So what is the meaning of Easter for us today?
The crucifixion, which plays a pivotal role in the victory of God, is not the end. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead he would have been forgotten. He would have been another of a long line of Jewish prophets and political agitators, and we wouldn’t know of him today. But we do. Something incredible happened, the culmination of Jesus’ work on earth led him to be raised again after three days of death. This is the greatest rebuttal to those who don’t believe that Jesus rose again. If it were untrue, why is it still remembered today – why is it the turning point of the Jesus movement which turned into the global church today? Something amazing happened.
The resurrection represents the vindication of Jesus by God and the power of the two statements - Jesus lives and Jesus is Lord!
Jesus Lives
The resurrection at its most basic point is a miracle. The greatest miracle that has occurred. Jesus was dead – and the he was alive. The witnesses saw a tomb that was empty. Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. The power of the resurrection exists in the fact that it is also a metaphor for us. We too must die to our old selves to be raised anew in Christ – this is the basic act of being a Christian. This is the power of Easter – this is where we say ‘Jesus Lives’. Jesus lives in us because not only did he rise from the dead, but he lives in me and has raised me from the dead. The death of my old life, the old way of doing things. The old way of living. And now I’m alive in Christ and Jesus is alive in me.
There is something genius in the idea of transformation – in the reality of the experience of being raised into a new life with Christ. This genius lies in the fact that transformation not only requires belief and acceptance of the supreme love and rule of God in our lives, but that there is new action that takes place too. If a butterfly tried to crawl on the ground like the catepillar it was, it wouldn’t survive. So too our lives with Christ, our rebirth will falter if there isn’t a change in how we act.
Many of the people we walked with in their recovery from addictions would come to believe in God at some point. But this didn’t result in a change of action and perception of themselves, which would unfortunately result in them returning to their old life. But when transformation impacted action amazing things happened.
This new life, this transformation is echoed throughout the new testament as Paul writes – ‘its no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me’ and ‘If anyone is in Christ there is a new creation.’ In the gospel of John he talks about being born again. It is this that leads us to salvation and Jesus is the path to salvation.
Salvation is often thought of as being ‘saved for heaven’, and while this is a way of understanding it, in the Bible, salvation is mostly concerned with something that happens in this life. Even in the New Testament, the primary meaning of the word "salvation" is transformation in this life. One can see this in the roots of the English word salvation, which comes from "salve," which is a healing ointment. Salvation is about healing. We all grow up wounded, and salvation is about the healing of the roots of existence.
Salvation is about light in the darkness, liberation from bondage, return from exile, or reconnection with God. It's about our hunger being satisfied, our thirst being quenched.
This salvation can only be experienced through the death of our old self and the raising of our new lives in Christ.
Jesus is Lord
While it is a basic statement, it’s a statement that has many implications. You see if we say Jesus is Lord then we are saying that everything else in our lives isn’t. Our job, family, friends, hobbies and political leanings are not what is Lord of our life. Jesus is. And with Jesus as Lord we must then follow and participate in what he was passionate about, which takes us to being builders of his Kingdom on earth.
Jesus had been executed by the imperial power of Rome. And God had said no, you cant kill him. Because Caesar isn’t Lord – Jesus is Lord. As Colossians puts it: ‘God disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in the cross.
If we are to be a Jesus is Lord Christian, a prophetic Christian, we are to have a faith and practice that is not adjusted to greed hatred and fear and that bears the fruits of justice, love and hope.
We need to make sure that the message of the cross and the reality of the resurrection doesn’t become diluted in a world that doesn’t look favorably on words such as sacrifice, grace, justice and peace. As a Jesus is Lord Christian we need to make sure that every part of our life is connected to something bigger then ourselves – is it connected to what God wants you to do? Ultimately is it connected to prayer? Not the type of prayer that says ‘what can you do for me or lets make a deal’, but the prayer of Jesus in the Garden, the place of Victory. The prayer of ‘let your will be done’. Don’t move the mountain Jesus, give me the power to climb over the mountain.
If we say Jesus Lives and Jesus is Lord, we are making very profound and powerful statements. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow him. To lead a life that lets love rule, to have as our very core the principles of the Kingdom of God. A life that can be transformed continually as our relationship and awareness of him continues to grow.
Today I thank God for walking the path of the cross, for standing before all of the sin, the anger, the hatred and violence of the powers that be, and conquering them all with love. Today I also am fearfully awed at his call to follow, and to take up the way of the cross (John Jensen via Facebook)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Agony of Jesus
(non-referenced sources include Marcus Borg, Gardner Taylor and NT Wright)
Today is a very important day in the life of the church. It is the day we remember the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and the beginning of reality of the Resurrection. The importance of these events has produced so much potential teaching points that I have found it difficult to decide on exactly what to give the message on. So I have decided on something that is a little less common.
The Easter period has two Catholic sayings which encapsulate Good Friday – The Passion and The Agony. The Passion is the crucifixion of Jesus and The Agony is his time in the Garden after the last supper and just before the crucifixion. While traditionally The Passion receives the most attention on Good Friday, and no wonder, I want to focus on The Agony of Jesus. Instead of focusing on the graphic nature of the events and the sometimes macabre reality of what took place, I want to take slightly different path - and when I do we will find that the place of Agony was really the place of victory.
Most great public events have their origins in private, intimate struggles. All sporting coaches will tell you games are won on the practice field, and this sermon took many hours of thought and consideration to prepare. So to for our spiritual lives. The time we put into private spiritual development through prayer and bible study are what holds us in good stead when faced with the trials of life. Many times we may think that singing loudly or praying in public with vigor contributes to our spiritual growth. But the truth is when crisis comes, if there hasn’t been a deep spiritual journey taking place in the private of our own homes, then our faith can be easily shaken.
The crucifixion is the place of Gods great victory through Jesus. It is the centre point of our faith, the culmination of the gospels and the divine turning point in the history of humanity. The crucifixion is the ultimate public expression of the supreme purpose of God.
This momentous and public event of the great victory of God had at its starting place the very private and soul searching moment of the Garden of Gethsemane, where that great victory begun though a night of lonely, tortured prayer.
Jesus has just spent the last supper with his disciples. A night of reflection and celebration which would be the last night of peace and serenity before he rose again on Sunday. Then they head for the garden.
Here, Jesus asks for his three closest followers to come away with him. Then he speaks openly with them about his deepest feelings. How much do we hold back what we are feeling from those closest to us? We need people who we can share our innermost thoughts – people who will accept us and understand us. There will always be the dark night of the soul, and we need people who can give us hope and a bit of joy through this experience. Jesus exposed his heart to these disciples and showed his loneliness. We all have a need to stand near people, to be with people. When you experience this, don’t think its silly or that you need to be more self sufficient – Jesus felt this way too.
In a study done on critically ill patients about to pass on, the main want of these people was to have someone come into their room, not as an expert, not to offer opinions, but to come as a human being and to offer themselves. In our greatest time of need we want to have someone with us, whether or not they can actually do anything for us.
The need for people is an important part of being human. Jesus wanted his friends to be with him, near him, in his time of need. There weren’t many of them at this point. The public entrance of Palm Sunday must seem like an eternity passed as Jesus called for his closest disciples to stay with him. He had so few with him at the end. As with us though, it is important to understand the limitations of even those closest to us. This is the tension we have as humans. We rely on others to be with us, to the point that if there not, we can fade away to nothingness. But these same relationships can cause us great pain. People are flawed – despite the fact that we need them so much, they can let us down. Being connected to community is essential, yet if we place our hope in people – rather then in God, then we are bound for heartache. The tension has to be eased through the existence we find in God. God is the ground of all being and in this we must find a connection deeper then we can find with the people around us.
Jesus loved his disciples and wanted to place some of his burdens on them – to stay with him at his final hour. Yet the three closest to him couldn’t do it. After Jesus went away to pray he came back to find the disciples asleep. He had carried them, ministered to them, taught them and shown them his love and when he needed them, they fell asleep.
Jesus asked them if it were too much to ask them to wait for him a short time. He continues to do this today. Is it too much to ask us to read his word, to pray, to give to those who have need, to love, show kindness to the sick, the poor.
The final victory of God found in the garden was not found in the support of his friends. People will fail us in times of trial, when we need them most. He found it in God. He revealed his deepest fears, the fear of being humiliated and beaten and killed so publically. He begs God, twice to take away the future which awaits him. He shows us through his own struggle that it is ok for us to not want to go through harsh trials and sad times. It is natural to want to turn away. Jesus sweated drops of sweat that were like blood – he loved life and didn’t want to leave it. But in the end, the victory is won right there in the garden when he utters the words – not my will but yours.
God heard and responded. Men failed and slept, But God who never sleeps heard Jesus. God prepared him for the great trial ahead of him. When Jesus got up from his prayer, he had won the victory – he was ready – let his enemies come. This is the victory of God – the victory that we too can have in Jesus. If friends neglect and abandon us – its alright now. If governments oppress and leaders lie – its alright now. The heavy cross awaits us, just as it waited for Jesus. Lets go and meet it – prepared by prayer we can face the times of trials and testing confident that the victory has been won, in the quite moments, when no one is watching, no one is around. Just like a musician who practices hours alone to perform a few beautiful notes. In prayer we kneel before God that we may stand strong before the world. In prayer we enter heaven that we may face the battles of earth.
Today is a very important day in the life of the church. It is the day we remember the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and the beginning of reality of the Resurrection. The importance of these events has produced so much potential teaching points that I have found it difficult to decide on exactly what to give the message on. So I have decided on something that is a little less common.
The Easter period has two Catholic sayings which encapsulate Good Friday – The Passion and The Agony. The Passion is the crucifixion of Jesus and The Agony is his time in the Garden after the last supper and just before the crucifixion. While traditionally The Passion receives the most attention on Good Friday, and no wonder, I want to focus on The Agony of Jesus. Instead of focusing on the graphic nature of the events and the sometimes macabre reality of what took place, I want to take slightly different path - and when I do we will find that the place of Agony was really the place of victory.
Most great public events have their origins in private, intimate struggles. All sporting coaches will tell you games are won on the practice field, and this sermon took many hours of thought and consideration to prepare. So to for our spiritual lives. The time we put into private spiritual development through prayer and bible study are what holds us in good stead when faced with the trials of life. Many times we may think that singing loudly or praying in public with vigor contributes to our spiritual growth. But the truth is when crisis comes, if there hasn’t been a deep spiritual journey taking place in the private of our own homes, then our faith can be easily shaken.
The crucifixion is the place of Gods great victory through Jesus. It is the centre point of our faith, the culmination of the gospels and the divine turning point in the history of humanity. The crucifixion is the ultimate public expression of the supreme purpose of God.
This momentous and public event of the great victory of God had at its starting place the very private and soul searching moment of the Garden of Gethsemane, where that great victory begun though a night of lonely, tortured prayer.
Jesus has just spent the last supper with his disciples. A night of reflection and celebration which would be the last night of peace and serenity before he rose again on Sunday. Then they head for the garden.
Here, Jesus asks for his three closest followers to come away with him. Then he speaks openly with them about his deepest feelings. How much do we hold back what we are feeling from those closest to us? We need people who we can share our innermost thoughts – people who will accept us and understand us. There will always be the dark night of the soul, and we need people who can give us hope and a bit of joy through this experience. Jesus exposed his heart to these disciples and showed his loneliness. We all have a need to stand near people, to be with people. When you experience this, don’t think its silly or that you need to be more self sufficient – Jesus felt this way too.
In a study done on critically ill patients about to pass on, the main want of these people was to have someone come into their room, not as an expert, not to offer opinions, but to come as a human being and to offer themselves. In our greatest time of need we want to have someone with us, whether or not they can actually do anything for us.
The need for people is an important part of being human. Jesus wanted his friends to be with him, near him, in his time of need. There weren’t many of them at this point. The public entrance of Palm Sunday must seem like an eternity passed as Jesus called for his closest disciples to stay with him. He had so few with him at the end. As with us though, it is important to understand the limitations of even those closest to us. This is the tension we have as humans. We rely on others to be with us, to the point that if there not, we can fade away to nothingness. But these same relationships can cause us great pain. People are flawed – despite the fact that we need them so much, they can let us down. Being connected to community is essential, yet if we place our hope in people – rather then in God, then we are bound for heartache. The tension has to be eased through the existence we find in God. God is the ground of all being and in this we must find a connection deeper then we can find with the people around us.
Jesus loved his disciples and wanted to place some of his burdens on them – to stay with him at his final hour. Yet the three closest to him couldn’t do it. After Jesus went away to pray he came back to find the disciples asleep. He had carried them, ministered to them, taught them and shown them his love and when he needed them, they fell asleep.
Jesus asked them if it were too much to ask them to wait for him a short time. He continues to do this today. Is it too much to ask us to read his word, to pray, to give to those who have need, to love, show kindness to the sick, the poor.
The final victory of God found in the garden was not found in the support of his friends. People will fail us in times of trial, when we need them most. He found it in God. He revealed his deepest fears, the fear of being humiliated and beaten and killed so publically. He begs God, twice to take away the future which awaits him. He shows us through his own struggle that it is ok for us to not want to go through harsh trials and sad times. It is natural to want to turn away. Jesus sweated drops of sweat that were like blood – he loved life and didn’t want to leave it. But in the end, the victory is won right there in the garden when he utters the words – not my will but yours.
God heard and responded. Men failed and slept, But God who never sleeps heard Jesus. God prepared him for the great trial ahead of him. When Jesus got up from his prayer, he had won the victory – he was ready – let his enemies come. This is the victory of God – the victory that we too can have in Jesus. If friends neglect and abandon us – its alright now. If governments oppress and leaders lie – its alright now. The heavy cross awaits us, just as it waited for Jesus. Lets go and meet it – prepared by prayer we can face the times of trials and testing confident that the victory has been won, in the quite moments, when no one is watching, no one is around. Just like a musician who practices hours alone to perform a few beautiful notes. In prayer we kneel before God that we may stand strong before the world. In prayer we enter heaven that we may face the battles of earth.
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