hope in the darkness

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42, NRSV)

I know why this day is called Good Friday, but I have always pondered this… I mean to me this is more of a Black Friday then the day after Thanksgiving… But yet there is hope even this day.

Today we celebrate the death of Jesus, the one who died on the cross for all of us. And even on that dark day as the curtain was torn in two there was hope.

You see Nicodemus was there. We has there as a Pharisee, but he as also there as a disciple of Christ, and that is the hope!

You see Nicodemus went from a person questioning Jesus under the cover of darkness, to one who spoke openly defending Him to the High Council when they were seeking His death, to a man openly in front of all in the day light removing a criminal from a cross and placing Him in a grave because that is what He deserved. You see Nicodemus is just like all of us, on a journey towards Jesus, learning who He is and allowing Him to effect our lives.

The hope of this dark day is even in His death He has an effect on our lives!

So never lose Hope in the loving, living Word of God!

What a meal!

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NRSV)

What is the most powerful meal you remember?

Who was there?

What did you eat?

What was said?

What was the scent in the air?

It is amazing the things we connect to memories and how a single moment in time is fixed with specific memories, and a smell, or a taste, or a specific thing will trigger an emotion…

Here is this meal heaven and earth meet, the kingdom of this world and the heavenly kingdom unite.

Every time we partake of this meal we are partaking of it with Jesus the night He was handed over, and we are partaking of it with Jesus in the kingdom to come.

We believe we are partaking of this meal with those we are gathered with and those who have already gone before us and those who are yet to come.

This is the moment when Heaven and Earth meet! This is the moment we are all united as the body!

What a meal indeed!

cross eyed

April 16Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NRSV)

So look to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith!

We need to look at the cross and see the cross in everything. Instead of rose colored glasses we need to view the world through the lens or our savior on the cross!

You see we all need to be cross eyed! Constantly looking to our savior and seeing the world as He sees it.

answer

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. (John 12:20-26, NRSV)

I always find this passage interesting… The disciples and Jesus at the Festival for the Passover and some Greeks see the disciples and tell them they want to see Jesus. So the disciples go to tell Jesus and He tells them if a grain of wheat does not die and fall into the ground it remains a single grain, but if it dies it will become much more.

Really Jesus, all these guys said is they want to see you, what is this about wheat and fruit and dying to be more?

You see Jesus was in Jerusalem, and He knew what was coming. And the fact that the Greeks were asking for Him, showed Him it was time. You see the nations are streaming to God…

We all must lose our selves in God, for if we remain in ourselves and do not die to ourselves we will only do us good, but if we die to our selfish desires we will produce much fruit for the kingdom.

So allow God to use you and bring fruit to the kingdom.

Worship!

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’ When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus. (John 12:1-11, NRSV)

a denarius was worth a days wages. So this bottle of perfume was worth a years wage. The current minimum wage in Wisconsin is $7.25 an hour. If we assume a 40 hour work week, that is $290 a week or $15,080 a year. So this bottle of perfume in 2014 wages would be about $15,000!

Now I can not image a bottle of perfume that would cost that much! I also can not image trying to put a price on what Jesus did for me, actually it is priceless, or it cost His life!

You see we will always have work to do in the vineyard. There will always be poor, widows,orphans, and those who are in need and are ones we as the body need to care for. But here in this passage is telling us that we also have to take the time to praise and worship Jesus.

That is really what Mary is doing, by anointing Him, she is worshiping Him. We need to take the time to worship and praise and wash the feet of our savior! We need to worship Him!