Posts
In
nearing his final breath Jesus says while saving a sinner: “43…Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Paradise
in its original language, here, actually means “walled garden.” Could Jesus, the New Adam, have been referring
to the New Eden? The verse before is
from one of the criminals crucified alongside Jesus, who has been enlightened
to hear Jesus message that it is the spirit of the law, not the letter of the
law, that guides our lives into becoming a lifestyle of GRACE. Here is the voice of faith itself—one of the
manifestations of GRACE: 42…"Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom."
Just what kind of a Kingdom do we truly know Jesus
instructing our hearts to realize? It’s
certainly not the kind of worldly kingdom we expect—shaped by conquest and “power…” The true power of God, the Lordship of Christ
is LOVE. Love IS the greatest fruit
born from faith which was born from GRACE.
The prophet Jeremiah foretells of the divine king: “6b… And
this is the name by which he will be called: "The LORD is our
righteousness." Out of a remnant
people, a New kind of king arises… a
crucified one! It would be Reformed German Theologian, Jürgen Moltmann, the
author of ‘The Crucified God,’ to best illumine our tension, our struggle with
this: “The knowledge of the cross brings a conflict of interest between God who
has become man and man who wishes to become God.”
As we hear in today’s texts, St. Paul had a tough time
with the Colossians… they were beginning to close their heart’s wisdom to growing
in understanding the GRACE of God and fit it instead, to their own pious
understandings. This is human nature… where
God opens the door, we put up a wall.
St. Paul had to go “creedal” on them as we hear his profound heart’s
wisdom on whom Christ Jesus is: “He has rescued us from the power of darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom
we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all
things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created
through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in
him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the
church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come
to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of
God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to
reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace
through the blood of his cross.”
This is the entire snippet from Paul’s conversation with
the Colossians, but nothing he says could be or should be left out! The victory we were all given through Christ
was GRACE. The future hope of the
Kingdom of God is the landscape of GRACE—the New Eden, as he was our example—the
New Adam. We will always battle with our
saint and sinner reality until the final battle between Christ and Satan is
complete. Until then, the tree of life,
the first born of all creation examples to us a new kind of Law—one founded in,
with and through LOVE.
The wisdom of the heart born in Baptism as New life
through Christ Jesus is abstract. How do
we actualize a lifestyle of GRACE through LOVE?
This is the very human challenge or task of discipleship for
discipleship must begin through the Holy Spirit to transform us. The Body of Christ itself is an abstraction
for us to understand how we need to come together to “grow and go” spreading
the Good News of the Gospel. Perhaps even thinking about the Lordship of Christ
as the head of the Body is an abstraction—the Mystery of GRACE operating
through LOVE exampled through our intentionality…
This past week I had a conversation with a former
congregant of a community I left a couple of churches ago… It was really troubling to me to hear how he
was suffering now. He was a member of
this community for quite some time. In
fact, he and his family were going to this church for at least a generation
plus… He has always been someone who
needs to be guided with exceptional love and nurturing; to which all
pastors are called, commissioned and ordained FIRST by God to
provide. To my surprise, he tells me of “office hours, by appointment only
signs & answering machines, as well as being shunned and laughed at when
confronting the pastor for help!” I
grieved with him for the congregation as well as thinking about serving the
Lord.
If we truthfully, as pastoral leaders are to be agents of
change and have truthfully been transformed by the reign of Christ within our
hearts… why would something like this ever even happen?! These verses from the Prophet Malachi spoke
to me in regards to his dilemma: “You have spoken harsh words against me, says
the LORD. Yet you say, "How have we spoken against you?" 14
You have said, "It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his
command or by going about as mourners before the LORD of hosts? 15
Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put
God to the test they escape."
Since there were no nearby churches in my denomination
for me to refer to this man to consider going to, I referred him to a Missouri
Synod community. I don’t know if that
will be a place to once again spiritually feed and nurture him; but just like
many genuinely faithful peers—I am still in training waiting with great faith
and patience to be ready to serve!
Reaching out to this man had me also reflecting about that
“walled garden,” as the near to last Words of LOVE Jesus speaks to a world that
put him to death. I don’t know how much
people know of how horrible this kind of death was or could even want to
imagine it… You slowly die of asphyxiation
which in the original Greek means: α- "without" and σφύξις sphyxis,
"heartbeat," essentially if you cannot breath, you cannot talk, you cannot
live… Jesus however defied that human
element of being unable to speak and SPOKE
saying: 43…"Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in
Paradise." I tell you now… those Words
are still speaking, here and now in the calling of those committed to Christ’s
reign!
Paradise is a garden.
It is a garden seeded by the Love of God bearing the fruit of
GRACE. The fruit of GRACE is faith which
needs to be nurtured not only by being accountable to one another but by and
through our love to God and neighbor.
I would like to leave you with a song that fits thinking
about Christ Jesus reigning through and for all of creation. While I was ruminating on these texts this
whole week, I couldn’t get this song out of my head…
"All Of
Creation" by Mercy Me
Separated until the veil was torn
The moment that hope was born and guilt was pardoned once
and for all
Captivated but no longer bound by chains
left at an empty grave
the sinner and the sacred resolved
and all of creation sing with me now
lift up your voice and lay your burden down
and all of creation sing with me now
fill up the heavens let his glory resound
Time has faded and we see him face to face
every doubt erased forever we will worship the king
the reason we breathe is to sing of his glory
and for all he has done praise the father praise the son
and the spirit in one
and every knee will bow oh and every tongue praise the
father praise the son and the spirit in one
AMEN
To close with the actual song, here’s the link: http://youtu.be/O7bD02ZmTqk
November 24th, 2013; Christ the King Sunday; Lectionary 34; Proper 29; SOLA Lectionary
Psalm 46; Malachi 3:13-18; Colossians 1:13-20; Luke 23:27-43 RCL: Jeremiah 23:1-6
Nicole Collins
No comments:
Post a Comment