Lenten Reflection #6

Note: Before you start reading, I thought I would address the fact that there are many links to Bible passages in this blog. Please do not feel like you need to follow all (or any) of them.  Let the Holy Spirit lead you.

Last Monday our driveway was snowed in and the kids had a day off school. Since then the snow hasn't melted much. Winter is still here. Very much so. It is going on much longer than normal (and I hear it is the same for other parts of Canada too). The calendar says “spring” but the temperature says “winter”. The church calendar says Easter is coming, but it looks more like Christmas. Driving to church this Palm Sunday I noticed how high the snow piles really are and thought “this is not how it is suppose to be!”

And although that could stress me out or sadden me, instead it gave me an opportunity to think about the first Easter and how it was filled with things that, from a human perspective, were “not suppose to be”.  For example:

Palm Sunday

• Jesus enters into Jerusalem riding on a donkey... the crowd was cheering but the Pharisees wanting to hush them up (Luke 19:28-40). Weren't the religious experts suppose to be the ones who recognized the Messiah?

The Last Supper

• Jesus washing His disciples feet (John13:1-17). Wasn't the servant suppose to wash the Lord's feet?

In the Garden

• Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane as he desperately cries out in prayer, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt. 26:39) One may have thought that Jesus was suppose to face his suffering calmly, without sorrow or a desire to get out of it.
• Judas, one of Jesus close followers, betrays Him with a kiss (Matt. 26:47-56). Wasn't a man Jesus had chosen to be one of the twelve disciples suppose to be on God's side?

During the Trial

• Peter, who declared “Even if all fall away, I will not.” and “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Mark 14:29 & 31), denies Jesus three times before morning. Wasn't the devoted, headstrong follower of Christ suppose to be able to love his Lord and keep his word?

The Cross

• One of the criminals on a cross next to Jesus knew Jesus had done nothing wrong and yet Jesus was being executed beside him. (Luke 23:39-43). Isn't it the guilty who are suppose to be punished, not the innocent?

The Resurrection

• Dead people are suppose to stay dead.
• Women were not suppose to be regarded as authoritative witnesses in 1^st century culture and yet they were the first to proclaim the Risen Christ. 
• Even with that being the case, weren't the disciples suppose to believe them since Jesus had already prepared them for both his death and resurrection? Yet they doubted the women's report. (Luke 24:1-12).

We could go on and on finding examples from throughout the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus of things that were not “how it is suppose to be”. (Please feel free to comment on this blog to add them.)

The good news is that God has the power and ability to transcend the laws of nature, our expectations, and all the “suppose to be” statements AND as a result:

• We are saved by God's grace. (Ephesians 2:4-9)
• We are forgiven and made righteous.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• We participate in His death and resurrection. ( Romans 6:1-10)
• The devil is defeated. ( Hebrews 2:14-15)
• We are given new life.... now and forever. (John 3:13-17)

So this Easter Sunday, if you are trudging through snow or slush on your way to Church, remember, even if things are not as they are suppose to be.... it may not be such a bad thing... God is at work redeeming the world through things that were “not suppose to be”.

I pray you have a blessed Holy Week.

Tracy