony, and the love story most little girls dream about all their lives, the opportunity to become a real live princess.

It reminded me of another wedding that will happen one day when Christ will return for His Bride, the Church.  We are the Bride, not simply of the future king of an earthly nation, but the Bride of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is over all the nations.  We will not be greeted by mere church bells, but by the singing of angels.  Today was a glorious day indeed for the British people.  That day will be glorious for all of us who are ready and waiting for the Lord's coming in glory.

Count the Cost

In the early church, faith in Christ came at a cost. The earliest Christians often lost family and friends because they gave up their religion. They may have even lost property and businesses because of persecutions at various times. Many were imprisoned and tortured for their faith. Many died as martyrs. After Constantine issued the “Edict of Milan” much of that changed. The threat of persecution ended and being a Christian no longer involved the threat of martyrdom. It was around this same time that the rise of a new movement in the Christian life began to emerge. That new movement would come to be known as Monasticism.

The father of this movement, an Egyptian named Anthony, died in 356. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, wrote down Anthony’s story a year later. According to Athanasius, it was the Gospel account of Jesus telling the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give it to the poor that compelled Anthony. He applied this statement directly to himself, gave up all his possessions, and went to the dessert to pursue a life wholly focused on God.

Monasticism has changed and developed over the centuries since Anthony was first compelled to go into the dessert. Monastics have found ways to separate themselves from the world in order to pursue holiness both individually, as anchorites, and in communities, like those who follow the rules of St. Basil or St. Benedict. Clearly, not everyone is called to the monastic life of course. However, as Ivan Kauffman states so beautifully in his book Follow Me, “The monks demonstrated, as the martyrs before them had, that Christian faith makes it possible for ordinary people to live in an entirely new way, but they did so in a new way – by their lives rather than their deaths.” Maybe this is what it means to daily take up our crosses and follow Him.

Good Friday

For Christians, Good Friday is a day of remembrance and reflection.  It is the day we look to the cross and the blood that was shed by the one who knew no sin so that we could be redeemed.  The events of this day allow us a personal relationship with God and teach us to love others with the love of Christ, by being willing to lay down our own lives for them.  I can not understand then why one Florida pastor wants to use it as a day of hate and protest.  In the Fox news article from this morning the same may whose act of burning a Koran sparked riots and even led to the death of Americans, is planning a protest for today outside of a Mosque in Detroit, MI.

The thought that anyone who claims Jesus as Savior could take this day to propose such an event is inconceivable.  Jesus said he did not come to condemn, but to give life.  He did not protest when they came to take Him away, but went willingly and peacefully to the cross.  Today, of all days on the Christian calendar, should be the day when we seek to spread Christ's peace, and love to a lost and dying world.  I hope that each of us will find a way to share with someone what is "Good" about today, the broken body and the shed blood of our Lord.

Already, but Not Yet

We live in an instant society.  We can have food cooked in minutes, have messages sent, received, and responded too in less than an hour, post writing and video with the click of a mouse for the whole world to see, and even send pictures instantly to friends and family no matter where they are through the touch of a button on our cell phones.  It isn't any wonder why the attention span of most of us is very short and why we grow impatient waiting for more than a couple of minutes for anything.  The concept of, "All things come to those who wait," seems ridiculous.  "Good things take time," is almost laughable in our society.  I think we have forgotten the joy and excitement of anticipation, of looking forward to something wonderful that we know is ready and waiting for us.

As a Christian, when I reflect on the story of that first Easter Sunday, I can't help but think about Mary as the story unfolds in the 20th chapter of John's gospel.  Undoubtedly she was weeping and heartbroken over the events of the days before, as she approached the tomb with Peter and John by her side. Finding it open and empty, the two disciples who had been so close to Jesus in his ministry gave up, abandoning her to return to their homes.  There Mary stood, abandoned, hurting, confused.  She had experienced what it was like to walk with Jesus.  She'd watched Him heal people with a word or a touch. When she turned and sought comfort from the gardener, a total stranger, she once again knew what it was like for pain to disappear with a single word.  "Mary," he said, and there was instant recognition, instant healing, and an instant response.  Then Jesus asked her to wait.  "Stop clinging to me," he said, then he instructed her, "go, tell my brothers."  Jesus was already there, in the flesh, before her eyes, but she could not yet celebrate the way she longed to.

So it is with the church.  The Kingdom of God is already here in our midst.  Jesus has made it possible for us to be a part of God's family and of God's perfect plan.  We celebrate it the best we know how and proclaim it from the nations, but we can not yet celebrate the way we long to, around His glorious throne.

What about in your individual lives?  Is there something that you can already see, and touch in your life, that you are waiting for?  Maybe you are expecting a baby or a grandchild and looking forward to the day you can finally hold him or her in your arms.  Maybe it's an opportunity that you can not tell anyone about yet, but you are certain it is there and you are waiting for the moment you can fully enjoy and celebrate.  I don't know what it is that you are looking forward to in your life, but I hope and pray that you learn to enjoy the anticipation as much as you enjoy the celebration.