Many Parts of One Body - Easter 2022

Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (Romans 12.3-5)

----------

The last two Easter Sunday's have been unique experiences in my own memory. In 2021, with the Covid pandemic still raging, the church where I serve had an outdoor experience, under a tent, that was tremendous. There had been a host of anticipation and the day was fantastic. 

This year we were hoping for a "more normal Easter experience." While we made some of the same plans as previous years, trumpets and a brass band, a big choir number, a compelling video, there were new twists. One of those was a hospitality tent, because where we normally have hospitality, was another twist, an 'art gallery.'

The gallery was the idea of our creative producer. The goal was to have ten artists take a bare bones 4 foot tall cross, work with it, and bring it back for Easter morning. The creativity and reflection of the crosses was spectacular.

Twelve crosses arrayed in the fellowship center

A couple of my favorites included these two:

Painted on the anniversary of the death of a beloved husband

The cross transformed into a tree of life

Two crosses had been a part of corporate worship. The cross that greeted people as they walked into the building had been used in previous Stations of the Cross experiences. It was transformed into an array of color.

 

The second cross was used in this year's Stations of the Cross experience.

The red and white string was wrapped around the nails
by people as they went through the stations
 

One of my contributions to the gallery was to create the crosses that would be transformed. 

I seldom think of myself as 'an artist,' but when asked if I could do this, I thought sure, "I will create the canvas upon which others paint." 

As the stories of each finished piece began to be told I began to realize, the people involved in this project were more numerous than I had originally imagined. There was the person who planted the tree, the person who harvested it, the truckers, the sawmill workers, the person at Menards who unloaded the truck, myself, the artists, the person with the idea, and ultimately the Lord - who made the trees grow. 

The project was a living reminder of the interdependence we have. We do not create ex nihilio (out of nothing), or apart from our interaction and the influence of others. Instead, "we are many parts of one body and we all belong to each other." It was good to celebrate the beginning of Resurrection with so many, who know in their own stories the victory of God, brining new life amidst the pain, agony, and death that touches all of us.

------

Eventually, I did create a cross. It was made out of wood from an axe throwing establishment and decorated with beer bottle caps. I wanted to capture the effect of the earthquake on the cross that Matthew (28.2) describes.The earthquake must have been destroyed the cross; I see it as the act of life coming out of death. The blue at the base reflects the fresh flowers of life that spring up from the life-blood of Christ Jesus.

 

God does great work in grave yards

When it comes to the benediction of a worship service most Pastors want to send worshipers out with a final good word for the week; 'The Lord be with you,' 'Peace of Christ be with you,' etc. This past Sunday my fellow Beeson pastors and I visited Ginghamsburg Church near Dayton, Ohio. At the benediction Pastor Mike Slaughter capped off the sermon for the day with these final words, "and remember, You're going to Die."

The sermon unpacked Luke 9:51-52 where Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem knowing that the cross is before him. He knows, the disciples know, that Jerusalem is not safe, and yet he goes because he has been sent for this purpose. Pastor Mike connected this text to Ash Wednesday where we receive the imposition of ashes and hear the words, 'remember you are dust' or 'from dust you came, to dust you shall return.' The point was to evoke a wondering; 'What then, am I doing while I'm alive? What am I doing that matters? What is the purpose of my life?' Jesus had a purpose and he set his face toward it, what is our (my) purpose?

Following the service our cohort had the joy of lunching with Pastor Mike and some great staff at Ginghamsburg. In that space he added a follow up his benediction; God does great work in grave yards.  

That follow up foreshadows the coming theme of Resurrection Sunday. It also led into a conversation about the ministry of Ginghamsburg Church and what we had experienced on our trip.

Our first visit of the day was to Fort McKinley, a suburb of Dayton. A couple of years ago a UM church that had not kept pace with the changing environment around them came under the leadership of Ginghamsburg. We arrived at the church around 8 AM to find people gathering for a bountiful breakfast. At the Fort breakfast is served from 8-10 AM. About 300 people gather for this meal each week. At 9 worship begins with two services following. What we saw was a church that was dead, but it found new life. God does great work in grave yards.

Pastor Mike shared about the economic situation in Dayton, how it is city that is dying, and about their work within it. He talked about the church's work in Darfur and South Sudan and said, we go and we give because God does great work in grave yards.

We came away with plenty of good impressions. The first two are profound. You're (we're) going to die. God does great work in grave yards! 

Cheer UP

John 16.31-33

³¹Jesus replied:

   Do you really believe me? ³²The time will come and is already here when all of you will be scattered. Each of you will go back home and leave me by myself. But the Father will be with me, and I won't be alone. ³³I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.

This passage was looked at in a men’s Bible Study a couple of nights ago.  Jesus’ words pierced through the ages from the setting in the upper room into the reality that we face when we wake up and turn on the news.  Since the time of his walking the earth, the earth has known trouble, followers of His have known what it is to suffer, they have taken up the calling to take on the suffering of the world, so that His victory, His healing can not only be talked about in past tense, but known now and into the future.  Though there is suffering, Jesus reminds us that the Father is with us, we are never alone, and He has defeated the world (John is talking of the world as the principles that are aligned against life, against Jesus – these principalities in other places we call death, Satan; the world as a created being is something God is at work redeeming.).
Today, as you follow Jesus and willingly take on some of the suffering of the world, do it in good cheer, for this suffering has met its match in the cross of Christ and all who will follow Him carrying a cross.  The suffering is met by a Father who is ever present, who calls things to life that are dead, who creates out of nothing, who transforms sorrow into gladness.  Be of Good Cheer as you take on some of the world’s suffering, for working in you is the Hope of Glory and the power of Christ Jesus, radiating His relationship and creation healing work through your kind words, your strong arms, your gentle response, your listening ear, your heart of love, your cheer in the midst of a troubled world.  Be of Good Cheer as you live and move in the Gospel, as it flows through you to troubled souls.  Be of Good Cheer.

The Sign of the Cross

A friend of mine sent the following quote.  I appreciate this instruction.

The Sign of the Cross: the Gesture, the Mystery, the History, by Andreas Andreopoulos. 

On pg. 83 he has this great synopsis:

"In tracing the sign of the cross over our body, we acknowledge our connection to Jesus, to the church and the community of saints, and to the Kingdom of Heaven that resides inside us."

Saved From Sacrfice; a theology of the cross

S. Mark Heim's book, Saved From Sacrifice; a theology of the Cross, influenced largely by Rene Girard, offers a perspective on the cross of Christ that is relevant and adds a positive contribution in the discussion as to the meaning of the cross of Christ.
 
Heim begins his work by noting there is a growing uneasiness among followers of Jesus with the  developments which seek to explain what happened in that work.  The satisfaction theory of the atonement as advanced by Anselm of Canterbury (1033 - 1109) has had a prominent place in the past 1000 years but there are points where Anselm's proposition breaks down relative to the fullness of scripture. 

Heim suggests that Anselm is at one level helpful, but at another level he doesn't read the depth of what scripture is pointing to.  Heim early on introduces the reader to the concept of stereoscopic reading of scripture.  That is, scripture can describe an event literally, while also offering a counter interpretation.  Scripture can describe how people act, while leaving the reader with the impression that something isn't right with what's being described.  Read through the book of judges and you'll have example after example.  One of the first points Heim will point to is Caiaphas projection in John 11.49ff - "it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed."

Heim suggests that on one level this description of Caiaphas is how the world works, not only with Jesus, but across the host of civilization.  When there is cultural trouble, when there is great angst in the body politic, when the gods are presumed to be angry, the crops fail, people go looking for a means to peace.  Since the beginning of time the way of humanity to achieve peace is to declare someone or some people group as the cause of the chaos and therefore make a sacrifice, of the person, or of the people group - to employ the scapegoat philosophy.  The Lord gave the Jews the scapegoat, but in other cultures, when things went bad the scapegoat was a person or persons.  This is the belief of Caiaphas, it's the belief all around us in contemporary culture.   

The result of this practice is a community that is held together, experiencing moments of tranquility, or of lack of war, but maintaining that community through use violence.  The scapegoating culture is a culture of victims, death and myth. 

Heim works hard to paint a detailed and expansive map detailing the narrative of scripture that is marked by this assumption and also the underlying current of interpretation that says there is something wrong in this assessment.  On the one hand Caiaphas is right in that the sacrifice of Jesus will in that moment bring an end to greater violence between Jerusalem and Rome.  But there is something very wrong about sacrificing the innocent.  And Jesus is not alone in the history of humanity who is the innocent victim.  But he is the victim unlike all others who returns from the dead, and instead of meeting out vengeance, He distributes forgiveness and welcoming into his arms those who abandoned who violated him.  He is at once victim and victor. 

Here is Heim in his own words:  "I unequivocally advocate a reversal of polarity in our common theology of the cross.  We are not reconciled to God and each other by a sacrifice of innocent suffering offered to God.  We are reconciled with God because God at the cost of suffering rescued us from bondage to a practice of violent sacrifice that otherwise would keep us estranged, making us enemies of the God who stands with our victims.  We are reconciled with each other because, at the cost of suffering, God offered us an alternative to our ancient machinery of unity.  So long as our peace depends on scapegoats, we are never truly reconciled with each other.  We only appear to be one community until the next crisis, at which point the short straw of exclusion will be drawn by some one or more of us.(320)"

Heim's work is helpful in thinking again about the work of Christ on the cross.  He unpacks the unease that scripture carries about Jesus being killed on a cross, especially in light of the Abraham and Isaac story.  (Why would God want the death of his Son when he clearly instructed Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac?)  His work can be a framework for gauging the language and actions in the present body politic, in family structures, in church community.  Personally it's given me a different set of lenses to read the newspaper through. 

The one drawback to Heim's work is its length.  It runs for 329 BIG pages of small print. Cliff notes would be helpful.  The reader can have an almost full grasp of the work by reading chapters 2 and 10.  (For my friends in Kentucky who read this blog, you can almost read this book in 10 minutes:-)

If you've been musing about the work of the cross of Christ, I'd recommend this work to you.  Heim is fair and appreciative of previous work, even when he critiques it so that he might offer a differing perspective.  He illustrates in theological discussion what his book advocates - avoiding scapegoats and the offer of grace.  His is a challenge to our contemporary culture; in the world and in the church.   



 

Burden

In a recent conversation Kasey Tinsley shared with me a line that she attributed to E. Dean Cook; "A Ship needs a burden to sail." (E. Dean Cook is a retired chaplain from the US Navy.)
Just like a ship needs a burden to sail, so a person needs a burden to have an impact, to move, to accomplish something.  It's no surprise that Jesus would invite us to lay our burdens down and pick up His cross.  His cross is a burden, a holy burden that leads to real significance.

A Courageous Couple

Yesterday I was privileged to visit a couple in a local hospital.  The husband has been diagnosed with some kind of severe cancer.  He's been hospitalized since early April.  His wife took a leave of absence from her work and has been with him on this journey. 
I had not met the couple before I walked into the room.  I had seen a picture of the man from fliers describing a benefit auction to be held for the family. 
In the room I saw the effects of cancer ravaging a human body.  That was the first impression.  First impressions however are not the best or proper impressions.  First impressions can be misleading, and that was the case here.
While the cancer has been taking its toll on the body of this man, his wife remained upbeat, steadfast, talking of what's on the other side of this fight. 
The man looked frail.  On this day he had already had two types of therapy.  After being present for 5 minutes, the physical therapist came in the door - do we want to walk today?  As she asked the question I got the impression she thought the answer would be no.  She was sizing up things too. 
The answer surprised her, it surprised me. 
Yes.  A walk was desired. 
The cords had to be adjusted, the urine bag transferred from the bed to the walker.  The physical therapist would hold onto the waist band, the aide would pull the poll holding all the IV bags, the man's wife pushed the chair behind the man as he shuffled his feet, both hands clutching the foam handles of his walker. 
I watched.  I was amazed. 
For thirty feet the man shuffled his feet.  He needed to sit down.  Into the chair he slumped.  Back to the room went his wife for the sponge stick for the moistening of his mouth.  Just like Jesus, thirsting and not able to drink.  She placed the sponge stick into his mouth.  It rolled around in there like a ping-pong ball in an empty Campbell's soup can.  He was too weak to close his mouth.  He had to lift his frail arms to maneuver the stick so the sponge would touch the roof of his mouth, the sides of his cheeks, and against his tongue.   
After a couple of minutes came the question, are we done?
No, not yet. 
Thirty more feet would be covered, from the chair, through some doors, to the foyer where the glass windows are generous.  The sunlight warmed the foyer and the green foliage of spring spread out in an unending canopy.  For a few seconds he stood and looked through eyelids that were almost closed and then retreating back into the chair. 
This was enough for today. 
As he lay in the reclined chair he motioned to me.  I had observed this walk.  I had opened the door through which he walked.  I was a stranger intruding upon this journey of frailty.  He motioned to me and whispered - thank you.  His wife voiced it louder - thank you. 
This gesture of appreciation was surprising.  They were the ones who welcomed a stranger.  They were the ones hospitable and kind in the midst of great pain. 
The real gift that had been given was to me.  I was blessed to observe a hospital staff honoring the desires of a frail human being. I was blessed to witness the courage of a couple who could rightfully be contorted by fatalism.  I was blessed by a thankful person in the midst of great suffering.
I know that this picture of this couple reveals a moment in time.  The fullness of their story is known to others, to themselves and to God.  Yet in this moment their character was strikingly similar to Jesus' on the cross, courageous and full of love.
In their courage I found that the reflection from my morning devotional had profound import:  "The risen Lord is still with me, not always in extraordinary manifestations, but in ordinary day-to-day life.  As only someone who really love me would do."  (The Little White Book, Diocese of Saginaw, littlebooks.org)
 

Spend Some Time Before The Cross

Today's devotional from The Little Black Book (littlebooks.org) invites us, urges us, to spend some time before the cross. 

Mark 15.39 - When the centurion what stood facing him saw how he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

All is quiet at Golgotha.  It is sometime after 3p.m. Jesus is dead, and his body hangs limp and lifeless on the cross. 
A high-ranking Roman soldier, a Gentile, makes an astounding statement:  "Truly, this man was the Son of God." 
The very first words of Mark's Gospel are:  The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God."  As the Gospel moves along, no human being calls him Son of God.  A voice from heaven called him, "My Son" at his baptism in the Jordan and again at the Transfiguration.  Demons did when Jesus drove them out.
Now this Roman soldier proclaims that this man was the Son of God.  He is the first human being in Mark's Gospel to do so.
Jesus' identity is manifest in his suffering and death.  To get to know Jesus, I had best spend some time before the cross.
______

I pray this Holy week, you will spend some time before the Cross, hearing the cries of Jesus, his word of forgiveness, his confidence in the Father and may you know as the centurion knows, that He is, the Son of God.

Handed Over

One of the devotional books I've been reading this lenten season is produced by the Little Books of the Diocese of Saginaw.  The title for their lenten book is "The Little Black Book."  (click on the title and it will take you to their web site.)  The little book follows Mark's account of the Passion of Jesus for its scripture text and meditation.  Here is a portion of today's devotional:

Mark 15.15 - So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to the crucified. 

Mark says that Jesus is "handed over to be crucified." This is part of a chain of "handing-overs", one after another, into unfriendly hands. It began when Judas handed him over to the chief priests . . . who handed him over to Pilate . . . who handed him over to the executioners. In the end, Jesus will hand himself over to the Father in death. At last, he will be received into friendly hands.


Those same friendly hands await me, not only at death, but at every Mass (Eucharist).  I can place myself on the altar and join with Christ as he gives himself into the Father's hands.

The Cross

Re-reading Walter Wangerin's work, Reliving the Passion.
Came across this quote today on the significance of the cross.
We are altogether meaningless, except God touch us.  God touched us here.  We fly into an infinity of hell, separated from life and from each other and from divinity forever, except God hold us.  God holds us here.