Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent - March 21, 2012
John 5:24
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."
To "cross over" or "pass over" from death to life runs counter to how we experience reality. Our experience is typically that we move from life to death, that in many ways, our life is preparation for our ending or our death.
[I spent several hours in Psalm 90 this week. It is a psalm that encourages us to "number our days" and to recognize how fleeting life is, that we may live life well.]
But Jesus strangely says that the pass over is from death to life. Frankly, Jesus' scheme lines up more cleanly with the rest of the created world.
As I write these words, I sit in front of a window that looks out at a tree that has been bare and spindly all winter. Now, within the last week, there are buds sprouting up and down the tree. It is obviously alive, having moved from dormancy to life. The buds seem to grow another inch or two every day, reminders to me that seasons which appear to bring death transition into seasons of growth and life.
In fact, the ideas of transition and process seem important. We have opportunities to move across thresholds from death to life. Could this be the invitation Jesus is extending to us?
One other thing . . . When I consider these words, I'm also mindful that this life Jesus offers -- if it is truly life for me -- will also be life for others. That runs counter to some contemporary (and ancient) spirituality that says, "It's okay if I prosper at the expense of someone else." (See the prayer of Jabez!) How egocentric that is, to think that I could have life which comes when someone else is diminished.
I expect a greedy, consumer culture to buy into this mentality . . . that some get richer generally means that somewhere, someone is getting poorer. But I would hope that spiritually we would be wiser than that.
The life that Jesus offers to me will not come at the expense of someone else. In other words, it cannot be life for me if it is death for someone else. If God is the Source, my territory will not be expanded at the expense of the person who lives next door.
Rather, what is good for me will be good for all . . . and what is good for all will be good for me. Life is interrelated that way . . . not lived in isolation.
Life and wholeness for me will not mean death or diminishment for someone else.
For today . . . notice today how the plant-world around you is tending toward life in the springtime (if you live in the Northern hemisphere). Pay particular attention to those plants that seemed dead through the winter, and that now are bursting with life. Let God instruct your heart today through the world of nature.
Or you might notice today how you feel about the second idea in the paragraphs above. That is, life for you will not come at the expense of someone else. How does that phrase speak to you about the interconnectedness of life?
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."
To "cross over" or "pass over" from death to life runs counter to how we experience reality. Our experience is typically that we move from life to death, that in many ways, our life is preparation for our ending or our death.
[I spent several hours in Psalm 90 this week. It is a psalm that encourages us to "number our days" and to recognize how fleeting life is, that we may live life well.]
But Jesus strangely says that the pass over is from death to life. Frankly, Jesus' scheme lines up more cleanly with the rest of the created world.
As I write these words, I sit in front of a window that looks out at a tree that has been bare and spindly all winter. Now, within the last week, there are buds sprouting up and down the tree. It is obviously alive, having moved from dormancy to life. The buds seem to grow another inch or two every day, reminders to me that seasons which appear to bring death transition into seasons of growth and life.
In fact, the ideas of transition and process seem important. We have opportunities to move across thresholds from death to life. Could this be the invitation Jesus is extending to us?
One other thing . . . When I consider these words, I'm also mindful that this life Jesus offers -- if it is truly life for me -- will also be life for others. That runs counter to some contemporary (and ancient) spirituality that says, "It's okay if I prosper at the expense of someone else." (See the prayer of Jabez!) How egocentric that is, to think that I could have life which comes when someone else is diminished.
I expect a greedy, consumer culture to buy into this mentality . . . that some get richer generally means that somewhere, someone is getting poorer. But I would hope that spiritually we would be wiser than that.
The life that Jesus offers to me will not come at the expense of someone else. In other words, it cannot be life for me if it is death for someone else. If God is the Source, my territory will not be expanded at the expense of the person who lives next door.
Rather, what is good for me will be good for all . . . and what is good for all will be good for me. Life is interrelated that way . . . not lived in isolation.
Life and wholeness for me will not mean death or diminishment for someone else.
For today . . . notice today how the plant-world around you is tending toward life in the springtime (if you live in the Northern hemisphere). Pay particular attention to those plants that seemed dead through the winter, and that now are bursting with life. Let God instruct your heart today through the world of nature.
Or you might notice today how you feel about the second idea in the paragraphs above. That is, life for you will not come at the expense of someone else. How does that phrase speak to you about the interconnectedness of life?
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