Easter 2012
Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia
The Son whom you merited to bear, alleluia
Has risen as he said, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia!
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
7 April 2012
7 April 2012 - Meditation for Holy Saturday from the Divine Office.
"Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.
He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all”. Christ answered him: “And with your spirit”. He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light”.
I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.
See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.
I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.
Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity. "
"Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.
He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all”. Christ answered him: “And with your spirit”. He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light”.
I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.
See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.
I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.
Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity. "
Friday, April 6, 2012
6 April 2012
6 April 2012
"For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?""
Jesus comes to bear witness to the truth and yet he keeps silent before Pilate. How can he witness to the truth without words? It must be that his very life is a witness. Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king. It isn't as though Jesus is there insisting on it. There is nothing regal about him to suggest it at the moment.
"[T]here was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him."
It is true that Pilate had heard that he was a king. But seeing him before him as he is why does he even pursue the question?
"Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed."
It must be because of the authenticity of Jesus. Pilate is only too aware of his own failings. He knows he falls short of even the standards he sets for himself. And yet in Jesus he sees no such compromise. He sees "one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin." But his curiosity is not enough to save him from one more compromise.
"In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
Make no mistake. This is hard to believe when you're being beaten and scourged. Jesus can bear witness to the truth in such circumstances only because he does believe it with all his being.
"If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him."
Jesus does not need to do this. It is only because his love for us is so tremendous. It encompasses us all, whatever the degree of our betrayal. Whether Pilate, the guards, the Pharisees, Peter or even Judas, Jesus acts out of love for each individually. When he tells the guards who he is it isn't to impress them. He genuinely wants them to know. He genuinely wants them to understand and be changed Even the kiss from Judas he receives wishing it were sincere.
Let us recognize in our hearts the voice that cries out: "Crucify him!". Let us bring ourselves before the very cross we call for to be healed and made whole. As he says that it is finished let us hear ourselves and all things made new.
"For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?""
Jesus comes to bear witness to the truth and yet he keeps silent before Pilate. How can he witness to the truth without words? It must be that his very life is a witness. Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king. It isn't as though Jesus is there insisting on it. There is nothing regal about him to suggest it at the moment.
"[T]here was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him."
It is true that Pilate had heard that he was a king. But seeing him before him as he is why does he even pursue the question?
"Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed."
It must be because of the authenticity of Jesus. Pilate is only too aware of his own failings. He knows he falls short of even the standards he sets for himself. And yet in Jesus he sees no such compromise. He sees "one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin." But his curiosity is not enough to save him from one more compromise.
"In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
Make no mistake. This is hard to believe when you're being beaten and scourged. Jesus can bear witness to the truth in such circumstances only because he does believe it with all his being.
"If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him."
Jesus does not need to do this. It is only because his love for us is so tremendous. It encompasses us all, whatever the degree of our betrayal. Whether Pilate, the guards, the Pharisees, Peter or even Judas, Jesus acts out of love for each individually. When he tells the guards who he is it isn't to impress them. He genuinely wants them to know. He genuinely wants them to understand and be changed Even the kiss from Judas he receives wishing it were sincere.
Let us recognize in our hearts the voice that cries out: "Crucify him!". Let us bring ourselves before the very cross we call for to be healed and made whole. As he says that it is finished let us hear ourselves and all things made new.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
5 April 2012
5 April 2012
"You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another's feet."
Jesus is the LORD and master and yet he comes to be a servant to all. Jesus knows who he is in both contexts, LORD and servant, because he knows that he is from the Father. He knows that he "he had come from God and was going to God" and can therefore lay aside his garments to wash us clean from our sins knowing that this doesn't compromise who he is. In fact it exemplifies it.
Jesus lays all he has aside when he hangs upon the cross for our sake. He lays all he has
aside when he takes himself in his hands and gives himself to us as bread. Therefore
"as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." His offering of himself is one. He gives us himself as food and gives his life for us on the cross as one offering. His most profound gift to us is also the only thing we can offer him in thanksgiving. With his life now in us we are empowered to lay our lives down "to wash one another's feet." We both surrender our own will to him and love him in others when we do this. Therefore, it is our most true thanksgiving.
For all of the LORD's bounty to us this is what we offer in return. "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD." He is given to us for our healing and he is at once our most true thanksgiving for that healing. He is the blood on the signposts of our hearts which saves us. He is the lamb on which we feast. He is at once our freedom and the memorial to be celebrated forevermore.
So let us remember him as we do this. Let us remember the whole history of salvation wherein the LORD gives himself for our sake. Let us see this gift veiled in the appearance of bread and, as we receive it, let our remembrance bring that very gift from the outside to the depths of our hearts so that he may be our all in all.
"You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another's feet."
Jesus is the LORD and master and yet he comes to be a servant to all. Jesus knows who he is in both contexts, LORD and servant, because he knows that he is from the Father. He knows that he "he had come from God and was going to God" and can therefore lay aside his garments to wash us clean from our sins knowing that this doesn't compromise who he is. In fact it exemplifies it.
Jesus lays all he has aside when he hangs upon the cross for our sake. He lays all he has
aside when he takes himself in his hands and gives himself to us as bread. Therefore
"as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." His offering of himself is one. He gives us himself as food and gives his life for us on the cross as one offering. His most profound gift to us is also the only thing we can offer him in thanksgiving. With his life now in us we are empowered to lay our lives down "to wash one another's feet." We both surrender our own will to him and love him in others when we do this. Therefore, it is our most true thanksgiving.
For all of the LORD's bounty to us this is what we offer in return. "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD." He is given to us for our healing and he is at once our most true thanksgiving for that healing. He is the blood on the signposts of our hearts which saves us. He is the lamb on which we feast. He is at once our freedom and the memorial to be celebrated forevermore.
So let us remember him as we do this. Let us remember the whole history of salvation wherein the LORD gives himself for our sake. Let us see this gift veiled in the appearance of bread and, as we receive it, let our remembrance bring that very gift from the outside to the depths of our hearts so that he may be our all in all.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
4 April 2012
4 April 2012
"The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame."
Jesus does this in the face of the pain of betrayal. He knows what is to come and he knows who will betray him. How can he be so stolid in the face of such imminent physical and emotional pain? I think it is fair to say that if most of us were in his shoes and knew what was coming we would have been sufficiently overwhelmed without even experiencing it to cause us to turn back and to run away.
"Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back."
It is because he is so close to the Father that he can keep his feet moving forward in spite of what is to come. He knows that he will be hit and spit on. He knows that some of his closest friends will betray him. But the word of the Father sustains him. He knows, even seeing all of this, that he will not ultimately be put to shame.
Even though Jesus can see in his future all of this pain he is not overcome.
"Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak,
I looked for sympathy, but there was none;
for consolers, not one could I find.
Rather they put gall in my food,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."
No sympathy? No consolers? How can he survive? It is because morning after morning the Father opens his ears that he may hear. When he calls "Lord, in your great love, answer me" he does not demand that he be answered according to his own will. In fact his will is to not suffer these things but he ultimately prays for the Father's will to be done and not his own. But even knowing what is to come he has faith that the Father's answer is more than enough to compensate for all of this:
"I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving"
And seeing him crushed and humiliated and yet lifted on high can give hope to all the lowly on whom the world tramples.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!"
This is why he can still sit down to dinner with his betrayer and look at him with love when he asks "Surely it is not I, Lord?" vainly trying to conceal his plan. Jesus answers that he "who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me." It is almost as if in his love for Judas, even traitor though he is, he has difficulty pointing the finger at him. It is as if he says who will betray him ambiguously because he so wishes it were not so. This can only be because morning after morning the Father opens his ears that he may hear. Let us come to see that there are no barriers to his love. Let our hearts revive since we know that if we call out to him to answer us in his great love.
"The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame."
Jesus does this in the face of the pain of betrayal. He knows what is to come and he knows who will betray him. How can he be so stolid in the face of such imminent physical and emotional pain? I think it is fair to say that if most of us were in his shoes and knew what was coming we would have been sufficiently overwhelmed without even experiencing it to cause us to turn back and to run away.
"Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back."
It is because he is so close to the Father that he can keep his feet moving forward in spite of what is to come. He knows that he will be hit and spit on. He knows that some of his closest friends will betray him. But the word of the Father sustains him. He knows, even seeing all of this, that he will not ultimately be put to shame.
Even though Jesus can see in his future all of this pain he is not overcome.
"Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak,
I looked for sympathy, but there was none;
for consolers, not one could I find.
Rather they put gall in my food,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."
No sympathy? No consolers? How can he survive? It is because morning after morning the Father opens his ears that he may hear. When he calls "Lord, in your great love, answer me" he does not demand that he be answered according to his own will. In fact his will is to not suffer these things but he ultimately prays for the Father's will to be done and not his own. But even knowing what is to come he has faith that the Father's answer is more than enough to compensate for all of this:
"I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving"
And seeing him crushed and humiliated and yet lifted on high can give hope to all the lowly on whom the world tramples.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!"
This is why he can still sit down to dinner with his betrayer and look at him with love when he asks "Surely it is not I, Lord?" vainly trying to conceal his plan. Jesus answers that he "who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me." It is almost as if in his love for Judas, even traitor though he is, he has difficulty pointing the finger at him. It is as if he says who will betray him ambiguously because he so wishes it were not so. This can only be because morning after morning the Father opens his ears that he may hear. Let us come to see that there are no barriers to his love. Let our hearts revive since we know that if we call out to him to answer us in his great love.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
3 April 2012
3 April 2012
"Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
This question can be a good self-examination for us. On the one hand we probably have an
idealized version of what our relationship with Jesus looks like that we imagine in our minds.
On the other is reality where we sometimes follow him and sometimes choose to live for ourselves instead. This ambiguity and lack of complete commitment prevents us from truly meaning it when we say "I will lay down my life for you." Our lives have to be consistent with that sentiment. If we won't lay certain aspects of our lives down and surrender them to him (thinking, perhaps, that they don't matter because they are small or trivial) it shouldn't surprise us that when our life as a whole is demanded of us that we find ourselves betraying him.
So it is for Peter who denies him and so it is for Judas who takes the morsel of fellowship and flees into the night. Both have good reason to feel like failures:
"I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength"
But Peter doesn't fall into dispair. He finds in spite of everything that Jesus gathers him and
brings him back.
"And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!"
His brokenness doesn't disqualify him. In fact it uniquely qualifies him to understand that his strength is in God and to be made a light to the nations to spread his salvation.
Judas refuses to hope for salvation after he betrays the LORD. Having exhausted himself and his own resources he should take refuge in the LORD and trust in him to deliver him and save him. But he chooses not to. Let this this be a warning to us to always trust in the LORD to be a rock of refuge and a stronghold even against our own weaknesses and failings.
"You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you."
In our weakness we may not be able to follow him all the way at this moment. But he is steadfast by our side. We have depended on him since birth. He has taught us from our youth and is our strength. He will not abandon us and tells us that "you will follow later." He will bring this good work to completion in us until we can fully sing of his salvation.
"Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
This question can be a good self-examination for us. On the one hand we probably have an
idealized version of what our relationship with Jesus looks like that we imagine in our minds.
On the other is reality where we sometimes follow him and sometimes choose to live for ourselves instead. This ambiguity and lack of complete commitment prevents us from truly meaning it when we say "I will lay down my life for you." Our lives have to be consistent with that sentiment. If we won't lay certain aspects of our lives down and surrender them to him (thinking, perhaps, that they don't matter because they are small or trivial) it shouldn't surprise us that when our life as a whole is demanded of us that we find ourselves betraying him.
So it is for Peter who denies him and so it is for Judas who takes the morsel of fellowship and flees into the night. Both have good reason to feel like failures:
"I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength"
But Peter doesn't fall into dispair. He finds in spite of everything that Jesus gathers him and
brings him back.
"And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!"
His brokenness doesn't disqualify him. In fact it uniquely qualifies him to understand that his strength is in God and to be made a light to the nations to spread his salvation.
Judas refuses to hope for salvation after he betrays the LORD. Having exhausted himself and his own resources he should take refuge in the LORD and trust in him to deliver him and save him. But he chooses not to. Let this this be a warning to us to always trust in the LORD to be a rock of refuge and a stronghold even against our own weaknesses and failings.
"You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you."
In our weakness we may not be able to follow him all the way at this moment. But he is steadfast by our side. We have depended on him since birth. He has taught us from our youth and is our strength. He will not abandon us and tells us that "you will follow later." He will bring this good work to completion in us until we can fully sing of his salvation.
Monday, April 2, 2012
2 April 2012
2 April 2012
"A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench"
What does this mean? We know that Jesus isn't afraid to speak harsh words when necessary, calling the Pharisees whitewashed tombs saying "Get behind me, Satan" to Peter among other examples. It likely means that he is more concerned with the truth of who we are than with the externals with which we busy ourselves. That is why "everyone that does [bear fruit] he prunes so that it bears more fruit" and why "if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire." He wants to get to the core of us. Can we call him gentle, considering all this? Yes, because in the depths of our spirits he invites but does not coerce. He is the perfect gentleman. He will not trick us or force us. He will only state his love for us and stand ready to enable our response.
Jesus is our light and our salvation. We can trust in him to not break us or extinguish us. He wants to build us back. He wants for us to not just smolder but burn fiercely. He is on our side so we don't have to fear foes or enemies.
"Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust."
This is because we believe that he is working for our good and that we shall therefore "see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living." In anointing Jesus with the perfumed oil Mary Magdalene shows a willingness to let go of all that is external to her in love of Jesus. We must guard against the superficially plausible response of Judas. It is good to give to the poor but Jesus must come first. Apart from him all such efforts are doomed to fade in the passage of time. Do we really think that we can fix the world on our own if we just have enough resources? Lazarus sits at the table and silently bears witness to the importance of the centrality of Jesus. The real problem is death and the only solution is in Jesus and absolutely orienting our lives toward him.
"Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD."
"A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench"
What does this mean? We know that Jesus isn't afraid to speak harsh words when necessary, calling the Pharisees whitewashed tombs saying "Get behind me, Satan" to Peter among other examples. It likely means that he is more concerned with the truth of who we are than with the externals with which we busy ourselves. That is why "everyone that does [bear fruit] he prunes so that it bears more fruit" and why "if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire." He wants to get to the core of us. Can we call him gentle, considering all this? Yes, because in the depths of our spirits he invites but does not coerce. He is the perfect gentleman. He will not trick us or force us. He will only state his love for us and stand ready to enable our response.
Jesus is our light and our salvation. We can trust in him to not break us or extinguish us. He wants to build us back. He wants for us to not just smolder but burn fiercely. He is on our side so we don't have to fear foes or enemies.
"Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust."
This is because we believe that he is working for our good and that we shall therefore "see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living." In anointing Jesus with the perfumed oil Mary Magdalene shows a willingness to let go of all that is external to her in love of Jesus. We must guard against the superficially plausible response of Judas. It is good to give to the poor but Jesus must come first. Apart from him all such efforts are doomed to fade in the passage of time. Do we really think that we can fix the world on our own if we just have enough resources? Lazarus sits at the table and silently bears witness to the importance of the centrality of Jesus. The real problem is death and the only solution is in Jesus and absolutely orienting our lives toward him.
"Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD."
Sunday, April 1, 2012
1 April 2012
1 April 2012
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
It is precisely this which is necessary to bring about our freedom. This is the one place which is beyond the reach of our selfishness and sin. We would prefer to always celebrate triumph. We are only too similar to those who cry "[h]osanna" at first and then "[c]rucify him" a week later. The LORD enters Jerusalem, passing those who acclaim him king. He is not deterred by all of this. The easy solution is insufficient and superficial and he knows it. Nothing can keep him from laying everything down at the cross for us to bring us true salvation. Because we are selfish we want kingship, either by ourselves or by proxy. And we do have a royal destiny before us but Jesus is the only one who can show us what it truly means. The selfless king who has come serve is inconceivable to us until Jeaus comes to reveal his heart to us and to share his love with us.
In the face of the oppression of the world we long to be kings of our own lives and to order our own circumstances. Even so, even as we push him to the peripheries, the LORD is never far from us. Even as all of our misbegotten dreams crumble at our feet he is near to us. Because he "emptied himself" he frees us to say with sincere hearts that "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." It is only because of his selflessness, because he lives to do the will of the Father, that Jesus can cry out "[m]y God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" and still have the faith to trust enough to say:
"I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you"
"Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
It is precisely this which is necessary to bring about our freedom. This is the one place which is beyond the reach of our selfishness and sin. We would prefer to always celebrate triumph. We are only too similar to those who cry "[h]osanna" at first and then "[c]rucify him" a week later. The LORD enters Jerusalem, passing those who acclaim him king. He is not deterred by all of this. The easy solution is insufficient and superficial and he knows it. Nothing can keep him from laying everything down at the cross for us to bring us true salvation. Because we are selfish we want kingship, either by ourselves or by proxy. And we do have a royal destiny before us but Jesus is the only one who can show us what it truly means. The selfless king who has come serve is inconceivable to us until Jeaus comes to reveal his heart to us and to share his love with us.
In the face of the oppression of the world we long to be kings of our own lives and to order our own circumstances. Even so, even as we push him to the peripheries, the LORD is never far from us. Even as all of our misbegotten dreams crumble at our feet he is near to us. Because he "emptied himself" he frees us to say with sincere hearts that "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." It is only because of his selflessness, because he lives to do the will of the Father, that Jesus can cry out "[m]y God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" and still have the faith to trust enough to say:
"I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you"
"Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)