(I took the weekend off – sorry to disappoint all 2ish folks who stop by here on and off… ha! I won’t lie; it’ll probably happen again on weekends. Sorry in advance.)
Over the weekend I got to help baptize one of our students, a good friend. And afterwards, as her fiancé and I sat in the hot tub reflecting on the moment, we were talking about the simplicity of the act. I mean, as we stopped to consider it, we were essentially just dunking someone in a pool (hot tub this time, thank God!), the same as we all did when we were kids. And yet, those simple few seconds were filled with deep meaning. A simple act; a simple answer to a simple question; a simple prayer. And yet a moving spiritual moment for us.
I feel like the same thing happens throughout life: “I love you” – 3 simple words, but intense meaning. “I do” – possibly one of the shortest sentences in our language, and yet it begins a lifelong journey of marriage together. To get a little less romantic, “Paul” – the addition of my middle name, when it followed a “Benjamin!” from my parents as I grew up, carried deep meaning as well. It meant I better get myself hidden, and quick! Billions of dollars of business begin with the word, “yes.” And on and on and on.
Today’s reading is quite possibly the most recognized story in Christianity – folks who know nearly nothing about the faith that shapes my life, would still know this part of the story. “Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose again on the third day.” Sure, there are nuances – there is the “spectacle” indeed, as darkness consumed the earth and the curtain tore as the God-man died (weird theological concept, no?!). There was the burying and the rush of preparation, because of their discipline (which far surpasses mine!) in keeping God’s Sabbath. There was the empty tomb; the “dazzling apparel.” There was marveling.
But what this text says, again, is “Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose again.”
Eight simple words. Three simple sentences. Less than four seconds to say. But two thousand years of history-altering, life-changing, world-impacting, martyr-causing, worship-worth, human-redeeming truth. In these few simple words hangs the crux of history and life. In these few simple words is the breath of God. In these few simple words, we find redemption, purpose, and joy.
I won’t lie; when I first read today’s text, I began breezing through it – “I know this part.” But in stopping, in looking back, in reflecting, and in thinking, I began to feel some weight. I won’t pretend to grasp anywhere near the depths of the truth of the cross, but as the pinnacle of Jesus’ work and God’s plan was laid out here, I think I might have caught just a momentary tiny glimpse of the awe that these paragraphs should put in me. A sobering moment; a heavy read. And I gotta be honest, I shuddered a little, in utter amazement at the work of God.
Because all of life hangs on today’s simple words.
God, thank you. Let me be amazed today as I ponder this too-familiar truth. Thank you Christ… Amen.
1 comments:
Love your thoughts here, and Todd and I were discussing something in the same line of thinking on the way out to the ranch. Sometimes the truth - as deep and life-changing as it is - is really not all that complicated. We're the ones that feel like we have to add all the extra words (and stuff). . .
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