EASTER: RESURRECTION FAITH VS CROSS FAITH

 “If Christ has not been raised, then … your faith is empty” (1Cor 15:14).

I once suggested using the above verse as the opening tagline for an Easter college newspaper “ad” on behalf the Christian faculty/staff at my university.  (The ad with our names was intended let students know who we were and that we were available to them.)  My suggestion was shot down as “too negative.”  Ironically though, Paul thought this statement was important.  Paul’s point in 1Cor 15:12 – 19 is that all of Christian faith hinges on Jesus’ Resurrection.  Without it “you are still in your sins” (v 17).

There has been a long-reigning (about 800 years) historical shift theologically, particularly in the West, that focuses too much on the death of Jesus.  Certainly, that Jesus gave his life for humanity has always been core to Christian faith, so I am not casting any doubt on that.  However, the whole Incarnation, earthly ministry, AND death of Jesus are inclusively acts of God’s grace to us.  Moreover, the Resurrection holds the work of Christ all together – and prepares the way for the Ascension and giving of the Holy Spirit.

The Resurrection validates everything about Jesus:  He did have (and continues to have) authority to forgive sins.  He is indeed the Messiah.  His Resurrection was the “first-fruits” of the coming resurrection of the people of God.  Jesus did usher in a new era of God’s Kingdom/Rule as he kept proclaiming and demonstrating.  As Paul puts it in Romans 5:12 – 6:14, Jesus defeated the reign of the realm of sin and death and issued in the reign of life and the Spirit for those in Christ.

Point:  My concern is that an exclusive focus on the death of Jesus for sinful humanity leaves us with a static gospel; that is, we are in the state of having been forgiven -- period.  However, a balanced focus on the significance of the Resurrection, puts our faith into a dynamic relationship with Jesus.  Our hope is not a future hope of one day “going to heaven.”  It is a present, realized hope.  The Resurrection tells me that today I do not have to live under the reign of sin.  Because I am alive in the Risen Christ, I am now eternally alive and can live my earthly life under the reign of the Spirit now.  (Again, see Romans 5:12 – 6:14.)  This is Easter faith, Resurrection faith.  It is so much more than "Cross faith."

Lord, your grace is beyond my comprehension.  Jesus’ offer of himself is beyond my comprehension.  Jesus’ Resurrection is beyond my comprehension.  Yet, I know the reality of it all within my experience of your Presence in my life.  Thank you.  Thank you.  All praise be to you!  Amen.

GOOD FRIDAY: NEVER FORSAKEN

 

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’-- which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he's calling Elijah.’” (Mark 15:34-35, NIV)

Those people standing at the cross misunderstood what Jesus said, and we sometimes do, too.  One popular, but non-biblical interpretation, is: first, the sins of the world were transferred to Jesus, for our substitutionary penalty; at that moment God, the Father, unable to look at sin, turned away from Jesus; and, Jesus in response cried out about being forsaken by God.

This text, however, is about Jesus starting to recite Psalm 22!  When the NT writers give us a phrase from the OT, we sometimes place our focus only on that phrase, but their expectation was that their audience knew the context of the phrase; they knew their Scriptures.  They are telling us that Psalm 22 was on Jesus’ mind.  Psalm 22 is the epitome of a type of psalm, the Psalm of Lament, and here, of the innocent, righteous sufferer.  [Note: The early Christians came to see Psalm 22 virtually as a prophecy about the suffering Messiah (for example, see verse 18 and John 19:24) and please read all of Psalm 22.]

What, then, was Jesus thinking?  Jesus’ cry from the cross is a cry of despair, but not total despair.  Jesus’ cry is a cry grounded on faith.  There is still trust in God; but not just trust, even praise and affirmation of divine victory!  Here is the concluding part of what Jesus was reciting:

For he [God] has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

The poor will eat and be satisfied;
     those who seek the LORD will praise him--
     may your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,

for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him--
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!  (Psalm 22:24 – 31 NIV)

Personal Application:  I think that we, too, have times when we are allowed to cry out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus’ cry from the cross reminds me deeply of the Incarnation, that God took on our humanity.  We will never know the depth of Jesus’ despair and suffering on the Cross.  However, Jesus in his humanity does know and understand the depth of our despair and suffering.  We will experience times when God does not seem to be present and when we seem to be engulfed in darkness: times of crucial decisions, times of lost relationships, times of depression and anxiety, times when we feel beaten down. I am convinced that in these times, Jesus not only gives us permission to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me;” but our Risen Lord Jesus is there to intercede for us and cry out those words for us and in us and through us.  However, when Jesus cries out those words through us, they, like those of Psalm 22, will also be words of faith, words that proclaim down to the very last breath of life that God is still sovereign, that God is still there, that God is still for us.  
And we also have this perspective: When Jesus cried out those words from the Cross, it looked like all was lost, that the Son of God was dead, that the Kingdom of God would not come, that Satan had triumphed.  But, those who know Jesus, know that those words and the utter bleakness of the Cross are followed by Resurrection and Life.

Lord, thank you that the Cross was not a defeat.  Jesus was not forsaken.  And, you will never forsake me.  Amen.

LENT: WHY HUMAN FRAILITY IS GOOD

Lent is a good time to be frail.  Jesus is God become frail.

The frailty of Jesus.  My church has been preaching a series on the humility of Jesus using the first part (vv 6 – 8) of an early church hymn/poem (vv 6 – 11) in Philippians 2:

Who [Jesus], being in very nature God,
        did not consider equality with God
            something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
        by taking the very nature of a servant,
        being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
        he humbled himself
        by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:5 - 8 NIV)

[Note:  The introduction to the hymn, verse 5 is a command, not a suggestion: “Have this disposition in you as Christ Jesus!”]

The humility Paul commands here, which is found in Christ, is not what people generally extol as the “virtue” of humility, a mere non-prideful attitude.  The humility of Jesus means that he accepted frailty.  What do I mean by frailty?  It is the opposite of the self-reliance and self-effort toward self-motivated ends.  The acceptance of frailty is the recognition of absolute weakness apart from God.  The Incarnational, self-emptying of the essence of God in Jesus meant that he shared in human frailty.  However, in the frailty of human form and nature, Jesus was completely obedient.  Jesus became dependent on his Father.  In doing so, Jesus became the “new Adam” (Paul’s analogy in Rom 5:15; 1Cor 15:45) who ushered in a new era of God’s life and grace.  In the frailty of human form and nature, Jesus conquers sin and death.

Application:  Why is humble frailty a good disposition?  It leads us to dependence on God and obedience.  Following this hymn/poem of 2:8 - 11, Paul reminded his “saints at Philippi” that in their obedience God was enabling them to will and act according to his purposes (2:12 – 13).  That is what I want in my life.

The “test” of life is whether I live for my own desires by my own strength or whether I live as a created person dependent on my Creator.  This test is not a final examination; it plays out daily.  I read a statement a few days ago, “The greatest teacher of God’s presence in our life is our life.”*  What struck me in reflection is that my life is a constant testimony to me – as much or more so as to anyone else.  When I accept my frailty, I seek to be near my God.  I experience increased order in my life, the peace that comes from the Presence of God.  I witness it.  When in my “strength” I seek my own way, there is more chaos in my life.  I can testify to that as well.

For Paul frailty was quite personal:  At one point in his life, Paul pleaded for God to take away some physical frailty, a “thorn in the flesh” (2Cor 12:7 – 8).  In response, God told Paul: “Sufficient for you is my grace; for [my] strength is made complete in weakness” (2Cor 12:9).

Lord, help me to see clearly and accept fully my frailty so that you might enable me in my weakness through your Spirit to be of real service in your Kingdom.  Amen.

*James Finley as quoted in Rohr’s Daily Meditations, 3/15/24.

“ENSISTENCE” MATTERS MORE THAN EXISTENCE

Sometimes the wondrous mysteries of life move me to worship.

We tend to think of our lives in terms of existence.  Existence means “out-stand.”  That is, the focus is on separation.  To coin a term, I have been thinking about my “ensistence” (in-stand).  The focus is on inclusion.  My life, all life, exists only become is “ensists.”

Big Bang: a quantum flux within a quantum vacuum led to the structure/information of waves that have different “particle” properties (concepts beyond me).  Point: they exist because they ensist in a quantum field of differentiations.

Jump to the level of life:  Once the process of enzymes forms peptides etc. (again beyond me) that leads to ability to draw on an energy source that leads to self-replicating informed structures.  Point: life exists, because it ensisted within that primitive biosphere (e.g. solar energy, solvent, chemical “soup”).

Jump to humans:  Humans have multiple layers of relationships of ensistence that allow them to exist (please forgive the coined words): en-quantum-fielded, en-mattered, en-bodied, en-natured (whole world of “nature”), en-social-relationshiped, en-cosmic-ordered, and theologically, I would add en-God (panentheism).  Moreover, it is the unique combination of each of those layers of ensistence that leads to each uniquely marvelous outcome of our existences.

Cognition: The nature of cognition is so incredible.  Cognition is not just a function of my brain.  It is embodied in my total neural system through which I experience the world.  It becomes extended as my body interfaces with external objects (e.g. use a tennis racket or hammer long enough and the neural system treats it like a member of the body).  It dwells embedded in my physical, cultural, and linguistic systems (e.g. I “think” in English).  More significantly, I believe my cognition ensists within the “mind” of God such that a “seeking” person can be informed by and moved by God -- can know God.

Wow.  I’m at a loss for words.  My eyes are starting to tear.

Thank you, Lord, that I am a part of all this, that I “ensist.”  Help me to care responsibly for all the spheres of my ensistence without which I would not exist.  Amen.

P.S.  Kant, thinking he is addressing a human limitation when he states, "It is quite impossible for a human being to apprehend the infinite by his senses,"* is actually foisting a human limitation upon God in whom we "have our being" (Acts 17:28).  *The Conflict of the Faculties, 7:63.

LENT: THE SHAME OF THE CROSS: WOUNDED PRIDE, THE GOOD WOUND

Lent is a good time for wounded pride.  There is a theme in the Book of Ezekiel, a rather overlooked theme, that ties in with Lent. 

Background:  The people of Judah, in a prideful and nationalistic way, had believed that they somehow had a hold on God, much like our slogans, “One nation under God,” and “In God we trust.”  [I am not suggesting that the US is a godly nation or a theocracy.  It is neither.  The Kingdom of God is never subordinate to or contained in human government.  The rule of God is in this world but not of this world.]  The people of Judah believed God would always bless and protect them.  But the reality was that they had abandoned God and profaned His temple, the place that symbolized God was in their midst.   As a result, God removed His glory, His presence, from the temple and from them (Ezek 10:18 – 19, the reversal of 1Kings 8:10 – 11).  Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Babylonians, and the survivors became exiles in Babylonia. 

Overlooked Theme:  The often-overlooked theme is wounded pride.  Despite the failure of the people of God, the prophet Ezekiel tells them that for the sake of God’s holy name God would save a remnant of people, would bring them back, and would allow them to rebuild the temple to which His glory would return.  Not only that, God would also remove their hard, stone-like heart and give them a new soft, flesh-like heart, putting a new spirit in them (Ezek 36:22 – 30).  However, when this happens, the people would respond in humility.  Such a gracious restoration would always remind them how they had failed to walk faithfully with the Holy God of Israel.  They would recognize their wickedness that had led to such consequences, and the recognition of the the magnitude of God’s goodness would wound their pride (36:31 – 32; 16:62 – 63). 

Point:  All the more, the season of Lent ought to bring me to a sense of wounded pride.  I am not talking about self-pity, but about a healthy, penetrating realization.  It is a good wound, like the wound of a needed surgery.  God loves me so much that God humiliates God-self to take the form of a human, live a life of service, and die for the sake of the ultimate offer of forgiveness and restoration -- for me, for a created one who thinks he can live in prideful waywardness from my Creator.  I am going to rejoice on Easter Sunday over the triumph of Jesus’ resurrection and the new life that has become mine in Him.  But that resurrection was preceded by the Cross, and the cause of the Cross was me.  The Cross that was meant as shameful death for Jesus, is a symbol of my shame.

Lord, I need my pride wounded.  May I always remember that I did not get a hold of you; rather, you restored me to your Presence despite my unworthiness.  May I never take for granted that you are holy and that you have called me into a new life that befits your holy character.  May I never lose the shame of the Cross that fatally wounds my pride and self-sufficiency.  Amen.