Does Jesus shock you?

Does Jesus shock you in what he says or does? 

That is the question I am asked in my Lenten Devotional, Lent for Everyone by NT Wright. After recounting the story of Jesus answering the question asked of him by John's disciples, "Are you the Coming One, or should we expect someone else?" by healing people of diseases, casting out demons, and giving the blind their sight back. After reading this it would seem natural to be asked this question. What intrigues me is that it does not shock me.

In the passage, Jesus himself, says "And a blessing to the person who isn't shocked by me!" But I wonder if my reason for not being shocked is not what he is referring to. I find myself finding the actions in this passage to be normal for Jesus. I do not find myself blown away by the miraculous signs he is performing. I also acknowledge that the reason I am not shocked is because I have grown up with this. I have grown up in the church, always been told the stories from the Gospel, and even spent years memorizing and studying what Jesus said. With this head knowledge it is natural to not be shocked.

However, if I would apply this question to today, I think I would find a different kind of shock. I would be shocked to see Jesus do miraculous signs in my world, my community, and my family. I am shocked when I witness the good news of the Gospel actually permeate peoples lives. How sad is that? I confess in the Apostle's Creed that "I believe in Jesus Christ..." and all it says about Him. I have this head knowledge of who He is and all that He did, His miracles, death, and resurrection; and yet I find that I am still surprised when it is evident He is interacting with my life. This dissonance of reading about miracles and signs of Jesus and yet when I experience it in the lives of others and myself I find I am in shock.

How many of us are like this? How many of us have read and invested in what the Scriptures have said all of our lives that now we do not find shock in it? How many of us expect Jesus to do these radical things that would have shocked many in His time? And how many of us do not expect Jesus to do these same acts here in our own town, our own community, our own families?

As we read we are not shocked. As we live and experience we are shocked. May we trust Jesus in His goodness and know that we should not be shocked when he shows up in our lives. I would like to echo Wright's prayer when he says, Lord, give me the courage to understand what you really want to do for the world, for my community, and for me. Let us not be shocked, but let us rejoice and join Jesus in bringing His Kingdom here this Lenten season and beyond. 

What is it that We believe?

Lent. Week 1. Day 4. The day that people are beginning to see how hard their fast is. That some people have already given up and thrown in the towel. The day that others are moving along as if their Lenten fast is their New Years Resolution that they are still following. It is still the beginning and yet we are moving farther into this 40 day journey.

To begin my Lenten season I had the privilege of preaching at the church that I am employed at. I began our churches Lenten series on the Apostle's Creed by analyzing the why of what we believe. As someone who enjoys blogging I have decided during this Lenten season to post one blog a week about my experiences during Lent. I find this season to be a great time for reflection and drawing close to Jesus. As my church goes through our series on the Apostle's Creed and analyzing what we believe I too want to share my thoughts on the Creed via this blog.

To share my thoughts this week I would like to share an excerpt from my sermon I shared this pass Sunday. The Sermon lesson was on Luke 4:1-13 on Jesus in the Wilderness.

"We believe...what is it that we believe?

Throughout this Gospel passage we witness Jesus’ immediate actions after his baptism. He goes out and follows the guidance of the Holy Spirit into the Wilderness. This is pretty important because a lot has happened in the wilderness. One time that comes to mind is when the Israelite's fell in the wilderness and had to be there for 40 years. And now we have Jesus going to the wilderness for 40 days to fast. Jesus did this because he knew what He believed and who he was. The beloved child of God sent here on a mission to save humanity.

Jesus was tested and could overcome these temptations because he knew what he believed. He was tempted to give into doubt and not believe that God would care and provide for him, tempted to give into false worship in order to have control and do what he felt would be best, and tempted to test the trust that he had in God. These are some of the same temptations that so many of us face today, but he overcame them because he knew what he believed.

He knew what he believed...I’m saying that a lot, but that’s pretty important, to know what and why we believe what we believe. That’s the very reason why we have teenagers go through confirmation. To know what and why we believe what we believe. 

Throughout the next couple weeks as we go through the time of Lent--the 40 days before Easter--we are going to be studying the Apostle’s Creed. This is a Creed, a Statement, of what we as a body agree that we believe. It is very fitting that we would take 40 days to study what we believe, to maybe even fast, in order that we could live a life of discipleship by pursuing the kingdom...when we live this life we will be able to overcome temptation because we trust in our Lord and know what we believe. There are some preachers out there who will say Christianity is easy and there is no temptation. They’re wrong. Temptation comes and we need to overcome it, in order to do that we need to know what we believe. If the SON OF GOD goes through temptation I am pretty sure a regular Christian Joe will too. So following in Jesus’ example we are learning and growing towards the Father for 40 days. 

During this time there may be times of doubts and questions. Those are not inherently bad. That is why community is so vital and important. Community and relying on God. When we are alone temptation will come even harder then when we are with people. We are allowed to doubt, but what we want to avoid is giving into the doubt, giving into the temptation to say, “none of this makes sense so I give up and I am moving on.” We are studying, together as a body, what we believe in order to fully stand against temptation that the Accuser throws our way and in order to live out what we believe.

Creeds help us do this. They remark each week what we believe and remind us that we are in this together. This isn’t just some lone loon who happens to believe this ancient guy, but we are stating that we believe the same truths that people have believed for hundreds of years! It unites us in our belief and even Jesus, God made flesh, unites himself with us. He came down to be like us and just like we are often, he was tempted by the Accuser.

So this passage we read, it is perfect for beginning our series and beginning this season of Lent. Many people choose something to give up for Lent as a way of refocusing on God. They choose something to give up that may be holding them back from God and take time to grow closer to God. It is a time to show us, like Jesus stated, that man does not live on bread alone. We need God more than many of us are comfortable admitting in this world of independence and individualism.

We don’t like needing someone. It is in these times of individualism that temptation can most strike.

This is a time to say, “yes I need the Father. I need what I confess to be true. I don’t need food, I don’t need coffee, I need the Father. I need to seek the Kingdom and everything else will fall in line.”

*References from NT Wright's Luke For Everyone Commentary. 

Make a difference this Lenten Season

Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. The day before Ash Wednesday.

As I hear those words I reflect back to my summer spent leading missions trips in the beautiful city of New Orleans. I remember getting to know community members and learning all about how they were affected by Katrina, how their lives are now, and even what they are doing today to make their lives better. I pray I never forget about my amazing experience working for the nonprofit YouthWorks in this wonderful city. During my time there I learned about a variety of wonderful people accomplishing incredible things for the Kingdom of God and for their own city.

There are many things that I have learned and am reminded of daily from my time there, but one thing I know I acquired was the value of your own city. Of working within your city daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly to partner with God in His Kingdom work. So many of us--myself included--think that we have to get away to really do something good. We think that we must become strangers in a strange land in order to really make a difference, but folks that is bad news. That is not who we, as disciples of Christ, are called to be. I had to travel to two new states--Missouri and Louisiana--just to learn the importance of where I was already placed. Traveling, as fun as it is, taught me the importance of investing in the local community in which we have been placed today. It is not about where we go tomorrow or next year, but it is about the difference we can make today.

I find it fitting to reflect on this the day before Lent begins. The day that so many people contemplate whether or not they should give something up or change something for the next 40 days. I would be lying if I said this was not in my own thought process. However, I wonder how different our lives would be if Christians did more than just give something up? What if we took what we gave up and invested that time in both growing closer to God and investing in our local community.

What if instead of sneaking in another episode on Netflix during our lunch break we break bread with a lonely member of our church? What if instead of spending our countless hours on social media we invite someone new into our home? What if instead of reminiscing on the past we ask God how we can grow in the future? There are so many what ifs we can ask ourselves today, but we need to pick one and move beyond the questions. We need to take action.

So as you go about today and prepare for tomorrow ask yourself this: How can I better invest in my own community? How can I become the person God desires me to be instead of who I desire myself to be? God has a plan and is inviting us to be a part of it, but if we reject His plan we miss out on the adventure. His plan will happen regardless, but he wants us to join His Kingdom Movement in our own community. When reflecting on your part in God's plan consider the words of Mordecai to his cousin Esther, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NIV). Where has God led you to today and how can you make a difference during this Lenten season?