Inside This Guys Head…

Psalm 131 is a psalm of ascent. It is a psalm of confession. It invites the worshipper to see the folly of pride and self-sufficiency, and see the peace and freedom in wholly submitting  to the Sovereign God of grace.

But for me Psalm 131 is more like a psalm of irritation. Over the last 8 years of my life this psalm has given me both peace and trouble. Each time I read it I am left with conviction and a new (and often complicated) direction. It has knack for calling my attention pride, restlessness and self-involvement, a.k.a. busyness. Then its as if God leads to me to a posture of confession and surrender, which is sometimes painful and every time beautiful.

Read it. Drink it in. Slowly. Then read it again. Instead of reading to interpret the psalm, let it interpret you.

Psalm 131

Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I do not get involved with things
too great or too difficult for me.
² Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself
like a little weaned child with its mother;
I am like a little child.
³ Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.

One day after reading this psalm through a practice called Lectio Devina, it began to wrestle with my heart in a particular way. This led me to confession, causing me to put pin to paper resulting in what I call, my anti-psalm. This is what bled from my pen:

My Anti-Psalm 131 

My heart is proud, Lord.
For different reasons at different times, my eyes look down upon others.
I always seem to be caught up in things too great or too difficult for me; I want to be in control.
I am a restless, anxious, busy heart.
I am like a fussy, discontented child sitting in the lap of its mother.
I am like a fussy, discontented child.
Self, don’t keep putting all of your hope in your sufficiency and ability to get things done, beginning now and forever more.

Things look different once you write them out. In black and white you are forced to see word for word what has been hidden as scattered thoughts floating around in your mind. For me, this was a formative moment that resulted in a new direction. I cannot begin to tell you how perfectly timed this proved to be. It was like God’s Spirit was cutting away at my pride and restlessness one thought at a time. Maybe this is what Paul mean when he called the Word of God the sword of Spirit.

So I invite you, go ahead and write your anti-psalm. Who knows, a new direction or divine-interruption may await you.

A great tragedy happened Friday. Rabbi Jesus was crucified. Now it is Saturday and the disciples are overwhelmed with a grief words cannot express. Everything they possessed, everything they knew, everything they were, they put on the line to follow Jesus of Nazareth. Now He is dead. It’s over. So they wait, wondering what to do on this Saturday with this tragedy that happened on Friday. They didn’t know what would happen on Sunday:

“Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.” John 20:18 

In the resurrection of Jesus God turned their tragedy into triumph! Little did they know on that Saturday they were only somewhere in between tragedy and triumph. And if we are honest, perhaps we will admit that sometimes we forget too.

That’s the beauty of Holy Saturday.

The truth of this Holy Saturday, March 30, 2013, is that no matter what happened yesterday or yesteryear, or what happens tomorrow, because of that Sunday 2000 years ago we can trust the we are only somewhere in between tragedy and triumph.

As the old gospel preacher once declared, “Sunday is comin’!”

In the resurrection of Jesus God’s promised work redemption and restoration has already come to us all as He is making all things new because Jesus is King.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.”                              2 Corinthians 5:17

And when King Jesus returns His work of redemption and restoration, which He began that first Easter, will come to us in fullness as all things will finally be made new.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:

Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity,
and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.

Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”  And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life. The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.”                                                                         Revelation 21:1-7

In the Cross God speaks what is true for those who believe. The Cross becomes His voice as the living Word died upon it. In the Cross God offers this message of truth in both a promise and a summons. The promise is new life lived with God both now and forever. The summons is to live this new life with a deep-seated trust in Him and in obedience to the way of life as lived and taught by Jesus, and to do so in community with others who believe. In the Cross God speaks what is true and this truth becomes our way to freedom.

No longer lost, we live in light.
No longer dead, we are alive.
No longer blind, we now can see.
No longer suffocating, we now can breathe.
No longer broken, we now are healed.
No longer numb, we now can feel.
No longer stained, we now are pure.
No longer weak, we can now endure.
No longer deceived, we know the truth.
No longer searching, His love is proof.

He is our way. He is our light.
He is always true. He is our life.
He never leaves. He is our peace.
He is our help and sweet relief.
He is our strength. He is sure.
He is more than enough. He is the risen Lord.

Today marks the day Jesus was arrested. Today marks the day of divine surrender–the day where God in the flesh willingly submitted to His fickle and comparatively weak created ones to rescue us. It is the day where God whispered to us:

“I’ll be broken so you can be whole.”

“I’ll be reviled so you can be redeemed.”

 

“I’ll be rejected so you can be reconciled.”

“I’ll take on death so you can take on true life.”

“I’ll accept the hatred so you can know God’s love.”

“I’ll be denied by all so you will be accepted by God.”

“I’ll be forsaken by God so you will never ever be.”

Yes, one of the most confounding truths of the Easter narrative is divine surrender. It is where God in Jesus Christ reminds us of His faithful love–a love so great that He would allow His hands to be tied behind His own back by the very ones He will suffer to save.

Jesus’ divine surrender led to His redemptive suffering.

When you and I get it, and I mean really get that Easter comes through divine surrender, our hearts will be taken captive and we will, in turn, surrender. And we will surrender our lives because we will come to believe that He is worthy of all our trust because in this divine surrender and suffering, God did exactly what He said He would do.

“I’ll surrender to death on a cross so that you can be rescued from death because of your sin. Then I’ll be resurrected three days later so that you can know that the Father is faithful to His word: redemption and restoration has come to you.”

The Cross of Christ is the marking of the turning of the old age–a world lost, broken and hopeless in rebellion, sin and death–into the new age–a world found, being redeemed and offered hope, freedom and life.

So Church, imagine a world where God’s grace and reign is embraced.

Where love leads the way guiding all relationships within humanity, neighbor to neighbor.

Where peace, shalom, becomes priority.

Where truth is not only embraced but grounds our lives and consequently, society.

Where God’s definition of justice–making right in this world what has been made wrong by sin, hatred and power mongering simply because we believe that all of life is sacred to God–becomes a catalyst in our society where orphans are housed, the elderly are valued, the widow is supported, the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, the unborn are protected, and the stranger/foreigner is received in gracious hospitality.

Imagine that world, a world much like the one Jesus demonstrated could be as He lived to show us what it looks like when a human lives in allegiance to the reign of God.

Imagine that world.

Now, go live like it exists because in the resurrection of Jesus on Easter morn, this is the world God ushered in and He has given us His Spirit so we might join Him in His work of redemption and restoration.

A cry of freedom only Easter brings:

“We are not out own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: lets us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according our flesh. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are Gods: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.”

John Calvin (Institues of Religion 3.7.1.)

The life offered to us through the risen Christ of Easter is not about our desires or interests, or even our rights. Life offered to us through the risen Christ of Easter is about the boundless depths of God’s love and concern for us. So it makes sense to believe that the gospel of God’s Kingdom as ushered into this present world through Easter is marked by two realities: God’s generosity (grace) and our allegiance to Him (faith). This has little to do with our claim upon ourselves and everything to do with God’s claim upon us.

Let go of your claim to life and receive His, as proven by the risen King.

Each day this week I will offer a short reflection for Holy Week. These posts are the result of my own meditation. Though they will not necessarily track with the details of King Jesus’ last week, each will meet at the cross and point to resurrection. My hope is that they bless you in some way as you embrace the beauty that is celebrated this season.

This is a short poem I penned in reflection of Easter.

Child in the manger,
Infant of virgin Mary and almighty God,
Outcast as a stranger,
Willingly killed by a scandalous Roman cross.
Buried in a grave,
Stricken by the rebellious Fall,
Defeated death and was raised
As the promised King and Lord of all.