Lenten Reflections: Teardown

"The tongue also is a fire....no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." - James 3:6,8

We love to tear each other down, don't we? We tear each other down because it elevates the self. The self then puffs itself up and stands proudly over the other, victorious because of the pain it caused. Blunt words without thought. Slamming insults. Verbal daggers. Wounds of war. Demolition. By one or two carefully chosen words, ones sense of worth can be reduced to nothing, while the other's worth skyrockets.  

"Loser!"

"You're really being a bitch!"

"You're weak."

"Fat ass!"

"Is that the best you can do?"

"You drunken whore!"

"I'm so ashamed of you."

"I hate you!"

"Faggot!"

"This is all your fault!"

"Man, you're so freaking stupid!"

"Libtard!"

"Teabagger!"

"Don't be a wimp!" 

"Shut up!"

"Crucify Him!"

"Hail, King of the Jews!" 

"He saved others, but He can't save Himself!"  

But among all the insults, the daggers that we thrust at one another, we stand and proudly declare, "I'm a Christian." 

Christ follower. Little Christ. Christ-like. Made in His image. 

And yet the one in which we claim to follow came to live among us only to be torn down, so that we would not need to tear each other down ever again. 

"Hypocrite!"   

Lord, You came to be torn down, so that we would no longer feel the need to tear each other down. You came so that words would not destroy us; that death would not destroy us. Help us to realize that within the Kingdom of God, there are no verbal daggers. Teach us, Lord, to live our lives following Your better example. Amen   

Lenten Reflections: Guilty

 
"I offered my back to those who beat me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face  from mocking and spitting."

Isaiah 50:6


The Roman soldiers were not the only ones who rejected Christ. Their actions may have been the most obvious, but they certainly didn't stand alone. They were just more honest in their rejection. They were blatant in their denial. There were many who beat with words under their breath. Pulled hairs from the proverbial beard. Mocked. Spit. But just far enough away from the crowds to remain anonymous. Group-think is a powerful enabler for the coward.

Lent reveals to us that we are no different in our corporate rejection of Christ. We choose to deny Christ incognito. Covert denial disguised in a system that we call American Theology. The "Church" has become the "Christians" favorite hiding place, and the the most effective manner of justification. But no matter how well we hide it, we deny Christ each and every day.  

We deny Christ by the way we live our lives, under the banner "CHRISTIAN".

We deny Christ when we wake up each day, and ignore God's divine presence.

We deny Christ when we rush to work in anger and self-absorption. 

We deny Christ at work when we work endlessly to control every aspect, refusing to rest.

We deny Christ when we treat others as if we're better, and they are less.

We deny Christ by our faith, because we refuse to trust. 

 We deny Christ when we refuse to reveal our true selves to others.

We deny Christ when we hate our enemy and refuse to forgive. 

We deny Christ when we celebrate war and cheer for "our team".

We deny Christ when patriotism trumps righteousness and spirituality. 

We deny Christ when we consume more than we can afford.

We deny Christ when we consume more than we give.

We deny Christ when we ignore the homeless and deny justice to the less fortunate.

We deny Christ when we shut ourselves inside and refuse to know our neighbors.

We deny Christ when we take pleasure in death of any kind. 

 We deny Christ when we refuse to build community with others.

We deny Christ when we lose our tempers and belittle others.

We deny Christ when we drink too much, smoke too much, eat too much, sleep too much, buy too much, work too much, want too much.....we deny Christ too much.

We deny Christ when we ridicule Him, spit on Him, beat Him and crucify Him.

We deny Christ by ______________________________.

We deny Christ.

Guilty as charged.     

Lord, we stand before You guilty; guilty as those that ridiculed You, spit on You, beat You and killed You, because we are those people as well. We deny You each and every day by the lives we live. In our guilt, forgive us, Lord, and lead us to live humble lives under Your merciful Lordship. Help us to forgive ourselves and receive Your forgiveness with joy. Amen  

Lenten Reflections: Humility

^"But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." - Matthew 26:56

Humiliation

We began the Lenten season together in humiliation. Ashes marked our foreheads, humiliating reminders of our sin and morality.

Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. 

Humiliation

Despite His divine nature, Christ chose the path of humility, not humiliation. Similar word origins, but very different perspectives. And in doing so, He disarmed His enemies, even the enemy of death, the corporate enemy of all. Humility didn't comfort Him. Humility didn't make His path any easier. Humility didn't embrace Him. Humility left Him alone. Humility rewarded Him with spit in His face, a back torn to the bone and a cross in which to hang on.
   
In His humility, Christ shows us that we have a choice: humiliation or humility. The choice lies within us, although the world may see no distinction. While we may choose to walk in complete, nothing guarantees that we will not stand humiliated. The result of humiliation or humility is from our perspective. 

Do we walk our spiritual journeys humiliated or humble? 

Lord, as we make our way through this second week of Lent, we come to you with the choice; to walk though the remainder of Lent as humble, or humiliated. Through the power of Your Spirit, enable us to face the world as humble servants of the living God, sometimes alone and deserted, but complete in You. Amen 

Lenten Reflections: First Sunday of Lent

"Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long."

Psalm 25:4-5

Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

The path that we find ourselves on is filthy. Let's step off for just a while. 

As we look back over the first week of Lent, we see that the ashes are still settling. They settle on you and they settle on me. They settle on everything around us. The ashes mock us as we stand naked; humiliated at the broken and dirty nature of our existence without Christ. They remind us of death, and that it stands ready to eagerly greet each one of us for services rendered. But pride is quick to build a false facade that shields us from the realities of the mess that we are. And pride fuels the fire that makes a fist and declares, "I'm better than you!" Rather than picking up a broom, we fight over the mess that the ashes have made.

Break time.

But don't be so quick to pull out the cleaning supplies! We're just beginning our journey and there's plenty of  filth to come! You think we're dirty now? We're going to need plenty of soap when this journey's over!

Today is Sunday. Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Today we stop and rest. Today we leave the cleaning until tomorrow. Put your broom down for now. Today we feast!

This is a filthy journey, but let's not forget that Christ leads the way, and in Him there's no room for the ashes of Wednesday. No place for filth. 

Through Christ, through His Spirit, He reveals to us a path that is waiting of each of us. It's not a path of dirt, rocks and dying earth. It's a path of life, perfection and peace.

We're are on this path together.

We're on our way to Resurrection, and by the time we get there, we'll have no need to carry these ashes with us any longer. Today is a prelude of what's to come. This Sunday is temporary. Easter Sunday is eternal.

May you find your peace today. Tomorrow we will continue our journey, and trust me; it's going to get worse.

Lord, today we rest. Today we find our joy in you. Let Your love cover us this day. Let the joy of heaven rain down upon us and give us peace. You are our compassion. You are our peace. You are our joy. Comfort us in the mess that we're in and give us strength, endurance and perseverance for the journey that's ahead of us. Amen.   

Lenten Reflections: Fighting

"The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit...." - Genesis 3:12

Fighting began early for humans. Even within the beauty and perfection of Eden, the blame-game began and rages on to this day. "The woman," Adam said, accusingly, "whom YOU gave me." She did it. An because YOU gave her to me, it's YOUR fault, God!

We love to be right and we love to prove others wrong. "I'm right and you're wrong." becomes the declaration and rallying cry of a self-centered culture. Sometimes this position is defended with raised voices, sometimes a fist, a gun and sometimes a bomb. And the wheels on the bus go round and round.....Violence is a downward cycle that only leads to more violence. Blaming others causes disunity and a subtle seed of anger to take root.         

"Am I my brother's keeper?"

"This was all your fault!"

"Those damn liberals!....Conservative!"

"Our finances are a mess, and it's because you can't stop spending!"

"If you showed me the attention that I need, I never would have cheated!"

"I drink because of you."

"If the there weren't so many illegals....."

"It's because of the Jews!" 

"It's because of the Muslims!" 

"..you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” - Luke 22:48


Pride demands us to be better than the other person. Pride never takes the blame. Pride never admits wrong. Pride is always right. Pride looks in the mirror and shouts back, "You are right!" Pride wants to pick a fight, because initiating peace means you're weak. You loose. And in a culture of individualism, that's exactly how it appears.  

"I'm going to kick his ass!"


"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with EVERYONE." - Romans 12:18 

"But he betrayed me!"


"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" - Matthew 5:44

"That's ridiculous! They're savages! Sub-human!"

"the message of the cross is foolishness...." - 1 Corinthians 1:18

And a fool for Christ once prayer....

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that we 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. Amen

St. Francis of Assisi