@ the crossroads

God’s ongoing creative handiwork can be seen in a sunset.  Colors collide and clouds converge on canvass sky.  Silhouettes and shadows created by people walking along a beach at sunset is a breathless sight that fills one with a sense of awe and wonder; God’s very words of life and power create these daily pieces of art.

This morning I read a phrase from Luke’s gospel that I had previously overlooked: When the sun was setting… (Luke 4:40).  Luke, the physician, was obviously impacted by sunsets and impressed enough to insert the phrase into his writing.  The colors of the setting sun around the Sea of Galilee left an imprint on Luke and enhanced his account of Jesus’ early days of ministry.  Listen to Luke’s sentence in its entirety…

When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.

Imagine the silhouette of the Savior, reaching out his hands to touch the lame, the lepers, and the blind.  Picture a background of pastel hues as shadows limped their way to the outstretched arms of the One who creates sunsets.  The image is stunning, graceful, and full of peace.

The next time you see a sunset, think about the healing hands of Jesus.  Picture yourself walking toward him on the beach.  Simply close your eyes and then receive his grace.

Healed.

Each one of our lives is filled with seeming impossibilities.  A relationship may seem to be unrepairable, a job search may appear futile, a child’s rebellious streak looks to be unending, the list of impossibles goes on and on.  During this time of year when college basketball’s March Madness is in full swing, I am confronted with the perennial impossibility of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini making it past the first round of the NCAA tournament.  Sure enough, this year was no different than many of the previous years; my team lost yet again.  I am also a Chicago Cubs fan; impossibilities come easy for me!

Luke begins his gospel with an impossible situation.  An elderly couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, spent years longing and praying for a child, but to no avail.  Barrenness characterized their lives and this position of desolation brought a large level of social stigma in the first century.  In the eyes of the world, barrenness was a disgrace, a sign that something was defective within the character of the barren ones. 

Amazingly, God sees barrenness as prime soil for spiritual growth and powerful miracles.  God intervened in a supernatural way and allowed Elizabeth to conceive a child, even though Zechariah and Elizabeth were well beyond the years when conception is humanly possible.  One of the important details of this story from Luke’s perspective is the incredible power of prayer.  God hears the heart cries of people as they voice their impossibilities to Him.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.  But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.  (Luke 1:11-13)

John the Baptist, the man who would pave the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ, was a miraculous conception born first in the hearts of passionate, praying parents.  God’s plan of redemption moves forward through lives that are stripped of all human self-reliance so that insurmountable barriers can be seen for what they really are: opportunities for God to shine.

I am deeply challenged by Zechariah and Elizabeth; tenacity in prayer, epecially when God’s plan appears to be at such variance from my own, does not come easy.  Rather, it is one of those hard fought disciplines of grace that, when practiced, yields delightful fruit.  God’s plan takes root when all hope seems lost because that is how we really know it’s God’s plan, not our own wishful thinking or egocentric vision for success.

Where do you go with your impossiblities?  God desires for you to release those to him in prayer.  Through prayer our hearts are softened, changed, and ultimately prepared to receive God’s answers in our barren conditions.  Our impossibilities are opportunities for deep yieldedness to God’s blueprint.

Some men rebel against long intercessions with God, but what they cannot erase is that the record stands that men who prayed most accomplished most.  Lasting prayers bring lasting revivals.  Prayer does not condition God; prayer conditions us.  Prayer does not win God to our view; it reveals God’s view to us.  Prayer is not merit, so that by withdrawing from the world we of necessity gain special favors of God.  Prayer is not purchasing things from God.  If you ask whey we emphasize prayer so much and so often, we reply, “Because Jesus did so.”  The Gospel of Luke gives accounts of whole nights spent in prayer by the Saviour.  Are we better than He?    (from Revival Praying by Leonard Ravenhill)

I shot this picture last week at the Circle B Ranch.  The image reminds me of the wilderness that is referenced many times throughout the Bible.  The prophet Jeremiah describes the Lord as the one who brought the people of Israel out of Egypt and led them through the barren wilderness, a land of deserts and rifts, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives (Jeremiah 2:6).  The weeping prophet points out several obvious negative qualities of wilderness living.  Perhaps today you find yourself in a wilderness situation.  Life feels lifeless; work has dried up; the dark clouds of depression are rolling toward you from the distant horizon; the storm is raging in your marriage…

Don’t lose heart, for it is also in the wilderness that Jesus comes to meet us with his good news of grace.  He provides bread in the wilderness to sustain us on the journey of life and faith as we learn to rely on him for our every need.  Of course, the wilderness is a place of desperation.  It is designed to bring us to the end of ourselves. 

God whispers this question in our ears when we find ourselves with parched throats and sweaty brows in barren lands: “Will you depend on me?”

…a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ (Mark 1:3)

Several months ago I was reading the Lakeland Ledger and stumbled upon an article about suicide attempts from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay.  Here is a portion of the article:

About 120 people have killed themselves there since the higher, cable-supported version of the Skyway opened in April 1987, carrying traffic across the mouth of Tampa Bay on Interstate 275.  For unknown reasons, the rate started picking up in the mid-1990’s, and during the past decade an average of eight people a year have died there, Highway Patrol and sheriff’s office statistics show.  The worst was 2003: 13 dead, 10 other attempts….the vast majority drive less than an hour to get there, paying the $1 toll to get on the bridge.  Many leave notes in their cars.  Records show them coming at all hours on every day of the week.  The most popular day: Sunday.

This last line popped out of the page because I know what I am doing on Sunday mornings.  Sunday is definitely not a lonely day for me.  However, for many people, they are longing for significant friendship, community, and relational connectedness but simply don’t know how to find it.  They are not connected to a church and so Sunday turns out to be one of the loneliest days of the week.  One of the ongoing opportunities for followers of Jesus Christ is to be on the lookout for lonely people and invite them into loving community.  Jesus is our model as he has pursued us and called us “friends”.  Who needs your friendship today?

Psalm 68:6 “God sets the lonely in families…”

This morning I was reading from the Old Testament book of Zechariah and I ran across this passage:

This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem.  Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”  This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age.  The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” (Zechariah 8:3-5)

I find it interesting that the return of God’s glory to the city of Jerusalem is accompanied by a reference to old people sitting in the streets and boys and girls playing in the streets.  Here are a few observations related to these verses:

1) We live in a culture that undervalues elderly people and also encourages children to grow old before their time.  Those over 60 are often dismissed as irrelevant while a 7 year-old who acts like a 16 year-old is deemed “cute.”  God’s words to Zechariah seem to point people back to the reality of the seasons of life; there is an appropriate demeanor of life during each phase.  Children need to know how to play; elderly people need to seek God’s help in growing old gracefully so they can interact with the children in the streets, even if they use a cane to get around.

2) The church is often quick to separate people into life stages.  I think this is a big mistake.  Children need to know the wisdom, strength, grace, and spiritual maturity of the elderly.  Older people need to be around young children, partly because seeing children helps the elderly reminisce about their younger years, and, sometimes, memories are what keep older people going. 

For all you young people out there, what is your attitude toward the elderly?

For you older folks, how do you treat the emerging generations? 

I took this picture earlier today at the Lakeland Highlands Scrub. 

“…and all the trees of the field will clap their hands…”  [Isaiah 55:12]

A while back, I was visiting an 86 year-old man in a hospital room.  Certain conversations in life seem to be particularly smothered with the presence of God; this dialogue was one of those interactions.  From his sitting position on the edge of the bed, the man leaned toward me and whispered: Several years ago I had a vivid dream, a vision I know was from God.  I was 83 at the time and I distinctly saw two numbers on a chalkboard, the numbers 83 and 89.  I believe the Lord was revealing to me the number of my days.

The impact of the man’s words and the sincerity of his heart left me speechless.  Here was a man living as if he had only 36 months left to live.  The implications of this vision on the elderly man’s life have proven to be powerful.  Minutes are dripping with purpose; hours are not wasted; days are not wished away.  The longing for tomorrow has been replaced with a profound sense of living for today.

David wrote these words in Psalm 39:

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.”

A while back, I encountered a man for whom this prayer had been answered.  May we all live each day as if we have had a similar 83 to 89 vision.

This painting shows Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, taking Jesus’ dead body to a place of burial.  In the first century, a public execution was not the end of humiliation for a condemned person.  It was common for a dead body to be left on a cross to rot or to be eaten by birds or other animals.  Also, the Roman law dictated the loss of all honor in an alleged criminal’s crucifixion.  Thus, the right of a burial of any kind was determined by the governing authorities.  When Joseph of Arimathea asked for Jesus’ body, he was actually risking his very life because he was associating himself with Jesus.  Mark 15:42-46 says,

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).  So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.  Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead.  Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.  When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.  So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock.

There is a short phrase in this passage that carries significant weight: went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.  This was not only a bold move on Joseph’s part, but also a risky one that could have cost him his life.  Joseph’s identification with Jesus was important enough for him to put his life on the line. 

What “risky” and “bold” response to Jesus are you willing to make?  In what areas are you being called to stick your neck out for your Savior?

Let’s live boldly!

This painting shows Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross of Jesus Christ.  Mark’s gospel gives a very brief account of Simon’s interaction with Jesus: “A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross” (Mark 15:21).  From this one verse we can learn several things:

1) Simon was from Cyrene, a location in northern Africa, and he was probably in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  Cyrene was one of the intellectual centers of the ancient world and it was especially known for its famous medical school. 

2) Tradition tells us that Simon’s sons, Rufus and Alexander, eventually became Christian missionaries.  The fact that their names are included in Mark’s gospel indicate that they were probably known in the early Christian community in Rome.

3) Simon’s journey was abruptly interrupted by the command to carry the cross of Jesus, a very difficult task that required carrying a crossbeam weighing up to 40 pounds.  Simon was forced into this uncomfortable, challenging, and unsophisticated position by the Roman soldiers who were given the authority to put someone into service at any time.  A soldier would simply walk up to a person, tap the individual on the shoulder with the head of a spear, and issue a command.

I’m sure Simon initially resented the fact that he was given manual labor, especially considering he may have been all dressed up for worship at the temple.  We all know how it feels to get dirty and sweaty right before heading out the door to a formal event.  Yet, through the encounter with Jesus on the road to Calvary, Simon must have undergone a heart change.  Imagine looking the Savior of the world in the eyes; ponder the power of compassion in Jesus’ bloodied face.  Simon’s daily routine was broken by a tragic, yet life-giving, moment of grace.  When God interrupts our agendas, we need to be aware that whatever spontaneous event is replacing our pre-scheduled plan is going to leave a lasting, transformational impression because God changes us through the unplanned times of life.

How do you face interruptions?  Do they build resentments and fortify bitter walls, or are they embraced as strategic acts of God that will ultimately bring about spiritual growth and maturity?  Through Simon’s interruption, he came face to face with Jesus.  The same is possible for us as well.

This picture is an artist’s depiction of the first century prisoner, murderer, insurrectionist, and terrorist known as Barabbas.  The crimes committed by Barabbas called for the death penalty, specifically death by crucifixion.  Over the next few days I would like to take a deeper look at a few of the faces connected to the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.  Today, I thought Barabbas would be a great place to start because this murderer is actually more like us (or, we are more like him) than we would probably care to admit.  Mark’s gospel gives us this account:

Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.  A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.  The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.  “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?”  asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 

“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.  “Crucify him!” they shouted.  “Why?  What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.  But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”  Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.  He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.”   (Mark 15:6-15)

Here are a few reflections on the importance of this story:

1) Jesus stood in as the substitute for Barabbas’ wrongdoing.  The guilty man went free; the innocent man paid the price.  Jesus also serves as the substitute for us, standing in our place and taking the punishment we deserve.  Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  This is the core of the gospel. 

2) The name “Barabbas” literally means “son of the father.”  Jesus Christ is the Son of the Father and thus has served the world as the true Son who came to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice to deal with sin once and for all.  Only Jesus has the authority and character to solve the sin problem.   

In his book on Romans, author James Boice has written this powerful piece to capture some of the thinking that was probably going through Barabbas’ head during his experience of imprisonment and release:

Picture Barabbas sitting in the prison, staring at his hands, which were soon to be pierced by nails, and shuddering at any sound of hammering that might remind him with horror of his own impending crucifixion.  Suddenly he hears a crowd roaring outside the prison.  There are angry voices.  “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”  He thinks he hears his own name.  Then a jailer comes to unlock the door of his cell.  Barabbas thinks that the time for his execution has come, but instead the jailer tells him that he is being set free.  The crowd has called for his release.  Jesus of Nazareth is to die instead.  Stunned, Barabbas joins the processional that is making its way to Calvary and watches as Jesus is crucified.  He hears the sound of the hammer and knows that the blows that are fastening Jesus to the rough wooden cross were meant for him.  He sees the cross lifted high into place and knows that he is the one who should be dying on it.  Jesus cries, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  The centurion who has commanded the execution party exclaims, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”  Barabbas must have been saying, “That man took my place.  I am the one who should have died.  I am the condemned murderer.  That man did nothing wrong.  He is dying for me.”

The Gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet you are more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope because Jesus lived and died in your place.  A great exchange takes place when we place our trust and faith in Jesus Christ.

~Peter Scazzero