April 1, 2018

Just Believe

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

– Luke 24:9-11

They didn’t believe the women. The tomb was empty. Jesus was alive! And they didn’t believe Good News.

Isn’t faith a funny thing? We believe what we can see, we step forward on the path we know, we reach toward what is certain. But a risen Christ?  Who could believe such a thing?

These men had traveled with Jesus for three years. They’d heard His words yet failed to understand. How could they believe in something, in someone, they couldn’t see?

Yet that’s what we ask of unbelievers every day. We offer hope and a better way and they reject what they can’t see. Are we any different? We pray and go through the motions yet expect it all to depend on us. Miracles happen to other people. Maybe. But certainly not to us. For us. No. We can’t believe in that.

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” – John 20:24-25

Are we any different? We claim a faith we don’t live. We want proof. We want to see Him in our midst, to know He is with us. Do we really want Him or do we want what He can give us? Are we looking to Him only for blessings or is it Jesus we truly seek?

We are part of the crowd that welcomed Jesus on His triumphant return to Jerusalem. Yet we are also part of the crowd that abandoned Him as He hung on the cross. We didn’t understand it was all for us. We couldn’t comprehend a love that great, that pure, that perfect. So we walked away, angry and resentful, over what we didn’t get, what He didn’t do.

When life is good and it seems as though Jesus blessed us again and again, we are happy to follow Him. We love the mountaintop. We rejoice in Good News. We proclaim God’s goodness. We are happy, content, arrogant. Because while we tell the world that “God is good” and “We are so blessed” what we really mean is that life is going our way. We have made a way and Jesus has allowed it.

It all changes with the diagnosis. The job loss, the heartbreak, the betrayal, all rip apart what we believed. We either draw closer to the life source or pull away, angry at what He has allowed. We deserve better. We know that deep inside. We are bitter. We no longer believe.

Maybe we never really believed in the first place. Maybe our belief was centered on ourselves and our own abilities. Maybe it was all for our glory rather than His. Maybe, just maybe, we were secretly taking credit for the mountaintop.

He beckons us still.

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” – John 20:27

Believe. Can we believe when life turns dark and we don’t see the way? Can we believe when everything we thought we knew lies shattered at our feet? Can we believe when we don’t see Jesus, can we hold on to hope when we don’t see the way?

Today is Easter. We celebrate the resurrection. We proclaim He is alive. We place flowers on the cross and we joyfully celebrate Jesus. It is easy to see Him when we’re surrounded by the goodness of Easter.

The true test comes when we leave the celebration and begin the journey. Do we hold tight to the Resurrection when rocks cause us to stumble and fall? Can we proclaim the Risen Lord when life gets hard and we can’t seem to find Him in our midst? Can we still believe when the path isn’t of our choosing and our shattered hearts can’t see the way?

Easter isn’t just a day. It’s hope that walked out of a tomb and proclaimed life for all who would believe. Do you see Him? Do you really see Him? Hold tight to that. Jesus is alive! And because He lives, we can walk confidently into the unknown.

March 27, 2016

Hope Rises Amidst Sorrow

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” -- John 20:15-17

Yesterday during the time when one day becomes the next, a life flight helicopter headed out to do what first responders do. They arrived at an accident scene, loaded a critically injured man on board, and lifted off. The helicopter crashed about ½ mile from the accident scene. All on board were killed.

Young lives gone in the seconds it takes for an aircraft to fall to the ground. I pray they all knew Jesus. I pray that in their grief, the families and friends of these four know with certainty that this heart-wrenching goodbye isn’t forever.

That’s what Jesus did for us. He defeated death so that all who know Him will have eternal life. On this Easter morning, hope has arrived. When we thought all was lost, hope spoke to our hearts. Jesus’ resurrection means that while our time here is temporary, our lives with Him are eternal.

Not long ago a man lamented his son’s lack of faith. The younger man doesn’t believe in Jesus and scoffs at the notion of needing a Savior. He doesn’t need to keep putting this off, the man said. He needs to know where he’s going when he dies.

I couldn’t speak for a moment. This man has been a Christian most of his life. I couldn’t stay silent. Well, I told him, your son may not know where he’s going but you do. He’s going to hell. Only those who believe in Jesus, who accept His gift of salvation, who believe in His resurrection, are going to heaven. Your son isn’t living in a neutral zone. He’s walking on a path to hell.

The man was shocked and couldn’t seem to find words. The truth is not always pretty. I wonder if we really stopped and considered that reality if we would be more open to presenting the gospel to the unsaved? We talk about choices -- and God did give us free will to make those choices -- but isn’t that just an excuse to not push the issue with an unbeliever?

Those four people on that helicopter never expected to die yesterday. The first was fortunate to survive a bad car wreck, only to die in a helicopter crash. The others -- a pilot, a nurse and a medic -- were doing what first responders do. They got a call and they went, in the middle of a rainy night, because someone else needed them.

We all need Jesus. We all need the hope this morning brings. Don’t wait to have that conversation with someone you care, someone who doesn’t share your hope. Tomorrow truly may never come.

Friday, April 6, 2012

A Woman and An Outcast

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. -- John 20:1

Of course she did. Where else would Mary Magdalene have been but at the tomb to care for the body of the man who had cared for her? Because people respond when we reach out to them, especially when they are rejected by others.

Let’s not forget who Mary Magdalene was. Before she followed Christ, she was a desperate woman. Jesus drove seven demons from her body. The demons could have presented themselves as what we now call schizophrenia. Others might have seen her as mentally unstable. They might have feared her. She was no doubt an outcast.

Jesus saw past all of that. He saw the woman in need and He healed her. She wasn’t likely to abandon such a man. Indeed, she was at the cross when He died. And she was there that morning to care for Him.

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. -- John 20:10-12

When Mary saw the empty tomb, she immediately sought Peter and John. They, too, viewed the empty tomb. But while the disciples left, Mary stayed. And she wept. Because the body of the man who had given her new life was gone and she didn’t know what to do.

She didn’t understand. Nobody understood at that point that Jesus had risen from the dead. How could she? Though Jesus had tried to tell His followers what would come, they couldn’t comprehend what He meant. Living on this side of Calvary, it is difficult to understand how hard this would be to grasp.

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” -- John 20:18

And she did. Of course she did. Whatever Jesus wanted, Mary would do. She owed Him that much. She loved Him that much.

Jesus loved those others had cast aside. He empowered those others looked down on. Mary was an outcast and a woman, a double problem in the minds of many religious leaders of that time. But not to Jesus. To Him, she was worthy to be the first to see Him after He was resurrected. He trusted her to spread the word of His resurrection.

She didn’t let Him down. What about you? What has Jesus trusted you to do today? Don’t let Him down. Step forward boldly, in great faith. Spread the Good News. He is Risen!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Resurrection Sunday

“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” -- John 20:15a

I’ve always loved the fact that after His Resurrection Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene. A woman. Jesus had driven seven demons from her and she, along with other women and the disciples, gave up everything to follow Him. It was a different time and culture. Women didn’t get much recognition. But Jesus saw Mary just like He sees you and me.

Mark tells us that when the Sabbath was over Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they go and anoint Jesus’ body. Except the stone had been rolled away from the tomb and there was no body.

Mary was distraught. She ran to tell Peter and John. The men ran to the tomb to see for themselves. John tells us that he outran Peter and got there first. That competitive spirit even in this. They didn’t understand what had happened, though John tells us he saw and believed. Still, both men left and went back to their houses. I guess they needed to think it through.

Mary stayed and wept. And Jesus came to her. Where she was.

Jesus told her to go to the disciples, and tell them the news. And off she went. Obediently. Of course, Jesus would give a woman the task of spreading the word that He had risen. There was no time to think it through and make a plan. There was work to be done. Jesus trusted Mary to do her part.

Today we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. It has nothing to do with colored eggs and plush bunnies. Nor does it have anything to do with bright colored dresses or a table laden with food. We forget that sometimes. We get so caught up in the festivities that we miss the joy of seeing Jesus and the promise that He gave to all who believe.

Most people know today as Easter Sunday. A better name would be Resurrection Sunday. The day Jesus first appeared after His death on the cross. Living proof of God’s promise. That is what we joyously celebrate on this most Holy of days.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Darkness Will Become Light

“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” -- John 12:32

The darkest night had turned into day. Surely the disciples were filled with numbness and disbelief. No matter how many times Jesus tried to prepare them, they didn’t understand. The man they believed to be the Messiah was dead and, with him, their hope.

It is the same deep despair a person feels the day after a loved one dies. It is the haunting disbelief that comes the day after a horrible medical diagnosis, the day after your spouse admits having an affair, the day after your employer unexpectantly shuts its doors. Life had changed forever. The deep despair had become a king of anguished numbness.

The brilliant morning that would bring new life and instill in the disciples a fearlessness they’d never known was still a day away. They, no doubt, looked back at their shattered dreams. They’d given up everything to follow a man who was gone. They were adrift, uncertain of the future. Or, even, if they would live to have a future.

And, yet, the darkness had to come before the light could brightly shine. As they faced a day of fear, they didn’t know that Jesus’ death would raise them up to heights they couldn’t begin to imagine.

Many of us have known that deep despair that can crush even the strongest spirit. We understand the disciples’ anguish, just as Jesus understands our anguish. But as believers we live in certainty that He will lift us up with Him, that our future is secure in Him, that He has not left us here alone.

On this dismal day between the cross and the Resurrection, let us remember and be comforted in knowing that the sun will rise tomorrow and, with it, the promise of eternal life with our Lord.