Blessings of the Cross Student : A Lent Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary [1 ed.] 9781426733376, 9780687466771

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L L

S CRIPTURES

FOR THE

C HURCH S EASONS

ent 2011

Blessings of the Cross

Robert Martin Walker A L ENTEN S TUDY B ASED

ON THE

R EVISED C OMMON L ECTIONARY

Scriptures for the Church Seasons

L

ent 2011

Blessings of the Cross

Robert Martin Walker

A Lenten Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary

®

A Lenten Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary

BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS by Robert Martin Walker Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. For permission to reprint any material in this publication, call 615-749-6421, or write to Permissions Office, 201 Eighth Avenue, South, P.O. Box 801, Nashville, Tennessee 37202. E-mail: [email protected] Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All readings taken from the Revised Common Lectionary © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts are used by permission. ISBN-13: 978-0-687-46677-1 Manufactured in the United States of America 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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ontents

Introduction ....................................................................................................... 5 The Blessings of Tests .................................................................................. 7 (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11)

The Blessings of Risk-taking ................................................................. 15 (Genesis 12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5,13-17; John 3:1-17)

The Blessings of Thirst ............................................................................. 23 (Exodus 17:1-7; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42)

The Blessings of Blindness .................................................................... 31 (1 Samuel 16:1-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9)

The Blessings of Death............................................................................. 39 (Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45)

The Blessings of the Cross ..................................................................... 47 (Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 27:11-54)

The Blessings of Easter ............................................................................ 55 (Acts 10:34-43; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10)

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ntroduction

To use the word blessings in relation to the cross seems strange. The cross, an instrument of torture and death, evokes images of the opposite of blessings. “Curses of the cross” seems more appropriate. To speak of blessings of the cross is at best a paradox and at worst a contradiction. Paul seemed aware of this paradox in his first Letter to the Corinthians when he wrote, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). He says that proclaiming “Christ crucified” is a “stumbling block” to the Jews and “foolishness” to the Greeks. For Paul, however, the cross was the supreme instance of God’s wisdom and power. On the oldest crucifix in existence is inscribed, “Alexamenos worships his God.” This third-century crucifix represents the crucified with an ass’s head, a clear message that the cross was viewed by many as a bad joke.1 This sarcastic depiction of the cross echoes Paul’s words to the Corinthians about “Christ crucified” seeming foolish and offensive. If the cross is a blessing, it is a blessing in disguise. On the cross we see a Messiah who suffers and dies. Yet out of this death God brings resurrection and new life.

INTRODUCTION

The cross represents the worst cruelty humans are capable of: torturing and murdering an innocent person. Yet the cross is a means of forgiveness and redemption. All of us have experienced blessings in disguise: an illness through which we learned the life lesson of gratitude for help and healing, a financial crisis in which we discovered what matters to us, a dark and difficult time in which we learned to recognize the light of hope, a tragedy through which we encountered God’s grace and love. Life is filled with these strange, yet deeply powerful, blessings in disguise. To view such painful and negative events as blessings is an act of faith. Yet, the cross––the ultimate blessing in disguise––is at the very heart of our relationship with God. This Lenten study will explore this paradox of blessings in disguise. Each week we will look at Scripture through the lens of a different blessing in disguise. My hope and prayer is that together we will discover the promise that comes through pain, the joy that emerges from sorrow, and the new life that comes out of death. 1

From On Being a Christian, by Hans Kung. Translated by Edward Quinn (Doubleday & Company, 1976); page 396.

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he Blessings of Tests Scriptures for Lent: The First Sunday

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11

It is the rare person who welcomes tests. Whether the test is an exam taken in school or a trial of one’s patience, most of us do what we can to avoid them. We avoid them because they cause anxiety or pain. Even medical tests are usually unpleasant. So how can tests offer blessings? Tests can be blessings in disguise for two reasons. First, a test can point to what is wrong with us. Whether it is a character flaw or a disease, tests can reveal who we are and why we are suffering. Second, the tests and trials we face in life have the power to mold and shape our character. Take a moment to reflect back on your life by asking yourself, What were the most defining moments that made me who I am? I will bet that many, if not all, of these moments are tests of some kind: a major loss survived, a defeat that taught you an important life lesson, a crisis that showed your resilience. In many cases, the difficult and challenging times have more to do

THE BLESSINGS OF TESTS

with making us who we are than the good or easy times. History is filled with examples of great persons facing tests and surviving them. Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill struggled with depression. Beethoven composed some of his greatest symphonies after becoming deaf. Mother Teresa survived a crisis of faith in God. Martin Luther King, Jr. had to confront hatred, imprisonment, and violence in his ministry. The Scriptures for this first Sunday in Lent deal with tests that become defining moments in the lives of the characters in these stories. In the story of Adam and Eve, we enter into a test of obedience that every one of us has faced and still faces. In Paul’s words about Adam and Christ, we see how the consequences of Adam and Eve’s test echoes through time and history. Finally, in the Gospel passage Jesus faces a daunting test at the beginning of his ministry.

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A TEST OF OBEDIENCE GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Nearly everyone knows the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. As children we likely heard this story in Sunday school, yet this is more than a simple children’s story. This is an imaginative drama filled with suspense, fateful consequences, and theological depth. We pick up this story in Genesis 2:15, after adam (a Hebrew word meaning “human” or “man”) was placed in the garden of Eden. Note that the Hebrew word for “earth” is adama, reminding us that adam was formed “from the dust of the earth” (2:7). This first human is told by God to “till” and “keep” the garden. This role was not simply one of maintenance but one of being part of the creative process.1 Humans are to work with God’s world as cocreators. The garden was filled with beautiful trees that produced nourishing fruit. However, there were two trees mentioned by name in the middle of this garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:9). God gave the humans the freedom to eat of all of the trees in the garden except for one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why? Because eating of the fruit of this tree meant death. Since we know the ending of the story, we know that the death mentioned here was more than physical death. It included the “death” of harming one’s relationship with God through disobedience. When you think about it, the humans were given an amazing amount of freedom in the garden. 8

They cold eat the fruit of every tree, even the tree of life. The only limitation on their freedom was this single prohibition. The story continues in 3:1 with the introduction of a talking serpent. This was a wily and sly creature, as we will soon see. Notice that Eve (“the woman” in Hebrew) had no fear of the serpent. She was having a conversation with it. The leading question asked by the serpent was a clever one as it put Eve on the defensive. It asked whether God prohibited eating of any tree in the garden. Eve’s response was to set this know-it-all serpent right by quoting God’s prohibition from 2:16-17. However, she added another prohibition to emphasize how dangerous it was to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: “Nor shall you touch it, or you shall die” (3:3b, emphasis added). It seems that Eve was trying to impress the serpent through this exaggeration. However, the serpent one-upped Eve by proclaiming that the man and woman would not die and that the reason for the prohibition was that God did not want them to be “like God, knowing good and evil.” Therein lay the great temptation: to trust the serpent’s word rather than God’s. The temptation was too irresistible for Eve. She looked at the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and saw that it was good for eating and “a delight to the eyes.” Further, she believed the serpent’s word that eating it would make her and her companion wise. So she succumbed and took a bite of the fruit and gave some to Adam, who ate as well. BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

It turned out that the serpent’s words had some truth in them. Although they did not become wise or godlike, they soon realized that they were naked and therefore vulnerable. To cover/protect themselves, they made garments of fig leaves. The phrase that begins 3:7 is key: “Then the eyes of both were opened.” In other words, they saw themselves, the world, and God differently. Because of their disobedience, their relationship with God changed dramatically. Instead of having an open and trusting relationship, they were fearful. Instead of meeting with God directly, they hid from God like guilty children. The consequences God imposed upon each of them at the end of Chapter 3 were the natural consequences of the changed relationship: They had to leave the garden of Eden and make their own way in the world. “Death” in the story included estrangement, vulnerability, and fear. In many ways, Adam and Eve’s story is our story. We relive this story of freedom and limitation almost daily. When we are irresponsible with the exercise of our freedom, then it is inevitably curtailed. When we refuse to accept the limitations on our freedom, we face the consequences of this refusal. Note that even though Adam and Eve had to leave the garden, God did not leave them. God’s love for them did not change. What changed was their understanding and perception of God. Their act of disobedience was actually a betrayal of trust. They THE BLESSINGS OF TESTS

trusted the word of the serpent rather than the word of God. There is an unbreakable connection between obedience and trust. The hymn “Trust and Obey” acknowledges this connection. To disobey one in authority—whether it is a parent, a boss, or God—is actually saying, “I don’t trust you” or “I trust myself more than you.” Disobedience is a breach of trust. So how does a test of obedience offer blessings in disguise? Disobedience is a sign that something is wrong in a relationship. Like a medical test, disobedience exposes the cause of the problem. Disobedience is a diagnosis that something needs to be fixed in a relationship. Paradoxically, disobedience can lead us to a renewed and deeper relationship with God. When we know we have done something wrong, the way to set things right is to admit it and accept responsibility for it. At that point, we open ourselves to receiving God’s forgiveness. That forgiveness restores us to a right relationship with God and frees us for a relationship of trust. In what ways do you identify with the choices of Adam and Eve in the garden? When have you had to choose between obedience and doing what pleases you? What consequences have you faced for disobedience? How did it affect your relationships?

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A GIFT OF GRACE ROMANS 5:12-19 Paul’s Letter to the Romans is arguably the most theological of his letters. Perhaps it is because he had not yet visited Rome when he wrote this letter that he took great pains to explain fully the essence of the Christian faith. As you read this passage, you will see how densely packed it is with theological arguments. However, the central message is simple: God’s grace is more powerful than human sin. Chapter 5 begins with Paul pointing to the results of justification by faith as an act of God’s grace in Christ (verses 1-11). In verses 12-19, Paul continues to expand on the results of justification by contrasting Adam with Christ. Adam represents humanity before Christ came. “Sin came into the world” through Adam’s disobedience; and, as a result, death also came (verse 12). As in the Genesis story, death here is more than physical. It also describes a spiritual condition of alienation from God. The function of the Law was to reveal sin. God’s moral law, as given to Moses, made humanity aware of their sin (verse 13). Sin is what prevents humanity from realizing God’s intentions for us. Grace (“the free gift”) is so much greater and more powerful than sin. In verse 15, Jesus Christ is identified as the supreme act of God’s grace. Because of Jesus Christ, freedom from the bondage of sin and death is now possible. Just as sin leads to condemnation and 10

alienation from God, grace leads to justification and reconciliation with God (verse 16). Just as spiritual death is the result of sin, so “the abundance of grace” leads to new life through faith in Jesus Christ (verse 17). As the representative of the old humanity, Adam exemplifies disobedience, the essence of sin. In Christ’s life of obedience is the beginning of a new possibility for humanity: justification and new life (verses 18-19). So the contrast between Adam and Christ is complete. Adam represents disobedience, sin, and death. Christ is the “new Adam,” who exemplifies obedience, justification, and grace. In my life, I have felt the power of this amazing grace many times. I have felt it in the experience of forgiveness after I have hurt another person by my words or actions. I have experienced grace in a hike through the lush forests of Connecticut and have seen the awesome God-created beauty surrounding me. The experience of grace is like receiving a gift I do not feel I deserve. The definitions of grace that I have heard underline its gift-like character: undeserved forgiveness, unmerited favor, unconditional love. The experience of grace can be an overwhelming experience. John Wesley’s Aldersgate conversion in 1738 was such an experience, he wrote in his journal that he felt his “heart strangely warmed” because he deeply felt God’s grace through forgiveness of his sins. Grace has the ability to warm our hearts and ignite our souls. One of my favorite quotes on the experience of grace comes from BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

twentieth-century theologian Paul Tillich. He wrote: “Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of an empty and meaningless life. It strikes us when we feel our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when . . . our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear . . . when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying, ‘You are accepted. You are accepted’ ”2 The experience of being totally accepted is rare and powerful. We know how painful the opposite of acceptance is. To be rejected, especially by someone we love, hurts deeply. When a relationship ends with a rejection, it seems more painful than an ending by mutual agreement. The experience of total acceptance is a life-changing experience. When have you experienced unconditional acceptance? From a baby you are holding in your arms and seeing the total trust he or she has in you? from a spouse who forgives you for a wrong that you deserve to be rejected for? from a grandparent who loved you no matter what you did? This experience of total and unconditional acceptance is at the heart of God’s grace in Christ. THE BLESSINGS OF TESTS

When we become aware that we have received God’s grace as a free gift, everything changes. We know deep down that we are forgiven and loved. We have a new relationship with God, one characterized by trust and obedience. We see our fellow human beings in a new way: as children of God and therefore as our brothers and sisters. Indeed, grace is stronger than sin, stronger than rejection, and stronger than death! What is your favorite definition of grace? Why? When have you experienced the power of God’s grace in your life? When have you experienced unconditional love? How did this experience of unconditional love change you? A TEST OF FAITHFULNESS MATTHEW 4:1-11 How often it is that tests and trials follow high moments of spiritual fulfillment. At the end of Matthew 3 is the story of Jesus’ baptism (verses 13-17). After being baptized by John, a heavenly voice proclaimed, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Yet this moment of fullness of Spirit and divine affirmation was followed by Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Note that it was the Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness (4:1), the same Spirit that was present and filled Jesus at his baptism. This time of testing was essential for Jesus to understand his messianic vocation and mission. The Greek word for “temptation” also means 11

“trial” or “test.” The temptation in the wilderness would indeed be a test of Jesus’ trust in God. Jesus’ forty days of fasting remind us of the forty days of the Flood, the forty years of the Exodus, Moses’ forty-day fast, as well as Elijah’s fast. Remember that Lent is a forty-day season (excluding Sundays, which are “in” rather than “of” Lent), based on the length of time Jesus was tested in the wilderness. After being weakened by a fortyday fast, the tempter came to Jesus to put him through the first of three tests. These temptations represent categories of tests that all of us face: using our power for selfgratification, putting God’s love to the test, and giving our allegiance to evil rather than to God. As the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews observes, “For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). The first test Jesus faced was to satisfy his hunger. Remember that he was “famished” by the forty-day fast. At first glance, what would be wrong with Jesus feeding himself? At some point he would need to eat, so why not then? Yet the test was whether Jesus would satisfy his hunger by miraculously turning stones into bread at the tempter’s command. He passed this first test by refusing to do so and quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 in support. In the second test, Jesus was placed on the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem, the highest point for miles. There he was challenged by the tempter to throw 12

himself down to show his trust that God would save him. Showing that even the devil could quote Scripture, he recited Psalm 91:11-12. Again, what was wrong with trusting God to save him? On the cross, he placed his fate in God’s hands. However, the test was whether Jesus would put God’s providence to the test at the command of the tempter. Jesus was taken to another high place—a mountain top—to face the third and final test. There, he was shown “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (Matthew 4:8) by the tempter. Jesus was offered power over all these kingdoms if he would submit to worshiping the tempter. Jesus refused this by telling Satan to leave him and quoted Deuteronomy 6:13. The tempter left him “suddenly”; and, just as with Elijah, angels came to give him nourishment and strength (Matthew 4:11). At the heart of these tests is the issue of trust. Would Jesus trust in the word of the tempter or in God? Eventually, Jesus did all of the actions commanded by the tempter. Not only did he feed himself, he fed five thousand with the miracle of multiplying fishes and loaves. On the cross, Jesus threw himself into God’s care, saying, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Because of his death and resurrection, Jesus ultimately became the ruler of the kingdom of the world. The tests put to Jesus by the tempter were clever in their subtlety. Since Jesus eventually did what the temper commanded, what was being asked of Jesus was not evil. However, if Jesus had obeyed the tempter rather than God, he would BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

have failed these tests of trust. If Jesus was to fulfill his messianic mission, he had to trust in God’s guidance. What the tempter offered Jesus was a shortcut to fulfilling his messianic mission. He offered Jesus a way of fulfilling his vocation without enduring the agonies of the cross. If Jesus had obeyed the tempter, he would not have had to suffer the betrayal of Judas, the abandonment of his disciples, or the denial by Peter. If Jesus had taken this shortcut offered at the beginning of his ministry, he would not have had to endure the humiliation of a trial on false charges and the suffering of death on a cross. The tempter offered Jesus the crown without the cross, glory without the agony, and victory without suffering. While none of us seeks tests or trials, it is inevitable that each of us will have to deal with them in the course of life. It is tempting to take an easy way out if one is offered. However, often what seems to be the easy way is a dead end. Taking the easy way short-circuits the process of growth and development so important to the formation of our faith and character. Tests and trials have a great deal to do with the kind of person we become. Although I hate to admit it, I have learned more from my failures than I have from my successes. When I was writing books full-time, I submitted book ideas to editors and received many rejections. Although it was not any fun to receive yet another rejection, it forced me to rework or rewrite a book idea and made me a better writer. (I used to dread going to the mailbox each day because THE BLESSINGS OF TESTS

rejections always came in the form of a letter). However, as I reworked and rewrote, I learned how to write better book proposals; and some of them were accepted for publication. What Jesus offers us is a spiritual path to travel through life. It is not a smooth, effortless path but one with plenty of bumps and obstacles. Look at the path Jesus traveled. His journey led him to Jerusalem, to suffering and the cross. Why should we expect a smooth and easy journey if we follow in Jesus’ path? Even though the path is sometimes rocky, it is a meaningful and purposeful journey. The good news is that being committed to walking this path is the way of abundant life. Yes, there is effort; but there are rewards. Yes, there is sacrifice; but there is joy. Yes, there is suffering; but the suffering is redeemed. In taking the journey that he did and in making the hard choices so early in his ministry, Jesus discovered his calling and his mission. Isn’t the same true of us? We discover our calling/vocation in the midst of our life journey. Just as Jesus grew in his sense of mission and calling, so must we. Yet if we are to grow, we need to be willing to forego shortcuts and easy ways out. We need to be willing to take the Lenten journey to the cross. Thus, Jesus’ temptation was a blessing in disguise. Through it, he discovered not only his inner strength but his identity as God’s beloved Son. The tests and trials we will face in life are opportunities for us to discover who we are and in whom we trust. 13

When have you faced the temptation to satisfy personal desires at the expense of faithfulness to God? In what ways have you been tempted to put God’s love for you to the test? When have you been offered a shortcut to success that would mean a denial of your values?

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From The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1, Genesis, by Terrance E. Fretheim (Abingdon Press, 1994); page 351. 2 From The Shaking of the Foundations, by Paul Tillich (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1948); pages 161-62.

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he Blessings of Risk-taking Scriptures for Lent: The Second Sunday Genesis 12:1-4a Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17

We teach children not to take unwise risks. When our sons were young, we taught them to look both ways twice before crossing a street. We drilled into them not to run into the street to chase an errant ball. We made sure they crawled down the stairs backwards rather than risk tripping and falling forward. Good parents do their best to teach children about the many risks to health and life that exist in our world. Above all, we want our children to be safe and secure. So how can risk-taking be a blessing? In some situations in life, not taking risks prevents us from moving forward in our faith. Taking certain risks is a blessing because it leads us to a deeper and stronger faith in God. In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, a slave, out of fear, buries the talent entrusted to him by his master. When the master returned and discovered he had not earned any return on this large amount of money (a talent was equivalent to a year’s wages), the master was furious. One message of this parable is that playing it THE BLESSINGS OF RISK-TAKING

safe is not an option when it comes to matters of faith. In today’s lections, we will see how Abraham took great risks following the promise of God and leaving his home for an unknown place. Paul pointed to Abraham as a paragon of faith in God because he was willing to risk everything to obey God’s command. In the Gospel passage, we will see how Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, took a risk to meet with Jesus. If he had not taken this risk, he would not have learned what it means to be “born anew.” Someone has said, “To the risk-takers go the rewards.” We will test this thesis in today’s study. A RISKY JOURNEY GENESIS 12:1-4a

If God came to you in a vision and told you to leave your home and most of your relatives to travel to an unknown place, how would you respond? Would you immediately pack up everything you own, convince your spouse to go with you, and hit the road? 15

This is exactly what Abram did when God called him. Just think about his willingness to risk everything to follow God’s call. He was leaving what was familiar and comfortable for what? A promise that he would be the founder of a great nation, a nation through which all families would be blessed. This promise has become known as the Abrahamic covenant. Genesis 12:1-4a is a pivotal passage for the rest of the Book of Genesis. Everything that follows in Genesis and Exodus is linked to the Abrahamic covenant. In verse 1, God appears abruptly and without any introduction. We do not know if there was a previous relationship between Abram and God. We are not told why Abram and Sarai were chosen for this great promise. The text does not offer any details other than God’s call and Abram’s response. The land to which Abram and Sarai would travel is not described either. God told them to go to “the land that I will show you.” In other words, God would reveal the location of this place at some future point. Abram had to trust God to guide him to this promised land. In verses 2-3, the content of this promise is given. God would make of Abram and Sarai a “great nation.” Their name would be “great” and a “blessing” to all. Further, God would bless those who blessed them and curse the one who cursed them. Finally, in Abram and Sarai “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” In this last part of the covenant there is a link to Genesis 1–11. The story of the tower of 16

Babel that precedes this passage showed that the families of the earth had become corrupt and were in need of divine redemption. God’s call of Abram was the solution to the problem of a broken relationship with humanity. In verse 4b, we learn of Abram’s response to God’s call. The author simply says, “Abram went, as the LORD had told him.” In the verses that follow, we learn that there was some urgency to this journey. Abram was seventy-five years old (verse 4b). Abram took Sarai and his nephew Lot on this journey into the unknown. Not only was Abram old when he embarked on this journey, his wife Sarai was unable to have children. When you think about it, these would be the least likely persons you or I would choose to found a great nation. However, their unlikeliness seemed to be the very reason they were chosen to be recipients of God’s call. In the Old Testament, the theme of the journey occurs several times. In addition to the journey of Abram and Sarai, there is the collective journey of the Hebrew people in the Exodus. There is also the journey of the Hebrew people to return home at the end of the Exile. Each of these journeys was understood to be taken in response to God’s call. Journeys always involve risks. The journeys mentioned above were taken through rugged wilderness areas where lack of water and attacks by wild animals were risks to life. In the case of Abram’s journey and the Exodus, the land to which they were traveling was BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

inhabited by other tribes who were hostile to these new inhabitants. The journeys we take in our own time have risks as well. While the risks we face are somewhat different from those faced by Old Testament travelers, the risks are real. Every time we get into a car, as a driver or passenger, there is the risk that we will get in an accident. The same is true of traveling in trains, airplanes, subways, boats, or buses. Every time we step into a plane, train, auto, or boat, we are committing an act of trust. We are saying, in effect, that we have faith not only in the driver, pilot, or captain but also faith in those maintaining the vehicle. In the case of airplanes, we also trust the air traffic controllers to do their job well. Whether we are riders or drivers, there is no getting around this issue of trust. Trusting always includes an element of risk, especially when we cannot be certain of the trustworthiness of whom or what we are trusting. For instance, before I board an airplane I do not research the pilot’s credentials, nor do I ask to see the maintenance records for that particular plane. Yet I still get on the plane, and I take the risks involved. My experience has confirmed that air travel is about as safe as any other kind of transportation. Life itself is a journey that involves trust, risk, and reward. While God may not call us to leave our home and kindred, our response to God’s call involves risks. Whether God calls us to a new vocation or to a new way of life, we are always journeying into an unknown future. Like Abram THE BLESSINGS OF RISK-TAKING

and Sarai, we do not know our destination. We are called to trust in God’s promise as they did. Abram and Sarai’s trust in God was rewarded when they eventually became the parents of Isaac, the child of promise who launched the “great nation” that would bless the families of the earth. As we will see in the next passage from Romans, their act of trust had consequences that went far beyond their willingness to take a journey into the unknown. So it is with our life journeys. When we trust in God, unknown and unanticipated blessings travel with us because God is with us. If you had received Abram’s call, how would you respond? What journey(s) have you taken in response to God’s call? What risks have you encountered on your life journey? FAITH AS RISK-TAKING ROMANS 4:1-5, 13-17 The Danish philosopher/writer Soren Kierkegaard is frequently credited with the phrase the leap of faith. He argued that faith is not a simple, logical decision to believe but a radical act of trust in God. To bridge the chasm that exists between God and ourselves, we must leap across it, trusting that God will embrace us.1 For Paul, Abraham is a prime example of one who takes this leap of faith. As we saw in the previous section, Abram and Sarai ventured to an unknown land and future, trusting that God would 17

fulfill the promise to make of them a great nation. They trusted that God would guide and protect them on their risky journey. The key issue for Paul in this section of Romans is expressed in 3:22b-24: “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.” Paul is clear that we cannot earn salvation through following the Law nor by performing righteous works. Justification is a gift of God’s grace. In 4:1-2, Paul makes the point that Abraham was not justified by his works, that is, his own effort to be righteous. If that were so, he would have grounds for boasting about how he achieved his own justification. Rather, Abraham was justified (made righteous) before God by his faith (radical trust) and not his meritorious works. In verse 3, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 in support of his point: “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” In Romans 4:4-5, Paul contrasts the idea of wages that are due for one’s work and the gift of righteousness that comes from faith. If Abraham had been justified by his good works, then the gift of grace would be unnecessary. In verse 5, the one “who justifies the ungodly” is none other than God. Righteousness before God cannot be earned; it must be received as a gift. In verses 13-17, Paul amplifies what he said in verses 1-5. The promise (covenant) God gave Abraham did not rest upon his innate goodness or effort but upon Abraham’s deep trust in 18

God. Also, Abraham received the covenant long before the Law was given to Israel through Moses. The purpose of the Law was to expose sin. The Law cannot save; it can only convict. When it comes to salvation, everything depends on grace and faith. Grace is God’s free gift, and faith is our reception of that gift. When we hear or read the word faith in our own time, we are most likely to understand it as a synonym for belief. In this understanding, faith is an intellectual assent, the act of believing certain truths about God, Jesus, the Bible, and so on. Reciting the Apostles’ Creed is an example of this definition of faith. However, Paul means more when he uses the word faith in Chapter 4. For Paul, faith is active and radical trust in God. Faith is an active verb rather than a passive noun. Faith is a relational word; it describes our active reception of God’s grace. Abraham is the great example of faith-as-trust because he responded to God’s call by risking everything. He trusted God’s covenant and acted upon that trust by leaving his home and parents to travel to a distant and unknown land. Faith is much more than assent to a set of beliefs. It is an active, dynamic relationship of trusting God. God’s stance in this relationship is captured in the word grace. There are many definitions of grace, but grace defined as God’s unconditional love is the one I find most powerful. God loves us without condition. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve God’s love. It comes as pure gift. All we can do is receive it, and the BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

word that describes our reception of God’s grace is faith. When you think about it, trust is critical in any relationship. I would go so far as to say that where there is no trust, there is no relationship. Think about the persons in your life that you trust. Your list will likely include family members, friends, coworkers, and church members. The more we trust someone, the closer our relationship is with him or her. When we trust someone, we feel free to be ourselves around that person. We are also able to risk telling that person our deepest feelings, even those things we might be ashamed of and would like to keep hidden. Love and trust go hand in hand. Love grows as trust deepens. However, when we trust someone, we take the risk of our trust being betrayed. That is why a betrayal of trust is so devastating. When someone we love does something that undermines that trust, we are hurt and upset. Our relationship with that person is harmed, and only forgiveness and time can heal this betrayal. The lines from the hymn “When Love Is Found” express the connection between love and trust: “When love is torn and trust betrayed, / pray strength to love till torments fade.” When it comes to our relationship with God, our trust is wellfounded. As Abraham discovered, God is trustworthy. God fulfilled the promises made in the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham and Sarah’s descendants became a great nation through which we have been blessed. Through Abraham, three of the world’s major THE BLESSINGS OF RISK-TAKING

religions were given birth: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For Paul, faith is taking the leap to trust radically in God. Faith is risk-taking because it means placing our future in God’s hands. Just as Abraham and Sarah journeyed into an unknown future, so do we. As we do so, let us say with the psalmist, “The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in / from this time on and forevermore” (Psalm 121:8). In what ways have you taken a leap of faith in your relationships? When someone betrays your trust, how do you respond? How do you experience the risk involved in trusting God? A RISKY MEETING JOHN 3:1-17 Are you a night owl or an early bird? In my high school and college years, I loved staying up late and sleeping late. In college, I tried to schedule my classes later so I could sleep until at least 10 A.M. Of course, in the dorm we seldom got to sleep before 2 or 3 A.M. Then something happened to me in my thirties that turned me into a morning person: I started rowing at 5:30 A.M. When I first started getting up at 5 A.M., I was sure it would kill me; but after a few months, I found I could tolerate it. After a few years, I actually began to enjoy the early morning, especially watching sunrises over Long Island Sound. However, I still miss those late nights where there was laughter, liveliness, and 19

a sense of possibility. Night has a feeling of secrecy and mystery. Perhaps it is because the darkness covers up much of what we can see. Night also has a sense of danger. Most crimes are committed under the cover of darkness. It is significant that Nicodemus met Jesus at night (John 3:2). Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a “leader of the Jews” (verse 1), and Jesus’ ministry was a threat to the chief priests and many of the Pharisees (7:45). Nicodemus was taking a risk in meeting Jesus. By meeting Jesus at night, secrecy and privacy would be insured. Also, in the Gospel of John darkness is a metaphor for misunderstanding and ignorance. Those who are “in the dark” do not understand who Jesus is or the message he proclaims. This is certainly true of Nicodemus. Jesus tried to teach Nicodemus a spiritual truth: To be part of God’s kingdom, you need to be “born from above” (3:3). In the original Greek, the term for “born from above” can also mean “born again.” It is a double entendre. Nicodemus seizes on this second meaning and asked Jesus how a grown man can enter his mother’s womb to be born again (verse 4). Of course, this notion is ridiculous. Yet Nicodemus’s misunderstanding led to a fuller—even if metaphorical—explanation of what it means to be born from above. Jesus explained that there are two realms: a material realm and a spiritual realm. Being born from above is a spiritual issue. Jesus compared this spiritual rebirth to the wind that blows wherever it chooses and nobody knows where it comes 20

from (verse 8). Again, Jesus made a double entendre because the Greek word for “spirit,” pneuma, also means “wind.” After hearing this explanation, Nicodemus asked, “How can these things be?” (verse 9) and received a gentle reprimand from Jesus. Then Jesus went on to explain the difference between “earthly things” and “heavenly things” (verses 11-15). He compared the “lifting up” of the Son of Man on the cross to Moses lifting up the serpent on the pole in the wilderness: All who looked on the serpent survived the poisonous bites. So also those who believe in the crucified and risen Son will have eternal life. This leads to one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament: John 3:16. God sending the Son into the world is an act of supreme love. God desires all to have eternal life. The Son did not come into the world for condemnation but for salvation (verse 17). Even though Nicodemus did not grasp the truth of what Jesus was saying (at least at this point), he was willing to risk asking questions. If he had kept his questions to himself, or pretended to understand what Jesus was saying, he would not have received the fuller explanation from Jesus. This pattern of Jesus teaching, the hearer misunderstanding, and Jesus giving a deeper explanation is repeated again and again in John’s Gospel. We will see this same pattern over the next three weeks in the passages from John. The ultimate story of questioning that leads to a deeper understanding is the story of “doubting” Thomas at the end of the Gospel. BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

Thomas’s questions and doubts led him to make the ultimate affirmation of faith in Jesus: “My Lord and my God!” (20:28). An important lesson that emerges from this dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus is that it is okay to ask questions. As a teacher, I want my students to ask questions. I encourage them by saying, “There are no stupid questions.” Of course, there are stupid questions, but even a stupid question can lead to clarification and understanding. When it comes to questions, it is better to ask than to remain silent. When it comes to religious and spiritual matters, there is an attitude held by some that we should not question such things. For instance, if we read or hear something in the Bible that confuses us or we are not sure about, sometimes we often let it slide because “we know we should not question God’s Word.” At such times we need to have faith that God’s Word will stand up to our questioning. Questioning and searching for answers is the way we seek and find truth. A growing faith is not static. It is dynamic. Faith is a journey as well as a destination. It is when we believe we possess the unquestionable truth that we are in danger of pride and arrogance. There is good evidence in John that Nicodemus’s questions in that night meeting led him to become a disciple of Jesus. Nicodemus appears two more times in John’s Gospel. The second time he is mentioned is at a meeting of Jewish leaders. Some of the Pharisees were upset that Jesus was not arrested by the Temple police. They said, “Surely you have not THE BLESSINGS OF RISK-TAKING

been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law––they are accursed!” (7:47-49). Nicodemus rose to Jesus defense, saying, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” (verses 51-52). The third and final time Nicodemus appears in John’s Gospel is at Jesus’ burial. Joseph of Arimathea, a “secret disciple” of Jesus, received permission to take away his body. He was joined by Nicodemus, and they prepared Jesus’ body for burial according to Jewish custom. Nicodemus brought a large and expensive amount of myrrh and aloes, perhaps an indication of his devotion to Jesus (19:38-42). The man who came to Jesus at night now risked being seen burying him in the light of day. If Nicodemus had not risked meeting Jesus that first time and risked asking “stupid” questions, I doubt he would have eventually become a follower. Sometimes, faith can only come by taking risks. What questions have you wanted to ask but have been reluctant to voice? When have you taken risks that have deepened or strengthened your faith? What risks have you taken that have turned out to be blessings? 1 From “Kierkegaard: Leap of Faith” at oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philo sophers/Kierkegaard/kierkegaard_individual ity.html.

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he Blessings of Thirst Scriptures for Lent: The Third Sunday Exodus 17:1-7 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-42

Have you ever been thirsty and unable to quench it quickly? My thirsty experience came while hiking in the high desert of New Mexico. I had taken only a single water bottle, and it was soon empty after a few hours in the hot sun. Being in a desert, there was no water for miles; and I had hours of hiking ahead to reach the nearest spring. Soon my lips were dry, and my throat was parched. Without water, I grew tired and trudged the last dusty miles, wondering if I was going to make it. Being thirsty is a miserable experience. We are so used to being able to quench our thirst by simply walking a few feet to a faucet or a drinking fountain that we take water for granted. When thirst strikes and we are unable to quickly quench it, we can become frustrated and frightened. So what is blessed about being thirsty? Our thirst is what leads us to seek water. Because we cannot live more than a few days without water, the importance of water is welldocumented in the Bible. Not only is water used for drinking, it is used THE BLESSINGS OF THIRST

for cleaning, washing, and growing crops. Often, water is used as a metaphor for life and new life. Note the central role of water as a symbol of God’s grace in baptism. In today’s Scriptures, different kinds of thirsts emerge. In the Old Testament passage, the Hebrew people cry out to Moses for water, putting God’s grace and patience to the test. In the Romans passage, Paul points to our “thirst” for reconciliation with God and its results. Finally, in the Gospel passage, we will encounter a deeper, spiritual thirst in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. These different kinds of thirst are satisfied in different ways. The blessing of thirst is that it can lead us to seek that which quenches it. A THIRSTY TEST EXODUS 17:1-7

The title of the Book of Exodus comes from the Greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) and means “going out.” Our passage is located in the midst of a 23

section of Exodus that describes the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites under the leadership of Moses (15:22–18:27). These chapters are characterized by a series of complaints voiced by the Hebrews and God’s response. During their wilderness journey, the Israelites had already complained of being hungry. In response to their complaints, God sent manna, “bread from heaven,” that came with the morning dew, and quails in the evening (Chapter 16). However, some of the Israelites disobeyed God’s command to collect twice as much manna and quails on the sixth day of the week so that the sabbath might be observed. In 17:1-7, the new complaint is that of thirst. At Rephidim, their camping place in the Wilderness of Sin, there was no water. Not only did they complain, they quarreled with Moses over whether they were putting God to the test (verse 2). They stated their complaint in extreme terms: “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” (verse 3). This accusation is an echo of the complaint about hunger in 16:3. This quarrel between Moses and the Israelites deteriorated to the point that Moses felt that his life was threatened. He cried out to God, “They are almost ready to stone me” (17:4). God told Moses to take some of the elders to a rock at Horeb and strike the rock with the same staff he used to touch the Nile and turn the water to blood. Water would pour from the rock, God reassured Moses. 24

Moses did as God commanded, and water gushed out of the rock. However, Moses renamed the place Massah—which means “test”—and Meribah—which means “fault finding” or “contention.” The passage ends with the narrator’s explanation of this new name: “Because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’ ” (verse 7b). After first reading this story of thirst and its quenching, I asked myself, “What is wrong with asking for water when you are thirsty?” After all, our lives depend upon drinking water regularly. If we go just a few days without water, we will die. As I reread this story, a different picture emerged. The problem is not that the Israelites asked Moses for water, but how they asked for it. They quarreled with Moses over the lack of water and wondered aloud if he brought them out of Egypt only to die of thirst in the wilderness. As verse 7 implies, the people made the availability of water a test of God’s providence by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” Their thirst led them to accuse God of deserting them. What seems to underlie their accusation of God’s abandonment is fear. Because they were thirsty, they were afraid that Moses––directed by would not be able to lead them to water. So they panicked. It does not seem to matter that their fears were unfounded. They quickly forgot how God sent Moses to liberate them from slavery, how they escaped Pharaoh’s army, and were being led to a promised land. They forgot how BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

God had provided for them along the way, sending manna and quails to satisfy their hunger. They allowed their fears to overwhelm them and undermine their faith in the One who liberated them. We should not be too quick to criticize the Israelites for their fears, because the same thing can happen to us. When something negative happens in life, we can easily believe that we will be stuck in this negative place forever. When the recession hit in 2009, many lost jobs, homes, and retirement nest eggs. It was easy to believe “we will not survive this”; yet we did survive. Some have found new jobs or embarked on new careers. The Israelites demanded a miracle to put an end to their thirst; but what if they had instead asked for God’s guidance in finding water? What if, instead of quarreling with Moses, they had trusted him to lead them to water? They had ample reasons from the past to trust Moses and God. Yet they chose to give reign to their fears rather than to trust. The irony of this story is that even though their thirst was quenched, lack of trust harmed their relationship with God. This generation of Israelites eventually had to face the consequences of their lack of trust in God: They were sentenced to wander in the wilderness for forty years until their generation died. A new generation would enter and settle the Promised Land. While the Israelites’ thirst led them to accuse Moses and God of abandonment, our thirst does not THE BLESSINGS OF THIRST

necessarily have to lead us away from God. Thirst, and any other pressing need, can be an opportunity to express trust in God. Throughout history, faithful women and men have turned to God in times of deprivation and need. They have chosen faith over fear, trust over panic. Sometimes when we are suffering, we may wonder whether God is with us. In spite of our doubts, God provides for us just as God provided water to the thirsty Israelites. Their thirst led them to God. Even though they came with testing and quarreling, God quenched their thirst. May our thirst lead us to trust in God, who is with us in our times of need. In what ways do you identify with the Israelites and their response to a lack of water? When have your fears overwhelmed your faith? How does trust in God overcome fears? A THIRST FOR RECONCILIATION ROMANS 5:1-11 Paul believed we were created for a relationship of peace with God, however, this ideal relationship had become broken through sin and was in need of healing. The metaphor of thirst aptly depicts our need for reconciliation with God. Psalm 42 uses thirst as a metaphor for our longing for God’s presence: “As a deer longs for flowing streams / so my soul longs for you, O God. / My soul thirsts for God, / for the 25

living God” (42:1-2a). Our yearning for God’s presence is much like thirst. Although this psalm describes the need for God’s help in a time of distress, it is an apt expression of our need to be reconciled to God. The word Paul uses in Romans 5:1 for the healing of this broken relationship is justified. In the previous passage from Romans 4, Paul points to Abraham as a prime example of how a healthy relationship with God can be restored. It was Abraham’s faith—his obedience to and trust in God—and God’s grace that enabled the broken relationship to be made whole. Paul writes in 5:1-2 that we, too, are “justified by faith” with the result being “peace with God.” It is Jesus Christ who makes possible our peace with God by performing the ultimate act of reconciliation: dying on the cross. Through the crucified and risen Lord, we now “have access to this grace in which we stand.” In other words, faith is the way we are able to receive and respond to God’s grace. Paul goes on to describe the results of our justification in verses 3-5. In addition to peace with God, justification provides the believer the ability to rejoice in times of suffering. Why? Because suffering builds character and character produces hope. The suffering Paul is pointing to here is suffering on behalf of one’s faith, but I believe the same can be said of any form of suffering. The point is that God’s love, “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,” transforms suffering into hope. In verses 6-8, Paul observes that Christ died for us when we were 26

weak and unrighteous. In other words, Christ died for us while we were still sinners, amazing proof of God’s great love for us. Paul takes this observation even further in verses 9-11. He uses powerful language to describe the process by which we obtain peace with God through a new relationship made possible by Jesus Christ. While we were “enemies” of God, Christ came to die and reconcile us to God. The result of this reconciliation is our salvation. In his book Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, Henri Nouwen writes of the spiritual movement from viewing others as “strangers” to considering them as “friends.”1 While Nouwen was speaking of human relationships, Paul would have applied this idea to our relationship with God. In his view, we are strangers to God because of our weakness and sin. Through sin, we have estranged and alienated ourselves from God, like rebellious children sometimes do with a parent. The amazing thing is that God is still willing to offer us a path to reconciliation. Through grace, God is willing to forgive our sin and offer us a new relationship. Paul stands in awe of the power of God’s grace and love to bring about this reconciliation. To show how far God is willing to go, God sends the Son as an act of supreme love. One of the key doctrines of Christianity is the atonement. Atonement refers to the reconciliation of two parties who are estranged from each other. In Christianity, this doctrine refers to the restoration of a broken relationship between God and humans that was BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

accomplished by the life and death of Jesus Christ.” 2 A good way to understand the atonement is to break it into its three syllables: at-one-ment. It is God reaching out to us in love and forgiveness and our receiving these through faith. The need for relationship is one of our most basic human needs. To have a full and fulfilling life, we need the opportunity to share life and love with others. We need to know that someone will be there for us in a time of desperate need. We also need opportunities to give love as well as to receive it. In our broken human relationships, we know how painful alienation and estrangement can be. When we are estranged, we desire to be reunited and hunger for the alienation to be healed so that it can thrive again. This yearning for reunion and the restoration of the relationship is a thirst for reconciliation. Just as in human relationships, these needs apply to our relationship with God. The need to restore our broken relationship with God is deep and intense, and the word thirst communicates this intensity. We hunger and thirst for a relationship of love, forgiveness, and grace. When this critical relationship is absent from our lives, our hearts long for it even more. Our thirst for God is a blessing because it leads us to seek reconciliation and to discover that it has already been offered to us as a gift. As it says in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Think about a person from whom you were estranged. How did you THE BLESSINGS OF THIRST

feel? How was the estrangement resolved? What lessons from this experience can be applied to your relationship with God? A DEEPER THIRST JOHN 4:5-42 Like Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, the dialogue in today’s reading is filled with questions, cryptic answers, double entendres, misunderstandings, and insights. The third stanza of the hymn “Woman in the Night” provides an excellent poetic summary of this passage: Woman at the well, question the Messiah, / find your friends and tell; drink your hearts desire! Jesus crossed major social and religious boundaries when he asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water. They were alone together at Jacob’s well. First, it was a social taboo for a man to address a strange woman, especially when she was alone. Second, Jews and Samaritans normally would not speak to one another because they were bitter enemies, as the woman acknowledges in John 4:9. The enmity between these groups had existed over many centuries. Jesus answered the woman’s question with a provocative statement in verse 10: If she knew who Jesus was, she would have asked him for “living water.” By the end of her encounter with Jesus, she would have asked him for living water and would have known his true identity. In Greek, living water is a double entendre. It can also mean “running water.” The woman seized on this latter meaning and thought 27

that what Jesus was offering her was running water, as from a spring, so that she would not have to haul water from the well to her village. Jesus claimed that the water he was offering her would quench her thirst forever (verse 13). He then used the image of an artesian spring in which water gushes up from the ground to the surface. What Jesus meant by living water has been widely debated by biblical scholars. The top candidates are (1) Jesus’ presence, (2) the Holy Spirit, and (3) Jesus’ teachings. Whatever its identity, drinking this water leads to eternal life. The second part of this dialogue begins with Jesus asking the woman to “call your husband, and come back” in verse 16. Jesus already knew she had had five husbands and was now living with a man to whom she was not married. When he told her this, she exclaimed that Jesus was a prophet. Her understanding of Jesus’ identity was moving in the right direction but had not yet moved to recognizing him as the Messiah. The dialogue in verses 20-24 refers to the dispute between Samaritans and Jews about the proper place to worship God. Jewish worship was centered in the Temple in Jerusalem, while Samaritans worshiped on Mount Gerizim. Again, Jesus took her question into a totally unexpected direction and asserted that the place where God is worshiped is irrelevant. Those who worship God will worship “in spirit and truth.” The woman responded to this by telling Jesus that when the Messiah comes, “he will proclaim all things to us.” This foreshadowed her claim 28

in verse 29, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” In verse 26, Jesus tells her plainly that he is the Messiah/ Christ. She immediately ran back to her village and told everyone that she had met the Messiah. The Gospel writer sums up her influence on her village: “Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (verse 39). Thus, she had made the leap from questioning skeptic to energetic evangelist. Verses 31-38 contain an interlude with the disciples after the woman left the well. The disciples urged Jesus to eat, and he began to talk about food as a spiritual symbol of doing God’s will. Then, Jesus launched into a series of sayings about the harvest, again a symbol for doing God’s work. In this image, the disciples are “reapers” of the harvest, which is “gathering fruit for eternal life” (verse 36b). One question that emerges from this passage is, What was the Samaritan woman thirsty for? Since she came to the well to draw water, presumably she was quenching her physical thirst or drawing water to quench the thirst of others. However, meeting Jesus seems to have triggered a deeper kind of thirst—the thirst for spiritual truth. Her questions and comments show that she was seeking deep answers. We are not so different from this woman who lived 2,000 years ago. Have you discovered that meeting someone who is deeply spiritual triggers a thirst within you for knowing more about them? BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

I remember meeting Bishop Desmund Tutu twenty years ago. He preached in a nearby church, and all the town clergy were invited to a lunch with him after the service. As he told stories of oppression and liberation in South Africa, the depth of his faith seemed to radiate from him. Hearing, reading, or meeting spiritual giants is inspiring. The word inspire literally means “in spirit” or “breath into.” When we are inspired, it is as if new life has been breathed into us. We become motivated and energized. After her dialogue with Jesus, the Samaritan woman ran back into her village so quickly, she forgot her water jar. She told all who would listen about this amazing man. Her testimony moved others to meet Jesus for themselves. Paraphrasing what someone has said about evangelism, “it is one thirsty person telling another where to find water.” Another question to ask of this story is, Did the woman ever drink of the living water that Jesus offered her? The story does not tell us directly, so we will need to do some Bible detective work. When she first encountered Jesus, she simply saw him as a Jew. As the conversation went on, she viewed Jesus as a prophet. After the dialogue, she ran into her town and claimed she had met someone who told her everything she had ever done. This last act seems to indicate that she came to believe that Jesus is the Messiah because of her earlier statement that the Mes-

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siah “will proclaim all things to us.” This progressive understanding of Jesus’ identity offers good evidence that she had drunk of the living water she was offered. Again, our experience is not so different, because our understanding of Jesus grows, changes, and evolves throughout our lives. Think back to how you understood Jesus as a child, and compare it to how you see him now. The change can be dramatic. This powerful story offers us opportunities to recognize our thirst for living water and drink deeply of it. The invitation to drink living water is an invitation to abundant life. This invitation can be heard in the words of Isaiah (55:1a, 3a): “Ho, everyone who thirsts, / come to the waters. . . . / Incline your ear, and come to me; / Listen, so that you may live.” Thirst is a blessing when it leads us to the Source of living water. May we recognize the nature of our thirst for abundant life and the One who quenches it. In what ways do you identify with the Samaritan woman? What person has inspired a deeper thirst in you? Why? How has your understanding of Jesus changed over the years? 1

From Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, by Henri J.M. Nouwen (Doubleday, 1975); page 69. 2 From A Handbook of Theological Terms, by Van A. Harvey (Macmillan, 1964); page 33.

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he Blessings of Blindness Scriptures for Lent: The Fourth Sunday 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9

When I do not wear my contact lenses or prescription glasses, I am legally blind. In North America and Europe, legally blind is defined as visual acuity of 20/200 or less in your best eye. Since my vision can be corrected to 20/20, I am fortunate. Without corrective lenses, I would be unable to drive a car, enjoy downhill skiing, or play baseball. In those moments in the morning before I put in my contact lens, I get a taste of what it would be like to suffer from sight impairment; and it is a little scary. Physical blindness is limiting; and when a person is severely blind, adaptive aids are needed to perform everyday activities such as walking and reading. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to be blind. Yet if we are honest with ourselves, we are forced to admit that we all are blind in certain ways. Many of us are blinded by outward appearances so that we do not see inner beauty. Some of us are blind to our faults and failures. Others of us cannot see through an untrue story or ruse. A related form of blindness is the inability to recognize the truth when we see it. THE BLESSINGS OF BLINDNESS

In today’s Scripture passages, we will find different kinds of blindness and different forms of sight. In 1 Samuel, the prophet Samuel is so focused on outward appearances that he cannot see the heart of Israel’s future king. In Ephesians, we encounter light and darkness as metaphors for good and evil. Finally, in the story of the healing of a blind man in John, we will encounter a particularly debilitating form of blindness: spiritual blindness. Blessings emerge as we recognize that we suffer from various kinds of blindness. Once we are able to identify our blindness, we can take corrective action. HEART BLINDNESS 1 SAMUEL 16:1-13

We live in a culture that emphasizes the importance of physical appearance. We spend billions of dollars each year on weight-loss products. We spend billions more on fashion—clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics. Cosmetic surgery is 31

growing in popularity, even among teenagers. We are obsessed with looking the best that we can and are willing to feed this obsession with our hard-earned money. With all this focus on outward appearance, it is easy to overlook “inner” features such as character, courage, and heart. Historians tell us that Abraham Lincoln had an unattractive face. He reportedly grew a beard to hide the acne scars that dotted his cheeks. In today’s appearance-obsessed world, I wonder if Lincoln could be elected to public office. Yet many of us consider him among our greatest presidents. It was Lincoln’s inner qualities—his intelligence, courage, and eloquence—that made him great. The prophet Samuel had anointed Saul as Israel’s first king. Saul was a man of great physical stature and strength. However, Saul turned out to be a bitter disappointment to Samuel. Instead of obeying God’s command to destroy the Amalekites and their cattle, Saul spared their king and kept many of the spoils of victory. When Samuel confronted Saul with this act of disobedience, Saul lied to him and Samuel was outraged (1 Samuel 15:13-23). He told Saul that the Lord had rejected him as king (15:23). Once Saul had been rejected, Israel was in need of a new king. The Lord told Samuel to fill his horn with oil for anointing a new king and to travel to Bethlehem to meet Jesse and his sons (16:1). Samuel was afraid that Saul would figure out what he was up to, so the Lord gave Samuel a plan to elude 32

discovery. He was to take a bull with him for sacrifice and invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice (verses 1-3). When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid of him. Samuel reassured them that he had come “peaceably” (verses 4-5). He then consecrated (“sanctified”) Jesse and his sons in an unknown purification ritual. The sacrifice was an excuse for Samuel to look upon Jesse’s sons to see which one the Lord would chose as Saul’s replacement as Israel’s king. Samuel looked at each of Jesse’s sons, from the eldest to the youngest. Samuel presumes that the eldest, Eliab, would be the Lord’s choice because of his physical strength and height. However, in rejecting Saul, the physical appearance standard was also rejected. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him [Eliab]; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (verse 7). Using this new standard, each of Jesse’s seven older sons was turned down one after another. Finally, Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons. Jesse replies that his youngest son, David, was tending to the sheep. Samuel commanded Jesse to send for David, which he did. When David arrived, he was described as “ruddy” and handsome, having “beautiful eyes.” The Hebrew word for “ruddy” is used only here and in Esau’s description. It likely refers to the reddish color of David’s hair.1 The Lord told Samuel that David would be Israel’s king, and BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

Samuel anointed him with oil. During the anointing, the Lord’s Spirit came “mightily” upon David, bestowing upon him the gifts needed to rule as king (verse 13). This story of David being chosen as king is helpful for us. Note that Samuel’s assumption that Jesse’s eldest son, who was likely tall and strong, would be chosen by the Lord was proven wrong. We learn that God looks on the heart, seeing the genuine person within. Thus, the first thing we learn from this story is that outward appearances are much less important than inner qualities of character. Is it possible for us to see beyond the physical appearance of a person and comprehend their inner self? How can we overcome our “heart blindness”? One correction for this form of blindness is to take the time to get to know a person. When we take time to see how a person acts and to listen to what they say, we will often discover that outward appearances can be misleading. One of the keys to grasping the character of someone is to genuinely listen to him or her. Genuine listening means being fully present to them so that we can focus not only on their words but what we might call “the music behind the words.” The word music in this phrase means tuning into the feelings and emotions being expressed through words. This is a way of listening to the heart of a person. To listen to another’s heart involves listening with our own heart. This thought is echoed in Antoine St. Exupery’s fable The Little Prince, when the wise fox says to the little .

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prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”2 All of the essential things about a person—character, personality, emotions, deepest self—are invisible until they are seen or heard. To listen with one’s heart is to know another in a deeper way. Unlike God, who can look into our hearts and know us completely, we must rely on the human gift of deep listening to know the genuine inner person. Cultivating the God-given gift of listening will serve us well in seeing the genuine, authentic person. When we do this, we are no longer blinded by how they appear but can see who they are. When have you judged a person by their appearance and later discovered you were wrong? When has someone listened to you and “heard” you? How might you offer this gift to someone you know?

THE BLINDNESS OF DARKNESS EPHESIANS 5:8-14 As a youth, I loved to explore caves. I rarely passed up an opportunity to tour a cave whenever I was near one. One time, I toured a cave while on vacation in Missouri. Although I cannot remember its name, what I do remember is the guide turning off his flashlight when we were deep inside. This was my first experience of total darkness. I could not see my 33

hand as I held it directly in front of my face! It was an eerie experience. When we are in the dark, we are all blind. In the Bible, darkness is often used as a metaphor. Darkness can stand for ignorance, evil, and separation from God. In the Book of Job, the word darkness often refers to Job’s depression over his suffering. We, too, use darkness symbolically. When someone is unaware of something, we say, “He is in the dark.” Like Job, we also connect being depressed with darkness, as evidenced by William Styron’s memoir of depression, Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. Darkness is also associated with fear, as in this line from an ancient prayer asking for deliverance from “things that go bump in the night.” We fear darkness because it represents that which is hidden and unknown. In Ephesians, darkness is also used as a metaphor. Here, darkness symbolizes immorality and disobedience to God. In 5:3-7, the verses preceding our passage, there is a list of vices associated with darkness: impurity, greed, vulgar talk, fornication, and idolatry. This section ends with the exhortation, “Therefore, do not be associated with them” (verses 7). In verse 8, the Ephesians are reminded that they were once darkness but now are light. Note that the author does not say “you were in darkness” but rather “you were darkness” (emphasis added). The latter is a more powerful use of the darkness metaphor and shows the radical difference between the “old self” and the “new self” in Christ (4:22-23). Because they are no longer darkness, they are admonished to “live 34

as children of light” (5:8). Living as children of light means doing what is “good and right and true” and what is pleasing to God (verses 9-10). Therefore, it means completely separating oneself from the “unfruitful works of darkness” (verse 11). Rather, the Christian is to expose these works of darkness. This passage does not say how this exposure is to occur. However, it does not seem to mean to expose the wrongdoing of others but to expose what needs to be corrected in oneself. The focus here is on the actions of the Christian and not on what others are doing. In driving, we learn to quickly glance over our right shoulder when changing lanes because there is a “blind spot” in the rearview mirror. We have personal blind spots as well, areas of our self that we cannot or will not see. One such blind spot is the inability or unwillingness to see our own faults and sins. How easy it is to see the faults of others. Jesus acknowledged this in his famous question: “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Luke 6:41). Jesus’ admonition is to first take the log out of your own eye, and “then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” So how do we take the log out of our own eye? One way is to take a rigorous moral inventory of oneself. This is an important step in Twelve-Step programs and requires honesty and courage. It requires courage because it means facing those aspects of ourselves that we would rather keep hidden and secret. It means admitting past wrongs as well as present problems. In the words of Ephesians, it means BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

coming out of the darkness into the exposure of light. We do something similar to a moral inventory when we participate in a prayer of confession during a worship service. A traditional prayer of confession from the former Evangelical United Brethren and former Methodist churches does this with great power: “We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, / Which we from time to time most grievously have committed, / By thought, word and deed against thy divine majesty.”3 We need not fear bringing to light our “manifold sins” because the context for confession is the grace and forgiveness of God. This grace enables us to be honest with ourselves because God already knows our hearts and our secret desires. If we keep our wrongdoing secret, hidden from the light of honesty, we remain in darkness. By acknowledging our sins, we open ourselves to receive the healing light of God’s forgiveness. Often, staying in the dark concerning our faults and failures is more comfortable than bringing such things to light. Also, the human capacity for self-deception and self-justification keeps us from being honest with ourselves. Yet as long as these things remain hidden in the darkness, we live a diminished life. Further, keeping these negative things about ourselves hidden and repressed can be potentially harmful, like an unhealed wound. Hope and healing exists for the blindness of darkness. As Ephesians 5:9 says, “For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.” Living in the THE BLESSINGS OF BLINDNESS

light of God’s forgiveness is to enjoy an abundant life of love, joy, and peace. As it says in John 3:21, “But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” We are called to reject the darkness of self-deception and to live as children of light. We follow the One who was known as the light of the world. When we follow the true light, then we are no longer blind but can see clearly who we are and the spiritual path we are called to travel. What are barriers you need to overcome in being honest with yourself? In what ways is staying in the dark more comfortable than coming into the light of scrutiny? How have you experienced the healing light of God’s grace and forgiveness? SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS JOHN 9 In this story of a blind man receiving his sight, we encounter different kinds of blindness and different forms of sight. The story begins with Jesus’ disciples demonstrating their blindness when they asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:1). Jesus used their misunderstanding to teach them about the nature of blindness or darkness in contrast to sight or light. He then proclaimed, “I am the light of the world” (verse 5b). Two major movements emerge in this story, each going in opposite 35

directions. One movement is the increasing sight of the blind man concerning the identity of Jesus. After he received his sight through Jesus’ healing, his neighbors asked him about how his eyes were opened. He replied, “The man called Jesus made mud . . . [and] spread it on my eyes” (verse 11). When the Pharisees questioned the healed blind man, some of them told the man that Jesus was a sinner because he did not observe the sabbath. When they asked him about whom he thought Jesus was, the man answered, “He is a prophet” (verse 17b). When the healed blind man was questioned a second time by the Pharisees, he said of Jesus, “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (verse 33). In the final scene of this passage, the healed man saw Jesus once again. In their brief conversation, Jesus revealed that he is the Son of Man, a messianic title. He told the man, “You have seen him [Son of Man]” (verse 37). Then the healed man replied, “Lord, I believe” and worshiped Jesus (verse 38). At this point, the formerly blind man understood (“saw”) Jesus’ true identity and therefore had the form of sight called faith. The second major movement in the passage is the progressive blindness of some of the Pharisees. After hearing of the healing of the blind man, they began an investigation. When the healed man told them what happened, some of them expressed doubt about Jesus, saying, “This man is not from God” (verse 16a). After interviewing the healed man’s parents, they called the man back to question him a second 36

time. This time they told him, “We know that this man [Jesus] is a sinner” (verse 24b). Further, they said of Jesus, “We do not know where he comes from” (verse 29b). After the healed man confessed his faith in Jesus, some of the Pharisees were standing near Jesus when he said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind” (verse 39). The Pharisees asked him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” to which Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (verses 40-41). There are none so blind as those who refuse to see, and some of the Pharisees exemplified this kind of blindness. They refused to see the truth about who Jesus is and what he came to do. In John’s Gospel, the ultimate form of blindness is the refusal to see that Jesus is the Christ. At the heart of this kind of blindness is an impairment of insight. They had already judged Jesus to be a sinner because he challenged sabbath laws. Therefore, they refused to believe even the possibility that he could be the Christ, the Messiah. One kind of spiritual blindness is prejudice. To be prejudiced toward a person or a group of people is to “pre-judge” them. We make up our mind about them on the basis of insufficient or flawed information. Prejudice is an insidious form of blindness because it fosters stereotyping, hatred, and even violence. Ultimately, prejudice against Jesus led to his arrest, trial, and execution. Another form of spiritual blindness is being unable or unwilling to BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

see what is holy and sacred in the surrounding world. In this story, some of the Pharisees were unable to see the presence and power of God in Jesus because they were so focused on his challenge to the sabbath laws. This impairment of sight is similar to myopia (nearsightedness). Jesus had healed a man on the sabbath (5:1-18). This healing was considered work and therefore was a violation of the commandment to keep the sabbath holy. Yet as Jesus pointed out elsewhere, “the sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Because they were so focused on the letter of the Law, they could not see the spirit of the Law. Spiritual blindness can afflict us when we become so focused on the requirements of the institutional church that we forget the main purpose of the community of faith. There is a proverbial story about the merger of two small churches into a single church. Two adult classes, each from a different church, decided to merge as well. They called themselves the Friendship Class. When it came time to elect class officers, there was a major disagreement about how many officers there should be. The dispute became so acrimonious that the Friendship Class split back into two separate classes! Spiritual blindness is also evident when we utter the words, “We’ve never done it that way before.” When we are too invested in doing things in a church the way we have always done them, then we close ourselves off to new ideas and fresh creativity. How many new members of a congregaTHE BLESSINGS OF BLINDNESS

tion become discouraged when they get into the leadership structure of a church only to find an unwillingness to change? Like some of the Pharisees, we can be blind to God working in new ways that we do not expect. What is a cure for spiritual blindness? Since this form of blindness is a refusal to see rather than an inability to see, what we need to do is to open our eyes. The familiar hymn says, “Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me. . . . / Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.” Openness and receptivity to newness is a sign of sight and insight. When our eyes are closed because of prejudice, legalism, or stubbornness, we are indeed blind. John Newton, the author of the hymn “Amazing Grace,” was a slaveship captain who was blind to the inhumanity of what he was doing. One day, he became aware of the horrors of slavery. He eventually resigned his ship captaincy and dedicated himself to living a religious life. After being influenced by the great preacher George Whitfield as well as by John Wesley, he was ordained as an Anglican priest. The words of “Amazing Grace” describe Newton’s spiritual journey. When he wrote, “Was blind, but now I see,” he was describing the recovery of his spiritual sight. Newton was not only able to see his own wretchedness but also God’s amazing grace. We are fortunate if we are honest and open enough to become aware of the ways that we are blind. For only those who know they are blind have the possibility of opening their eyes and seeing. 37

What forms of blindness have you experienced? How were your eyes opened? How does recognizing your blind spots help you experience God’s grace and presence?

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1

From The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 2; page 968. 2 From The Little Prince, by Antoine de St. Exupery (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1943); page 70.

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he Blessings of Death Scriptures for Lent: The Fifth Sunday Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45

At some point in life, all of us face the reality of death. Physical death is most often what we mean by death. The reality of physical death usually comes through the death of a loved one. The death of someone close to us is a painful, sometimes devastating, loss. It takes time to heal the wound called grief. Even though death is inevitable, we experience its pain when it occurs. Death, however, comes to us in different guises. In addition to physical death are other kinds of losses. We move from one city to another. This involves saying goodbye to friends and a familiar place. Someone has called divorce the “death of a marriage.” The end of any close relationship feels like a death. Even the loss of a prized possession is a kind of death. These kinds of deaths also cause us to grieve for what or who was lost. Nobody welcomes death in any of the above forms. In fact, death is often an object of fear and dread. So how can death be a blessing in disguise? Hidden in the experience of death is a longing for new life. THE BLESSINGS OF DEATH

In each of the Scripture passages in this study we will encounter a different form of death. In Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, we will enter into the hopelessness of Israel being cut off from its homeland. In Paul’s words about flesh and Spirit, we will explore the form of death called “fleshly existence.” In the Gospel passage, we will see different reactions to the physical death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus. In this study, we will see how death paradoxically leads to hope, resurrection, and new life. DEATH AS DESPAIR EZEKIEL 37:1-14 Ezekiel was a priest who lived in Jerusalem in a tumultuous time. The northern kingdom of Israel had fallen to Assyria in 722 B.C. The southern kingdom of Judah was about to experience a similar fate by falling to the Babylonians. In 597 B.C., the Babylonians conquered the city and took the king and the first group of leading citizens into exile in Babylon. Ezekiel was included in this first group of exiles. 39

During this period, Ezekiel delivered powerful prophetic oracles warning of impending destruction. In 587 B.C., the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple; and they deported the second group of its people to Babylon. Jeremiah 52:28-30 tells about these deportations as well as a third one in 581 B.C. The people remained in Babylon for fifty years. This period, called the Exile, is described as one of the darkest and most difficult times in Hebrew history. Psalm 137:1, 3a, 4 laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the Exile. The psalm echoes the disappointment, grief, and despair of those forced to live in exile in Babylon. Ezekiel prophesied from 593 B.C. until about 571 B.C. while he was exiled in Babylon. He used vibrant images to communicate his prophetic oracles. His vision of the valley of dry bones is an excellent example of his poetic power. Like the prophets before him, he brought the Word of God to bear upon the situation of Judean society. Ezekiel’s message was a simple one: Repent and return to God’s ways, or face the consequences. Many of his prophecies are oracles of doom not only on Judah but upon foreign powers. However, the valley of the dry bones is an uplifting and hopeful vision of the end of the Exile and the return home. The vision begins with Ezekiel being transported into a valley full of bones (Ezekiel 37:1). The vision describes a battlefield filled with the bleached bones representing a dead Israel after the invasion of the Babylonians. The dryness of the 40

bones seems to be a metaphor for the depth of the Judeans’ despair (verse 2). The question God asked Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” was a way of asking, “Can there be any hope for those in exile?” Ezekiel was then commanded to “prophesy to these bones” (verse 4). God described how these bones would be transformed into living beings. God’s breath/Spirit would enter the bones; and then sinews, flesh, and skin would grow on them. God’s breath/Spirit would give them life (verses 5-6). Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded, and the words were enacted. The dry bones came together and were covered with flesh and skin. However, these fleshcovered bones still were without life. So Ezekiel was commanded to “prophesy to the breath” (verse 9). The result was that the creatures formed from the bones came alive, and he was standing before a “vast multitude” (verse 10). This vision receives an interpretation in verses 11-14. “The house of Israel” represented by the bones is a reference to the Judeans. The cry of the exiles is given voice here: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely”(verse 11). The image shifts in verses 12-14 from bones lying in a valley to bones buried in graves. The promise here is that God would bring the people back to the land of Israel. This hopeful vision is of a nation reunited, restored, and infused with the lifegiving power of God’s Spirit. Biographers of Winston Churchill have referred to the years 1932–40 as his “wilderness years.”1 During BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

these years, Churchill had no place in Parliament, having lost an election contest for a parliamentary seat. Neither was he offered any position in the ruling government during this time. He was out of favor and out of power. During this time he wrote prodigiously and also painted to stave off periods of depression (which he called his “black dog”).2 Looking back over our lives, we will likely see similar times that were a struggle to survive. These might be times of grieving after the loss of a loved one or dry periods of a lack of energy or creativity. As a writer, I have experienced times when my creativity seemed to dry up and the words would not come. This is popularly known as writer’s block. However, non-writers can experience a similar lack of creative energy. Perhaps we should call this “life block.” The Exile was a dry-bones time for the house of Israel. They were cut off from their beloved homeland, and they were made to live in a different nation and culture with a different religion. Ezekiel’s vision captures the depth of their despair: “Our hope is lost; we are cut off completely” (verse 11). More than likely, they felt cut off from God. Despair is a kind of living death. When in despair, we can still breathe, eat, and sleep. However, when we experience the dryness of despair, we are just going through the motions of life. Despair sucks the life out of us and saps our ability to enjoy life. Ezekiel prophesied the antidote for the Hebrews’ despair: the lifegiving Spirit of God. The Hebrew THE BLESSINGS OF DEATH

word for “breath” also means “spirit.” God’s breath—God’s Spirit—makes the dry bones of despair come to life. When we ask ourselves the question, Can these bones live? the answer is a resounding yes! In our dry, wilderness times, the Spirit of God breathes upon us, bringing hope and therefore bringing life. What have been the “dry-bones” times in your life? How did God breathe life into you? What gives you hope in times of despair? DEATH IN THE FLESH AND LIFE IN THE SPIRIT ROMANS 8:6-11 As we saw in Chapter 3, “The Blessings of Thirst,” the key question Paul grappled with in his Letter to the Romans was, How can we be reconciled to God? The relationship God intended for humanity had been broken by sin and was in need of healing. Paul asserted that we are reconciled to God by the free and undeserved gift of God’s grace. When we receive this gift by faith, our broken relationship with God is healed. In Romans 8, Paul focuses on the role of the Spirit in this process of reconciliation. Even though verses 1-5 are not part of the lectionary reading, it provides the context in which to better understand verses 6-11. In the first five verses of Chapter 8, Paul again refers to the inability of the Law to bring about our salvation. The Law (embodied in the Torah), while good and just, can 41

only expose our sin. The Law itself cannot cause us to obey it; we need God’s help in the form of the Spirit to fulfill the intention of the Law. Further, the Law is “weakened by the flesh” (verse 3). For Paul, the terms Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, and Holy Spirit describe the presence and power of God in our lives. In verses 1-5, there is a dichotomy between Spirit and flesh that carries over into verses 6-11. By flesh, Paul means humans under the power or control of sin. Fleshly existence is living in alienation from God, while life in the Spirit is living in a right relationship with God. In verses 4-5, he admonishes his readers to walk in the Spirit and to live “according to the Spirit.” In verse 6, this dualism of flesh and Spirit is expressed in terms of death and life. Paul said “set the mind on” as a way of speaking about a person’s intention. The mind is that part of the self that wills and decides. As humans we have the freedom to make choices and decisions about how we will live. Here, death means alienation from God; and life means reconciliation with God. Paul expands this thought in verses 7-8 by saying that setting one’s mind on the flesh is “hostile to God” and is a form of rebellion against God’s law. Paul reminds his readers of their new relationship with God in verses 9-11. They had turned away from the flesh and were now “in the Spirit” (verse 9). God’s Spirit dwelled within them. The benefits of the indwelling Spirit are described in verses 10-11. The Spirit brings new life to believers. This power of new life is the same power that was 42

present in the Resurrection, raising Jesus to new and eternal life. Someone has said that the world can be divided into two kinds of people: those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who do not. Paul falls into the former group. He sees two options in life: to live a fleshly existence or to live in the Spirit. In verse 13a, he expresses the consequences of this first option in stark terms: “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die.” Why does living according to the flesh mean death? After all, those who live in this way are physically alive. They go to work, eat, sleep, and play. By death, Paul means spiritual death, a state of being cut off from the Source and Power of life and new life. Death in this sense is to be alienated from God. In Paul’s view, all of us have experienced fleshly existence at some point in our lives. He writes in 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Although there are many consequences of spiritual death, I will focus on three. First, when we are alienated from God, we are more likely to be self-centered rather than self-giving. Pride and idolatry are two prominent biblical sins. Pride is putting self above others, while idolatry is putting oneself above God. At the heart of both of these forms of sin is selfishness. We live in a “me-first” society. Self-reliance and individualism are values heralded by our culture. However, the gospel calls us to a “we-together” community. One of the hallmarks of a life in the Spirit is self-giving love. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul points to love as the greatest BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

spiritual gift and ranks it above faith and hope. New life is expressed in humble, self-giving, compassionate love. Second, a consequence of spiritual death is hopelessness. As we saw in the previous section, “Death as Despair,” when the Hebrews were cut off from God, they felt that their hope was lost. When we lack hope, we lack motivation and energy. We look into a dark future and say, “Why bother?” Hopelessness sucks the life out of us. When we are connected with God’s Spirit within us, hope wells up in us. It is as if God breathes new life into us and the future looks bright and welcoming. To live hopefully is to live with purpose, passion, and energy. Hope is the lifeblood of the Christian life. To live in the Spirit is to be alive with hope for new life now and eternal life after death. Third, another consequence of fleshly existence is inner turmoil. Paul described his own inner conflict in Romans 7:14-25. He lamented that he could not do what he wanted to do and ended up doing the very thing he hated. Rather than doing the good he wanted to do, he did the evil that he did not want to do. Paul described this inner turmoil as war. Such inner conflict can tear us apart and leave us feeling terrible about ourselves and our life. In contrast, life in the Spirit results in the resolution of this inner conflict and a life of peace with God. In the midst of his struggle Paul asked, “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” His answer is, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ THE BLESSINGS OF DEATH

our Lord!” (7:24-25). When we are at peace with God, our hearts and souls are no longer divided but are whole. Thus, the consequences of fleshly existence and spiritual death are transformed by a life in the Spirit. Selfishness becomes self-giving, despair is turned into hope, and inner turmoil is resolved by God’s gift of inner peace. In what ways have you experienced fleshly experience as it is defined above? What moments in your life have you felt most alive? PHYSICAL DEATH JOHN 11:1-45 The story of the death and raising of Lazarus is one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible. In this story we encounter nail-biting suspense, fascinating dialogue, deep emotions, and well-drawn characters. For John, this story was a drama of the tragedy of death and the triumph of new life. At the beginning we learn that Lazarus was ill. We also learn that Jesus loved Lazarus as well as his sisters, Mary and Martha. When Jesus heard of Lazarus’s illness, he did not rush to his bedside. Rather, he stayed for two more days. John viewed this delay as purposeful, as Jesus said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory” (John 11:4a). In verses 7-16, there is a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples about going to Bethany. The disciples warned Jesus of the risks of going there; but he used this as a teaching moment about walking 43

in the light, a metaphor for God’s presence and glory (verses 9-10; see also 8:12). Jesus told the disciples that Lazarus had “fallen asleep.” However, when they failed to understand, he told them “Lazarus is dead” (11:14). Then Jesus reiterated that Lazarus’s death would reveal the glory of God and result in belief. In verses 17-27, Jesus arrives in Bethany. Lazarus had been dead for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she ran out on the road to meet him. She said somewhat accusingly that if Jesus had been there, her brother would still be alive. Jesus reassured her that Lazarus would rise again. Mary thought that Jesus was speaking of the “resurrection on the last day.” Jesus used her misunderstanding as another teaching moment and told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (verse 25). Martha responded by making a confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah (verse 27). Mary is the next sister to have a conversation with Jesus. Like Martha, she told him that if he had been there, Jesus could have saved him. This was an expression of faith in Jesus’ power. When Jesus saw her weeping, he was also moved to tears. John says that Jesus was “greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved” (verse 33). Some of the Jews who had come to comfort Mary and Martha made a veiled statement of faith in Jesus: “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (verse 37). The scene of Lazarus’s raising is one of high drama (verses 38-44). 44

Jesus’ authority was on display as he offered the first of three commands: “Take away the stone” (verse 39). Martha objected because after three days in a tomb, Lazarus’s body would stink due to decomposition. Jesus reminded her of her expression of faith earlier. Jesus’ prayer was said aloud so that all would overhear it and believe that God is the source of Jesus’ power. Jesus issued a second command: “Lazarus, come out!” (verse 43). After Lazarus walked out of the tomb, a third command was given: “Unbind him, and let him go” (verse 44). The drama ended with the comment that many believed in Jesus after witnessing this amazing sign (verse 45). The story of the raising of Lazarus has important lessons to teach about physical death. First, this story shows that physical death is inevitable and inescapable. A theme that runs throughout this story is that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus from dying if he had been there. Jesus himself says this in verse 15. Martha and Mary echoed this belief in verses 21 and 32. Those accompanying Mary said this same thing in the form of a question in verse 37. Yet the best Jesus could have done was to delay Lazarus’s death. Lazarus was raised. Jesus provided Lazarus with more time, but death would still take Lazarus at the end of his life. Even more relevant to death’s inevitability was that Jesus would soon die on a cross. Not even Jesus escaped the reality of physical death. Second, the death of a loved one is an appropriate time to grieve. Lazarus’s death devastated BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

his sisters. They obviously loved him deeply, and they responded to this loss with deep grief. To grieve is natural and normal. Note that Jesus wept with Mary in front of Lazarus’s tomb. Even Jesus felt the painful loss of the death of a beloved friend. The grief process is the way that the wound of death heals. After a death of someone close to us, we experience many different emotions: sorrow, anger, guilt, and emotional pain. Expressing these emotions is healthy. Bottling them up risks having them come to the surface in inappropriate and even destructive ways. Knowing that others grieve with us can be comforting. From this story, we see a Jesus who knows our pain and grieves with us. Over time, our grief will heal and we can remember our loved one with less intense pain over their loss. A third lesson that emerges from this story is that out of death comes new life. Lazarus’s raising is a powerful sign of the Easter message of resurrection and new life. However, what happens to Lazarus in this story is not resurrection. Rather, it is resuscitation. As I said above, Lazarus was raised only to die again. His physical death was only delayed, not conquered. In John’s Gospel, the raising of Lazarus is viewed as a sign. It is the eighth and final sign in a series that began in 2:1-12 with the changing of water into wine at the

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wedding at Cana. The healing of the blind man in Chapter 9 was another of these signs. Because these are signs, they point beyond themselves to the power and glory of God. For John, Jesus is no miracle worker; rather, Jesus is the one who reveals God’s glory. Therefore, the sign of new life embodied in the Lazarus story is expressed in 11:25-26. Jesus viewed Lazarus’s death as a blessing because it provided an opportunity to reveal the power and glory of God. When he told the disciples that Lazarus was dead, he added, “For your sake I am glad I was not there [to save Lazarus], so that you may believe” (verse 15). At the conclusion of the story we learn that many who accompanied Mary to Lazarus’s tomb also believed in Jesus (verse 45). Not only can new life come out of death, so can the faith that leads to eternal life. When have you experienced the blessing of life in the midst of death in your life or in the life of someone close to you? How did you experience the presence and glory of God? 1

From Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches, selected by Winston S. Churchill (Hyperion Books, 2003); page 95. 2 From Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life, by Gretchen Rubin (Random House, 2004); page 82.

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he Blessings of the Cross Scriptures for Lent: The Sixth Sunday Isaiah 50:4-9a Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 27:11-54

We have now come to the ultimate blessing in disguise: the cross. As I wrote in the introduction, the cross on which Jesus suffered and died seems much more like a curse than it does a blessing. The cross was an instrument of torture and, in Jesus’ case, murder of an innocent man. Yet God’s power and love transforms the cross into a sign of new life and triumph over death. However, the cross was not exclusive to Jesus. As Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 16:24: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” As Jesus’ followers, we are called to cross-bearing. We are not called to bear Jesus’ cross but our own crosses. Our cross may be one of suffering and death, as Jesus’ cross was. However, our challenge is to discover the identity of our own cross and to bear it faithfully. Today’s study will consider three different possibilities for crossbearing. In the Old Testament passage, we will explore the notion of the suffering servant and the concept THE BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

of servanthood. In the passage from Philippians, we will look at the idea of kenosis, a Greek word meaning “selfemptying.” The Gospel passage contains a major portion of the Passion story, the account of Jesus’ suffering and death on a cross. Through the Passion story we will witness the cross as an expression of selfgiving love. The promise of our faith is that when we take up our cross and bear it faithfully, we will receive abundant life. The great paradox of the Christian faith is that when we give of ourselves in love, we experience genuine and authentic life. This is why the cross is the ultimate blessing. THE CROSS OF SERVANTHOOD ISAIAH 50:4-9a One of the key figures of Isaiah 40–55 is God’s servant. These chapters prophesy the end of the fifty-year Exile and the return home. These chapters, written 47

toward the end of the Exile, contain four sections called servant songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13– 53:12). These songs describe the suffering and vindication of God’s faithful servant. Even though Isaiah uses powerful poetry to describe the servant’s sufferings and redemptive role, the identity of the servant is not revealed. Commentators offer three options for the servant’s identity: (1) a particular individual, (2) the nation of Israel, (3) a group of the faithful within Israel. Some commentators argue that the servant is “all of the above.” Neither do we know the source of or reason for the affliction endured by the servant. The Gospel writers found in these servant songs a portrayal of Jesus’ suffering and death. The songs hold great meaning for us as we reflect on the servant ministry of Jesus who willingly suffered on our behalf. Isaiah 50:4-9a expresses a strong tone of confidence and hope in spite of suffering. It points to God as the one who gives what is needed to teach those who are weary, who teaches the servant how to listen, and who helps the servant endure abuse (verses 4-6). This servant song may rightly be called a psalm of confidence in and praise of God. The sovereign name of God is mentioned in four of the six verses (verses 4, 5, 7, 9). There are no complaints to God for causing the distress as we see in Jeremiah 15:18 and 20:7. Neither does it blame God for forgetting about or forsaking the servant, as we see in Lamentations 5:20. The song contains no call or cry to God to correct wrongs, rather it offers 48

the awareness that God is faithful in the midst of distress. God pays attention to the servant and offers strength, and the strength is for a reason. This servant song offers a powerful witness of serving others in all circumstances as one serves God. The song begins by describing a teacher who sustains the weary with a word of hope (Isaiah 50:4). However, the teacher is also a learner, for he listens “as those who are taught.” His ability to listen for God’s word is an act of obedience. The servant’s instruction also includes undergoing suffering for God’s sake (verse 6). Rather than trying to escape humiliation, the servant willingly endures beatings, pain, and insults. The reason the servant is able to endure such pain and suffering is found in verse 7: “The Lord GOD helps me.” Disgrace is transformed into vindication because God is with him. Thus, the servant faces suffering with confidence, trusting that he is doing so in the service of God. In verses 8-9a, a courtroom scene is evoked. The series of questions asked are challenges of the servant to his adversaries, the ones who are doing their best to humiliate him. Because God as the divine Judge has already vindicated the servant, no human can find him guilty. Verses 4-9 help us understand that in tough situations, we too can trust that God will give us what we need to get through. Not only will God be with us, strengthen us, and support us, God will empower us to offer hope to others no matter what circumstances we may have to endure. As God’s servants, BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

we too can serve others, even when it may seem challenging or difficult to do so. Taking a servant role is challenging at anytime, even when we are not in the midst of our own suffering. If we were asked to make a list of the most desired professions, I doubt that servant would be on any of our lists. In our modern culture, the idea of serving has negative baggage. We associate the word servant with menial tasks and do not like to think of ourselves as being subservient to others. To serve others means putting their needs above our own. Servanthood seems, well, so humble. The essence of being a servant is to give of yourself. To serve is to give of our time, effort, and resources for the good of others. The motivations and attitudes with which we serve are critical. For example, when eating in a restaurant the server can make the difference between an enjoyable meal and one that is unpleasant. A happy and willing server will enhance dining, while a resentful and grudging server makes us want to leave as soon as possible. This applies to most every kind of service; when we are willing servants, we are better servants. When we look at Jesus’ life and ministry, we see a person who took the idea of serving to its extreme. He served those who were in need of healing with compassion and humility. In John’s Gospel, Jesus gives a poignant example of being a servant when he washes his disciples’ feet (John 13:1-20). When we look at what he endured in his THE BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

arrest, trial, and crucifixion, we see again as we saw in Isaiah 50:4-9 the pattern of suffering for others as a servant of God. The great promise and paradox of the servant song and of the witness of Jesus is that when we give ourselves in love for others, we will receive abundant life. Bearing the cross of servanthood is a blessing because it is the path to new and abundant life. When have you felt the supporting presence of God in difficult times? How do you think your trust in God during tough times might offer help and hope to the weary? How might you serve others as God’s servant during the week ahead? THE CROSS OF SELF-EMPTYING PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 The idea of emptying is looked upon as a negative in our culture. We are a culture that values fullness and abundance. We do not want emptiness and consider it a form of deprivation or even punishment. We view emptiness as something waiting to be filled, so we fill our lives with projects, activities, and entertainment so we will not have to experience emptiness. Yet a certain kind of emptiness is required of us if we are to follow Christ. In today’s Epistle passage, Paul describes emptying in relation to Christ. The Greek word he uses in Philippians 2:7 is kenosis, which is usually translated as “emptying” or “self-emptying.” In this context, 49

Paul is portraying Christ as one who has emptied himself in order to become fully human. The concept of self-emptying is a key to understanding what Paul meant when he encouraged the Philippians in verse 5 to have the “same mind” that was in Christ. Translators differ in how they render this verse. A literal translation is, “Think this among you which was also in Christ Jesus.”1 The New International Version renders this verse, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”2 What Paul seems to have been asking was for the Philippians to have the same mind-set they had seen in Christ—one of humility and selfgiving love. In verses 6-11, scholars believe that Paul is quoting from an early Christian hymn to describe the mind that was in Christ. The reasons they believe this is a hymn is because of its poetry and that the language is different from Paul’s own. Nowhere else in Paul’s letters can you find concepts such as “form of God,” “emptied himself” and “form of a slave” used. This hymn has two distinct parts. Verses 6-8 can be viewed in terms of descending. The hymn begins with a Christ who is equal to God. He then “emptied himself / taking the from of a slave / being born in human likeness.” Thus, Christ, who is equal to God, becomes equal to humans. In these verses we have a description of the free surrender to human form.” The low point of the descending part of the hymn comes in verse 8, where Christ, who was in human form, humbled himself and accepted death on a cross. 50

The second part of the hymn, verses 9-11, can be understood in terms of ascending. These verses describe a dramatic reversal. Because Christ was willing to empty himself and become human, God has exalted him to a place of greatest honor. Because he humbled himself in death, Christ received the highest name: Lord. Even more, he will receive the homage and praise due his exalted status as “every knee should bend” and “every tongue confess” that Christ is Lord. In a proverbial Zen Buddhist story, Japanese master Nan-in was visited by a university professor to learn about Zen. Nan-in began to serve him tea. He poured his guest’s cup full and then kept pouring. As the professor watched the tea overflow, he could no longer keep quiet. “It is overfull. No more will go in!” Nan-in replied, “Like this cup you are full of your opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”3 The story points to an important dimension of emptiness: receptivity. Like the professor in the story, we are often so full of willfulness and self-concern that there is little room for anything else. To be receptive is to be open and willing to receive what is offered. Faith is a form of receptivity, for it involves openness to a relationship of love and trust in God. If we are too full of ourselves, where is there room for God? One of the signs that we are full of ourselves is the sheer busyness of our lives. We fill our days to the brim with so many things that we fall into bed exhausted at night. We BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

are always on the go, leaving us no time for meditation, prayer, or time alone with God. We are overscheduled and overextended. Is such fervent activity a way of avoiding emptiness? Are we afraid that if we are empty and receptive there will not be something to fill us? Why do we believe that we are the only ones who can fill our deepest needs? The kind of emptiness we are called to is not the same as that of Christ, who emptied himself of his divinity. Rather, we are called to empty ourselves of those things that stand in the way of a trusting and loving relationship with God. What are these obstacles? One obstacle is our egos. When we are living to feed our egos, we eventually discover that the ego is insatiable. What feeds the ego? Things such as the recognition or adoration of others, winning a competition, success, financial rewards, and the exercise of power. While none of these things are bad in themselves, when they become our priority then we are too full of ourselves. The things that feed our souls are much different from those that feed our egos. What feeds the soul? Time alone with God, silence, prayer, communing with God in nature, humility, and deep joy. Such things require openness and receptivity. For example, prayer is not just telling God what we want or desire, it is listening to God. If prayer is a one-way conversation, then we are too full and need to empty ourselves. Silence requires a kind of emptiness as well. If we are always speaking, then how can there be silence? In describing Christ’s self-emptying, Paul points to his humility (verse 8). THE BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

On the surface, humility can seem weak when compared with selfconfident pride. In our world, those who promote themselves and sing their own praises seem to reap the rewards in business and politics. Yet there are millions of people, humbly living quiet lives of love and compassion. These are persons who are making a positive difference in our world, even though they do not receive recognition or material reward. They are living Christ-like lives not in public glory but in private integrity. Humility is a form of self-emptying because it requires us to let go of our need for fame, fortune, and power. The Latin root for humility is humus, which means “earth” or “dirt.” Ironically, this same word is the root word for humanity. When we empty ourselves of pride and pretension, we are then able to be filled with love and compassion. Christ has pioneered the way to self-emptying; our challenge is to follow. In what ways are you too full? What does self-emptying mean to you? When have you emptied yourself in order to draw closer to God and to the world? THE CROSS OF SELF-GIVING LOVE MATTHEW 27:11-54 Each year on Passion/Palm Sunday, during many worship services, the Passion story is read aloud. Sometimes, this powerful and moving story is read by a single reader. At other times, a reader’s theater uses multiple readers who play the 51

different characters. During one Passion/Palm Sunday several years ago, the church I was serving used this latter way of presenting the Passion story. At the end, there was total silence except for one older woman who was crying. After the service I asked, “Are you OK?” and she replied, “It’s just that the story is so sad.” I felt that her response to this tragic story of innocent suffering was genuine. If we listened to this story with our hearts, I believe we, too, would feel its sadness. The word passion comes from the Latin word passio, which means “to suffer.” At its heart, the story of Jesus’ Passion is that of suffering on several levels. First, he suffered the betrayal, denial, and desertion by his closest followers, the twelve disciples. Then, he suffered a false conviction at a mock trial. Finally, he suffered the physical agonies of flogging and death by crucifixion. As with any powerful drama, the Passion story is composed of several acts. The story begins with the Last Supper (26:17-30), the foretelling of Peter’s denial (26:31-35), Jesus and the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane (26:36-46), and the betrayal and arrest of Jesus (26:47-56). Then came Jesus’ trial (26:57-68); Peter’s denial (26:69-75); and Jesus being brought before Pilate, the Roman governor (27:1-2). Today’s passage, 27:11-54, contains the final acts of the Passion drama, beginning with Jesus’ interrogation before Pilate and ending with Jesus’ death. In the first act, Jesus was questioned by Pilate, who then offered the crowd the choice between releasing Jesus or a noted insurrectionist, Barabbas (verses 52

11-26). The crowd, incited by the religious authorities, cried out for Barabbas’s release and Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate then symbolically washed his hands of Jesus’ blood, a sign that he viewed Jesus as innocent of the charges against him. The next act in the Passion shows Jesus suffering more humiliation as he was mocked by Roman soldiers (verses 27-31). He was then led to Golgotha (“place of a skull”) and was crucified between two thieves. Passersby looked upon Jesus and mocked him more. However, their words of derision contained the truth about Jesus: He is the Son of God and will be delivered by God (verses 38-44). In the final act, Jesus cried out to God, quoting the opening words of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 22, which begins with these words of lament, ends with a strong affirmation of God’s loving presence. After Jesus took his last breath, cataclysmic events occurred that showed the cosmic effects of this innocent death: The curtain in the Holy of Holies in the Temple was torn in half; the earth quaked; and tombs of saints who had died were opened, and they appeared in Jerusalem. The soldiers witnessing these amazing events were terrified. However, one centurion made a proclamation of faith that Matthew would like his readers to echo: “Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Matthew 27:45-54). In the Passion story, we encounter the worst that human beings are capable of: the cruel torture and murder of an innocent person. The suffering that Jesus endured is BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

difficult to grasp. Not only did he suffer physical agony, he endured taunts and derisive comments. Perhaps the most difficult suffering to endure was the conduct of his closest followers who betrayed, denied, and deserted him. In the Crucifixion, humanity reached its lowest point. Yet the Passion story also shows the best we are capable of: selfgiving love. On the cross we see a love for humanity that knows no limits. The cross is the ultimate act of self-giving, self-sacrificing love. On the cross, it is as if Jesus’ arms were spread wide enough to embrace the whole world. In John 3:16, God’s love is made visible not only in the life of Jesus but also in his death. It is difficult for us to believe that the way to genuine and authentic life is to bear the cross of self-giving, because it is counterintuitive. I learned about counterintuitiveness while learning to snow ski. In order to turn your skis you have to put your weight on your downhill ski. When you do this, you feel as if you will fall down the mountain; and you have to force yourself to do it at first. However, over time, your experience tells you that this is the best way to ski. In a similar way, we learn the joys and fulfillment of self-giving. At first, it seems strange; but as we give ourselves in love to others, we discover that we are the ones who are receiving. I was pastor of a church that served a dinner monthly at a local homeless shelter. I noticed what happened to those who prepared and served meals there for the first time. The first time, they usually THE BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

went reluctantly. Their negative images of homeless persons often led to fears about going to the shelter. However, once they did it, the transformation was amazing. Suddenly, they discovered the deep satisfaction of self-giving. They felt they were doing something worthwhile and positive for persons who were down and out. They received the heartfelt gratitude of those who received a much-needed meal. As we will see in the next chapter, “The Blessings of Resurrection,” the cross is transformed from an instrument of death into a means of new life. So it is with the self-giving love we see on the cross. What looks like the meaningless waste of a life becomes the ultimate expression of life. What seems to be a heavy burden (selfgiving) is transformed into the lightness of joy. In the cross we encounter the great paradox of our Christian faith: When we willingly give of ourselves in love for others, we receive abundant and authentic life. There is no greater blessing in disguise than bearing the cross of self-giving love. The latter part of the Prayer of St. Francis captures this idea so beautifully: O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 53

Remember times that you have practiced self-giving love. What did you give? What did you receive from giving of yourself? 1 2

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® . Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society. 3 From Reaching Out: The Three Movements of Spiritual Life; page 54.

From The New Interpreter’s Bible; page 506. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,

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he Blessings of Easter Scriptures for Easter: Acts 10:34-43 Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10

Not every blessing comes in a disguise. Some blessings are straightforward and clear. In these blessings, we do not need to struggle to find their goodness and benefits; they are obvious to us. Easter is this kind of blessing. Through Easter, we encounter the great joy of God’s victory over sin and death. We also experience the good news of resurrection and new life. Shouts of gladness, triumph, praise, and joy resound on Easter! If we listen carefully to the great hymns of Easter, we will hear words of abundant life and triumph over death. In the famous Easter hymn “Christ, the Lord is Risen Today,” Charles Wesley writes, “Soar we now where Christ has lead, Alleluia! / following our exalted head, Alleluia!” Easter is a great and joyous celebration of God’s victory, a victory we are able to share in through faith. Strains of victory and blessing can be heard in the Scripture passages for Easter Day. In Acts 10:34-43, we learn from Peter’s sermon that Jesus’ resurrection means forgiveness of our sins. In Colossians 3:1-4, we will hear words of THE BLESSINGS OF EASTER

promise, hope, and new life. In the Easter Gospel from Matthew 28:1-10, we will once again hear the good news of resurrection. Those disciples hearing the news of Jesus’ raising respond with “fear and great joy.” The blessings of Easter are intertwined with the blessings of the cross. They cannot be separated. Without the cross, there is no Easter. Without Easter, the cross remains a symbol of defeat and failure rather than a symbol of resurrection and new life. THE BLESSINGS OF FORGIVENESS ACTS 10:34-43 During the years following the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter emerged as the central leader of the church. His leadership was established during Jesus’ ministry when Peter served as the spokesperson for the disciples. Peter’s bold confession that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” is found in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 16:16; 55

Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). In John’s Gospel, Peter is the first to enter the empty tomb of Jesus. Despite Peter’s denial of Jesus, he was the undisputed leader of the disciples. In Acts, when Peter describes the disciples’ role, it was to be witnesses to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection (Acts 10:39). Peter’s sermons in Acts are fundamentally testimonies to Jesus’ death and resurrection. The sermon at Caesarea serves as a good example of how Peter understood his witnessing role. This sermon was Peter’s first to Gentiles (non-Jews). Until this point, he had only preached to Jews in and around Jerusalem. Peter is portrayed in Acts as taking the gospel outward from Jerusalem. In doing so, he encountered Gentiles, among whom were “God fearers,” who eagerly heard and responded to his message. Prior to verses 34-43, Peter encountered Cornelius, a Roman centurion. This encounter led Peter to proclaim that in a vision God showed him that Gentiles were not “profane or unclean” but worthy of hearing the gospel (verse 28). This idea carried into Peter’s sermon when he said, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality” (verse 34). Peter proclaimed that God ignores national, racial, and ethnic distinctions. People “in every nation” are acceptable to God as long as they respect God and do what is right (verse 35). Peter summarized the message of Jesus as one of peace. As used here, peace means “wholeness” or “salvation.” The message of peace was spread by Jesus throughout Judea as he “went about doing 56

good and healing” (verses 37-38). Jesus was empowered to preach this message because God anointed him “with the Holy Spirit and with power” (verse 38). Peter and the apostles were witnesses to Jesus in three ways. First, they saw Jesus’ deeds while he was alive (verse 39). Second, they witnessed his death on a cross (verse 39). Third, they were witnesses to his resurrection (verses 40-41). This sermon concludes with the affirmation that Jesus is the “judge of the living and the dead” (verse 42). Note that this phrase appears in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds. Peter’s sermon ends with the affirmation that everyone who believes in Jesus, Gentile or Jew, will receive “forgiveness of sins through his name” (verse 43). I clearly remember a time I stood in need of forgiveness. One of our sons, who was fourteen at the time, had forgotten to take out the trash. This was his assigned family chore for that week. I yelled upstairs to his room and said some things I almost immediately regretted. Instead of calmly reminding him of this chore, I told him that he was lazy and would not amount to much if he did not act more responsibly. Instead of simply dealing with the issue, I made it personal. After venting my frustration verbally, I felt miserable about my behavior. I knew that I needed to ask for his forgiveness of my outburst. After a few minutes, I went upstairs and knocked on his door. At first, he did not want to speak to me; and I did not blame him. Finally, he said I could come in. He told me that my harsh words BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

had hurt him; and I apologized, promising to do better next time. Then, he finally said, “It’s OK, Dad.” Immediately, I felt a burden lift and our relationship restored. All of us do things for which we need to be forgiven. That is what it means to be human. However, until we hear the words I forgive you, we suffer inward pain. Part of this pain is guilt over what we have done or failed to do. Another part of our pain is that we have hurt our relationship with the person whom we have betrayed with our behavior. Of all the disciples, Peter stood in greatest need of forgiveness, except for, perhaps, Judas. Peter had denied ever knowing Jesus in the courtyard of the high priest while Jesus was awaiting trial. We can imagine the agony that Peter endured for those days he stood in need of Jesus’ forgiveness but could not receive it. After his denial, Peter had no contact with Jesus until after the Crucifixion. Peter could have spoken with Jesus on the cross but was hiding for fear of meeting Jesus’ fate. I wonder if another reason he did not come to the cross to ask Jesus for forgiveness was shame. Yet Peter did receive the forgiveness he so desperately needed. In his and the other disciples’ postResurrection encounters with the risen Jesus, Peter understood that he was forgiven. How? We do not know for sure. However, Peter mentioned sharing a meal with the risen Jesus (verse 41). In Jesus’ time a meal was more than simply eating together; a meal was a sign of deep hospitality and reconciliaTHE BLESSINGS OF EASTER

tion. The sharing of food and drink cemented bonds of relationship and community. By breaking bread with the risen Jesus, Peter would have known that their broken relationship had been healed. Forgiveness is one of the great gifts that God offers us. Without forgiveness, relationships cannot survive. When we harm another person by what we do or say, our relationship with them is also harmed. Only forgiveness can heal a relationship that has been broken. This is not only true of our relationships with other persons; it is true of our relationship with God. Thankfully, we have been shown the height and depth of God’s forgiveness in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The cross is God’s way of saying, “I forgive you and want to live in a relationship of love and trust with you.” Such forgiveness is transforming. Through God’s forgiveness we are freed from the burden of sin and guilt. Our relationship with God is restored. No wonder Easter is an occasion of great joy! When have you stood in need of forgiveness? When you received it, how did you feel? What are the barriers or obstacles to offering forgiveness to someone? THE BLESSINGS OF NEW LIFE COLOSSIANS 3:1-4 If we were to make a list of the blessings God has freely given to humanity, we might include such things as love, peace, joy, hope, freedom, faith, and salvation. This 57

list is not exhaustive, but it is representative of the multitude of gifts God has given. However, there is one gift that is foundational to all others: the gift of life. Without this gift, we cannot receive or enjoy any of the other blessings that God intends for us. Where there is no life, there is no hope, joy, love, or anything else. Although it may seem obvious that life is God’s preeminent blessing, it is easy to forget this. We often take life for granted, as if it is a right rather than a gift. However, when this gift is threatened by illness or accident, we often realize that life is fragile and precious. We also realize the importance of the gift of life when we experience the loss of someone close to us. Death has a way of reminding us that life is valuable and vulnerable. In Colossians 3:1-4, we find a blessing even more precious than the gift of life: the new life we have in Christ. This new life in Christ is an improvement and fulfillment of God’s initial gift of life, for it is a gift that could never be taken away. Not even death can end this gift; it is given for all eternity. In Chapter 3, Paul describes this new life in Christ in detail, even providing guidelines for how Christian households should be run (3:18–4:1). Colossians 3:1-4 provides the theological basis of a new life in Christ. The rest of the chapter is an expansion and amplification of what is written in these first four verses. It begins by saying that the Colossians had been “raised with Christ” and that they should “seek the things that are above.” The statement “you have been raised with Christ” logically leads to the 58

imperative phrase “to seek the things that are above.” This portrayal of Christ as “seated at the right hand of God” echoes Psalm 110 and is a familiar image in the New Testament. It is also found in the Apostles’ Creed. The Christian life is seen as a participation in Christ’s resurrection. As a result, we are free from enslavement to sin and free to live as God intended. In Colossians 3:2-3, we see that a Christian’s entire life is reoriented and transformed by this new relationship with God through Christ. The result of this reorientation is the admonition to “set your minds on things that are above, not things on earth.” The verses that follow today’s reading expand on what this means in the specifics that follow. In verses 5-9, we find a list of earthly things that are to be expunged from the new life in Christ: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive language, and lying. The reason Christians are able to “put to death” these earthly things is that they “have died” with Christ (verse 3). Romans 6:1-11 uses this same analogy when it describes baptism as “dying with Christ” and “being raised with Christ.” In Colossians 3:12-15, we find a list of “things that are above”: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love. These qualities of character give specifics to the exhortation to seek the things that are above. These are marks of the transformed existence of those who have been raised with Christ. When Paul says, “Your life is hidden with Christ in God” (verse 3), BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

he is referring to the belief that eternal life is something that has been established but has not yet been fully given to the believer. The fulfillment of this new life in Christ will occur when “Christ who is your life is revealed” (verse 4). The fullness of new life was viewed as a future hope and an “inheritance” (1:12). We have the first fruits of this new life here on earth but will experience its fullness after death. One way to understand the meaning of a concept is to explore its opposite. In the case of the term new life, we would seek to understand the term old life. We find similar terms later in Colossians 3 when it speaks in terms of “new self” and “old self” (verses 9-10). What then is the old life? In this context, an old life is the life that we lived prior to knowing Christ. This old life is characterized by the negative qualities referred to above. At the root of these qualities is selfishness and living for oneself. Another way to understand the difference between new and old is to ask, What aspects of my life need to be changed? One thing I would like to change about myself is my impatience. I do not like having to wait—in traffic, in a line at the store, or even in a doctor’s office. I become frustrated and angry when I have to wait longer than expected. When I am honest with myself, I recognize that my impatience is a symptom of a deeper issue: an inflated sense of selfimportance. The cure for impatience is to become more humble. I note that humility is one of the qualities mentioned in verse 12 when describing a new life in Christ. THE BLESSINGS OF EASTER

All of us have aspects of our lives that we want or need to change. The promise of the Christian faith is that we can receive help in making these changes. Our relationship with God through Christ gives us the inspiration and the motivation to change those aspects of our old selves that are life-destroying rather than life-enhancing. The spiritual path that Jesus traveled before us is one of transformation. We become a new self as the old self is shed, as a butterfly breaks free of its chrysalis. This process of becoming a new self is not instantaneous nor is it easy. John Wesley called this process of growth in Christian living sanctification. He believed that over time, as we set our minds more and more on the “things that are above,” we become a new creation. Such change can be painful at times as we leave behind old, familiar habits and take on new patterns of thinking and behaving. Yet, ultimately, the new life in Christ is the fulfillment of our potential to become the persons God wants us to be. How would you describe a new life in Christ? What aspects of your old self would you like to change? What role can our relationship with God play in becoming a new self? THE BLESSINGS OF RESURRECTION MATTHEW 28:1-10 As we saw in “The Blessings of New Life” section above, the blessings of resurrection begin in this life. Faith in God through Christ has the power to transform our life 59

here and now, and this reality constitutes the blessing of new life. However, there is another blessing of resurrection we need to explore. In the story of the raising of Lazarus that we considered on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). This is a clear and powerful statement of another key blessing of resurrection: eternal life. While the blessings of resurrection begin in this life, they extend for all of eternity. Matthew’s story of the resurrection of Jesus is framed between two encounters: (1) an encounter between Pilate and the chief priests and (2) an encounter between the chief priests and the guards stationed at the tomb. By the time the Gospel of Matthew was being written, there had been attempts to discredit the resurrection of Jesus as a hoax. Matthew includes the story of Pilate stationing the guards in 27:62-66 and the story of the chief priests bribing the soldiers in 28:11-15 in order to disprove the claim that the disciples took Jesus’ body. The writer of Matthew wants the readers to know that not even guarding the tomb could prevent the raising of Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb early on Sunday (“the first day of the week”). These two women were also named in 27:56 as among those watching Jesus’ crucifixion. After they arrived, there was a “great earthquake” reminiscent of the shaking of the earth immedi60

ately following Jesus’ death (27:51). An angel descended and rolled back the stone sealing the entry to the tomb. The words used to describe the angel in 28:3 evoke the descriptions of divine beings in Daniel 7:9 and 10:6 and the appearance of Jesus in the Transfiguration in Matthew 17:2. The guards reacted to the sudden appearance of the angel with terror and collapsed into unconsciousness. The angel’s reassuring words to the women in 28:5-6 indicate that the Resurrection had already occurred. The women were invited to look into the empty tomb to see that the body of Jesus was not there. Then the angel commanded them to “go quickly” to tell the disciples that Jesus had been raised and that the risen Jesus would meet them in Galilee. The two Marys left the tomb in “fear and great joy” and ran to tell the other disciples the good news. Their journey was interrupted by none other than the risen Jesus. Their response was to fall down at his feet and worship him. Jesus repeated the instructions of the angel for the women to go to Galilee where he would meet the other disciples (verse 10). The story of Jesus’ raising is powerful and deeply meaningful. It establishes the foundation of the blessing of eternal life. Jesus’ resurrection is God’s victory over death. No sealed and guarded tomb can defeat God’s power to raise Jesus from death to new life. The bonds of death cannot hold Jesus. God raised Jesus to a new and eternal existence. Jesus’ resurrection was not a continuation of his earthly life but a transformation of his life into a totally new reality. BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS

Throughout the centuries, Christians have understood that the victory of Jesus’ resurrection is one in which we share. Paul understood Christian existence as one of dying and being raised with Christ (Romans 6). As Charles Wesley wrote in his Easter hymn “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” “Made like him, like him we rise. Alleluia!” Another blessing of Easter is that our natural fear of death can be overcome. At the base of the fear of death is the threat of non-existence. Death is feared because it represents a mysterious and unknown ending. Of death we ask anxiously, Is death the final end of life? What happens to us after we die? Where do we go? What form will our existence take? However, if death is not the end of our lives, then we no longer need to fear it. Easter proclaims that death is not a final ending but is a new beginning. A woman in a church I served as pastor was terminally ill and only days away from death. When I visited her during her final days, she had many questions about death, including the ones I listed in the above paragraph. During one of those visits, I said to her, “I can’t answer your questions about death, but I can tell you that the same God who was with you in life will be with you in death.” These words seemed to offer her comfort and reassurance. Her fears were calmed, and she died a peaceful death. The story above brings us to a third blessing of resurrection: love. The Resurrection is a victory of love over death and proclaims that God’s love is stronger than death.

THE BLESSINGS OF EASTER

The forces of violence and death seem to have the upper hand in our world. Our world suffers from conflicts, wars, famine, disease, and hunger. Love seems weak and impotent when measured against the strength of military might or the power of diseases to destroy life. Yet the Resurrection shows us that God’s love is the most powerful force in the world and will ultimately triumph over death. When viewed from the standpoint of Easter faith, death is God’s loving embrace of each of us. We do not die into a dark and lifeless void. We die into God’s loving arms. Death is not the final word about our existence—new life is! This good news is worth many Easter alleluias and can give rise to great joy. As the words of a familiar creed proclaim, “In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us! We are not alone. Thanks be to God.” We have come to the end of a Lenten journey that began with Jesus being tested in the wilderness and has ended with him being raised to new life. Along the way we have discovered many blessings in disguise: trials, risktaking, thirst, blindness, death, and the cross. Hopefully, we have learned some of the life lessons these blessings are able to teach us. Our Lenten journey does not end with the cross but with Easter. Easter is what makes the cross the ultimate blessing in disguise. Which of the blessings of the Resurrection are most powerful in your life? Why?

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BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS A LENTEN STUDY BASED ON THE REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY

Robert Martin Walker BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS invites you to explore God’s hope and presence presented in the Scripture readings for Lent and Easter. Key Bible readings call us to praise God as we contemplate God’s redemption and new creation through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the readings, we hear the call to celebrate the blessings of new life offered through Jesus Christ. The study for Lent and Easter in the Scriptures for the Church Seasons series is based upon the Revised Common Lectionary Scriptures for the church year, a three-year cycle that includes readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles. BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS offers the opportunity to explore these Bible readings in a seven-session study. It will help you understand, appreciate, and participate in prayerful reflection and celebration of Lent and Easter and inspire you to live each day with God’s blessings of life and salvation through Jesus Christ. A seven-session leader’s guide is available for use in Sunday school classes or other small groups. ROBERT MARTIN WALKER is an adjunct professor of religious studies at Iona College and a writer in the field of spirituality and religion. He is also a teacher for Rising Hope, Inc., an organization that provides college-level education for persons in prison. He has published more than 20 books and studies in the religion field, including Politically Correct Parables and The Jesus I Knew. He is an ordained United Methodist minister and has served as pastor of churches in Texas and Connecticut. He graduated from Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology, and Yale Divinity School.

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ISBN-13: 978-0-687-46677-1 90000

Cover art: Image by Elizabeth Wang, Image code T-01351A-OL, Christ’s Divine Compassion From the Cross Cloaks the Sins of the Whole Human Race, copyright © Radiant Light 1990, www.radiantlight.org.uk.

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