Fleeing Exile

Life just ain’t simple. We live in world rich in symbolism; deeds hard to articulate; words and stories that grind resonance into abstract thought; art subverted into created worlds we do not wish on our children. And until we lift our eyes from our culture and examine the landscape, we will never take the first step on our journey: we remain in exile.

Jesus, to those that know him: the name above all names; more popular than the Beatles; 3 Billion people declare his name each day! To another world: a sage, a teacher of wisdom, a cynic wordsmith, a prophet, a blazon of the lingering awaited Kingdom?

Our task is to rehearse the equivalent of the Kingdom within our culture. Forward into God’s sorted world, forward with symbols, the humble praxis of the gospel, our task as Christians is to be in the front row of the world. However, what is missing from the equation is, of course, love; and this solicitude is our vocation: to tell the story, to live by the symbols, to act out the praxis, and to flee from exile.

Like Jonah fleeing God for Tarsus we can flee from exile. However, our flight is not like Jonah’s. Enslavement to sin, a life of servitude, languishing in prison, means at some point we will hope to escape. And Jesus rightly argues forgiveness. He says it is time to go home...find you way on the crooked path and should you stumble, he is there, yolked, easing the burdens.

Gabriel visited Daniel, Ezekiel saw the earth shake and a people materialize from dry bones, Jeremiah shouting from mountains into the inmost parts of the earth, John shouting out loud, “ behold the lamb who takes away the sin of the world.” They all share the same: forgiveness.

So Jesus’ announcement of the Kingdom and his offerings of forgiveness is how God returns to Zion. His forcefulness in the temple, a new covenant in the upper room, riding on a donkey, silent lips when accused, forgiveness on the cross all show how God works. Not in one fell swoop of Roman invasion, but with humility and passion.

Forgiveness, of course, is not easy to master. It is a journey, and it starts when we risk pain, disappointment, let go of defensiveness; it means being able to accept our human situation by refusing evil to continue, refusing to participate in injustice, and to reveal sin our lives.

Self-Denial of Jesus

John 4:1 - 30 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

Tired as he was, Jesus was fully human, and it is easy to forget that he was completely man, needing food, sleep, refreshment and all of the other things that are distinctly part of our daily lives. Our bodies constantly cry out with needs: sleep, food, water, diversion, and fun.

Jesus was a model of self-denial; he spent his days ministering to the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of the people around him. I am certain we all know how draining it can be to minister to people. As you read on in this account you see Jesus initiating and meeting the needs of the Samaritan woman, overcoming her attempts to brush him off.

In Jesus' day people were not plagued with materialism that today's church has. Wealth was not abundant and the problem of spending and possession was not like our reality. Most people stayed in their class for the remainder of their lives and what is significant, is there was no priority placed on worldly goods, economic systems and social transformation.

That self-denial of Jesus convicts hearts about how easily we choose to meet needs over choosing what is best.


Are you driven by meeting your needs or by what is best?

How well do you discern between your needs and your wants?

Meditate on self-denial in Jesus life and your own.

Is Self Denial a characteristic of the Christian Life?

The Death of Lazarus

This Thursday, Oct 5, we meet at Hilary place 13527 124a Ave basement at 7:30.



Death is so common to our generation.
Desensitizing death is a media strength: a couple Chainsaw massacres, 13 renditions of Freddy, CSI, The Six o'clock News. But what about death and death so real, so final, you wail and life sucks for the rest of your life.

Jesus dealt with death: we find Jesus is not apathetic; He is sympathetic. He shares our pain. And as Jesus weeps we might discover GodÂ’s love brings us back to the promise of resurrection and hope, a hope woven into the fabric of creation.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
John 11: 1-44

The Death of Lazarus
1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." 4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. 7Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." 8"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?" 9Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." 11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." 12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.14So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."16Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." 17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles[a] from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." 23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." 28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35Jesus wept. 36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said.  "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

Conversation Creators
If your best friend did not come when you needed them, how would you feel?
Why do you think Jesus deliberately delays for two days before setting out to see Lazarus?
Jesus did not cry when He got word of Lazarus death, but he did cry when we went with Mary to the tomb. Why?
Have you been to a funeral where there was no sense of eternal life?
How did you go away from that experience?
What difference does hope make for you?
What death of a relationship, emotional scars, or other practical concerns and past hurts now block your faith in Jesus?