Dec. 22nd, 09
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit come upon you… This morning I’m struck with that one word: power! In the midst of mangers and infants and magical snowfalls…I’m struck with that one word: power!
Jesus has just reminded the quizzical apostles (when/how did they shift from being just disciples, now to apostles?) that only the Father has authority to determine when Israel’s kingdom would be restored. (A good reminder for those who labor too intensely trying to figure out the dates and times of Jesus’ next return!) He promises the 11 that when the Holy Spirit comes on/in them…they would be filled with power.
Power is an interesting subject, especially this time of year. With congressional wranglings over health care filling our news these days, we’re all too accustomed to power (and especially its political abuses) being bantered about like brothers fighting for the same esteemed Christmas toy. The power Jesus’ promised has specifically to with witnessing, (which is probably its least utilized application!) in contrast to what the disciples had originally been asking; when will you free Israel, and restore our Kingdom. The power Jesus promised and delivered comes with signs, wisdom, comfort, protection, and the ever-abiding presence of God to fill the void of Jesus, but it just seems weird to focus all that in this one word: power!
I don’t know why this struck me today, except maybe because of the contrast of celebrating Jesus’ birth in such humble, simple, beautiful, “non-powerful” innocent, even vulnerable ways. Jesus was born in humility, but left with the promise of power…seems contradictory, but probably only at first glance. All I know is this: I want to wonder as I wander out under the sky and snow and beauty of this great morning, and this grandest of seasons, how Jesus the infant did come for to die. I want to live this day, and all the rest of my days filled with that vulnerable wonder…yet knowing that because I’ve made peace with that gift; I’ve been filled with that power given on the other end of the spectrum of His life. I need that power, not to lord it over other people, but to lead without pretense, or the illusion of perfection. I need that power to persevere in the face of persecution, and in the perversion of power inflicted on me occasionally. I need that power to remind me it’s so little about me…and so much about Jesus. I need that power to be me, to love me, to give me. I need that power today; and I’ll receive it. Thank you Jesus.

Dec. 21st, 09
Acts 1:6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom? I’ve decided to continue with Luke’s thoughts. He was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, in fact references his gospel in verse one of Acts 1. I’ll be taking a few days off after Christmas, so will not be posting, but will be back with you soon thereafter. Thanks for reading, and for your comments.
The book of Acts opens with discussion about the 40 days that Jesus spent with the disciples before he was taken back to heaven. There were preparations made, and promises of the Spirit to be given…and he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. (vs3). Then comes this verse, and I have to wonder why they still don’t get it? Are they still so blinded that they can’t see that the Kingdom he’s been discussing doesn’t have any political agenda? And of course I have to ask…do we get it? We so easily fault the disciples for their lack of faith, or lack of understanding, or willful defiance maybe, but I have to wonder if we’d be any different.
Yes, they were with him for 3 years, and yes, they sat at his knee and heard him teach, and yes, they saw him killed, and later alive, and yes, they were receiving the promised Holy Spirit at this very time…so why can’t they figure out that the Kingdom he’s talking about has nothing to do with their freedom from Rome, or their hope that Israel might one day again be a regional, even national power force?
And then I have to remind myself…I’ve been ‘with’ Jesus way longer than 3 years. I’ve maybe not seen as dramatic miracles as they did, but I’ve seen some. I may not have seen Jesus physically dead or alive, but I’ve experienced him way longer than they lived, and I know I still don’t get it. I’m afraid my personal (and sometimes political) agenda gets in the way of what Jesus really wants to do with me, or be with me! I know that I hold my preconceived ideas of how Jesus ought to operate, and seldom does my expectation match His reality. I know that many who bear his name still don’t get that he’s the ultimate “free agent”, doing as he wishes, even with us! I know that I’ll never figure out the full extent or intent of His Kingdom…but I wish I could get a bit further past my own limited agenda, and get more in line with his!

Dec. 18th 09
Luke 24:8-12 Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples – and everyone else- what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened. More than any of the other gospels, Luke does a great job including women in Jesus’ story. He mentions numerous times (8:1-4) how women were involved as followers (disciples) of Jesus, and contributed to his ministry. Much has been made of the fact that the first witnesses to the resurrection were in fact women, and how their ‘witness’ was received by the other apostles… sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. I think it is significant that Luke includes women (and more so that Jesus did too), especially when considering the authenticity of the whole resurrection accounts.
If the disciples went early on the 3rd morning, stole Jesus’ body and buried it somewhere else, and then fabricating this whole story of Jesus’ resurrection, (which many non-believers believe), they certainly would not have included the testimony of a bunch of hysterical, emotional women; especially the initial witness! No, if this had all been made up, the disciples would have been way more careful to get their story straight, and use “more trustworthy testimony”, than that of a bunch of women. They might have sent Peter, first…oh wait…no, not him, he was last seen swearing before a peasant girl that he’d never known Jesus (22:61-62)! But look again, who was the only one of the disciples mentioned that jumped up and ran to the tomb…Peter!
Sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and this example is no exception. God uses men AND WOMEN in the work of the Kingdom. God uses denying, swearing, sword-yielding, disciples, just as often as praying ones. God might even use me. I hope so.

Dec. 17th, 09
Luke 24:41 Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder…
The final chapter in Luke’s rendition of the good news is a most interesting one. It contains the usual narratives about Jesus being buried, rising from the dead, the women first at the empty tomb, the fellows not believing them, Peter running to the tomb etc. But his account also contains the very interesting story of the 2 disciples returning to Emmaus, and being met there by the ‘secret’ Jesus, whom they did not recognize. In fact, verse 16 says: But God kept them from recognizing him. And I wonder why?
The dialogue between the 2 and Jesus culminated while they sit and break bread, suddenly their eyes are opened, and they figure out who he is…immediately he disappears. They run back to Jerusalem to tell the others, and as they do, poof…he appears to the whole bunch, points out the nail scars in his hands and feet, and then this verse: Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder…
I believe God spoke to me this morning from this verse, because so much of my life is mirrored there; I often stand in disbelief, but am also filled with wonder and joy! Seems to us a strange group of ‘bedfellows’, but apparently not to the disciples standing in the very presence of the resurrected Lord. I find it most insightful that this same sentiment surrounded Jesus’ birth; wonder, joy, and some disbelief (Herod); also accompanied the end of his life. It gives me hope.
I know that joy and wonder are what fill my life, but there is still some disbelief. I just want to make sure that I choose to live my life with the joy and wonder at the center, while trying to keep the disbelief at the margins. I’ve known many who have chosen to live their lives based on what they don’t understand, rather than what they do. There are plenty of things about Jesus and faith I don’t understand, but I believe it is our calling as followers to choose to live based on what we do understand, the joy and wonder part. If it was good enough to ‘book end’ the life of the Savior with joy, wonder and some disbelief…I guess that it’s ok for me. In this season of wonder and joy I’ll keep trying to minimize those things I have trouble believing. You?

Dec. 16th, 09
Luke 23:45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. I have found it interesting to be reading of the trial and death of Jesus while the rest of the world is celebrating Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Just worked out that way.
This verse is in my opinion, one of the most neglected, and yet most significant from the whole death narrative. The mention that at the moment of Jesus death, this massive curtain is torn in two, in the temple some miles away from Golgotha, seems rather innocent at first glance, but one must ask why? Why is this mentioned, and why is it important?
The curtain under discussion was the one separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple. It was the curtain that separated the inner sanctum reserved only for the High Priest, from the rest of the common people. It was this curtain that defined the boundary between “clergy and laity” to use a more common phrase from today. It was this curtain that in some ways represented the Phariseeism of Judaism which Jesus had been fighting all his short life. Here, in this last desperate hour, at the moment of his death, that curtain was torn in two. I like the way Mel Gibson interpreted this event in his movie The Passion of Christ; the whole temple is actually split in two.
What is its significance for me and you? Well, access to God is suddenly open and free. No priestly robes or seminary degrees are required to gain access to the mercy seat of Jesus. No special training or diploma’s are necessary to find the inner space of God. No one is excluded from the offer of grace, mercy and love that Jesus made possible at his death, and resurrection. The temple is accessible, and so is the Holy of Holies…we all can come just as we are to meet God. That’s a good message, and not unlike the access to the manger.