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REVISITED: SON OF GOD: Good Friday

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Read John 19

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
When the Roman officer who stood facing Him [heard His cry and] saw how He had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39 NLT)

Image: AI-generated using Adobe Firefly and customized by the author. Used with the devotional “SON OF GOD: Good Friday” at Life-Giving Water Devotions.

Up until now, it might not be clear why I entitled this series of Holy Week devotions, “Son of God.” I mean, sure, I am writing about Jesus of Nazareth who is known by billions of Christians to be the “Son of God.” That much is self-evident; and sure, I am writing about the activities, suffering and death of “the Son of God” because it is Holy Week and that is when billions of Christians celebrate the last days of Christ. But, other than that, why entitle this SON OF GOD?

What most people don’t realize is that the title, “Son of God”, was not held exclusively by Jesus during his lifetime. There was another person who was known to the world at the time as son of god and his name was Tiberius Caesar, just as Augustus Caesar was before him. Because Julius Caesar was divinized following his assassination, Augustus (whose birth name was Octavian) took on the title divi filius, aka son of the divine one, aka son of god. When Tiberius succeeded Augustus, he took on the same title, as did the Caesars that followed him. And, honestly, who was going to argue with them. They were truly the most powerful men in the known world and to argue their divinity with them was to order your own death.

When Jesus’ followers, and later the Gospel writers, started hailing the peasant carpenter from Nazareth as “the Son of God,” this instantly put him in immediate competition with Caesar, who did not take kindly to such competition. What’s more, Jesus wasn’t being called the equivalent of divi filius; rather, he was being called the equivalent of Dei Filius, which put him above the son of a deified mortal and made him the Son of the immortal God. Also, this Jesus claimed that being the Son of God meant conquering people with love and truth, as opposed to Caesar’s way of conquering people with fear and force. It was on this day, nearly 2,000 years ago, that this peasant Nazarene came face to face with the Roman Empire. It was on this day, nearly 2,000 years ago, that the Son of God challenged another son of god. It was on this day, nearly 2,000 years ago, that LOVE and brute force crossed paths in such a dramatic way that the world would never forget it. While brute force may have won the battle, three days later it totally lost the war!

On this Good Friday, we are being called by the Son of God to reflect on the ways we oppose walking the path of LOVE. How often have we tried to force our way on others? How often have we put ourselves above the Son of God through our thoughts and through our actions? Christ is calling us to search our hearts and our souls. The Son of God is calling us to acknowledge his Sonship, his divinity, and his Lordship over our lives. The Son of God is calling us to abandon our ways for his ways, and he is calling us, at all costs, to return to the pathway of LOVE. While this is not always easy, it is what the Son of God calls us to do and his death on the cross is a reminder to us all of the extent to which he was willing to go in order to see that pathway through. The Christ on the cross is waiting for us to join him in his mission.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.” – Jesus of Nazareth (Mark 10:45 NLT)

PRAYER
Lord, precious Son of God, thank you for your sacrifice. Stir up in me a sacrificial love that reaches far and wide to those in need around me. Amen.

Devotional, Holy Week Series, Previous Post

REVISITED: SON OF GOD: Maundy Thursday

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Read John 13:21-30

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays Him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!” (Mark 14:21 NLT)

Image: AI-generated using Adobe Firefly and customized by the author. Used with the devotional “SON OF GOD: Maundy Thursday” at Life-Giving Water Devotions.

Have you ever read the story of Jesus’ betrayal in the Gospels? Have you ever noticed the sentiment conveyed about Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus? Have you ever noticed that as you read through the Gospels chronologically in the order they were written (Mark, Matthew, Luke and John), that there is a progression from cold to seething despise in the representation of Judas and his final act of betrayal? In Mark and Matthew, Judas’ actions are more or less presented in a very “matter of fact” way. Judas decides to betray Jesus, for which no reason is given, and he gets paid for the betrayal. In Luke, the author writes that “Satan entered Judas Iscariot” which led him to go to the high priests. In John, Jesus calls Judas “a devil” (John 6:70) and Judas was possessed by Satan, who entered him following eating the bread at the Last Supper (John 13:26).

Since the moment he decided to betray Jesus, Judas has certainly gone down in infamy. He has been forever remembered as the man who betrayed the prince of peace. What sort of man would do such a thing? How could he have possibly even thought that betraying Jesus is a good thing? These questions, and more, to this day remain unanswered. We’ll never know why Judas did what he did. It is easy to understand why a growing number of Christians, from the Gospel writers onward, came to despise him for betraying our Lord. Yet, the ironic part is while we hold Judas accountable (perhaps more than accountable) for his actions, we give the other disciples a complete pass. After all, while Judas actively betrayed Jesus, didn’t the others betray him too? Which one of them stood by Jesus’ side in his time of need? They all deserted, they all fled, they all abandoned him…and in some sense…they all betrayed him.

Yet all of the Gospel accounts are consistent on one thing, if not on their view of Judas himself. They are all consistent on the fact that Judas was welcome at the table of grace, on the fact that Judas was welcome to share in the last supper, but a Jesus who was well aware of his deceit. While we’ll never know what was in Jesus’ mind at the time, it is consistent with his teaching on not judging, and loving even one’s enemies. In fact, Judas wasn’t an enemy at all, he was a friend and he was a trusted confidant of Jesus’. Yet, instead of reacting negatively toward Judas, Jesus pitied him and made room for him at the Last Supper. I would like to believe that Jesus wished that Judas would be able to forgive himself and eventually rejoin the disciples in spreading the Gospel message; however, I also believe that Jesus knew that Judas would never be able to.

The question for us, out of all of this, is how far are you willing to take Jesus’ command to love? By his very example, Jesus showed us that he wasn’t being hypothetical or theoretical in his calling for us to love our neighbor as ourselves, including our enemies. How far are you willing to go in your love of others? Will you love others, including your enemies, even if it comes at a great personal cost? Today’s challenge, as we approach the Lord’s table of grace at the Last Supper, is to reflect on your call LOVE OTHERS, just as Christ has loved you. Will you follow Jesus in living a life of LOVE, or will you abandon him and his cause for your own comfort and safety? The choice is, ultimately, up to you.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” – Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 5:46-48 NLT)

PRAYER
Lord, help me to open myself up to your love and help me grow to be a person who more fully loves others, even those who I would otherwise consider to be my enemies. Amen.

Devotional, Holy Week Series, Previous Post

REVISITED: SON OF GOD: Holy Wednesday

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Read Luke 20:41-21:4

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
Every day Jesus went to the Temple to teach, and each evening He returned to spend the night on the Mount of Olives. The crowds gathered at the Temple early each morning to hear Him. (Luke 21:37-38 NLT)

Image: AI-generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) and customized by the author in Photoshop. Used with the devotional “SON OF GOD: Holy Tuesday” at Life-Giving Water Devotions.

When looking at Holy Week and trying to match what Jesus did according to the Gospels and trying to match it with each day of that week is a not as easy as one would think. We know that on Palm Sunday, a week before his resurrection, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, surrounded by an energized crowd. We know that on that same day he went into the Temple. We know that the next day he went into the Temple as well. Depending on which Gospel you read, he either “cleansed the Temple” on Palm Sunday or on Holy Monday. We can guess that either Monday night or Tuesday night Jesus’ feet were anointed with expensive perfume.

We know that on Thursday night Jesus sat down with his disciples for the Passover Meal. We know that on that same very night he was betrayed and brought to the high priest’s house. We know that by Friday morning he had been found guilty of blasphemy and brought to Pontius Pilate to be tried for treason. It was on Friday that Jesus was eventually nailed to the cross and crucified. It was on Friday that Jesus died. From Friday afternoon to Saturday, Jesus was laid to rest in the tomb, and we all know what happens on Easter Sunday.

But what about Holy Wednesday? What happened on that day? The Scripture isn’t real clear. According to Luke, Jesus went to the Temple every day during Holy Week, to worship, to pray, and to teach. Every day, Jesus came to the Temple in order that he could speak truth to power and stand up for the people that the power was crushing. Every day, Jesus brought truth to those who did not want to hear it, for it meant that they would have to change their ways and start living according to the plan of God rather than their own plan. They would not have it. Every day Jesus came to them temple, he met opposition, derision, and people trying to trap him at every turn.

While we cannot know exactly what the Son of God did on Holy Wednesday, we have every reason to believe that Jesus was in that Temple speaking truth to power. We Christians believe, in light of Christian Scripture, that our very bodies are Temples that are meant to be kept holy and pure. We are meant to act as living sanctuaries, bringing hope, healing, and wholeness to those in desperate need of it. The Son of God is within that Temple, this very Holy Wednesday, speaking truth to power. Will you listen to his cry for justice, mercy and humility? Will you align your plan with God’s plan? Or will you oppose, deride and ignore Jesus’ cry? Sit in silence and reflect on the Son of God’s call for change upon your life and allow Holy Wednesday be the day you begin to rebuild your Temple in God’s image.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.“ – The Apostle Paul of Tarsus (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT)

PRAYER
Lord, I realize that I am to be a pure and holy Temple, and that I am called to bear witness to the hope, healing and wholeness of God. Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.

Devotional, Holy Week Series, Previous Post

REVISITED: SON OF GOD: Palm Sunday

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Read Mark 1:1-11

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.” The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.” (Matthew 21:11-14 NRSV)

Image: AI-generated using Adobe Firefly and customized by the author. Used with the devotional “SON OF GOD: Palm Sunday” at Life-Giving Water Devotions.

The mob rules, does it not? We all know about “mob mentality” and how it is really a force to be reckoned with. We have seen on the news how people in mobs can do some crazy, scary and unimaginable things. I instantly think of Beauty and the Beast, when Belle magically shows her fellow villagers the beast through her enchanted mirror. Once the villagers see him, once they lay eyes on him, terror over comes them. Seizing the moment, Gaston pulls out his sword and begins to sway the crowd to follow him in killing the beast. Of course, Gaston is successful and they do, indeed, take up arms and follow him.

When we think of Palm Sunday, we see such a fickle crowd. They were looking for a hero, for anyone, to come along and claim the role of Messiah. So, when Jesus comes (intentionally and prophetically) riding in on a donkey, the crowd was there and ready to hail him as king. “Hosanna, hosanna!” The crowd roared with excitement, “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna, hosanna!” But was it the Lord they were praising, or was it their idea of the Lord? Without being too critical or judgmental, they had good reason to hope for their idea of the Lord. After centuries of subjugation and oppression, they were longing for God to come and liberate them.

This “king”, however, was not going to live up to their hopes and expectations; rather, this “king” was going to ride into the city, head to the Temple and start turning stuff, quite literally, upside down. Jesus’ first move as the crowd-proclaimed “king” was to go into the heart of Jewish worship and call out the religious leaders of his day and age. This is a far cry from the anti-Roman Messiah that everyone was hoping for. That’s not to say Jesus was pro-Roman. No, not at all. He was pro-Jewish without a shadow of a doubt and it was from that passion for his people, and his God, that Jesus acted out in anger toward a temple and its leadership. As a result, the fickle mob changed its opinion of this Jesus and went from proclaiming him “king” to handing him over to Pontius Pilate as a criminal and a traitor.

We too, like the Temple, get corrupted by the surrounding world and its influences. We may be the church, we may be Christ’s community of faith, we may be proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God; however, does Jesus meet up to our hopes and expectations? Will Jesus come in and champion our “Christian” cause, will he love our theology, and uphold our rigorous doctrines? Or, like he did in the temple, will Christ come and start turning stuff upside down in a fit of cleansing anger? This holy week, let us be challenged to not be a part of the fickle crowd; rather, let us begin to reflect on who we are and what Christ is calling us to be. Let the things that need cleansing be purged from us, and let the Christ who would be king reign in our hearts forever.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“A [person] who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” – Max Lucado

PRAYER
Lord, give me the strength to turn my heart over to you regardless of what the “crowd” is shouting. Turn the tables in my temple so that I may see the need to change and so that I may act accordingly. Amen.

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REVISITED: What Do You Fear?

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Read Luke 12:1-7

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭CEB‬‬)‬‬‬‬

 My youngest daughter and I have gotten into the show, Supergirl, which airs on Monday nights on CBS. In one of the episodes, Cara Zor-El (aka Supergirl) ends up joining forces with Maxwell Lord who, up until this point, has been one of her enemies. Family members from Cara’s home planet of Krypton, have decided that they are going to take over the earth to save it from human destruction. Their method for doing so is by using some device called the “Myriad” which allows them to have control of all human minds that are within the range of the device.

Using satalites, the myriad literally enslaves the minds of everyone within National City and Supergirl must find away to stop her fellow Kryptonians from doing that to the people of her city. This is where Maxwell Lord comes in. Maxwell is a rich entrepenuer, scientist, and inventor who has invested his life in trying to prevent “aliens” from taking over the world. He fears no aliens can be trusted and that they are all out own the planet. This is, ultimately, what has set him against Supergirl, who herself is an alien. But, you know how the phrase goes, “The enemy of your enemy is your is your friend”. Thus, Maxwell Lord reaches out to Cara in order to ally himself with her and offer his services to her in order to stop the Kryponians from mind-controlling everyone.

While this all sounds good on the surface, Maxwell’s plan is pretty dark and twisted, He plans on making a bomb that contains a significant amount of Kryptonite in it. The idea is that when the bomb explodes, the Kryptonite will be vaporized and in the air, effectively killing off the evil Kryptonians that are turning humans into mindless drones. The only drawback is that, in order to do that, at least 8% of the human population will be killed by the percussion of the explosion. Maxwell’s logic is as follows, it is better that 300,000 or so people die than for all of National City and the world be turned into slaves of the aliens.

Cara Zor-El is left with a crazy choice. She does not think that killing 300,000 people should be an option on the table, and yet Maxwell’s plan seems to be the only one that has any chance in stopping the Kryptonians. The question becomes does she try to take the high road and do what is morally right, possibly risking losing to the Kryptonians? Or, does she act quickly out of fear of what might happen if she doesn’t?

While the show is obviously fiction, it sets up what we face every day in our lives: FEAR and the choices such FEAR presents us. The question is, what do you fear and how does it affect the decisions you make in your life? Do you allow your fears to consume you, do you allow them to cause you to justify what you would otherwise deem morally reprehenisble? In today’s world, where fear runs rampant and rules us like a tyrannical dictator, we find ourselves faced with people pushing some really crazy and scary idealogies. What’s more, many people are willing to toss their good sensibilities and morals aside, for fear of what will happen if they don’t “DO SOMETHING” in order to prevent what they fear from happening.

Christ does not call us to DO SOMETHING, Christ calls us to DO THE RIGHT THING. Christ is calling us to know what we fear, to name those fears, and to put them into check with our faith. If we have faith in God, if we truly have faith, we will do what is right over and above what seems expedient in preventing our fears from coming true. When we let go and we trust in God, then we can conquer our fears and rise above the things our fears dicate we should do. I pray that we all find the truth in this and place our trust in God.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

PRAYER
Lord, help me to name my fears and conquer them with your love. Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

REVISITED: The Lament Configuration

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Read Psalm 102

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 NLT).

It is not often we talk about Lament. Then again, it is not often we talk about pain, suffering, mourning or grief; however, it is an intregal part of the faithful believer’s life. There is no human being alive that does not experience loss, suffering, isolation, pain, grief and sorrow. That is a natural configugration in life, so-to-speak. Heck, there is a lot of material in the Bible dedicated to this configuration, including none other than Lamentation and certainly some of the Psalms.

That is why I was utterly shocked when The Lament Configuration was mentioned in the recent reboot of the 1987 supernatural horror film entitled, Hellraiser, which was originally written and directed by Clive Barker, a British author, based off of Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart.

In this 2022 reboot produced by Hulu, we are introduced to a man Roland Voight, who has lured a young adult male into his club in order to use him as a human sacrifice. No details are given of the arrangement, but one gets that Roland is a very wealthy man with ZERO moral compass. Thus, the young man is brought back into a secret chamber of the mansion to meet Roland.

Upon entering the chamber, he sees a weirdly shaped puzzle box that Roland says he needs him to figure out. Upon doing so, a blade comes out and punctures his hand and all hell breaks loose. These weird creatures from another dimension of reality, we’ll call it hell, come forth and claim the life of Roland’s victim and the screen goes blank.

I am, obviously not going to give much more of the story away, but it is important for you to understand the back story. Following that, a young adult female recovering addict named Riley is introduced, along with her boyfriend Trevor, her brother Matt and his boyfriend Colin. Somehow, again without giving anything away, Riley discovers this mysterious puzzle box that we saw in the beginning of the film. This time it is in the simple shape of a cube.

After accidently opening it and her brother accidentally got cut by it (again, I am not giving too much away), her brother is taken by the Cenobites (the weird hellish creatures). This thrusts Riley on a path to right the wrongs that her opening the box wrought on her family and friends. Her understanding of how to do this is to continuing playing the puzzle box until she can pick, from the Cenobites, the choice of bringing her brother back to life. To do this, she would have to choose the Resurrection configuration.

But after losing more people than I can mention in this film, she realizes that while the Cenobites offer pleasure…their understanding of pleasure is eternal pain. But there is one configuration that, as far as the Cenobites are concerned, is far worse than any other to deal with: The Lament Configuration. Why was this the worst, because instead of testing one’s limits of pleasure and pain, one is choosing to live life, remorseful for the harm they have caused. In other words, the person that chooses the life of lament, they live a tortured existence of guilt and shame until they die.

But here is the key: they die. One can assume, following death there is NO MORE pain; however, their entire life will be lived in the REAL world experiencing guilt, shame and the pain that life brings on. Without giving away anymore of the film away, I possibly flirted a little with giving too much away, the experience of Lament is dealt with in a real, human way. I have never seen it approached in such an apropos way before.

The reality is, like Roland Voight and Riley, we all seek to escape pain and suffering, yet that is such a part of our human experience that we simply cannot escape it. What’s more, God chose NOT to escape it too. That’s right, God chose the Lament Configuration through Jesus Christ, who came to earth as God in the flesh, and who chose to LIVE HIS LIFE, despite the fact that doing so would land him in a Roman court and crucified on the cross. He chose to live a life of suffering and pain for us, so that we might have ABUNDANT and ETERNAL life through him.

Like the characters in the film, we simply have to choose The Lament Configuration over the other things we tend to seek out, such as pleasure, greed, hate, power and other such sinful things. What does that mean? Simple, we choose Jesus Christ and HIS way over our own. Instead of avoiding lament, let us open our hearts to God and lament over our own sins and the evil we sough wrought in this world. Then, through humble repentance and allegiance to Christ, we will be able to move past our human condition and into the Kingdom of God.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Nothing heals us like letting people know our scariest parts: When people listen to you cry and lament, and look at you with love, it’s like they are holding the baby of you.” – Anne Lamott

PRAYER
Lord, help me to learn to hand my griefs over to you so that, with a pentitent heart, I may be freed from my sins and burdens to serve you and others for the glory of your Kingdom. Amen.

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REVISITED: Son of God

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Read Matthew 28:16-20

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.’” (Mark 16:15)

As a person who is kind of a film buff, I have collected a good many of movies over the years. In particular, I have been and will continue to be a collector of “Jesus” movies. I remember enjoying the film, “King of Kings”, growing up as a child. I remember watching “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Jesus of Nazareth”, and other such films centered on the life, death and resurrection of the Christ. I now, as an adult, own these films and do watch the periodically. I like how each “Jesus” film brings a slightly different take on who the Christ was and how his message played out to the people. In fact, different films focus on different aspects of Jesus ministry.

There is a new film that has been released on screens throughout theaters country-wide today. It is called “Son of God” and it is about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It is taken from the The Bible miniseries that aired on the History Channel during Lent last year. This film contains the footage, and then some, that was found in that miniseries, and it was produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.

In an interview, Burnett and Downey were questioned about how they went about making the film. “Clearly, there people all over the board when it comes to reading and interpreting the Bible,” the interviewer began. “Different denominations have different interpretations as to the person of Jesus, who he was and what his life, death and resurrection means for the world. Did you consider that in the making of this film? How did you go about making a film that would satisfy different people with different interpretations?”

According to Burnett and Downey, they met with religious leaders from different denominations, including but not limited to Roman Catholics, Baptists, Evangelicals, Assembly of God, and other denominations in order to get their opinion on the Script and the direction the film was taking in terms of its presentation of who the Christ was. Burnett even said they brought the film to the Anti-Defamation League to seek their advice and approval to make sure that the film didn’t unintentionally cross into the realm being anti-semitic.

What a novel idea. While Burnett and Downey certainly have their own understanding of who Jesus is, they were not afraid to have their understanding challenged in order to create a film that reached people where they are at. That is not to say that the film will satisfy every person’s burning belief of who Jesus was, but it does show a level of openness to accountability that we rarely see in Hollywood, let alone in the church.

While, having seen The Bible miniseries, I do not share all of the theological positions of the filmmakers regarding Jesus, I do know that I will be going to see this film today. I think it is important to support such films because they get the message of Hope, Healing and Wholeness out to the masses. They catch the attention of people who need to hear that God loves them so much and that God would never leave them alone. They stir a curiosity about the real CHRIST in a world that has all but forgotten the power and importance of his message. So today’s challenge to you is to go and support the film, “The Son of God.” Even if you do not agree with everything, or even if you agree with everything, this film is one that is worthy of our time and money. No doubt, if you open yourself up to the possibility, God will speak to you as you journey with Christ through this film. Let your Lenten journey begin here.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Christ who was in the world is also within you, and through you Christ remains in the world still! Live into Christ and his Good News.

PRAYER
Lord, use me in a way that reflects Christ’s presence within me. Amen.

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REVISITED: The Happiest Place on Earth

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Read Galatians 3:1-5

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

Around this time in February of 2013, I returned from my family vacation in Walt Disney World down in sunny Orlando, Florida. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a Florida vacation when you are in the middle of a record-cold and snowy winter. The skies were blue and clear, the humidity was non-existent, the temperature was 75-80 degrees, and the people were as friendly as can be. Quite frankly, with temperatures like that, it’s hard not to be friendly.

Speaking of friendly, have you ever been to Walt Disney World? The people working there are always the nicest, most friendly people you’ll ever meet. They all have big, bright smiles on their faces. They all look genuinely happy to be at work. They all treat the park goers (aka the customers) as if they can do no wrong. Walt Disney World is certainly the HAPPIEST place on earth. If any of the “cast” members are having a bad day at work, no one would ever be able to tell.

While reflecting theologically on Walt Disney World, one can’t help but notice that the place is almost too happy. It’s almost too clean. I mean, one never finds a shred of paper, bubble gum, straw or trace of any kind of litter around the park at all. That is because they employ a whole host of “happy” helpers to sweep it up. When one enters Walt Disney World, it is as if they are leaving the real world and entering the greatest utopia ever (that is unless you hate to wait on lines…then you might not find it a utopia at all).

I have heard people muse that it would be awesome if the church took a clue from Walt Disney World. In other words, some people think that the church would be a whole lot more successful in its outreach and its growth if it would just put a smile on its face and show the world that the church is a happy, happy place. If churches would just be happy and distance themselves from fighting, bickering, power playing, and judging then it would only make sense that more people would want to go to church, right?

Yet, is that the answer for the church? To put on an act of happiness? Should the church turn itself into a clean, wholesome, happy-go-lucky, unlittered, perfect-in-every-way stage. Should church members become cast members who only show their good sides and are given no place to show any other side but their good sides? Would this church even be called “real”, should such a church exist?

The fact of the matter is that Jesus never called for a clean church; rather, Jesus calls us, the church, to get our hands dirty. We are called to be present in the lives of others. We are called to express ourselves honestly, we are called to present others with the opportunity to express themselves honestly. We are not called to be perfect, but are being called toward perfection.

The truth is that it would not be healthy for the church to model itself after Walt Disney World, as that is not true to what the church really is. The church is a mess that God continues to work in and through. It is because we are a mess that we are kept humble and that we are continually reminded of our need for God to guide us through! While it certainly wouldn’t hurt for our church to be cheerful and joyful, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt for church members to be as hospitable as the Disney Cast Members are taught to be, we are not called to be an escape from the real world, but the hope of God brought into the midst of a real and messy world. It’s time to get our hands dirty!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections.” – St. Augustine of Hippo

PRAYER
Lord, rather than seeking to be perfect, I seek to be perfected by you. Show me where I err, and change me to what you will. Amen.

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February 14, 2024 – Newton UMC – Ash Wednesday Worship Livestream

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JOY Fellowship Worship Service in Holland Hall: 7:00 p.m.

Worship service streams live at 7:00 p.m. EST (-500 GMT)

Welcome to our live-streamed Sunday Worship Services for February 14, 2024. Today we discover that some of our deepest troubles can come from within us. As we bring them to God, we can grieve and turn from our sins with readiness to receive God’s ever-present grace.

Please support us by giving online: https://tithe.ly/give?c=1377216 or https://paypal.me/newtonumc Or you can make and mail a check out to First UMC of Newton, 111 Ryerson Ave., Newton, NJ O7860

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REVISITED: Ash Wednesday

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Read Matthew 4:1-11

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

And [Jesus] said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19)

Today is Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning of the Lenten journey, a journey that starts today and ends at the foot of the cross. It is a journey that begs of us to reflect, to meditate on who we are and who God is calling us to be. It is a forty day period out in the wilderness. Just as Jesus spent forty days and forty nights in preparation of his ministry in and around Galilee, so too we are called into such a time of reflection and preparation.

What does Ash Wednesday mean to you? Is is a religious obligation? Is it something that you have always done and continue to do for tradition’s sake? Is it a ritual observance and nothing more? Is it something that makes little to no sense to you? Is it something that you don’t observe at all? How do you spend your time on Ash Wednesday or do you focus on it at all?

Throughout this past year, I have written a number of devotions on the importance of having Spiritual Discipline. The observance of a day such as Ash Wednesday is certainly an important part of the Christian’s life and is certainly a discipline we should all be practicing. But it is also important for us to understand the meaning of Ash Wednesday before we set off to observe it.

Many people observe Ash Wednesday and the forty day period of Lent that follows by “giving up” something for the entire forty days. Some Christians give up meat on Fridays, others give up chocolate. Some give television and others give up their favorite pastimes. Regardless of what your practice is, if you have one, why is it that you are doing it? Is it because you have always done it and you don’t give it much more thought than that? Is there some other reason that you have understood your fasting to mean?

One of the things that is vital in our growth as a people of faith is that we really evaluate the reasons why we do things. Doing something just for the sake of it doesn’t necessarily cause us to grow from who we are to God wants us to be. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that your spiritual practice is wrong or mistaken, nor am I saying that you should give that discipline up. Rather, whatever your Lenten discipline is, KNOW WHY you are doing it.

Use your discipline as a way to reflect on where you are at this given point in your life and faith journey. What ever your discipline is, use it as a vehicle to draw you closer to God. If you are abstaining from something during Lent, let that be an reminder of the excess that we have and also let it be a reminder of the fact that GOD is truly all we need.  Whatever your spiritual discipline is for observing Lent, allow GOD to transform you through it. Open yourself up to the transformative power of GOD!

Today is Ash Wednesday! Make today the day you truly begin reflect on your spiritual health and on your well being in general. Take an assessment of yourself. Understand why it is you do what you do. Seek the deeper meaning behind your rituals. Open yourself up to the transformation that God brings to each of us as we need it. Allow your spiritual disciplines, whatever they are, to shape you and guide you throughout the next forty days and forty nights. My prayer for you is that God shows you your true purpose and that you embrace that purpose with your whole being.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy. It’s a time to look what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are.” – Thomas Keating

PRAYER

Lord, guide me during Lent so that I may better understand who I am as well as who’s I am! Amen.