A Lenten Invitation for all Spiritual Pilgrims
By Surprisedbyjoy@yahoo.com and Gods_gnome@yahoo.com
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By Surprised by Joy
Transfiguration
Mark 9: 2-8
About a week later, Jesus brings three of his disciples to a private place. There, they are literally given a "mountaintop" experience! Their beloved Jesus becomes transfigured in dazzling white before them. And they are given a vision of Jesus with two famous ancient and revered Jewish prophets. Moses, Elijah and Jesus engage in deep conversation. Peter babbles something ridiculous and suddenly a cloud from heaven envelops them. A voice comes from the cloud: "This is my beloved Son, whom I love. Listen to him." The three disciples are miraculously left alone with Jesus and they begin to descend the mountaintop.
Jesus gives them stern orders to keep this silent until he rises from the dead. Along the way, the three disciples try to understand what "rising from the dead" meant. It's too difficult and they ask Jesus for clarity. He explains yet again that suffering and rejection are ahead of him.
Several things impress me in this story. First of all, spiritual clarity takes time and understanding even with an intimate knowledge of Jesus. Secondly, Jesus is God's Beloved. We all are called to listen to the Beloved. Thirdly, even Jesus referred to Old Testament Jewish spiritual leaders and prophets as he prepared for his pending suffering and death. While the Old Testament (sometimes referred to as the Hebrew Scriptures) is difficult to understand in the twenty-first century, there are important spiritual insights worthy of reclaiming. Finally, all of us eventually must descend the mountaintop and return to the valleys where life is difficult, discouraging and dangerous. We cannot remain on the mountaintop forever.
Consider journal writing for your Lenten reflection with the following questions. What does it mean to suffer and be rejected as we follow Jesus to the cross? Earlier, Jesus taught if we are to follow him, we must deny ourselves and take up our own crosses. We too, may find ourselves suffering for the Jesus message. We may experience rejection by our society, religion, friends and family. There is nothing easy about being a disciple of Christ. Beloved Christ promises us joy in our suffering.
Prayer: Beloved, bless our meditation today. Help us live as your beloved disciples. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
Costly Discipleship
Mark 10: 17- 25
Today's story "hits" us in the pockets, as we would say in North America. Money talks. The gospel story revolves a man who loved his wealth more than following Jesus. Both men have much to teach us. This story is timeless. And I suspect it is one of the harder teachings of Jesus.
This nameless man could be anyone. He runs to Jesus and falls on his knees. "Good teacher," he asks, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus stops his travel to have personal conversation with this eager follower and asks him, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus then states only God is good, and lists six of the Ten Commandments given by Moses. The eager seeker quickly asserts that he has kept all these commandments since childhood.
Then we see what costly discipleship is for this particular individual. Jesus looks directly and lovingly at him. You lack only one thing, declares Jesus. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." And the eager seeker's face changed dramatically. He had great wealth. He could not and would not do what Jesus required. He sadly left. And Jesus then begins teaching his other disciples "how hard it is for the rich to enter the reign of God." The disciples are amazed at this teaching. They are so astonished that Jesus gently calls them "children," as he reinforces this costly discipleship lesson with an example of a camel going through the eye of a needle.
Money is not evil in itself. But wealth and possessions can own us and actually hinder our spiritual life. In the case of the young man, wealth mattered more than following Jesus. He loved his wealth more than God. He could buy anything he wanted, except eternal life.
We need to prayerfully reflect on today's story. Money is a spiritual concern. Jesus is not calling all of us to give everything away. But we may be called to make financial sacrifices, live simpler and more generous lives. Pray about your wealth and how God would have you use it. Jesus never promised a "health, wealth and prosperity" gospel. Money is a significant spiritual stewardship issue.
Spiritual rebirth is free. Discipleship is costly. Where are we in today's story?
Prayer: Oh God, speak clearly to us as we linger with Jesus and the wealthy young man. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
Mark 10: 26-31
The last will be first; the first will be last
The amazed disciples continue their conversation with Jesus after the wealthy young man left them. "Who then can be saved?" And the Teacher continues his patient teachings. "With humans this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Impulsive Peter blurts out what is on his mind. Jesus, he cries, "We have left everything to be with you." And Jesus makes a wonderful promise to those who follow him in costly discipleship. This is the promise: that many who are now first in this life, will be last in the age to come. This is important for us to remember! For some of us may be called to leave home and family, and birth countries as Jesus leads. And persecution may result as we follow Jesus.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran German pastor who opposed Hitler during World War Two. He suggests there is a "trilogy" in John's gospel about Christian discipleship. We are called to rebirth, to a servant lifestyle and to be faithful to Jesus even in persecution (John 3, 13, 15).
Prayer: God, help us understand this hard saying of Jesus. Amen.
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By God’s Gnome
A Warning Ignored
Mark 10: 33-34
"Look you!" He said, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law, and they will condemn him to death, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will make jest of him, and they will spit on him, and they will scourge him and they will kill him. And after three days he will rise again."
Mark paints a vivid picture in today’s text. There is Jesus walking ahead, his disciples bunched up following him, as they make their way to Jerusalem and the Passover. Jesus is lost in his own thoughts, isolated as he contemplates the full horror of suffering which is so close at hand. Finally, calling his friends around, he warns of his fate for the third time. Now he includes the mockery, jeering and flogging to be endured. Though the disciples were sure Jesus was the Messiah, they closed their ears and minds to the horrors he described. No-one is immune to rejecting those things which the human mind is unable to contemplate. We block the news of terminal illness, of deaths and of revelations which would mar the images of those we love or admire.
It takes a certain type of courage for us to move onward while aware of the terrible consequences which will follow. Fear of future conflict has stopped many who would challenge injustice, corruption or financial fraud. Retribution and its consequences have abruptly ended unequal contests. Sudden death or slow torture has been the fate of those who have challenged unjust laws in their own countries. Slander, defamation and even excommunication have been the consequences for those who dared to challenge the practices of those religious institutions to which they belonged. At times those who have protested domestic violence have been subjected to indifference in the courts and condemnation by their churches. Who will stand true in the face of the twin horrors of suffering and death? Who but one who by faith sees beyond torture and trial to ultimate triumph?
The disciples would have been better prepared for his crucifixion if they had been more attentive to his warning and less to their own thoughts. That their ears refused to understand the meaning of his words highlights again the isolation Jesus experienced in the midst of his friends. Through the mists of time we catch the loneliness of that solitary figure on the Jerusalem road. Jesus, who has known loneliness in the face of death, is that same solitary figure who waits to walk with us through our times of desolation.
Prayer; God, in those times when persecution and pain may be the result of our serving Christ, remind us that Jesus has walked this path before us. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
Selective hearing
Matthew 20: 17-28
For those new to Bible reading, you'll notice that sometimes certain stories are retold through the other gospel authors. This is our situation today. The story is also recorded in Mark 10: 35-45. This particular interpretation highlights a mother's request to Jesus with her eager sons James and John. They have been with Jesus for three years as faithful disciples in his inner circle. James and John seemed more receptive to Jesus, and sometimes they were invited to selected events the other disciples were not allowed to view. The transformation of Christ on the mountaintop is one such example.
But the disciples are only human as we are. We share their fault of selective hearing while Jesus speaks. In the preceding verses, Jesus has just informed his disciples yet again that he will be betrayed, condemned to death, and be mocked and crucified. But on the third day he "will be raised to life!"
We see an earnest mother bringing her sons to Jesus. Together they kneel before him privately and she asks a favor for her children. "What is it you want?" he asked. And she bluntly asks Jesus for her sons to be given prestige, privilege and power. All this is done in the appearance of genuine piety and commendable humbleness.
I sometimes wonder where I am in these stories. What do I ask for in my prayers? Does being on my knees make any difference?
This mother's prayer is honest and from the heart. She is not asking for herself. She is asking for her children. They are good boys. They've given up so much and have worked so hard. They have faced danger and hardship. All the disciples deserve a promotion, Jesus, but please, give my children a special favor ahead of the others.
Jesus gently tells them "You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" Oh yes, they eagerly assure him. We can. The other ten disciples are indignant when they hear about this move for power and promotion.
Prayer: Jesus, where am I in this story? What are the things I've been asking you for? Do I have spiritual "selected hearing?" Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
The Cup of Christ
Matthew 20: 17-28
"Can you drink the cup?" asks Jesus. Our answer can radically change our lives. Jesus will soon be heading for the cross. His cup is one of suffering and sorrow. Will you walk with him to Gethsemene? Will you voluntarily chose a cross alongside Christ on Calvary? Will you suffer for Jesus Christ? Will you die for the gospel message of peace with God?
The late Henri Nouwen noted that holding the cup of life is a hard discipline (Can You Drink the Cup, Ave Maria Press). It requires great courage. Before we drink the cup, we have to hold it. The cup is sometimes one of suffering. We often forget or overlook that Jesus was a man of sorrows. Nouwen writes: "Jesus' cup is the cup of sorrow, not just his own sorrow, but the sorrow of the whole human race. It is a cup full of physical, mental, and spiritual anguish. It is the cup of starvation, torture, loneliness, rejection, abandonment, and immense anguish. It is the cup full of bitterness. Who wants to drink it?" We are all called to drink the cup of Christ. We are to be like Christ. The cup brings us into the classroom of the cross.
It can also be a cup of great joy. "It is the cup in which sorrows and joys, sadness and gladness, mourning and dancing are never separated." Nouwen reminds us that Jesus is the man of joys. We must remember this as we begin to intentionally begin to approach the cross in our Lenten reflections. The cross is one of resurrection and glory. The cross points us to eternal life. The cross brings us the cup of salvation. The cross brings us life. Without the cross we are lost.
I have often wondered about the mother and her two sons in this story. I wonder what their thoughts were only eight days later, as beloved Jesus died on the cross. James was nowhere to be found. Only John and his mother bravely stood together at the foot of the cross. I wonder if they remembered this conversation with Jesus as they promised to drink his cup.
"For God has graciously granted us the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well (Philippians 1:29)."
Prayer: God, teach us more about the cup of Christ as we continue our Lenten walk to the cross. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
The Widow's Offering
Mark 12: 41-44
Jesus had been teaching large crowds in the temple. The crowd heard him with delight. Then Jesus began teaching about the "teachers of the law." They loved to walk around in impressive, official robes and have the most important seats in the synagogues and banquet temples. "They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers." Such men, warned Jesus, will be punished "most severely." Then Jesus moved to a different part of the synagogue.
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny."
In delight, Jesus called his disciples to see this important lesson in God's economy. Here is the truth of the matter, he exclaimed. This poor widow gave more into the treasury than the rich did. They gave a portion out of their wealth, but she gave everything she had in her poverty. She gave beyond her means. She had nothing left to live on.
Who are we in the story?
Prayer: God, help us live today's story honestly, joyfully and generously. Amen.
