Sent Into the World, April 1

Christians are quite skilled in isolation. Though Jesus challenged his followers to be in the world, it would seem that we have embraced just the opposite. Somewhere along the way we have decided that being separate from the world is best, but how can we fulfill the call of Christ to make disciples in his name if we do not engage the world? Nouwen makes the case that those who have been transformed by the love of Christ are best suited to live in this world for we have been freed by the power of love to be what God intended us to be. Nouwen writes, "...those who have entered into the spiritual life are precisely the ones who are sent into the world to continue to fulfill the work that Jesus began. The spiritual life does not remove us from the world, but leads us deeper into it." (p. 139) As we make God's word our home, we are truly freed to live for Christ no matter where we are. (John 8:31)

JKA

Listening to God, March 31

"In order to be a ministry in the name of Jesus, our ministry must also point beyond our words to the unspeakable mystery of God." (p. 135) Nouwen's words build on the message of Jesus that everything he did was to bring glory to God. If that was the purpose of Jesus' ministry, shouldn't our lives reflect that purpose as well? To that end, we cannot achieve this purpose unless we are listening for the voice of God and then being obedient. "You are my friends," Jesus said, "if you do what I command." Our Lenten journey cannot find its greatest meaning apart from these two elements...listen and obey.

JKA

Immanuel, March 29

The great good news of Christ incarnate is that God has come to be among us. By humbling himself and coming to this earth in human form, Christ entered into an intimate relationship with sinful people, people like you and me. His compassion drove him to act on our behalf, walking the way of the cross to offer salvation to all who will receive. This sacrifice calls us to look at our relationship with the Creator God in a different way, seeing this relationship not as a distant connection, but an intimate bond, established in love. Therefore, we witness again in this Lenten season the cross as a symbol of love and compassion, as well as a bridge that covers the chasm of sin that separates us from the living God. In the text that Nouwen cites for today, John 8:3-7, Jesus becomes the bridge that spans this chasm between the woman caught in adultery and the God whom she most likely thought had abandoned her because of her sin. Jesus did not condemn her, and as a result, no one else dared cast a stone at her either. The compassion of God looks beyond the dirt and filth of our sinful ways and sees the beauty of the soul. God-with-us is the blessing of the incarnate Christ. Amen!

JKA

The Sign of Jonah, March 29

"If I could just see a sign..." Who among us hasn't wanted some miraculous marker along our journey to point the way to an obvious decision in the midst of confusing circumstances? We ask God for this kind of sign, believing action on God's part will strengthen our faith and illuminate our darkened way. However, God has already given a sign that has application for every circumstance of life. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That is the sign that leads and guides. Witnessed in the context of Jesus' death and resurrection, we find all that we need. God has nothing to prove...the proof is in the sign...Jesus the Christ.

JKA

Like Nicodemus, March 28

Perhaps Nouwen is right in portraying Nicodemus as being afraid to lose the respect of his colleagues. And yet, I’m not as sure as Nouwen is.

The Gospel of John’s account of Nicodemus is ambiguous. John 3:2 tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Does that mean that he was afraid of being seen—either by his fellow Pharisees or by the public at large, since he was a prominent man? Or did he choose this time for an uninterrupted interview? During the day, Jesus would have been busy, and there were crowds to deal with. Or does “by night” symbolize the spiritual darkness in which Nicodemus found himself?

In the account Nouwen speaks of in John 7, Nicodemus doesn’t defend Jesus, but he a raises procedural point that would work in the Lord’s favor.

And while the apostles have scattered in John 19, Nicodemus is present to minister to Jesus’ body.

The biblical writers can frustrate us by their lack of detail and interpretation. Perhaps that was intentional. It is easy to label someone as being fearful and even a coward. But we are more complex than simple labels. And when we label others in this way we diminish them and ourselves. Perhaps that is a lesson we can learn during Lent: Accept the complexity of others and ourselves.

Mark Brasler

Obedient Listening, March 27

"Fellowship with Jesus Christ is...a commitment to listen with him to God's love without fear."

I wish I was a better listener. Now sometimes I am very attentive, particularly if it is something that holds my interest or has some specific application for my life. There are however, other times when I get distracted, am physically or emotionally weary, or maybe just bored and disinterested. My grandfather was hard of hearing and if not for his hearing aids, would have been unable to carry on conversations. Of course, he also had an ability that others of us did not possess to turn the hearing aids off when he did not want to hear the conversation. His "selective listening" was often a source of both humor and frustration for those who tried to communicate with him.

Do we listen selectively for the voice of God? It would seem at times that we strain to hear some words, while intentionally "turning a deaf ear" to others. We do not honor God through this selective listening. We cannot only listen for what we want to hear. To listen obediently is to listen without filter, and as a result to recognize that when we do, "we are invited to be no less compassionate than Jesus himself." (p. 122) Are you listening?

JKA

Glory, March 26

Nouwen spoke earlier on our Lenten journey about the downward pull of the Christ-way. He cited Philippians 2 and the act of Jesus humbling himself by coming down to earth in human form and dying a humiliting death on a cross. In today's devotional thought, he writes, "If we truly want to see the glory of God, we must move downward with Jesus." Unfortunately, we find ourselves often motivated by the upward movement of pride and arrogant competition, comparing ourselves, our children, our work, even our church to others, challenging ourselves to be better than instead of less than. The way of Jesus is not a lazy or settled way where we with resignation simply wait for God to act on our behalf. Moving downward with Christ is moving to help the hurting, encourage the broken, and carry water to the thirsty. Jesus said that he came not to be served but to serve and he called his disciples to do the same. The season of Lent pulls us gently sometimes, quite forcefully at others to the downward way. This descending path is a precarious place where the values of the world are turned upside down in the shadow of the cross. Glory is found not in the upward reach for power and recognition, but in the downward plunge where unmeasured words heal broken hearts, unfettered love embraces forgotten souls, and unguarded generosity provides for the poor and disadvantaged. To do so is to know glory as Christ intended.



JKA