Hezekiah was one of the bright lights among the dim bulbs of Israel and Judah's kings. An account of him begins in 2 Chronicles 29. Right from the get-go, he whips everybody involved in temple worship into shape: "Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and carry out the filth from the holy place."
We all have places that we keep holy and undefiled. It may be your hour at church. Or time with your spouse at the end of the day. Maybe it is a long commute, or when you have a mid-afternoon cup of coffee. It is quiet, peaceful, and empty. At the same time, it is a time to be filled again with reflection, prayer, sorrow, or joy. When we neglect this holy place, our lives are depleted of any sense of God, of gratitude and dependence, and we begin to shoulder more and more responsibility for everything and everyone in our lives.
As we began our study of Paul's letter to the Colossians, Jessica reminded us of something powerful. We may struggle to guard our holy places and quiet times. But in Christ, we are a holy place constantly under his care. God doesn't only come to us in peaceful mini-sabbaths. He lives in us now. He isn't only with you when you watch a sunset or when you pray. He has made you a holy place. You are the temple. All of the Old Testament proclaims this good news of Jesus Christ. It is in the tabernacle of Exodus. It is in the temple of 2 Chronicles. God's presence with us, and in us, is fulfilled in Jesus Christ once and for all. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews gasps at this: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." (Hebrews 10:14-17)
For the Saints. As we begin this series that will lead us through June, how should we respond to this? First, that which is for the saints is more than a piece of mail from the Apostle Paul. It is the gift of sanctification - of constant union with our Lord Jesus that will extend beyond the grave. Second, we can ask God that our sanctification will bear fruit. As Peter puts it, we are sanctified by the Spirit "to be obedient to Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. 1:2) Who can you forgive today? Who can you have compassion on? Whose day do you have the best chance of improving? What burdens can you lay down right now? May we realize that sanctified people have an abundantly loving God - there isn't a whole lot we need to cling to or protect.
Reflection Questions:
1) In his book, The Shack, William Paul Young writes that "freedom is an incremental process." Name a person, discipline, memory, or something in your life that makes you a little more free each day to be Christ's servant.
2) When is your quiet time when you can be with God one on one? What are the greatest threats to this time and how can you take greater steps to protect it?
Monday, April 15, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
From the Tomb (Reflections on Easter Message)
One image that will stay with me from Sunday's Easter message is that of Kevin in the Mandarin Cemetery. I was there for the first time on Sunday morning for the sunrise Easter service, so I can picture it in my mind. I can see him walking through, looking at the graveposts, reading poignant memories, and also smiling at the earthy humor in the face of death.
Laughter is the most wonderful thing in the world. I wish it permeated my life constantly. But I fear the ways that humor can demean us. I can think of two. It can be used to 1) make myself seem better than others. This is the humor we call "ridiculing", that allows me to put others down. It can also be used to 2) distract myself from real life. This is the kind of humor that my parents had to warn me about growing up, the type of humor that can get out of hand, that gets too silly - the product of too much TV or sugar. When we become too wary of these distortions of humor though, we can sometimes go too far in the other direction. We can become too serious, and feel guilty about deep enjoyment and the rich laughter that comes with it.
I think of a scene in Wm. Paul Young's novel, The Shack. The book is a fictional account of a man named Mack who has suffered the tragic loss of his daughter, and who has a transforming encounter with the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mack has just spent an evening with Jesus looking at the stars on the dock and the two begin to laugh. "It was infectious, and Mack found himself swept along, from somewhere deep inside. He had not laughed from down there in a long time. Jesus reached over and hugged him, shaking from his own spasms of mirth, and Mack felt more clean and alive and well than he had since...well, he couldn't remember when.
"Eventually, they both calmed again and the night's quiet asserted itself once more. It seemed that even the frogs had called it quits. Mack lay there realizing that he was now feeling guilty about enjoying himself, about laughing...
"Jesus?" he whispered as his voice choked. "I feel so lost."
"A hand reached out and squeezed his, and didn't let go. "I know, Mack. But it's not true. I am with you and I'm not lost. I'm sorry it feels that way, but hear me clearly. You are not lost." (Young, 114)
Mack is actually with Jesus and he feels lost. We see him, know him, and believe that he is alive in us through the Holy Spirit only by faith. We certainly will also feel lost sometimes. But this passage reminds me of the Easter truth that Kevin preached. Because of what Christ has done for us and in us, our lives aren't tragic anymore. They are comedy - a divine comedy. There is a happy ending. One day, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
What does Easter mean? It means Jesus has turned our tragedy into comedy. I hope we don't only think this, or know this. I hope we can feel this. I pray that the gospel will delight us so much that we will laugh, from way deep inside, with spasms of mirth, infectious laughter that is clean and alive.
Reflection Questions:
1) I remember turning in my senior project at the end of college and laughing with delight. I could hardly believe I'd finally finished it! When have you laughed with total delight?
2) During Holy Week and Easter, when did you experience the most wonder and delight in what Christ has done for us?
Laughter is the most wonderful thing in the world. I wish it permeated my life constantly. But I fear the ways that humor can demean us. I can think of two. It can be used to 1) make myself seem better than others. This is the humor we call "ridiculing", that allows me to put others down. It can also be used to 2) distract myself from real life. This is the kind of humor that my parents had to warn me about growing up, the type of humor that can get out of hand, that gets too silly - the product of too much TV or sugar. When we become too wary of these distortions of humor though, we can sometimes go too far in the other direction. We can become too serious, and feel guilty about deep enjoyment and the rich laughter that comes with it.
I think of a scene in Wm. Paul Young's novel, The Shack. The book is a fictional account of a man named Mack who has suffered the tragic loss of his daughter, and who has a transforming encounter with the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mack has just spent an evening with Jesus looking at the stars on the dock and the two begin to laugh. "It was infectious, and Mack found himself swept along, from somewhere deep inside. He had not laughed from down there in a long time. Jesus reached over and hugged him, shaking from his own spasms of mirth, and Mack felt more clean and alive and well than he had since...well, he couldn't remember when.
"Eventually, they both calmed again and the night's quiet asserted itself once more. It seemed that even the frogs had called it quits. Mack lay there realizing that he was now feeling guilty about enjoying himself, about laughing...
"Jesus?" he whispered as his voice choked. "I feel so lost."
"A hand reached out and squeezed his, and didn't let go. "I know, Mack. But it's not true. I am with you and I'm not lost. I'm sorry it feels that way, but hear me clearly. You are not lost." (Young, 114)
Mack is actually with Jesus and he feels lost. We see him, know him, and believe that he is alive in us through the Holy Spirit only by faith. We certainly will also feel lost sometimes. But this passage reminds me of the Easter truth that Kevin preached. Because of what Christ has done for us and in us, our lives aren't tragic anymore. They are comedy - a divine comedy. There is a happy ending. One day, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
What does Easter mean? It means Jesus has turned our tragedy into comedy. I hope we don't only think this, or know this. I hope we can feel this. I pray that the gospel will delight us so much that we will laugh, from way deep inside, with spasms of mirth, infectious laughter that is clean and alive.
Reflection Questions:
1) I remember turning in my senior project at the end of college and laughing with delight. I could hardly believe I'd finally finished it! When have you laughed with total delight?
2) During Holy Week and Easter, when did you experience the most wonder and delight in what Christ has done for us?
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