Silent Saturday

"But by the time they were finished, the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law." (Luke 23:56b)

It is the day slid between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Not much is said in the Scriptures about the time between the filling of the tomb and its emptying.

Perhaps that is because, unlike us who wait with anticipation the arrival of Easter morning, no one was expecting anything. The disciples assumed it was all over and were beginning the horrid task of re-grouping when you haven't a clue when or where or how to start over. How do you enter that space when the anticipated future evaporates in your viewing? When all that is left is the grim reality that dreams are just dreams, and hopes are deceptive bedfellows?

The women, it seems, were disrupted mid-stream in planning for the burial. They found the tomb, and prepared the spices. But as an unwelcomed interloper, the Sabbath came with its unrelenting rules. And so, "on the Sabbath day they rested, according to the commandment." The rest of the work would need to wait until after the rest from the work.

However, during the quiet, in the unseen places, there was no rest. The entire trajectory of all mankind was being recalculated. A new course was being set. In the silence of Saturday,  in the rest of the Sabbath, the deepest work was being done. An explosion to rip apart the bulwark-veil that separates the mortal from the immortal was being prepared. Death-conquering work was underway.

While the disciples huddled in fear and grief wondering what to do next; while the women rested in sorrow, waiting to complete their tender oblations, their God was busy loading His majestic glory into the chamber.

Cross-cultural

And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?"  Luke 13:20

I have lived in another country. When I moved I had to learn the rules and the ways of life there. They did things differently than we did in my country. They drove on the other side of the road, shook hands with everyone when they entered the room, and negotiated the price of every purchase. Their 'rules' were not the same as the rules I had always known.

Before I moved to that other place, and after I first arrived in the new land, I was taught how things are done there. I had to be shown the way things worked there. And even after living there for several years I kept learning that there was much I didn't yet understand.

The new ways in my new home didn't come to me naturally, and sometimes seemed very strange. But I would remind myself that this is how they do things here. What I used to do in my old country won't work here. My old approaches are out of place, or just plain wrong.

It seems to me that much of Jesus' teaching, and nearly all of Paul's writings, are trying to help us see that when we came to believe in Christ, we left our old country and now we live in a new country -- or in Bible words, in a new Kingdom. Jesus tells his disciples and the crowds what this new Kingdom is like. He tells us that in this Kingdom not only are children welcome, only those child-like in faith are allowed. He describes that the poor inherit this Kingdom while the rich have a very, very difficult time getting in. He warns us that in this Kingdom the last is first and the least is great.

Paul reminds us that in this new Kingdom we should put away our old currency, it won't buy you anything here. He says that in our old country we used to dress a certain way. But that's not appropriate attire here.

And in all their teachings, Jesus and his followers try to help us learn the new language of this new Kingdom. It includes unfamiliar concepts like, grace, forbearance, atonement -- as well as new meanings for words we did have in our old language -- words like, love, peace, forever.

As we learn our way our new country we begin to feel like we belong. Not because we do things right or have mastered the language, but because we are home.

Claims

With God’s help we will do mighty things,

    for he will trample down our foes. Psalms 108:13 (NLT)

In your strength I can crush an army;

    with my God I can scale any wall.  Psalms 18:29 (NLT)

When I read these verses I think of a toddler on his daddy's shoulders, shouting down to mommy, and claiming, "Look, I touched the ceiling!"  And daddy winks with a delighted grin.

Lost

For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.    Luke 19:10 (NLT) and Luke 15

In the parables that Jesus tells about lostness, he talks about sheep, coins, and sons.

The sheep lost its way.

The son lost his bearings.

But the coin just gets lost.

Some of people are separated not because of inattention, rebellion or ambition.
Sometimes they just get overlooked by others. But never by God.

Hopeless Hills

Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”  So they rolled the stone aside.   John 11:40-41a (NLT)

It is a grave in the side of a hill. The stone is large and heavy. Surely not to keep the dead in, but to keep the living out.  The grave cries out, "Over. Gone. Ended. Done."  On the inside is death and eternity. On the outside is fear and sorrow.  

But in the midst of this hopelessness, Jesus - the resurrection and the life - comes in, and Lazarus - the dead man - comes out. 

Behind the stone, in the solitude and sanctuary of the tomb, God was at work. In a place no one could see. In a way no one imagined. He brought life to the dead.

There are tombs in my heart. Places where I have buried my hopeless things and sealed them with hard and heavy stones. Habits I can't change. Relationships I've given up on. Plans I've abandoned. Outside of their graves I grieve their loss and quietly respect their finality. 

However, in the cemetery of these graves, could it be that there are some buried places where God is still at work? That behind the stone doors, where no one can see, he is breathing life into dead things? Am I watching in case Jesus comes to stand by one of my hopeless hills?  At his bidding, am I willing to move the stone? Do I have the faith that is able see God's glory there? 

Voice Recognition

“Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”  "Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. 

Acts 9:4b-5 (NLT)

In Philippians Chapter 3, Paul tells us a part of his testimony:

• Raised in the religious community: "I was circumcised when I was eight days old". 
• Part of the most elite and prestigious inner circles: "I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one!"
• Learned and educated in the things of God: "I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law."
• Serious about doing the right things: "I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault."

Yes, Paul had been a deeply religious person. And he knew it. And was proud of it.

But when God (through the person of Jesus) twice called out his name, Paul didn't recognize Him.

Perhaps that is because knowing ABOUT someone, isn't the same as KNOWING someone. I've read lots of biographies, but I would never know the sound of the person's voice until I had actually met them. In the same way, studying the words of God helps me know about God, but it is in knowing Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, that I really come to know God and am able to recognize His voice.

From the inside out

God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers,  revealing himself as its defender. Psalm 48:3


Despite what I know to be true, I often think of God as being out there somewhere. Although I know better, I tend to act as though God is watching over me "at a distance." This mindset is particularly evident when I am feeling vulnerable and afraid. I cry out to God as though he is on a far away planet and I need to implore him to make the trip to enter my world and protect me from the things that press in from nearby.

But God is here. "God himself is IN Jerusalem's towers." God himself (not his emissary or underling, but he, himself) is in the place where his people live. He doesn't come from somewhere else to be there for me. He is in here. Inside my world, inside my life, inside me. And it is from the inside out that he defends and protects me. 

Eighty-nine Nine

Psalm 89:9 (NASB) 

You rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.

Psalm 89:9 (cpd*) 

When the waves of life mount up with madness and chaos...

    You, O God of heaven and earth, who created the waters with the greatness of Your voice,

    You, O God, who has power, dominion and authority over the swelling pride and boastful arrogance of all that pretends to be mighty; 

    You, O God, with Your loud voice of authority (as the conquerer who booms out a victory cry with a dreadful shout) demand the tumult to stop its churning and fury and bluster. 

...You alone, O God, cause the swirling currents to relax, to rest, to be at peace.

*my own paraphrase

Teach me

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray....” Luke 11:1 (NLT) 

I am not aware of other times recorded in the Gospels when the disciples actually asked Jesus to teach them something. They were obviously eager to learn. They followed Jesus, observed him in action, asked questions to understand better. But this time, as they watched him pray, they were moved to ask him to teach them.

Likewise, even as I follow Christ, as I watch his grace expressed around me, and as I study his word to know him better, I stay keenly aware that, "we do not know how to pray as we should" (Romans 8:26 NASB) and I find myself asking anew, "Lord, teach me to pray."

Auto-pilot world

Mark 4:35-41

We know the story. The disciples are in the boat, manning the sail. Jesus is in the boat, taking a nap. The disciples are seasoned fishermen, skilled in navigating the waters, the winds, the weather.  They are in their element, doing what they do best. Working within their strengths. Self-reliant. Self-assured. Self-sufficient.

And then, in the midst of their auto-pilot world, everything goes horribly wrong. All their experience isn't enough. All their knowledge isn't enough. All their self-confidence isn't enough. In the midst of what they have always done well, they need Jesus.

See also: A Lesson #5