iCrucified

Posts Tagged ‘Egypt’

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.

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

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