Check out Pistol Pete recounting of Burning Down the Church . Tearing down a few more church walls would certainly helps us to break out of that fortress mentality that we are prone to.
Coming Down from the Hillside – Good Friday Reflection
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
When Jesus clambered down the hillside after delivering the final words of His sermon, we can feel the silence envelop him. All those eyes and ears that had been challenged to a radically new way of living in the Kingdom of Heaven heard and saw the quiet as well. There was nothing further to be said, His authority had been so complete that the people were amazed. What must have run through their minds? Were they angry at having been deceived by their teachers, who said one thing and did another?
Our meditation today on the Cross, where Jesus gave the greatest sacrifice for all of humankind, points us back through the whole of the Sermon on the Mount. Just as He lived out John 15:12-13, His ministry leading up to the cross gave example to all of the words of His sermon. Are you and I able to say the same thing? Our belief governs our actions and our trust in Jesus and His promises drive how radically we live out our vocation.
This is a somber day, marked by the candle being extinguished and the darkness instantly surrounding us, but it is not a day without hope. Sunday is coming…
The Watchman by Robert Crais
Joe Pike in love? Joe Pike stringing together more than three words?
The man of the perpetual sunglasses and moving forward attitude comes alive in the best Crais novel this year. Pike has been a partner character in Crais’ Elvis Cole detective series where he has served as the hyper-intense specter who appears out of the mist when Cole’s wisecracking can no longer save him from trouble, and he needs both muscle and muzzle. His intensity was known, but this novel fully fleshes out the man Joe Pike.
The usually silent Pike comes to life as The Watchman, contracted to protect a Paris Hilton-like debutante whose life spirals out of control when she and her Aston Martin are at the wrong place at the wrong time. Crashing into a car that appears to back out in front of her, Larkin Conner Barkley sets in motion an explosive series of events that leads to her being hunted by men with no identification but plenty of bullets. Joe is called in to protect her and he takes the job seriously, despite Larkin’s protestations. The mission always comes first in Joe’s world.
As with all silent heroes, the biggest mistake that the pursuer can make is to make him angry. After a pair of safe houses are exposed and become shooting grounds, Pike suspects everyone and everything and begins the process of sorting truth from fiction. He enlists Cole to help him exam everyone involved with Larkin and their motives and, together, they peel back the layers to discover who is really behind the threat to Larkin’s life. Every page that is turned pushes Pike forward, following the tattoos on his biceps.
The Watchman is a fantastic read sure to satisfy. Though Pike has been introduced to us in the Cole novels, spending time with him and his thoughts gives him new depth and dimension to his character. All of the personal background that we had prior to this book comes together now to paint a picture of a man of honor, compassion, and an intensity that burns off of the pages. His interaction with his fellow brigands in the gun shop alone will cause you to play and replay the dialog in your head just to hear the sound of his voice. Joe Pike is a character with a long career ahead of him.
Stay Groovy!
Higher on the Hillside – Lent Reflection 26
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Jesus the Encourager begins the closing thoughts of his incredible sermon. He knows that the radical challenges that he has issued regarding the transformed nature of His followers in the upside-down kingdom of heaven will only be taken up by a few. Surely, some must have wondered why he doesn’t make the road home easier. The answer of course, is that He is going to by sending the Paraclete in His place to guide those who believe down the narrow road.
These meditations grow shorter as the time grows closer for our remembrance of the cross and all that it means. Each brings us nearer to a realization that we are fully dependent on the grace and mercy of our Glorious Lord. None of us has the power to change our hearts on our own, we must submit them to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. The wide road tempts but the Spirit guides us down that rocky narrow way, the only one that leads back home.
Higher on the Hillside – Lent Reflection 25
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Radical Jesus gives the first of the summary statements in His sermon by giving the Golden Rule for how we are to treat one another. Its utter simplicity is meant to cut through all of the ‘religion’ that has wrapped itself around the message that God wants His people to hear; love God and love others. When you love the Lord with all your heart, your actions towards others created in His image will fall into place. Radical in its minimalism.
This single verse is so radical that we often struggle to live it out. It is hard to give up our desires for revenge and retribution. We want to live the golden rule but we fear others who refuse to live it out themselves and this lies at the crux of the problem. The fear creeps in that we will lose in some respect when we live the way Jesus teaches and others do not but the Teacher gives us the solution, don’t be concerned with your condition here in this world. Raise your sights to the heavens where sacrifice will not be needed. Follow the Radical in His sacrifice knowing where your true reward lies.
Hope Springs Eternal
In cities all over the country, there is hope this morning as Opening Day of the 2007 baseball season erupts in time with the Forsythia. Fans have endured the struggle of a long, cold winter of waiting and an endless five or six weeks of spring training for this moment. In half of the parks (the fact that Baseball is played in a Park sets it immediately apart from the other land acquisition sports) the bunting is out and field is painted.
Oh, and by tomorrow, half the teams will be tied for first and the others in the basement. Play ball!
Higher on the Hillside – Lent Reflection 24
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks fins; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Jesus, as he begins to conclude His Sermon on the Mount, urges His disciples to a greater communion in prayer with the Father. He radically commends them (us) to committing all of our life, every portion and quadrant of it, to the Father in prayer. He does not proffer this option in order to make more Pharisees; on the contrary. The Radical Jesus pushes us to realize the value and importance of an intimate relationship with the One Who Loves Us.
We find ourselves in the midst of Passion Week this morning, immediately following our recall of the triumphal entry. We discovered the danger in misguided expectations. As the palm leaves waved to cries of “Hosanna”, the people desperately wanted to believe in a restoration of a worldly kingdom with Jesus as their king. He radically wanted people to raise their sights, to see a kingdom of higher principles. He wants the same thing for us today and He wants us to root this higher perspective in a life of dependence and prayer. Read the assurances again…and again.
Waving Palms and Fools
John Andrews from my home state has a nearly perfect piece for this Palm Sunday over at Townhall.com. He succinctly says what I attempt to preach week after week; the Jesus of the Triumphal Entry is the Jesus of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. As John says, “the bottom line is this whole love thing.” Amen.
Jesus Offended by Chocolate?
The planned display of the crucified chocolate Jesus sculpture during Passion Week has melted down. The gallery that was to display the work relented to pressure from Christian groups calling for a boycott of the businesses that supported sculpter Cosimo Cavallaro’s work.
Good, right? Christian effort was able to quash the display of what is an obviously offensive portrayal of the Lord. Sunday, we can gather together in our sanctuaries secure in the knowledge that we protected the name of Jesus. He will smile on us and bless our gathering.
Or, will He?
Is the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of Humankind, our loving Lord this easily defamed? Through the centuries His name has been subjected to every conceivable defamation, every incorrect portrayal, every curse and damnation, and yet through it all He remains our Lord and Savior. If this is true then we have to ask ourselves if we’re devoting our energies to the right things. In other words, are there things in this world that He finds more offensive?
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.”
“I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,”
“I was a stranger and you invited me in”
“I was sick and you looked after me,”
“I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Are these the images that offend our Lord? His name and image are glorified and lived out by His Church…by you and me. A statue of Jesus made of chocolate is bound to be forgotten weeks from now. Then, how will people see Jesus through us?
Technorati tags: Jesus, Chocolate Jesus, Faith, Passion Week, Hunger, Thirst, Refugee, Love, Acceptance, Forgiveness
Higher on the Hillside – Lent Meditation 23
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
How many times have we wished that Radical Jesus had never spoken these words? Our hearts have a hair trigger to recognize the faults of our brothers and sisters but we are blind to our faults and we often don’t hesitate to point these faults out loudly. Certainly, we think, we have the right, NO! the responsibility to tell our brother when he has failed. Our faults? Well, those are our personal issues that are above your reproach because I have submitted them to the Lord.
Jesus points us in a different direction, a radical direction. He lays claim to being the only One able to judge the hearts of men and women. His perfection gives Him the sole right to stand above our broken lives and remind us, gently or not, of our failings. Fortunately, he doesn’t leave us in our pathetic state. Once He gets our eyes off of our brother and onto Him, the Radical One leads us to a higher order of awareness. Be blessed my brothers and sisters.
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 