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Everything Changed

Apr6

How many of you are fans of the spring time change? There is something about losing an hour that is far more difficult than gaining one. This year, I attempted to organize and purge our coat closet the Monday after the clocks went forward. My unfocused brain couldn’t make a decision on what to keep and what to donate. Most of the coats ended up in the “decide later” pile. In the long term, we appreciate the extra hour of sunlight in the evenings, but it can take a few days for our bodies and minds to adust.

At no time is the transition between darkness and light more pronounced than at Easter. Luke describes the death of Jesus this way: “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining….Jesus called out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last ( 23: 44, 45a, 46; NIV).” When the light of the world hung on the cross, God supernaturally caused the sun not to shine.

Everything changed when Jesus died. The barrier between God and mankind was broken. The human race could now freely approach God and receive forgiveness for sins. No one but God could see this yet. Those who knew and loved Jesus experienced deep grief, the “dark night of the soul (John of the Cross).” But when Jesus burst into life on Easter day, the world knew a brilliance it never had before. God’s grace was available to all. Everyone could have a personal relationship with the Saviour.

One Sunday morning, when I was five, my mom stayed home from church with me, because I was sick. Instead of resting in bed, Mom found me running around my bedroom. When she came in, I was expecting some sort of punishment. Instead, she sat down and asked if I would like to accept Jesus into my heart. I prayed a short prayer with her, asking God to come into my heart and forgive me. It was that simple. At five, I didn’t understand all the theological concepts behind this prayer, but I knew immediately that God lived within me, and I would go to heaven when I died. My faith in God continues to sustain me to this day.

Jesus brings us from the darkness of Good Friday to the light of Resurrection Sunday. Our part is to accept the light he brings. Even in the dark times we all experience, God has plans for the endgame. Darkness is merely the absence of light and God has already defeated the darkness.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

 

 

 

 

Our Way or God’s Way?

Apr14

Frank Sinatra, in his famous song, “My Way,” expresses how at the end of his life, the most important thing for him to be able to say is that he lived it in the way he personally chose. While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with choosing our paths and being true to ourselves, Easter calls us to evaluate this sentiment in a deeper context.

If anyone had a right to do it his way, it was Jesus. As the Son of God, equal to the Father, Jesus could have used his power for his desires. Jesus chose a different way. For three years, he travelled with his disciples from village to village, preaching, encouraging, healing, and offering hope to a broken world.  We think of the deity of Christ but he lived his earthly life in a human body. He became tired, slept in the back of a boat and walked for long distances on dusty roads. He experienced hunger, thirst, rejection, grief, and misunderstanding.

Many thought that Jesus would liberate them from the Romans, but his purpose was not an overthrow of the government. He said, “…render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21, NASB). His mission was to set people free by bringing them into God’s kingdom.

Jesus knew what bringing people into the kingdom of God would cost him. When he rode on the back of a donkey into Jerusalem, the people cried “Hosanna!” and placed palm branches on the ground. He entered Jerusalem as a king but knew that some who welcomed him would later, influenced by the religious leaders, clamour for his death.

What would have happened if the biblical narrative had ended here? What would have happened if Jesus had decided to do it his way, to exercise his rights and freedoms as the Son of God and turn away from the cross? When a follower of Jesus took out a sword and cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants, Jesus condemned the action and said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than ten legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53, NIV). What would have happened if Jesus had done that?

No cross, no Saviour, no resurrection, no hope, and no importance to the stable birth of the infant Christ.

Jesus chose to do it the Father’s way.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39, NIV). Jesus chose the cross out of obedience and trust. He knew there was no other way for people to enter the kingdom of God than for him to pay for the sins of the world on the cross.

There are numerous opportunities in life to do it our way. We all have different interests, desires, passions and dreams. At this time of year, I love seeing colourful spring flowers blooming in my garden and anticipate getting my hands in the soil. What the story of Easter teaches us is that there are times when we may need to set aside what we think of as our rights and consider the individual and collective good of others. John Donne wrote: “No man is an island entire of itself.” Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand.

Jesus did it God’s way.

Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

Paper Scraps

Aug9

I have a very close friend who hates writing letters, e-mails, texts or anything remotely connected with print. However, when she and her sister, Kathy, go on holidays, Kathy kindly takes on the role of Marie’s amanuensis. Marie dictates and Kathy writes, throwing in a few comments of her own, such as her severe lack of compensation. Marie is highly talented in other art forms. During Marie and Kathy’s last holiday, Kathy sent me a picture of Marie’s latest  endeavour.

 

In Kathy’s words, “It may look like one picture but it is hundreds of small pieces of paper or pictures that are glued together to make a picture of her vision of the view from the cottage that we are staying at. The pictures are from hundreds of magazines that she’s bought to collect cottage, sky, deck and tree pictures from. She then cuts pieces from those pictures to create her vision of the cottage. It even has a cat! I can verify that she has spent at least 10-15 hours at my place this spring cutting out pictures and colours from magazines and then she has spent over 10 hours putting it together here. It truly has been a labour of love for her and she is pleased with the results so I thought I’d share her work with you.”

Marie’s work is breathtaking. I can’t imagine the patience it would take to create a complete picture from tiny pieces of paper. Marie takes what seems to be insignificant or torn and brings wholeness and  beauty. She is a creator, with a clear vision of the potential these scraps of paper possess.

Isn’t that what God does in our lives? We can’t see the whole picture. Some of the pieces may seem missing, ripped or meaningless, and we can’t figure out how to incorporate them into something significant. We can’t find the missing pieces, the solution to a problem, a way to bring more healing and happiness to others.

Just as Marie saw the final picture put together,  God sees it in our lives.  He knows the end result. He knows which pieces fit and which to throw away. He wants nothing but the best for us. We simply need to listen to his voice and let him direct us as the scraps are assembled.

I don’t worry when Marie doesn’t write to me. If I push hard enough, such as putting: “To my elusive friend, please write back” in the e-mail subject line, sooner or later, I will hear her voice or get a reply. As well, there is her faithful sister,  who sacrifices some of her holiday time, to be Marie’s personal secretary.

Marie puts the pieces together, a job she is good at not only in art but in her relationships with others. When our own lives don’t make sense, it is  because we don’t  see the finished product, but we can trust that God is in the business of placing each scrap in its proper place.