Monday of Holy Week
John 12:23-24
Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
"Time" written by Mason, Waters, Wright, Gilmour and recorded by Pink Floyd
So what did Jesus mean when he said "The hour has come."? Scholars have their opinions. It's the passover. Jerusalem had about 40,000 residents, but during the Passover it also housed 200,000 pilgrims. It's like New Orleans at Mardi Gras, but the parade was on Palm Sunday. You gotta say this about a good crowd-everyone shows up. Nobody goes to a bad crowd.
Jesus had just heard that a group of Greeks wanted to speak with him. The Greeks were the world travelers. The Romans ran the government, but the Greeks were the cultural trendsetters of the time. When the Greeks heard about Jesus they had to meet him. When the Greeks saw what would happen over the course of the week, word would spread not only across Palestine, but through Rome and the world. Oh yes, it was time.
It was time for Jesus to die. In his death, from the one Christ, in his blood will flow Christians. Through Christ, there is much fruit, the best fruit.
Imagine living all your life waiting for something to happen. Often, nothing happens unless you make it happen. In Christ, we don't have to wait because we have someone showing us the way. The moments still tick away, and some days will be duller than others, but in Christ, we have someone showing us the way.
On this Passover week so long ago, something was about to happen. Time was pregnant and eternity was being birthed. Jesus knew what would happen, the rest of the world was going to discover what would happen. Jesus shows the way to something more than we could ever hope or imagine. We won't just knock around in our home town anymore, it's not the same after Jesus comes to town.
"When" we ask? "Now" the Lord answers. The Greeks are here. The Word is ready to circle the globe. Jesus has done his part and continues to do his part. It's time for us to listen and share. The time is now.
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2016
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Ash Wednesday's Rowdy Precedent
Fat Tuesday, Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras
1Corinthians 15:32
If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh the Mardi Gras, the memories,
Of creole tunes that fills the air
I dream of Oleander's in June
And soon I'm wishin' that I were there
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
Since that's where you left your heart
And there's something more, I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans
"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" by Louis Armstrong. This recording does not match the commonly found lyrics for this song. This version is from the 1956 Chicago concert.
Fat Tuesday, Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras--four different phrases pointing to one thing, one last blowout before Lent. In some places, Shrove Tuesday is a time to rid the household of fats and oils before Lent and it's focus on denial and pertinence. The main order of the day is a Pancake supper. It effectively rids the house of fats, oils and sugars, and bacon. In other places like Rio de Janeiro it's a bacchanalia that would make Hugh Hefner blush. Ah but New Orleans, New Orleans...
Louis Armstrong sang "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." Wishin' that I were there... While Rio has a tradition that eclipses N'awlins, Americans do love le Quartier Français and Rue Bourbon, and who can blame them. That's a party. It's a party until midnight when the police clear the streets, when Mardi Gras yields itself to Lent.
Mardi Gras, where people take “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” as a personal challenge.
But with only human hopes, without a view toward the eternal, what is life? What is death? They are nothing. Nothing at all. Without God, with only human ambition, we are nothing. With only human meaning all Mardi Gras gives us is lust, gluttony, pride, sloth, and wrath. That's only greed and envy away from the Heavy Seven.
Well, I'm not going to say folks don't need a blowout from time to time. Though scripture has only bad things to say about drunkenness, especially as a way of life. Since Carnival can go from Twelfth Night to Mardi Gras, that's a bit too long for a party. But enjoy Mardi Gras. Enjoy the party. Have a flap jack. Enjoy a Hurricane, unless you can't handle your booze then don't. Just go people watching and have a wonderful time. But remember, Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, and that's a whole new ballgame.
That's what it means to miss the One I care for more than I miss New Orleans.
1Corinthians 15:32
If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh the Mardi Gras, the memories,
Of creole tunes that fills the air
I dream of Oleander's in June
And soon I'm wishin' that I were there
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
Since that's where you left your heart
And there's something more, I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans
"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" by Louis Armstrong. This recording does not match the commonly found lyrics for this song. This version is from the 1956 Chicago concert.
Fat Tuesday, Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras--four different phrases pointing to one thing, one last blowout before Lent. In some places, Shrove Tuesday is a time to rid the household of fats and oils before Lent and it's focus on denial and pertinence. The main order of the day is a Pancake supper. It effectively rids the house of fats, oils and sugars, and bacon. In other places like Rio de Janeiro it's a bacchanalia that would make Hugh Hefner blush. Ah but New Orleans, New Orleans...
Louis Armstrong sang "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." Wishin' that I were there... While Rio has a tradition that eclipses N'awlins, Americans do love le Quartier Français and Rue Bourbon, and who can blame them. That's a party. It's a party until midnight when the police clear the streets, when Mardi Gras yields itself to Lent.
Mardi Gras, where people take “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” as a personal challenge.
But with only human hopes, without a view toward the eternal, what is life? What is death? They are nothing. Nothing at all. Without God, with only human ambition, we are nothing. With only human meaning all Mardi Gras gives us is lust, gluttony, pride, sloth, and wrath. That's only greed and envy away from the Heavy Seven.
Well, I'm not going to say folks don't need a blowout from time to time. Though scripture has only bad things to say about drunkenness, especially as a way of life. Since Carnival can go from Twelfth Night to Mardi Gras, that's a bit too long for a party. But enjoy Mardi Gras. Enjoy the party. Have a flap jack. Enjoy a Hurricane, unless you can't handle your booze then don't. Just go people watching and have a wonderful time. But remember, Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, and that's a whole new ballgame.
That's what it means to miss the One I care for more than I miss New Orleans.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Car Ride
)
Exodus 12:31 (NRSV)
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, “Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD, as you said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She says, let's go
"Let's Go" written by Rick Ocasek and recorded by The Cars from "Candy-O" (1979)
There are very few commands that are as easy to discern as "Get out." There are even fewer responses more apt than "Let's go."
Ever have to wait for an airplane to take off? It's considered an on-time departure if the plane rolls away from the gate at the assigned time, and if it stays on the tarmac for hours, it's still an on-time departure. Waiting becomes a way of life on the tarmac.
Perhaps the greatest trial of the Exodus was how long it took before Pharaoh let the Israelites go. There were the pleas and the plagues. Exodus devotes six chapters of text to the trial Pharaoh put the Israelites through--and the plagues God put the Egyptians through--before the command to be gone was given. Even then, they were hardly ready.
It was said that the people had to leave with kneading bowls wrapped on their shoulders because the dough had yet to rise for bread.The people ate the Passover meal with their staffs in their hands, their sandals on their feet, and their robes girded about their loins. They ate hurriedly and left nothing. They knew they had to get going, they just didn't know when departure time was.
During the Passover, the nation had been rolled away from the gate, but they were still in line on the runway for takeoff. Then they were cleared by the tower for take off, they heard those words, “Rise up, go away from my people."
So don't just get ready, be ready. Lent is about to begin, the time is coming, and we need to be ready.
Exodus 12:31 (NRSV)
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, “Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD, as you said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She says, let's go
"Let's Go" written by Rick Ocasek and recorded by The Cars from "Candy-O" (1979)
There are very few commands that are as easy to discern as "Get out." There are even fewer responses more apt than "Let's go."
Ever have to wait for an airplane to take off? It's considered an on-time departure if the plane rolls away from the gate at the assigned time, and if it stays on the tarmac for hours, it's still an on-time departure. Waiting becomes a way of life on the tarmac.
Perhaps the greatest trial of the Exodus was how long it took before Pharaoh let the Israelites go. There were the pleas and the plagues. Exodus devotes six chapters of text to the trial Pharaoh put the Israelites through--and the plagues God put the Egyptians through--before the command to be gone was given. Even then, they were hardly ready.
It was said that the people had to leave with kneading bowls wrapped on their shoulders because the dough had yet to rise for bread.The people ate the Passover meal with their staffs in their hands, their sandals on their feet, and their robes girded about their loins. They ate hurriedly and left nothing. They knew they had to get going, they just didn't know when departure time was.
During the Passover, the nation had been rolled away from the gate, but they were still in line on the runway for takeoff. Then they were cleared by the tower for take off, they heard those words, “Rise up, go away from my people."
So don't just get ready, be ready. Lent is about to begin, the time is coming, and we need to be ready.
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