Week 7: Holy Week

Day 42

Psalm 22 Philippians 2:5-11

My first impression is to figure it the connection between these two scriptures.  David in the desert about to die and on the run from his enemies wondering where God is.  Then, in a letter to the Philippians, God comes to earth in Jesus to live, due, and rise for everyone.  Jesus is the master to cry out to. Perhaps this is a juxtaposition of texts to express that there is a messiah who is more than a neighbor. A friend that sucks closer than a brother. A king that died for his subjects, even those who didn't care for him, wasn't him, or even know him.  He died for everyone from the voice crying out in the desert to the unborn child in the womb.

Day 43

Luke 19:28-40 Philippians 2:5-11

Because Jesus said so

Jesus gave clear instructions and words to use for his disciples.  Being the word himself, the response they gave to the owner of the colt were enough to take the valuable animal from its owner.  I remember hearing in church as a child that God owned the cattle of a thousand hills and the ground beneath their feet.  Perhaps Jesus trapped into his birthright only to bring God glory such as tones like these.  He recognized the fever pitch that the crowd of followers would be in and using his understanding of the Pharisees and the people around them, Jesus helped further seal his fate.

When the Pharisees tried to get Jesus to control his crowd, his response must have chilled them to the bone.  If the very rocks of the earth would cry out at the cessation of the crowd's praise, the religious leaders could no longer doubt that this rabblerouser was the real McCoy.

Day 44

Philippians 2:5-11 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Conduct yourself

Jesus made decisions that no other human could.  He humbled himself on earth and God exalted him above all.  

Then the church began.  Paul writes to the Corinthians and they have already started moving away from how Jesus called his disciples to live and commune with each other.

Day 45

Mark 15

Death

After years of reading and even watching this part of the passion, the story never gets old to me.

It is this post that Jesus quietly and resolutely faces his accusers and killers.  A pastor once took the time to lay out the real world details of this scene.  After being whipped, his flesh torn open, a people robe was found with which to mock Jesus.  After a time, it was taken off.

Now, imagine a band aid that had been applied to a wound larger than the middle of the band aid. When the band aid is removed, the adhesive of the band aid is going to pull against the open, raw wound.  Imagine your entire body being and open wind and the cloth on your back having dried to your body.  A huge band aid. Then the soldiers came and "removed" this cloth.  It was not a gentle peeling away but surely a mighty and uncaring ripping which reopened the gashes of his flesh.

And he didn't say a mumbling word.  Not to those soldiers.

Day 46

Mark 16

Hard to hear

Those who refuse to believe are damned...Those who refuse to believe Jesus rose?  There are so many incredulous things that happen in the bible and in our lives that, even if and when they happen to us it is hard to accept.  But here, Jesus is stern and clear.  After the disciples have repeatedly been told that their Master has risen, he finally has to tell them himself.  He knows that these people will be the last to see him as he is.  It is crucial that they understand that believing goes beyond seeing.

It is crucial for us.  The tomb is empty.  Believe!

Week 6

This week, I only did one day (see below)...I allowed other things to take over the time I had been setting aside for this spiritual practice.  First thing in the morning became more about snoozing, then I started eating a healthy breakfast and even working out here and there.  And before I go to bed, like now, I get overwhelmed by how much I have to read, write, debt I have to pay, and decisions I need to make that the smallest of tasks seem best to be swept into tomorrow.

This coming week will be my first Holy Week that I celebrate the week in addition to the Resurrection.  I will still keep my tradition of watching The Passion on Sunday.  I will also make the time this week to do my readings and writings each day.

Lord help me.

Day 34

Isaiah 58:1-14

Get my prayers off the ground and fly above it all

Isaiah's talk here is mirrored by Jesus during his sermon on the mount.  He cautions people from hamming up their fasting around others.  Their reward then congress from the attention or recognition they gain from others. Instead, Isaiah outlines that true fasting is not about showing others how holy you are, but about bringing about justice and God's healing to those who need it.

Also, Isaiah points out that Sabbath, when practiced as God intended, leads to a closeness to God and a joy that lifts you above the doldrums of life.

Week 5

Day 27

• Luke 15
• 2 Corinthians 5:21

Grieve and Rejoice

God's angels celebrate whenever a soul returns.  How do we react?  Sometimes like the Pharisees who could not allow their judgments to release the sinners from their sin.  Or, other times we are the lost sheep or coin.  Wandered off or not paying attention, or perhaps fallen out of "currency and into the bottom of the purse.  But we are all so much more precious than herds of sheep and houses full of coins.  And God restlessly sweeps the nooks and crannies for us.

Let Him find you, save you, comfort you after the frightening separation and clean you from your time in the dark unkept corners. The death Jesus died allowed for God's light to reach us all, not just the good.  Like Carolane, walk into the light.

Day 28

• Psalm 32
• John 3:14-21
• Running from the God light as though you are Adam and Eve in Eden
  The language in John is similar to the scenario in the creation story. As God called, his creation ran and his afraid of what they had done as well as what they understood.
  I've run from God and his people, at times without ever leaving my pew.

Day 29

• Ephesians 2:1-10
• Numbers 21:4-9
• Though Good sent the snakes, when the people repented, he sent a way to be saved. When we repent and run to God for the cure of sin, he wraps us in Jesus. His death on our behalf covers our son and allows us to have an intimate relationship with God-no Moses required.

Day 30

• Genesis 3
• Romans 6:15-23
• Who Told You You Were Naked?
  
  
  The choice for freedom is not as simple as you think.  To eat the apple or not?  To follow sin or not?  There was a snake involved, a lifelong partner listening and watching intently, and the first dissenting voice which caused a fissure between faith and reason.  Freedom is thought of as running through a meadow with a big smile and comfortable cotton clothes.  Doing whatever you want, answering to no one, and not having to do anything.  Like a "Sunday morning" (for those who either don't attend services in the morning or with a brick and mortar community at that time".  

Day 31
Mark 10

Here, in this miracle, it was the faith of the blind man that SAVED and HEALED him.  In other miracles, Jesus forgives the sinner/heals the person and tells them to sin no more to show that he has both the ability to forgive sins and heal.  This miracle is powerful, not only because a blind man has been given sight, but because it shows our faith can play a role in healing and saving ourselves.  

Day 32
Mark 11

Say something!

Jesus was quick to say something. Whether you were the natural fig tree or the human in the church, Jesus was no respector of sinners.  He was frustrated with how wrong we were getting everything.  But we weren't just getting things like the law wrong, it was our relationship with God and each other that brought it out of him.

Day 33

No reading

Week 4: Return

• Day 20
• John 4:5-42
• Psalm 11

The woman at the well is thirsting for the teachings of Christ, and the Psalmist writes that God is looking to straighten us so we can receive Him.

Who are the Samaritans in my society?  People that would be shocked that I invited them to church?

Where is God trying to straighten me out?

Day 21

• Exodus 17:1-7
• Psalm 95
• The people in the wilderness treated Good and tried Moses. They were thirsty, then hungry, lost, and basically "are we there yet"-ing Moses for 40 so much that he didn't even get to see the promised land himself and he was guiding them.
  There needs were met at every turn, but only after their complaining. The story would have been different if they had simply asked. I imagine the annoying passive aggressive friend who says, "we're going to the movies again? Didn't we go last week?" Even though you are paying and they never offer a suggestion of what to do themselves.  God is meant to be praised, not played into computing to our requests, however dire they may be.

Day 22

Isaiah 6

A holy seed in the stump

Isaiah sees the Master himself and is humbled to his soul. He understands the utter failure of himself and anyone else in comparison to the Most High.

Even though an angel clears his sin with a coal from the altar, God describes a devastation that smacks of another Noah story without an arc.  God recognizes that everyone will be hard headed and won't listen or understand. Then, they will all be cut down like the Amazon. And, if a few manage to survive, the having away will begin again.

This imagery is difficult to swallow, as I'm sure the Jews felt when they first heard it.  I'd certainly want to suddenly listen real hard and understand if there was anyway to avoid this.  Man has been able to plead to God before in order to stay his hand from completely wiping out his creation. 

Noah and Lot were able to save themselves and their families from the destruction around them.  Who is pleading with God now? Who would be among the saved?

Day 23

• Psalm 93
• Romans 5

The container store of heaven

I like to compartmentalize my life. Have a place for every aspect, and every aspect of my life in its place.  Going somewhere like The Container Store or Ikea, you walk around thinking, if only I had these things, my life would finally be in order and I would be put together.

With my relationship with God and my faith, it is also tempting to think that specific actions or behaviors help me to stand out to God. As though, he would be impressed with how faithfully I attend services or how I give of my time or money.  The truth is, God is already attentively witnessing my life with a passionate and indescribable love the likes of which can only be poorly misunderstood. 

I should impress myself with Him and His ways.   The psalmist must have been inspired deeply by the nature around him, but many of us do not have the luxury of being near the widely considered gems of God's creation.  The ocean, mountains, forests, and the like are obvious choices to revel in the handicraft of the Creator. 

But how can we marvel in Midtown, on a crowded train, or a busy street?  It would be in the faces and testimonies of the people around us.  We are the most treasured of all God's creation.  As such, there is treasure and with in every person more valuable than the tropical rainforests or the last Beluga whale.

Day 24

Mark 7

As Christians, it is easy to look at the harsh words Jesus gave to the Pharisees and think, yea he was right to put Them on front street.  However, his harsh words are for all of us.  Just as there is no way for the Jewish people's ritualistic cleaning to clean their soul, there is also no affectation you as a human can practice that makes you more clean and holy.

Jesus, after being asked to clarify by the disciples, responds harshly as well. Apparently, they should be picking up much more of what he is putting down.

Day 25

• Mark 8
• Mark 9
• The feeding of four thousand and the conversation with Elijah and Moses are both wildly miraculous and tangible manifestations of the power of Jesus.  However, he asks the disciples not to share what they have seen.

Week 3: We Shall

Day 13

• Romans 4
• Genesis 12:1-9
• All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.
  I'm part of the earth, part of this dysfunctional, loving, hating, annoying, helpful, hurtful family.  And God arranged blessings for me through a man who lived thousands of years ago.  But it was not because Abram was particularly special as much as God was indescribably special and see Abram as a great vessel through which his creation could receive these blessings.
• Day 14

Psalm 121

Lord whatever this day may bring, your name be praised.

Jesus dealt with disciples who heard his truth but were still confused and he had to call the devil out.  Like the other spirits, as well as some of those he healed, Jesus asked that they not tell anyone.  

The Psalmist writes about a God that travels with them, shields and protects them, and takes the watch no matter the hour.  If I took a road trip with anyone I knew, I would most likely get annoyed with them at some point or another in the journey.  I'm sure God, as he travels with us (invited or not) he must see us doing things stubbornly, wrong, backwards, with the wrong intention, without the instructions (his word) and yet he hangs around and gently keeps us from driving off the road or getting irrevocably lost.  He keeps us from being ravaged by the dangers inherit in travelling and he does this all in spite of ourselves.  Like Peter, and the spirit within him, we do not know how God works but we are quick to jump up about what we think we know.

Day 15

• Philippians 3:12-21
• Philippians 4
• "...Lord hurry to my rescue" 
  
  
  "But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites."
   

Day 16
Psalm 70

The urgency of this call to rescue skips past buttering God up about who He is and what He can do and goes directly to asking Him TO do.
Day 17
Mark 6
The demons didn't want to leave, but the man, once of his right mind, couldn't wait to go.  This chapter has miracle after miracle, one inside the other.
Day 18
Mark 6
Surely, one of the siblings of Jesus had children.  As meticulously as the records were kept for genealogies, someone surely might have thought it important to keep up with the line.
Day 19
No reading

Week 2: And from dust

This week I had less time to read and write, but here is what I could get down "on paper"

Day 6

Gen 2:4-25
Gen 3

Because I said so

God told Adam and Eve that if they even touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they would die... surely!

The serpent points out that the two actually won't die but will be knowledgeable of everything.  When Eve and Adam eat the fruit, they gain knowledge of God and evil but don't die right then and there.

Why did God tell them they would surely die if they even touched it? Eve is the one who says God made that claim. The text doesn't say good said it.  Maybe Adam retold Eve and added that if she even touched the fruit of the forbidden tree, she would die.

Once they knew good and evil, Adam knew Eve. Before their knowledge of good and evil, perhaps their becoming one was different somehow.  They were called to multiply and be fruitful, but their first named child is after the fall. They could have had sex before the fall, or maybe they hadn't yet had the chance with the snake suffering in on them.


Day 7

Psalm 51

I have found when I am trudging through a valley in my life or standing with wind whipped hair on a mountain top, I feel closest to God. He is close holding me and keeping me from giving up or He heard my cry and look how good He is!

These times I find praise, worship, and prayer so accessible. The mountain top shows me the big picture of how He is pulling miracle after miracle through in my life. In the valley, every detail, pain, struggle, and step is pulled into clear focus and the minutiae and depth of His thoroughness sustains me.

However, when I'm coasting along, going through the motions, making ends meet, and generally okay, the memories of the valley and mountaintop seem hard to tap into. The God of the everyday moment.  How do we keep the wind whipped hair and detailed focus after those seasons fade?

Day 8

Deut 8:3
Psalm 51:17

Even though God made the people go through the wilderness, he kept their feet from blistering and their clothes from wearing through.  While he tests us, he also covers us in ways we may not even recognize until after we've come out on the other side.

In the hardest times of my life, God provided for me in ways that didn't take away my struggle, but instead helped me to endure.  I was able to go through the experience, gain lessons that often are time released to reveal sessions afterward, and remain whole.  

When I ask how I made it out of an abusive home and poverty stricken community, it was God who put people in my path to nurture my mind and desire to serve others.  Though we were poor, I never went hungry. Though people were abused around me, I was often spared. Though I strong headedly entered an unequally yoked marriage, I was able to leave the relationship without having to deal with children and knowing my unbelieving partner had left me so God called me to live in peace.  Though I had to delay my college education, God helped me once more with people and programs in my path to return and perform the best I ever had as a student.

In every wilderness of my life, God applies a fresh pair of shoes and clothing in whatever form they may need to be in so that I can just keep going until I reach the land meant for me.

Day 9

1 Peter 3:13-22
Matthew 4:1-11

When Jesus was fresh out of the water of John's Baptism, the spirit led him into the wilderness where he prepared for 40 days and nights.  He fasted then faced Satan himself.  I wonder how much Jesus knew at that time.  If he had any idea how long it would be (God, is he here yet?) or  what it would be like.  Similarities to the people of Israel in the wilderness and their 40 days and nights are here.  But instead of murmuring and manna, Jesus' only companion is the Holy Spirit and rocks.  The angels tend to him afterwards, but during the entire ordeal, he is alone.

His suffering was not just for himself.  This test was the last moment before he presented himself to the world as the Son of Man proclaiming that the Kindgom has come.  How could he take on the Pharisees and Sadducees, the sternest and sickest of us sinners, and the demands of being a rolling stone if he had not taken time away on his own with an old school out and out fast.  

Lent is a time that we harken to Jesus' experience.  We focus our spiritual selves around our faith.  What is distracting us, where are we weak? If dealing with the devil was a test, the fast was the study session.  Time with yourself to know through and through who you were and why.  Jesus had his answers on the ready and Peter encourages us to be the same way.  Why do you believe?  What do you believe?  Could you explain it in your own words, or better yet with the Word?

Day 10

Mark 3

Jesus was angry more than just once.  You heard about the table flipping, merchant snapping Jesus. You might have even read about that poor tree that didn't have fruit even though it wasn't the season for figs.

But here, Jesus is upset at the ridiculousness that the Pharisees held the laws around. He was angry that people would rather clean themselves than heal others.

His radical way of walking out faith was accused of being the work of the devil. But the piety of the Pharisees in the name of God was doing more harm.

Day 11

Mark 4

Jesus took his teachings from the temple to the people who swelled in groups so large that he had to float out on a boat offshore to preach.  He told stories and parables to the crowds and asked repeatedly if they were really listening.

Am I really listening?  When God speaks to me through the beauty of his creation around me, with the angst of a struggling friend, or in the grimy hands held open on the subway?  What are the allegories in my life?

Day 12

No reading

Week 1 - From Dust we came

Day 1 - Ash Wednesday 2/13

Joel 2:12-17

Matthew 6:16-21

______________________
Don't just change your clothes, change your life.  Don't just go to church, worship and outside the Lord your God.
Don't just pray, talk to your Abba as your loving guardian, dearest friend, and precious savior.

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Day 2 - Valentine's Day 2/14

Psalm 34

2 Corinthians 2:5-13

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Day 3 - 2/15

Mums the Word

·          

·         Mark 1

·         ______________________

Jesus didn't want the demons to say anything or the leper.  As he cast out demons and disease, his desire was to keep the muscles hush hush. After the first unruly demon in service, the rest got the message. But it is the person with free will who, in disobeying Jesus, brought more to be healed.this also prevented him from being able to move freely about Galilee.

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Day 4 - 2/16

 Mark 2

______________________
Earlier this week, people were clogging the entrance to BBM stores trying to get their last minute Vday orders in.  Had someone desperately needed their order, would they have pushed their way through the New York crowd to the front of the line?

Fervor for Jesus in his time seems easier to exhibit.  Large crowds were already following him, so follow the crowd.  Get a good meal every now and again of fish and bread, have some great Ted Talks about faith, and even get healed.  But what about today?  How do we show our fervor?

Also, in this story,there are two characters that interact with Jesus, but only one gets the miracle.  The paraplegic had four amazing friends willing to not only carry him, but push through a thick crowd, and not stop there.  These friends, when seeing that they could not get through, climbed to the top of this house, with their friend in tow, and lowered him into the house!  Talk about a friend that is closer than a brother.  It is because of these friends that the paraplegic was able to receive his miracle.  Who are the people in my life that help carry me to Jesus when I can no longer move?  Who are willing to push through crowds of wrong thinking and negativity and scale walls of doubt and despair to get me into my Savior's presence?  Do you have enough people to help carry you?

Another thing that struck me in this reading was the way Jesus healed the paraplegic   He is healed initially with the words, "Your sins are forgiven."  This implies that his differently abled life is a response to sin.  Is it his own personal sin?  The general sin of man?  Perhaps we all have a manifestation of sin in our lives that hinders us which only God can relieve us of.  To the naysayers in the crowd, who honestly why are you following this guy you don't believe in or even like very much anyway, Jesus makes a point of literally healing the man just to prove that he could forgive sins and heal.  Why he chose a moment of healing as the opportunity to reveal his ability to forgive sins must be significant.

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Day 5 - 2/17

No Reading

Lent This Year is Going to Be Different!

Ashes provided by Presbyterian Welcome in Union Square

With the ashes only recently rubbed (accidentally) away from my forehead, I decided to dive into a spiritual discipline this year for the season of Lent.  I had never received ashes on Ash Wednesday before and I had also never decided to use Lent to strengthen my inner faith.  Coming to the conclusion that my spiritual writing could use some practice and my spirit desperately needs to be steeped daily in the word, I decided on signing up for a bible reading plan and putting down a few words each day in response.

Sundays, being described as a "mini Easter" to celebrate the resurrection by my reading plan, do not have a reading.  On Sundays, I will post the musings from the week along with the bible readings that go with them.  Since I have only been reading since Wednesday, the first true post will be short.  However, this blog will act as a visual accountability for my Lent journey and help me to carry on the contemplative nature I would like the year of 2013 to be.

The formatting and editing to make the blog look pretty will all happen after the season of lent has ended, so I pray you forgive my appearance as God forgives us of all!