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Some of the creatures the Lord has made to share space with us on this small sphere are amazing. For instance take the Monarch caterpillar and its metamorphosis into the Monarch butterfly; for a few weeks it is transforming within a hardened shell soon to emerge into a completely new being. Once it does emerge that hardened shell dries out and returns to the earth as dust.
This is perhaps the most classic example of old to new, death to life
found in nature to compare to today’s texts dealing most profoundly with these themes in terms of the
Spirit. Have we really thought though,
in terms of seeing ourselves change? The etymology of the word Metamorphosis means
to "change of form or shape," from Latin metamorphosis, from Greek metamorphosis (metamorphosis) "a
transforming, a transformation," from metamorphoun "to transform, to
be transfigured," from meta- "change" (see meta-) + morphe
"form".
Change plus form plus the Gospel means incorporating (internal transformation)
and sharing (living faith) as a New Nature being built by the Word of God and
sent to prophesy to as Ezekiel says in today’s Old Testament lesson: 4b...
“Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the
Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to
enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will
cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you,
and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
What would happen however if that
shell becomes a vast valley and it remains enclosed, entombed by earthly ways?
The New Creation never truthfully emerges, is preyed upon and eventually
dies... This leads me to talk about
popular culture. Has anyone seen that new
TV series out there stretching the boundaries of ‘subtle persecution’... “Resurrection?”
It is one of those shows that is going the science fiction route as seen from
this past week’s episode’s talk of an “alien” craft... but what this show seems
to be doing each week which is really frankly disturbing, is “teasing” or
trying to lure a Christian demographic to latch on to their skeptical hooks of “perceived
faith.”
The main characters so far on the
series who have ‘resurrected’ came from up out of a stream or the shores near
the stream. None of the characters know
how they got there, nothing has changed within them except of course that they
are beginning to become alienated and rejected out of fear from the people in
the town. The show goes so far to have a
“token” pastor (of course male) as one of the main character’s, Jacob,
childhood friend. It is not becoming so atypical that I could predict each and
every future scene but am left wondering...
Since when have we emerged from that
valley (of death), really and truthfully?
Since when have we deeply grown with the Word of God on our own
spiritual formation journeys to full development in Christ, to allow those
wings to break free and fly?! 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a
stench because he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did
I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41So
they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank
you for having heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I
have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe
that you sent me.” 43When he had said this, he cried with a loud
voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and
feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to
them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
As the Living Word, didn’t Jesus
speak to all of us that if we but simply believed, we would see the Glory of
God as the spiritual fruit of our faith? It is easier, however, for us to stay
in that valley, the shell of the ego and our indifference since after all, “logic”
guides brute survivalism—human instinct... As we hear right after this Gospel
snippet the Pharisees essentially plan to kill Jesus.
The Chrysalis itself is prey for the
paper wasps before it is even ready to break free! I wondered why the Cursillo empowerment
movement of Christian Leadership has the butterfly as its main image as well as
its main song—DeColores. Of the many
colors, is what decolores means—the promise of the Gospel, its New Life it
brings. We don’t often see those colors
though...
The dried shell of the freed Monarch
eventually loses its color and turns black and into ashes much like the ones we
had swiped across our brow on Ash Wednesday.
To dust it has returned, the palms beneath Jesus’ feet upon our brow as
a reminder of death to life. St. Paul
beckons us to die to the old and grow into the new—it is our cost of
discipleship our need to make it REAL in our lives.
The past few years we have been made
witnesses to “Hollywood’s” (near blasphemous) intrusion on our very challenged
battle of living into the reality of the lifestyle of GRACE with its evil temptations
and vulnerable questioning of “why believe, do we need a Messiah, as well as
why do we need Resurrection?” When ‘Resurrection,’ ‘Ancient Aliens,’ ‘Ghost
Adventures,’ ‘Nostradamus the series,’ ‘The Dead Files’ and so on have all the
answers for us.... In our fast food empty culture—empty promise-laden landscape
of the Evil One—Death’s valley.
Those wrappings around Lazarus
emerging from the tomb we hear are for the moment still upon him. Does not the butterfly completely emerge from
its shell? We know that they do for we see them flying in the skies, many
colors... We know that people can emerge and live into the lifestyle of GRACE
as given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior, font of New life.
Do we know or better said—should we
claim to know how we individually grow in Christ? Isn’t this the mystery of transformation
better left to the Holy Spirit—to trust and hope in?
As having been in practical and
spiritual formation going on 7 plus years to become a pastor, it’s not all about
doctrinal, intellectual knowledge that is shaping me but God internally shaping
my heart to serve Him and my neighbor.
This place is fully developed by God alone—through His Word, witness and
in community. Our worldly culture cannot
trust in this simple TRUTH. GRACE is
received—needs to be reflected upon, confessed (conviction-building),
reconciled (we must repent, acknowledge the sinner-side of us all) and renewed—living
into as the New Creature—a multi-dimensional, transformed disciple of Christ
Jesus.
God created us to be creative but
creative in the sense that we respond through our faith. This is very much a journey alongside the
Holy Spirit to grow in, with and through the mystery of the reality of GRACE.
Luther challenges us in thinking about faith and transformation: “Faith
justifies not as a work, or as a quality, or as knowledge, but as assent of the
will and firm confidence in the mercy of God.
For if faith were only knowledge, then the devil would certainly be
saved because he possesses the greatest knowledge of God from the creation of
the world. Accordingly faith must be
understood otherwise than as knowledge.
In part, however, it is assent.”
Let Us Pray:
Gracious and Loving God,
Help us to emerge from the valley of
death—its shell of empty promises and “fast-food” idolatries
Help us to realize our walk of faith—our
journeys
Requiring us to die and be born into
New Life—may we deeply hear this, unwind ourselves to make it REAL, spiritually
For the reality of the Kingdom of
God, its lifestyle of GRACE
Is learning to fly—taking off with
the many colors of life... NEW
AMEN
April 6th, 2014; 5th
Sunday in Lent; Year A; SOLA Lectionary Nicole
Collins
Psalm 130; Ezekiel 37:1-14;
Romans 8:1-11 & John 11:1-45
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