love walks on

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
-Luke 24:28-29

Just as quickly and as unannounced as he joined in this traveling party, the resurrected Jesus was willing to keep on walking and leave these brokenhearted disciples in the village. Is there something wrong with this picture? Does there seem to be something that just doesn't fit? Might this image of Jesus go against our Footprints view of Christianity which says that during such times of sorrow and grief Jesus is doing all of the work for us (i.e., carrying us)? I think that on a certain level, it does go against the grain of this popular understanding of the Christian walk.

Here we have two disciples - it does not say who, but it is most likely one of the Eleven - who are devistated at the events which they have just witnessed. They had once believed that this Jesus was the messiah who would save Israel. They no longer believe that. Enter Jesus - Stage Right.

He gives them what has to be the greatest Old Testament exposition in the history of earth! And we don't have the details because he "wasted" his material on an audience of two (intrinsic lesson for many modern preachers/teachers). He explains to them all the pieces that they had been missing. And then he is willing to leave them and continue down the road. Now it is up to them to decide. He knows that there is no substitutionary faith.

Their hearts were burning within them and they begged him to stay with them. It is only after this choice that they are able to recognize him and to have their eyes unveiled to the all-too-familiar stranger. This is quite an amazing and beautiful story of the resurrection. And it aptly describes the Christian's walk of faith throughout this life. There are times when life becomes difficult and hard to bear. . .and that doesn't mean that Jesus will just jump in and take care of everything. But we do know that he is willing to walk along our road with us.

Just as long as we aren't content to let him keep going. . .

love goes on

a shooting star tumbles down, it's flame cannot endure
a scarlet rose withers brown, to loose its fragrant lure
the moon illuminates the night to vanish at the dawn
but, love. . .love goes on

fortunes faid and disappear, like castles in the sand
power spoils and causes fear, but yields to stronger hands
fame lasts for a moment, then in a moment it is gone
but, love. . .love goes on

beauty fades, passion wanes and faces show their years
death steals a lover's touch away, but time dries up the tears
tunes are soon forgotten, singers lose their songs
but love. . .love goes on

a baby boy, a starlet night, kings on bended knee
healing hands giving sight, then tortured on a tree
a woman sings, rejoicing, "He is risen, he is gone!"
because, love. . .love goes on


-David Phelps



(c) 2004 Wordspring Music, Inc.

the sum of all insignificance

If we were to total up all of the insignificant details of Christ's passion and resurrection, I believe we would have a very long and surprising list. That is to say, throughout the centuries it has been the custom of humanity to emphasize various pieces of the Gospels which never really mattered much in the first place. Yet somewhere in all of our pageant and tradition we have built up so much of what we think really matters. History, however, tends to tell a different tale. Let us examine one potential alarming fact to make this case.

Just about everyone who has ever heard about Jesus knows that he died via crucifixion. Those who know this probably also know that this event occured at a place known as Golgotha ("the skull"). Where and what is Golgotha? While our mind's eye conjures up images of high and lofty mountains suitable for such a magnanimous spiritual warfare (just like all those movies), it is striking to realize that it was nothing more than a rock quarry just outside of the city walls. The drilling and mining of all of this hard rock made the side appearances of this quarry look like a skull - hence the name. Since it was just outside of the city gates, it also fit well into the Roman practice of lining up it's executed along the road into the city as a warning to anyone who might be thinking of challenging them.

Scholars believe they have discovered this place. It is now best remembered as a bus station - a place of great historical significance that is now covered up by random comings and goings of all sorts of people. How many have so carelessly and thoughtlessly walked across this very sight which so many evangelicals seek to memorialize so deeply into their spiritual existence? But is that the point?

Are we searching so hard for a powerful image to show the magnitude of our God that we seek out power and prestige to attach to something he was so willing to go through powerlessly? In all of our searches for an astounding and impactful message we miss the absurdity and shock found in his one request from the cross: "Father, forgive them. . ."

Our search for power and justice keeps us from seeing the way things really are. And when we see deeper into him we not only find him for who he is. . .we find that we can see ourselves for who we really are. The sum of all insignificance is quite large when we calculate it from the perspective of the cross of Christ. Such a vantage point is what made Jesus' words possible. And it is why Paul said that he could throw away everything else that seemed to have mattered once before.

The sum of all insignificance leads to forgiveness.

heaven in his eyes

see the teacher sitting on a mountain
see him walking along the shore
his friends and disciples gathering around Him
say never spake a man like this before

but why's a man as wise as he
weeping alone in Gethsemane
did he know that some would never see
the heaven in his eyes

see the master walking on the water
hear him speak and calm an angry wave
look at him raising up Jairus's daughter
and with a word Lazarus comes forth from the grave

why is a man as strong as this
being betrayed by a good friend's kiss
could it be that maybe this man missed
the heaven in his eyes

and I'm not talking about the pie in the sky
that the good girls and boys get in the by and by
but rather the strength, the strength that we could find
if we've got the guts to try

and I see the teacher playing with the children
and hear him baffle the doctors of the law
look at the people gathering to go with him
those who see the vision that he saw

this is why a man as holy as he
had to die alone on Calvary
'cause it was the only way that we could ever see
the heaven in his eyes

and heaven's in his eyes




-Rich Mullins




(c) 1998 Liturgy Legacy Music

Jesus the clown

The earliest picture of Jesus at his crucifixion comes to us by way of caricature - a rendering of Jesus on the cross depicted with the head of an ass. This was the early Roman attempt at mocking him by depicting him as a ridiculous figure, someone who deserved nothing more than being written off. We find in the Gospel accounts (as well as early history) the repeated attempts of the Roman officials treating Jesus as a figure of fun.

They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling down on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
~Mark 15:16-20

The Romans weren't the only ones who regarded Jesus as a clownish figure. We can see his quick and forceful dismissal from the very pious and earnest Pharisees who found in utter contempt this carpenter who dared provoke the powerful and lawful. If you remember, they had brought to him a woman who had committed a great sin in order to hear his piety. Instead, Jesus bends over and writes with his finger in the dust on the ground. By playing in the dirt as a child Jesus reveals their own overly-solemn lives and uncovers their own godlessness, for he knows what they are really thinking.

"Jesus didn't observe the norms. In the eyes of the pious establishment he acted like a fool. In this role he proclaimed a God who wants life, before whom one doesn't need to appear with a serious face, but whom one can encounter in the joyfulness and freedom of the child, the clown and the fool."*


*Anselm Grun, Images of Jesus (New York: Continuum, 2002), 137.

for such a place as this

"Would Amos have thundered so boldly if he had been a northern guild-prophet rather than a southern sheep farmer? Would John the Baptist have spoken so bluntly if he had been a courtier in Herod's palace? Could Martin Luther have seen the church's captivity as clearly if he had been a cardinal in Rome? Would Winston Churchill have spoken as freely as a member of the Cabinet as he did as a backbencher from Chartwell? Possibly; we are free to speculate. In the reality of history, however, there is a clear link between each messenger's perspective and each messenger's pain. Both are the result of being outsiders, and for any Christians who would speak out today in a time of the church's deepening cultural captivity, prophetic untimeliness carries a clear cost." *


Pondering these questions and possibile historical situations can guide us to very interesting thoughts regarding our place in this world. Certainly our society attributes greatness with sphere of influence as well as power and authority. The church has also seen its share of power-hungry and status-seeking persons as well as the late evangelical quest for the biggest and best spokesmodels for the Christian faith (sports figures, rock stars, politicians, movie makers, etc. . .). I think back to a challenged posed to such wishes by Tozer: Does God desire such worldly greatness and influence - certainly he is in no need of great humans in order to accomplish his work.

Examining our own theology might reveal our loose grasp of Jesus' teaching on the last being first and the least being greatest. For while so many of us enjoy quoting such niceties we are quick to push over each other for a greater status while passing through this earthly realm. Or we pass by those who are weak so that we may rally behind persons of higher rank, status, and publicity. Yet we must reflect on such named characters of godly influence mentioned above and wonder. . .

Perhaps it is important to remember that we might strive for weakness and be diligent to have others placed before us. I wonder if any of us might be accused of trying to out-do our founder. . .a man of no reputation.




*Os Guinness, Prophetic Untimeliness (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 86.

n' peppa

Because Jesus once used a metaphor about his followers being salt, there have been many who have used similar imagery to talk about the Christian's involvment in the world. One of the more popular books on evangelism speaks of Christians coming out of the saltshaker in order to influence the world. This is all well and good but begs the very simple question, "How do you get salt out of a saltshaker?"

As a food service professional, I would like to shed some light on this problem. I have witnessed many various approaches to the problem of transferring salt from its shaker onto the desired object and believe that I have found the best method. There are some who hold the saltshaker over their food and tap it slightly with their forefinger - this gets out a dash of salt. Some actually shake the shaker back and forth over their food which results in various amounts of salt dispersion (depending on the force and duration of the shaking process). Then there is the method assumed by a five-year-old girl who sought to quickly place a great deal of salt onto her napkin - she removed the top and dumped it.

[brief aside from a professional server: don't do this or allow others in your party to do this as someone must clean and refill - especially if it's me]

Now. . .after having observed these methods it seems that each approach has its particular value and/or setback. With the exception of five-year-old "Emily" (to protect those guilty), these salt dispersions were excecuted with the intent purpose of flavoring food. Emily did so only for fun. . .she hadn't even ordered yet. And there is a danger of interpreting Jesus' words as though they refered to salt as a flavoring agent. Because salt was, for the ancients, a preserving agent long before it became known as a flavor-enhancer.

So while flavor is a matter of taste, preserving depends upon how much one values something. In other words, the more value one places on something determines how hard one will work to preserve it. Jesus said himself that we are here to be that preserving force in this world. Although many think that we can just dash our influence here and there and call it a good day, we must remember that he cares so much for this world that he is not afraid to rip off the top and dump us right in the middle. . .and sometimes that can be a bit rough, only because passion is reckless.

Wake the dead. . .don't be content and just walk away*




*John Schlitt, "Wake the Dead" on Shake, 1995.

price of forgiveness

"But forgiveness comes with a price: the suffering of the one who has been sinned against. The injured party must suffer the pain, forgoing revenge, in order to pursue reconciliation of the broken relationship. In this respect forgiveness is not 'unconditional,' since the person forgiving must fulfill this condition. Calvary demonstrates that God is willing to pay the cost of forgiveness and to work to bring about reconciliation. Vincent Brummer writes, 'Christ's suffering is not merely the paradigmatic revelation of God's atoning forgiveness. Such a revelation is also a necessary condition for this forgiveness.' God has humbled himself and has met this painful condition necessary for the restoration of the personal divine-human relationship. In Jesus, God overcomes the estrangement and provdes a way for us to repent and to be reconciled."*

Think about how much things cost. . . . . .just out of curiosity, did your mind wander to something expensive or something cheap? Does that tell us anything about ourselves? I don't know for sure. Perhaps there are those of us who want to know that what we have is very costly and expensive because we find value in such things and perhaps there are those of us who are looking for the biggest bargain. Depending on what we're talking about, I could go either way on that one.

But what is the price of salvation? It is offered free yet the cost to God is quite incomprehensible to us. All in all, God's extraordinary love and faithfulness is constantly displayed in the cross. Romans 5 tells of the incredible effects of this love as God took those who were enemies of himself and welcomed them into his family - us! I cannot even imagine bringing my enemies so close as to make them members of my family. Yet this is what God has done (and is doing).

At a high price.

Too high?

Perhaps for some.

Not for him.






*John Sanders, The God Who Risks (Downers Grove: IVP, 1998), 105.

curiosity and a cat

So there we were, walking through the mall on the afternoon of Sunday last when I saw this on the fragrance counter of one of the fancier mall stores.

Curiousity seems to be the primary marketing point that is driving this advertisement (it couldn't be pure singing ability) and is rather indicative of our present culture as a whole. Being the proud uh. . .tolerant owner of an animal of the feline persuasion, I believe I have some first-hand knowledge of curiosity. I witness it every day. Now, I'm sure we all know what curiosity did to the proverbial cat. Why, then, are we so sure that we can escape the effects of such overwhelming inquisitiveness? We as people must believe that we are immune to the negative side of curiosity because we are constantly doing things (more appropriately stated: we are constantly justifying ourselves) all in the name of curiosity?

Why past experimentation with drugs? Curiosity! Why participate in underage drinking? Curiosity? Why be so free and careless with sexuality? Curiosity! etc. . .etc. . .etc. . .ad nauseum. And now we're combining the morality of Britney with the curiosity of our current society - this can only turn out ugly. Teens are being driven to explore various things in the name of curiosity (as Abercrombie and the like would have us believe is good).

During my reflection, though, it has come to my attention that there is a very clear and obvious reason why curiosity has not killed my cat (at least, not yet). You see, his curiosity is driven by his fascination with the world - and perhaps with its Creator - and his unceasing drive to see and know more and more and more and more. And one could easily make the case that this is the same push toward all of our human experimentation (although unlikely). But I see that my cat lives another day to feed his curiosity because of the limits I have set before him. He is not allowed to do certain things lest he find himself in deep trouble. Just like a child he has learned his boundaries through both discipline and painful discovery. Increasingly he listens to those in charge over him and finds life more enjoyable and free. . .

Until we as humans can listen and adhere to the boundaries set forth by our Master, I am afraid we will do no better than that proverbial nosy feline who can discover no more.

underblanket

I remember when I was a little child there was a simple solution for being scared: hiding beneath blankets. Whenever there was trouble, I could very easily dive under some covers and everything would somehow be alright. Actually, I believe that one of the most frightening things I ever saw was the opening sequence to The Incredible Hulk, the part where the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) would growl straight into the camera. Even though he was a good-guy, I would find myself either running behind a piece of furniture or pulling a blanket over my head. For some reason, the whole situation was resolved with an "out-of-sight; out-of-mind" reaction. I believed that if I didn't see the danger, then it could not hurt me.

Since I was a child, there have only been a handful of things that have scared me in the same way: 1) certain scenes from M. Night Shyamalan movies, 2) church sanctuaries in the dark, 3) a dream in which John Kerry won the election, 4) a certain television show I watched about a 'haunted' house (hey. . .it was very well done). So, while I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to watch this 'haunting' program the other night it plants some seed in my mind about spirits. Afterward, while trying to find my way through the dark back to bed I couldn't help think of some of the representations of spirits that were depicted in that t.v. show - and suddenly figured I better get to the bed quickly!

Why? Because on some level I figure I've not totally outgrown the childish notion that hiding under the covers would somehow make everything better. But the whole notion seem so absurd upon reflection. I know that even though I might hide from any potential danger beneath a blanket, if there did happen to be somebody after me it wouldn't take much to get through my 'protection.' I suppose that I am acting out of instinct.

In the end, I am not embarrassed of such behavior (even though I might hear about it from some of my readers) because it is a reaction that assures me I have not totally grown up. Real-life comes close to this: one can easily be scared. It still might be child-like instinct to run. . .perhaps into the waiting arms of a Father.

sweat of necessity

Christian piety has trivialized the passionate God of Golgotha. Christian art has turned the unspeakable outrage of Calvary into dignified jewelry. Christian worship has sentimentalized monstrous scandal into sacred pageant. Organized religion has domesticated the crucified Lord of Glory, turned him into a tame theological symbol. Theological symbols do not sweat blood in the night.
~Brennan Manning

How easy it is to forget just how real Jesus was. . .is. There is, perhaps, only one distinction between how the cross is viewed: either as horror or as beauty. To those who are in the church, the cross has long been sentimentalized into something that is to be revered and adored. Many of us grew up singing things like, "so, I'll cherish the old rugged cross. . ." which is a fine hymn of faith but nevertheless indicative of the cultural shift within the body toward a less violent view of the cross - for instance, no one who ever witnessed a crucifixion would ever think of cherishing such a thing. Then there are those who see nothing more than the violence of the cross. These folks may be easily found in those reactions to "The Passion of the Christ" that could see no possible plotline other than Jesus getting beat up for ninety minutes.

This rather harsh dismissal of the cross should come at no surprise to us when we see that such people have no belief that something greater and deeper is happening in the story anyway. They do not see their own part nor do they see God at work It is, quite simply, a tale about a beating. Yet somehow the story of the cross calls out to them, drawing their hearts in a way which they have never felt. And they find it hard to force themselves to ignore it.

On the church-end of things it has become apparent that so many have 'overfamiliarized' themselves with the cross to the point of having very little understanding of it at all. The impact of this scandalous event is lost deep within the many doctrinal lines of salvific necessity.

As is so often the case, we need to strike a balance between these extremes. Yes, the cross is a theological necessity which benefits us to better understand each day. But not at the cost of forgetting the extreme cost it issued. At the end it comes down to a gastly murder - one of the worst and most cruel ways humankind has ever devised to destroy itself - which we so carelessly adorn with gold and silver and wear around our necks. Presented with the real cross. . .spintery, old, cracked, bloody, gross. . .most of us would run away.



Beauty that
we left behind
how shall we
tomorrow find

Set aside
our weight in sin
so that we
can live again*

"I Shall Not Walk Alone" by Ben Harper

"The Communion of the Saints"

In one of those especially poignant passages that so frequently and powerfully mark the Gospels and charge them with the character of Christ, we encounter Jesus and his twelve in a moment of deep sorrow followed by a great flash of glory. (And does glory ever come except on the heels of sorrow?)

Jesus has just alienated many of his disciples by telling them that they must 'eat body' and 'drink blood.' This directive must have been even more startling to its original audience than to us. They did not hear it through the filter of some 1900 years of systematizing theology contrived to intellectualize and cushion us against the blow of his outrageous command. They met it head-on and felt the full force of it and they were repulsed.

Here Jesus, who was habitually pushing the margin of reason into the realms of faith, crossed the line. Here, he ventured too deeply into the uncharted territory of the kingdom of God, articulated too clearly the good, yet distrubing news of that kingdom, and called for an obedience too radically opposite for the reasonable sensibilities of many disciples at that time. He called them to follow too far outside their well-defined comfort lines. . .and they ran away in disgust or stood paralyzed in terror as Jesus walked on - walked on into the binding light of the liberation truth he had just spoken.

The twelve stayed with him - maybe reluctantly, maybe for reasons that they didn't know. But when Jesus asked that heart-breaking question, 'Will you also leave me?' it is Peter - the impetuous apostle - who gives us the secret to the hidden heart of discipleship: 'Where else can we go? You have the words of life!'

Peter may very well have been as perplexed over the point of Jesus' teaching as those who abandoned him, but he was not confused about the person Jesus. Peter might have misunderstood his methods and mission, but he was certain that Jesus was Messiah. He may have been in the dark about where he was going, but he knew that in Jesus there was light. He may have been scared nearly to death by the demands of discipleship, but he knew that in Jesus there was life. Just before this confession of his dependency on and the sufficiency of Jesus, he had sunk in the storm of intimidating waves and been rescued by the hand of a Master who knew his weakness and the shallowness of his faith.

There is much that we are intimidated by in our walk: doctrines that run counter to our cultures and egos, tasks that seem nearly insurmountable, the weakness of our wills and the seeming severity of Christianity and sink in the despondency of our powerlessness to grasp the mystery of grace, but in the midst of that, we must do what the writer of Hebrews advised and what Peter did, 'Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith' (Hebrews 12:2). It is he who calls us and he who enables. His body is our bread; his blood, our drink. He has the words of life.

-Rich Mullins, "The Communion of the Saints" in The World as I Remember It: Through the Eyes of a Ragamuffin (Sisters: Multnomah, 2004), 129-131.

not a sound from the pavement

I want to be remembered

not as a historical figure, a great man, or a memorable person

I want to be remembered

not of great accomplishment, admirable performance, or astounding virtue

I want to be remembered

not as a result of pioneering vision, creative innovation, or fearless leadership

I want to be remembered

not for my feeble strengths, mighty weaknesses, or uncommon complacency

I want to be remembered

as I really am

by him who said he would not forget




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