Monday, April 25, 2011

Matthew 26:36-46: A Maundy Thursday Reflection

As we read this very moving passage of the Holy Scripture, we can understand it a couple of different ways:

First, we could understand it as if Jesus was simply complying with a script that was written out long ago in the plan of Almighty God. Like a play that God had written out, and Jesus had to fulfill his part. If you read it this way, the actions of human beings are predetermined as well. Whether the human being is Judas, or the chief priests of the soldiers or the disciples or Jesus.

But, there is another way to understand it. And, that is in a dramatic way, as if this account in scripture gives us a picture of the real dynamic relation between the will of human beings and the will of God. As if God and humans have a real relationship and interaction such that God acts towards humans, humans respond to God and God reacts to humans as well. In this view of things everything is not clearly planned out ahead of time. The actions of human beings are not predetermined by a set plan, but represent the true choices and responses of human beings to the actions of God.

The old Calvinists or Presbyterians were prone to read about all things in life as the working out of God’s predetermined plan for human beings. And, to be fair to the old Presbyterians, there is a real emphasis on predestination and predetermination in scripture. You can actually see this emphasis at specific points in the Gospel narratives. Like when the scriptures report that Jesus says: “the Son of man must suffer and die to fulfill the scriptures.” So, there is some real support in scripture as this emphasis on predetermination and predestination of human affairs by God is represented in the Bible.

But, there is another emphasis represented in the Bible as well. It is an emphasis on the remarkable give and take between God and humanity, the dynamic assertion of the Divine will and the response of the human will and the reaction of the Divine will to humans – the back and forth of a real relationship. And, these emphases in scripture, that are really there too were partly picked up on by the Methodists and Baptists who emphasized the real assertion of human will involved, the freedom of human choice and the importance of it in the working out of history, particularly sacred history.

The Baptist and Methodist traditions pick up on one half of the drama – the dynamic role of the human will, but don’t’ pick up any better than Presbyterians the dynamic character of God’s will. And, this emphasis on thehuman will that Methodists and Baptist speakof is really in scripture as well. Surely Jesus’ appeal for humans to repent and believe in the Gospel of God would have been a fairly meaningless appeal if he didn’t expect that humans had the ability to choose or will this repentance and belief. At some level, Jesus felt he could speak and actually get some response from human beings or he wouldn’t have asked for it. But, there are two views represented in scripture itself. To read it otherwise is to simply raise our theology above the Holy Scripture.

But, there is something even deeper in scripture that I don’t think the old Presbyterian and old Methodist traditions emphasize. And, that is the dynamic character of God shown to us in scripture and revealed to us in faith. The dynamic character of the will of God. John Wesley started coming near to this in his older age, when he basically said: “I used to be so sure I understood everything; now I am the opposite. I don’ t feel that I understand anything or am sure about anything but what is revealed to me directly by God.” The old traditions of Protestantism present a static picture of God. The old Presbyterian way presents God as way up there in heaven with his inscrutable plan that will be worked out no matter what and no matter what humans will. God watching his predetermined plan working out. The old Methodist or Baptist way has God with his predetermined plan as well, but leaves it up to humans how they want to accept or reject that plan.

But, we really need to get back to the raw truth of the Bible,thewitness to something real and dynamic that escapes our theological rationalizations. And, an honest reading of the Bible sees the process of theological rationalization already at work. Right there in scripture with the picture ofJesus falling to the ground and asking desperately ofGod: “Father,if it is possible, let this cup pass from me . . . “ Now to act like Jesus just calmly walked towards his destiny and didn’t struggle with it is to ignore this passage. And, it is to ignore and devalue the struggle of Jesus to obey God, a flesh and blood struggle. And, to act as if it was just all planned out way ahead of time, and God was just sitting up in heaven watching it unfold, is very irreverent to the pain and struggle that God went through to come down to humanity,enter into our mess, and work out our salvation.

But, the very heart of the Bible and the heart of faith shows a God who is not static, but who is dynamic, who responds to human willing, a God who seeks humanity and changes his way of approaching as necessary to break through and save human beings. And, if you are still on board with me, and if you read this scripture today with eyes and ears open to the dynamic character of God in responding to human beings, and the dynamic character of the human response as well, the reading of this passage becomes a deeply moving event. Because it reveals a drama, a real drama at the core of this world’s history and reality. The drama of the Living God struggling with remarkable passion and grace to save a humanity that God loves, a humanity that has a will that is prone to reject God’s efforts to save, but a humanity that has something deep down that craves the saving grace of God. And, a humanity who is represented by Jesus, the Christ, who has a dynamic human will in response to God. “He fell on his face and prayed: ‘Father, if it is possible,let this cup pass from me, but not my will but thy will be done.”

Listen to what is going on here at the center. Jesus has come before God in deep sorrow because he senses the end of life, the suffering, the pain and separation of death that is coming to him and his friends. Jesus senses a certain sense of alienation and separation even from his God. Look closely at what is revealed in this scripture without simply taking it in in the traditional way. Jesus comes before God and prays, seeking communion with God. And, the first time Jesus appears to be asking to be spared from this way of suffering. “Father. Let this cup pass from me if it be possible, but not my will, but thy will be done.” There is a lot in that verse. It shows that Jesus has a human will that is separate and independent from God’s will – a real human will. Otherwise it would make no sense for him to speak of the difference in his will and God’s will and of being willing to submit his human will to God’s will. At this time, so near the arrest and crucifixion, it shows that Jesus does not have a completely clear view of what God’s will is. And, I know there is that other emphasis on how Jesus told his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer and die, etc., but I’ve already talked about the two different emphases in scripture. Here is the deepest. Our Lord first asked if this path of suffering and humiliation and pain for him and those who followed him might be avoided. Second, Jesus went and prayed a second time, which indicates that Jesus did not receive a clear answer from God, but the words of his second prayer are a bit different, showing that Jesus was gaining a sense of what God’s will was. The second time he prays: “If it is not possible for this cup to pass from me, let your will be done.” He doesn’t mention his will, only God’s. But, still there is not a clarity of communion that Jesus normally seemed to have with God throughout his life. Because, Jesus goes to pray a third time, being deeply troubled. Again he prays: “If it is not possible for this cup to pass from me, let your will be done.” And, I sense that there is more resolution in this third prayer, as Jesus now seems to see what is to be.

And, I get the sense that Jesus is experiencing a distance from God that he had never experienced. A distance that would become unbearable on the cross causing him to cry out: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!” This is a real witness to the real struggle of the one holy human being to have ever lived on this earth, the one human who is also the very Son of God. But, we do not honor this mystery rightly unless we realize the real struggle, the real human struggle that Jesus went through. And, the real struggle that God went through.

There is the withdrawal and even silence of God that we cannot even imagine. We have to stop at that doorway. We cannot enter to imagine the suffering of God who heard the cries and saw the pain of his very Son Jesus, and remained silent. We will never know what it costs God in that completely pure heart of God. God, who though he was master of the universe suffered the death of his own son. It really causes us to break down inside if this truth ever gets through to our souls. God is so holy and so pure of heart and so good and so humble. The human race doesn’t deserve this wonderful a God, or doesn’t seem to. But, then Jesus is a part, the very head of the human race, and look at his goodness and his holiness, being really like God in his heart. And, there are the little children of the human race who show a profound goodness and purity that reminds us of God’s goodness. And, every now and then even you and I show some of that purity of heart and goodness in our lives.

And, maybe God is not so hard to understand afterall. God is love. God is just so good and so pure, we tend to avoid him even though we need him so badly. We also tend to forget the simply goodness inside of ourselves because the world would make us ashamed of that. God loves as one who endures and persists in loving. Some of us have experienced the love of others that has endured even through our sins. Some of us have known the love of our mothers or fathers that has endured our shameful behavior. Some of us have given our own family members pain, so much suffering and pain and then experienced that we couldn’t conquer their love for us. Some of us may have done that for others – loved them when they were loveless until somehow hearts of stone were changed to hearts of flesh. Some of us have experienced and even passed on the love of the Father for the Prodigal Son. God comes to us and through us. In his will to save, in God’s active love that will not give up on human beings, God moves to embrace us – when we are alone, when we are with others, and God moves to embrace others through our perservering love as well.

God doesn’t simply offer his love as some plan of salvation and wait up in heaven to see if we want to accept it or not. That’s the Four Spiritual Laws God, not the God of the Bible and God of our hearts. God will go to any depth to save. That’s what our passage reveals. God will even suffer the humiliation of his beloved Son, Jesus, to reclaim human beings, to break the power of sin in our lives. What Jesus was really asking was: “Father, does it really have to go this far? Is this suffering and pain and humiliation necessary? Are my fellow human beings really in such desperate need to require us to go this far to save? If they are Father, I will do your will, to honor you and to save my race. I love you Father. I will drink the cup that is given me. If I need to go this path for you to enter into and change human hearts, I will do it Lord. O God, have mercy on me. Go with me, O God, remember that I am flesh and blood. Amen.”

And, when God heard that prayer, it must have broken the heart of God a thousand times over. Because God saw again the profound goodness that he had meant for the human race. He saw the beauty that he had intended for all human beings. He saw it in Jesus, the Christ of God. God had continued to believe in a good destiny for human beings. But, now surely God’s heart was fortified. Jesus had given back to God the greatest gift humanity could ever give. And, God being so humble and gracious passed on this gift to all the world. Amen.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Revisiting the Story of Samson: Judges 13-16

In Judges 13-16, we find a remarkable story about one of the judges and warriors of Israel. His name was Samson. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

In ancient Israel, there was a man named Manoah, who had a wife. And, he and his wife lived in a time when the Israelites were being persecuted and oppressed by the Philistines. Their houses were broken into; they were stolen from; their women were taken captives; they were abused in public; they were not free to pursue their hopes and dreams, because the Philistines dominated them. Well, in this time, Manoah and his wife were hoping to have children. But, she could not conceive. One day, Manoah’s wife was praying, and an angel of the Lord appeared to her. He heard her prayer and promised her that she would have a son, and she, the angel, told him that this boy was to be set aside to serve God’s purposes. He was to observe the customs of the Nazarites: to not drink wine or strong drink, and to not cut his hair.

And, as promised, Manoah’s wife conceived, and she gave birth to a baby boy and they named him “Samson.” Samson grew strong, and they let his hair grow, and when he was grown, he continued to observe the ways of the Nazarites: he didn’t drink wine or strong drink, and he did not let a razor touch his head – he let his hair grow.

And, God filled Samson with a spirit of concern for his people, the Israelites. He saw them mistreated by the Philistines, and Samson was provoked to attack and push back the Philistines. The Israelites hearts were lifted up when they saw they had a defender and a warrior who would take their side and fight for them. And, it was clear to all that Samson was blessed by God. He was stronger than any warrior anyone had ever known. He was even stronger than the greatest Philistine warriors.

Although Samson wasn’t one to drink, he did have a weakness for Philistine women. And, this gave his enemies the Philistines a chance to entrap him. Samson fell for one particular Philistine woman, Delilah. And, the Philistines who could never overcome Samson in battle, came up with a plan to surprise him when he was with his girlfriend.

They tried, but Samson defeated them. And, Delilah tried to help them surprise Samson, but always he was too strong. Until one day, she got him talking. And, he let her know that he had never cut his hair, because of the command of the angel of the Lord. He said, “If I cut my hair, I would be just as weak as other men.”

And, that was all it took. Delilah knew he had told her the truth about his strength now. And, she notified the soldiers that they could come at a certain time and capture him at her house. She cut his hair when he was sleeping, and when the soldiers came, he thought he would fight them off as usual. But, this time, his strength was gone. They tied him up, and took him away. They mocked him in the public streets. They even goudged his eyes out and beat him, and brought him to the temple of their god, Dagon. And, all the Philistine people rejoiced that their god had delivered their enemy into their hands. And, they celebrated in the great temple.

And, there Samson was – the once proud warrior of Israel, reduced to a prisoner in chains, blinded by his enemies. And, all the people laughed at him and spoke of how their god was greater than Samson’s God. At some point, Samson had had enough. He asked a servant boy to put his hands in the great columns that supported the temple. And, he put his right hand and one, and his left hand on the other, so that Samson stood between the two great pillars that held the roof of the temple. And, he prayed to God for strength this one last time. And, God heard Samson. And, Samson pushed as hard as he could, and his strength had returned and he pushed the pillars of the temple so that they broke and and caused the whole roof of the temple to crash down and kill all that were gathered under it. And, yes, Samson was killed too. But, the amount of Philistines he killed in his death was even more than he had killed in his life, so that the Israelites were able to free themselves from their oppressors.

They remembered the life of Samson and gave thanks to God. The man who would not stand for his brothers and sisters to be mistreated had died. But, in his death, he was true to the purpose for which he had lived.

This is one of those great stories of scripture. It tells the adventures of Samson, as a warrior, a lover, and a warrior who was captured because he entrusted his holy secret to a woman who was really his enemy. But, this story also tells us something about God. It tells us that God stirred up a man to deliver his people from oppression and injustice. It tells us that God taught Samson that he was special and that he was to keep his vows to God: the vows of a Nazarite – no drinking and no cutting of the hair of his head. God would bless Samson, and Samson was to show his respect and love for God by keeping his vows.

Samson would attack Philistines and even made it so they started being afraid. They started leaving the Israelites alone, because of fear of Samson. And, Samson would attack them whenever he had the chance. He had a spirit of vengeance against them, and a spirit to liberate his people.

That was Samson’s calling in life – to bring freedom to his people. He was similar to Moses in that sense. But, when you have a calling in life, you need some support. Samson fell in love with a woman who was a Philistine, and he didn’t think it mattered. Because he knew who he was, and what he had to do. He would keep battling the Philistines, and thought he could love this Philistine woman. The problem was that Delilah remained loyal to the Philistine warriors, and used Samson’s love for her to help her own people. Samson thought he was invulnerable. He didn’t think he could be defeated. He thought he could entrust his heart to Delilah, and nothing bad would happen. Love and his calling were two different things. When it was time to fight the Philistines, he would fight the Philistines, but when it was time to enjoy time with his girlfriend, he would do that. He never thought that his greatest enemy would end up being the one he loved.

Turns out,the only one who could really hurt Samson was the one he loved. And, that is really true in life. And, that is a message we need to take very seriously. Because when someone loves us we can really hurt them if we are not careful; if we love someone, they can really hurt us if they are not careful. Love makes us vulnerable. And, opens us to real communion with others, but also opens us to real harm from others. When we love, we trust; we take down our guard. One of my former clients produced a rap album, and one of his songs goes like this: “Ain’t got no love for nobody who ain’t got love for me.” Another way o f saying that is to say: “I am not going to let down my guard with anybody unless I know they love me – unless I know I can trust them. I am tired of being taken advantage of; I am tired of being jerked around and stomped on by those I love. I am tired of love, because it only seems to bring me trouble.” Samson could have written that song – after his eyes were gouged out.

Maybe some of us could have written it too. But, love is not meant to be the occasion for abuse or manipulation or mistrust. The heart is meant to open to the opening of another heart, not to the coming of another thief or pretender.
We get so mad at others who hurt our children or our wives or our husbands or our sisters or brothers or mothers or fathers, but nobody has ever really hurt them as bad as we have. Nobody has ever really hurt us as bad as they have. It is only those we love who can really hurt us deep down where it counts. It is only those who love us that we can hurt deep down where it counts.

All the evil in the world comes from the hurting of loved ones, who in turn and hurt others out of their bitterness and pain. As the song says: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” Take a good long look at your life, and consider who you really love in this life and what they mean to you. And, take a good and holy vow before God to quit hurting those you love. If you have been hurt, it is time to figure out how to quit passing it on to those you love. But, how? By deciding that you are done with hurting those you love. By looking honestly at the course of your life. And, by asking for help in the areas of life you just can’t seem to get control of.

I had never looked at Samson from this side before. Even after all these years of hearing and knowing that story. There is a real tragedy in the story. Samson opens his heart to Delilah, and she abuses his trust and his love. Most all human pain comes of our need to love and the human tendency to take advantage of love. Let’s continue to love, and protect love, and be done with hurting anyone we love and anyone who loves us. And, lets be done with thinking that it is alright for anyone we love to hurt us. Hurt and love don’t belong together. Love heals hurts; it doesn’t cause them. Experiencing that truth in our hearts and in our lives- well, that would be a good start on building a better world.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.