Humble Holiness

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross."  Philippians 2:8  (NIV)

I am amazed at every verse I read in the Bible of Jesus' humbleness.  With every word, every action, He acts and reacts with this incredible level of humbleness.  Oh, how I wish I my words and actions would emulate Jesus' in this respect.  Yet, I find myself falling short time and time again in this goal.  As we embark on Holy Week, Jesus' humble holiness is portrayed along the journey to Easter.

On Palm Sunday, we see Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.  No warhorse, no camel, no majestic creature.  Let's not be mistaken - he certainly could have.  That's not Jesus, though.  With every word, every action, he shows us how to be humble, "...at once you will find a donkey, tied there with her colt by her.  Untie them and bring them to me."  (Matthew 21:2)  It wasn't that the donkey was the animal around - he requested the donkey.  As palms were waived and cloaks were strewed along the path, His majesty, the King of Kings, rode in on a donkey.  Humble Holiness.

Let us move forward four days to Maundy Thursday.  The picture above depicting the true essence of humbleness.  After ensuring arrangements were made for the last supper, the supper of love, Jesus takes off his sash, dips it in water, and washes the disciples feet.  "...he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet."  (John 13:6)  Don't forget that in Jesus' time, footwear consisted of sandals and the roads weren't paved, they were dirt and dust.  Imagine, a few days earlier shouts of "Hosanna in the Highest" rang through the air.  Humble Holiness.

Good Friday, displays the greatest image of humbleness.  "...he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross."  (Philippians 2:8).  Wrongly charged, tied in chains, clothes removed, whipped and beaten, dragged through the city streets with a cross on his back, nails piercing his hands and feet, and left to die on a cross.  God's own Son, crucified, crucified for no fault that He had, no sin that He committed.  Humble Holiness.

One swift draw of a hand and God could have made all of this go away.  One word from His mouth, and God could have taken care of this.  During Holy Week, my thoughts go there often.  Why would you do this, God, to your Son?  Yet, we know why.  We know the great significance Jesus' humbleness brings to us.  Through this picture of Humble Holiness, we see the greatest gift - Jesus.  The Jesus that is with us with each step that we take - even when we are not humble.  The Jesus that loves us, although there may be times we don't show our love back.  The Jesus that died for you and for me.  Jesus, the true picture of Humble Holiness.  May your Holy Week be full of blessings.

Dearest Jesus, as we enter this Holy Week, may our minds and hearts be reminded of the humble holiness your brought to our world.  Through your words and actions, you showed us what it means to be humble and the value that humbleness brings to others and to us.  Help me, Jesus, to always remember that in all that I say and do.  

Supper of Love

"It was just before the Passover Festival.  Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.  Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end."  John 13: 1  (NIV)

What an evening.  Our son is home on leave for a few days before he deploys for roughly 7-8 months.  This will be our first deployment since our son joined the Navy.  I am not looking forward to it.  In light of this, our family has come together during these past few days to do one thing - celebrate our family love.  One way that this happened was at a beautiful restaurant about a week ago.  Around the table, our family laughed and relished in the fun of the evening - remembering things from vacations to embarrassing moments, all under the umbrella of love.  For this mama, my heart couldn't have been any more filled with love.  It was a few hours that I will remember for a lifetime, a meal filled with love.  Yet, as with anything in this earthly world, that moment came to an end and now it remains a wonderful memory.

During this Lenten season, it reminded me of when Jesus gathered his immediate earthly family, His disciples, around the table - the table of the last supper.  He knew the preparations that needed to be made and saw to every detail.  It was a cherished moment for Jesus.  It would soon be a cherished moment for the disciples as well.  That meal was filled with love.  

It was at that table that Jesus washed the disciples' feet.  It was at that table that Jesus declared the body and blood that would be shed for us all, the ultimate sacrifice.  To me, this meal is such an incredible depiction of Jesus' love.  That evening, as Jesus and his disciples gathered around the table, it was more than just to have a meal and reminisce about times together.  It was the meal that would carry on forever.  It was the meal that showed all of us Jesus' love in such a genuine fashion.  The body and blood that Jesus declared during that last supper wasn't just for the disciples.  The body and blood of Jesus is for each and every one of us.  

That table continues today as we gather for Holy Communion, knowing that we gather to receive Jesus' love through His body and blood.  When we gather for a meal with our families and enjoy the time together, the love we share, may we also remember the table of Jesus.  May we remember that as we gather around Jesus' table, there is such love shared there - the love He has for each and every one of us.  It is not just a memory - we can rejoice in that love each time we approach the Holy Table for this sacrament.  That is truly the Supper of Love.

Dearest Jesus, may we always be reminded of your agape love as we stand at the table of Holy Communion.  As we received your body and blood, may we cherish in our hearts the love you give to us, each and every day.  As we receive that holy meal, may our hearts be filled with joy.  In your holy name we pray, Amen!

Weighing Down

"Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up."  Proverbs 12:25 (NIV)

It happened as it has happened for several years.  People of New England see March 1st and we think "Spring is right around the corner".  Then Mother Nature has another plan for us and down comes the snow.  It is not different this year.  Typically, the snow in March tends to be "heavier" than the light puffy snow of December and January.  I am not a weather person, but I'm assuming that it has a lot to do with the warming temperatures.  Wet snow, though, means difficult times ahead.  Power lines are weakened by the heavy snow and power outages occur more frequently.  Along with the power lines, tree limbs and burdened with the heaviness of the snow and tend to break.

As I was driving past many broken branches after our March storm, it occurred to me that the heaviness of the trees from the snow is much like the heaviness that is in my heart many times when worry and guilt surround me.  As I worry about whether the plans I have made will come to fruition or if I have worked hard enough on a certain project or whether I have enough food for extra guests, the heaviness of my heart and mind increases.  Worry has always had that effect on me.  You too?

I find the same thing happening when I shoulder guilt.  When my choices go against what God plans for me, I have a great deal of guilt.  Guilty of what I should or should not have said.  Guilty of the actions that should or should not have been taken.  Guilty of the thoughts I should or should not have had.  

Guilt and worry can consume me.  It can take a cheerful heart and bring it to a very dark place.  It can take my focused mind and bring it to a constant state of flux.  It's amazing how these two words can move me from a place of joy to a place of pain.  Bottom line, guilt and worry weigh me down.  They sit on my shoulders like a ton of bricks.  The pain in my heart reminds me of all that I have done wrong or worry what won't go right.

How do we remove that weight?  We can't, but Jesus can.  He brings the good news, the cheerful word, that removes the weight that we carry and brings us joyful relief.  He "carries our burdens" and takes away our guilt and worry.  Jesus is the warmth that melts our snow and lifts our branches.  Only He can do that for us - let us be grateful for His saving grace.

Dearest Jesus, we thank you for always being there to remove the weight of guilt and worry and replace it with joy and cheer.  Only you can do that, Saving Lord.  Your grace covers us with warmth and brings us from darkness into the light.  Never leave us Jesus - may we always sing your praises.  Amen!

The Greatest

"And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  And the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13:13

Here we are, at the end of our study of 1 Corinthians 13.  My goodness, it certainly has been a journey - one that I have deeply learned and cherished - and glad that I took with all of you.  I have always looked upon this particular verse as the highlight of this chapter.  By awakening all the other "nuggets" in this chapter, this now seems to culminate the thoughts of Paul so nicely.

We began in mid January, trying to focus in on how the aspects of this sought-after chapter could effect our lives.  We end with three words that define us as Christians.  When someone asks me why I am a Christian, many wonderful Bible verses come to mind - yet, this one seems to sum it all up so wonderfully.

Faith.  Many people have faith.  They may have faith in people, faith in idols, and even faith in their own Gods.  The faith that I have seems to grow stronger, grows deeper the closer I come to Jesus.  When I was younger, faith meant that I believed Jesus was my Savior.  I had faith and belief that He died for my sins.  Certainly, that hasn't changed over the years.  Where my faith has deepened is how I better understand ALL that Jesus did for me.  I look at the faith that He has in me.  Little old me.  With everything on His plate, He chooses to put His faith in me to live out His love.  This only strengthens my faith in His glory.

Hope.  More than a wish.  More than a desire.  More than a goal.  Hope in God surpasses all that.  Hope in God is not a wish, but a certainty.  Our hope is an assurance of what is to come.  Our hope is conviction of full redemption.  Our hope is summarized with a full understanding that God will always do what is right for us, even though at the time it may not seem right. "Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness."  The hope we revel in is deeper than anything we can imagine - for our hope is in God.

Love.  There has been so much written, shared, sung and discussed about love.  Yes, that could be a blog all in its own.  We can see love every day.  Love for a spouse, love for a child, love for a parent, love for a friend.  All of that can be seen, if we look closely enough, around us.  So how can love be 'the greatest'?  When the love we talk about circles around God, it is a different kind of love.  God's love to us is an "agape" love - a love that is completely unconditional and unselfish.  People say they have this type of love all the time.  Yet, we are human.  We don't have this all the time.  We do try to aspire to have this kind of love - and that it what God wants!  He wants us to "shoot for the stars" and show a wonderful "agape" love to those around us.  That is why it is the greatest!!

Oh how I could go on and on about these three cherished words.  I'm going to let YOU do that.  Think about these words, reflect on them.  See where these words take you each and every day.  I pray that this study has brought you to a deeper understanding of Paul, the Corinthians, God, and YOU.  Peace and love to all.

"Heavenly Father - thank you for the blessing to walk through 1 Corinthians 13 together.  You showed us the wonder of this chapter and all the special morsels you had tucked away for us.  As we depart from this study and enter the world around us, may we do so with hearts filled with great love - Agape Love - that will shine from within us.  For within us is you, our Holy Spirit, who can help us bring your love to all that we meet.  In your gracious and loving name we pray.  Amen!"