March 11 – Remodeling Reflections

We are having two bathrooms overhauled at our house right now. What was 1.5
baths will soon become 2 baths. This will be a fabulous, daily quality-of-life
improvement. It will be. It will be. My new mantra. Thank You, Lord, for what it will
be.

These improvements are turning into a pretty big project with the moving of
plumbing and walls. All this work has meant having men in and out of my house–
and my bedroom!!–for several weeks now. The whole family is now using one little
guest bathroom downstairs for all of our pottying and bathing needs. You wanna
talk about “First World Problems”? Only ONE bathroom? DOWNstairs? We’re fine.
We are. But this big project has altered our daily routines, and not just the bathroom
kind. I pretty much do all the same things I used to do, but when and where I get
them done has changed. Shifting my routine was difficult for me at first. It turns out
I’m a little more stuck in my ways than I thought. I have a curmudgeonly streak.
Who knew?

These changes have made me notice things I had been overlooking before. It has
given me a new appreciation for our home, for our family. The change in routine has
helped me do some decluttering, too. Discovering junk that hasn’t been touched in
forever that was right under my nose, unnoticed.
I think this is part of the lesson of Lent. A change in routine–it seems most Lenten
practices require an altering of the routine–helps us become aware. We notice the
good, we get rid of some bad; we shift our focus for 40 days. We fight any tendencies
to be a curmudgeon in our following of Christ.

– Julie Dahlberg

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March 10 – Wrong reaction

I’ve been wronged in my life.  You have, too.  Most all of us have at one point or another.  Someone has said something untrue which caused us grief.  Assumptions have led to broken relationships.  Many of us know the truth of the old saw, “No good deed goes unpunished.”  The disheartening thing is that its a pretty sure thing that we will face it again.  But if this is so, the question becomes “how will you react?”

As Jesus hung upon the cross, the ultimate symbol of unjust punishment, His reaction MUST inform ours.  The only human in history without sin dies a sinner’s death, the only perfect man is charged with every kind of evil.  God Himself is wronged by humankind, and His reaction to it?

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they have done.”

This is not my usual reaction.  When I’m wronged, my reactions move from self-doubt (“maybe they’re right and I’m wrong”) to fear (“what else might happen”) to anger (“how dare they accuse me of that”).  But seldom is my initial reaction that of Jesus: forgiveness.  And so I live this faltering life attempting to grow in my Christlikeness to the point where I can react to personal injustice with forgiveness.  It’s not easy and I’m no where near that yet.  But the act of sanctification, becoming holy and Christlike, is a life-long process, so I cut myself a little slack and continue the journey of learning.

May we all find the humility to forgive our wrong assumptions, then the slights, then the gossip, the lies, and finally the punishments we don’t deserve.

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March 9 – Remember Me

Last Sunday, we read about James and John, the “Sons of Thunder” who were two of Jesus’ disciples.  Immediately after Jesus predicts His own betrayal, torture and death (for the third time), these two come to ask Jesus to grant them power.  “Let us sit at your right and left hands when you begin the revolution,” they say.  Jesus simply asks if they can handle experiencing what He is about to experience.  They blindly proclaim that they can.  I wouldn’t be surprised if, once again but this time silently, Jesus wept.

There were only two people in the gospel who are given the place at Jesus’ right and left sides.  These two men were the criminals on the cross with Jesus.  These two men are the only ones who are said in the gospels to have literally born their crosses.  But their reactions to Jesus are as different as night and day.  The first hurled insults at Jesus as he hung there.  “If you are the Messiah, save yourself and us!”  Not a literal cry for mercy; just the meanest thing he could think to hurt Jesus.  It is said that in our deepest darkness our soul is revealed.  The second rebukes the first with a tight bit of logic.  “We are suffering justly, for we deserve this.  But this man hasn’t done anything.  He is innocent. Don’t mock Him, for of the three, He is least deserving.”  It is said that humility is understanding and accepting your true place in the world.  This man recognized both his own guilt and Jesus’ innocence.  Truth, humility, and honor hung there next to Jesus.

And so when he makes one last simple request – “remember me when you come into your kingdom” – Jesus grants it.  I wonder if Jesus was thinking back to the Last Supper He shared with His disciples, a meal where He proclaimed that every time they ate it, they should “remember me”.  I wonder what this echo of His own words just a few days before did for Jesus.  Regardless, Jesus answers, “Honestly, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

Which of these two men most reflects your spirit?  When things get really hard, do you tend toward blame and cursing, or toward humility and truth?

“Jesus, remember me.”

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March 8 – The Meaning of My Cross

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my
follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you
try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake
and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you
gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your
soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful
days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of
his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38 (NLT)

I’ve been stuck on this passage, trying to figure out why Jesus told his disciples to
take up their crosses. Looking at the larger context of the passage, we can see that
Jesus is describing just how much it costs to follow Him. It costs everything–your
way, your life. But why the cross reference? Over the years I’ve thought that the
cross was meant to represent my burdens or my baggage. And that taking it up and
following Jesus would be a surrendering of my will and dropping all the junk in my
life I insist on dragging around with me. But I’m not sure that interpretation is what
Jesus meant when he spoke those words to his disciples.

At that time, the cross was a symbol of a guilty verdict, a death sentence, public
suffering, and shame. I have trouble believing all those in the crowd pictured
themselves dying on a cross. What is Jesus suggesting here? Our guilt and need for
forgiveness? Or is this a foreshadowing of his own death? During this Lenten Season,
as I consider Jesus’s journey to the cross, with and on the cross, I wrestle with what
he meant when he spoke of our crosses. Is my cross something I might be holding
back when he asks for all of my life?

–julie dahlberg

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March 7 – What matters most

What matters most to you?  What is the most important thing you could receive right now?  Maybe this is the “genie’s 3 wishes” question, or the “if you won the lottery” question.  If you could ask for anything, what would your request be?

As Jesus turns toward Jerusalem for the last time, he meets along the way a blind man (or two in the Gospel of Matthew).  This blind man, Bartimaeus by name, cries out for mercy, and the disciples rebuke him.  But in the face of rebuke, he just cries all the louder for mercy.  Jesus calls him over and asks a very important question, “What do you want me to do for you?”

When you are asked what you want by someone who can give you anything, you ask for that which matters most to you.  “Rabbi, I want to see,” the blind man says.  And Jesus grants his request.

Jesus is not a genie, nor a great “vending machine in the sky” where you deposit good works and get back answered prayers.  But there are times when Jesus, for our own good, asks us, “What do you want me to do for you?”  This question reveals our true desires.

So, what would you ask Jesus for in response to this question?  What really IS the most important thing for you right now?

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