Good News! A Transition in Leadership

Recently in Zimbabwe, the 37-year presidency of Robert Mugabe has come to an end. He has not left the country, and his most likely successor has not yet been sworn in, but the transition appears certain. The streets have been

Friend of...

Carole King had a hit song back in 1971 called "You've Got a Friend." That song was popular because, well, who doesn't want a real friend? I listened to that song over and over, vowing to be a friend for others -- especially my girlfriend at the time -- and wishing

Psst! It's a Secret!

It may not be a big surprise to any of us that Jesus of Nazareth was a little different than expected for his day. He spoke in mysterious ways -- even for a rabbi! -- and said a lot of challenging things, like "he who saves his life shall lose it." It was enough to make some wonder about his sanity (see Mark 3:20-21). So here was Jesus, preaching and healing people, doing wonderful things that made people think he might be the Messiah that the whole nation wished would show up. When he asks

Walking with Jesus

That Sunday afternoon, two of Jesus' disciples were walking away from Jerusalem. They had been sure Jesus was the prophet who would restore Israel to greatness, but now that he had died, they were totally discouraged. Numb with the shock of having their hopes taken away so violently, they could only walk home slowly, still in anguish. Suddenly a stranger appeared, perhaps coming up from behind, and overhearing their conversation. "What's

Trick AND Treat?

Well, the little kids with their buckets and bags are gone, so it looks like we got through another Halloween celebration. It's one time of year people come to our front door all on their own, so The Lovely Joanne and I do our best to love on them. The "trick or treat" chant the kids used came back at me this morning when I was reading through Mark 14 and Mark 15, the account of Jesus' trial and crucifixion. There's an element here of trick AND treat in this story that has

Jesus Is our One True...

In life we sometimes believe a false idea that looks simple and convenient. The urban legends cataloged at various websites such as snopes.com feed on peoples' mistaken ideas about celebrities, politicians and fads. But what if you could

Dirty Toes and Messy Hearts

On Thursday of the week he was to die, Jesus did something no one expected. During a meal with his disciples, he got up from the table and began

Enduring the Cross

Holy Week helps us rehearse annually the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for us. This morning, while reading through Matthew's account of Jesus' last week, my mind turned to what must have been on the Lord's mind those last few days before his cruel death. Walk with me for a bit, will you?

Crucifixion was a horrifying death, yet Jesus knew that was

It's Personal

"Okay, if God is love, then he loves me too, but only in the general sense, because he has to. After all, he knows me, he knows my sins and he knows all my problems, so he can't possibly love me - not me -- not really, even if it's in his

No More Circles, Please?

A friend of mind commented the other day that Jesus seemed to enjoy having a meal with the most obnoxious and despised people of his day. That baffled the "good" religious people, who

The Crucified God

This is about the best half-hour you'll ever spend. Hear Brian Zahnd explain some truths about the God whom we see in Jesus Christ, and explode some myths that have hung onto the way people try to explain him and completely miss the point.

God loves you -- Jesus is the living, crucified and resurrected proof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps35oM-dQFM&list=PLsYXTnSrLttZrlkB3wDKpZjhyDtIJui12#t=993

His Story, Not Ours

"I love to tell the story..." goes the old hymn. Lots of people do love to tell it, and many others love to talk about telling it. Sometimes we worry that we're not telling the story "of Jesus and his love" often enough or to the right people. But really, whose story is

The Leader Who Served

Jesus did something the night before his crucifixion that wrecked the disciples. He had told them over and over about serving others, and had served many, many times in their three years together, but they still didn't get it. One last time, he showed them what love is, and

Come, Let Us Adore Him

The busyness of Advent and Christmas season is over. We start the new year by putting away the decorations, writing thank-you cards, and focusing on the routine of life. But wait -- we sure don't want to lose out on the lasting lessons of the season, do we?  I think not. One of the main lessons of Christmas, I believe, is

Too Much Trouble?

Life has its share of trouble. Illness, injury, natural disasters, even something as simple as tangled fishing line, can make us wish life was simpler. I've told friends that the last few years have been hard on The Lovely Joanne, as she has experienced some kind of disaster every summer, and we want next year off! But what if God had been put off by the amount of trouble

Two Pieces of Wood

This week, we remember and reflect on the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As horrible and cruel as Jesus' death was, he took it on himself willingly, to accept death for all of us.  But why on a cross?  Wasn't that a symbol of shame and punishment for crimes?  In our day, that would be like honoring someone who died in the gas chamber or the electric chair.  What was the meaning?

Jesus had spoken of being "lifted up" in John 3:14-15 and John 12:31-33 as the means of his death, and the result of his death--salvation for all people.  The cross was inevitable.  Athanasius observed that the Messiah's death had to occur by acts of others (not just a calm deathbed in old age or illness) in order to gather up and defeat, in his body, even the anger and hatred and cruelty of mankind. 

The execution device used by the Romans was designed to inspire fear and horror, as condemned criminals and traitors were punished by what was often an agonizing, multi-day ordeal in an area visible to passers-by, thus encouraging order in the populace who were often conquered people resentful of Roman occupation.  It was an upright stake, the base buried in the ground, and a crosspiece, carried by the condemned criminal, attached either at the top or a short distance from the top.  Both Matthew and Luke mention the inscription attached above his head, so it appears that was the style used, and it is carried forward in Christian symbolism today*.

So if we look at the symbolism inherent in all these things, what might we see?  Not all of these are explicit in scripture, but meditating on these ideas can be useful.  And there are probably more meanings we could bring out; God is infinite in his ability to plan and create meaning for us. 

• The upright stake united heaven and earth, as the Incarnation had done
• The crosspiece stretches in both directions, and Psalm 103:12 says "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west."
• The crosspiece stretched Jesus' arms out wide, as a symbol of the Father's arms being open to us; and some say, as the measure of the breadth of his love. 
• The crosspiece, going in both directions, could also symbolize uniting Jew and Gentile: Galatians 3, especially verses 14 and 28. 
• The wood shows he absorbed for us the curse given in Deut. 21:23, "anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse."  See also Galatians 3:13.

Of course, these are not just "interesting meanings" -- our Savior really did die a brutal death on that torture instrument.  He suffered pain, humiliation, thirst, embarrassment, fatigue and many other hurts to pay for humanity's sin and rebellion.

And he did it just for you.

* Footnote: there are some who believe this symbol is of pagan origin and so should not be used by Christians.  That assertion lacks credible evidence.  The cross was a symbol that offended both Jew and Gentile, but paradoxically brought hope and salvation to Christians (see Galatians, especially), and so it has remained the primary symbol of our faith.