The View from the West Mesa

So it's Easter Monday.  After the emotional ups and downs of the past three days, we could be pretty spent today. The last three days have brought shock, fear, depression, dejection, and finally exhileration and well, some doubt that all of this could be true. Ups and downs, for sure. But today, all that is past. What do we do now? Now that Easter has passed, so what? If we are really Easter people, Monday brings the realization that we aren't dead, and that there is work to be done. Much has not changed; we are going to work or school; maybe we're going to look for work or care for kids. In any case, today is going to look much the same as last Monday. As far as our outward daily routine goes, much has not changed. And there's the rub. The world seems to go on just as it did. Eventually, we know that the exhileration and expansion of Spring will give way to the hot, dry staleness of Summer. What is there to keep that from happening? From outward f...

The women have returned. They had gone to the tomb, and have returned wide-eyed, breathless, and spitting out that the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive!  Could this be? We're all exhausted and we have all seen some odd stuff that isn't there because of a couple days with little or no sleep. Did they go to the right tomb in the dark? Was the gardener really Jesus, or is this simply wishful thinking? If it was Jesus, why didn't they recognize him right off? With heads and eyes tired, their hearts now jump in their chests, their eyes become brighter, and they take a deep breath or two; they sit up straighter, trying to grasp the implications of what they're saying. And then they too go to the tomb - sprinting! Maybe more to verify that the women had actually been to the right place, and guardedly but hopefully excited as they remember some vague promise that he wouldn't be dead long. The tomb is there alright and that rock is out of place. It might be too...

Today the disciples woke - or came into the day after being awake all night with the stunning realization that their Messiah was dead. As the shock of yesterday's mob violence becomes less than full-view dominating, and the feelings turn to realizing they are alone, the haze of shock becomes the chest-crushing pain of fear. They stay in their houses or where they had retreated after his death. Not wanting to face the expected jeers of non-believers, and yet afraid of meeting each others' eyes. It is Passover week, the remembrance of being delivered from oppression for all of Israel but these cannot participate; they have been shamed. Perhaps then, it's good that today is the Sabbath; a perfect excuse to stay in, away from the glances that prompt their self-conscious guilt. On this side of Easter, we wait expectantly. On their side, they sit in quiet panic, dejection, and a sad wondering what had happened. Ours is much easier and yet we can perhaps imagine thei...

My God, my God!  Why have I forsaken Thee? Beaten, haggard, bloodied, raw; For me your loving arms extended To draw me home into your life; You hang on that cross for me. Painful, painful, painful day! When I at last can see My sin, my part, your agony. You say forgive because I do not know; But God, today I do! Your love, your care For me it hurts To see you there upon that curse; To know that I have done my work That holds you there with nail and wood. Today I pray that you will grant A few more days of gracious space For me to meet your gaze from there. And with your eyes to lift me up To die with you and wait For Life to dawn with mercy’s light. A life of love; a heart of grace Craft in my soul to see your face. In furtive hope I grasp at you To feel your arms no longer pinned But wrapped me round and firmly gripped. Brought to and into you at once And molded sure like your own love; Patient and kind despite my sin Welcome and hold me safe within. My Lord! My Lord, forgive you ...

While surfing the net looking for churches, I came across a widely known church's website. Very well done graphics and organization for the most part. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find anything that described what they believed except for an oft-repeated refrain, "It's all about Jesus." Not very helpful really. I mean, that's like motherhood and apple pie, right? Is it really all about Jesus? I know that at first blush, who could argue with such a statement? And I admit that as far as it goes, it's an OK statement. But not in the absence of any amplifying descriptions. As some of you may have noticed, I get a little concerned when folks want me to believe it's all about anything, and this is no exception. Let's get the obligatory disclaimers out of the way up front. I am a disciple, I accept Jesus as the divine Son of God and savior of the world. I understand that his coming and death were pre-ordained by God. I understand the expectation...

One more observation from Sunday. I have kept this a separate observation because it's implications are so far reaching. Our speaker Sunday made the observation, I think, or maybe he just recalled this to mind for me, that there is no secular existence. We Christians often get bogged down in church doctrinal discussions because we want to make a distinction between our "regular lives," and our "church lives." This is a problem because it belies the realization that we don't really buy into this Christian faith as fully as we say we do. You've heard this before, but we seem to forget it when we leave the church property. We live as though there is a difference between our church existence and our weekly existence. We run the risk in making the same mistake that the People of God have made repetitively through history. We forget that we are his people in his creation for his purposes. We are his people every moment of our lives whether we are at ...

Our speaker on Sunday, aside from what I observed in my previous post, did have some good, positive and on-topic things to say. The most important thing is that salvation has never really been about getting to Heaven. We aren't called to be baptized and then go to church hoping to not sin to the point of being excluded from Paradise. We are called to a salvation life now, right here, right now. Some people refer to this as our baptized life or even living into our baptism, a phrase I like because it parallels the idea of living into the likeness in which we are made.  If salvation isn't about getting to Heaven, then what is it about? If you read my previous post, you already know that it's about transformation; about coming to actually be the image of God in it's finer details. We take on the character of God as our character; it becomes the warp and woof of our very existence. This is not a mere learning do be nice, although we will be. It isn't about learning...