A Very Good Friday

            It had been a strange and solemn evening.  Jesus and His disciples had gathered in an upstairs room to celebrate Passover, a feast filled with symbolism and meaning.  Jesus knows that His time left with these twelve men is short, and He focuses His teaching on them alone.  After supper, Jesus plays the part of a servant, washing each of their feet.  He returns to the table and reveals that one of them will betray Him, and then sends Judas away to do what he will.  He teaches them about the Holy Spirit, and about abiding.  He reminds them that the greatest gift and act of obedience they can share in is to love each other.  He tells them He is going away and that they will mourn.  He prays for them, and for us (John 17:20).  In the midst of this, His farewell teaching, He tells them to take courage, because He has overcome the world.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33

            Strange words, these, coming from a man who has just sent Judas away to betray Him.  Strange words from a man who is about to die. 

            When we think of overcoming, we think of strength, of commanding power.  We think of might.  We don’t think of blood.  We don’t think of dying.  We don’t think like God does.

            In God’s definition of overcoming, the distinction between overcoming and being overcome seems to blur.  Power is displayed in suffering.  Death is conquered by the One who embraced it, absorbed it, yielded to it, and then rose beyond it.  In Revelation the only one found worthy to open the Book was the Lamb, humblest of animals, looking as if it had been slain (Rev. 5:6).

            Jesus overcame the world.  He took on the form of man, setting aside His power and majesty.  He lived as one of us, was tempted as one of us, and became sin for us.  He rose and conquered death, so that we too could overcome.

            Too often we choose the wrong weapons with which to overcome our world.  We fight with willpower, with words or anger, or strength of sheer determination.  God says not my might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.  He tells us to overcome with love and by the life we live.  To be overcomers, we must do things His way, with His weapons, even when it seems foolish and weak to us and to those around us.  To be overcomers we must learn to value the things He values, and to think in a way that is contrary to our nature.

To be overcomers, we must take on the mind of Christ.

“To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.”  Rev. 2:7b

In Remembrance

Did you get your free pancakes on Tuesday? Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is celebrated throughout the world, and is the last hurrah before Lent. In some places it is marked with great debauchery, bright garish colors, the collecting of beaded necklaces, parades and the crowning of a king.

I grew up on the West Coast, and Mardi Gras was a southern tradition. Even when Seattle began celebrating Fat Tuesday, it was more a way to increase revenue and tourism than a religious celebration. Mardi Gras marks the onset of Lent. Here again, I am a protestant, and Lent isn’t something I have much experience with.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, and is a time of sacrifice and preparation for the celebration of  Holy Week. Traditionally it lasts for forty days, representing the time Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and ending with his temptation by Satan. This marked the beginning of his ministry. People celebrating Lent typically give up a vice, something like coffee or chocolate or meat. Often it is just a tradition. When done right it is a solemn time, a time of repentance from sin in preparation of the celebration of the sacrifice Jesus made for humanity. It ends with Maundy Thursday, remembering the last supper Jesus celebrated with his disciples in the upper room before his arrest, Good Friday, the death of Jesus on the cross, and Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, and the defeat of death.

Keeping Lent isn’t commanded in the Bible. It’s a celebration that the church instituted to remember. I have never celebrated Lent, but I love the idea of preparing and remembering. Jesus tells us to celebrate communion in remembrance of Him. Often times we go through the motions of church, enjoying fellowship with each other and singing choruses together, but rarely remembering why we gather, and at what cost. We go from Palm Sunday to Easter, barely acknowledging Good Friday.

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

which is poured out for you. Luke 22:20

Jesus told his disciples to go to a certain field where there would be a donkey and her foal. They were to tell the owner than their master had need of it. He rode it into Jerusalem, a king who came in peace. The people called for his coronation, laying their coats on the road before him and waving palm branches. A short time later, these same people called for his death. Jesus had an intimate and meaning filled dinner in the upper room with his disciples. He sent Judas off to do what he would, and took the rest of the disciples to the garden to pray. Well, he prayed; they slept. Judas sold Jesus, and betrayed him to the soldiers with the kiss of a friend. I wonder what hurt more, the lack of support from the sleeping disciples or the kiss of betrayal?

Jesus is arrested, he is shuttled between rulers for trials, and he is stripped and flogged and humiliated before the people. He is made to carry his own cross until his strength is completely gone and he can carry it no farther. He is hung on that cross, and abandoned by both is friends and his Father. He, who knew no sin, carried the shame and guilt and filth of us all. He who created life experienced the most horrible death. For me.

This is my body given for you;

Do this in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19

This is the point of Lent. Lent helps us remember fully so we can celebrate fully. We dip our toe into the pain that Jesus suffered so that we can be immersed in the joy of Easter. Jesus suffered and died, and then he conquered death by rising.

Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! I Cor. 15:55-56

We sometimes feel like we live in a permanent Good Friday. We live the same day of despair and pain and death over and over and over again. Today may be Friday, but Sunday is coming! Because of what Jesus suffered, we know we are conquerors. Because of the life and death and life of Jesus, this day, this life is not all there is. Easter lies just ahead!

Whether you celebrate Lent or not, take time to remember. Take time experience the pain that Jesus suffered in our place so that you can enter fully into the joy that is our reality.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this; love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends… John 15:11-14