Lent Reflection, Holy Saturday

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:6-7

Additional Reading: John 19:38-42

Perhaps there has never been room for Jesus. At his birth, he lies in a borrowed animal manger – a feeding trough. In his death, he lies in a borrowed tomb. For the borrowed manger, the owner is certain he will get it back for his animals. For the borrowed tomb, I wonder if Joseph of Arimathea saw with eyes of faith that he would bet his tomb back. But in either case, there was no room for Jesus.

Nowhere in Scripture is this truth of “no room for Jesus” a cause of pity. The lack of room for Jesus is consistent with his coming. He didn’t come to stay. He came to seek and save that which was lost: you and me. He was not meant for life forever on this earth. And neither are you and I.

It is Holy Saturday, and the day is gilded with sorrows. But beneath the gloom there is the sound of eternal life stirring in the bosom of the earth! We are silent this day. We are listening hard for the sound that banishes the darkness forever. We are waiting on the word that says our sorrow is over, forever. Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. We will make room for you!

Prayer: Kind Father, let the day be soon! Let your Son rise again and call us home to himself. Let Easter break anew for us as it has never broken before!!

Lent Reflection, Good Friday

Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.
Luke 23:46

Additional Reading: John 15:9-17

The last words of a dying man.

But wait. There’s something else here, easy to overlook, a hidden wonder. With Hebrew ears we listen in on the rasping voice of this dying man. And we hear, “Father, daddy, into your hands, here is my life, my ruah, my breath.” And he breathed it out. And that was it.

In the beginning, God breathed into humanity and there was life. In Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones, the breath fills the bones and makes them live. And after the resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit, the “wind,” comes. The breath of God. The very life of the Almighty that would fill those who follow him. The power of every sermon he preached, every parable, every word of healing and friendship, the very substance of the life he lived is in this breath. And here, in this greatest act of love and obedience, he surrenders that breath.

Imagine! This is God, come to tell of everlasting life, the life we should have, could have. So he lives that life in front of all. And then, he gives it up. He dies.

We’ve heard of special endings before. Enoch walked with God and then he was no more. God just says, “You’re so close, why not just come on over to this side.” Moses, who had seen him face to face, died at the Lord’s command, and was buried in a hidden place, hidden away with the Lord. Elijah is caught up into the air in grand, fiery display. But this … this is different altogether.

“This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is the intimate exchange between the Father and the Son, the most holy and heartbreaking. For all the times he had tried to explain his relationship to the Father: “I and the Father are one … I can do only what I see the Father doing … Did you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” This is how close he is to the Father in heaven. As close as his breath.

Prayer: Kind Father, I am humbled in the presence of this. I want to hold the dying body of Jesus, his fragile form slumped in my arms – to draw his face close to mine in this last groaning, feel this final breath on my face, and with him breathe the prayer: “Into your hands I commit my life.” Amen.

Lent Reflection, Day 38, April 13

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.
John 19:28-29

Additional Reading: Psalm 71:1-24

The Scripture being fulfilled is Psalm 69:21, “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” But the dying Christ is not seeking pity here. He’s simply preparing to give himself into the Father’s loving arms. He wants to say something – to announce his departure. He wants to declare his victory in the battle over the sins of humanity that placed him on this cruel cross.

But he has no voice left. The day of his suffering has stolen it from him. His mouth is so dry that he cannot speak. He cannot muster the voice that called back Lazarus from the dad to speak now and declare that the battle over sin and death’s dominion is over. So between the panting of his final breaths, the pain of hoisting himself up one more time to find the air to force the words out, he cries, “I am thirsty.”

God would have us know that when Jesus says he’s thirsty, the he is one of us. He is thirsty. His humanness is in full view here in this moment. And as one who thirsted, He knows the many thirsts of our lives, the dry yearning of our hearts, the parched longing to have those thirsts quenched as only he can quench them.

Love. I am thirsty. Acceptance. I am thirsty. Forgiveness. I am thirsty. Hope … Meaning … the end of my Loneliness. I am thirsty. Jesus hears. Jesus knows. He’s been there. And he wants to announce to the victory that is yours in him.

Prayer: Lord, my soul thirsts for you in a dry and weary land. I confess my need of the One who said, “If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink.” Lord Jesus, I come. Release within me that stream of Living Water. Amen.

Lent Reflection, Day 37, April 12

At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
John 19:41

Additional Reading: John 19:38-42

Recently, I read a book entitled Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell. In one portion of this book, he talks about how significant it is that Jesus’ body was put in a tomb in a garden. I had overlooked in the past this detail about the tomb and had not ever recognized its importance. Until recently.

There’s another garden we remember very easily from the Bible. The Garden of Eden and the events that took place there are well known. Genesis 2:8 says, “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed.” In this garden, the first man, Adam, had a close relationship with God and nothing stood between them. When Adam sinned, God’s punishment for him and Eve was both serious and symbolic. Among other consequences, God threw them out of the garden, and this physical separation symbolized the spiritual separation between humanity and God that would continue for generations.

1 Peter 1:20 says, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” What happened in the garden was the reason Jesus had to come. God knew before he breathed life into Adam that He would be sending His Son to pay the price for Adam’s sins – and yours’ and mine. None of this was a mistake or a shock to God. God created humans, put them in a garden, and they so quickly wandered from the innocence they were created in. God sent Jesus to suffer and die for us, even planning that His body be laid and later raised from a tomb in a garden.

Can you picture in your mind the garden where sin entered the world? Picture in your mind Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and imagine God’s sadness when He banished them from the garden and from Himself. Now picture Jesus’ body, after being beaten and crucified, laid in a tomb in a garden. Imagine that as Jesus was being brought into the garden, God was bringing Adam and Eve - and you and me - back into the garden as well.


* Spend a moment today meditating on what God did for us by sending Jesus. Take a minute to stop and realize what your life would be like if a way had not been made for you to be in a relationship with God personally. Thank God that the story did not end in the “first garden,” with Adam’s sin and punishment, but that God had a “second garden” in store for us, the gracious ending accomplished by His Son.

Lent Reflection, Day 36, April 11

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again…
John 10:17-18

Additional Reading: Acts 2:23-24, Matthew 26:47-56

Last year at this time, a few days before Easter, I finally saw the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” It was hard to watch, but it had a terrific effect on me in two specific ways. One, it made me fall even deeper in love with Jesus. Two, it showed me a visual image of the strength Jesus had, the power He withheld in every moment of the questioning, humiliation, and crucifixion He endured. In the middle of the ugliness, He was beautiful.

It blew me away when I heard that people were criticizing the producer of this movie, accusing him of blaming Jesus’ death specifically on the Jews. I don’t know anything about the opinions and beliefs of this producer, but I know this: No one, Jew or Gentile, took Jesus’ life from Him. He gave it willingly.

Sometimes we see pictures of a sad, weak, pale-faced Jesus who looks so sorry that these evil people chose to kill him. But the fact is, Jesus never stopped being a King, never stopped being the Creator of the Universe, and never stopped being the Man who healed the sick and raised the dead. He gained the weakness of being human but never lost the power of being God. Every move He made was made with the authority given to Him by His Father, and They were one. They could have at any time called on angels to rescue Jesus, and as Jesus said in John 19:11, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

Isaiah 53:7 describes Jesus as a Lamb, the sacrificial and perfect Lamb who was silent as He was led to the slaughter. Yes, this Lamb is our Jesus, because He was in perfect submission to His Father as He gave His life for us. But He is also, and forever will be, the Lion of Judah reigning in power and majesty. I really enjoyed seeing the movie, “The Chronicles of Narnia.” The story by C.S. Lewis depicts Jesus as the lion named Aslan. Aslan gave me another visual image of the strength and restraint Jesus had. There was a specific time for His suffering and withholding of power, and there was a specific time for His glory and authority to be revealed.

I’ve heard it said that it was not nails that held Jesus to the cross; it was His love for us. I believe that with all of my heart.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being the Lamb that was slain in my place. I want to fully grasp what You did for me in Your humility and sacrifice. And Lord, thank You for being the Lion who reigns, who is in control, and who is mighty to save.

Lent Reflection, Day 35, April 10

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43

Additional Reading: Luke 22:39-53

This man has done nothing wrong.

Here he is, on the middle cross, this “Messiah:” this is what they do to failed Messiahs. And the purpose of crucifying him between two thieves was to say – that’s the sort of man he is! Actually, calling them “thieves” as we normally do confuses the matter. The word was actually much stronger than that in the Greco-Roman culture, applying mostly to radical Jews attempting to rid Palestine of Roman rule … murderers, zealots, terrorists. The Romans didn’t crucify burglars or handbag snatchers. They did crucify revolutionaries.

It’s been the story of his life. Just the night before, Jesus had said it of himself (quoting from Isaiah 53), he was “numbered with the transgressors.” Throughout the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, look and see where he is … always in the middle of a disreputable, disrespected crew.

But what happens here on the cross? The dying thief recognizes it: This man has done nothing wrong. He is with us; he looks outwardly as though he’s cursed, like us, unclean, like us. But something strange is going on. Jesus on the cross is … Jesus the coming King. And Jesus on the cross is Jesus the saving King … “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

All those closest to him at the time, those around him as he carried the cross to his death – they didn’t get it. We think about the events of Holy Week and we don’t always understand. But here is this rebel, of all people, who sees the innocent King coming in his kingdom – ruling victoriously from the cross over sin and death.

It’s the meaning of the Kingdom that we’re trying to get at each and every day, as a community of Jesus’ followers. But for now, right here in this moment, let us remember Jesus’ identification with those who, like ourselves, were only too aware of their sin, their failure, their lack of wholeness and cleanness, and let us hold that identification before our minds in grateful and humble prayer. Let this be our common prayer, our common mind entering into this “Holy Week.”

Prayer: Kind Father, we thank you that on the cross Jesus became one with us in our sin, so that we might, despite that sin, share the life of your Kingdom. Enable us, we pray, to be truly grateful, and to live not as unforgiven sinners, despairing in our own weakness, but as your forgiven sons and daughters, rejoicing in your power to save and cleanse and give life: to the glory of your great and holy name. Amen.

Lent Reflection, Day 34, April 8

Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?”
Luke 22:48

Additional Reading: Matthew 26:47-50

Jesus calls Judas ‘friend’. At the height of his betrayal. At the moment in their relationship most crippled with Judas’ sin, Jesus calls him friend. He is throwing a drowning man a rope. He reminds Judas of their friendship as a motive to keep Judas from a sin that will have no remedy. It’s a life-line. It’s a last chance to turn around. To repent of what he’s about to do.

“With a kiss, Judas? Do you betray me, Judas, with a sign of affection?” And Jesus throws him another cord of kindness. It’s another freighted saying. It asks “Do you remember, Judas, when the affection you showed me was sincere and honest and full of good will? Do you remember what that love was like? Do you remember when you kissed me with adoration and not as you do now, with soiled motives and cold-heartedness? With a kiss, Judas?”

It comes like a stab to my heart, and I wonder: “How often I am Judas, betraying Jesus with a kiss!? Little betrayals. And bigger ones too. Cloaking my betrayal under a veil of church activity or good works. Publicly obedient and privately reckless and careless. Publicly pious and yet internally poisoned by selfish agendas and disobedience.

And then I hear him call me ‘friend’ and I take heart. He has not given up on me. He is throwing me a rope called forgiveness and a cord called repentance. And he pulls himself to me once more. His undying affection for me is a kiss for my soul. An embrace of love that keeps loving me even when I drift away into myself. A love that keeps coming up with last chances for old friends.

Prayer: Kind Father, thank you for a love that will not let me go. Strengthen me to never presume upon it again. And remember me with grace when I do. Amen.

Lent Reflection, Day 33, April 7

As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.
Matthew 27:32

Additional Reading: Luke 9:18-27

We can never accuse Jesus of hiding the true costs of discipleship. Put simply, the cross is part of the journey for everyone who chooses to follow. It is his cross we carry, made our own by virtue of our baptism into his life.

On Jesus’ last journey down the familiar road from Jerusalem, a scene unfolds, searing a vivid picture into every mind that so recently heard him declare, “You must take up your cross, too, if you would follow me.” A man named Simon is accosted by Roman soldiers. A load almost too heavy for him to bear is thrust onto his shoulders. The ache borne in Jesus’ body is shared by him in a stark and visceral way. Side by Side, they stumble along, the great contest in the heavenly quite unknown to Simon.

Note this: Simon’s personal cross is also Jesus’ cross. Simon’s personal cross is not private, but dragged past the crowd. His cross is real, visible and heavy. For those moments, he and Jesus connect as one man sharing one sorrow.

My cross is just as real. It is carried down the streets of my life and into my work and home. Illness, loss of a dream, depression, rejection by a friend, separation from a loved one, persecution for my faith or just plain weariness from the long walk of obedience to God – these may be what I carry today. Or possibly my own cross is uncommonly heavy because I also bear your burdens on this day. Whether yours or mine, this cross also belongs to Jesus, because we belong to him. So, together we stumble along, side by side, the great contest in the heavenly realm largely unknown to us, too.

Prayer: Father, grant us the courage to take Jesus up on the call to carry our cross. Remind us today that you walk every step with us. Your strength is our strength and we thank you for that reality.

Lent Reflection, Day 32, April 6

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Additional Reading: Romans 12:1-2

One of the most difficult things for me to remember is that Jesus is actually living inside of me. Maybe it is because this is something I’ve become accustomed to, or maybe it’s because I’m used to living in a house and not in a body. If you’ve been wondering if you’re the only one who struggles with this truth, I hope this confession will let you know that you are not alone. In thinking about this, I’ve been led to wonder how we as Christ followers would change our church body, the community around us, and ultimately the world if we were to really grasp this truth.

In Old Testament days coming in to God’s presence was reserved only for the highest of the high priests. This high priest was given the responsibility of performing a sacrifice once a year where God resided in the center of the temple in a place called the Holy of Holies. No one else could enter or they would be struck down. If we had been alive back then I’m fairly certain that we wouldn’t have been worthy to step into God’s presence and survive. We may have had, at best, a distant connection with God through his chosen spiritual leaders.

Because of Jesus, the situation is so different today. But remembering this part of our heritage, I believe it reminds us not to take God’s presence lightly. If God’s people had always had the honor of experiencing this intimate relationship with him, would we be able to understand the significance of this relationship? If God’s son Jesus Christ had not died for us to make this possible would we be able to grasp the passion that God has for intimacy with us?

I love buildings! They give us a place to meet. They keep us dry, warm, and cool. Sometimes they even provide a great atmosphere to worship God in, but we must remember that Jesus has left the building, and has set up residence in the hearts of his followers. We take him everywhere we go. He paid a great price through the cross to purchase our hearts! Because he did this out of his great love for us, we must offer ourselves back to him with every part of our life.

Ask God to help you remember to treat your body in a sacred way, and live a life that is mindful of his constant presence in you.

Lent Reflection, Day 31, April 5

Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Matthew 26:56

Additional Reading: Hebrews 10:32-39

If only our feet were not such cowards. If only they would listen to our best estimates of our spiritual courage and spiritual resolve and not the immediate impulse of our heart that defaults to cowardice. Jesus has fallen into the hands of angry men and the disciples – all of them, not just Peter – have fled and run away. And though we may promise ourselves or even convince ourselves that we would never have done that, hard personal experience proves otherwise.

There was the time that Jesus fell into the hands of angry men around the water cooler at work and you turned away and said nothing in his defense. And there was the time in the hallway after class when Jesus fell into the hands of angry men and you said nothing as his name was reviled and mocked. And there was the time with your neighbors that Jesus fell into the hands of angry men and you let the conversation go unchecked and He was once more ridiculed, his Body, the Church, vilified and broken with wounding words. And there was the time … and there was the time … and there was the time … “all the disciples deserted him and fled.”

Everyday, when we wake up, let us ask God for courage not to desert him, not to flee. Then when the moment comes and Jesus falls into the hands of angry men, let us tell our heart what to fear and our feet what to do. Let us not abandon him by default.

Prayer: Father, I am not what I imagine myself to be nor what I always thought I would be. But in your strength, I can be all you want me to be. Lord God, help even one such as me to stand and not run away. Amen.

Lent Reflection, Day 30, April 4

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:34

Additional Reading: 1 John 4:7-21

This prayer from Henri Nouwen's book, Show Me the Way, help put into words a lesson God’s been teaching me:

Dear Lord,
Show me your kindness and your gentleness,
you who are meek and humble of heart,
So often I say to myself, "The Lord loves me,"
but very often this truth does not enter
into the center of my heart.

Let these weeks become an opportunity for me
to let go of all my resistances to your love
and an occasion for you to call me closer to you.
Amen.

When I stop and take a few minutes, when I’m honest with myself, I realize how easy is it for me to "know" that God loves me yet so hard to "live" from a place that is rooted in that reality. The very fact that God loves me … do I let it enter the “center of my heart?”

Why is it so hard for me to accept God's love? And does that say something about my ability to love others. The reading for today reminds me that, "we love because God first loved us." Could it be that I will be completely unable to express real love to others until I can first allow God to express love to me?

Is my identity rooted in the fact that I am a beloved child of God? This fact makes me who I am, enables me to experience change to become who God desires, and it is this fact that makes genuine, fulfilling relationships possible.

Lent Reflection, Day 29, April 3

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
Mark 14:38

Additional Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

He had a face. He had hands and feet. He had a back that very likely ached after he slept outdoors on rocky ground. He had a head that hurt when he went long periods of time without resting or eating. He squinted into the sun on bright days and huddled in his cloak on rainy days when the chill of the day went though him. He was as human as you or I.

Which means he knew what disappointment and frustration felt like. What it was like to be let down by friends. What it was like to be exposed to the withering criticism of life in a broken world.

Which is another way of saying that he was tempted like we so often are. Tempted to take matters into his own hands when he was opposed or threatened. Tempted to get even when he was marginalized or discounted. Tempted like we are by the daily, wearying aspects of life that so readily defeat us. Yet with him, he faced it all and did not give in – he did not sin.

There are times, I think, when we imagine that he must have had a “God Switch,” some kind of divine “Easy Button” that he could push when the pressure was on. I think we sometimes see Jesus as using his “Easy Button” to step outside his humanness into some superior mode of existence that is different from our condition of life. But he didn’t. Today’s Scriptures remind us that he was tempted just like us: same temptations, same intensity, same measure … without sin. He didn’t have a “God Switch.” He prayed … and somehow that made a difference.

So pray. Watch for temptations which are all around us and coming at us from all directions. But don’t forget to pray. Apparently, he thought it was crucial. With no “Easy Button” that I know of, apparently it’s our only hope.

Prayer: Father, this is me. This is my life and these are the moments I face and the temptations that are coming my way. Keep me, I pray. Strengthen me. Deliver me. I don’t have a “God Switch,” but I have what Jesus had – you and the power of your Spirit. Amen.