The Lenten Journey Day 17

Research in the philosophy behind humor reveals a central principle to what is found as funny. The logical breakdown looks like this, “A plus B does not equal C.” The definition of this expression is incongruency. When the “punch line” or result of a spoken or written line is not the expected conclusion to what has been said leading up to it, then that is typically found humorous.

I think of this when I read the New Testament narrative of a young Jesus who is in Jerusalem with his earthly parents. Joseph and Mary leave Jerusalem, heading home with a caravan of friends and family. After a days journey they discover that Jesus is not in the group. They have lost the promised Messiah. Because of the incongruency, I find this scene humorous. Imagine, being greeted by Angels, gifted by Magi, and losing the reason for all of the attention and celebration.

However, though it is “funny” and humorous John Donne’s essay also brings home the very serious spiritual application. Just as his earthly parents could not find Him, there are times in our personal lives and communities that we lose the presence of Christ. From Donne, “ We may lose him by suffering our thoughts to look back with pleasure upon the sins which we have committed, or to look forward with greediness upon some sin that is now in our purpose and prosecution.” The enduring good news is that Christ can quickly be found. Again Donne, “Christ is at home with you, he is at home within you, and there is the nearest way to find Him.”

The Lenten Journey Day 16

In today’s reading, Barbara Brown Taylor, efforts to center the death of Jesus in its context and crossing into our daily context. Taylor calls readers to see the crucifixion of Jesus as a mirror where every person sees themselves for who they really are. This truth is often met with discomfort and the mirror, the presence of Christ, is forcibly removed.

From Taylor, “What happened then goes on happening now. In the presence of his integrity, our own pretense is exposed. In the presence of his constancy, our cowardice is brought to light. In the presence of his fierce love for God and for us, our own hardness of heart is revealed.”

I have often thought that the reason most of us want to move the celebration of the resurrection is because we do not like focusing on death. But, could it be the reason that we move so quickly through passion week and Good Friday is because we are uncomfortable with what needs to die in us?

The Lenten Journey Day 15

In today’s reading Emil Brunner reflects on the implications of 1 Cor. 1:23 where the cross is called a “stumbling block,” and “foolishness.” The main reason for this, Brunner asserts, is our own self-seeking sin.

I would like to reflect on this quote from Brunner. “But God has in his mercy shown us a different way. ‘You cannot come up to me, so I will come down to you,’ And God descends to us human beings. This act of becoming one of us begins at Christmas and ends on Good Friday.”

During advent we think a lot about the incarnation, about Christ coming to us on earth. But, as Brunner is bringing to light, earth was not far enough. The incarnation had to go to the depths of death to fully account for our sin. As I process God and his relationship with His creation I think, “He is in Heaven and God, that demands my attention, but then He came to earth that should be enough, but then He went to the extent of death.” Death, separation from God and the end of life, is the final frontier of our sinful reality. Christ conquered all things to redeem all. He has becoming one of us, so that He would be the only one for us.

The Lenten Journey Day 14

Today’s reading comes from Fleming Rutledge. Rutledge draws an interesting correlation between one’s view of the cross and of their own sin. She supposes two characters, one of whom is greatly disturbed by the image of Christ on the cross and the other who wants to dismiss the ghastly idea of Christ crucified altogether. Rutledge never makes a distinction between a feeling of embarrassment at the cross and the reality of being deeply moved by the cross and the difficulty with accepting it. She, instead focuses exclusively on the first part in order to bring home the point that to be embarrassed by the cross is to ignore the real need for Christ’s death.

It is really the heart of the issue. Do we avoid Christ on the cross because we do not want to deal with depth of our sin? We will readily admit, for the most part, that we are imperfect. But as Rutledge points out, we are not always ready to admit the depth of our sin. One aspect of this that I see is that sometimes there is a tendency to wallow in our sin. What the cross calls us to is to recognize our sin and leave it.

The following passage gets to the heart of Rutledge’s point and the depth of the cross and our sin.

How do we measure the size of a fire? By the number of firefighters and fire engines sent to fight against it. How do we measure the seriousness of a medical condition? But the amount of risk the doctors take in prescribing dangerous antibiotics or surgical procedures. How do we measure the gravity of sin and the incomparable vastness of God’s love for us? By looking at the magnitude of what God has done for us in Jesus, who became like a common criminal for our sake and in our place.

The Lenten Journey Day 13

The writer of today’s essay, Phillip Berrigan, was a former Catholic Priest and an outspoken anti-war activist. His writing certainly evokes thoughtful consideration. In this article he is reflecting on Mark’s account in which Jesus warns of being prepared on the Day of The Lord. He tells His followers to, “watch.” Berrigan then speaks of several Scriptural passages that call readers to watch and pay attention. He points to the narrative of Jesus and three of his disciples at Gethsemane where he pleads for them to stay awake while He prays. They fall asleep three times.

“Psychological studies reveal that Americans live in 40% awareness.” Berrigan does not provide reference for this study but it is not necessarily hard to believe. We get caught in our routines and in our tunnel vision view of the world.

“Watch the words of others, since God often speaks to us through sisters and brothers.” How often do we really pay attention to what others are telling us? Moreover, how often do we the Holy Spirit’s counsel through the words of others. Not everything everyone says is a word from God, but if we are not ‘watchful’ we miss insightful truths being communicated.

“Watch, learn, act- the formula for a full, sane life.” It is not one of the Scriptures Berrigan uses but this line makes me think of a well-known Proverb, “Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!” -Proverbs 6:6. Solomon’s pithy advice has specific applications but we should not miss the general imperatives. Go and consider are important actions on our journey. Let us be alert to what God may in fact be telling us. Then may we follow through.