This is a Week of critical contrasts.
Jesus spent most of this Week teaching His Followers and the crowds that followed Him everywhere He went. Of course the powerbrokers and pretenders who were bent on discrediting and destroying Him were there too. Late in the Week He drew the line between Himself and them broader and deeper. A contemporary translation of what He said shows this dramatically.
“The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit-and-polish … veneer. Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink … they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals … Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.' Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ. Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.”
Undoubtedly these were “fightin’ words” to the men He criticized. Not only did they draw deeper and broader lines between Himself and them. They deepened the hostility of these powerful men toward Him and ultimately sealed His destiny. What antagonized them even more was the glaring contrast facing them. Jesus did not simply “talk the talk.” He “walked the talk.” And that stung them. He indicted them by what He did even more than what He said. He lived what He taught. “God’s Law” was “food and drink” for Him. He lived a “what you see is what you get” life. When He said, “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant,” He practiced what He preached.
Nowhere is this authenticity more evident than during His observance of the Seder, with His Followers, at the end of this Week. John, the Son of Thunder as Jesus nicknamed him, tells us about it.
“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served … Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
What a contrast!
To begin with John points out that Jesus really was the “Life-Leader.” At this momentous point in time, he writes, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His Power.” Despite that knowledge He deliberately puts on the costume of a “slave,” and proceeds to do slave work. He washes feet. His Followers’ feet. He washes the feet of men who will betray Him, deny they ever knew Him. With one exception they would all abandon Him that very night.
This is our Lord and Master!
Furthermore, He is our “ROLE MODEL”! John tells us what Jesus said after He’d finished serving His Followers. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’” He said, “and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Later, so they and we who read them now would understand this is not optional, He declared,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Only a few hours later He would raise the bar even higher. He would die in the most cruel and tragic way anyone could ever die. For those disappointing Followers; for you and me He would go through “Hell.”
Unlike the pretenders He, the one and only “LIFE-LEADER” would show us the way!
This Week the mandate would be written in blood, sweat, tears, and flesh. “If any of you aspire to be my Followers TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME!”
THIS WEEK IS TRULY UNLIKE ALL OTHER WEEKS!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Why is this Week Different From All Other Weeks? 4.
This is the Week when, once and for all, the question of ultimate authority will be answered.
Jesus had already caused considerable controversy by doing real and imagined damage to the enterprises and images His society’s power elite had built. He’d even made a mockery of familiar symbols of power by mimicking its pomp and militaristic celebrity. Riding a peasant’s donkey colt, bearing no symbol but His own humble demeanor, into the City rightfully known as His, He would ultimately die the most barbaric death known to humanity. In so dying He would establish His Sovereignty over all Kingdoms and powers.
“By what authority,” the powerful asked, “are you doing these things?” “What authority do you have?” The question assumes authority. “Who gave you this authority?” This question presumes He, Himself, has no authority. Who then would give Him the authority to do these disruptive things? For someone to ask such a question is revealing. The questioner exposes his presumption that he has the authority to question another’s power. Jerusalem’s power elite had presumed just that. They’d taken for themselves the right to define and dominate the socio-religio- political culture of their time. Jesus was a threat to their house of arrogant hypocrisy. And so they questioned His authority.
He answered their question with His own question. A question with a scalpel. “Was John the Baptist baptizing with the authority of heaven or of men?” Touché! He had them. Their power was a wispy construct of image and popular opinion. If they said John was God’s man their hypocrisy – their self-serving acts of piety – would be exposed for the fraud that they were. If they said John’s work was simply one more human attempt to sway humans sentiment and allegiance then the crowd would rise up in fury against them. That they feared. Popular opinion was their treasure and their arsenal. Arouse that and the flimsy framework of their dominion would be trampled under the agitated feet of a mob.
By the end of this Week Unlike any other Week the futility of all power would be finally exposed. The crowd that sang His praises on His entrance to the City would cry for His crucifixion before the Weekend. They would virtually drive Him out of the City to die. Temporal power is just that temporary. Its foundations are whimsical and destructible. But Jesus would demonstrate a different kind of power. Paradoxically He would demonstrate it by mounting something more ignoble than a peasant’s donkey. He would mount a cross and die. Then, and only then would we hear the answer to the question. “What authority do you have?”
“I'm Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever. See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death's doors; they open and lock Hell's gates.”
The Lord of death and life is the Lord of all things
This is the Week when ultimate authority is established for time and all eternity!
What authority do you have …? Who gave you this authority?
Jesus had already caused considerable controversy by doing real and imagined damage to the enterprises and images His society’s power elite had built. He’d even made a mockery of familiar symbols of power by mimicking its pomp and militaristic celebrity. Riding a peasant’s donkey colt, bearing no symbol but His own humble demeanor, into the City rightfully known as His, He would ultimately die the most barbaric death known to humanity. In so dying He would establish His Sovereignty over all Kingdoms and powers.
“By what authority,” the powerful asked, “are you doing these things?” “What authority do you have?” The question assumes authority. “Who gave you this authority?” This question presumes He, Himself, has no authority. Who then would give Him the authority to do these disruptive things? For someone to ask such a question is revealing. The questioner exposes his presumption that he has the authority to question another’s power. Jerusalem’s power elite had presumed just that. They’d taken for themselves the right to define and dominate the socio-religio- political culture of their time. Jesus was a threat to their house of arrogant hypocrisy. And so they questioned His authority.
He answered their question with His own question. A question with a scalpel. “Was John the Baptist baptizing with the authority of heaven or of men?” Touché! He had them. Their power was a wispy construct of image and popular opinion. If they said John was God’s man their hypocrisy – their self-serving acts of piety – would be exposed for the fraud that they were. If they said John’s work was simply one more human attempt to sway humans sentiment and allegiance then the crowd would rise up in fury against them. That they feared. Popular opinion was their treasure and their arsenal. Arouse that and the flimsy framework of their dominion would be trampled under the agitated feet of a mob.
By the end of this Week Unlike any other Week the futility of all power would be finally exposed. The crowd that sang His praises on His entrance to the City would cry for His crucifixion before the Weekend. They would virtually drive Him out of the City to die. Temporal power is just that temporary. Its foundations are whimsical and destructible. But Jesus would demonstrate a different kind of power. Paradoxically He would demonstrate it by mounting something more ignoble than a peasant’s donkey. He would mount a cross and die. Then, and only then would we hear the answer to the question. “What authority do you have?”
“I'm Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever. See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death's doors; they open and lock Hell's gates.”
The Lord of death and life is the Lord of all things
This is the Week when ultimate authority is established for time and all eternity!
What authority do you have …? Who gave you this authority?
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Why is this Week Different From All Other Weeks? 3.
This is the Week when Jesus, hungry, damned a Fig Tree because there wasn’t any fruit on it. Oh it had lots of leaves; an abundance of leaves. Still it had no fruit.
Doesn’t this seem like a bit of an over-reaction? An almost childish indulgence of a frustrated desire to eat?
There are a couple of things we need to know about Jesus to understand what’s going on here.
First of all we must remember that this is the same man who insisted, in talking with Satan after not eating for 40 days, that “Man must not live by bread alone.” Obviously He’s got His hunger under control. Long before this Week began He’d put hunger in its place and served it only when it needed to be heeded. To conclude that Jesus was in a snit ‘cause He hadn’t gotten His morning fix is simply not true to what we know of Him.
The second factor we must pay attention to is that Jesus had a great deal on His mind. This was the most crucial Week in His life. He was concluding 3 years of a public life of cosmic proportions. His followers, who would be given His mantle in the end, were not “getting it” when it came to the ultimate purpose He’d come to achieve. More importantly His people, the Family of Abraham and Israel, those through whom God promised Abraham “all the families of the world would receive a Divine level of wellbeing,” were rejecting Him and would by the end of the Week demand that He be crucified. Later in the Week He’d tell their Leaders, to their faces, that they were “Hypocrites.” Pretenders; “all leaves and no fruit.”
His damnation of the Fig Tree was a reaction to the rejection and “fruitlessness” of the Nation of Israel; His – God’s – people. In His name they had built a religious dynasty wealthy, influential but every bit as oppressive as the Rome they despised. And later in the Week He would lament their rejection and decree that “their house,” would be “left desolate.” No longer would they have the benefit of His presence or attention. Their only hope would be to say of Him, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.”
The third thing we must remember about Jesus is that He was constantly teaching. He’d find, in virtually every situation, a “teachable moment.” This instance was no exception! In condemning the fruitless Fig Tree He not only denounced His Nation. He demonstrated the high cost of rejecting Him as their True Messiah – The Christ. Matthew tells us that His followers reacted with amazement when they saw the tree wither at His words. "When the disciples saw this, they were amazed." Perplexed they asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” His reply is packed with information about the nature and quality of life He came to introduce. “I tell you the truth,” He said, “If you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” The True Christ – the Son of Man – is a living prototype of recreated humanity. The New Birth His Resurrection makes possible creates people all over again; still in the Image of God; still endowed with the power of Almighty God; still in intimate partnership with Him; but now possessing a new Spirit; the Spirit of one Man who, because He is also Divine, insures all whom He remakes will share in the “Divine Nature.” The Kingdom He spoke of so often – the Rule of God – will come alive and be vital in them. Consequently they, knowing God and His purposes intimately, have “faith” like that of their Christ. They know when mountains need to be moved and exercise their Divinely provided power to move them. Believing that they are God’s favorite Children they instinctively ask for whatever they believe He wants in every situation.
“Faith,” such as He describes here is precisely the quality of life He referred to when He said “I came so you would have life in abundance; lavish, excessive life.” Life the Children of Abraham were rejecting this Week and would never experience until they accepted Him as coming “in the Name of the Lord.” Life that was poured into the hearts of over 3000 new Christ-followers, from virtually every nation, roughly 50 days later during the Feast of Pentecost. Life He offers to us and all with whom we have influence today.
This Week the stage would be set for that world altering event. It is a Week unlike any other!
Doesn’t this seem like a bit of an over-reaction? An almost childish indulgence of a frustrated desire to eat?
There are a couple of things we need to know about Jesus to understand what’s going on here.
First of all we must remember that this is the same man who insisted, in talking with Satan after not eating for 40 days, that “Man must not live by bread alone.” Obviously He’s got His hunger under control. Long before this Week began He’d put hunger in its place and served it only when it needed to be heeded. To conclude that Jesus was in a snit ‘cause He hadn’t gotten His morning fix is simply not true to what we know of Him.
The second factor we must pay attention to is that Jesus had a great deal on His mind. This was the most crucial Week in His life. He was concluding 3 years of a public life of cosmic proportions. His followers, who would be given His mantle in the end, were not “getting it” when it came to the ultimate purpose He’d come to achieve. More importantly His people, the Family of Abraham and Israel, those through whom God promised Abraham “all the families of the world would receive a Divine level of wellbeing,” were rejecting Him and would by the end of the Week demand that He be crucified. Later in the Week He’d tell their Leaders, to their faces, that they were “Hypocrites.” Pretenders; “all leaves and no fruit.”
His damnation of the Fig Tree was a reaction to the rejection and “fruitlessness” of the Nation of Israel; His – God’s – people. In His name they had built a religious dynasty wealthy, influential but every bit as oppressive as the Rome they despised. And later in the Week He would lament their rejection and decree that “their house,” would be “left desolate.” No longer would they have the benefit of His presence or attention. Their only hope would be to say of Him, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.”
The third thing we must remember about Jesus is that He was constantly teaching. He’d find, in virtually every situation, a “teachable moment.” This instance was no exception! In condemning the fruitless Fig Tree He not only denounced His Nation. He demonstrated the high cost of rejecting Him as their True Messiah – The Christ. Matthew tells us that His followers reacted with amazement when they saw the tree wither at His words. "When the disciples saw this, they were amazed." Perplexed they asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” His reply is packed with information about the nature and quality of life He came to introduce. “I tell you the truth,” He said, “If you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” The True Christ – the Son of Man – is a living prototype of recreated humanity. The New Birth His Resurrection makes possible creates people all over again; still in the Image of God; still endowed with the power of Almighty God; still in intimate partnership with Him; but now possessing a new Spirit; the Spirit of one Man who, because He is also Divine, insures all whom He remakes will share in the “Divine Nature.” The Kingdom He spoke of so often – the Rule of God – will come alive and be vital in them. Consequently they, knowing God and His purposes intimately, have “faith” like that of their Christ. They know when mountains need to be moved and exercise their Divinely provided power to move them. Believing that they are God’s favorite Children they instinctively ask for whatever they believe He wants in every situation.
“Faith,” such as He describes here is precisely the quality of life He referred to when He said “I came so you would have life in abundance; lavish, excessive life.” Life the Children of Abraham were rejecting this Week and would never experience until they accepted Him as coming “in the Name of the Lord.” Life that was poured into the hearts of over 3000 new Christ-followers, from virtually every nation, roughly 50 days later during the Feast of Pentecost. Life He offers to us and all with whom we have influence today.
This Week the stage would be set for that world altering event. It is a Week unlike any other!
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
It's "Holy Week" ... Why is this Week Different from all Other Weeks? 2.
This Week is unlike other Weeks – without parallel – because of the uncommon things Jesus, the Son of Man did during these 7+ 1 days.
On His arrival in Jerusalem He went directly to the City Center – The Temple – and created a scene. Matthew describes it. “He drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.” He drastically understates the stir Jesus' actions had to have caused. Passover was just days away. Thousands of pilgrims were arriving. The Temple was far more than a big Church. It was a religious center certainly. But it was also a marketplace where people could buy the various things required by Jewish Law for the special observances that took place within its confines. Historians have noted that, on occasion, there were thousands of sheep, as well as other creatures within the Temple area. It was also a Financial Institution. One marauder, who ransacked Jerusalem Centuries before Jesus was born reported carrying away from the temple millions of dollars in gold and silver coins of the variety prescribed for Temple use. Pilgrims had to exchange their money for Temple currency. This was a Currency Exchange far larger than any Airport kiosk. Many of the faithful bought their sacrificial creatures or dry goods in the Temple. The cacophony of countless traders advertising their wares was deafening and disorienting. Many people resented the exploitation that had become common in this Holy place. It was no longer “Holy.” It had been usurped by the religious leaders of the Nation and was now the seat of power and prosperity for the Priests and their cronies.
When Jesus disrupted commerce on this day His actions were not immediately met with armed police action. The powerful were unquestionably incensed over what He’d done. But they knew the populace welcomed His actions. Matthew tells us, “They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.” Jesus words had left no doubt about His anger. Borrowing from Isaiah and Jeremiah He said, “My house is to be called a house of prayer, but you’re making it into a den of robbers.” This was a bold, “in your face” indictment of the Priests and lawyers. And many people knew it was true.
What a dramatic move for this “uncommonly humble, gentle King,” who had just entered the City on the back of a Donkey! His words clearly reveal the motivation for his aggressive actions. These trustees of the Jewish faith had made a travesty of the House of God – His House – and were plundering it and its rituals and ceremonies to line their own pockets. Prosperity had displaced prayer as the reason for its existence and He would have none of it. His decision to overthrow their enterprise would forever mark this Week as like no other. And today, as then, He calls all who will listen to review how they might be abusing things God intended for higher purposes.
“Prayer,” Jesus said, is the raison d’être of the House of the Lord. “Prayer?” Isn’t that conversation with God; the connecting point for people seeking to cultivate a relationship with God? Simply put, “Yes!” Later this Week Jesus would eat the Seder with His Friends. During that meal He would pray. In His prayer He would talk with God intimately, addressing Him as Father. Among other important things He would say to His Father would be the following declaration. “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” That dreadful night when He would begin the journey to a horrible death Jesus unequivocally declared what His ultimate purpose was. He had come to make it possible for His followers, and any others who would join them, to “know” God, and Himself. “Know” God? Yes!” Just as the Temple existed as a place of prayer – meeting and conversing with God – so the Life Christ has come to give us is the gateway into an intimate, personal relationship with God. Everything Jesus practiced during His life on earth was done for one purpose and one purpose alone. He did what He did out of devotion to His Father and a tireless love for Him.
Is this true of us? Is the Father the first person in our lives? Do we do everything we do with a loving awareness of His presence and day-to-day interest in us? Do we pray because we want to know Him better? Are the activities we call “worship” designed to arrange our lives so that He has greater access to the deepest places in us? Do we read the Bible to know Him or things about Him? Have we misappropriated His blessings for our own benefit?
Jesus courageously overthrew the symbols of power and prestige in unparalleled fashion so that people looking on at the time, and reading about it later, would understand that whatever God does is done out of determination to know and be known. This Week is a cataclysmic Week. Things in us will be overthrown. God loves us that much!
On His arrival in Jerusalem He went directly to the City Center – The Temple – and created a scene. Matthew describes it. “He drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.” He drastically understates the stir Jesus' actions had to have caused. Passover was just days away. Thousands of pilgrims were arriving. The Temple was far more than a big Church. It was a religious center certainly. But it was also a marketplace where people could buy the various things required by Jewish Law for the special observances that took place within its confines. Historians have noted that, on occasion, there were thousands of sheep, as well as other creatures within the Temple area. It was also a Financial Institution. One marauder, who ransacked Jerusalem Centuries before Jesus was born reported carrying away from the temple millions of dollars in gold and silver coins of the variety prescribed for Temple use. Pilgrims had to exchange their money for Temple currency. This was a Currency Exchange far larger than any Airport kiosk. Many of the faithful bought their sacrificial creatures or dry goods in the Temple. The cacophony of countless traders advertising their wares was deafening and disorienting. Many people resented the exploitation that had become common in this Holy place. It was no longer “Holy.” It had been usurped by the religious leaders of the Nation and was now the seat of power and prosperity for the Priests and their cronies.
When Jesus disrupted commerce on this day His actions were not immediately met with armed police action. The powerful were unquestionably incensed over what He’d done. But they knew the populace welcomed His actions. Matthew tells us, “They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.” Jesus words had left no doubt about His anger. Borrowing from Isaiah and Jeremiah He said, “My house is to be called a house of prayer, but you’re making it into a den of robbers.” This was a bold, “in your face” indictment of the Priests and lawyers. And many people knew it was true.
What a dramatic move for this “uncommonly humble, gentle King,” who had just entered the City on the back of a Donkey! His words clearly reveal the motivation for his aggressive actions. These trustees of the Jewish faith had made a travesty of the House of God – His House – and were plundering it and its rituals and ceremonies to line their own pockets. Prosperity had displaced prayer as the reason for its existence and He would have none of it. His decision to overthrow their enterprise would forever mark this Week as like no other. And today, as then, He calls all who will listen to review how they might be abusing things God intended for higher purposes.
“Prayer,” Jesus said, is the raison d’être of the House of the Lord. “Prayer?” Isn’t that conversation with God; the connecting point for people seeking to cultivate a relationship with God? Simply put, “Yes!” Later this Week Jesus would eat the Seder with His Friends. During that meal He would pray. In His prayer He would talk with God intimately, addressing Him as Father. Among other important things He would say to His Father would be the following declaration. “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” That dreadful night when He would begin the journey to a horrible death Jesus unequivocally declared what His ultimate purpose was. He had come to make it possible for His followers, and any others who would join them, to “know” God, and Himself. “Know” God? Yes!” Just as the Temple existed as a place of prayer – meeting and conversing with God – so the Life Christ has come to give us is the gateway into an intimate, personal relationship with God. Everything Jesus practiced during His life on earth was done for one purpose and one purpose alone. He did what He did out of devotion to His Father and a tireless love for Him.
Is this true of us? Is the Father the first person in our lives? Do we do everything we do with a loving awareness of His presence and day-to-day interest in us? Do we pray because we want to know Him better? Are the activities we call “worship” designed to arrange our lives so that He has greater access to the deepest places in us? Do we read the Bible to know Him or things about Him? Have we misappropriated His blessings for our own benefit?
Jesus courageously overthrew the symbols of power and prestige in unparalleled fashion so that people looking on at the time, and reading about it later, would understand that whatever God does is done out of determination to know and be known. This Week is a cataclysmic Week. Things in us will be overthrown. God loves us that much!
Monday, April 06, 2009
It's "Holy Week" ... Why is this Week Different from all Other Weeks?
This is “Holy week.”
What makes 7 days “Holy”?
Religious ceremony?
Pious behavior?
Tradition?
Clerical edict?
On the final night of this week Hebrew Children, reclining around the Seder Table with their Families, will ask, as Hebrew Children have for thousands of years, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” The host of the meal will answer with the “Haggadah;” the story of Israel’s deliverance from their bondage in Egypt. The night is “different from all other nights,” – distinct – because something important makes it so.
Holy, different, distinct are synonyms. So we could ask, fittingly “Why is this Week different from all other Weeks?” And the answer is the same. This night is different because something – more accurately someone – quite uncommon; an extraordinary man and His never-to-be- matched; cosmically transforming feats are celebrated over these 7 + 1 days. He, by His elevation of these days to the sublime has made them distinct; different; holy!
What makes 7 days “Holy”?
Religious ceremony?
Pious behavior?
Tradition?
Clerical edict?
On the final night of this week Hebrew Children, reclining around the Seder Table with their Families, will ask, as Hebrew Children have for thousands of years, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” The host of the meal will answer with the “Haggadah;” the story of Israel’s deliverance from their bondage in Egypt. The night is “different from all other nights,” – distinct – because something important makes it so.
Holy, different, distinct are synonyms. So we could ask, fittingly “Why is this Week different from all other Weeks?” And the answer is the same. This night is different because something – more accurately someone – quite uncommon; an extraordinary man and His never-to-be- matched; cosmically transforming feats are celebrated over these 7 + 1 days. He, by His elevation of these days to the sublime has made them distinct; different; holy!
The first of those supernatural feats was the paradoxical enactment of a prophecy. Matthew, a Friend and Follower of this man – the Christ – describes the performance. “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."
“This took place,” Matthew observes, “to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet – Zechariah:
“This took place,” Matthew observes, “to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet – Zechariah:
‘Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The King, Jesus – the Christ – has acted extraordinarily. His behavior is different, distinct. Kings make their entrance on prancing steeds, surrounded by armies and symbols of power, pomp, and royalty. He enters on the back of a baby donkey; a beast of burden affordable to the poor. He was surrounded by what the elite of His day called the rabble. No pomp; no symbols of power; nothing to establish His sovereignty.
This Week is different from all other Weeks because it commences with the appearance of an uncommonly humble, gentle King who’s deliberately presenting Himself as one of the common people. The sort of King who could bring about the rest of the prophecy.
“I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
Zechariah 9:10
Zechariah 9:10
This Week is, most certainly, different from all other weeks!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Waddya wanna know?
3 million times the information contained in all the books ever written, was produced digitally in one year, according to Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post Writers Group. Further, she writes, “By next year, 16 times that data will be produced.”
What has it gotten us?
The Western media’s mantra is that it’s “the people’s right to know.” To know what? Enough to “Be a Millionaire;” or the Trivia King? What are we searching for when we “surf the net”? What’s the hot video on YouTube? What difference does it make? Could you have learned more in a Classroom with live people around you to test your ideas and experience the expanding of the mind that comes from active engagement of other Thinkers, than through an online University? Is learning about more than the accumulation of knowledge?
A First Century defender of the Christian Faith, predicted that there’d come a time when there’d be people who were, “always learning yet never able to grasp the truth.” That day has come. The data Ms. Parker wrote about is digital. Her statistics don’t account for the books that have been written or lectures, speeches, sermons that have been heard across the world. “Information overload,” is very much with us! But are we better because we have such a wealth of apparent knowledge? Have we “grasped the truth?”
One of the characters in the Old Testament story of the Jewish people was, apparently, recognized as among the wisest men who ever lived. A great Queen of another nation came to see this man, who was, at the time, Israel’s King. As the story goes, this woman came to him, “and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. He answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.”
Now that's a feat! How many men do you know who can hear “all” that any woman “has on her mind,” not to mention answer “all her questions” in such a way that she's pleased?
Do you know any man who’d pay big money to buy what this guy knew?
This “wise” man had some rather sobering things to say about the “proliferation” of knowledge. “I've stockpiled wisdom and knowledge," he wrote. “What I've finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind. Much learning earns you much trouble. The more you know, the more you hurt.” “(T)he wise man,” he concluded, “like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten.”
We mortals are, today, the custodians of a largely time bound database. For all of our progress most of what we’ve achieved will, with us, perish in the sands of time. “Then,” Jesus asked, “who will those things you’ve acquired and achieved belong to when you’re gone?” "Where," Paul the Preacher writes, “is the wise person?” “Where is the educated person?” “Where is the skilled talker of the world?” “God,” he says, “has made the wisdom of the world foolish.” He has done this, the Preacher explains, through the “crucified Christ.” Through an event which is quite possibly the greatest paradox ever played out God gave us “the truth.” Christ – the Son of Man – who is also Lord, was crucified. The idea that someone whose life ended in such a shameful way could be the “hope of Israel” was and still is “scandalous to Jews.” Any proud intellectual laughs at the idea that someone so weak and insignificant could be of any importance to them. But that’s the paradox Christ’s life poses. It is “when you’re weak,” that “you’re strong.” “In dying,” St. Francis insisted, “we are born to eternal life.” This is nonsensical to the secular mind. It's scoffed at because of widespread resistance to the idea that weakness and death can be in any way beneficial. Our resistance is what has prevented us from getting, out of the galactic body of knowledge at our disposal, what is the ultimate truth. We are mortal. But meant to be immortal. We are made for bigger and better things. Jesus said, “Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies it is nothing more than a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds.” Few of us have not, at one time or another, witnessed that phenomenon. “Just remember,” the song insists, “in the Winter, far beneath the bitter snow, lies the seed that with the sun’s warmth, in the Spring, becomes the Rose.” Jesus, 6 days after He said that about seeds, died. Three days later He came back to life. A single seed died; then grew through the walls of a rocky tomb with immortal life -- "many seeds" -- for any and all who would willingly accept this truth. Now the true wisdom of God calls mortals to relinquish their life’s acquisitions in exchange for another kind of life. The life Christ offers. He who was “dead and is alive again; who holds the keys to life and death,” who is “the way, the truth, and the life,” has made available to us the immortality we’re made for. What we long hoped for is true. We can live well and forever.
In all of our ruminating through the mountains of information we hope will yield ultimate answers we have not “grasped the truth.” No knowledge we’ve acquired of our own accord has solved the problem of our mortality. So “the wise man, like the fool,” will one day “be forgotten.” The claptrap of computers, endless digital periphals, and the explosive proliferation of technological wonders deludes us into thinking that we’re advancing with the passing of every nano-second. Sadly we’re not. We've put our hope in an untruth. None of our applaudable achievements have solved the problem of death. Only that person who’s breached the vault of death and shown it for what it is -- the door to everlasting life -- has the truth which eludes us.
That person is Jesus of Nazareth … the Christ – Son of Man – Son of the living God.
It is the “wisdom” of God to know this everlasting life giving God/Man! To know Him is to know the “truth.” And this “truth,” will “set you free!”
What has it gotten us?
The Western media’s mantra is that it’s “the people’s right to know.” To know what? Enough to “Be a Millionaire;” or the Trivia King? What are we searching for when we “surf the net”? What’s the hot video on YouTube? What difference does it make? Could you have learned more in a Classroom with live people around you to test your ideas and experience the expanding of the mind that comes from active engagement of other Thinkers, than through an online University? Is learning about more than the accumulation of knowledge?
A First Century defender of the Christian Faith, predicted that there’d come a time when there’d be people who were, “always learning yet never able to grasp the truth.” That day has come. The data Ms. Parker wrote about is digital. Her statistics don’t account for the books that have been written or lectures, speeches, sermons that have been heard across the world. “Information overload,” is very much with us! But are we better because we have such a wealth of apparent knowledge? Have we “grasped the truth?”
One of the characters in the Old Testament story of the Jewish people was, apparently, recognized as among the wisest men who ever lived. A great Queen of another nation came to see this man, who was, at the time, Israel’s King. As the story goes, this woman came to him, “and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. He answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.”
Now that's a feat! How many men do you know who can hear “all” that any woman “has on her mind,” not to mention answer “all her questions” in such a way that she's pleased?
Do you know any man who’d pay big money to buy what this guy knew?
This “wise” man had some rather sobering things to say about the “proliferation” of knowledge. “I've stockpiled wisdom and knowledge," he wrote. “What I've finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind. Much learning earns you much trouble. The more you know, the more you hurt.” “(T)he wise man,” he concluded, “like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten.”
We mortals are, today, the custodians of a largely time bound database. For all of our progress most of what we’ve achieved will, with us, perish in the sands of time. “Then,” Jesus asked, “who will those things you’ve acquired and achieved belong to when you’re gone?” "Where," Paul the Preacher writes, “is the wise person?” “Where is the educated person?” “Where is the skilled talker of the world?” “God,” he says, “has made the wisdom of the world foolish.” He has done this, the Preacher explains, through the “crucified Christ.” Through an event which is quite possibly the greatest paradox ever played out God gave us “the truth.” Christ – the Son of Man – who is also Lord, was crucified. The idea that someone whose life ended in such a shameful way could be the “hope of Israel” was and still is “scandalous to Jews.” Any proud intellectual laughs at the idea that someone so weak and insignificant could be of any importance to them. But that’s the paradox Christ’s life poses. It is “when you’re weak,” that “you’re strong.” “In dying,” St. Francis insisted, “we are born to eternal life.” This is nonsensical to the secular mind. It's scoffed at because of widespread resistance to the idea that weakness and death can be in any way beneficial. Our resistance is what has prevented us from getting, out of the galactic body of knowledge at our disposal, what is the ultimate truth. We are mortal. But meant to be immortal. We are made for bigger and better things. Jesus said, “Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies it is nothing more than a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds.” Few of us have not, at one time or another, witnessed that phenomenon. “Just remember,” the song insists, “in the Winter, far beneath the bitter snow, lies the seed that with the sun’s warmth, in the Spring, becomes the Rose.” Jesus, 6 days after He said that about seeds, died. Three days later He came back to life. A single seed died; then grew through the walls of a rocky tomb with immortal life -- "many seeds" -- for any and all who would willingly accept this truth. Now the true wisdom of God calls mortals to relinquish their life’s acquisitions in exchange for another kind of life. The life Christ offers. He who was “dead and is alive again; who holds the keys to life and death,” who is “the way, the truth, and the life,” has made available to us the immortality we’re made for. What we long hoped for is true. We can live well and forever.
In all of our ruminating through the mountains of information we hope will yield ultimate answers we have not “grasped the truth.” No knowledge we’ve acquired of our own accord has solved the problem of our mortality. So “the wise man, like the fool,” will one day “be forgotten.” The claptrap of computers, endless digital periphals, and the explosive proliferation of technological wonders deludes us into thinking that we’re advancing with the passing of every nano-second. Sadly we’re not. We've put our hope in an untruth. None of our applaudable achievements have solved the problem of death. Only that person who’s breached the vault of death and shown it for what it is -- the door to everlasting life -- has the truth which eludes us.
That person is Jesus of Nazareth … the Christ – Son of Man – Son of the living God.
It is the “wisdom” of God to know this everlasting life giving God/Man! To know Him is to know the “truth.” And this “truth,” will “set you free!”
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