Word of Life Church Podcast

The hope for the world that I see is where lust for dominance is replaced by love and where lust for vengeance is replaced by forgiveness. The hope for the world that I see is the Jesus way of choosing the cross by refusing the deathtrap of recycled revenge. The hope for the world that I see is where the rage of Achilles is neither glorified as heroic, nor satisfied in retaliation. The hope for the world that I see is where the rage of Achilles is named and shamed as the curse of Cain and extinguished at the cross. The hope for the world that I see is where the disciples of Jesus don’t just watch in admiration as Jesus carries his cross, but practice an imitation of the same kind of cross-bearing forgiveness. This is the kind of Christianity that is not a chaplain to the status quo, but the catalyst for authentic change.

When Jesus first foretold his death, Peter rebuked him saying, "This will never happen to you." Jesus retorted with, "Get behind me, Satan!" Jesus then went on to teach his followers about the necessity of cross-bearing in discipleship. This is one of Jesus' most important teachings. Now imagine this: The Apostle Peter imprisoned in Rome in AD 64 on the eve of his crucifixion. What might Peter say to us about taking up the cross in order to follow Jesus?

Lent is a time for us to revisit, retell, and relive Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, suffering, and death. As we recall the crucifixion we cannot help but ask, "Where is God?" It is this question that seems to haunt us, especially in times of suffering. Could it be that in these moments when God feels so far way, he is actually closer than ever? Could it be that when we are at the end of our rope, we are blessed?

As we journey through the Christian calendar—through Advent to the Christmas Incarnation, through Lent to the Good Friday Crucifixion and the Easter Resurrection—we need to take the humanity of Jesus seriously. For if we fail to do so, if we allow the deity of Christ to eclipse the real humanity of Jesus, the whole gospel story collapses into kitsch and becomes a sentimental caricature lacking in substance, and this will never do. A good test for how seriously we take the real humanity of Jesus is how we view the wilderness temptation. Was it a kind of parody or was it a real temptation? Was Jesus just an actor in play where the outcome was always certain? Or was Jesus truly enticed by the dark side? What I have discovered is that there are hidden aspects of the gospel story that will burst to life if we are willing to look deeply at Jesus and His Temptations.

Is sin more like a speeding ticket or suffering from the flu? If we treat sin merely as an infraction of a law, and forgiveness as a legal pardon of that infraction, people tend to continue in sin. Jesus reveals sin as deeper than mere acts of moral infractions. Sin is a sickness and it has corrupted and infected everything. Jesus saves us from our sin, both personal sin and systems of sin, by healing us, freeing us from sin, as we practice confession and repentance.

Jesus is the true and living Word of God. Jesus is what the Law and Prophets point toward and bow to. Jesus is what the Old Testament was trying to say, but could never fully articulate. Jesus is the perfect Word of God in the form of a human life. God couldn’t say all that he wanted to say in the form of a book, so God said it in the form of Jesus. Jesus is what God has to say!

The Law and the Prophets were the lesser lights in the pre-Christ night sky. They were the moon and stars. Israel could grope forward by their dim light; the Hebrews could navigate through the pagan night by these constellations. In a world of stygian darkness the moonlight and starlight emanating from the Torah and the Prophets made all the difference. Moonlight and starlight.

But with Christ morning has broken! The new day has dawned! The sun of righteousness has risen with healing in its rays! Now the moon and the stars, Moses and Elijah.

What is light? God’s love in the form of photons. What is water? A liquid expression of God’s love. What is a mountain? God’s love in granite, so much older than human sorrow. What is a tree? God’s love growing up from the ground. What is a bull moose? God’s love sporting spectacular antlers. What is a whale? Fifty tons of God’s love swimming in the ocean. Why is there light and oceans and trees and moose and whales and every grain of sand? Because God is love—love that seeks expression in self-giving creativity. Unless we understand this we will misunderstand everything, and in our misunderstanding we will harm creation, including our fellow image-bearing sisters and brothers. Existence only makes sense when it is seen through the lens of love. At the beginning of time there is love. At the bottom of the universe there is love. Admittedly freedom allows for other things too—from cancer cells to atomic bombs—but at the bottom of the universe it’s love all the way down. Cancer cells and atomic bombs will not have the final word. At the end of all things there is love. When the last star burns out, God’s love will be there for whatever comes after. In the end it all adds up to love. Love never ends.

Faith Life Weekend 2015 Session 4

The earliest Christian communal meals (the center of church life) were patterned after the Roman banquet, and were thus familiar to everyone. But the Christian banquet differed from the Roman banquet in four very significant ways…

1. Who was honored. (Not Jupiter, not Caesar, but Jesus Christ.)

2. What kingdom was celebrated. (Not the Roman Empire, but the Kingdom of Christ.)

3. How participants were seated. (Men, women, slaves, landowners, all together, all equal.)

4. Who was the host. (Though there was a sponsor, the true Host was Jesus—it was the “Lord’s Supper.”)

Faith Life Weekend Session 5

Seven centuries before Christ the poet-prophet Isaiah spoke of a day when God will do something wonderful for all nations on Mount Zion. (Isaiah 25:6–7)

God will turn the universal burial shroud into a universal table cloth—funerals will be turned into feasts.

God will swallow up death forever—the end of that dark specter that threatens to make life meaningless.

God will wipe away every tear. Can the terrible tears of every Good Friday catastrophe be redeemed? Yes!

God will give the whole world a feast to celebrate the conquering of death.
Jesus spoke of this as “eating and drinking in the kingdom of God.”

God intends to save the world, not by ballots or bullets, but by a table.