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A Lenten Reflection: Pondering the Reconciliation

Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-6:1

Initial thoughts:

vss 1-5 “It ain’t easy…”

“Suffering is not a punishment,” Robert Ingersoll wrote, “it is a result.” Suffering, we learn as we go, is the price we pay to bring life to fullness, both for others and for ourselves. It is not to be desired in a neurotic kind of way, but it is definitely not to be denied. For when we refuse to suffer, we refuse to grow. Suffering requires us to stretch our souls to the boundaries of personal growth. It brings to the surface in us both strengths and weaknesses we could never, in any other way, know we have. It is not about surrendering ourselves to pain left devoid of meaning. It is about finding meaning in the center of the self whatever the stresses around us.

Who does not know that growth is a painful thing? It overspreads and sucks out the heart of us. It twists us from one amorphous spiritual mass to another. It shapes and reshapes us until, at last, we come to full stature, to total development. It tugs us from small to larger, from broad to deep. Most of all, perhaps, growth wizens us. What we grow through, we come out of with a different, a better, a clearer perspective. We come to understand that every phase of life is to be won by dint of hard labor and great risk. Suffering is not nothing in the living of life. It takes us to the rink of the self and makes us walk back, wiser and more certain of both our priorities and our principles. ~~Joan Chittister

vss 7 “For we live by believing not seeing…”

vss 9-10 “So whether we are here in this body or away from this body our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”

“…the point of the Spirit is to enable those who follow Jesus to take into all the world the news that he is Lord, that he has won the victory over the forces of evil, that a new world has opened up, and that we are to help make it happen.” ~~N.T. Wright

vss 14-15 “Since we believe Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ…”

“The deepest desire of our hearts is for union with God. From the first moment of our existence our most powerful yearning is to fulfill the original purpose of our lives—‘to see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly.’ We are made for God, and nothing else will satisfy.” ~~Brennan Manning

vss 21 “God made Christ, who never sinned to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

“Therefore, that joining together of Head and members, that indwelling of Christ in our hearts—in short, that mystical union—are accorded by us the highest degree of importance, so that Christ, having been made ours, makes us sharers with him in the gifts with which he has been endowed. We do not, therefore, contemplate him outside ourselves from afar in order that his righteousness may be imputed to us but because we put on Christ and are engrafted into his body—in short, because he deigns to make us one with him.” ~~John Calvin

vs 6:1 “As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it…”

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I have many thoughts about this passage of Scripture; my heart and my mind continue to be gripped by it. In my mind, it seems to sum up the essence of the gospel…

Humans are broken in their rebellion and far from God. God makes a way for their healing and redemption. Through the redemptive work of Christ, humans have a means to become reconciled and restored to right standing relationship with their Creator God. Humans become one with God and enter the continuing mission of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration with Him.

It boggles my mind that we are capable of living the life we see Jesus live in the Gospels. It boggles my mind that so many of us choose not to live it. “God saved us and called us to live a holy life.” (2 Timothy 1:9) “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you…” ~Jesus (John 20:21) And then, there are these words from Paul to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2-14):

² Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

³ Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. ⁵ And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. ⁶ And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. ⁷ Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.

⁸ Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. ⁹ And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. ¹⁰ So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

¹¹ This is a trustworthy saying:

If we die with him,
we will also live with him.
¹² If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
¹³ If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.

¹⁴ Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them

Consider the words of Paul as he describes the life of the follower of Christ; he equates the journey to that of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer as examples. Make this day an exercise in meditation upon these examples… What do you know about the life and training of a soldier; an  athlete; what about the trials and dedication of the farmer?

Bonus: An exposition on 2 Cor from 4 years ago…

Lent Week 4: An Interactive Reflection

Personalizing the Readings from Week Four (An exercise interacting with God’s word to me) –Scripture References from Lectionary (Cycle C)

Joshua 5:9-12   ||   Psalm 32:1-11   ||   Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32   |||   2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Oh! My joy is complete! Today my sin has been put out of sight…my disobedience has been forgiven. The Lord says, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your reproach.” My confidence is restored; as I walked through the desert of disobedience, my body groaned all day long in my fear that I would waste away. Finally, realizing the folly of my rebellion, my heavenly Father made His appeal to me through my Older Brother; “Come home, he said. Be reconciled to our Father.” I have come to my senses; no longer will I wallow in the extravagant foolishness of my own self indulgence. Confessing my rebellion to my Lord, I stopped hiding my guilt…and He forgave me. I am reconciled! I am restored!

What joy for those whose lives are lived in complete honesty in pursuit of intimate fellowship with the Triune God. For He is my hiding place; He protects me from choices that lead to my undoing, because He leads me by His Spirit. He surrounds me with songs of victory. The Lord says to me, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” So I rejoice in the Lord and I am glad, for my joy rests in unflinching obedience to His righteous ways! I shout for joy, my heart is pure; His unfailing love surrounds me because I trust in Him, my holy God…my Savior King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and the Lover of my soul.

“What is the path, O Lord?” I ask with the obedient desire seeping from the pores of my soul. He speaks to me and reveals my mission…clarity coming in the form of the divine mystery…He will now make His appeal to my other wayward brothers and sisters through me! He is defining my path, giving me the task of reconciler; He is naming me Ambassador of the Older Brother, my proclamation is to speak for Him… “Come back to God, our Father!” Our Older Brother, who is the Christ, has provided the means for us to be made right with God. This is my path, bearer and crier of this marvelous message of reconciliation.  My old life is gone, a distant and disintegrating memory of my former self. My new life, my new path, has begun… I am new son; forgiven, reconciled, and restored… I sing a new song as a new son; my song is named Immortal Eternal Victorious Joy. Amen.   ~~Jeff Borden

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The effect of prayer is union with God, and, if someone is with God, he is separated from the enemy.

Through prayer we guard our chastity, control our temper and rid ourselves of vanity. It makes us forget injuries, overcomes envy, defeats injustice and makes amends for sin. . .

It will refresh you when you are weary and comfort you when you are sorrowful. . . Prayer is the delight of the joyful as well as the solace of the afflicted. . . Prayer is intimacy with God and contemplation of the invisible. ~~Gregory of Nyssa

“I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be — I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”   ~~John Newton

We are sharing a teaching series as we approach Resurrection Sunday (Easter) in our church called “The Road to Redemption.” I was honored with teaching the installment on the “Redeemed: Humans are Broken” yesterday. I have included with this post the outline, small group discussion questions, and my teaching notes as well as the audio of the message. We used a video to setup the teaching which I have also included here which adds some context to the first part of the sermon… As always, your comments and feedback are welcome.

• Sermon Notes
• Outline & Small Group Discussion

2010MAR14 Road2Redemption 2JB by icrucified

Lenten Meditation from the third week in Lent:

God’s Holiness and Grace AND Our Repentance, Redemption, Reconciliation, and Restoration

Scripture readings include Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:1-9, and 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

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From my journal notes (jb):

Tom Oden writes the following:

“The terms of salvation are conditions of the personal appropriation of God’s saving action—repentance and faith. They are the simple terms of the earliest Christian preaching: repent and believe.” ~~Thomas C. Oden, Life in the Spirit (HarperCollins, 1992), page 79.

“The Order of the Terms of Salvation. The characteristic order of the apostolic teaching of the call to salvation is as follows:

• Repent
• Be Baptized
• For the remission of sins
• Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

“Regrettably the term salvation has been cheapened by an extensive history of abuse. To understand what it means to be saved, one must first understand what it means to be lost…  True contrition cannot be feigned. Nor can it lack the intent to forsake sin altogether… Repentance requires a decisive reversal of the previous sin-laden course of mind, heart, and will.” ~~Thomas C. Oden

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9

On Isaiah…

Vs 1 — “is anyone thirsty?”

** infers “anyone” must recognize their need (take note in the similarity of the blessings found in the Beatitudes of Christ; blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the humble/meek… We are “blessed” when we recognize our need for Him, that we are “broken” and in need of a Rescuer-Savior). We need the “WATER” that will truly satisfy our spiritual thirst; Jesus.

Vs 2 — “listen to me…”

** infers obedience is a necessary prerequisite

Vs 3 –- “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen and you will find life.”

** emphasizes the point made in vs 2, and again infers that obedience is a necessary and prerequisite qualification to enter into the covenant. The covenant exists and is open to all who would come, but to “come” requires recognizing “our” need…and responding with obedience and repentance (as we will see).

Vs 6 -– “seek the Lord (while you can find Him); call on Him (while He is near).”

** infers action is required on the part of the human; “he” must seek God, “he” must “call on Him.” Also indicates that our action has an urgency driven by an unknown timeline-deadline (while you can find Him- while He is near).

Vs 7 -– “wicked change their ways”

“banish their evil thoughts…”

“turn to the Lord.”

“turn to our God.”

“He will forgive…”

** Once again, the inference is that action is necessary on the part of the human. “He” must “change,” “banish,” and “turn…” True repentance precedes forgiveness (Lk 17:3).

Scripture Reading:

• Luke 13:1-9
• 1 Cor. 10:1-13

On Luke…

• (vs3) “…and you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.”
• (vs5) “…I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish too.”

Further considerations (all passages should be considered in their full context):

• (Luke 13:6) – The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
• (Mark 11:12) – Jesus Curses the Barren Fig Tree
• (Luke 8:9) – The Parable of the Sower
• (John 15:1) – The “Chosen” are expected to bear fruit for God…
• (John 3:7) – “Repent and turn to God…produce fruit in keeping with repentance”

On 1 Corinthians 10…

• (vs1-5) “Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
• (vs6-11) “These things happened to them as examples for us…”

My thoughts (jb)

I think, on the whole, most “professing Christians” are deluding themselves with a false sense of security; not unlike the ancient Israelites to whom Paul refers in the passage from 1 Corinthians 10. My personal experience and observation are that we do not bear the fruit that is expected of us. Survey after survey and poll after poll indicate that we (Christians) are no different than non-Christians. Simply put, we are not bearing godly fruit. There are exceptions to this rule, and that is indicative of Jesus’ words (Matthew 7) that the gate is narrow and “few” find it. So yes, there are some Christians who bear the fruit that is lasting and glorifying to God. However, there are many (most) that are not. These are the “professing, but non-practicing, Christians to whom I refer. I realize my judgment here sounds sanctimonious, but it is not. Our role as believing (practicing) Christians is to recognize a tree’s fruit (Matthew 7:17-19) and to help that tree to bear good fruit (1 Corinthians 5:12 and James 5:20).

“Be careful how you treat God, my friends.  You may say to yourself, ‘I can sin against God and then, of course, I can repent and go back and find God whenever I want him.’  You try it.  And you will sometimes find that not only can you not find God but that you do not even want to.  You will be aware of a terrible hardness in your heart.  And you can do nothing about it.  And then you suddenly realize that it is God punishing you in order to reveal your sinfulness and your vileness to you.  And there is only one thing to do.  You turn back to him and you say, ‘O God, do not go on dealing with me judicially, though I deserve it.  Soften my heart.  Melt me.  I cannot do it myself.’  You cast yourself utterly upon his mercy and upon his compassion.”

~~D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival (Westchester, 1987), page 300.

Or, you simply become so hardened by your sin that you never turn back to God at all.  (Heb. 3:12-14)

The point that is evidencing itself through my meditations this week on this collection of Scripture is that repentance is the key. There is no following Jesus or forgiveness of sin without repentance; harsh, but true. And, even harsher is this truth, most professing Christians have not repented… this is a problem. The message of grace is the message that most professing Christians love to hear preached, but God’s grace is not a limitless checking account to be squandered on the idol of self (Hebrews 10:26-31). It is a dangerous thing to think that our selfish actions are going unnoticed (Galatians 6:7). For this reason, Paul warns us that we should not have attitudes like those of the ancient Israelites who thought because they were “chosen,” because they were “delivered,” because they ate the spiritual food, and drank the miracle water…they were ok. They were, after all, God’s people… “We’re golden! Yay!” Not so. The facts are that their bodies were strewn through the desert and they died because they did not honor God; they never repented of their own selfish ways…and sought only to satisfy their own needs. Jesus reminds us of the dire consequences if we do not heed the warnings; “…and you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God” (Luke 13:3) and “…I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish too” (Luke 13:5). As we are reminded in the passage from Luke 13:6-13, Jesus argues for our defense. He wants us to bear fruit and has complete confidence that we are capable of producing lasting fruit for God. Humble repentance is the “Miracle Grow®” we desperately need though… submission to pruning and Christlike fertilization of our heart is our only hope; without repentance there is no forgiveness of sin (Luke 17:3).

John Cassian and Dietrich Bonhoeffer remind us that…

“True repentance refuses to be comforted until the work of conviction is thoroughly experienced. It is a radical act of self-examination reaching into every chamber of the house of willed experience.”

“O that I could repent!

O that I could believe!

Thou, by thy voice the marble rent,

The rock in sunder cleave.

Thou, by thy two-edged sword,

My soul and spirit part;

Strike with the hammer of thy word,

And break my stubborn heart.”

~~Charles Wesley

Further Meditations in Genesis 15

^{My Comments (jb)} …this week has concentrated on dependence upon God, trusting God, and following Jesus. I started the week with Genesis…it just seems fitting to end the week with it as well.

God makes an incredible covenant promise to Abram that included protection, an heir, descendants numbering as many as the stars, “great” reward, land, and a long healthy life… Awesome stuff indeed! But wait; what about the process of getting there, to all those awesome blessings? Abram = Yay! Descendants = not so much. God also assures Abram his descendants will be “slaves” in a foreign land where they will be oppressed for 400 years. Wait for it… Let that sink in a bit… 400 Years.

Sure, they (the slave descendants) had Abraham’s covenant promise conveyed upon them…but people were born, lived, and died without seeing anything but slavery and oppression. I can’t help but wonder if Abraham’s knowledge of the 400 years was passed along to his descendants as part of their “blessing.” In other words, did they know they were going to be enslaved for this long?

400 Years…

Their emancipation was no cakewalk either… chased by an Egyptian army into the desert wilderness, they failed to trust God. An entire generation was “blessed” to die in their “desert of distrust” as part of their reward. Fortunately, we finally see the privileged inheritors of God’s promise walk across the river into land God had given to Abraham… YAY! But wait; these “people of the blessing” who were unskilled in the art of war, knew little in the ways of societal governance, and had little in the way of supply-line resourcing… were going to have to fight/war for every square foot of land that had been “promised” to them.

There’s more to this story, and these long periods of silence from God and oppression of His people have a disconcerting manner of repeating themselves… “Yeah, but that was the Old Testament, back when God was mean and people were primitive and ignorant” Right? Jesus ushered in an era of blessing and brilliance… Right? Of course he did, but not in the context most of us like to think about. Remember, all but one of the “Twelve of Jesus’ Disciples” met violent deaths. Most, if not all, followers of Christ were ostracized, oppressed, persecuted, and often killed because of their “blessed” status. It wasn’t until the fourth century before this level of oppression began to let up.

“Anyone who talks about spiritual things without any experience in them is like a person who is lost in the desert, dying with thirst… If you try to tell me about the Christian life without any personal involvement in it, you will mislead me. You will tell me fictional things, mistaken things.” ~Pseudo-Macarius

…the story continues, but we’re talking about trust, dependence, and following Jesus. What really is the cost, and what really is the blessing? How are these really measured? Can I trust God…? Am I willing to release my own self-reliance and independence to follow the unseen future led by the Invisible God?

“Deliverance can come to us only by the defeat of our old life… God rescues us by breaking us, by shattering our strength and wiping out our resistance. Then he invades our natures with that ancient and eternal life which is from the beginning.” ~A.W. Tozer

The picture I painted of the plight of “God’s people” is pretty terrifying and doesn’t look all too inviting to us from our perspective, but what if we glimpse how God looks at this:

I was always on your side. I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you, Amorites with the stature of great cedars, tough as thick oaks. I destroyed them from the top branches down. I destroyed them from the roots up. And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt, led you safely through the wilderness for forty years And then handed you the country of the Amorites like a piece of cake on a platter. I raised up some of your young men to be prophets, set aside your best youth for training in holiness. (Amos 2:8-10)

“God who is everywhere never leaves us… Yet He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present.” ~Thomas Merton

What if I’m one of those “400 year” people? What if I’m one of the persecuted, poverty stricken, disease-infested, natural disaster called Christians? Will I follow Him? Will I trust Him? Am I willing to depend upon Him?

“To live for the lesser things of life is to risk not really living at all.” ~Joan Chittister

“God says, when I toss My children into the air, terror comes before delight. Put yourself in the place of My people in Daniel’s day. They felt thrown into the air with no safety net beneath them. They couldn’t see their God ready to catch them.” (from 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God that Invites You into His Story by Dr. Larry Crabb, ©2009.)

I am following the Revised Common Lectionary (Cycle C) as my primary Scripture reading for this Lenten Season. This week my concentration has been on passages from Psalms, Genesis, Philippians and Luke. This morning’s meditation was reflecting on the following passages again and the thoughts that Holy Spirit had brought to me during the week.

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Remembering –Luke 9:28-36

And –Philippians 3:12-17

^{LUKE 9:32-35} “Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory… Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, ‘Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials.’  Then a Voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to Him.’”

_{MY COMMENTS (JB)} “When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory…” This is the case with us as well. When we “wake up” from our spiritual slumber, we see Jesus’ glory. Unfortunately, we don’t always respond in the fashion that is most beneficial for our development as Jesus’ followers. A cursory look around us indicates that our favorite response is that of Peter. We love our “church experience.” We go to great lengths to create an “experience” in our congregational gatherings… it is as if the thing we venerate is the “experience” over the God of the experience… just like Peter (Master, it’s wonderful here…let’s make shelters as memorials). Our churches have become more “sheltered memorials” than houses of worship and spiritual development centers. If we are truly worshiping the God of our memorial shelters, we will be hearing Him say, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to Him.” The evidence of our hearing will manifest itself in changed—transformed lives. If the fruit of our worship does not manifest itself in producing lasting fruit for the kingdom of God, it only stands to reason that we are worshiping something other than the Chosen One. In all likelihood, we are probably worshiping our memorial…and that equates to worshiping something we have created, and ultimately, worshiping ourselves.

^{PHILIPPIANS 3:12-17} “I have not attained perfection, but I press on to posses that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me… No, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the heavenly prize for which God, through Jesus is calling us… Let the spiritually mature agree on these things… If you disagree, I believe God will make it plain to you… Pattern your lives after mine…”

_{MY COMMENTS (JB)} The vast majority of “professing Christians” are exactly that; professing Christians… not practicing Christians (1 John 2:4-6). The work of “attaining perfection” is loathsome to most people. Everything about the life of following after Jesus rails against our nature… and this is the problem. We have not willingly crucified our nature in order that we might follow after Jesus. Therefore, we balk…we put up excuses…we forgive and accept our failure…and we give up striving for the prize and settle on worshiping the experience and our “sheltered memorials.” This is immaturity exalted in the highest and it leads not only to failure, but most likely to separation from God for eternity (Matthew 7:21). If we refuse to grow, and listen to God’s Chosen One, we have to answer the question; “to who then are we listening?”

We listen to ourselves, our true god.

We cannot arrive in the Promised Land unless we are willing to leave Egypt.

“We must be prepared to give up some things if we intend to get things that are even more important… The life of Jesus is not a monument to the past; it is an invitation to the fullness of our own futures.” ~~Joan Chittister

It seems absurd to us looking back at the ancient Israelites as they complained in the desert wishing to return to their Egyptian captivity. We might be want to think, “I would never willingly go back into the oppression and bondage of slavery…” But people have done exactly that repeatedly. Take for instance, the emancipation of slaves following the American Civil War, many slaves willingly chose to stay with their owners. I realize that some people will say that the reasoning was the slave owners were benevolent and caring for their slaves, and that might be true. I am willing to bet the majority of slaves (who stayed) did so out of the terrifying fear of the unknown…freedom can be terrifying; “what if I make a mistake?” “What lies ahead in my future?” “How do I plan for the unknown?” A “known” that is terrifying is still less terrifying than an “un-known.” How about another example; we hear the profile over and over again of the “repeat criminal” who cannot break away from the prison system. There have been multiple confessions from these career criminals who have stated the reason for their return to the prison institution is their lack of ability to cope with freedom. My guess is there are many more who fall into this category who might not be able to articulate this sentiment openly, but find themselves repeating their crimes for the same reason subconsciously…because there is safety and comfort in the “known” of their incarceration (food, shelter, community) with their most primal needs being met.

The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. ~~Deuteronomy 7:22

Ok…one last example; this one because there are those of us who will say, “I’m not a criminal or slave or ancient Hebrew…how does that apply to me?” Sin. Same difference. We return to our sins, or stay in our sin, because of fear, discomfort, and disbelief. Primarily, the same reasons the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt, slaves wanted to stay with their masters, and criminals return to prison. The path of change and freedom takes courage, tenacity, perseverance, and faith. The path of the slave simply requires one to “stay put.”

“My Lord God… I do not see the road ahead of me… Therefore I will trust You always.” ~~Thomas Merton

The path to the Promised Land leads through the Desert. There is no other way. This is the path of spiritual maturity; forgetting the past and forging ahead to what God has destined for us. Jesus offers us the promise of walking in His steps; we must lay aside ourselves for the promise of something better and strive will all our heart, soul, mind, and strength to attain it…no matter that the path to attaining it runs through the place of desolation and deprivation for it is here that we learn to depend upon God. “Let the spiritually mature agree on these things… If you disagree, I believe God will make it plain to you… Pattern your lives after mine.”

“Darkness is not driven away immediately. Light comes in small increments, moment by moment…purging the souls is a lifetime effort.” ~~Francis of Sales

Engaged in this season of Lent, I am sharing the journey with some friends. I challenged them this week to put pen to paper and share a poem, song, or psalm as they meditate and reflect upon the season and their Savior.

(Note – Technically it is only day thirteen, but for the sake of this reflection I have included the two Sundays that have passed in my counting of days).

I have tried to “practice what I preach” leading with example the following piece entered into my journal this morning:

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Day 15 (A Lenten Reflection)   ~~by Jeff Borden

Fifteen days…

I feel the tag-team nemesis of complacency and apathy plotting against me;

Fasting and early mornings are an inconvenience and burgeoning nuisance.

So easily annoyed in my self-denial this saint I am;

So easily distracted from my nearness to Him, in my focus on me.

Fifteen days…and sadness surrounds

In the darkness of me I examine my weakness; the frail flesh that always disappoints,

Driven by awareness of my own deceptions, the mirror of my soul screams at me:

Self-Righteous! Sinner! Idolater! Guilty!

And my spirit is poor.

Fifteen days…repentance resounds

The purpose of the fast evidences itself as a searing light exposes the macabre me

Echoes of the Apostle call from the recesses of my memory, “Who will deliver me?”

The promise of rest looms in the distance

Hope is the fuel for a weary sojourner

The desert is wild and relentless; loneliness, doubt, uncertainty, and fear surround

“Who will deliver me?”

Fifteen days…weakened and tempted

Hungry for redemption I call out to my Lord; “Draw near to me as I draw near to you!”

He replies, “I am here”

Fifteen days…renewed and remembering

With prayer and fasting my soul is refreshed;

Strengthened for the journey, Savior removes the blindness of my sin

Eternity’s hope, the promise of never-ending union with the Trinity,

And my wandering heart is set back to task

Complacency and apathy defeated this day, Day Fifteen.

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Pneuma-Somnambulism by Jeff Borden

(Spiritual – Sleepwalking)

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As we journey this life, how many are sleepwalking through it?

How many of us live in a Matrix existence created by the media and the moguls of consumerism?

How many of us live in the nightmarish dream of our own individualism and ambition?

Are our thoughts of things that matter eternally… kept at bay with slight-of-hand distractions by the enemy of our soul?

Every time you attempt to awaken from your slumber of soul… are you rendered again, unconscious by the pied-piper of the American Dream?

We groan in the pangs of our own rebirth; terrified of what lies on the other side

We are strangled with anxiety and fear at the thought of losing control…as if we ever were in control in the first place; crippled with the illusion of our own self-sustaining power

We wrestle with shaking the slumber and cobwebs of confusion from our Intellect, the Master-mind of man, who with steely grip and maniacal tyranny controls the passions of our heart

Will we ever awaken?

Can we break free from the narco-hallucinogenic bondage of the adamic self?

A Rescuer beckons us; with kerygmatic boldness, His Spirit calls:

“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Awaken O Sleeper, Awaken.

“..everything exposed by the light becomes visible,  for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is…” Ephesians 5:13-17

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” (Matthew 4:1-2)

We are led to believe by Matthew (as well as the other synoptic gospels), that immediately following the baptism of Jesus he was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. My immediate first response to this information is; “hold on”! “Jesus is led into the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil?” The Holy Spirit is doing this??? Yes, it is true. The Holy Spirit is indeed leading Jesus to the place that is harsh and barren; the place that is often associated with devils and demonic activity (Isa 13:21; 34:14; Matt 12:43; Rev 18:2). However, according to the teaching of Deuteronomy (chapters 6-8) the desert is also the place where Israel experienced some of her greatest tests and trials. But what about the verse quoted from James, the brother of Jesus in our New Testament scriptures; “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…”? Note carefully, that the Holy Spirit is not the tempter; the devil is the tempter. God allows, and quite possibly, even orchestrates the events as a test. Consider some of our earlier examples from the Old Testament; Job or King David from the accounts of 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles (2 Samuel 24:1; 1 Chron 21:1). The usage of the word temptation is interpreted in a number of ways; primarily used to denote “testing”, “trials”, and “search”, these are used in a positive manner by God to develop and teach His children. The measure by which James refers to “tempt” is within the understanding of “enticement” or “solicitation” to do evil…clearly not of God.

Considering the condition of Jesus after 40 days of fasting leads to a number of questions…it is easy to think that he must have been famished as well as physically weakened, and his mental condition strained from lack of proper nutrients; however, this was not a fast without purpose. One must assume or believe that Jesus understood that the journey into the desert was a test. As he had no companions with him, it may be implied that the account to Matthew might have been told by Jesus himself who reveals an awareness of the purpose for the trip into the desert. So then, the fast had purpose…to seek God and “feed” upon His strength and counsel. With a new understanding of the fast and its purpose, I propose that Jesus was as fit physically, mentally and spiritually for the “show-down” with Satan as he could have possibly been. I would consider Matthew’s illustration of the first temptation to be support for this proposal. When Satan tempted Jesus to provide food for himself, Jesus rejected the notion and submitted that Man is not to rely on or be subject to his own needs, but rather he is to rely upon the word and provision of God alone.

More on the desert…

What can we glean from this desert experience; what does it mean to me and what does the desert hold for me…if I go there? And, is it a literal place?

I’m giving thought to this for several reasons. On one hand, I continue to explore and practice the development of my own spirituality and the spiritual disciplines of Christian history and tradition play a big part; solitude, silence, fasting, and the “desert” places are one of the streams of this exploration and thought. On another hand, it is the season of Lent and it parallels the desert experience of Jesus (among some other accounts from the Biblical narrative). So, this is some of what is fueling my thoughts in this direction… but…I want to answer my questions. What about the desert and me…or us?

Larry Crabb reminds us in his book 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God that Invites You into His Story of God’s intent for the desert places. He writes the following:

“God says, I can and I will detach you from everything that numbs your sacred hunger for Me and makes you feel hungrier for something other than Me.”

Dr. Crabb draws our attention to, and reminds us of, the Exodus of Israel and their experience of “learning dependence upon God.” during their 40 years…hmmmm.

The “desert” trims us down. The desert makes us lean. The desert weakens us and strengthens us in the same stroke. The desert breaks us, and if we allow it, remakes us more into the image of God. The desert reveals to us the areas we might not have been so quick to notice in the comforts and protected spaces we create for ourselves. While the desert can be refreshing, it most often does not bring relief until after the strain and torment of the time in testing. Most often, it is not a place that is eagerly entered into…and often it is entered into by gentle and constant spiritual pressing (orchestration) by God. Consider, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert…” My reading may be in error, but I don’t think I discern this text to imply the desert experience was something Jesus had personally planned and thought out for a long time. It seems to imply (to me) that it was a moment of response to the Spirit following his baptism. He was spiritually pressed; the experience was orchestrated by God the Holy Spirit.

The desert experience is often referenced in the same conversations as the “dark night” of the soul. While the experiences and orchestrations leading to the “dark night” might be different than the “desert” experiences, they often have the same purpose or intent for our spiritual development. The big picture view is for our affections to be removed from ourselves and our affinity for the material things of this life and to realign our affections on our God and the things of His Kingdom. John of the Cross writes about the season and purpose of these encounters in the wilderness. He describes two distinctive aspects of these dark and desert experiences; one is an active experience and the other is a passive activity. The active points us deliberately toward God by surrendering the fleshy self and intentionally avoiding such sins as selfishness, pride and anger. The passive experience involves God’s purifying actions when we deprive our soul the comforts that cause spiritual complacency. Our goal is to free ourselves from the idols we make of possessions, provision, relationships, feelings, behaviors and more.

Through the Spirit, the Father, leads His prepared (1 Corinthians 10:13) children into the desert or dark night where false images of God, false beliefs, and our fixations upon religious feelings and experiences are uncovered and exposed. Here is the place where we “draw near to God and He draws near to us” (James 4:8). Here is the place we learn to see Him as He is and learn the depth of our relationship with Him. There is much to uncover on this subject and much has been written about it. A wonderful primer can be found in Seasons of the Soul by Bruce Demarest from whom I have borrowed some thoughts that I have shared in this post.

Lent can be a powerful season of the soul. I hope you might consider it and ask the Spirit if He might be leading you into the desert.

Ash Wednesday and 40 Days

My journey “living the liturgical year” continues with our arrival on Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the season of Lent. This will be my second full immersion into this tradition of the church; last year was my first time to fully embrace this season of reflection, remembrance, fasting, prayer, and drawing nearer to the heart and purpose of our God. With utmost sincerity I can say it was a season that ushered in considerable change and spiritual growth in my life. I expect that this year’s observation and engagement will be no less gratifying (James 4:8)

My blogging has been somewhat sporadic over the past few weeks; living, observing, and reflecting during the season of Epiphany. I have spent this time preparing for and looking forward to this next season of the great traditions of the Church. My intentions are to offer meditations, reflective thoughts, and my own experience through these next 40 + days as we journey together to Resurrection Sunday. Beginning today, I will post some of these devotional thoughts. Additionally, I will include links to resources and other helpful sites that I am being inspired, encouraged, and challenged by. I hope you will join me and interact here on the blog.

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God’s grace and peace be yours as you draw near to Him. Amen.