Good Friday 2021
“By his wounds you have been healed.” This is the line that keeps echoing through my mind this Good Friday morning.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” It’s a line from Isaiah 53, a passage where Isaiah describes the Suffering Servant – the pain the Servant will experience and the role the Servant will play in the redemption of Israel and the salvation of humanity. (Don’t let this weekend pass without reading Isaiah 53.)
“By his wounds you have been healed.” I can’t help but think about the wounds Jesus experienced, from his bloody lashings to being spit upon, slapped in the face, blind-folded and beaten, to having a crown of thorns pressed down upon his head, to being nailed to a cross, to having a sword thrust into his side. I cannot begin to imagine or comprehend the physical and psychological pain of such inhumane treatment, all done in the name of God to rid the earth of a so-called blasphemer.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter quotes this line (1 Peter 2:24) as he encourages and instructs Christians who are scattered across the eastern parts of the Roman empire. These Christians are experiencing their own forms of suffering – most of it coming from family, masters/bosses, business associates, and the culture at large. In an effort to motivate these Christians to suffer well, Peter reminds them of the sufferings of Jesus.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter tells slaves that when their masters mistreat and abuse them, they are to “trace” the example that Jesus leaves us. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued to entrust himself to the One who judges justly.” Peter exhorts mistreated slaves to follow in the steps of Jesus, doing right to the very ones doing them wrong.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter exhorts Christian wives married to unbelieving husbands to do the same thing: to trace the example of Christ in response to their husbands, even when their husbands treat them disrespectfully.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Christian husbands are to trace Christ in their interactions with their wives, recognizing that even though culturally husbands may have superior strength and power, Christian husbands must be understanding towards their wives. To conform to cultural practices of abuse rather than conforming to Christ’s example of gentleness will hinder their prayers to God.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” The more I reflect on Peter’s exhortations and his use of this line, the more I realize Peter is not just focusing on the wounds of Jesus, but on the healing that comes through those wounds. Unless they are healed, those Christian slaves, wives, and husbands cannot trace the example of Jesus in their relationships. The healing is essential to the tracing.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Too often we get stuck on the forgiveness of our sins, as if that is the whole Gospel (Yes, I know, there are far worse places to be stuck). We read and hear that “Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree” and it’s such good news that we stop there. We celebrate. “Jesus died on the cross for my sins; he made atonement for me; I’m forgiven!” And too often we fail to go on, never experiencing the healing necessary to trace Jesus. Praise God we are forgiven. But without healing we keep trading insults for insults, threats for hurts, and retaliation for harm. We need more than forgiveness.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter doesn’t get stuck on forgiveness. “Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter knows the Gospel is more than a forgiven past. Jesus died that we could be healed of the habits of sinning, of the disposition to put self above all, and live new lives of doing everyone right, even to those who do us wrong.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter doesn’t just tell us to trace Christ, to follow Jesus’ example, as if that is something that we can do on our own if we just put enough effort into it. No, in the middle of his exhortations Peter reminds us of what God has done for us in Christ. “By his wounds you have been healed” so that you can follow in Jesus’ steps, you can trace his example. This full Gospel News is the foundation for the possibility of living Peter’s exhortations. And because we can, we must, lest we find ourselves re-injured again and again by sin, especially the sin of retaliation.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Like the Christians Peter was addressing, we live in times of abuse, deception, exploitation, and retaliation. A “get-even” narrative is out there, custom fit for every one of us, and the culture dictates that we put it on or get swallowed up by those who would dominate us. Apart from the healing of Christ, truly we are sick. We devour each other.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” So in this culture or devourment, are we supposed to be passive doormats, never standing up to wrong, never confronting abusers? It’s important to note that Jesus was so wounded precisely because he confronted the abusive Jerusalem power structures that had strayed so far from God and the righteousness of God. Jesus was not passive so much as he was active. He told parables against the powerful Pharisees and Sadducees with the goal not merely of exposing their rebellion against God, but of evoking their repentance so that they might turn to God and receive him as Messiah. He stood against them for their sake, taking all of their abuse, never retaliating. Knowing all along it would come to this, Jesus actively died for the very ones who were doing all they could to rob him of his humanity.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Wounds have a dehumanizing affect upon us, leaving us feeling less than whole. One temptation is to deny that we are wounded, but that is no cure for the wound. The opposite temptation is to lash out and retaliate, taking vengeance into our own hands. But that only further defiles us, as instead of becoming whole, we simply become imitators of those who have wounded us. But Jesus knows woundedness and he meets us in our wounds to communicate healing to us. Through his healing we become whole, and being whole and being in fellowship with Jesus, we can “actively” not retaliate against those who wound. We can actively endure the wrong, standing as Jesus did against those doing him wrong, for their sake.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Jesus, may we so know you and the deep healing that comes via your wounds, that we find ourselves cured and being cured of the sickness of retaliation. Heal us that we might live according to the Gospel News rather than be deceived into wearing a get-even narrative, no matter how well it might appear to fit. Grant us grace upon grace, that we might entrust ourselves to You so much so, that we trace You on the canvas of being done wrong, doing good and right to all, no matter the outcome. Jesus, may we live in such a way that it is evident to all, both those who do us right and those who do us wrong, that we have indeed been healed by your wounds. Amen.
“By his wounds you have been healed.”
And the Wounded One is risen!
Christmas 2020
“And in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus…”
Just thinking about that 90 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Were I Joseph, I imagine I would have been fighting off a bad attitude the whole way. With Mary being quite pregnant it was an inconvenient, perhaps even life-threatening trip that I had no desire to make. It was not something I was looking forward to, not a get-away that I had planned.
So why were we going to Bethlehem? Because the emperor mandated it and the governor was enforcing it. I had to register in the town of my ancestors so that we could be taxed. Why they couldn’t register us in Nazareth and tax us there, I have no idea. But that’s government. I had no real choice but to comply.
This meant traveling for nearly a week through difficult terrain (mountains included) on roads that could be unsafe. It was a grueling trip. To make matters worse, we were near the time of Mary giving birth. We had no guarantee of a place to stay once we got there and no guarantee of a proper place for Mary to give birth. But when Caesar spoke, everyone had to hustle and register. No excuses or extensions.
Yep, my attitude would have been terrible. A government mandated trip with no regard for what was best for me and my family. A huge inconvenience, even putting me, my wife, and our unborn child in harm’s way. And I had absolutely no control. My only option was to go.
As I write this, Vonda, John Mark, and I are on a flight to Grand Rapids to spend Christmas with Vonda’s Mom. Because of mandates, advisory guidelines, Covid 19, and circumstances beyond our control, we almost did not make the trip. Time will tell whether we were wise or foolish, but at this moment we are grateful to be heading home for Christmas. Since the passing of Vonda’s Dad in September we have felt it very important to make it home for Christmas with Vonda’s Mom so that she is not alone on Christmas Day.
We are keenly aware of family and friends who are not able to follow through on Christmas plans. Mandates to stay at home, prescribed quarantines, positive test results, Covid symptoms, life-threatening circumstances from Covid to Cancer, loss of income, and countless other “plan bombs” beyond anyone’s control. It’s hard. It’s not fair. It’s just not right. (Oh no, I can feel that attitude coming on again – a swirling back and forth between anger, poor us, and cynical bitterness.)
“The time came for Mary to give birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Jesus, our Savior and Lord, was born under a troublesome government mandate that created unsought, difficult circumstances. That’s incarnation. Our mandates may be different. Our threats may not be the same. But Jesus knows where we live and he was born into our world. He was born to parents who had no control over their circumstances, much as we have no control over ours.
The angels announced, “Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior! He is Christ the Lord!”
Our Savior did not remain distantly above to somehow pluck us out of such times. Rather, he was born into such times, so that that manger scene was transformed from the tragedy and hardship of “no room in the inn” to a worship festival that would never be forgotten, the news of which continues to go forth today.
We might even go so far to say that not only is Jesus our Savior, but he is Savior of the times – including times of mandates and difficult circumstances beyond our control. His birth certainly saved that hard trip and time under Caesar Augustus. I’m confident his birth saves our times too!
That is my prayer for you, for me, for us. That this Christmas we would experience afresh not simply the joy of the good news of Jesus’ birth, but especially the truth-full hope that our Savior even saves and redeems the times, including these times of circumstances and powers that are beyond our control!
Merry Christmas!!! (And time to land in Grand Rapids!)
Pastor Steve
The Dilemma of Pentecost 2020
May 31st is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost Sunday traditionally marks the birth of the Church. It was during Pentecost, following the resurrection of Jesus, when the disciples were gathered in an upper room praying and they received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit to empower them to bear witness to Jesus all over the globe. We read about this in Acts 2. It was a powerful, life-transforming, history-changing event. Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled. God’s Spirit was poured out on all believers in Jesus, giving them boldness and courage to faithfully follow Jesus, proclaiming his Lordship in word and in deed, no matter the cost. The Holy Spirit enlivened that body of upper room believers as they gathered in prayer and the Church was born.
May 31st, Pentecost Sunday, is the day that many California churches are planning to reopen whether Gov. Newsom gives the okay or not. As of today (May 13), churches are part of the Governor’s phase 3 category for reopening. We have barely entered phase 2 and it is unlikely the Governor will open phase 3 by the end of the month. Nonetheless, hundreds of pastors across the state are declaring that Pentecost Sunday, the Sunday of the birth of the Church, is the right day to reopen their churches. Some of their language even goes so far to speak of a “rebirth” of the church. These pastors and their congregations are boldly asserting that they will deny the Governor’s orders and reopen their churches. They will hold public worship services while of course maintaining appropriate safety precautions and physical distancing.
As pastor of Southeast Church of the Nazarene, what am I going to do? Boldly open or compliantly stay closed? I have been puzzling on this question for about a week now, and the more I puzzle on it, the more I don’t like the question. There is a lot that’s wrong with the question.
For starters, if I take Pentecost Sunday seriously, that it marks the birth of the Church, the giving of the Spirit to disciples to bear witness to Jesus and to make more disciples of Jesus, then this business of reopening and rebirthing the Church, or even churches, makes no sense. The life of the Church (and churches) does not depend on Gov. Newsom and the state of California. The Church gets its life and does its business by the Spirit, and to my knowledge God has not revoked his Spirit nor closed his Church down.
In other words, while all these orders about closing and reopening may apply to businesses and buildings, they do not apply to churches any more than they apply to families. Families don’t close and reopen. Families keep on being families. They may have to figure out new ways to communicate and journey together, but they don’t stop being a family just because there may be travel restrictions, etc. Families keep being family. And the Church keeps being Church. Our buildings may be closed for gatherings, but that does not somehow close us and undo us as a church family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Truth is, as brothers and sisters in Christ we never closed. Our family business of following Christ and making disciples has remained open ever since the day of Pentecost. Across the centuries we have faced numerous challenges, but always the Spirit has empowered us to journey together in following Jesus and making disciples, no matter the restrictions. The Church Family never closes.
Many pastors are arguing that churches are an essential business and should therefore be moved into the phase 2 reopening category. This “essential business” language puzzles me. When club youth soccer exploded onto the scene of family life in the 90s everyone learned that church, or at least church attendance, was non-essential. These clubs had no problem scheduling games and tournaments on Sundays, and it quickly became evident that many families saw club soccer as more essential than church attendance. I don’t recall hearing very many pastors taking a stand against club soccer. No one wanted to offend these families and risk losing them altogether. There might have been some pastor-to-pastor complaints, but the typical response was to figure out ways to accommodate these families by providing other services and connections, celebrating soccer successes, and maybe even creating a “soccer church.”
Today, many people consider themselves regular attenders while actually attending only once or twice a month. Service times simply get calendared over with other events and activities. Everyone believes that “going to church doesn’t make you a Christian.” Everyone recognizes that “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship.” Church attendance isn’t deemed essential even to those who do attend “regularly.” So why would/should the state regard church as an essential business?
Given such mindsets and attendance patterns, it’s hard for me, even as a pastor, to argue that church is an “essential business.” But again, the business model is the wrong model. We are a family! Families find ways to stay connected and keep growing, whether they can meet for big reunions or not. Yes we are to follow Jesus together, and yes, it’s about relationships – but as stated above, all those relationships are still open. We are still related. We just have to be more intentional and more creative in our relating.
Personally, the two biggest problems I have with the prohibition against church congregations gathering for worship services are (1) it seems illogical, and (2) it robs me of my civil liberties. The illogic of all the shut-down & reopen policies is well known. I can wait in line and shop with lots of people at Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, etc., but for several weeks I could not walk on the beach or go to a park. I can go buy a bicycle at Walmart or Costco, but I cannot go to a bike shop to purchase one, even though a bicycle shop would be far less crowded. Makes no sense. And now I hear that casinos are phase 2 and making plans to reopen, but churches are phase 3 and need to sit on their plans. Maybe casinos are a safer and cleaner environment than most churches – I don’t get out to many casinos – but it just seems like nonsense. Oh, wait…. Does the state make money off of casinos? Not sure. Anyways, I get frustrated with the inconsistent logic regarding what’s open and what’s closed.
But maybe I just need to figure out how to accomplish the mission of the church in those very places where people are gathering – perhaps a Bible study in the Costco parking lot, a prayer time at Home Depot, even circling to sing praises to the Lord at the Walmart lot. (From what I hear there’s already a lot of prayer going on at the Casinos.)
I suspect you can see what really gets me: I flat-out don’t like being told by the government (or most anyone) what I can and can’t do, where I can and can’t go! When Gov. Newsom says we can’t meet, I question his authority to make such rules. He is stepping on my rights. I question his agenda. Who is he to take away my civil liberties and why does he want to exercise so much control over me and every other Californian? Why does he assume he knows what’s best for me and that I’m not smart enough to know and do what’s best for me and those around me? Who is the Governor to say that someone’s work is not essential when that work is the means to their livelihood? Is there an agenda to grow government and diminish individual rights? Is this really about community health or has it become the occasion for grabbing more power and trampling civil liberties?
As I fume about the encroachments on my freedom, how do I push back? How do I fight the Governor as he treads upon my civil liberties? I know: Pentecost Sunday! We’ll hold church services in defiance of the Governor and show that he nor anyone else can take away our civil liberties!
See, I kind of feel that way. I want to reclaim my civil rights by holding church on Pentecost Sunday. But that action and attitude goes against the Spirit of Pentecost. The Spirit-empowered mission of the Church is to bear witness to Jesus and to make disciples; the mission is not American civil liberties. Local churches, by the power of the Spirit, have accomplished this mission across the centuries in all kinds of contexts where American civil liberties have been non-existent.
The Spirit has been given for the making of disciples of Jesus, the One who did not consider equality with God a thing to be exploited, but instead emptied himself, and becoming one of us, he was obedient to death, even death on a cross. I’m not sure that we can claim the mind of Christ, or even claim that we are attempting to live into the mind of Christ, while simultaneously using Pentecost to assert our rights to gather in Jesus’ Name. That is as illogical as being able to shop at Costco but not walk on the beach.
Again, the mission of the Church is not American civil liberties. We (hopefully) know this on the “mission field.” Missionaries are not sent into various cultures and countries in order to bring about American civil liberties. The mission is to make disciples of Jesus and to equip these disciples to live faithful to Jesus in their local contexts, no matter the rights and no matter the costs. And that is our mission here in southeast San Diego (and across the state/nation). Our mission is not about our rights. It is about being and making disciples of Jesus. If we allow our thirst for rights to co-opt our mission, we have failed miserably and we have transgressed the Gospel. Our witness will be tarnished and we will be just one more group posing as being all about one thing (Jesus) when really all about something else (our own rights). Lord help us!
Now I know that some may have purer motives than me, and they may genuinely hold church because of a deep conviction that they must do so in order to put Christ above state. I respect that, and I trust they will accept, in a Spirit-empowered Christ-like way, whatever consequences the state sanctions against them. But personally, at this point, I do not believe the Governor is mandating that I put the state ahead of Christ or even level with Christ. I do not hear him mandating any immoral or idolatrous behaviors from me – at least when it comes to holding church services. I personally don’t have a valid, Christian basis, for defying the Governor and holding services on Pentecost.
Is there a time and place for protesting governmental overreach? Absolutely, so long as we use wisdom and don’t tarnish our witness. March on the State Capital and wherever else. Write letters. Form coalitions and attempt to influence officials. Expose hidden agendas. But these things, noble as they may be, should never be permitted to co-opt the mission of the Church. Pentecost should not be used as a tool for taking back rights.
Will there come a time when the state does demand immoral and idolatrous behaviors? That would not surprise me. Some might argue that we are already there, that I am just ignorant of how immoral and idolatrous things really are. Perhaps.
But when it comes to this one issue of the right of churches to “reopen for business” – the issue really isn’t our rights but our mission. And what I have realized is that we don’t need our rights to accomplish our mission. The reality of Pentecost means that we have never closed, that we are family, and that we are empowered for our mission no matter the restrictions of our context. We are not a business. We are family. We are not left to ourselves. The Spirit is with us to grow us as family in Christ.
May we pray faithfully, discovering that the Lord is equipping us afresh with his Holy Spirit, that we might be on mission – following Jesus and making disciples – for God’s glory.
Easter Sunday, 4-12-2020 We are livestreaming on FaceBook Live at 10:30. Hope you can join us! He is Risen!
Here is the link to the service:
https://www.facebook.com/southeastnaz/videos/296895461294354/
Good Friday, 4-10-2020
Good Friday, Covid 19, and Easter
It’s Good Friday morning, my wife Vonda and I are two peas that rarely make it out of the pod, and I’m watching it rain as I reflect on Jesus going to the cross. I’m struck by Jesus’ determination to go to Jerusalem, knowing all along that he was marching towards his death. He doesn’t let the royal welcome throw him off from his Father-given mission. Entering the temple he disrupts business as usual, both with his table-turning actions and his prophetic teaching. Those in charge question Jesus, especially in regards to his authority. They know they sure didn’t authorize Jesus to do what he is doing. Determined to maintain their own authority, the authorities plot to have Jesus put to death as an imposter Messiah to the Jews and as a rival king to Rome.
Jesus knows their plotting but he does not soften his teaching. He is not concerned about surviving. Jesus knows that one of the twelve will betray him, and he even knows which one, but Jesus doesn’t change his course. He knows that the other eleven will abandon him, and that Peter will deny even knowing him. And still Jesus keeps preaching, teaching, and healing his way towards death, towards a humiliating crucifixion.
Did Jesus want it to end like this? Did he have some type of martyr complex? Not according to his prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane the night of his arrest! There Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” This was not a light, perfunctory prayer. Jesus was heavy with sorrow and sweating blood. But when it was over, his resolve to be obedient was all the deeper, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Jesus had no desire to drink this cup of suffering, wrath, humiliation, and death. Yet he knew the will of God his Father, and he absolutely trusted his Father, even unto death. So when his betrayer soon came leading a band of men commissioned to arrest Jesus, Jesus went along with them. He was stepping towards the cross.
On trial Jesus did not say what he needed to say in order to escape death. He knew the agony that was before him, but he did not turn back. Mocked, beaten, scourged, and finally crucified, Jesus died the most shameful of deaths for all the world to see. He kept trusting in his Father, believing in His good purpose, holding on to the promise of resurrection.
Because the Father proved trustworthy, we call it Good Friday.
And here Vonda and I sit, two peas not willing to venture much beyond the pod, lest we catch our death by greeting a stranger or passing the peace of Christ to a brother or sister. How ironic, that on this day that confronts us with the overwhelming reality of death, perhaps even more so than Ash Wednesday, we celebrate that Jesus faced it with such courage while we are afraid to step out the door and breathe.
The fear of getting sick, of getting the coronavirus and dying, has absolutely gripped our culture. The grip is so tight that this fear might even be strangling us. We are so afraid of getting sick and dying that we are afraid to live.
I’m not minimizing the harsh reality of Covid 19. I saw the pictures this Good Friday morning of the coffins stacked up in New York City awaiting burial. I’m horrified.
And so we are ordered to shelter in place, and we comply. We’re convinced that it is now criminal to sit in your car and watch a sunset. It is now criminal to surf in the ocean or kayak in the bay. It is criminal to drive without a mask. It is criminal to have a friend over for dinner and conversation.
(I know “criminal” is a strong word, but doing these things can land you with both a $1000 citation and six months in jail.)
(The jail thing puzzles me. “We want to stop the spread of the virus by isolating people. But because you wouldn’t isolate, we are going to send you into a jail system that is overcrowded. That way we will stop the spread of the virus.”)
Sorry for the digressions. The point is, any pea from another pod and every pea outside of a pod is a dangerous pea. We are to avoid all pea to pea contact, lest we run the risk of contracting or spreading death. We are to love our neighbors by avoiding our neighbors.
We know that newborn babies need to be held. We know the importance of human interaction and personal contact to living healthy. We know that isolating someone is detrimental to their well being. So when we outlaw person to person contact out of a fear of death, it really is as if we are so afraid of dying that we are afraid to live.
And it’s Good Friday. If Jesus would have been this afraid of catching his death, this would not be Good Friday. It would be just another day of living under the fear and the reality of death.
But Jesus did go to the cross. He did face death. He entered into death. He was buried. And his Father, our God and Father, proved faithful. God raised him from the dead, the tomb is empty, and Jesus lives! God created Easter! Death is still a reality, but it is no longer the ultimate, life-determining reality. Resurrection is the new reality! Because of Jesus’ obedience and God’s faithfulness, because of God’s great redemptive work accomplished in and through Christ Jesus, we no longer live solely under a death sentence: we live under a resurrection sentence! The hope of resurrection is (should be) our life-determining reality!
So here Vonda and I sit, two peas in a pod, worried about outside peas. The UPS driver just delivered a package to my neighbor, neither were wearing masks, and they both had their hands on a medium sized package at the same time! They were living!
I know death is real. I know the fear of it, at some level, is healthy. I know that loving my neighbor means not putting them at risk of sickness and death. But I also know Easter hope – or at least I hope I truly know Easter hope – that Jesus prevailed over death. Knowing that hope, l live in the certainty of resurrection and not merely the certainty of death. I want my living to be characterized by the hope I have in Christ, the hope of resurrection, the hope of Easter, rather than being characterized as so afraid of dying that I am afraid to live.
I remember my high school and college basketball coaches saying, “Fear no one, respect everyone.” Maybe that applies to the coronavirus. Covid 19 is to be respected, but not feared. We face it, and every other death threat, with the hope of resurrection that we have in Christ Jesus. May the Lord help us to live by hope!
Happy Easter! He is Risen! Time to live and go get the mail!
In Christ,
Pastor Steve
Palm Sunday, 4-5-2020 Still closed but grateful for Facebook Live and Zoom. Here is a link to our Palm Sunday service.
https://www.facebook.com/southeastnaz/videos/301699870810778/
3-22-2020 We are closed for all services due to the coronavirus. However we are doing Bible studies through the Zoom platform and we are also streaming a Sunday morning message on Facebook Live. Below is the link to the “service” on March 22, 2020.
https://www.facebook.com/southeastnaz/videos/201365187951996/