Month: April 2022

April 17: Resurrection Sunday!

Read: Isaiah 65:17-25; John 20:1-18

Our reading in John today begins on the first day of the week, early, while it was still dark. There are echoes of another moment, early in creation, when the world was dark and formless. It reminds us of the darkness that settled over the world just days earlier as the Messiah was crucified, died, and buried. Darkness can suggest hopelessness and defeat.

It’s not just a time of day, but the absence of light. We go through dark times when we don’t feel the presence of God or when life’s circumstances are difficult and we feel lost and defeated.

Into the darkness of that Sunday morning centuries ago, the God who spoke light into existence raised back to life the light of the world. The God who in humility clothed himself in human flesh defeated death. The true light, which gives light to everyone, had reappeared. The darkness truly had not overcome it.

John’s presentation of that resurrection morning is filled with wonder in the midst of the mundane. Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb and Jesus’ body is missing. In shock, she runs to Simon Peter. He and John come and see that Jesus is gone and walk away confused and pondering what it all meant.

Mary remains. She sees two angels in white and though she speaks to them, she must not have comprehended who they were. It’s as though it doesn’t even register. Turning, she sees a man she mistakes as the gardener. Perhaps he knows where Jesus’ body is. As she weeps, Jesus speaks to her and calls her by name.

In the quiet of the early morning, her broken heart meets hope. Her crushed expectations are revived. This one she (rightly?) thought a servant, is actually her Lord! Death destroyed. Hope rekindled. Her world turned upside down!

The resurrection changes everything. When Mary hears Jesus call her by name, she knows it is him. When their conversation ends, she returns to tell all who will listen, “I have seen him! He is alive!”

We too, when we meet our God in human form; the Messiah who died and was raised; the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; when we meet him and he calls us by name, our response should be to go into the world and share this truth with everyone! We have seen him! We know him! He is alive! And in him, so are we!

Questions for Reflection

What have been the most important things you’ve learned or been reminded of during this Lenten season?

Have you sensed any invitations to start (or stop) some activity so you can draw closer to Jesus?

Is there someone you especially want to share the hope of Jesus with? Pray for them and for an opportunity to be a witness to them of the power of the resurrection!

April 15: Good Friday

Read: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; John 18:1-19:42

It’s impossible to read the passages related to Good Friday – Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion – apart from the lens of Resurrection morning. And yet, as we see the series of events unfold, it is a fresh reminder of Jesus’ deep love for us; of his choice to go through these excruciating events; of how God had planned all of this from before time began.

Centuries before Jesus would appear on earth, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah telling of the Messiah, God’s chosen servant, who would come and set the captives free. A bruised reed he would not break. The blind would see and the lame would walk. This servant would be called, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Tucked into all the beautiful and triumphant things Messiah would do is the description of him as a suffering servant in Isaiah 52 and 53. Nothing in the description would have drawn us to him. He would not have been on a list of the most influential people. We would have thought him just another man.

He was marred beyond recognition (52:14). He had nothing in his appearance to attract us (53:2). He was despised and rejected (53:4). Like a lamb, he was led to the slaughter. He did not speak a word. He did not try to escape. He did not protest his innocence. He was battered and bruised and ultimately killed in the most heinous way.

And yet, despite his treatment, kings and nations are astonished by him (52:15). He is described not as a victim, but as a victor. He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; he took upon himself our punishment that we might have peace. He was bruised. We are healed.

Jesus’ suffering, described by Isaiah centuries earlier, is the means for our redemption. It is the way of our restoration. It was not in vain, but the turning point of human history. It was not the end of a Jewish sect, but the beginning of a worldwide faith that brings salvation to all people.

Even more, Isaiah tells us he will rise again! The day will come when he sees his offspring. His days will be prolonged! His anguish will not be the final word. We grieve the servant’s suffering even as we rejoice in what God has done through him! He has taken him from humiliation to exaltation!

Today, as we pause to reflect on Jesus’ death, we do so from the vantage point of his resurrection. We look upon the cross, an instrument of punishment, death, and shame and we see it as the place of victory, glory, and joy.

Jesus, the suffering servant, invites us to rethink our worldly ideas of success. It wasn’t his charisma, charm, and good looks that made a difference. It was his servant’s heart. His obedience. His humility and gentle heart. His empathy and compassion. His willingness to give sacrificially for the sake of others. He invites us to do the same. He invites us to find our success, not in how much we have (possessions, power, position) but in how much we love (service, sacrifice, selflessness).

Jesus, the suffering servant, invites us to rethink our perspective on suffering. We’ve seen several times in recent messages that our faith is not measured by the blessings or easy life we enjoy. Jesus did not say to come follow me and life will be pain and trouble free! He said, take up your cross and follow me! The life of obedience and faithfulness will be blessed by God’s presence and is used by God to mature and refine us. He invites us to measure blessing in our lives not by the absence of suffering, but by his presence with us through it all.

Questions for Reflection

How does the life of Jesus and his willing submission to go to the cross influence your view of success and suffering? Should it?

What is stirred in your heart as you consider what Jesus endured for your sake? Take time to share your heart with Jesus. Is there an invitation to respond in some way?

April 10: Palm Sunday

Read: Psalm 118:1-2; 19-29; Luke 19:28-40

In an early episode of the old TV series, M*A*S*H, “Trapper”, one of the doctors is diagnosed with a stomach ulcer. Though upset about having a hole in his gut, his bunkmate, Hawkeye, reminds him that according to army regulations, he will be going home from the Korean War.

A farewell party is prepared and minutes before Trapper shows up, the company clerk (Radar) informs him the army has a new regulation that will require him to stay in Korea for treatment. Trapper goes to the party anyway and there is a festive time had by all until he’s asked to give his farewell speech. As he does, he explains he isn’t going home after all.

During the party, Trapper and Radar have a look in their eyes that betrays the truth – if anyone had taken the time to notice! It’s a great party, but it’s not going to end the way everyone wants or expects!

If one of the disciples had looked into Jesus’ eyes on that first Palm Sunday, would his eyes have betrayed that things weren’t going to end the way everyone hoped and expected? Knowing what lay before him, did Jesus smile and wave and receive the blessings and praise of the people all the while feeling the weight of what was before him?

The people proclaim, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Jesus knew that if he did the Father’s will and brought the peace and glory of which they sang, the path led to a cross.

And yet, the author of Hebrews reminds us that because of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising its shame. Now he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). It’s a beautiful reminder that joy transcends our circumstances. It is the pervasive sense that God is in control and all will be well. Jesus had to walk the path of obedience to the horrors of the cross and we must go with him – not to a physical death, but so we might die to self and by faith die with him and be raised with him.

When Jesus draws near to Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday, Luke writes that he wept over the city saying, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). They proclaimed him king. They hoped for deliverance. They thought he would lead a revolt.

Had they known their greater need and where it was Jesus would go to make peace possible, but they could not see. They had not heard his words warning of what is to come.

But we see it. We see Jesus on his way to Golgotha…taking his first steps of obedience toward the gospel paradox: the death that brings life; the sacrifice that solves all that ever was wrong with the world. Jesus must walk that path. And he calls us to go with him.

Questions for Reflection

Have you ever been at a party or wedding or some kind of celebration while mourning loss or knowing of some impending challenge? Trying to rejoice and being happy, yet carrying a heavy weight. Take time to reflect on what it must have been like for Jesus that day.

In what sense do we walk the path to the cross with Jesus? What does it mean for us to die with him and for us to be raised to life with him? How does that enable us to live joyfully?

Readings this week:

April 11:          Isaiah 42:1-9; Hebrews 9:11-15

April 12:          Isaiah 29:1-7; John 12:20-36

April 13:          Isaiah 50:4-9a; John 13:21-32

April 14:          Exodus 12:1-14; John 13:1-17

April 15:          Isaiah 52:13-53:12; John 18:1-19:42

April 16:          Lamentations 3:1-9; 19-24; Matthew 27:57-66

April 17:          Isaiah 65:17-25; John 20:1-18

April 3: A New Thing

Read: Isaiah 43:16-21; John 12:1-8

Today’s passage from Isaiah opens with a description of God’s work on Israel’s behalf in leading the people out of Egypt. He opened a way in the sea, he enticed the armies of Egypt to follow the Israelites into the path. He closed the water over them that they would lie down and not get up again.

It was a magnificent act by God, but in verse 18 he says, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” This undoubtedly sounded odd to a people who kept the same feasts for generations – and still do. Why shouldn’t they remember God’s grace in the past?

Verse 19 reveals the answer, “Behold, I am doing a new thing”. Isaiah is giving the people a hint that God is going to do something on the level of parting the Red Sea; of delivering the people from Egypt.

And yet, it’s a new thing. In fact. it’s a reversal of what he did in the past. In the days of the Exodus, he parted the sea so the people could walk through on dry land. Now, he will turn the dry land into rivers, the waterless desert will flow with life and explains his reasons for this: “I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

Written at a time when Judah was in exile, the promise of return, of this new thing, brought hope. These verses invite us to find encouragement despite the current realities we face: Pandemic and war; inflation and uncertainty. In these words, we’re invited to look beyond our circumstances and to wonder what God will do next. What new thing might he do for his people as they wait for Christ’s return?

It also reminds us that our current circumstances are temporary. They are part of our journey toward a time and place when our hearts will find their true home with God. He is the one who made us and redeemed us and loves us and calls us to himself.

When God sent Jesus, he also did a new thing. Instead of pointing people back to the Law, to the sacrificial system, to the old ways that only worked temporarily, God sent his son. God intervened dramatically. God reversed the condition brought on by Adam’s sin. We know, the one man, Adam, brought sin into the world and through his sin, death. But Jesus, in his life, death, and resurrection, does a new thing that brings life, life that lasts forever.

This is our hope! It is a hope rooted in reality. It is a hope that God has done amazing things and continues to do amazing things. There is no challenge too hard or desert too wide for God to give deliverance and hope. And it is a hope that one day in the not too distant future, Jesus will come again and bring a new heavens and a new earth and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord!

Questions for Reflection

In these days do you find yourself more or less hopeful than a year ago? What, if anything, has changed?

Isaiah gives us an image of God making streams in the wilderness and rivers in the desert showing how he will do a new thing and transform the situation. Have you ever experienced God doing something new like that in your life?

This week, share this message of hope with a friend who could use it!

Readings this week:

April 4:             Exodus 40:1-15; Hebrews 10:19-25

April 5:             Psalm 20; 1 John 2:18-28

April 6:             Habakkuk 3:2-15; Luke 18:31-34

April 7:             Isaiah 53:10-12; Hebrews 2:1-9

April 8:             Isaiah 54:9-10; Hebrews 2:10-18

April 9:             Leviticus 23:1-8; Luke 22:1-13

April 10:          Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Luke 19:28-40