On the way to Sunday ... Being Transformed

When Jesus had finished saying all this, he went on toward Jerusalem. Luke 19:28 CEV 

The calendar says it has only been a few weeks since I returned from Jerusalem.  There are moments it seems only like yesterday.  There are other times it seems ages ago.  While I was there, I was given a certificate signed by the Tourism Minister and the Mayor of Jerusalem. It certified that I was an official pilgrim - I set it aside.  It seemed unimportant.  But now as I struggle to describe to you what this trip to the Holy Land has meant to me, it has come to symbolize my trip for I am a pilgrim.

I have discovered that a pilgrim is not a pious tourist. While a pilgrim and a tourist may follow the same itinerary, the pilgrim is on a sacred journey in which God is encountered through places, people and situations.  A tourist sees sights, discovers new places, learns interesting facts, takes photographs and accumulates souvenirs. The tourist returns home the same person as the one who left, accepting that his mind may have been broadened.  However, the pilgrim gains insights and discerns new truths about oneself. The pilgrim travels with the expectation that the one who returns is not the same person as the one who set out. The pilgrim has his or her mind on ultimate things. The pilgrim sets out open to the possibility of having identity and faith challenged.  The outcome for the pilgrim is a simple yet complex transformation that happens inside the person. The pilgrim returns with an impression imprinted on the soul, rather than on the memory of a digital camera. 

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white.  Mark 9:2-3 CEB 

Jesus was transformed on a mountaintop so that his disciples might fully understand who Jesus is and what is promised to us.  It would have been easy to become a spectator (as a matter of fact that is what Peter wanted to do!).  Instead they were transformed by the event. 

As we anticipate the arrival of Spring and the celebration of Easter, we are all pilgrims. Winter has been a part of our lives, but it is time to leave it all behind as we move ahead in our journey. We need to be changed.  We need to be eager to see life anew.  As the Spring approaches, don’t just be a tourist – enjoying the sights - but be transformed. We all need to be transformed. 

Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 CEV 

Calling all Pilgrims and tourists too! See you Sunday as we journey together towards Easter …

Marking the Way ... X marks the Spot!

¹Some Pharisees and several teachers of the Law of Moses from Jerusalem came and gathered around Jesus. ²They noticed that some of his disciples ate without first washing their hands.  ³The Pharisees and many other Jewish people obey the teachings of their ancestors. They always wash their hands in the proper way before eating. ⁴None of them will eat anything they buy in the market until it is washed. They also follow a lot of other teachings, such as washing cups, pitchers, and bowls. ⁵The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?" 

⁶Jesus replied: You are nothing but show-offs! The prophet Isaiah was right when he wrote that God had said, "All of you praise me with your words, but you never really think about me.  ⁷It is useless for you to worship me, when you teach rules made up by humans."

⁸You disobey God's commands in order to obey what humans have taught. ⁹You are good at rejecting God's commands so that you can follow your own teachings!  ¹⁰Didn't Moses command you to respect your father and mother? Didn't he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? ¹¹But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they own has been offered to God. ¹²You won't let those people help their parents. ¹³And you ignore God's commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do a lot of other things that are just as bad.                                                                                                                        Mark 7:1-13 CEV 

Jesus was trying to teach the people that their faith had become a façade.  During this time there were a couple of powerful religious sects. The Sadducees held together and upheld all of the written law of the Pentateuch – the first 5 books of the Bible. The Pharisees had developed traditions based on the law through the interpretation of teachers and scholars.  The oral tradition of the Pharisees had implemented over 600 additional ‘laws.’  Each of these groups had their strong followers.  It is one of the oral traditions and ‘laws’ that Jesus is being asked about: 

¹⁴Jesus called the crowd together again and said, "Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. ^15-16The food that you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean." 

¹⁷After Jesus and his disciples had left the crowd and had gone into the house, they asked him what these sayings meant. ¹⁸He answered, "Don't you know what I am talking about by now? You surely know that the food you put into your mouth cannot make you unclean. ¹⁹It doesn't go into your heart, but into your stomach, and then out of your body." By saying this, Jesus meant that all foods were fit to eat. ²⁰Then Jesus said: What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. ²¹Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, ²²unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. ²³All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God. Mark 7:14-23 CEV 

To paraphrase:  Jesus is saying, “Are you this Stupid?  Are you really not getting what I have been saying?”  After all the time spent with me - After all I have taught you - You still do not get it. 

All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God.  Mark 7:23 CEV 

One more time - How you live your life reveals your faith!  X marks the spot!  Look at where your ‘X’ is!  Think about that for a moment ... People are still looking for a treasure a man buried three years ago reportedly worth millions.  How long do people have to look at you before discovering Jesus in your life? 

Let's try another way of making Jesus’ point: Consider this: We have been called and set apart by faith have been made pure and holy: I am the LORD, who makes you holy   Lev 22:32 NIV 

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God   I Peter 2:9 NIV 

Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."  I Peter 1:15-16 

In this passage, Jesus is being asked about what makes you unclean – what makes you unfit to be in God’s presence. The root word in this passage that translates as unclean also means ‘to make common.’  The point is that we are not made holy by any action of our own. However, our actions will reveal our heart and our actions can reveal for all our common nature. We are called to be holy – not common.  We are holy until our actions make us common. 

Why is it we argue and become divided over so many things that are made of man?  Instead of being holy, we spend so much of our time being common. We live in a day where everyone else wants to tell you what it means to be a Christian and we just get in line as if it were commonplace: Republican or Democrat; Pro abortion or Anti-Abortion; To Drink or not to drink; for Gays or Against gays; Smoking;  Pre-marital Sex; Marriage; Drugs; Red Carpet or blue Carpet; Purdue or IU; Baptism (Sprinkling or Immersion); Communion (mystery or memorial). 

When did these things become the measure of your faith? When did Christianity become a set of ideals that are to be ‘checked off’ or marked with an ‘x’? Have we forgotten that the ‘heart’ will be our measure?  Not our politics or eating habits?  That was Jesus’ message then and it is still Jesus’ message today. 

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.   I Thes 3:12-13 NIV 

God has always been pleased with our Faith – not our tradition … Our faith – not our putting on a good show … Our faith – not our acting Politically Correct – none of that will count. Are you getting it?

One last chance to find the mark: The original Queen Mary cruise ship was decommissioned in 1967 and went to permanently dock in Long Beach, California to be repurposed as tourist attraction, museum, and hotel. The conversion process required removal of all the boiler rooms, the forward engine room, both of the turbo-generator rooms, the ship stabilizers and the water softening plant. The ship's empty fuel tanks were then filled with mud to keep the ship's center of gravity at the correct level. During the conversion process the smoke stack funnels were carefully removed as it was the only practical way to lift out all of the scrap materials from the engine and boiler rooms below. In the process, it was discovered that the only thing holding the stacks together was over thirty coats of paint.  The original stacks crumbled to nothing when placed on the ground.

The smoke stacks had all the appearance of function, but in reality they were nothing but facades. If you ever visit you probably wouldn’t notice because the stacks are still there. They were replaced with replicas – and yet the stacks are still as they were – nothing but a façade – having all the appearance, but no function.  When all is said and done, will your faith be more than a façade? 

Jesus teaches us that ‘X’ will mark the spot – your heart will be revealed by your actions.  You can’t fool God. In the words of Christ, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus came with an unexpected message. Jesus came to wash away – to erase – all that holds us back – all our facades – our masks – our sins.  Jesus came that we might embrace Him  –  to teach us to live our faith to reveal ‘x’ marks the spot.