Snow and Forgivensss

Yesterday's snowfall was unexpected and lovely, blanketing the area in a sheet of white. Snow is

Bilbo and the Fishermen

Gandalf interrupts Bilbo's quiet morning

The new Hobbit movie is a beautiful work of film-making.  This morning I saw a parallel

"It Is Finished!"

The sky was dark and brooding, as if responding to the horror happening below.  Three men had been hanging on their crosses for hours now, but in typical Roman cruelty, they could be there for days, twisting in agony, begging for mercy and gradually slipping away into death.  The middle of the three, Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee, had been beaten so badly by a Roman scourge that he had not even a palm-sized patch of skin without lacerations and bruises over his entire body.  He was sinking fast.  "I am thirsty" he rasped, and a soldier dipped a sponge in sour wine and held it to Jesus' lips. 

Jesus' thirst was physical, because he was fully human and was thirsty from the loss of blood and lack of water; but it was also a reference by Jesus to Psalms 42:1-2 and 63:1, where the writer has a spiritual thirst for God comparable to being physically parched.  Various commentators point out the irony of the Source of Living Water (John 4:14, 7:38-39) being thirsty in death.  The soldier's response was an unwitting fulfillment of the betrayal listed in Psalm 69:21, "they offer me sour wine for my thirst."  

"It is finished" was Jesus' final cry recorded in John 19:30.  The Greek verb "tetelestai" he used is in the form that means a completed action creating an ongoing state of being.  It's a similar word to "finished" and "fulfilled" in verse 28.  Here, Jesus didn't say "I am finished" to refer to his own condition, but "it is finished" an emphatic, triumphant statement of victory!  The grand plan of God becoming man -- to be one of us and to fully experience our humanity, then in one bold stroke to absorb all our sin, guilt and shame so there will never be any more barrier between God and us -- that plan had now been accomplished with complete success.  There was, and is, nothing left to do to rescue us and reunite us to our Father.  You are now reconciled to God through Jesus his Son (2 Cor. 5:18-19).  It's a done deal. 

Luke records Jesus saying "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands" in 23:46.  It was time now, and okay now, for Jesus to breathe one last breath and die.  Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, fully God and fully human, died.  If he hadn't been human, he couldn't have died for you; if he hadn't been God, he couldn't have died for you.   
 
But the story is not over...

Zits and All

It's easy for us to believe, at times, that we're alone in the world, that no one really understands us.  Most teenagers go through this; their thinking begins to mature, they start having different ideas than their parents and the result is often the feeling of being the only one who thinks like they do.

Guess what:  God knows this too, and he has already solved it!  Remember when the Son "became human and made his home among us" (John 1:14)?  The Orthodox Study Bible puts it this way:  "Most of us ask ourselves at one time or another, 'Does anyone else in all the world understand me?'  The Incarnation -- the 'enfleshment' of the Son of God answers that question once and for all -- with a resounding Yes!" 

Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh, had to go through learning to walk and talk, learning to read and write, relating to other kids and to adults, and learning his true path in life.  He went through adolescence (did he have zits?) and learning a trade with his stepfather, Joseph; and suffered through the same "nobody understands me" that we do -- only on a more massive scale!  After all, nobody was really going to believe he was the Son of God (at least not in his own neighborhood; see Luke 4:20-30).

He did more than that.  He experienced rejection, bullying, and unfair accusations.  In fact, he took on every form of pain, in one way or another, that we experience.  He was tempted by every human temptation, yet he never gave in to sin. And his whole nation rejected him.  Even his disciples deserted him (Matt. 26:56).  In Isaiah 53, the prophet tells the story of the "Suffering Servant" who was to come:  "He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief...it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down...he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole."  That was Jesus. 

Jesus understands.  When nobody else understands, Jesus understands.  Because he does, the Father understands.  And the Father has completely accepted us -- zits and all -- because of how his Son came to be with us, lived perfectly for us, and then gave himself a perfect sacrifice for all our anger, doubt, fear, lust, envy and every other sin we've ever committed.  Every one of our sins is wiped away because of the blood of Jesus, and we're given a whole new life because he was resurrected from death.  Jesus understands the struggles we go through every day to follow him, and he accepts us as his brothers and sisters -- zits and all. 

Have you surrendered your whole life to him?  If not, isn't it about time you did? 

Feasting and Fasting

This time of year we plan our big family meals, make travel plans and look forward to celebrations and reunions with loved ones. It's a time of joy, fun, and food -- although food seems to be #1 on that list!  And we rarely think of deciding to go without food for a day, because we're looking forward to those great meals. But from time to time, fasting -- voluntarily going without something -- is important.  It reminds us how physical we really are and how much we depend on (or are a slave to) nourishment or some other physical thing.

Isaiah talked about fasting in 58:3-7.  The nation self-righteously claimed to obey God because they could say they fasted.  Yet, Isaiah says, their posturing didn't affect their behavior; "oppressing your workers," and "fighting and quarreling" were two of their sins that continued.  "Going through motions of penance" does no good, says Isaiah, if your heart is not changed.  Instead, says the prophet, creating justice and stopping oppression, and feeding and clothing and housing the poor, is the kind of fast God wants.  Why is that a fast?  Because it is giving up something that makes us more comfortable, whether it's leisure time, additional food in the pantry, an extra jacket in the closet, or something else we're not really using anyway, in order to help someone else.

Isaiah's words didn't seem to have much effect on his own people.  But how did his words come to life in Jesus?  The Son of God 'fasted' from his divine privileges in order to do what Isaiah said: "let oppressed people go free, and remove the chains that bind people."  Paul describes how the Son of God, whom we know as Jesus, sacrificed himself to serve humans, in Philippians 2:6-8:  "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross."  He didn't have to give up all that, but he did.  He didn't deserve the criminal's death -- we did.   

The Son of God shared himself with the spiritually hungry as well as feeding them physically (see John 6:1-15 and 25-40).  He provides a home for the homeless:  "There is more than enough room in my Father’s home...When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." (John 14:2-3).  He preached the good news to the poor (Luke 4:18-19, interpreting Isaiah's words directly).  And he fasted for 40 days before meeting Satan in the wilderness and defeating the evil one completely. 

Through Isaiah's words, God invites us to do what he has already done:  to become uncomfortable in order to provide comfort for someone else.  Jesus, the living Son of God, sacrificed all through his life, not just so we could 'follow an example' but so we would be completely included in him, and in the love of the Father:  "I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me." (John 17:23).  I know people who have experienced Jesus' love, and they share it with others.  They sacrifice their comfort so others can have more, they give up time and personal space and comfort, and money and food and clothing, so that someone else can have enough -- and so those people can also experience the love of God as they get included in that love. 

Jesus, the Son of God, fasted so we can feast.  How will you "go and do likewise" this year?   And if you don't know what this love of God for you really means, please give me a chance to explain it. 

Giving It Up

Our Western society is not known for self-denial.  We have fast-food palaces practically everywhere, with 'dollar menus' set up to drain the last resources from our wallets.  We're not accustomed to having to wait for food, or for that matter, anything else -- some people even watch movies and TV on their mobile phones instead of returning home or going to the cinema! 

Youthworker.com posted an article on July 26 called "Going Techless" that told the story of a girl who went without her cellphone, radio, television and computer for a week (you can watch the full news segment, on NickNews, here.)  At first she drove everyone crazy, then later in the week began talking instead of texting, and "began cooking, singing and playing the guitar." Who knew? 

Jesus reminded us of the perils of our "stuff" when he said in Luke 12:15 “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”  I looked that verse up in the Greek -- it says "all greed."  Wow, all?  Every type? What if I really, really like chocolate?  Or books, even theology books?  Or food?  The Boss was telling us to not let anything get the upper hand on us that turns out to be a subtle form of outright idolatry -- having something else that is more important than God. 


The Bible describes 'fasting' as a way to tell ourselves "no."  Fasting typically refers to going without food, but truly, it could refer to anything that we use that threatens to become too important to us.  People sometimes fast from television, a certain food, or some other part of life; and instead of moping around the house in despair from not having it, they use that extra time and energy to serve God instead of themselves.  


But it takes courage and dedication to give up, even for awhile, something we are so tied to.  It's a sacrifice!  But those sacrifices can teach us a lot about ourselves:  what's most important to us, and how much time we waste on what isn't really important.  How about it?  Is there something you would give up for God?  What would it be?  Why? For how long?  When will you start?  What will you do with the extra energy you get?  It's worth asking yourself the questions, then getting started!

Atonement, Forgiveness and Rest

The book of Leviticus is one that most people avoid reading. It's seen as either boring, confusing, or way too gory -- all those sacrifices and the details of incense and which day of what month meant something.

But chapter 16 is interesting. The priest is told to go through an elaborate cleansing and sacrificial ritual before he can enter the holy place. A bull is slaughtered, and then a goat. Another goat is held while the sins of all the people are 'confessed' over it, then it is sent far away into the wilderness, never to return to the camp. At the end of the chapter, we're told that this is to make atonement (the Hebrew refers to 'covering') for the sins of all the people, once a year.

Lots of very cool parallels to our Savior, and to our salvation here. The high priest had to offer sacrifices for his own sins, so he would be seen as sinless before he could offer a sacrifice for the people. That's a picture, in advance, of Jesus being a sinless 'high priest' for us (see Hebrews 9 and Hebrews 10 for a detailed interpretation). Then the 'azazel' goat -- the 'goat of removal' is a good way of translating it -- carries the sins of the people away. In two different ways, sins are wiped out forever; once by blood sacrifice, again by removing them from the area. Those things are gone, forever, with no chance of return (see Psa. 103:12, "as far as the east is from the west"). Both operations are done by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

One more point is interesting: the people are told to fast from food and water for that day, and commanded not to work. And this one isn't a 'pilgrimage festival' -- the nation stayed at home for the day, not assembling at the central worship place.

What were the meanings of these things? Fasting is a symbol of repentance, which is turning to God and accepting his forgiveness through Jesus. What about not working, and not traveling? Simple: Jesus has done the work. We can add nothing to Jesus' work for our salvation, any more than the people could add to the work of the high priest in Israel.

In fact, we can do nothing to create, earn or qualify for our salvation. That has been a fact since the foundation of the world. Accepting salvation from God by faith isn't a work either; it's faith alone (Eph. 2:8). Salvation is from Jesus, not from our work, our rituals, our energy and enthusiasm, or our obedience. Jesus plus anything is the wrong formula for salvation. "Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone" was the cry of the Reformers 500 years ago. They were right -- and Leviticus 16 shows it.

Your sins are gone, never to return. You don't have to carry that guilt around any longer. Great news, isn't it?

Daddy

The picture many of us have of God is often one of a stern, harsh ruler, ready to 'take us out' at our next infraction. Some see the OT God as some sort of angry authority figure, balanced out by his really nice and loving son Jesus. The angry God sent the Son, the idea goes, to be punished because of us -- sort of like the vicarious 'whipping boy' employed by royalty when the prince messes up.

But we need to remember that God is one (Deut. 6:4, etc). So there is no difference between the God of the Hebrew scriptures and the God of the Greek New Testament. Whether we think of the Father or the Son, or the Holy Spirit, the passions and love and desires of God are the same.

Jesus referred to God as his Father. To do so in a personal sense was unheard of in Israel's thinking. Observant Jews of his day would not have dared claim God as a Father. But Jesus did!

He told us to pray to "Our Father" in a personal way (Matt. 6:9). So he was opening up that relationship of love and acceptance, tenderness and grace, on a personal level, for the first time.

The Father wants us to experience that relationship with him, not just learn about it in some sort of classroom way. Paul uses some OT verses to construct a new thought in 2 Cor 6:18: "And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." The Father is serious about being our Father, and he wants us to accept our status as his children. He thinks of us as his children, and he wants us to think of him as Father.

Those of us who are fathers know how much we want to be Daddy to our kids. We desire to be close to our children emotionally, to have a deep relationship with them. That's just what the Father says to us also. His love for us was so strong that, before the universe existed, he knew he would have to sacrifice his own self, through the Son, to bring us into intimacy with him: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life"(John 3:16).

God has already made that move. We already belong to him as his children and he yearns for us to have that same intimacy with him. That relationship already exists, whether we see it or not. But the experience of it is up to us. How about it? Will you run into his arms and call him Daddy? It will change your life forever.