Post Easter Reflections & Next Steps
Since the start of the year, we’ve been journeying together into a deeper understanding of becoming a beloved community. We’ve studied our way through Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount and with the help of Dallas Willard, Glenn Stassen, David Gushee, and others we’ve dug deep into what it means to be the kind of people that reflect God’s true identity. In other words, to embody the fullness of His image as represented by Jesus himself and become the kind of people that can be entrusted as stewards of His Kingdom.
We took a step out of the details during Holy Week to remind ourselves of the big picture - of God’s Kingdom as being here and now. We reflected on Jesus leading a great rescue operation akin to God leading people out of Egypt, which culminated in a victorious, but awful death on the cross. We then celebrated God’s victorious restoration signaled by His resurrection that our creational purpose, our priestly position, and the sacrificial nature and power of love were available to all who believe. It was a beautiful week!
Our last message from the Sermon was on Palm Sunday and had us focused on loving our enemies. We discussed the nature of love as an action, not just an emotion. We explored, albeit just briefly the implications of a love that challenges our sensibilities and considered the difficulties of embracing someone who ruffles your feathers, much less an enemy (remember the Good Samaritin). And we heard a powerful testimony of someone in our church who has wrestled firsthand with learning to love again after being the target of a brutal massacre purely related to the tribe she came from, and the historic tribal feud she was born into.
All of these stories have been reverberating in our minds throughout Easter. How is it possible to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? How could someone learn to live again after the trauma of seeing their family treated so unjustly? How could Jesus ask from the cross ask for His Father to forgive those who wanted him dead? Is that kind of love possible? How can we really live this life of Christ?
There’s a great Old Testament story that brings some of this into full focus in Genesis. It’s in the very last chapter, the end of Jacob‘s life, and the summarizing transition from the tumultuous time of the 12 brothers into the generations that will follow. Israel (aka. Jacob - father of the 12) has just died, and Joseph’s brothers become afraid that Joseph will now seek retribution for all that his brothers had done to him. Of course, Joseph has the power to do anything he wants to them as the #2 leader in Egypt.
When Joseph hears of their concerns, he weeps! It is not the kind of response you expect from a powerful person who could exact retribution and demand restitution. His response reveals the heart of a man who truly trusted that God was in charge of His life. It’s a deeply loving response that we know in retrospect reveals the heart of the Father.
After he weeps at the reality that his brothers really don’t know him after all he’d done for them, he then offers them this insight:
“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:19-21 NIV)
When we read these words I picture and hear God speaking through Jesus from the cross. I hear Jesus speaking to those on the hillside to love their enemies. I hear Jesus teaching us to love our neighbors. I discern that this heart of love is what has always been the hallmark of a life that bears the image of God.
It is a trusting love: trusting in the goodness, sufficiency, and care of God. It is a sacrificial love: one that leads us to die to ourselves that we and others might live. It is an all-consuming love: burning away our passions, anger, lust, desires for power and control, and for our needs to be met. It is a love that confirms that God has our backs, and nothing can separate us from it. It is a love that trusts that the Lord is our shepherd and we truly lack nothing. It is a love that is for everyone, and through us is offered to everyone!
I’m struck this week by reflecting on how all these themes have come together this Lent and Easter season. The surrendering and sacrificing of Lent corresponds with letting go of the parts of us that inhibit our true discipleship. The driving motivation for our surrender is the love of God and His example set by washing his disciple’s feet, trusting in His father’s will, and ultimately dying on the cross. Then the tender, loving, and very personal reconnection to His loved ones as He proved to them that what man intended for harm, God intended for good.
All of this sets us up to continue our journey into and through the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. Following Jesus, we will turn our attention to Matthew 6 and will find ourselves training our lens from a slightly higher level. The themes of where we place our trust, and where we put our focus will come into view. It’s a wonderful, albeit still challenging next step for us as walk into the deeply formed character of Christ.
As you reflect this week, how has God been speaking to you? What are your growing edges? What are your challenges? What are your victories? Can you build on those victories by using them to address ongoing challenges? Do you sense a deepening love in your heart? And if not, would you be willing to reach out and talk to someone that might help? Sometimes we do get stuck, and this idea of love gets lost in the midst of our pain, our circumstances, and the worries of every day. It’s ok to feel disoriented. But remember Jesus calling Mary’s name on resurrection morning, and listen for the master’s voice calling your name. Settle yourself, and then explore the discomforts with him.
When necessary, declare the truth of your victory despite feelings to the contrary. When necessary, remind your soul to “extol the Lord” and allow “His praises to be on your lips,” Glory in the Lord, and may your witness encourage the afflicted around you, and maybe even yourself to “hear and rejoice” (Adapted from Psalm 34:1-2). This is not an invitation to ignore the deep soul renewing work of exploring your inner pain. But you can explore it in light of the cross and the empty tomb, and not in fear or despair.
I look forward to continuing our journey together this coming week to become the kind of disciples Jesus invited us to become. I thank God for all of you. I’m walking this journey with you and believing that God is with us. I’m believing and declaring that He has won the victory over sin and death for us. And we can get through anything together.
My prayer is that God continues to shape us into the beloved community He has called us to be.
Pastor Scott