The Meaning of Cloth

John 11:30-44

The story of the raising of Lazarus reaches its crescendo in the final verses of today’s reading. “When [Jesus] had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” (John 11:43-44). Here is what I find most interesting in these verses: Jesus has just healed his friend Lazarus from death—so to speak—by raising him and releasing him from his tomb. But Lazarus is still “bound with strips of cloth” and his face is still “wrapped in a cloth.” So Jesus tells those who were there to “Unbind him, and let him go.” Why is it necessary for John to mention the cloth that binds Lazarus? Is it really important to the story?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that, even though he’s been raised, Lazarus must return to living his earthly life. Yes, Jesus has freed him from the tomb, but Lazarus must now go back to the day-to-day circumstances that challenge all of us, and to do so he’s going to need his hands and his feet and his head to be unwrapped. Even after Jesus has raised him Lazarus will still face death and the resurrection that will follow because Lazarus is still human. There is another place in John’s gospel where cloth is used at the time of death. After Jesus’ resurrection John tells us that Peter “went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself” (20:6-7). This is a subtle signal to us. The resurrected Jesus did not need to be unbound or let go in the manner that a healed Lazarus did. The cloth, set aside as it was, tells us that something entirely different has happened here. Jesus is now beyond death and is no longer constrained by human life as we know it. Indeed, he is our hope and our confidence for all that awaits us.

So there is meaning to be found in the presence of cloth in John’s gospel. Those who believe can look forward to a new sense of freedom in the resurrection, a new life unbound, one no longer hindered by all that faces us in this life.

Prayer: O God, we offer our thanks and praise to you this day for all that you promise to us in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

No Ordinary Bath

1 Peter 3:13-4:6

In today’s epistle reading the author of 1 Peter makes reference to the “days of Noah” when “eight persons were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you – not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:20-21). I think that the sight of a newborn child scrunching her face as water is applied to her head, or the familiarity of an adult professing his faith and receiving the sacrament has led many to consider baptism as one more cultural function performed by the church. We see it fairly often, and it seldom comes as a surprise. But when baptism is placed into the context of the flood and adjoined to the resurrection – as it is in 1 Peter – we can perhaps begin to grasp its deep significance. This is no ordinary event; this is something godly and powerful, akin to God ripping apart the fabric of creation in order to mark an individual as chosen and claimed.

Noah and his family were saved from annihilation through the waters. In his death and rising again Jesus Christ offers us the promise of eternal life. Baptism ties us to these events, to the community of faith, to all who have gone before us and all who will come after us. Baptism gives us our identity as God’s people and it cleanses us from the stain of sin. Baptism is no perfunctory obligation staged to meet cultural expectations, it is the single most important event in the life of a Christian. It is the work of God who transcends all time and space and yet draws near enough to touch each and every one of us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to recognize your presence and to understand the significance of your work in our midst. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

An Idle Tale?

Luke 24:1-12

How did the disciples react when on Easter morning the women gave them the joyous news of the resurrection? According to Luke’s gospel, “…these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). How is it possible that the followers of Jesus so easily dismissed as foolishness what they were told? That’s a question we should all ponder, because day in and day out we are faced with good news of great joy but time after time we set it aside as nonsense. The starving are fed in impoverished parts of the world, houses are built for the homeless, justice is found for the oppressed, the sick are comforted, all in the name of Jesus Christ. Do these sound like idle tales? Why, then, do we seem most focused on dissension and schism? Why do we gage the validity of someone’s faith by worldly ideals? Why do we insist on sitting in doubt when given the chance to join Peter in a dash to discovery?

In these days following the celebration of Easter I, like many other church professionals and volunteers, face physical, emotional, and spiritual fatigue. I need a chance to recharge my batteries so that I can resume my efforts. But this is no time to dismiss the news that the women bring, no time to shutter the windows and put out the lights. Jesus Christ is risen! The truth is all around us. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we dismiss the gospel in order to follow our own whims. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nothing We Haven’t Heard Before

I'd like to wish our son, William a very happy 18th birthday today. We are blessed to have two wonderful children.

Acts 26:1-23

When Paul is given an opportunity to speak before King Agrippa concerning the charges for which he was being held he offered what one commentator claims was a “model defense of Christianity” (New Oxford Annotated Bible NRSV, p. 198 NT n.). “…And so I stand here,” Paul said, “testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place…” (Acts 26:22). In other words, why wouldn’t the Jews accept his preaching about Jesus and the resurrection since they themselves have been waiting for generations to see these very events?

Why indeed? Yet the Jewish leaders resist Paul’s message about the Messiah in part because Jesus did not act the way they thought the Messiah would. They were looking for glory, a restoration of Israel, a dominant national presence. Jesus offered none of that, instead telling his followers to take up their crosses and follow him in faithful obedience. To some this was not a word about the Messiah, this was a story about a wimp. In no way would the leaders of Israel accept this message as long as it included the death of God. But Paul was right. This was nothing new, and if the leaders of the people had simply listened with their hearts they, too, would have understood.

But they didn’t. And what about us? How carefully are we listening to Paul? How much do we even want to understand about this man Jesus? Wouldn’t we rather trust our own opinions, our own assumptions about what God is doing than to follow after Jesus, a convicted blasphemer who died on a cross? Maybe, but Paul is persistent and the truth continues to dawn in our world and in our lives. The one we follow died, yes, and was raised again. We’ve heard it a million times. Maybe it’s time we actually began to believe it, fully, and to trust what God is doing in our world.

Prayer: Lord, help us to believe the good news of the gospel, the stories we’ve heard over and over again, with all our hearts and minds. Amen.

Worship and Doubt in Galilee

Matthew 28:16-20

It seems like an odd remark to make under the circumstances. “When (the eleven disciples) saw (Jesus),” Matthew says, “they worshiped him; but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17). Some doubted? Really? How does a comment like that fit into such a pivotal passage in Matthew’s story, so close to the great commission, right at the very end of the book? Isn’t it a little late to be dealing with doubt? Maybe, but keep in mind that this is the first time that anyone except the women have seen the resurrected Jesus in Matthew’s account. The eleven did not share the experience at the empty tomb, they have only had the word of two women to go on. They was bound to be some skepticism. But of greater significance to me is the phrase that comes just before Matthew mentions doubt: “When they saw him, they worshiped him….” So there was praise that day in Galilee as well, mixed in with the feelings of uncertainty.

Now for a bold confession on my part: There are many days when, despite my best efforts at faith, I find myself doubting, questioning, wondering, being skeptical. I can’t help it. Doubt creeps in and infects my worship and praise of God in Jesus Christ. Maybe you have the same experience that I do. If so here is something I find helpful. Even in my greatest times of doubt and hesitation I find that worship and praise of God in Jesus Christ helps me to move ahead, to live beyond my doubt until my faith is renewed as it always is. Doubt my infect our worship, but worship sets back our doubt when we allow it to. And when that happens we stand with the man who cried, “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24) and with generations of Christians ever since who have struggled just the way we struggle. Doubt is not unusual even in the most faithful. But the great tragedy comes when we allow doubt to cut us off from the worshiping community. It doesn’t have to. Doubt is an honest reaction to events or information that sometimes overwhelm us. Worship, though, is the exercise regimen that keeps our hearts and minds attuned to what God is doing and prepared to do our part when we can.

Prayer: Lord, may our worship and praise continue, even in those times of greatest doubt, so that our lives may remain centered on you and your work. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Speaks--Again!

Jonah 2:1-10

Perhaps it’s an odd choice––especially for the day after Easter—but there is a verse in Jonah that caught my attention this morning. “Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10). What I find so interesting is that, just as it was with creation, God’s word has the power to direct and to guide. According to Genesis it was on the fifth day of creation that God called forth living creatures to inhabit the waters, including sea monsters and the fish that swarm in the oceans (Genesis 1:20-23). Now God speaks to the great fish, causing Jonah the reluctant prophet to be dislodged upon the land.

God’s speech, God’s creative and powerful word, did not become silent when Adam and Eve left the garden. God continues to effect our lives and our very being with speech. Thus, when we refer to Jesus Christ as the Word Incarnate we are reminded of God’s work in the world, guiding great events like wars and exiles, and incredibly minute details, such as Jonah being spewed onto a beach.

What is the word of God accomplishing in our world and in our lives today? How are we, on this side of the resurrections, being blessed by God’s work? I’m sure that being spewed from a fish’s mouth is not particularly appealing, but what it represents is grace-filled and merciful. The fish, like our own sinfulness, might have carried us away, might have left us with no hope. But with a word God is able to dispel the threat and to lead us to solid footing where we may strive again to do God’s will. The word of God is alive and at work in the big events of our lives and the small ones. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, by the light of the resurrection may we see the path you hold out to us, and by your word may we be guided on it. Amen.

A New Commandment for Christmas

John 13:20-35

A quick trip to the mall yesterday turned out much better than I thought it would. It was the day after Christmas and there were hundreds of shoppers everywhere, but the stores were prepared and we were able to make our gift exchanges and buy our missing components and with little trouble. In some ways it seemed easier to shop the day after Christmas than it had been any day leading up to Christmas. Not only are we are still in the midst of the Christmas shopping season, we are still in the liturgical season of Christmastide. Yet our reading from John today puts us smack in the middle of Holy Week. Jesus is speaking to his disciples moments after Judas has left the room. “I give you a new commandment,” he says, “that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

These words are the reason we call the fifth day of Holy Week “Maundy Thursday”. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word for commandment. But this is the second day after Christmas. Is this really an appropriate time to consider the days leading up to the crucifixion? Frankly, yes. On the one hand it is always appropriate to consider the crucifixion. As Christians we live our lives with the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice every day. But there is also an inherent connection between Christmas and Easter, between the birth and the death/resurrection that shapes the Christian life and experience. Without Christmas, the gift of “God with us,” there is no Easter, no demonstration of God’s love on the cross and at the empty tomb. In the same way, without Easter there is no significance to Christmas.

But finally, both Christmas and Easter give us ample reason and opportunity to “love one another” as Christ commands. Indeed there is never a season in which love is not God’s wish for us. So while we begin to pack away the decorations and take down the tree, it is already time to look ahead to the events of Holy Week and to focus on the love of God among us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love one another as you command, that the light of your coming reign may be bright at all times in our world. Amen.

Undeniable?

Habakkuk 2:1-4, 9-20
Luke 16:19-31
“(Abraham) said to (the rich man), ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’” (Luke 16:31). These words, spoken by Jesus, make clear the connection between his ministry and the words of prophets like Habakkuk. On the one hand the Hebrew Bible—what we commonly refer to as the Old Testament—was the only scripture that Jesus and the early church had. It guided their lives and helped their understanding of God. But listen again to what Jesus says: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” Isn’t Jesus really talking about himself here? Is he not pointing ahead to the resurrection and the fact that afterwards many will remain dubious of the gospel? If this is what Jesus is saying—and I’ve got to believe it is—then the connection between him and the prophets is airtight.

Nothing that Jesus does or says should come as a surprise to anyone who takes the prophetic writings seriously. Jesus may represent God’s will in unexpected ways, but he remains truly faithful to God’s word though out. “(T)he earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,” writes Habakkuk (2:14). In his ministry Jesus did just that, filling the world with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. Even the image of the waters is appropriate as Jesus established the sacrament of baptism as a mark of belonging to God. “Look at the proud!” Habakkuk says. “Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith” (v. 4). Over and over again Jesus makes this same statement. How else could the wealthy man be brought low even as a poor beggar like Lazarus resides with Abraham in eternity (Luke 16:19-31)? How else could the tax collector be justified before God instead of the Pharisee (18:9-14)? How else could Mary, the mother of Jesus, rejoice in God lifting up the poor and hungry (1:46-55)?

If we aren’t willing to hear the words of the prophets and take them to heart, if we aren’t willing to live according to their view of a just and righteous society, if we aren’t willing to give up our greed and instead turn to those in need with generous hearts, then what difference will the resurrection really make in our lives? The proud may assume it is within their own power to determine their fate, says Habakkuk, but only those who begin by trusting faithfully in God called righteous.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live as your people, hearing your word and responding in faithful obedience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.