First Friday in Lent

 John 3:22-36 (NRSV)

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized— John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.

Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.” He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.’

The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

"He must increase, but I must decrease." To me, this is the most significant phrase in this pericope. I've written about John before and his efforts to point to Jesus with everything that he does. This is another prime example of John playing a good second chair. John must decrease so that Jesus can increase.

Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside and were across from where John was baptizing. The scripture says that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing. John's disciples were obviously thinking that Jesus was trying to take John's followers. So, they rushed to John and told him that Jesus is baptizing and "all are going to him."

John is quick to remind them that Jesus was first and will always be first. He reminds them that he was sent ahead so that he might prepare the way. John compares what he is doing to "the friend of the bridegroom," (John) who rejoices at the bridegroom's (Jesus) arrival. And now that the time has come, John tells them that Jesus must increase, but he must decrease. John must do his part, and in all things John does, get out of the way of the mission that Jesus has.

Today's scene is mesmerizing to the point of watching John, who is highly regarded by his followers, give up his power and position to Jesus. John knows that this is his purpose, and it doesn't worry him that people are going out to be baptized by Jesus. He knows that Jesus offers them life beyond life, in the presence and in connection with the creator. 

John is a model for us today of what it means to give glory to God. In his case, his followers seem to see Jesus as a threat, but not John. John sees it as an opportunity to point others toward God's grace and glory. Today, my lenten questions are: how often do we give up our glory for the glory of God? Do we see ourselves as loved by God so much that we want to share that love with others? Do we think we will lose something if we point others in a direction away from ourselves and toward God? How do we decrease so that Jesus can increase?

 

First Monday in Lent 2021

John 2:1-12 (NRSV)

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there for a few days.

"They have no wine!" Now that's something you don't want to hear at a party, especially a wedding. In this story of Jesus and his disciple's attendance at the wedding, we don't even know who is getting married because that's not the point. Jesus' presence and his action are. This is held up as Jesus' first miracle, the one that revealed his power and glory, and the scripture tells us that when his followers saw, they believed.

There is an old joke among those denominations that didn't subscribe to the temperance movement. It goes something like, "our lord knew how to have a good party; his first miracle was making wine out of water." I'm not bashing those who wish to abstain from alcohol. However, those who want to forgo shouldn't tell those who partake every now and then that they do something religiously wrong. But this story is about more than that.

This account of the revealing of Jesus' power and glory sets the stage for John's gospel, letting us in on some of the miraculous things that we shall see as it unfolds. Something that we wouldn't expect. Things like restoration, healing, prophecy, and casting out demons. Jesus is on the move, but first, he and his followers are at a party with their friends. A party for a wedding that lasted 7 days in the Jewish tradition. No wonder they were out of wine.

This Lent is a time for self-evaluation and reflection on our relationship with God. How do we live more fully into a relationship with God? How might we acknowledge the power and glory in the life of Jesus with our actions? How will we help others enjoy the party?

1 Corinthians 1:17-31 (NRSV)

First Sunday in Lent - Reflections on the Epistle Letters during Lent

"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

"We proclaim Christ crucified!" Jesus died, and through his death, we are the recipients of God's abundant favor. It is horrible to think that a man had to lose his life so that we might gain life, but if we think about it, that's how it works. I'm not going to go into a bunch of atonement theology in this short reflection, but rather delve into what it means for us to proclaim Christ crucified.

Wouldn't we much rather proclaim Christ risen? Wouldn't it be easier to explain the power of God through the risen Jesus? It probably would, but it wouldn't complete the story. The craziness of the cross makes resurrection that much more relevant. I think the fact is that we proclaim that Jesus endured pain and suffering in order to show the world what real sacrificial love looks like. That's the message. That's the wisdom. We need to remember that Jesus didn't do anything wrong and the powers and prejudices of this world tortured him and hung him on a Roman cross to die because they were afraid of him. Jesus challenged their authority and way of having a relationship with God and it freaked them out. So as foolish as it may be, we proclaim Christ crucified, and glory in the saving power of the cross.

I sense that the call to action from this scripture is to be bold in our proclamation. People that don't understand will scoff us, but that doesn't matter. We know different. We know of a God's love that stretched out arms on a cross to embrace the world. We know of a man named Jesus who died to show the world how to love completely.