Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her. - John 20:1-18

"Mary stood weeping..."

So often I find myself, like Mary, weeping.

No, no, no...it's not the same as crying. It's not anything like the can't-catch-your-breath-sobs. It's not like tearing up over small joys or little heartbreaks. It's not like watery eyes after sneezing or dampened cheeks from riding your bike in the early morning wind.

Weeping occurs at that very last moment. You know what I'm talking about? When you feel all else has gone away, the foundation beneath your feet has cracked, and all that's left is you. Alone.

Like Mary.

The question, "Whom are you looking for?" becomes the voice inside your head - an all too familiar question as it's repeated, and repeated, and repeated. We begin to look, like Mary, for someone to hold onto. For someone we can't quite find right away.

Easter reminds us of this constant desire - to hold on and be held, simultaneously. It's a human desire. I know it is. And so does God. Barbara Brown Taylor says that in this Easter story, Jesus "knows that all in all, we would rather keep him with us where we are than let him take us where he is going."

Don't you feel that? When you weep, isn't that what you long for? For Jesus to stay, to weep with you, to let you hold onto him, for you to be held? That is certainly how I feel - I think Mary may have felt that way, too.

Don't you see we're not that different? Me and you, me and Mary, you and Mary. We have that same, human desire.

Mary wept. She longed for her Lord, and then he came. Like always, Jesus came.

That, too, is not that different. Jesus came to Mary as she wept and he comes for us when we weep. Easter is simply our reminder of God's unbreakable habit to always appear during our most vulnerable states - the ones that induce weeping because all else has gone away, the foundation beneath our feet has cracked, and all that's left is us. Alone. But do not worry, beloved child, Jesus comes. Like always.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. -Romans 8:1-11

Ok here is your Jeopardy question of the day. Do you know what is the largest organ in your body?

The heart? The brain? The liver? No, in fact it is your skin. The skin or flesh that the Gospel writers talk so much about today being the source of our sin and weakness happens to be an amazingly helpful part of making the body work. It allows us to feel and move and it protects us from disease and injury. Very human stuff.

So why does the flesh get such a bum wrap? Well that very human part of us is what God is asking us to shed in order to expose his most precious creation in us....our spirit, our soul. That part of us that science has not yet even begun to understand needs to be the biggest part of us.
What would that look like? Well I don't think we need to look to far to know how to lessen our human desires and enlarge our spiritual ones.

Today is Holy Saturday and we are given a perfect example of spirit overcoming flesh. Jesus knew what it meant to be human. His example shows us again and again how to be his continued and loving spirit in the world. So if your spirit is willing but your flesh is weak....remember that Jesus has shown you the way. Follow him to resurrected life.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated, when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!

Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. -1 Peter 1:10-20

Peter makes a distinction between two kinds of tradition. The first has an ephemeral quality, it alters to suit the tastes of the society, this is what Peter calls “the futile ways inherited from your ancestors.” The second kind of tradition is that from “those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!” Father Thomas Keating also distinguishes between these two kinds of tradition saying, “Tradition is not the same as traditions… One lives tradition. One expresses it in one’s life and in one’s reactions to life as a genuine response to Jesus Christ. Traditions are human interpretations and are often exalted above the love of God and neighbor” (Intimacy with God 6-7).

One lives the eternal tradition through attention. Those who passed this tradition down “spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care.” They did so by fixing their eyes on the tradition begun by Jesus and being receptive to the Holy Spirit. This is only accomplished through a disciplined attention and genuine fixation of the mind on the grace of God. “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” One who chooses to live their life in this way answers Jesus’ call to become holy.

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgement against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. -1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:27-32

!*#@...Oh, I mean, darn.

Last year, my Lenten discipline was a curse jar. 50 cents for every curse word or every time I took the Lord’s name in vain. After forty days of diligent vocabulary-checking, I had amassed a very conservative $50, which I then donated to a free clinic in my hometown. Some back-story: my dad, a Navy vet, literally curses like a sailor. My mom, a former English teacher and current word-lover, uses curse words for comic relief and rhetorical emphasis. Though I remember being chastised for using “bad words,” if a well-punctuated remark was funny, generally I was forgiven.

When I told people about my Lenten discipline, they alternately were shocked, or not surprised at all, which speaks to my ability to edit my vocabulary in certain situations. Nevertheless, the curse jar gave me the opportunity to cultivate a sense of self-awareness that I had neglected. Corinthians 11:28 tells us to “examine (ourselves) before eating the bread and drinking the cup.” In other words, we need to look inward and judge ourselves before we can whole-heartedly accept the Lord’s forgiveness. Otherwise, we simply imbibe “God’s judgment.”

Tonight we commemorate the Last Supper, Jesus’s final meal with his disciples where the first communion was performed. The liturgy for Maundy Thursday found in the Book of Common Prayer puts it this way: “Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord.” In the mystery of his sacrifice, Jesus gave us eternal life. We remember that sacrifice every time we take part in the breaking of bread and the sharing of wine. But this ritual can only come to its full meaning if we cultivate a sense of self-awareness that allows us to receive God’s forgiveness.

I’ll have another curse jar this year. Not because my swearing is any worse, and not because I didn’t learn my lesson a year ago, but because I realize that I must know myself before I can know God. This is not to say that you need to chastise yourself for every breach of faith or wrongful deed; little is accomplished by beating yourself up about the past. But to know your shortcomings, your talents, your successes and failures, acknowledging your right and your wrong, opens you up to the glory of God’s forgiveness, the ultimate affirmation of your place as one of God’s children.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. -Philippians 4:1-13

I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

When talking about Lent, I often find myself talking about what I gave up or what I took on, and often that was all Lent was about for me. Lent was the time to be a good Christian by making small sacrifices. However, Lent is much more than that. When Jesus went into the wilderness, it was about more than just sacrifices. In the reading from Philippians, Paul reminds us that our minds should always engage with God. Lent is a time for reflection, making sacrifices to help us grow closer to God. Paul tells the Philippians that by always rejoicing in God and praying to God, we will be filled and content. If we let ourselves be filled, we will not focus on what we gave up, but the love of God.

Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. –Philippians 3:15-21

What resonates most strongly with me from this passage is the juxtaposition of things worldly against things holy, the carnal posited against the lofty theological aspirations of Paul’s “us,” “who are mature.” Glory in shame, destiny in destruction, the transformation of our “lowly bodies.” It seems incredibly difficult, however, simply to shirk worldly objects and to get right down to the nitty gritty, the ultimate goal of a faith focused solely on God, no distractions, no exceptions.

It seems that to transform one’s lowly body into a temple of glory akin to our Lord Jesus Christ does not come from ignoring all things worldly in one giant leap toward the holistically spiritual. Mastery of carnal, corporeal desire seems to come through awareness of that desire, and in my own life, experience with it. I can’t skip the step of understanding earthly things—I need that knowledge to master my futile longings for those things. Thus, keenly aware of my human natures, I can decide what desires in me most need mastering (or smothering), so that I can then formulate my Lenten commitments. What do I most need control over in order to follow the example of the matured believers upon whom Paul places such great emphasis?

The juxtaposition of the natural and the spiritual in this passage from Paul’s letter seems largely intentional, to make us starkly aware of the differences between those two worlds. As I become more aware of those differences, I learn where the two worlds collide and intertwine for me, rendering me able to take advantage of that middle ground and learn which pieces of the material world need overcoming. I have to understand my human shortcomings to make my Lenten season worthwhile and to rise above my earthly wants into a greater level of spiritual maturity.

Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:1-14

I had finished Treetops, the challenge course, almost in its entirety. The only part left to conquer was the zip line. All the campers, myself included, were sending shouts of jubilee heavenward knowing this part of the course was next. Every year I sailed down the zip line in perfect posture, feet out without holding onto the rope, as was instructed. I scoffed at the campers who chose to ride down upside down, thinking to myself, “How could any method of riding be more fun or rewarding than what I am doing right now?” I had full confidence in my way of zip lining, though I had always heard the way to do gown the zip line was upside down.

It was our last year as campers and my Treetops partner, Taylor, was determined to get me to ride the inverted way. We sat down on the ledge and prepared for the counselors to pull the release. Taylor pestered me until the very last minute when the counselors released the cord and yelled, “Flip!” Shockingly, I obeyed her command. We were sailing down the zip line upside down and by the time we were at the bottom I didn’t want to stop. The inverted method was indeed the way to ride.    

The reading for today in Philippians 3, entitled “No Confidence in the Flesh,” appears to me a bit like the upside down ride on the zip line. Initially unsettling it seems preposterous, but after understanding Paul’s perspective I am moved to believe there is no other way to ride the zip line. Paul beckons us to live a life that places no confidence in ourselves and all confidence in “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.” A difficult charge to grasp, I began to draw a comparison to my zip lining experience in an attempt to understand the gravity of Paul’s statements. I had full confidence in my way of riding the zip line, in my flesh, because I knew no other way. Gaining perspective, I realized that we are sinful creatures who often relish and take pride in our own capacity. What an upside down world we’d be living in if we were to treat as garbage “the very credentials these people are waving around as something special” (Phil. 3:7, The Message). Upside down, yes, but spectacular. Like riding down camp’s hill seeing the world from a whole new perspective.

During this Lenten season I want to challenge you to invert your world and start living upside down. Paul says, in verse 10, “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power” (The Message). However, Paul does admit, “not that I have already obtained all this” (Phil. 3: 12, NIV). Even he doesn’t have it all together, but Paul has realized the freedom that stems from abandoning confidence in the flesh, in the “instructed method” of zip lining.

What a great trade! I would rather live in an inverted world, one in which I am getting “to know Christ personally,” than live in a world where I’m forced to rely on my failing flesh. I pray that today we will all take time to repent of our self-reliance and ask for a renewed sense of confidence in Christ. Listen to God’s call as he whispers to you gleefully, “Live upside down today, beloved!” Go ahead and mimic Paul, cast off what was profit. Even ride the zip line upside down! We may find this is far more rewarding than a world right side up.

Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’ Then Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘You say so.’ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no basis for an accusation against this man.’ But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’

When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.’

Then they all shouted out together, ‘Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!’ (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify him!’ A third time he said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.’ But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’ And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. -Luke 23:1-49

Palm Sunday has long been my favorite service of the year. If you attend an Episcopal service today, you will most likely be given a palm before the start of the service. Congregants will gather around outside the sanctuary and the service will begin with the invocation to worship. From the onset, congregants are participants in the liturgy as they follow the procession into the sanctuary as the familiar words “All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King!” are sung a cappella. The tone is set for the rest of the service, as congregants become part of a crowd, processing together in remembrance of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

I’ve always loved the participatory nature of this service, which carries into the Gospel reading for the day. If you have attended a Palm Sunday service in Sewanee, you know that today’s Gospel reading is powerful as various people lend their voices to the players in the Passion of Christ, as the story of Christ being convicted and hung on a cross is told with a theatrical reading.  Just as part of the crowd in the procession, congregants become part of the crowd in the Gospel: as Pontius Pilate stands in front of the crowd wanting to release Jesus, we say “Crucify him, crucify him” condemning Jesus to death. The moment I lend my voice along with the crowd never fails to strike a visceral reaction. I feel the shame and sadness in the depths of my being. It forces me to reflect on what it means to be just another voice going along with the crowd. It sets a somber mood for the rest of Holy Week leading up to Jesus’ resurrection.

My reflections this Palm Sunday are focused on times when I chose to act as part of a crowd. I wonder what role I would have taken if present at the time of Jesus’ conviction. Would I have cowered in the corner and not uttered a word?; would I have proudly and loudly called for Jesus’ crucifixion?; or would I have stood up and declared his innocence? Either of the first two choices would have been easy, but would they be right? Even as an individual, there is an attractive quality of being a part of a larger group. For various reasons, I seek comfort in being part of a crowd, and I often find the opportunity for anonymity to be alluring. Not all crowds are bad, but when a crowd influences us to go against what we know in our heart to be right, we lose sight of the truth. I find hope in knowing that just as crowds can influence us to act against what we believe, so too can crowds reinforce and encourage us to seek out those beliefs. It is up to me to decide what I will stand for; to support those groups that seek out justice and truth, and walk away from the crowds that persecute and promote inequality.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say:
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 
But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. –Jeremiah 31:27-34

Easter shifts us from the old to the new. In the Easter story Jesus takes his new place as God’s resurrected son. We find ourselves in a new relationship with God, a new life where our sins are washed away. In this particular passage, we encounter another new addition that comes at Easter. In God’s old law, the sins of a father could pass on his son. A descendant to the third or fourth generation could be held responsible for familial actions in the past. This is disheartening until we realize that it is actually irrelevant: as we are all sinful, it does not matter if we carry on our relations’ misdeeds. Inevitably we have fallen prey to sin along with our ancestors. God creates a new law at Easter time, and part of it is the rewritten old law which now states that we each deserve to die for our own independent sins. But this is only part of His new change.

God claims us as well. He gives us His Son so that we will not die. He gives us this new law, which says that we have sinned but that we are saved, and places it inside us and etches it onto our hearts. This visceral description exhibits the newness and rawness of Easter. Our sin has uprooted us, but God’s grace plants us and builds us back up. This passage does leave us with a question, however. God assures us that after His new covenant with us, we need not tell our neighbors about Him, for they will already know Him. Yet today, not everyone has heard God’s word. We have God’s word written on our hearts, but why hasn’t everyone seen it? Perhaps this is because we sometimes keep our hearts hidden. I know I often do. God gave us the ability to show His face to others effortlessly, just by being ourselves. And yet sometimes we censor this. When the Easter season arrives, I will challenge myself to allow God’s gift to do its work. I hope to let my heart speak for itself and share God’s news.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’ - John 11:1-27

“For they walk by this world’s light.” When I first read that, I wondered how in the world were we not to stumble led by this world’s light where confusing events after nonsensical events occur? Especially during Lent when we are to be giving up, say, chocolate right before “this world’s light” and advertisements attempt to coax us into a romantic relationship via chocolate on Valentine’s Day. A friend of mine just recently had her first baby and the day after when I was getting ready in the morning I realized that this was the baby’s first sunrise on this earth. She has every opportunity to change this world’s light. Noticing this made me wonder how many sunrises and sunsets had gone by my life unnoticed for whatever reason and how many opportunities to alter my life for the better, thereby making this world better have gone by unnoticed. We have Jesus to guide our feet as we journey, and I wondered if that’s what he meant - with God’s light and Jesus’ “this world’s light” will not let us stumble, unless we forget to see by that light.

As a human, Jesus needed light to travel. Spiritually as God incarnate, he will always have a light that guides him. By dropping bad habits and picking up good habits we are changing our own lives, obviously, but also this world’s. To have Jesus in our hearts and intentionally making an effort to walk on this 40 day journey with him “this world’s light” just got a little brighter.  In thinking about “this world’s light” and this passage during Lent it’s easy to interpret it either way, but in the light of Christ we are to see a new hope and a new dawn. The forty days ended in death, but more importantly a new life.

Again the Jews were divided because of these words. Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?’ Others were saying, ‘These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’

The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?’ The Jews answered, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.’ Jesus answered, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, you are gods”? If those to whom the word of God came were called “gods”—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, “I am God’s Son”? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’ Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, ‘John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.’ And many believed in him there. –John 10:19-42

While reading this Gospel passage, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own feelings of faith and belief. Every Sunday I stand in church and, with the rest of the congregation (and with many, many others across the world), say the Creed, our profession of faith. I believe it as surely as I say it aloud, else I would remain silent. And yet, I do not know these things. I have no proof that is quantifiable; I’ve had no direct revelation. Then again, it wouldn’t be faith. But it isn’t so much that I merely hope these things are true. As much as people like to speak of faith as a blind leap, I don’t feel blind in my faith. Conviction also feels inaccurate to describe what happens when I say the words “I believe”. “This is truth, and that isn’t.” That’s not what I feel. It’s more subtle that that.

The Jews in this passage demand that Jesus prove to them that he is who he says. But they’ve seen him perform miraculous works, and Jesus knows that if they can’t believe their own eyes, then they will never believe his words. Instead, he asks him to examine the situation and believe with their eyes what they cannot with their ears. Unlike Jews ready to stone Jesus, we don’t have the benefit of our sight. We haven’t seen water become wine, a boy’s meager lunch feed thousands, or a days-dead friend and brother walk out of his tomb.

Yet there are other believers there who are like me, like the rest of us living centuries later. The followers at Jordan have only what they have heard, what John has told them, about Jesus. Yet when he arrives, they believe, because they, as I do, feel inexplicably compelled by something in what they have heard.

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for
‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.’ 
Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,‘I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.’ 
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did not seek me I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’ But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.’ –Romans 10:14-21

As much as we try to deny it, we are all disobedient and obstinate occasionally. Whether it’s opting out of doing the reading for class, not taking the advice of our parents, or taking the contrary viewpoint in a discussion in which it may be better to let sleeping dogs lie. I’m as obstinate as anyone, frequently thinking I can do everything myself without any help and not listening to the words of wisdom from those who, more often than not, have more experience and usually turn out to be right. God’s chosen people in Israel were apparently not unlike me, disobedient and obstinate.

Lent is always a season that reminds me of my obstinacy, the fact that I’m dust, and that I don’t really know much about anything. Thankfully it is also a time when God chooses to reach out to us disobedient and obstinate people, even when it takes a veritable knock in the head to listen. While I frequently fall into not asking for help, from God especially, it is always a wonderful and comforting relief when I recognize that He does reveal himself to those who do not ask, as Isaiah did in this passage. Usually I don’t understand or hear the first time, as Paul says the people of Israel didn’t either. Thankfully we have a patient and loving God that is willing to stand there all day long to hold out his hands to those of us that take more than once to hear what He’s saying. He’s willing to stand there with his hands out as long as it takes.

For the season of Lent, perhaps we can strive to be those who were not expecting the word of God but received it anyway, like those that heard the word of God from Isaiah when they weren’t asking for it, rather than the disobedient ones who ignored it. Sometimes the best surprises are those we weren’t expecting anyway. Even better, we can try to be the surprise that someone stumbles across throughout the day. Not everyone is looking for the word of God, but they may receive it when you allow your light to shine through the darkness of lent and stir the particles of dust from their resting places. Sometimes we are the light and sometimes we’re the dust, so allow others to stir you as well. We’re going to return to dust, but if I can be blessed enough to be the dust that settles on God’s bookshelf and be stirred His ray of light that filters through the windows in his sitting room in Heaven, then I would like to be God’s dust forever.

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains. –John 9:18-41

The man who was blind from birth answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

A man born blind is healed by Jesus in today’s reading from John. He and his parents are questioned repeatedly by the authorities about who exactly it was that healed him. There is a lot of back and forth, and no one is quite sure what to make of the healer. Some of the authorities assume he is a sinner. Finally, the man who has been healed explodes. It’s as if he is saying, “Look! You are missing the point. I don’t need to have everything figured out about this Jesus. I don’t need to have all the answers. But I will live with a thankful heart because I was blind but now I see.”

I think this is where most of us live our lives in Christ. We know our questions far outpace our abilities to answer them. We know we don’t have it all figured out. The man who was blind from birth in John 9 gives us hope. We don’t need all of the answers to realize that we were blind and now we see. During Lent we are rightly called to acts of self-discipline and penance. Today’s gospel reminds us that Lenten discipline cannot be separated from a life of thankfulness. For one thing we do know, that though we were blind, now we see.

You will say to me then, ‘Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?’ But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is moulded say to the one who moulds it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea,
‘Those who were not my people I will call “my people”,
   and her who was not beloved I will call “beloved”. ’ 
‘And in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not my people”,
   there they shall be called children of the living God.’

And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved; for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively.’ And as Isaiah predicted,
‘If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us,
   we would have fared like Sodom
   and been made like Gomorrah.’

What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling-stone, as it is written,
‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’ -Jeremiah 24:1-10

After reading this passage over and over again I continually am drawn to verse 32, “Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works.” I think this verse really stuck out to me because it deals with problems that I struggle with every day of my life, acting through faith. It is easy to say your Christian or a believer of God, but what is harder, or at least for me, is to actually act as a Christian and believer of God. For even in everyday chores and life I find myself living by the law or doing what I want but not actually completing tasks through faith. Therefore, I send myself into a whirlwind of anger when everything goes wrong or not the way I wanted it to go. It is in these moments when I turn to thoughts such as, why would God let that happen to me?! 

However, this passage has a response for that too, verse 20 says, “But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God?” Think about that!  “But who indeed are you, a human being, to answer back to God?”  We don’t have the right to talk back to God.  We are supposed to follow in his path and his faith. He made us, we are the clay and he is the molder, we do not get to choose what we do, he has already chosen a life for us. Every time we follow by works even in the small chores of life rather than by faith we are fighting this master plan he has for us. We are trying to do things on our own, to take the shorter route and hopefully meet God somewhere at the end. That does not work though, because God already has a plan for me and he has a plan for you. Although it is difficult to trust in this and to follow in faith I urge you to just read this passage one more time, and use it as a reminder of what God did for us, he died for us he cares so much about us.  And remember what we need to try to do throughout this Lent season, and all seasons, is to strive to function on faith and on faith alone. Because as verses 33 states, “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise. –Isaiah 43:16-21

Isaiah reminds me not to become enveloped in the past, whether it be in a positive or negative light, as these thoughts hinder me from turning towards God. In my life, I continually fall short of what I know to be right. These setbacks act as either a source of rumination or anxiety. Yet we are warned “to not dwell on the past,” so as not to become like the warriors who were “extinguished, quenched like a wick.” In becoming enslaved to the past, it becomes impossible to take part in God’s promise of a “new thing.”

Isaiah illustrates how in turning towards this “new thing” self-renewal becomes possible. He links the chance of rejuvenation to water. The imagery of water appears throughout the passage whether it be “water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,” or ”a path.” He depicts the transformative qualities of water in nature as it morphs, becomes boundless, and appears in inconceivable places. His description demonstrates how God makes all things new. Through life in Christ, I too can become renewed, because God offers water as “a drink to my chosen people.” Freed from “things of old,” transformation becomes possible.