For those that were reading my blog consistently and
expecting weekly updates, I apologize.
Sometimes, life just catches up with us and doesn’t afford us all the
luxuries that we desire. Time, at times, is a luxury, and one that I have felt
short of the last couple weeks.
As Dwayne is performing in New York, I’m sitting in the
apartment with worship music playing and my thoughts centered on the object of
my faith: Jesus Christ. If you’re like
me, meditation can be difficult. My mind
races. Thoughts in disarray, bouncing
from one idea to the next at rapid pace. Slightly discombobulated. Slightly schizophrenic. At one moment I’m
caught up in the music. The next I’m
thinking about what to cook for dinner.
And God knows all of my attention needs to go into cooking (it’s not
good, even when I’m completely focused).
So, I figured the best way for me
to focus my thoughts was to sit and write.
This weekend my attention, like millions of others, has been
directed back to Calvary. Back to the
nail pierced hands and feet. The crown
of thorns. God, in the flesh, the pure
and holy One, dying with the weight of sin placed upon Him. The ultimate display of love. The greatest extent of sacrifice. My redemption purchased. Sin conquered. Back to the grave. A dead Christ. The tomb
sealed. The great battle over
death. Seemingly defeated. And then triumph. The stone rolled away. A risen Christ. Eternity sealed.
A story that brings greatest humility to those who
believe. Me, so undeserving, a recipient
of the grace, mercy, forgiveness and love of God, so jealous for His people
that He would become the remedy, the final solution to our brokenness. A story that brings greatest joy and
gratitude and hope to my heart. And the
greatest hope is yet to be realized, that Christ shall come again. And His coming shall usher His Kingdom, the
completeness of peace and justice for the Earth!
As I have grown older, my faith has certainly changed. Not necessarily changed, but evolved. And part of that evolution is my
understanding and appreciation of Passion Week.
The week that began with joyous celebration of the Messiah to His
betrayal and ultimate death.
A significant focus of Good Friday for a majority of my life
has been on sin being crushed and conquered by the death of Jesus on the gruesome
cross. Rightly so. What has evolved is my understanding or
perception of sin. As elementary as this
sounds, for so long sin was simply a breaking of rules. A list of list of do’s and don’ts. A guide for holy living. If not holy living, at least a guide on how
to be a good Christian. How to please
God. Don’t sin. Don’t lie.
Don’t steal. Don’t cheat. Guard your tongue and your speech. Guard your mind and impure thoughts. Malice.
Anger. Adultery. Fornication.
The list goes on. And why should
I not sin? What makes these things sinful? Because God said so? For so long, I was taught that the
consequence of this sin was death, separation from God. My relationship with him broken. And of course this is true. My sin does separate me from God; hence, the
need for the cross.
But back to an earlier question: what makes these things
sinful? My evolution begins with one of
the greatest mysteries of faith: the Trinity, the Godhead. Father.
Spirit. Son. All in one.
And in this Godhead lies perfect unity.
The purest form of community. In
the beginning, we had access to this perfect relationship. Sin broke that. But not only with God, with one another as
well. And with creation. The human
family became broken. Sin is that which
causes broken relationship, whether with God, or humanity, or with
creation.
Sin becomes much more real and tangible when we see and feel
and experience its direct consequence.
Eventually, we will feel the complete extent of its effect; however, we
experience it now. With one
another. Take lying for example. In doing so, I refuse truth to another. In so doing, I hurt the one to whom I lied. I create emotional baggage. I create mistrust that, depending on the
severity of the lie, may never be restored.
When I steal, I dishonor someone’s hard work and rob them of their
livelihood. The effects of sin are
prevalent every day. Just watch the
news. Humanity’s brokenness is
evident. People so disgusted by someone
else’s sexuality that they attack them, beat them, kill them. Prejudice that leads to outright
discrimination against people of color.
A twisted view of women that leads to a disgusting rape culture. A disregard for marriage that leads to
rampant infidelity, leading to extremely broken, confused, hurting, angry,
bitter people. I could go on. Paying attention to the world around us should
weigh heavy on our hearts because the effect of sin is blatantly obvious.
And this makes sin so much more real. When I sin, I am destroying relationship. My sin directly affects everyone
involved. And I add to the
hopelessness. I bring hurt. I bring pain.
I bring brokenness.
And this has made the cross so much more beautiful to me,
because my sin has become so much more real to me. When I really stop to think about my faults,
my failures, my sins, I realize how much work I still have to do. Sure, every day I am intentional about being
kind, loving, generous, compassionate, forgiving, merciful, gracious, etc. But I get angry too easily. Sometimes I lie, most often about really
insignificant things, but lie nonetheless.
My tongue can cut like a knife. I
get impatient with people easily. I
judge others, limiting how much I am able to interact with them. I can carry grudges and unforgiveness in my
heart. As much as I am trying to reflect
God in my living, I am breaking relationships. Now, in real time. Right in front of my eyes. Breaking relationship. Hurting others. My actions causing and
creating more brokenness in others.
And for this, Christ died.
And by His Holy Spirit, He continues to develop and build goodness
within me. But He didn’t just redeem me from sin. Remember, he rose from the grave. I have been reconciled to God. Jesus did not come to make bad people
good. He came to make dead people
alive. He has brought to me great hope
and joy.
And this is the beauty of Resurrection Sunday!
And I am called to do the same. The resurrection of Christ calls me forth to
action. We are now the body of
Christ. Not a cute little analogy or
metaphor. Literally, we are the body of
Christ! We are His hands and feet. That
will feed the homeless and clothe the naked.
We are the hands of Christ that will provide for the malnourished in
developing countries. We are the hands
of Christ that will welcome refugees from war torn countries. We are the hands of Christ that will care for
the orphaned. Who will visit the elderly
in nursing homes when family no longer does.
Who will visit the imprisoned when their families and friends turn their
backs. Who will provide education for
those who education is not accessible.
We are the hands of Christ that will stand and defend the
oppressed. Who will strive for racial
equity. And who will adamantly defend
those who suffer from prejudice and racism.
Instead of pushing people away from the church, the church
should be reaching out to those who are suffering and broken. The church is not for the religious
elite. It is not a place for the “righteous”
to determine who is and who can be accepted.
The very people that the church should ferociously be serving are so
often the ones that are turned away. We
build walls that reject entrance. We are
so focused and concentrated on “culture wars” that we become prejudiced and
biased and unloving.
The church should be loving violently. Serving the poor. Serving the drunks and addicts. The church should be on the front lines of
criminal justice reform and ending mass incarceration. The church should be in the front line making
the case to accept and care for refugees. The church should publically condemn racism
and prejudice that leads to biased policing policies. The church should be loving and reaching out
to homosexuals and transgender men and women.
Regardless of your religious beliefs, at least defend their
humanity. And if you’re so passionate
about their salvation, your loving actions will speak much more than your
hatred.
We are the body of Christ.
His hands. His feet. We are called to bring dead people to
life. Not their eternal soul, but real
and tangible acts of love that bring hope and joy to the suffering and
oppressed. We are the body of Christ.
His hands. His feet. We should actively be ushering His
Kingdom. Bringing peace to our
communities. Bring justice and equity
for all people. Bringing hope to those
who have long lost it. Bringing
reconciliation. Piecing back together
that which has been broken. Shining
light into the darkest of places.
It is possible.
Arise church!
Come, Lord Jesus, and bring your Kingdom!
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