Toward the end of the gospel of Matthew, there is this verse that really hit me today. It's Matthew 28:17, and it reads:
"When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted"
This verse occurs after almost all of the story of Jesus: His miraculous birth that fulfills over 300 Old Testament prophesies, His many miracles, the testimonies of the centurion with the sick servant, the paralytic on the bed, the ruler, the woman with the haemmorrhage, numerous blind men, His disciples, Mary Magdalen, Lazarus, Zacchaeus, and many others. It follows the story of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and his crucifixion there less than a week later. And, it follows the earth-shaking news of His resurrection. I cannot fathom someone being with Jesus for three years, hearing Him speak, seeing His miracles, seeing the unjustness and brutality of His death and then seeing Him alive again, doubting.
Today, we read all of this, as we have it at our disposal in print, in every language, on the internet and even as apps on our smartphones. Yet, all of this exposure seems to desensitise us to the wonder of the story. Probably more accurately, if you don't doubt, but believe, there are demands on your life because of that belief. Some people find the fruits of belief to be liberating and obeying Jesus's commands to love God and to love one another as He loves us as natural. But, a lot of others find any change from their life, however liberating, to be unthinkable.
I don't think it's really about doubt. If you have read or heard the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes and heart to the good news that is there, there really is no going back. But, going forward is hard and takes commitment, and that's where the wheels get bogged in the sand. Instead of praying for the strength to go forward, we admire our glimpses in the rear-view mirror, much as the children of Israel looked back and missed the onions and garlic of Egypt... forgetting the slavery.
Doubt is the mortal enemy of belief. I know I deal with doubt, but not real doubt, the doubt that makes my sinful life convenient. That kind of doubt is really shackles around your hands, and Jesus died to break you free of that.
Don't doubt, just believe. And live like you believe. I will try, and I will ask Him to help me. I can't be a Titus 2 man unless I do.
Tuesday 10 April 2012
Saturday 7 April 2012
The Hope of Easter
On one of our morning gabfests on TV on Friday, they did a story detailing the amount of money spent on chocolate and alcoholic beverages over the Easter Holiday. The host then stated "well, that's what Easter is about".
Well, no, it's not. Easter is about something that had never happened before, and hasn't happened since: a man came back from the dead. And, not just death, but probably the most violent form of death ever known to man.
But, it's not the death we celebrate on Easter, but the life. We celebrate Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. We celebrate our life, the fact that we can live it now as our maker intended, free from sin and in fellowship with Him. We celebrate hope.
Some people celebrated hope in November of 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, but four years later, he hasn't brought hope to fruition. But the Man we celebrate this Sunday does bring true hope. Only He can. The fact that He rose from the dead means that we can, too. It means in Him is life and if we believe and walk with Him, we'll always have life.
Jesus's resurrection is final proof that there is more to this life than just what we see, what we experience, have, eat and drink. And, yeah, it's a celebration, and so there will be eating and drinking going on, but it's not about the chokkies and grog. It's more than that, and I feel truly sorry for that host and others like him because they will get full and drunk, and tomorrow, they will wake up right where they were, in hopelessness, with Jesus right behind them, saying "come". He stands there in your life, fresh from the grave, alive in a way we can't comprehend, and He says to us "come". This is the true hope of Easter.
Happy Easter to you. He is risen, Alleluia!
Well, no, it's not. Easter is about something that had never happened before, and hasn't happened since: a man came back from the dead. And, not just death, but probably the most violent form of death ever known to man.
But, it's not the death we celebrate on Easter, but the life. We celebrate Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. We celebrate our life, the fact that we can live it now as our maker intended, free from sin and in fellowship with Him. We celebrate hope.
Some people celebrated hope in November of 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, but four years later, he hasn't brought hope to fruition. But the Man we celebrate this Sunday does bring true hope. Only He can. The fact that He rose from the dead means that we can, too. It means in Him is life and if we believe and walk with Him, we'll always have life.
Jesus's resurrection is final proof that there is more to this life than just what we see, what we experience, have, eat and drink. And, yeah, it's a celebration, and so there will be eating and drinking going on, but it's not about the chokkies and grog. It's more than that, and I feel truly sorry for that host and others like him because they will get full and drunk, and tomorrow, they will wake up right where they were, in hopelessness, with Jesus right behind them, saying "come". He stands there in your life, fresh from the grave, alive in a way we can't comprehend, and He says to us "come". This is the true hope of Easter.
Happy Easter to you. He is risen, Alleluia!
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Beautiful
I've sort of had a problem with this whole "bride of Christ" thing. I'm a middle-aged man who is overweight. I've seen brides, and they are indeed beautiful, but I cannot imagine being one. And, the last thing I would ever think I am is beautiful.
There is a Casting Crowns song called "Wedding Day", and the chorus goes like this:
"When Someone dries your tears, when Someone wins your heart, and says you're beautiful, when you don't know you are..."
I can relate to this, because I don't think of myself as beautiful, and there have been and are so many times when I know that I am not.
There are so many facets of beautiful in this world. The physically attractive, the "beautiful souls" in this world... beauty is subjective, and usually focuses on the physicial.
But, there are people like Lizzie Velasquez out there. If you haven't heard of her, she has a rare disorder where she cannot keep any weight on (yep, I've thought in the past that this is a blessing, not a curse, but I've learned otherwise through Lizzie). There are saints like Mother Theresa that exhude beauty through their love and care.
And then, there is this image of Jesus that I have as He is being crucified. It's not beautiful. Do a google on "actors that have played Jesus", you'll get quite a list, the one that comes to my mind is Jim Caviezel in "The Passion of the Christ".
If you look at the images we have of Jesus, pictures, statues, they are all attractive. But, the truth is that we don't know what He looked like, or whether we would think that He was physically beautiful.
I have learned that the old axiom "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is spot on. I know my wife is the most beautiful woman on Earth. I know this because when I behold her, I know her beauty on so many levels. Her beauty is a fact, just like the sun will rise tomorrow.
Jesus says I'm beautiful. And I surely do not know that I am. But, beauty comes from love. And Jesus loves me, not because I'm beautiful, but it is because of His love that I am beautiful. My beauty is a fact, just like the sun will rise tomorrow.
You are beautiful. Because God loves you. And Jesus is beautiful in the eyes of this beholder, and that image of Him on the cross is the most beautiful thing I've seen, because I see His love there.
There is a Casting Crowns song called "Wedding Day", and the chorus goes like this:
"When Someone dries your tears, when Someone wins your heart, and says you're beautiful, when you don't know you are..."
I can relate to this, because I don't think of myself as beautiful, and there have been and are so many times when I know that I am not.
There are so many facets of beautiful in this world. The physically attractive, the "beautiful souls" in this world... beauty is subjective, and usually focuses on the physicial.
But, there are people like Lizzie Velasquez out there. If you haven't heard of her, she has a rare disorder where she cannot keep any weight on (yep, I've thought in the past that this is a blessing, not a curse, but I've learned otherwise through Lizzie). There are saints like Mother Theresa that exhude beauty through their love and care.
And then, there is this image of Jesus that I have as He is being crucified. It's not beautiful. Do a google on "actors that have played Jesus", you'll get quite a list, the one that comes to my mind is Jim Caviezel in "The Passion of the Christ".
If you look at the images we have of Jesus, pictures, statues, they are all attractive. But, the truth is that we don't know what He looked like, or whether we would think that He was physically beautiful.
I have learned that the old axiom "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is spot on. I know my wife is the most beautiful woman on Earth. I know this because when I behold her, I know her beauty on so many levels. Her beauty is a fact, just like the sun will rise tomorrow.
Jesus says I'm beautiful. And I surely do not know that I am. But, beauty comes from love. And Jesus loves me, not because I'm beautiful, but it is because of His love that I am beautiful. My beauty is a fact, just like the sun will rise tomorrow.
You are beautiful. Because God loves you. And Jesus is beautiful in the eyes of this beholder, and that image of Him on the cross is the most beautiful thing I've seen, because I see His love there.
Sunday 1 April 2012
Holy Week
Yep, I'm back. April seems to be my blogging month :)
We've just started in on what many call Holy Week. It's a week where we recall the last week in the life of Jesus. And, it's pretty common to hear readings of the Gospels that depict this part of Jesus's life. If you're Catholic, you've just endured the longest gospel reading of the year. This year, it was from the gospel of Mark. Mark is renowned not only for being the first gospel written, but also for being the most brief and concise, Catholics love Mark :)
If you're like me, you've heard and voluntarily read this story more than once. This has the undesirable effect of making it "common", i.e. it's just a story you've heard before, tune out. But, in recent years, I've listened and read deeply. And, there is a lot going on here.
First is just the sheer enormity of the story of God, and what happened to Him at the hands of men. Even bigger than that is the truth that God let this happen to Him, and that God not only felt this but saw it happen at the same time. Trinity paradox, don't try to figure it out.
Then, you step away a bit, and look back in scripture, and you see that this was planned from the beginning. Some think of Jesus's death as God's plan B, but they forget that God is never surprised. So, before He breathed Adam and Eve into life, He planned to go to the cross. As a popular song recently pointed out to me, God could still look at creation, even the creation of man, and know what the plan was, and still say that it was good.
So, the plan is now in place, man has fallen and God needs to die to restore fellowship with man. Jesus could have picked any time in history to do this, and any method of execution. He chooses to come during one of the most barbaric points of history, born to a people enslaved and abused by a world power, who perfected a form of execution created years before into a brutal art. This is how He chooses to die. Amazing.
Then, as the words start to blur as tears form when you comprehend all of this, you see what lies beneath. It's about love. God created man out of love. The love has always been there, from the darkest part of the void of nothingness before, to the world's ultimate outcome. But, man had to be convinced (and I wonder who am I that God needs to convince me of anything? Is not my next breath evidence of His love?), so God did the unthinkable and had the unthinkable done to him, to convince me that He loves me.
I don't know what this week holds in store for you, but I would invite you to think about what happened to Jesus on this week 2000 years ago. Better yet, pick up one of the gospels and read it for yourself. And, think about it, the sacrifice, the brutality, the forgiveness... and ultimately, the victory that we celebrate this Sunday.
Yours in Christ,
Rahn.
We've just started in on what many call Holy Week. It's a week where we recall the last week in the life of Jesus. And, it's pretty common to hear readings of the Gospels that depict this part of Jesus's life. If you're Catholic, you've just endured the longest gospel reading of the year. This year, it was from the gospel of Mark. Mark is renowned not only for being the first gospel written, but also for being the most brief and concise, Catholics love Mark :)
If you're like me, you've heard and voluntarily read this story more than once. This has the undesirable effect of making it "common", i.e. it's just a story you've heard before, tune out. But, in recent years, I've listened and read deeply. And, there is a lot going on here.
First is just the sheer enormity of the story of God, and what happened to Him at the hands of men. Even bigger than that is the truth that God let this happen to Him, and that God not only felt this but saw it happen at the same time. Trinity paradox, don't try to figure it out.
Then, you step away a bit, and look back in scripture, and you see that this was planned from the beginning. Some think of Jesus's death as God's plan B, but they forget that God is never surprised. So, before He breathed Adam and Eve into life, He planned to go to the cross. As a popular song recently pointed out to me, God could still look at creation, even the creation of man, and know what the plan was, and still say that it was good.
So, the plan is now in place, man has fallen and God needs to die to restore fellowship with man. Jesus could have picked any time in history to do this, and any method of execution. He chooses to come during one of the most barbaric points of history, born to a people enslaved and abused by a world power, who perfected a form of execution created years before into a brutal art. This is how He chooses to die. Amazing.
Then, as the words start to blur as tears form when you comprehend all of this, you see what lies beneath. It's about love. God created man out of love. The love has always been there, from the darkest part of the void of nothingness before, to the world's ultimate outcome. But, man had to be convinced (and I wonder who am I that God needs to convince me of anything? Is not my next breath evidence of His love?), so God did the unthinkable and had the unthinkable done to him, to convince me that He loves me.
I don't know what this week holds in store for you, but I would invite you to think about what happened to Jesus on this week 2000 years ago. Better yet, pick up one of the gospels and read it for yourself. And, think about it, the sacrifice, the brutality, the forgiveness... and ultimately, the victory that we celebrate this Sunday.
Yours in Christ,
Rahn.
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