myopic pilgrim

I’m a little behind. I know.

I was going over “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” in my head last week. Just saying it again and again and it became increasingly dramatic. I might have moved into melodrama on this spoken word piece, but here it is. I hope it’s helpful.

a link to Why God mp3. You can download this for yourself by right-clicking the link and saving it to your computer.

Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27).

I’ve been mulling this saying of Jesus from the cross over and over these past few days and I just keep going back to something Martin Wroe wrote. So I’m just going to link to it and leave it at that. Wroe contemplates what the different people were thinking: John the Beloved, Mary the Mother, Jesus the Son.

You can read it. You can listen to a British guy reading it with a bit of Flash animation to watch.

Others

What are you thinking of as you survey the wondrous cross? Are you thinking of the sorrow over your sin or the victory you’re able to take part in? Do you think of Mel Gibson’s two-hour crucifix? Do you think of others?

Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

If you’re hanging on a cross, a capstone to a life of struggle and suffering, Paradise is a place of peace and rest. If I have to rely on God for whether or not I will receive my daily bread, literally whether or not I will eat today, Paradise is a feast of abundance. What if my life is one of ease and comfort? What if I worry—not about whether I will eat, but what I will eat (Mexican, sushi, mac and cheese)? What is Paradise for me? By the standards of the poor, the stranger, the widowed, the orphan, I am already in Paradise.

Now I know the big sell Christians give to people is that the gospel gets them into heaven, but if we’re already in the land of milk and honey what does that mean? In heaven it’s like you’ll have two TVs in every room. In my life it’s more likely that I’ll need healing for my broken heart or spirit than my broken back. Or even that I’m just plain broke.

More and more my motivation as a Christian isn’t the life to come, but how I’m able to draw that life to come into my life today. It’s less about having my tears wiped away than being able to wipe the tears of others away. It’s less about escaping this world than it is escaping my own selfishness.

+ Dear Lord, do you tell me even now that I will be with you in Paradise today? My life is more than just twiddling my thumbs waiting for the life to come.

Who are the ones around me that are really looking forward to Paradise? Show me what I can do to help them get a taste of it now. Amen.

Father, forgive them; for they do not what they are doing (Luke 23:34).

Father, forgive them. Forgive them. Jesus isn’t talking about himself forgiving those who were crucifying him. Doubtless, he already has forgiven them. But he asks his Father to forgive them.

Throughout his life, Jesus declared to sinners who have to come to him in faith that their sins are forgiven. He says it in a passive voice. Not I forgive you for your sins, but Your sins are forgiven. Maybe because forgiving sin that didn’t appear to be committed against him was already audacious. In the shock maybe they wouldn’t have heard the truth of the statement he made. They might think who does this guy think he is? instead of I have been set free from my guilt.

But on the cross, Jesus makes a special petition to the Father as if the forgiveness of the soldiers wasn’t sure yet.

Father, forgive them. They’re just obeying orders, following the law, submitting to the authorities you have set above them. They don’t know they are killing the Son of God. They don’t know they are killing Life.

How many times have I sinned without knowing it? I’m sure I have spoken words innocently that have nevertheless cut someone. (It’s happened often enough to me). How many stray words would I want to take back?

How many actions are there in my life that withheld love or kindness (or, worse, have caused harm) because I wasn’t paying enough attention? I was just going through the motions. I was only doing my job.

+ Dear Lord, forgive me for things I have done and the things I have left undone that were sin against you or your creation. I was clueless. I didn’t know what I was doing because I was just going through the motions of my day, fulfilling my responsibilities, but not being watchful for where your will could be accomplished through me. Open my eyes. Make me less of a lifeless automaton and more like your Son who is full of life. Amen.

Today is the first day of Lent. I invite you to join me in blogging our way through it.

For the next seven weeks until Easter I’ll reflect on the Seven Sayings of Jesus from the cross on my blog. I’ll take one saying every week. I hope by doing so Easter will remain fresh in meaning for me.

How to Participate

If you want to join me, here are some suggestions.

• Invite others to join you on your blog.
• Link to your blog in the comments section.
• You are welcome to link your post in the comment sections of the corresponding post on my blog as the weeks go by. Confused?
• For the sake of consistency, title each post Blogging Lent - [subtitle] The subtitle can be the saying or a shortened form of it or whatever you want.

If you know other folks who’d like to participate (those who know you better than me) there’s no pressure to have them leave links on my blog. Have them leave a link on your blog. I’m not looking to be the center of the action. There is some utility in having some central location for participating blogs, but there can be multiple centers. You know, like a web of connections.

This Week’s Saying from Jesus

So again, here is this week’s saying from Jesus. You have until this Saturday the ninth if you want to stay on schedule. But this is a shortened week, so fudge it a little or pick it up next week.
Father, forgive them; for they do not what they are doing (Luke 23:34).

Here’s more information, including a schedule and list of the Seven Saying of Jesus and where to find them. If you have questions please email me.