Lifted Up

Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33

The writer of Hebrews suggests that Jesus is of the order of Melchizedek.  It is an obscure reference, to the  priest who blessed Abram.  Psalm 110 picks this up as well, and it seems to be a way to demonstrate an old old way as if it is new again.  Which is what I am interested in doing here, for we are looking at the cross today, and there are many theologies of atonement, but the one I will explore I believe is one of the earliest, with its simplicity, that has come to a greater understanding these days.

I do not believe that any of the theologies of atonement or the cross are wrong, but rather a unique view of a great mystery that cannot be completely understood.  Prof. Mark Heim explains it by saying the actual cross is three dimensional and thus when you look at it at one angle the other side is not visible, but that does not mean it doesn’t exist, it is part of this great mystery.

As the Hebrews writer suggests, not only is Jesus designated by God from an old line, he went as a perfect sacrifice via submission and obedience.  The writer even suggests that He “learned obedience through what he suffered,” which is hard to phantom.  However, that demonstrates to me that Jesus was fully human and thus understood something divine on the cross when he was lifted up.

Lifted up for John seems to have a double meaning for he does not separate the resurrection from the cross. In this pericope, John makes it clear he is referring to Jesus being lifted-up on the cross, yet we only are aware of this cross moment because of the resurrection.

In the news, Trayvon Martin is much of the discussion.  He was no perfect boy, but he was certainly innocent of deserving death.  I do believe there are demons of racism and anxiety, and I am certain that one civilian following another is not standing one’s ground.  It is so very tragic.  If Trayvon survived we would be able to have his witness.

Jesus the perfectly innocent man, who was tempted to enter our desires of a worldly kingdom.  Who told Peter to put the sword away despite being scared of the tree he was to be hung on.  Jesus was not just a good man, but acted and taught that participation in rivalry was not the divine way.  He desired people to love the neighbor as they would love themselves. And be perfect as the heavenly Father is, raining on the righteous and unrighteous. 

He did nothing but teach love, healed all who wanted healing, and taught peace, and the authorities of the state and the religion condemned him to death.  He followers fled.  Alone though on that cross he drew us all to Him.  For we would have the witness of the victim.  The witness that did not come back with the heavenly hosts (army), did not command his Disciples to guerilla warfare, or even with a judgment.  He came back and said, Peace be with you, demonstrating the scars and thus the love and forgiveness the Divine has for us all. 

It is sad and awfully tragic we do not have Trayvon’s witness, as he certainly did not deserve death for being a  black youth with a hoodie.  It reminds me that I have been drawn to the salvation of Jesus, for His perspective as victim, questions the individual and corporate sins that pave the earthly realm through rivalry.

The victim saved us and forgave us, so we would have no more death. 

Teacher & Savior

Exodus 20:1-17; John 2:13-22

The “ten best ways,” as we call the ten commandments in Godly Play and Worship and Wonder curriculum, are very important.  I believe they are the foundation of our society together.  It is not that they are put on court lawns or in our court houses, which I do prefer to statues I have seen on court lawns, but that it is the covenant for God’s people.  Let us review, God made a covenant with people, starting within the garden, but accumulating with the great covenant with Abraham and Sarah. 

Then in Egypt, God hear their cry and remembered the covenant.  To make the long story short, salvation from slavery was provided by God’s leadership through Moses.  Then God provided the “Ten Best Ways,” the ten commandments, or better yet the covenant.  This promise was the ways humans should live together.  The first four are about loving the One True God, and the remaining six are about how you treat others, or rather neighbors.

It seems to me  a wonderful Rabbi was asked to choose the most important and he said something like this: 

What you yourself hate, don't do to your neighbor. This is the whole law; the rest is commentary. Go and study. (Rabbi Hillel)

And my savior and the great rabbi Jesus of Nazareth said something quite similar:

He said to him,  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

To me Jesus is restating the convenant God made with people, love God and Love neighbor.  Basically Love, and as Hillel states if you don’t get it read on and study.

Thus when according to John, Jesus enters the temple and drives out the money changers, you must realize that they were the most “religious” people he was angry with.  The priests knew that this market place existed, and instead of worrying about treating the neighbor they were only worried about the institution, the rules and the money.  I am sure many were not being fair with their trading practices, but it developed with a need for people to fulfill the law, the commentary.  It made sense, but the anger I believe came from robbing people of the meaning of the covenant, the Best Way, LOVE of God and Neighbor.

Powerful Prayer

Psalm 22; Philippians 4:6-9

There is a Target commercial that is quite colorful, and if I sing the first word of the song you would probably be compelled to sing it aloud (or at least in your head).  “Alouette…”  I am sure you can imagine the tune and many of the words, despite reading this post in English.  Well I must share that this popular French Canadian song, does annoy me, for it is about a lark being plucked.  However, I brought it up for the fact that everyone seemed to know this little song by heart, just as we would most nursery rhymes. Or just as we respond when we hear, “Our Father who….” or when I start saying, especially at a funeral, “The Lord is my shepherd…”  We know these prayers and psalms by heart, and we can almost not stop ourselves when we hear it begun.

This is important for us to understand to understand Jesus’ words from the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me…” it was not simply a statement of angry at God for letting Him die on the cross, rather this traditional lament we call Psalm 22 today.  Dyeing of affixation Jesus had very little breath to spare on the whole Psalm, but once he started this, I imagine, that those gathered, even those who did not follow Jesus, were finishing the Psalm.  It would be part of the Jewish tradition to know the Psalms by heart, for they were sung as part of worship, part of life. 

Why Psalm 22? It is a classic lament from an individual’s perspective, and Jesus would certainly lament as a human being crucified.  But you may notice that as the lament moves into thanksgiving for God, it becomes more communal.  By the conclusion of the Psalm the writer is admitting that God is for not only Israel, but families of the nations (gentiles) and not only for those now, but who have gone before and those yet born.  So Jesus makes it clear that God will rescue Him not to simply rescue His Son, but the whole of Humanity.

  Just as we should remember when Paul writes:

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

It is not to an individual Paul is writing.  He is writing to a community, and we know in our hearts that when we ask in prayer God does not see us as the center of the universe.  God will answer prayers for one only in community.  So if we think we are praying for what we think the church should like like as per our individual perspective, we may be disappointed that God has not answered our prayers.  However, if we understand that even Jesus while lamenting about His awful and painful emptying on the cross, knew God in Heaven was responding not just to save Him, but to save us all from this worldly way of sin and death.