See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
See the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out
It was a beautiful day
A beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
The hopeful picture that is portrayed in the song “Beautiful Day” by U2, reminds us of the truth that on Easter the sting of death gave way to the joy of resurrection. Easter is God's announcement to all of creation that the cross of Jesus was a victory, not a defeat.
If Good Friday tells us that there is a serious problem in the world that needs fixing, the truth that the story of Easter conveys is that the light of new creation has broken into our dark world. The reality of new creation is the point, the “so what?” of Jesus’ resurrection! (In what follows I presume the truth of Jesus’ bodily resurrection.)
Let’s look at the resurrection narrative in the Gospel of John to further explore the point of Jesus’ resurrection…
“On the first day of the week, very early, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. So she ran off, and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They’ve taken the master out of the tomb!’ she said…on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Judeans. Jesus came and stood in the middle of them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. With these words, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the master. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said to them again. ‘As the father has sent me, so I am sending you.’ With that, he breathed on them. ‘Receive the Holy Spirit,’ he said.” (John 20.1-2, 19-22)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep (Genesis 1.1-2). On that first day God’s Spirit swept over the face of the waters. Life and light were born as God spoke them into existence with his mighty Word. On the sixth day creation is complete. “God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good” (Genesis 1.31). And on the seventh day God rested from his work of creation (Genesis 2.1-3). Sabbath.
“In the beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh and lived among us,” says John (John 1.1, 14). Through that Word, life and light came into the world once again. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8.12). New creation burst forth through Jesus’ every word and action. But then came Good Friday, the sixth day of the week. “Behold, the man,” said Pilate. Fallen humanity sentences King Jesus to death by crucifixion. Flesh dies, and yet again, God’s good creation is spoiled by sin. Darkness covers the land. And then comes the dark hopelessness of Saturday, the long Sabbath. Jesus rests in the cold tomb on the seventh day of the week.
But then, “on the first day of the week” new life bursts forth from the darkness of the tomb! This “first day” when Jesus was raised represents the first day of God’s new creation. This is the new day when the risen and glorified Jesus comes to proclaim “peace” to those who dwell in darkness. Jesus visits his disciples and breathes on them the breath of life, just as God had done to Adam in the beginning. They receive the promised Holy Spirit. And they are sent into the world to proclaim the message of new creation, to extend the offer of God’s forgiveness.
This (and much more) is the point of the Easter story.
In Jesus’ resurrection, God says, “Yes!” to Jesus and God says, “Yes!” to all that Jesus said and did. In Jesus’ resurrection, we see God’s redemptive promises coming to fulfillment and we witness God’s new creation bursting into this present evil age.
And what is more, in the power of Jesus’ resurrection, God sends us into the world to proclaim the message of new creation. Through the Holy Spirit, God makes us the embodiment of his re-creating power and sends us out with the message of new life!
Christ is risen! Earth and heaven never more shall be the same.
Break the bread of new creation where the world is still in pain.
Tell its grim, demonic chorus: “Christ is risen! Get you gone!”
God the First and Last is with us. Sing hosanna everyone!
Song: “Christ Is Risen”
Text: Brian Wren, 1986, Hope Publishing
March 23, 2008
March 21, 2008
Good Friday
Jesus, Jesus help me
I’m alone in this world
And a fucked-up world it is too.
Tell me, tell me the story
The one about eternity
And the way its all gonna to be.
Wake up, wake up dead man!
Wake up, wake up dead man!
These searching words from the song "Wake Up Dead Man" by U2, remind us that there's not just a serious problem in our world; there's a serious problem that needs fixing.
The problem of evil, sin, and injustice is an ever-present reality in our world. Millions of people suffer from serious illness, while millions of other people undergo unimaginable forms of physical and/or psychological abuse. Innocent civilians are killed every day because of violent conflicts around the world. And nature itself rages. The raging sea swallows ships and all those who are on board. The furry of hurricanes and tornadoes leave a path of death and untold destruction behind them. And massive earthquakes flatten whole communities, kill thousands of people, and leave millions homeless.
And so, the question must be asked: Is the suffering that results from evil and injustice a sick joke, which is sprung on us by an impersonal universe? Is it even possible to believe in a loving, caring God in a world full of evil? And further, can such a God bring good out of suffering? Is redemption possible? Can hope spring forth from the seedbed of sin, oppression, and injustice?
In light of such questions it must be said that there is no redemption in the simple acknowledgement of a problem. The acknowledgement that there is sin or evil in the world does not necessarily resolve the problem. After the problem of evil is acknowledged, it must be dealt with. And this leads us to the story of Good Friday.
“Jesus answered and said, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Surely I say, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it produces much grain…Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.” (John 12.23-24, 31-33)
A worldview generated by the Gospel of Jesus affirms both the reality of evil and the truth that the problem of evil has been dealt with through Jesus’ death on the cross. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the means through which God has fulfilled his covenant promise of redemption and has dealt with the problem of evil, sin, and death. Through Jesus’ paradoxical death on the cross, God has reconciled all things in heaven and on earth, having made peace through the blood of Jesus cross (Colossians 1.19-20).
This “Jesus-centered” worldview also asserts that evil will finally be conquered when Jesus returns and God establishes his new creation. This is a hopeful picture, indeed!
But there is more. The message of the Gospel is deeply personal. For we who humbly acknowledge our sin before God, who receive God’s offer of forgiveness, and who experience the new life of the Spirit are called to be God’s co-workers. We are called to follow Jesus to the place of pain and suffering and to bring God’s healing love to bear in that place. In this ‘time-between-time’ God is sending us out into the world as his bearers of peace and reconciliation.
We are called to live by faith in God, to live in the strength of Christ’s Spirit, and to live in loving service to all God’s creatures. And as we remain faithful to that calling, we work at becoming the willing agents of God’s new life and we set up divinely inspired signposts of God’s fully restored kingdom. As we live in light of the coming Day of Justice, we bring hope in the midst of despair and we help carry burdens that cannot be carried alone. That is the joy and mystery of following the crucified and risen Jesus in this world that God so dearly loves.
Good Friday Prayer:
King Jesus, on the cross you accomplished our salvation; enable us by your Holy Spirit to be faithful to our call to be your ambassadors in the world. Grant us strength to bear our crosses and endure our sufferings, even unto death. Amen.
I’m alone in this world
And a fucked-up world it is too.
Tell me, tell me the story
The one about eternity
And the way its all gonna to be.
Wake up, wake up dead man!
Wake up, wake up dead man!
These searching words from the song "Wake Up Dead Man" by U2, remind us that there's not just a serious problem in our world; there's a serious problem that needs fixing.
The problem of evil, sin, and injustice is an ever-present reality in our world. Millions of people suffer from serious illness, while millions of other people undergo unimaginable forms of physical and/or psychological abuse. Innocent civilians are killed every day because of violent conflicts around the world. And nature itself rages. The raging sea swallows ships and all those who are on board. The furry of hurricanes and tornadoes leave a path of death and untold destruction behind them. And massive earthquakes flatten whole communities, kill thousands of people, and leave millions homeless.
And so, the question must be asked: Is the suffering that results from evil and injustice a sick joke, which is sprung on us by an impersonal universe? Is it even possible to believe in a loving, caring God in a world full of evil? And further, can such a God bring good out of suffering? Is redemption possible? Can hope spring forth from the seedbed of sin, oppression, and injustice?
In light of such questions it must be said that there is no redemption in the simple acknowledgement of a problem. The acknowledgement that there is sin or evil in the world does not necessarily resolve the problem. After the problem of evil is acknowledged, it must be dealt with. And this leads us to the story of Good Friday.
“Jesus answered and said, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Surely I say, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it produces much grain…Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.” (John 12.23-24, 31-33)
A worldview generated by the Gospel of Jesus affirms both the reality of evil and the truth that the problem of evil has been dealt with through Jesus’ death on the cross. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the means through which God has fulfilled his covenant promise of redemption and has dealt with the problem of evil, sin, and death. Through Jesus’ paradoxical death on the cross, God has reconciled all things in heaven and on earth, having made peace through the blood of Jesus cross (Colossians 1.19-20).
This “Jesus-centered” worldview also asserts that evil will finally be conquered when Jesus returns and God establishes his new creation. This is a hopeful picture, indeed!
But there is more. The message of the Gospel is deeply personal. For we who humbly acknowledge our sin before God, who receive God’s offer of forgiveness, and who experience the new life of the Spirit are called to be God’s co-workers. We are called to follow Jesus to the place of pain and suffering and to bring God’s healing love to bear in that place. In this ‘time-between-time’ God is sending us out into the world as his bearers of peace and reconciliation.
We are called to live by faith in God, to live in the strength of Christ’s Spirit, and to live in loving service to all God’s creatures. And as we remain faithful to that calling, we work at becoming the willing agents of God’s new life and we set up divinely inspired signposts of God’s fully restored kingdom. As we live in light of the coming Day of Justice, we bring hope in the midst of despair and we help carry burdens that cannot be carried alone. That is the joy and mystery of following the crucified and risen Jesus in this world that God so dearly loves.
Good Friday Prayer:
King Jesus, on the cross you accomplished our salvation; enable us by your Holy Spirit to be faithful to our call to be your ambassadors in the world. Grant us strength to bear our crosses and endure our sufferings, even unto death. Amen.
February 26, 2008
Lent 2: Blessed are the Peacemakers
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God
- Jesus
These words of Jesus are very telling indeed! On one level, they address the evil and violence in our hearts. Jesus knows that we are bent on destruction. Each day, we cause harm to ourselves, to other people, and to God’s larger creation. But Jesus' words also call us to a new and better way of living. Jesus calls us to turn from our destructive ways and to become a peaceable people.
In this season of Lent God is calling us to humbly acknowledge our sin, to turn from it, and to become his agents of peace in the world!
The morning of Friday, February 15th was not unlike most mornings – I woke up, gave my two year-old son a bottle, got ready for work, drove to my office, and I eventually checked my email. That’s when my day took a turn. I opened an email that brought the tragic reality of the recent shooting at the University of Northern Illinois to my attention. The shooting happened on February 14th in a university lecture hall as students were attending an oceanography class. The gunman, who killed himself, was a graduate student in sociology. The shooting resulted in 7 fatalities, over a dozen serious injuries, and an untold amount of grief. Lord have mercy!
But what are our reactions to yet another violent act on the campus of a North American University? Does this act provoke a sense of hopelessness in us? Does it cause us to feel helpless in the face of evil? Or does this act simply work to confirm the entrenched numbness and apathy that so often defines our existence?
As we read the story of Jesus in the Gospels, we come to a startling realization: In a world where the human response to injustice is most often to either ignore it, hide from it, or carry out further acts of injustice, God sends his Son to die under the weight of sin and to rise in newness of life.
Christ’s death on the cross announces that God has dealt decisively, personally, and powerfully with the problem of evil. Paradoxically, God triumphs over the power of evil and reconciles creation to himself through the violence of the cross. Thus, we worship a God who enters the pain and absorbs the evil of the world. Through Jesus’ suffering and death, God took upon himself the weight of the world’s sin. And through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, God established peace in the world – a peace that must now be implemented by Jesus’ followers.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” says Jesus.
It is our responsibility to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy” (Hebrews 12.14). God is calling us to choose love over power, the cross over control, and peace over revolt.
And so, in the face of all tragedy and injustice, let us first take the posture of humility by acknowledging that we are part of the destruction against which we protest. Let us confess that our hearts are bent on destruction and let us receive God’s forgiveness, knowing that “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all injustice” (1 John 1.9). And as we do this, let us embrace the task of peacemaking, knowing that God’s Spirit is renewing our hearts and is working through us to bring God’s peaceable rule to bear in the world.
In this season of Lent, let us realize that there is hope for our world. This hope is seen most clearly in the face of the crucified and risen Messiah Jesus and in the faces of all who truly follow him!
A Lenten Prayer:
“Out of the depths of our being, we cry to God for peace. Out of that fearful place where we have to confess that we too are part of the destruction against which we are protesting. Out of that center where we discover that we too are so high up in the air that we have become numb and no longer see, feel, and hear the agony of thousands…Out of that empty spot of silence where we feel helpless, embarrassed, and powerless, where we suffer from our own impotence to stop the reign of death in our world…we cry to the Lord and say: ‘Lord have mercy.’”
Henri Nouwen, The Road to Peace
- Jesus
These words of Jesus are very telling indeed! On one level, they address the evil and violence in our hearts. Jesus knows that we are bent on destruction. Each day, we cause harm to ourselves, to other people, and to God’s larger creation. But Jesus' words also call us to a new and better way of living. Jesus calls us to turn from our destructive ways and to become a peaceable people.
In this season of Lent God is calling us to humbly acknowledge our sin, to turn from it, and to become his agents of peace in the world!
The morning of Friday, February 15th was not unlike most mornings – I woke up, gave my two year-old son a bottle, got ready for work, drove to my office, and I eventually checked my email. That’s when my day took a turn. I opened an email that brought the tragic reality of the recent shooting at the University of Northern Illinois to my attention. The shooting happened on February 14th in a university lecture hall as students were attending an oceanography class. The gunman, who killed himself, was a graduate student in sociology. The shooting resulted in 7 fatalities, over a dozen serious injuries, and an untold amount of grief. Lord have mercy!
But what are our reactions to yet another violent act on the campus of a North American University? Does this act provoke a sense of hopelessness in us? Does it cause us to feel helpless in the face of evil? Or does this act simply work to confirm the entrenched numbness and apathy that so often defines our existence?
As we read the story of Jesus in the Gospels, we come to a startling realization: In a world where the human response to injustice is most often to either ignore it, hide from it, or carry out further acts of injustice, God sends his Son to die under the weight of sin and to rise in newness of life.
Christ’s death on the cross announces that God has dealt decisively, personally, and powerfully with the problem of evil. Paradoxically, God triumphs over the power of evil and reconciles creation to himself through the violence of the cross. Thus, we worship a God who enters the pain and absorbs the evil of the world. Through Jesus’ suffering and death, God took upon himself the weight of the world’s sin. And through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, God established peace in the world – a peace that must now be implemented by Jesus’ followers.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” says Jesus.
It is our responsibility to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy” (Hebrews 12.14). God is calling us to choose love over power, the cross over control, and peace over revolt.
And so, in the face of all tragedy and injustice, let us first take the posture of humility by acknowledging that we are part of the destruction against which we protest. Let us confess that our hearts are bent on destruction and let us receive God’s forgiveness, knowing that “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all injustice” (1 John 1.9). And as we do this, let us embrace the task of peacemaking, knowing that God’s Spirit is renewing our hearts and is working through us to bring God’s peaceable rule to bear in the world.
In this season of Lent, let us realize that there is hope for our world. This hope is seen most clearly in the face of the crucified and risen Messiah Jesus and in the faces of all who truly follow him!
A Lenten Prayer:
“Out of the depths of our being, we cry to God for peace. Out of that fearful place where we have to confess that we too are part of the destruction against which we are protesting. Out of that center where we discover that we too are so high up in the air that we have become numb and no longer see, feel, and hear the agony of thousands…Out of that empty spot of silence where we feel helpless, embarrassed, and powerless, where we suffer from our own impotence to stop the reign of death in our world…we cry to the Lord and say: ‘Lord have mercy.’”
Henri Nouwen, The Road to Peace
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