He Is Risen!

 

He Is Risen! (Mark 16:1-8)

“He is not here – he has been raised!” (Mark 16:6)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I’m not sure what to believe. It is so incredible, it can’t be real. And yet…

At sunrise today Mary Magdalene, Mary (James’ mother), and Salome went to the tomb to put the burial spices and oils on Jesus’ body. (They didn’t have time to properly anoint Jesus’s body before the Sabbath arrived.) But when they got to the tomb, the giant stone that had been in front of the entrance was rolled away. They went into the tomb and saw a man in white clothes. They were startled, even afraid.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here – he has been raised!” Then he pointed to the place where Jesus’ body had been laid. Sure enough, Jesus wasn’t there.

Then the man in white clothing told the women to tell us that Jesus will meet us – and Peter – in Galilee, where we will see him. The women quickly ran out of the tomb, stunned and afraid. They didn’t say a word about what they had just seen and heard until they reached us.

Like I said before, I don’t know what to think. It is so incredible, it can’t be real. And yet… And yet, now that I think about it, isn’t this unfolding exactly like Jesus said it would happen? Isn’t this exactly what Jesus told us in the past few months? Three times, Jesus said the Son of Man would be turned over to the authorities. Three times, Jesus said the authorities would kill him. And sure enough, it happened just like Jesus said it would happen. He was betrayed, and he was killed.

But, wait! Didn’t Jesus also say that he would be raised from the dead after three days? Yes, he did say that! Three times! If he was betrayed and killed just like he said would happen, could it be that he has also been raised from the dead, just like he said would happen?

The man in white clothing told the women that Jesus was going ahead to Galilee and would meet us there, just as Jesus had told us. Now I remember that dark night in the upper room. Jesus did say, “After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” 

I still don’t know what to think about all this. I’m not sure what it all means. But I’m beginning to believe that it’s true – that Jesus really has risen from the dead. He is risen!

I’m beginning to believe that there must be some reason that Jesus had to die the way he did. 

I’m beginning to believe that by rising from the dead, Jesus’ kingdom hasn’t been defeated and overthrown, after all.

I’m beginning to believe that everything Jesus said and did and told us to do – it all still stands.

I’m beginning to believe that, because he is willing to meet us in Galilee, maybe that means he is going to give us another chance; maybe he will forgive us – and Peter – for abandoning him and denying him.

I’m beginning to believe that my walk with Jesus isn’t over, after all. Maybe it’s really just starting.

He is risen! I better get walking to Galilee; I think I have a meeting with Jesus. Because he is risen!

The Darkness Is My Closest Friend

 

The Darkness Is My Closest Friend

“You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.” (Psalm 88:18)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Note: None of the Gospels provide a description of what the disciples feel on the day after Jesus’ crucifixion. This meditation is an attempt to capture the sense of despair that they must have felt.

A Song of Lament.

It is Sabbath, O Lord my God,

    but I do not feel like resting;

    indeed, I do not feel like living.

For you, the Giver of Life, have taken from me

    the One in whom I found life,

    true life,

    eternal life.

Jesus was everything to me.

And now he is gone;

    he is dead,

    his body is lying in the tomb.

It’s Sabbath, O Lord my God,

    but I do not feel like resting;

    indeed, I do not feel like living.

My soul is downcast within me;

    my spirit is filled with darkness.

I can no longer walk with Jesus,

    because he is dead.

    My hope is dead.

I have no song in my heart

    except the song from ancient days:

“My soul is full of trouble

    and my life draws near the grave…

I am set apart with the dead,

    like the slain who lie in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

    who are cut off from your care…

You have taken my companions 

    and loved ones from me;

    the darkness is my closest friend.”*

This is the only refrain I can sing

    in my heart, O God:

“It is Sabbath, O Lord my God,

    but I do not feel like resting;

    indeed, I do not feel like living.

For you, the Giver of Life, have taken from me

    the One in whom I found life,

    true life,

    eternal life.

Jesus was everything to me.

And now he is gone;

    he is dead,

    his body is lying in the tomb.”

O Lord, in your mercy,

    hear my prayer.

*These verses are quoted from Psalm 88

An Even Darker Day

 

...An Even Darker Day (Mark 15)

“And they crucified him.” (Mark 15:24)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I have no words. It was the worst day of my life. It was the worst day of Jesus’ life. They crucified Jesus. Nailed him to a cross and hung him up to die.

What started last night, when Jesus was arrested and taken to the house of the High Priest, continued today at the break of day. I thought that maybe with the dawn of a new day, things would get better, that the events of the night were all a big misunderstanding. I was wrong. The darkness of last night was light compared to the darkness of this horrible day. 

Every step of the way, Jesus was beaten, abused, ridiculed. They took Jesus to Pilate (and by “they” I mean the officials of the Temple court). Pilate found nothing worthy of putting Jesus to death. He even tried to ask the people if they wanted him to release Jesus. (Every year, Pilate would release a prisoner during the Passover, as a show of “good will” from Rome.) But the Temple officials stirred up the crowd to insist on releasing a murderer named Barabbas. How could anybody ever choose a murderer over an innocent man like Jesus?!

Even though Pilate didn’t think Jesus had done anything that deserved death, he and his soldiers still treated Jesus like someone who deserved death. He had Jesus flogged. Then his soldiers dressed Jesus up like a king, with a heavy robe that set off every nerve of his raw and bleeding flesh, and with a crown made out of thorns. The mocked him – Hail, King! – and they spat on him, and they beat him about the head. They yanked the robe off of him and marched him off to be crucified.

Jesus was so badly weakened by it all that they had to get a man from the crowd to carry the beam of Jesus’ cross for him. They took Jesus to the Hill of the Skull. They offered him a mixture of wine and myrrh to dull the pain, but Jesus refused to take it. 

They nailed him to the cross.

Even on the cross the insults continued. The soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothes, right at his feet while he watched them. The sign that stated his crime simply said, “King of the Jews.” People gathered to watch his slow, agonizing death. They jeered and mocked him: “Ha! You said you would knock down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days! Well, why don’t you come down from the cross and save yourself!” The Temple officials and other Jewish leaders joined in with more insults. “He saved others, but he can’t even save himself. Some Messiah! If he comes down from the cross, maybe we’ll actually believe in him.”

Then, darkness. It was the middle of the day, but the whole country was covered with darkness for three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus shouted out in agony, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?!”

Why, indeed, did the One who spoke at Jesus’ baptism, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” – Why did God abandon Jesus? Why did the One who spoke on the mountain, “This is my Son, whom I love; listen to him.” – Why did God abandon Jesus? The silence with which God answered Jesus in his deepest agony was deafening.

Then Jesus died. 

One soldier, who was probably there just because he was doing his job, looked at Jesus and said, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

The soldier was right. Jesus was the Son of God. He was the Son of God. But not anymore, because now he’s dead.

My heart has died within me. So has my walk with Jesus.

My God, my God, why did you abandon Jesus? Why? Why? Why do the evil ones always seem to win? Why do you let those in power govern with such greed, such cruelty? Why did you abandon Jesus, and with him, everyone who pinned our hopes on him?

Why?

Why?

Why?

A Very Dark Night

 

A Very Dark Night... (Mark 14:12-72)

“Jesus said, ‘All of you will run away and leave me.’” (Mark 14:27)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is nearly dawn, the darkest time of the night. The rooster has just crowed. I find myself shivering, alone in the darkness. It is not the cold that makes me shiver; it is fear. And shame. I have abandoned my Lord.

* * * * *

...The day began with Jesus sending us to make preparations for the Passover meal. Jesus told us that we would meet someone who would open his large upstairs room where all of us could gather for the meal.

In the evening we were all there in the upstairs room with Jesus. We were sitting and reclining around the table that had been set for our observance of the Passover: unleavened bread, wine, bitter herbs, lamb. But instead of a joyful mood celebrating God’s deliverance of his people from Egyptian slavery, the evening was somber. Jesus was very serious. In the middle of the meal he spoke up. “One of you will betray me.”

We were stunned and confused. What did he mean? Who among us would possibly betray us? “Surely, Jesus, it isn’t I, is it?” 

Jesus continued. “It will be one of you twelve, a chosen friend and disciple, who will betray me. The betrayal will be in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say that the Son of Man will die; but woe to the one who will betray the Son of Man! He’ll wish he had never been born!” 

A sense of darkness began to fill the room.

While we were eating, Jesus spoke again. We thought he was going to talk about the unleavened bread because the first Passover took place so quickly, and the blood of the lamb that saved the Israelites from the spirit of death in the day of Moses. Instead, Jesus referred to the bread as his body, and the cup as his blood, shed as the seal of God’s covenant. It’s as if Jesus thought he was about to die, and that his death was necessary for the fulfillment some divine plan of God.

Darkness continued to fill the room as we finished our meal in silence. After the meal we sang a psalm, but it didn’t do anything to lift our spirits. As we were leaving the room, Jesus looked at all of us and said, “All of you will run away and leave me, for the scripture says, ‘God will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will all be scattered.’ But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.” Again, we were bewildered at Jesus’ words. Why would any of us turn our backs on Jesus? Peter was so bold as to claim that, even if everyone else were to run away, he would never abandon Jesus. Jesus just looked at Peter with sadness and said, “Oh Peter, Peter my friend. Before the rooster crows twice tonight, you will disavow that you know me three times.”

We continued to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus told us to sit and pray, while he took Peter, James, and John with him a little farther into the garden. I watched Jesus praying from afar. I couldn’t hear what he said, but I could tell that he was struggling, filled with anguish. He was praying for so long that the others fell asleep.

Just as Jesus and the others returned to where he had told us to stay and pray, a crowd of people armed with swords and clubs showed up. I saw people I recognized – people who worked for the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders. And Judas Iscariot was with them. He came up to Jesus and greeted him with a kiss. “Hello, Teacher,” he said. And at that moment, the crowd seized Jesus. Fighting broke out, and someone in our group cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave.

Jesus spoke. “Am I an outlaw, that you come to arrest me with clubs and swords? You had chances to arrest me every day when I was teaching in the Temple. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

That’s when all of Jesus’ disciples ran away. And I ran away, too. We all ran away from Jesus.

Jesus was taken to the High Priest’s house. I could see Peter off in the shadows. I was watching from afar. I didn’t have to come near, because the people were shouting at the top of their voices, making accusations against Jesus. I could tell that they were looking for a reason to convict him of some crime. At one point the High Priest asked Jesus directly, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?”

Jesus said, “I am, and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!”

At that point, the High Priest and his cronies had had enough. “Blasphemy!,” they shouted. They agreed that Jesus must die. Then they started beating Jesus and spitting on him.

While the farce of a trial was going on inside, I saw Peter talking animatedly to a young woman in the courtyard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I heard him say. That’s when the rooster crowed…

* * * * *

The darkness of the night is eclipsed only by the darkness of my soul. I am ashamed that my walk with Jesus turned into a running from Jesus at the first sign of trouble. Judas wasn’t the only one who betrayed Jesus. Peter wasn’t the only one who denied knowing Jesus. I cannot point my finger at either of them and claim to be righteous because I, too, have failed miserably. After all that Jesus had done, after three years of companionship with Jesus, I turned my back on him when he needed me most.

And yet, the more I think about everything that has transpired during this terrible night, my shame at my own sense of failure is overshadowed by my awe at Jesus’ determination to fulfill his Father’s purpose. At any moment in the night, Jesus could’ve done something differently so as to avoid being arrested. But he didn’t. It’s as if he knew exactly where the crowd of thugs would be, and he deliberately went there to meet them. Even knowing how he would be falsely accused, beaten, and spat upon, Jesus walked right into the hands of those evil people. 

It’s as if this is exactly what his Father told him to do.

Dear Jesus, I am ashamed at the ways I turn away from you. Forgive me. Please, forgive me. And yet, I know that even my failure won’t stop you from fulfilling the purpose your Father has given to you. I am weak, but you are strong. Amen.

The Greatest of These Is Love

 The Greatest of These Is Love (Mark 12:28-34)

Jesus said to the teacher of the Law, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The religious bigwigs in Jerusalem have been hounding Jesus, confronting him everywhere he goes, it seems. They have demanded that he justify himself and tell them by what authority he does the things he’s been doing. They have tried to trap him with questions about controversial things like paying taxes to Caesar, or marriage in the resurrection. They think that if he answers one way, he can be accused of treason or heresy; and if he answers another way, he can be accused of supporting the Romans or not understanding the Law of Moses. But Jesus has seen through their traps, and he has answered masterfully.

Then a scholar of the Law came up to Jesus. He had heard Jesus answer the others wisely, so I’m not sure if he wanted to trap Jesus; I think the scholar was genuinely interested in Jesus’ opinion. He asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Without hesitating, Jesus said, “The most important command is this one: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” Of course Jesus would say that one. Every good Jew recites the “Hear, O Israel” every day, often more than once. It is our daily reminder that there is no other God but the Lord, and that we are to love him with every fiber of our being.

But Jesus didn’t stop with the “Hear, O Israel.” Before the scholar could open his mouth to agree or disagree, Jesus continued, saying, “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The scholar of the Law was impressed. He said, “Well done, Teacher,” and he went on to agree that there is no other God but the Lord, and that we are to love the Lord with our whole being, and that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. He even went on to say that it was more important to obey these two commands than to offer animal sacrifices at the altar.

Now it was Jesus’ turn to be impressed. He saw the sincerity in the face of the scholar of the Law, and he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

I thought about how Jesus answered the scholar. In the light of everything that had been happening and all the hostility that the religious bigwigs had been throwing at Jesus, it is remarkable that Jesus’ answer centered on love. I mean, of course he was going to recite the “Hear, O Israel” as the most important command; that is a no-brainer for any good Jew. But to follow that up with loving our neighbor, especially when Jesus’ “neighbors” had been anything but loving toward him – well, that is surprisingly striking. In a world where loving others is in short supply – even in a world that is openly hostile – Jesus says that the critical thing for us to do, second only to loving God with our whole being, is to love others.

In my mind, the religion scholar was essentially asking Jesus, “What is the most important thing I need to do in order to be a faithful citizen of the kingdom of God?” And Jesus answered by saying that faithful citizenship in the kingdom of God is defined by our love for God and others. Not regular observance of all the festivals, not tithing, not presenting all the right sacrifices on the altar, not meticulous observance of the purity laws, not even perfect keeping of the Sabbath; none of these things surpasses love. Love is central to faithful living in God’s kingdom.

I get the feeling that Jesus won’t be the only one who declares that, of all the things God requires of us, the greatest of these is love. But he’s certainly the first one who has said it with such authority and clarity.

As I walk with Jesus, I realize that if my first focus is to love God with my whole being and to love others as I love myself, then all of the other requirements of the kingdom will fall into place. Without love, all of the other requirements are for naught. 

It has to begin and end with love.

Dear Jesus, more than anything else, I want to be faithful to you. Thank you for letting me know that the best way for me to be faithful to you – the only way, really – is to fill every word, action, and thought with love. Amen.

A Disturbing Story

 

A Disturbing Story (Mark 12:1-12)

“This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves!” (Mark 12:7)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ever since Jesus stormed through the Temple in a rage, the tension has been rising. The Jewish officials – the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders – have already accosted Jesus, demanding that he explain himself. “Who gave you the authority to do these things?,” they asked. Instead of answering them, Jesus turned the question back on them.

Then Jesus told a story. It was a story about a man who owned a vineyard. The owner of the vineyard had worked hard to establish it so it would bear fruit – he had worked the soil, planted the vines, put a fence around it, dug a winepress, and built a watchtower. It was a glorious thing! Then the owner moved away, and he left the vineyard in the hands of some tenants. 

When the time came for the grape harvest, the owner sent a servant to collect his share of the crop from the tenants. The tenants, though, beat up the servant and sent him back empty handed. The owner sent several other servants, and they were all equally abused by the tenants – some of the servants were even killed by the tenants. Finally, the owner said to himself, “I will send my son. Surely they will respect him.” But the tenants, when they saw the son, said to themselves, “This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves!” And that’s what they did.

Well, after Jesus told the story, he directed his gaze at the Jewish officials. “What will the owner of the vineyard do? Right. He will kill those tenants and put the vineyard in the hands of some other people.” Then Jesus said something to drive his point home: Don’t you remember the saying from Scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone! This is God’s doing, and it is amazing to behold.”

The Jewish officials, of course, were furious, because the story was a thinly veiled accusation toward them. They weren’t going to take this lightly, but they couldn’t do anything to Jesus then and there because of the crowd of people that had gathered to listen to Jesus adoringly.

When Jesus told the story about the vineyard owner, my mind went back to the words of the prophet Isaiah, who also spoke about a vineyard. (Why is it that everything Jesus says and does somehow takes me back to our scriptures? Maybe it’s because Jesus is the living manifestation of God’s Word.) The vineyard had been meticulously prepared by the owner, but in the end it only produced sour grapes. When Isaiah shared the interpretation of his account of the vineyard, the word of the Lord was loud and clear: the vineyard was the people of Israel, who had failed in their responsibility to live faithfully as the people of God. God pronounced doom on the people and turned Israel over to a foreign nation.

My walk with Jesus is beginning to take on a very serious mood. I am sobered by the realization of the fickleness of God’s people. One day we’re basking in God’s glory and favor, only to turn away from God the next day. How quickly our hearts change from devotion to God to devotion to ourselves and our own glory. 

Jesus couldn’t have been more clear in his interpretation of the story he told. I know he was speaking to the Jewish officials, but I don’t think he was only speaking to them. While his words were a direct condemnation of the officials, for me they serve as a warning: to reject him is to reject that on which the whole kingdom of God is built.

There was something else about the story that Jesus told that have darkened my spirit. If the tenants of the story who rebel against the owner and kill the son are the Jewish officials (and that’s pretty clear to everyone who heard the story), then isn’t it also reasonable to assume that the son in the story is Jesus? 

Everybody is fixating on the tenants. But I can’t stop thinking about the son. Is the story as much about Jesus as it is those who reject him? Is Jesus going to be killed by the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, and the chief priests? 

O my Lord Jesus, my heart is troubled by the degree to which many in the world despise you. How can anyone be so set against you, especially people who know they have been chosen by God to fulfill God’s purposes for the world? And yet, clearly, it is so. My heart is deeply troubled, O Lord. What hope is there for a world that despises you?

How to Make Jesus Angry

 

How to Make Jesus Angry (Mark 11:15-19)

“It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!” (Mark 11:17)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I have never seen Jesus so passionately angry.

Jesus, his disciples, and the other followers who had been walking with Jesus returned to Jerusalem the morning after the people had welcomed him so robustly. We went straight to the Temple. That is Jesus’ custom wherever he goes. He always goes to the synagogues to worship and teach; in Jerusalem, then, it is only natural that Jesus would head to the Temple.

Since the Passover is approaching later in the week, Jerusalem is beginning to fill up with the faithful pilgrims who have come from near and far to participate in the feast and offer the sacrifices required by the Law of Moses. Because it isn’t always possible to bring one’s sacrificial animals the long distances required of many of the pilgrims, and since most people don’t have the Temple shekels used for Temple business, the officials have set up moneychanging tables and booths where animals may be purchased for the sacrifices. It’s always been that way. They set up the marketplace in the outer courtyard of the Temple, the one designated for the gentiles. 

Over the years, the prices of the sacrificial animals have gone up steadily. It’s gotten so a lot of people aren’t able to afford the animals. And the rate of exchange for the Temple shekel seems pretty steep. Ordinary working people are slowly, but surely, being excluded from Temple worship simply because it costs too much.

Well before we got to the Temple, we heard the chaotic din of the people and the animals. And the smells of the animals hit us like a sack of stones in the face. I noticed that Jesus’ demeanor changed as we drew near the Temple. By the time we entered the courtyard of the gentiles where the moneychangers and the animal sellers were, Jesus was livid. His face was crimson with anger. 

Jesus went into a rage. He ran through the marketplace, yelling like a madman. He screamed at the moneychangers, “Out! Get out!,” flinging their coin boxes off of the tables. He overturned the tables of the sacrificial dove vendors, sending feathers flying everywhere.

Then suddenly he stopped. There was a stunned silence in the crowd at that moment. Filled with passion, Jesus shouted for everyone to hear, “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.’” Then he looked directly at the moneychangers and animal vendors and said with venom in his voice, “But you – you! – have turned it into hangout for thieves!”

As I said earlier, I have never seen Jesus so angry. He was livid. He was filled with zeal, consumed by zeal for his Father’s house.

So were the chief priests and teachers of the Law. They, too, were filled with rage. Not at the price gouging and messy chaos of the Temple marketplace, but at Jesus. Jesus’ actions had cost them a lot of money. Even more, the people were really paying attention to Jesus. I could see it on the faces of the Temple officials – they were going to find a way to get rid of Jesus and the threat he posed to their way of life.

Then we left the city. On our way back to Bethany, while I was walking with Jesus and the others, I thought about everything that had happened. Jesus had quoted words from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. I remembered how God’s vision was for people from every nation to come to worship on God’s holy mountain. I also remember how, back in the days of king Josiah and his successors, Jeremiah had brought a long message from God, accusing the kings and Temple leaders of exploiting the people. It seems that the people of today have repeated the sins of our ancestors.

I realize now that at least part of Jesus’ anger was stirred because the courtyard of the gentiles, where the marketplace had been set up, was the only place that gentiles were allowed to gather to worship. And how could they possibly worship with the sounds and smells of the marketplace? Some people were turning a nice profit, but at a great cost to others who earnestly desired to worship God. It made me think back to just a few days ago when Jesus warned of the severity by which God would judge those who caused others to stumble in their faith. Suddenly, what Jesus had said became very real, no longer just an idea to think about.

As I walk with Jesus, I realize that Jesus is passionate about wanting everybody to have access to his Father. And if Jesus desires everybody to be able to worship and serve his Father, then so should I desire the same thing. I don’t want to do anything that would send the message to others that they are not welcome or to create obstacles that prevent them from worshiping God. Neither do I want for any community of people with whom I gather to worship God to send a similar message.

Zeal for the good name of the Lord filled Jesus. I pray that the same kind of zeal will fill my heart, as well as the hearts of all who walk with Jesus.

Dear Jesus, fill my heart with zeal for your name, not so that I may personally profit or benefit from my relationship with you, but so that others have unhindered access to you. Amen.