Crucifixion and Me

For 4/17/2011
Some churches celebrate this day as Palm Sunday, the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to begin his final day on earth, and others as Passion Sunday the beginning of Jesus’ trials and suffering through those final days. You can read all of the events of that last week in the Passion Sunday Lectionary scripture Matthew 26:14-27:66. But today we will look at the Passion Sunday Lectionary scripture by Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi which speaks to the meaning of those last days. But to set the stage we need to address the nature of this Jesus who died on the cross. So we first read from Matthew about the time Jesus spent in prayer at Gethsemane as it makes a connection to Paul’s thoughts:

Matthew 26:36-38 Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, "Stay here while I go over there and pray." Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, "This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me." 39Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, "My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?" … 42He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, "My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I'm ready. Do it your way." 43-44When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn't keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time. 45-46When he came back the next time, he said, "Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let's get going! My betrayer is here."

·What gets your attention as you read about Gethsemane, what reactions do you have to it?

·What can we learn about his feelings as he faced the events that were to come?

Our understanding of who Jesus is complex and can be somewhat mysterious. John 1 describes him in these terms:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

·Without getting into deep theological ideas what do these two scriptures highlight about our understanding of who Jesus (the Word) is? What are some of the ideas about him as “the Word was God? Are there any other ideas you would add to his description as being God?
·The second scripture tells us that Jesus became flesh and dwelled among us? What would you cite as examples of him acting as a human being?
·Does the Gethsemane story emphasize his human or his godly nature? What do you see as examples of his human nature? Are there any glimpses of his godly nature?
·Two men who were very close to him slept during this time of agony. What does it say about them and possibly their understanding of what was to come? What are you including in your Lenten preparations to stay awake to the magnitude of the events of this coming week?

Let’s take a look as some reflections that Paul had about the example Jesus set during that final week :

Phillipians 2:5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

·How does Paul characterize Jesus in what is probably a hymn from the earliest days of the Christian faith? Make a list of the attributes describing him. How does Paul present the dual nature of Christ?
·How does this scripture expand our understanding of the Gethsemane experience? What does Paul think that we should remember as we travel through this week?
·What do you see as the most important points of this scripture? Why did he “set aside the privileges of deity” and instead was selfless and obedient? What can we learn from this about living a vibrant spiritual life?

Skipping ahead Paul gives us his take on the example Jesus set for us:

12-13 …Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
·Jesus acted in obedience to God as he faced the cruelty and agony of the coming crucifixion. How does he urge us to act in response to Jesus’ example? What word describes the nature of our response? What is the source of the energy in our spiritual lives? What can we be assured of if we tap into God’s energy?
·Is there any new insight for you into how we should understand the events of this coming week? Our demeanor during Lent can be one of darkness and sorrow which is certainly appropriate for the crucifixion to come. What does Paul suggest should accompany that demeanor and how do you think we can include it in our personal preparations.

If you would like to comment click on comments by the envelope at the bottom of this posting.

Closing Prayer
For the life of Christ within us, turning all our fears to freedom, helping us to live for others: Father, Son and Holy Ghost we praise you. Amen

The Oxford Book of Prayer

Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures:
Matthew 28:1-10, Acts 10: 34-43, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, Colossians 3:1-4, Philippians 2:5-8, 12-13

Life to Dry Bones

For April 10, 2011

Today’s Lectionary Scripture is Ezekiel 37:1-14

All Scriptures are from The Message

Today’s scripture may be the only part of the book of Ezekiel that most of us will remember from  Ezekiel’s prophecy. He was destined for priesthood at the temple in Jerusalem but all of that was taken away as the Babylonians laid siege to the city for two years causing starvation and disease, destroyed the temple and took many of the survivors, including Ezekiel, into captivity in Babylon. Much of his narrative and prophecy is depressing as it reflects the mental state of many of the exiles. Psalm 137 gives us just a hint of the depression that settled over them:

Alongside Babylon's rivers we sat on the banks; we cried and cried, remembering the good old days in Zion. Alongside the quaking aspens we stacked our unplayed harps; That's where our captors demanded songs, sarcastic and mocking: "Sing us a happy Zion song!" Oh, how could we ever sing God's song in this wasteland?

As we read his words today it is important to remember the miseries in both the lives of the exiles and in Ezekiel’s personal life in order to give context for the miracle he describes. This is appropriate for us during this Lenten season as we need to understand the terrible nature of the crucifixion in order for us to really grasp the meaning of the miracle of Easter and resurrection.

Ezekiel 37: 1-2 God grabbed me. God's Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. 3 He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Master God, only you know that." 4 He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones: 'Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!'" 5-6 God, the Master, told the dry bones, "Watch this: I'm bringing the breath of life to you and you'll come to life. I'll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!"

• Have you ever experienced a time of dryness, depression, seeming hopelessness in your life or seen it in the lives of others? What were the circumstances; was there a sense of an absence of God’s presence in the situation? What brought about new life or is the sense of dryness and emptiness still there?

• How did God get Ezekiel’s attention? Has God ever seemingly grabbed you as you were dealing with a bad situation? What does the fact that Ezekiel needed to be grabbed say about the state of his spiritual life?

• What is Ezekiel’s response when God asked about the bones finding life? How might he have said these words – as a person who was weary and depressed or as one who is eager to hear God’s answer? How would you have responded if you had been grabbed by God and led among the dry bones?

In addition to personal dryness a group of people, perhaps a congregation, can experience these feelings. Have there been times of dryness in your spiritual community? Was anything done to reenergize the group or if that didn’t occur what happened?

• What was God’s promise of new life dependent upon and what did God want Ezekiel to realize? What does it say to us about what is required in order for us to experience a vital spiritual life? Who has to make it happen and what must we firmly believe in order for it to occur?

Now some more of Ezekiel’s prophecy:

Ezekiel 37:7-8 I prophesied just as I'd been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them. 9 He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'" 10 So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.
• Again, who initiates the bringing of life to the bones? Can you imagine being present when it happened? What would some of your feelings have been as you saw it going on? Could there be some fear as well as some awe?

• What did God need to do in order for life to come to the reconstituted bones? Do you have a sense of God’s presence in the breath of life that you experience every minute of every day? Many concentrate on their breathing as a part of meditation and prayer.

• Who initiated the bringing of new life or hope into the dryness in your life which we had a chance to reflect upon earlier. What motivated the person(s) and how did they go about it? What do we most need when faced with emptiness and depression? Might we need to be motivated in some way to do something about the situation ourselves as God did with Ezekiel?

• How must Ezekiel have felt when he saw the huge army which had arisen after he spoke over the dry bones? What reactions have you had when you did something that you felt the Spirit was leading you to do?

God now makes clear the purpose for this vision:

Ezekiel 37:11 Then God said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they're saying: 'Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.' 12-14 "Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, 'God, the Master, says: I'll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I'll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you'll realize that I am God. I'll breathe my life into you and you'll live. Then I'll lead you straight back to your land and you'll realize that I am God. I've said it and I'll do it. God's Decree.'"

• What do the bones represent and what is the problem? What is the promise? What is Ezekiel’s job and how critical is it to bringing new life to the beleaguered exiles? What emotions might Ezekiel experienced as a he experienced this vision?

• Let’s review – what have you learned by reflecting on this scripture today? We might consider another of today’s Lectionary scripture for some related thoughts by Paul in his letter to the Romans:

From Romans 8: It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!

If you would like to comment click on comments by the envelope at the bottom of this posting.

Closing Litany (from Psalm 139)

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

you formed me in my mother's womb.

I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Amen

Next Week’s Lectionary Scripture: Matthew 26:14 - 27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54, Philippians 2:5-11, Psalm 31:9-16, Isaiah 50:4-9a