The World Upside Down - Day 3

The human Jesus is dead.

Joseph of Arimethea asks Pilate for Jesus' body. It is taken from the cross, wrapped in linen cloth and placed in a tomb that is hewn into a rock. A large stone is rolled to cover the opening.

Temple guards are placed at the tomb to ensure the body is not stolen.

Death. The world is shaken. Human perception, including that of the disciples, is that it is all over. The dream is dead.

Nothing happens for a full day as the Hebrews observe the Sabbath.

But heaven and creation waits. The church has historically called it the Easter Vigil.

It is still dark, but the light is coming.

 

The World Upside Down - Day 2

The night was cool and fragrant breezes blew through the early blooming trees in the garden.

Jesus has entered the garden where he agonizes over his coming death - the cup he must drink.

Luke 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

Then the night burst into a maelstrom of confusion, noise and angry voices. Jesus is betrayed by Judas.

All the disciples flee for their lives.

Over the next several hours, Jesus is falsely accused by the Sanhedrin. Men who supposedly represent God, bring lie after lie and even strike the Son of God. In the middle of the night, Pilate is roused from his evening's rest and is forced to confront Jesus. He makes a strange bargain with the crowd who is also up in the middle of the night - Barrabas is released and Jesus is condemned. Only days after he was hailed as the Messiah, Jesus is scorned.

With the smell of sweat, leather and blood in his nostrils, Jesus is beaten and whipped by Roman soldiers. A crown of thorns is thrust upon his brow. Behold, the King of the Jews.

The smell of hewn wood rests upon him as he carries the heavy cross of his glory through crowds who are up early in the morning. Shouts and cries of the crowd press upon his ears and almost drown out the desperate beating of his heart and the gasping of his breath. All of his human body aches beyond comprehension.

At Golgotha (Place of the Skull), Jesus is stripped naked and laid upon the cross. His death is meant to be both shameful and painful.

He stares past the sweating faces of the Roman soldiers to the sky above. Nails are driven into his feet and hands. Rough hands rudely raise the cross and drop it into a hole dug deep into the ground. Jesus' weight and the jarring of the dropping cross bring the full pain of the nails to his hands and feet. He shares his death with two common criminals.

Over the next several hours Jesus hangs from the cross while the crowd jeers at him. The only faces of comfort are those of several women, including his mother who watches with the apostle John. Jesus releases his mother into John's care.

At the sixth hour darkness came over the land.

Finally, at the ninth hour, Jesus gives up his spirit with the words, "It is finished." Some how, all the sin of the world, including my sin, has been taken away by the Lamb.

What began 33 years earlier in a manger in Bethlehem comes to its ordained conclusion at a hill of shame and death in Jerusalem. What began at the creation of the earth comes to a conclusion at the cross and a new creation begins. The new Covenant is near.

But for now, the light is gone. Darkness has come.

 

The World Upside Down - Day 1

It's Holy Week and it's time for me to focus on what's really important - not plants, not horses, not even family. It's time for me to reflect on and share what Christ did for me as this week comes to a close.

Jesus has already made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem where he was acclaimed as the Messiah. It's amazing to me how much can change in just a matter of days.

I love the Bible and I love good movies like 'The Passion' that give a realistic look at what Christ went through. But the Bible and movies still can't give us the final feeling of 'being there.'

We miss out on the smells and the feel of being in the presence of great events.

On this day of the week, Jesus and his disciples met together in the Upper Room to celebrate Passover with the Seder dinner. The room was probably small with a low ceiling and few, if any windows. What light there was at the evening celebration would have been provided by a few, small oil lamps whose smoky glow was very limited.

There would be several smells that we would have noticed right away, but they accepted because it was part of their lives. These were men who walked every where they went and probably didn't bathe that often. We would have noticed a musky smell of sweat and dust. The oil lamps would put out a sweet, cloying smell of partially burning oil with a black smoke filling the room. Finally, we would have noticed the smell of cooked lamb shank and the herbs, fruits and mints of the Passover dinner.

The disciples were expecting the traditional Seder dinner they had experienced since they were young boys - the dinner they had probably celebrated with Jesus in the previous two years they had been together. But, Jesus gave them two surprises.

The first was he changed the traditional words of the bread and wine. When he broke the bread he said that it was his body. The breaking of the bread signified the death he was about to endure. Bread was sustenance to the Hebrews and he was about to give the bread of his life for our sustenance.

When he drank the wine he said it was his blood. To the Hebrews, blood was the essence of life. They were prohibited by Jewish law to drink blood or to eat flesh with blood still in it because the blood represented the life, the spirit of the animal. For Jesus to say that the wine was his blood and ask them to drink it was surprising to say the least. It represents the blood he was about to shed that would give us a new life in his Spirit.

The second surprising thing was when he washed the disciples' feet. By this time they suspected he was something special. Peter had called him the Son of God. They wouldn't realize who he really was until his resurrection and their receiving of the Holy Spirit. But, at this point he was at least the master rabbi in their eyes - someone of prestige, stature and respect.

For him to wash their feet, to take the job of a common servant, was breath-taking in their eyes. It was so disturbing to them that Peter indignantly refused at first. It would be like us going to the White House for a dinner with the president and having him serve us dinner instead of eating with us.

The world is about to be turned upside down in the next few days and Holy Thursday is a foreshadowing of that disruption as Jesus began to turn the disciples' world upside down.

God's blessings as you enter these blessed, disturbing days.

 

 

After Snow Show

Yesterday morning it snowed and didn't quit until after lunch. When it cleared out the air was crystal clear and cool. This was the after snow show we watched as the sun set.

 

 

 

Spring??

Today, Tuesday, is April 3 and it's supposed to be Spring here in Corrales, New Mexico. We had all our plants put in yesterday and it rained last night. The forecast for today was a high of 58 degrees with rain showers in the morning and ending by afternoon.

Here's what we actually got this morning:

As I post this at 10:30 AM it's still snowing steadily and the temperature is 37 degrees.

Monday Video - Banker Rescues Ducklings

If you think bankers don't have hearts, then you don't know this banker in Spokane, Washington. Watch how he rescues these ducklings from injury.

Since this is the start of Holy Week when we celebrate that Jesus has rescued us from sin and death, this video seemed appropriate.

Enjoy.

 

 

 

Bug

No Sunday reflection today. I've been dealing with a bug for the past week. It started like a head and chest cold. However, on Tuesday evening I had a 101.5 fever which is high for an adult. I can't remember the last time I had a high fever.

On Thursday I thought I was getting over it, but Friday and Saturday were relapse days. We had hoped to ride Sugar and Morgunn Saturday morning, but I just wasn't up to it.

The congestion is mostly in my chest now which restricts my breathing and energy. I still get tired very easily. However, life has to go on and there are things that I have needed to do which probably doesn't help.

I wish it were an April Fool joke, but it's not.

Maybe it's a good reminder that God asks us to give thanks in all circumstances -- even bugs.