John 7:25-53; Martyr Syndrome?

Did Jesus have a martyr syndrome? We often portray him as fixed on death. In many of our churches (and our lives) we leave him hanging on a cross. I've been in Catholic churches in Latin America where he is "lying in state" in a glass coffin. He bluntly stated in other places that he came to give his life as a ransom. Yet, the way this passage reads, I don't think he was fixed on death at all.

Twice the crowd tried to seize him and could not. The temple guards came for him but did not take him. Anyone that was looking for martyrdom would probably have taken advantage of one of those three moments. Yet, Jesus was not looking for death at that time; he was looking for how to give life.

And what's the big deal about whether he had a martyr syndrome or not? For me personally the issue is that I honestly don't know how to follow a person that has a death fixation. Am I to go through life being morbid or acting like this world does not count? But Jesus did not live that way. This is a man fixed not on death but on sharing life. All his teaching in this section is about knowing God and having his Spirit. His focus was not death but life.

When I think of Jesus I think he was a joyful person. I don't think he was silly happy nor do I think he was somber. He was driven by the purpose of giving life to others and that life was full of joy. He didn't call people to become zombies walking around exhausted from worry or work. He didn't call people to frivolity either. He called us all to wake up and really live. I think Jesus would have been refreshing to be around.

There is a line from an old church song that says "Look away from the cross to the glittering crown." I think Jesus would have liked that line.

Mark 15:33-47; Not End

What a terrible ending, i.e., Jesus dies, his followers are crying or dispersed and his body is placed in the tomb. I wanted to keep reading, to flow directly into the next chapter. Yet I think it is unfair to do so. The early followers of Jesus had to live through the end of chapter 15 without knowing that there would be more to the story. I cannot comprehend the degree of emptiness and abandonment they must have felt at that moment. All that they had lived for and hoped for ceased to exist in one night.

In truth, it seems that many Christians live as though the story ended in chapter 15 rather than 16. Our actions betray our beliefs. Do we live daily with the mindset that the things of this world are only temporary? Do we live daily as if the best is yet to come? Do we live with the joy that the issues of this physical world are of no lasting consequence? Do we act as if we are just passing through this life as we journey to where we really belong? Is our mindset summed up by the words of C. S. Lewis, "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

Most of the world believes that this life will end like chapter 15, that is, no hope, cold, in a grave. The secret that frees us to truly live is to always remember that there is a chapter 16.

Romans 8:28-39; Perspective

This week I've talked to a student whose mother died of a stroke when he was in high school, another whose grandfather just died, another whose sister just finished drug rehab and a friend whose mother is in the hospital due to a stroke. So reading "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" just seems to sound odd today.

Then I keep reading and he compares us to Christ, an itinerant man of God who was abused and murdered, and he says we are like sheep to be slaughtered. Those are not very comforting but they are corrective to the misunderstanding that being a Christian makes everything end like a fairytale.

It seems that in the spiritual realm, it is impossible to be more secure in God's hands than we are at present. From his perspective, we are totally cared for. Yet from an physical view, it might still seem quite rough at times.

It is so hard to maintain God's point of view in a broken physical world. Death, sickness, injustice and frustrations scream at us. Yet in the long-term view, they are bumps in the road and not the end of the road. Even death is not the end of the road. For those called by God, he is the end of the road . . . and that confidence changes all perspective.

Romans 6:1-14; Offerings

The idea of new life continues to jump off the pages at me. For years I read this thinking of the next life. Somehow I think many of us hear the message of "we die to sin so that after we physically die we will have a new life." I don't think that is at all what he is talking about. Paul is concerned with how people are living in the here and now. He is concerned with their actions today and what living for God looks like 24/7. If that is the case, then "new life" is not about some ethereal experience yet to come. It is about a new experience now.

If the "body of sin is done away with" already, then this new life must be ongoing at this moment. Either that, or we are dragging around dead bodies with us. Honestly, I think that is the way many Christians are perceived, i.e., dragging around death and decay rather than overflowing with life.

The "master" language grabs me here. To whom do I "offer" myself as a sacrifice? The text says "do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but offer yourselves to God. . ." Every action today will be an offering. Every choice, every thought, every word, every behavior will be an offering to one of two gods. Tomorrow morning when I look back at the last 24 hours, my composite offering will tell me whom I truly serve and if I truly lived . . . or just dragged around death for another day.

Luke 21:5-19; Perspective

This section reads like two people looking at totally different things. Regarding the temple, the disciples see an amazing enduring structure while Jesus sees something about to be raised to the ground. Regarding going to trial, the disciples naturally felt fear but Jesus saw an opportunity for witness. Regarding death, most would see it as the end but Jesus does not equate death with perishing, i.e., it is not the end.

It is the last statement that stands out to me. ". . . they will put some of you to death. . . But not a hair on your head will perish." Death is not the same as perishing for those who follow Jesus.

How hard it is to keep his perspective in life. Yet what a great world his is -- a world where hard times can be a blessing and where death is not the end.

Luke 14:25-35; All or none

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus and received the shock of their lives. Rather than praise for beginning a long journey or dedication up to that point, Jesus called them to follow only if they were willing to dedicate themselves 100% to his work. All or none was the call. He was marching to his death and called them to do the same.

Jesus doesn't sound very touchy-feely in this passage. Those who love the picture of Jesus holding the sheep or the anemic Jesus loving up on children must struggle with this picture of him, i.e., marching to sure death and telling everyone around him that they need to do the same or go home.

In a world looking for purpose, Jesus calls us to living out his purpose. He calls us not to be good people but to be dedicated fanatics. He calls us not to a better life but to a cross. He calls us not to a Sunday facade but to a daily death.

Word Choice; Luke 9:31 & 51

We often talk of Jesus' death. He talked of his "departure" and time "to be taken up to heaven".

Maybe it is a little thing but I have to think that it is an expression of something much deeper. We see life as ending when a person dies. We mourn profusely at a graveside believing that a life has ceased. Yet Jesus addressed death as if it were a journey or transition. If physical death is "departing" or being "taken up", then the sting is dramatically reduced. Actually, joy is infused into the idea. Taking a trip does not sound so bad.

We are often encouraged to live with the end in sight; yet, if the end is a journey and not a termination, how does this affect the way I live in the present?