Jesus FAIL

As I celebrated Holy Week, I found myself pondering the same things that I seem to do each year. There is almost a dark “real time” anticipation of the events that transpired over 2000 years ago. I meditate and imagine what the week must have been like. I imagine the lingering excitement from Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and the great hope that gripped the hearts of the crowd. I imagine the celebration as the crowds gathered for the Passover. But I also imagine the thoughts that must have been going through the minds of the disciples in the upper room and on Golgotha. Messiah had finally come. The Roman yoke of oppression was just about to be cast off and Jesus was going to lead the way. "Hosanna!"  But then things begin to radically change and unravel with the washing of some dirty feet and the eating of a meal.

Hearts began to sink. Anxiety levels escalated. Tears fell. It appeared to be the end of the line as Jesus unfolded the details of what was to come. As he predicted, He was arrested and beaten. He was rejected by the same people who celebrated His entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. And finally, on Good Friday, He was nailed to a cross, breathed His last breath and uttered, "It is finished." He died.  Finished? He was taken down from the cross and buried. From all practical perspectives, it was over. And as Jesus' disciples gathered together on that Sabbath before the Resurrection, the pain, fear and grief must have been overwhelming.

Was it really finished? Good Friday and Holy Saturday did not carry with them the anticipation, preparation and joy that it does for us today. For those who followed Jesus, it appeared that there was nothing to look forward to, except the same possible fate that met their friend. The end of the line, boys. "Jesus is dead!  And we're next!  You're going to get your wish, Peter!  Believe what you want, Thomas!  But your doubting ass will be hanging on a cross by sundown!"          

"Where did things go wrong?”, they must have thought. “How did we misinterpret what Jesus had been telling us over the last three years”?, they must have asked themselves. “Were we totally misled?” “Are we all fools? Morons?” “Was our mission with Jesus a complete failure?” FAIL! Their feet were clean, but their minds were cloudy as they waited. The anxiety must have felt like the weight of the world. Fear. Rejection. Anger. Confusion. All of these emotions must have been running wild as they mourned the death of their Rabbi. Their leader. Their friend. From the view of the world, this must have appeared to be the perfect failure.

Time doesn’t permit me to go on and on with the thoughts that flood my mind this morning, but I encourage you to ponder these things as well for one very simple reason. There appear to be two sides to this story. One side tells us that this was in fact, a perfect failure. This side leaves Jesus in His tomb and leaves the disciples defeated, broken, dejected, afraid and probably eventually dead. The other side of the story is victorious. Renewal. Transformation. Resurrection power. The power that took these eleven broken men that cowered in fear, and used them to transform the world. He is risen! This was not a perfect failure, but complete victory!

There are two stories to every story, isn't there? And as we observe Good Friday, each of us stand on the cusp of the breakthrough that changed humanity. From the perspective of Good Friday, and Good Friday alone, we live in a constant duality of existence. Good Friday leaves us in Chaos, fear and defeat. Good Friday blows a cold wind of disunity, rejection and separation. Good Friday leaves us isolated, cowering in fear, feeling disconnected from God and humanity. Good Friday leave us in fear of death. There is a division that exists with Good Friday, and it creeps in to pollute our communities, even with the realization of the Resurrection .      

As we walk through Good Friday, let us reflect on what Sunday will mean to us. Let us remind ourselves that the darkness of Good Friday will eventually be joined and obscured by the light of Easter Sunday. Easter brings order, peace and victory. Easter Sunday brings unity, acceptance and connection. Easter Sunday finds us in community with out fellow man, celebrating in courage as God's cleansing Spirit flows through creation and mankind. There is a oneness that exists for us on Easter Sunday as we see that Christ's victorious redemption applies to us all, without division.

But the questions remains for us all: Are we living our lives in shadow of Good Friday, or the briliant light of Easter Sunday? Do we cower in the upper room, defeated, disconnected and absorbed with grief? Isolated? Alone? He is risen, and if he is truly risen, then why do we not rise with Him? And if we truly rise with Him, do we not all rise together in complete unification?

As we celebrate Good Friday, let us remember that this shadow will pass over. Let us look forward to the unity and completion of Sunday. Death brings life. Let our vision be encompassed with the vision of Resurrection, not death. Let us join together as the Body of Christ, embracing each other as we suffer. Let us carry each others burden through Friday and journey together in unity.  All things are new, my friends!  All things are new!

Lenten Reflections: Tears

"Jesus wept." - John 11:35

Lent and Advent are spiritual journeys of faith for the follower of Christ. They stand as bookends to the year and give us balance. Yearly milestones to guide us as we walk through this world. One cannot exist without the other.

But as Advent is a carefully manicured path of joy and anticipation, Lent is a rocky trail laden with thorns.

Lent is a journey of tears as we make our way to Resurrection.   

"Jesus wept."  We weep.

Culture teaches us that tears are to be avoided. We harden ourselves. We avoid tears, because tears equate weakness. Culture teaches that weakness is to be avoided.

"I am a rock. I am an island."

"Jesus wept."

Only two words. The shortest of scripture, but deeper than the ocean of tears cried ever since.

Tears are cleansing. Tears are healing. Tears are release. Tears are strengthening. Tears prepare.

For as with Advent and Lent, laughing and weeping are emotions that cannot exist without the other.

They stand as emotional structure to guide us as we walk through this world.

Lord, as you wept, we weep as well. Remind us that in our sorrow, you join us and weep even now. Let our tears cleanse us as we make our way through Lent. Let us embrace them, knowing that they prepare us and empty us, so that laughter can return once again. Prepare us today for resurrection. Amen      

Stations of the Cross: Station 15 - The Resurrection

“But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
  “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!

He is not here. See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Mark 16:1-8 

Art by Lindsey Leigh - 2006

The Perfect Failure

We're very sensitive to failure, aren't we? We live in a culture that bases a person's worth on the amount of success they obtain in life. Overall, failure is considered negative, and success is thought to be the only acceptable option. But who decides what is failure and what is success? I wonder if what we sometime consider failure is not such bad thing after all. I wonder if it's possible to view failure as somewhat of a teacher. A motivator. I wonder that if we learn not to fear failure, might we learn much more as we travel the roads of life, and grow more in our spirituality? As we celebrated Easter yesterday, I thought a lot about failure and how it applies to my faith. Failure and faith. They don't seem to go together, do they? Well, let me explain.

This morning, I found myself pondering the same things that I seem to do each year. There is almost a “real time” reflection of the events that transpired over 2000 years ago for me. I sit here and imagine the thoughts that must have been going through the minds of Jesus' disciples just before He rose from the dead. The Messiah had finally come. The Roman yoke of oppression was just about to be cast off and Jesus was going to lead the way into battle! "Hosanna!", they cried on Palm Sunday! "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" But then, in a short time of less than a week, things changed radically. Sitting there on Saturday night, cowering in fear, in their minds, it was over. Failure.

Jesus' disciples had been assuming that He was the great military and political Messiah that had been expected by the Jewish people. He had finally come and they had a front row seat! All the hopes and dreams of the Jewish people had finally come to fruition! And just when they thought Jesus was going to mount a stallion, pull out a holy sword and start slaying the Roman scumbags, things start to change. Jesus starts talking about death, betrayal and things that sounded like defeat. Things that sounded like failure. And in a few hours, Jesus was dead. "Uhhh, What just happened?"

Within the course of one evening, Jesus was arrested, brutally beaten and nailed to a cross. His lifeless and disfigured body was taken down form the cross and placed in a sealed tomb. From all practical perspectives, it was over. Life as they thought it was going to be, had now transpired into a future of fear and uncertainty. Can you imagine how they felt? Can you imagine the frustration and anger? The overwhelming anxiety?

“How did we misinterpret what Jesus had been telling us over the last three years?", they must have asked themselves. “Were we totally misled?” “Are we all fools?” “Was our mission with Jesus a complete failure?” "Are we next?" "Will the Roman soldiers soon be breaking down our doors?" "Dude! We're screwed! Game over, man!" The anxiety must have felt like the weight of the world! Fear. Rejection. Anger. Confusion. All of these emotions must have been running wild as they anticipated what would happen next. From the world's point of view, this must have appeared to have been the perfect failure.

There always seems to be two sides to every story. In this case, one side tells us that Jesus' ministry was in fact, a perfect failure. This side leaves Jesus in His tomb and leaves the disciples defeated, broken, dejected and afraid. The other side of the story is what Christians all over the world celebrated yesterday. Something that contradicts all reason. Something happened that had the power to take these eleven broken men that were hiding in fear, and used them to transform the world. He is risen! We serve a God that is alive and loved His creation so much that He was willing to die for them. That means you and that means me. And after all the egg hunts, candy and Easter services, the story still ends the same. He is still risen.