Word of Life Church Podcast

The expression “the scales fell from my eyes” is an idiom for a sudden epiphany. Something that had blinded us is suddenly removed so that now we see the truth. This idiom has its origin in the story of Saul/Paul’s Damascus Road conversion. “Damascus Road” has also become an idiom for a sudden change. But the Damascus Road event and the scales falling from Saul’s eyes are not exactly the same thing. They’re related, but different. One is deconstruction, the other is reconstruction.

The first person to see the risen Christ was Mary Magdalene. When Mary first saw Jesus in the garden she thought he was the gardener. A logical mistake. Or maybe a prophetic mistake. Or maybe not a mistake at all. As the first seed of resurrection raised, Jesus is now the gardener of resurrection, cultivating new life in all who believe.

With the burial of Jesus the new tomb has become a new womb. On Holy Saturday we have nothing to do—nothing to do but to wait. Sometimes it’s a good thing to come to the end of all our striving and enter into a holy Sabbath. A Sabbath of waiting…resting…waiting. When the work is done and the seed is sown, there’s nothing more to do, but to rest and wait...and see what tomorrow will bring.

The conquering king on a majestic horse has become a universal symbol of power. The king astride the warhorse is an equivalent symbol to the king upon his throne. Which is why to this day in every capital city there’s always some dude on a horse. But Jesus did not ride a warhorse into Jerusalem. Jesus rode a donkey…a little donkey. The one who rode the little donkey in humility, peace, and gentleness, now rides the white horse with all authority in heaven and on earth.

The book of Job is a test in how well the reader can resist scapegoating a blameless victim. The key to the whole book is found in the first verse. Job was blameless. But most readers fail the test and end up at some point agreeing with Job's three "miserable comforters" and the most vicious accuser of all, Elihu. But Job was BLAMELESS! Can the reader remember this all the way through? Most readers cannot; eventually they side with the accusers—the satan. We are possessed!

Mary’s anointing of Jesus at Bethany should restrain us from being too quick to judge some act of artistic worship as an unwarranted extravagance. In an age of secular pragmatism all prayer and worship is seen as an extravagant waste, the greatest of all wastes—the waste of time. The secular pragmatist says, “time is money.” But the worshiper knows better. The worshiper knows that time is a gift from God, and that we have not properly appreciated God’s gift of time until we return the best part of it back to God in prayer and worship.

The tenth station in the Scriptural Stations of the Cross ends with this prayer, "We love you Jesus; by your wounds heal us." The wounded of Jesus indicates that the way of Jesus includes suffering. Jesus suffered to leave us an example and on the cross he bore our sins, suffering so we could die to sin and live the life of justice. The cross is the center of our faith. The cross is where we see God enthroned. The cross is where we see sin condemned. As we continue to trust God, the wounds of Jesus can heal us, over time, both body and soul.

Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son recast in a contemporary setting and told from three different perspectives. Robert's story, Mike's Story, and Lloyd's story.

Christ above me...DivineChrist below me...IncarnationChrist before me...When SeenChrist behind me...When UnseenChrist at my right hand...When I’m StrongChrist on my left...When I’m WeakChrist all around me...Cosmic ChristChrist within me...Formed within me

The way of Jesus is the way of peace and mercy. It’s what Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount. It’s what Jesus lived all the way to Calvary. It’s the practice of enemy-love and radical forgiveness. This road is demanding, but it’s the narrow path that leads to abundant life. The question we face today is this: Do we believe in Jesus enough to follow him in the narrow way that leads to life? The stakes are high. If by nurturing fear and clinging to self-interest we choose the way of anger and resentment, hatred and scapegoating, nationalism and militarism, it will lead us to hell…and it will lead us to hell every time. Right now the Church desperately needs to live up to its lofty calling to be a city set on hill shining forth the light of Jesus. America needs the Church to be a beacon of love and mercy illuminating the way of peace.