1. At once God and Man Jesus, when speaking of Himself, always used the name “Son of Man.”
2. He relinquished all Divine privilege and power to live a completely human life.
3. By the time He was 12 years of age He’d memorized most, if not all, of the Torah – Genesis through Deuteronomy – and insisted, when an Adult, “my meat is to do the will of my Father;” “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
4. Despite His Divinity He obeyed His parents.
5. He refused to let any desire divert His unwavering loyalty to His Heavenly Father.
6. He rejected repeated temptations to grab for power.
7. Selfish ambition and image were never deciding factors in any of His choices.
8. He was careful to avoid offending others except when it would mean compromising His love for Our Heavenly Father.
9. He spoke tirelessly of the Kingdom of the Heavens.
10. He believed, and insisted, that His life was the prototype of a human life lived completely as God intended.
11. He taught that anyone who believed He was God, living a completely human life, could also live under God’s rule – as God wills.
12. The message that God’s rule is available to any and all people is, He said, “Good News.”
13. He said life lived the way He lives brings unequalled well-being.
14. He said people who practiced what He taught were “unshakable.”
15. He commanded that His followers take drastic measures, and exercise rigorous discipline to resist the controlling demands of any appetite or desire.
16. He taught and demonstrated that Love is uncompromising – extended to anyone who will accept it and expecting no less than Our Heavenly Father’s best for the beloved.
17. He insisted on, and practiced private conversation with Father God promising that it was rewarding to do so.
18. He assured His audiences that no circumstance or sacrifice was so tragic that God could not use it for the good of humanity and His own honor.
19. He said He is the one who turns death into never-ending life.
20. He says He’s the “Good Shepherd” – the one-and-only TRUE CAREGIVER.
21. He assures people again and again that He always delivers on His promises.
22. “I am,” He said, “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
23. “Father forgive them,” He prayed, “they don’t know what they’re doing.”
24. One of His followers said that He is, right now, “in the presence of Our Father sticking up for us.”
25. "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?” He asked. “Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Hang out with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
What's the Big Deal About the Seventh Day?
For the last few days I’ve been following a discussion of Sabbath observance among some Pastor Friends.
Whenever I hear talk about the Sabbath I think of two Seventh days in the Bible. The events of these two extraordinary days elevate all Sabbaths to a completely new importance and forever change the focus of questions about its observance.
The first of these two days was a Passover Sabbath. It was the day following the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Just hours before sunset and the commencement of that highly holy day something remarkable had taken place. The elaborate and ominous curtain that separated the Holiest Place in the Jerusalem temple had been torn “from top to bottom.” At the very instant of the tearing God and the “seat” of His merciful presence were accessible to all who would approach.
I’ve often wondered what happened in the “real unseen world of the Heavenlies” on this never to be repeated Sabbath when “grace” was now and forever accessible to anyone. One of Jesus’ Friends tells us that He – Jesus – “went and preached to the spirits in prison; those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat.” (1 Peter 3: 19 & 20) On that never-to-be-forgotten Sabbath the Heavenlies were lavishing “grace” upon a world long separated from the Holy. With this large scale act of mercy; set in motion by Jesus generous gift from the cross and His conquest of the last barrier between God and penitent humanity, Grace broke the confines of temple and ritual pervading the cosmos; reaching even to the dark regions of the nether world. For the Kingdom of our Lord the purpose of the consummate Sabbath, and by implication all subsequent Seventh Days, was Grace.
The second, special Sabbath I remember is the one when Jesus and His followers were walking through a grain field. As they walked His friends began to pick some of the ripened grain from the stalks. Religious observers of this were critical of what the men were doing. They were doing what, to their critics, amounted to work “on the Holy Sabbath.” By all indications Jesus had not seen their actions that way at all. It seemed to Him to be totally appropriate Sabbath activity. This is serendipity! It’s spontaneous! It’s childlike delight at something new and wonderful. There had to be a bit of a spring in their steps as these men, surprised at the freedom of life with Jesus, reveled in the taste of the freshly ripened kernels. They were walking and talking with the true Corn King (Lewis) – the Lord of the Harvest – celebrating the common in an uncommon way. Elevating work to worship.
In response to His critics, who’d long lost the vision of Grace in God’s revealing messages to them, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (Mark 2: 27 & 28) The Seventh Day, He was explaining, is a “Grace gift” from God to those He favors; first The Son of Man; then through Him all sons of men … It’s implicit in Creation. It’s the business of the risen Christ’s first Sabbath. It’s vibrantly alive in the spontaneity and surprise-filled wonder of childlike worshippers of their King who has set apart – made Holy – this day and everyday for their enrichment and joy.
Whenever I hear talk about the Sabbath I think of two Seventh days in the Bible. The events of these two extraordinary days elevate all Sabbaths to a completely new importance and forever change the focus of questions about its observance.
The first of these two days was a Passover Sabbath. It was the day following the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Just hours before sunset and the commencement of that highly holy day something remarkable had taken place. The elaborate and ominous curtain that separated the Holiest Place in the Jerusalem temple had been torn “from top to bottom.” At the very instant of the tearing God and the “seat” of His merciful presence were accessible to all who would approach.
I’ve often wondered what happened in the “real unseen world of the Heavenlies” on this never to be repeated Sabbath when “grace” was now and forever accessible to anyone. One of Jesus’ Friends tells us that He – Jesus – “went and preached to the spirits in prison; those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat.” (1 Peter 3: 19 & 20) On that never-to-be-forgotten Sabbath the Heavenlies were lavishing “grace” upon a world long separated from the Holy. With this large scale act of mercy; set in motion by Jesus generous gift from the cross and His conquest of the last barrier between God and penitent humanity, Grace broke the confines of temple and ritual pervading the cosmos; reaching even to the dark regions of the nether world. For the Kingdom of our Lord the purpose of the consummate Sabbath, and by implication all subsequent Seventh Days, was Grace.
The second, special Sabbath I remember is the one when Jesus and His followers were walking through a grain field. As they walked His friends began to pick some of the ripened grain from the stalks. Religious observers of this were critical of what the men were doing. They were doing what, to their critics, amounted to work “on the Holy Sabbath.” By all indications Jesus had not seen their actions that way at all. It seemed to Him to be totally appropriate Sabbath activity. This is serendipity! It’s spontaneous! It’s childlike delight at something new and wonderful. There had to be a bit of a spring in their steps as these men, surprised at the freedom of life with Jesus, reveled in the taste of the freshly ripened kernels. They were walking and talking with the true Corn King (Lewis) – the Lord of the Harvest – celebrating the common in an uncommon way. Elevating work to worship.
In response to His critics, who’d long lost the vision of Grace in God’s revealing messages to them, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (Mark 2: 27 & 28) The Seventh Day, He was explaining, is a “Grace gift” from God to those He favors; first The Son of Man; then through Him all sons of men … It’s implicit in Creation. It’s the business of the risen Christ’s first Sabbath. It’s vibrantly alive in the spontaneity and surprise-filled wonder of childlike worshippers of their King who has set apart – made Holy – this day and everyday for their enrichment and joy.
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