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Without question, Take Up Your Cross and Die was not the slogan the Twelve were hoping to champion when they became Jesus’ followers. In that regard, precious little has changed.
On the cross, leadership dies. On the cross, success dies. On the cross, skills die, and excellence dies. All of my strengths—nailed to the cross. All of my weaknesses—nailed to the cross. All of my yearnings for bigger and better, for anything other than Christ himself—nailed to that same cross.
In His response, Jesus associated fasting with mourning. Though there are numerous motivations and methods of fasting, today I invite you to experience what some refer to as a Bridegroom Fast7
Perhaps focus on manifest customs flourishes in times of favor. Or, conversely, perhaps focus on faith-fueled unity flourishes in times when the church is regularly reminded that they are aliens and strangers on this earth.
Approaching their two-year mark as Jesus’ inner circle, the disciples had seen a dead girl come back to life, a demon-possessed man returned to peaceful sanity, storms calmed, bodies healed, bread multiplied, and, most recently, the Messiah walk on water.
It seems to me that miracles are less of a promise for tomorrow and more of a manifestation of God’s love and power for today. Today, God provides bread. Today, God calms the storm. Tomorrow’s needs and storms cannot void the reality of today’s miracles any more than today’s miracles can void the potential of tomorrow’s needs and storms.
I have accompanied friends whose “only-God” miracle pregnancies ended in miscarriage. The church in general panics when miracles miscarry. We scurry clumsily about to prop up God’s sagging
reputation. There must have been a problem, we offer. God must have something even better around the corner, we propose. Must He? Here, then is my Lenten plea for the day: let the mourning mourn.
Why does Jesus speak words that He knows we cannot understand? Would it not be more logical for God to conserve His voice—that is, be silent—when our comprehension is frail and offer His voice—that is, with amplified explanations—when our comprehension is strong?
Let us honor God’s words and be encouraged: our lack of understanding cannot sabotage the power or the purpose of His voice.
Thankfully, human reasoning neither leads nor limits God’s love. Consider passages in Scripture in which God’s words escape your understanding. What would it be like if God withheld His voice until humankind could fully comprehend it?
As you consider today to what extent reason is king to you, reflect upon the following two quotes from anthropologist Paul Stoller and King Solomon:
What does uncertainty trigger within us? What defaults do we gravitate toward when facing the unknown? As the example of John and James clearly demonstrates, defaults—by and large—are self-serving. They take but do not give to those around us. Matthew records, “When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers” (Matthew 20:24). To change our defaults we must first address our theology of uncertainty.
To dance when we do not know the steps requires us to value our Partner above our performance. To dance in the dark demonstrates a lavish display of trust. Lent, in its mystery, is an invitation to dance.
Did Zacchaeus recognize Bartimaeus from the countless times he had walked past the same roadside? Did these two know each other’s names? Did tax collection have anything to do with the beggar’s poverty?
As I picture Jesus, Bartimaeus, and Zacchaeus celebrating the miracles of physical and spiritual sight, a reality resounds: though following Jesus is most often an individual act of faith, that act always has communal repercussions. We are interrelated.
Judas most likely would have been confronted by the perfume when he kissed Christ.
And as Jesus hung on the cross, the fragrance would have reminded Him that Father God prepares all things well.
Jesus spent a significant part of His last days at tables, resting in the company of old and new friends. If you had only six days to live, how, and with whom, would you live them? Why?
fasting served multiple purposes in multiple contexts and, from God’s perspective, was valuable to the extent that it reflected a posture of the heart.
Yet, even though He knew that the people would soon reject Him, Jesus still showed up for the parade they held in His honor.
Jesus did not let the rejection of tomorrow cause Him to reject the love of today.
Knowing that the Twelve would soon run for their lives and the masses would soon reject Him, Jesus still stayed fully present for the party.
I would have insulated myself from the crowds’ favor because their favor would soon falter: crowds are fickle that way.
Week, Jesus consistently displayed an ability to receive from people in the moment what He knew would not endure.
Jesus permitted the crowd’s support, knowing it would soon sour. Jes...
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fully affirmed Peter’s future leadership immediately after prophesying Peter’s denial. Jesus still welcomed Judas to the communion table, knowing that betrayal was in his heart. ...
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His love did not shrink back even when His love—for a moment or, sadly, for a lifetime—wo...
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The same is true in our relationship with God. Uncertain that God will protect us, we proactively protect ourselves. To avoid further emotional and theological pain,
we lower our expectations, edit our dreams, and shrink back from God through fear-driven planning, endless worry, hypervigilance, or the numbing of hope.
With each choice to self-protect, another layer is added to insulate our hearts from atten...
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With all our inconsistencies, God does not shrink back from us. In turn, may we seek to never shrink back from God.
Actions reveal beliefs because beliefs inspire actions.
Spiritual leaders in our lives have abused power, prayer requests have gone unanswered, dreams have died, others experienced greater results for the same spiritual efforts, stepping out in faith backfired . . . and so we maintain a polite distance from deeper levels of intimacy with God. God said of His people that He had “engraved [them] on the palm of [His] hands” (Isaiah 49:16). Well, we conclude, He may write the names of His favorites on His hands, but we suspect that He has our initials somewhere less favored, like the back of His left heel.
Crazily enough, favor is not what frees us from self-protection: suffering is. Not suffering itself, but the choice within suffering to trust, to hope, and to love.
Today, ask the Holy Spirit to alert you when you are shrin...
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Holy grieves. (Think: ugly cry.) Embedded in his account of the Triumphal Entry, Luke relays Jesus’ guttural response
when He sees the city of Jerusalem: Jesus wept at the sight.
Jesus grieved for the city that would pay for its spiritual blindness with destruction. Holy grieves.
One of the reasons we must wrestle with the mystery of the Incarnation is because if we are not seasoned with the wrestling, we tend to offer utterly unhelpful things to others and to ourselves, such as, “You shouldn’t cry, grieve, wail, or weep. God is in control. He works all things for the good of those who love Him . . . so there’s no need to feel _____.” No one understood God’s goodness and control more than Jesus, and He still wept. Which means we can too.
Today, fast the halos of false definitions of holy.
Ask God where He is weeping in your life and in the world and join Him there. It is never weakness to...
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Not only does holy grieve, holy gets angry.
Jesus was upset by what He saw in the temple and He responded with physical protest.
How would you have felt about Jesus in the temple that day if you were a Gentile? A moneychanger? A religious leader? His disciple? Does what you imagine sync with your definition of sinless? If not, your definition may be too small. Holy gets angry.
does this mean we need to buy ropes and start making whips? No. But perhaps we need to stop hiding safely behind hashtag campaigns and instead show up and speak out.
the next time we feel angry about corruption and injustice, instead of stifling the anger, we should ask God what He wants us to do with the ange...
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He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
Taking action because there is a need is a very different motivation than taking action because there is a God.
The latter is led by loving listening and dependence-inspired discipline.
