Let wonder replace worry

A Prayer For Ash Wednesday

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

-Thomas Merton

January 2, 2011 - The Second Sunday After Christmas

I quickly snapped this picture on Wednesday inside San Felipe de Neri Church in the middle of Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This church has served the community of Albuquerque without interruption since 1706.

After spending some time in Old Town, we drove to Flagstaff for the night. Shortly after we arrived at our hotel, Flagstaff was hit with a blizzard that shut down all interstates and highways until Thursday evening. This left us hanging out in the hotel room all of Thursday, but we made the best of it and it turned out to be a pretty fun day.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

Holy Week: Resurrection Sunday

"Resurrection announces that God has not given up on the world, because this world matters. This world we call home matters to God." 

For me, this video sums it all up. This journey we have walked together this week does not end here, for Jesus conquered the one thing no one else in history has been able to. He made a way for you. And He made a way for me. 

He said He would do it. And He has done it!

Thanks to Rob Bell for this proclamation on this Resurrection Sunday!

Resurrection: Rob Bell from The Work of Rob Bell on Vimeo.

Holy Week: Waiting Quietly Saturday

What do you do when you wake up the morning after a tragic event? Are you even able to sleep?

This week, Saturday is the day in between. But that first Saturday, there was no in between.

The one to whom the disciples had devoted everything was in the tomb. A day of intense grief, no doubt.

We all have Saturdays that we must live though. No matter what the prosperity preachers on TV tell you, we all will experience times of grief and suffering. Confusion and fear. Sadness and hopelessness.

This day legitimizes all of us who have ever felt this way.

Know that you are understood.

And during these times may we pray for strength not only to get through, but to live well during.

Oh God, we pray yet it seems as you do not listen. On this Saturday, we wait for you to do what always has and always will be impossible. Will you come through?

Today we wait in silence.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. (Matthew 27:61)

Holy Week: How Good Is It Really Friday

Through the last few days of Lent and during this Holy Week, my heart is clung to a scene from the 2004 blockbuster movie, “The Passion of the Christ.”

I use clips from this movie in our youth confirmation classes. However, I've only watch the whole movie once. The man who plays Jesus grew up down the road and his parents invited all the pastors in the area to a early screening. All these years later, I've forgotten none of it.

Like I said, I have seen various scenes and clips countless time and what I cherish most is one of the most powerful and moving pieces of film I have ever witnessed.  

While Jesus is carrying his cross, He falls under its massive weight. His mom runs to comfort him and Jesus looks up from the ground and in a voice not filled with pain nor looking for sorrow - but a voice of purpose and hope; Jesus says, 

“Mother, I am making everything new.” 

Straight from Revelation 21 - the voice is sure, loud, and confident. It comes from the very throne and what it says shakes the world. Now the dwelling of God is with men and He will live with them, they will be His people and God Himself will be with them and He will be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away and Jesus said “I am making everything new.”

And it is that very thing that I identify with - I need to be made new. Yet this is the one thing I cannot do on my own. I do not have the means in which to make my heart new. I can’t buy it, manipulate it, or position for it. 

Yet, Jesus said he would do it, with passion, inconceivable passion, He said He would make me new.

And He did much more than just say it. On this Good Friday, he laid his life down for it. 

He made for us a way to salvation. We never again have to kill an animal and offer a sacrifice. We can never do anything to claim it on our own. Our name means nothing, but because of today, we receive it through His name. 

Was it brutal? Yes. Was it bloody? Yes. Was it incomprehensible love? Yes.

He did it for us. Because before He created the world, He chose us, called us, and ordained that He would make a way to call us His own. He has done it.

The world is shocked and buzzing. Jesus lays in a tomb. The disciples who ventured outside with Him yesterday are hiding inside tonight.

We'd prefer to skip the cross and get to the happy ending.

But we don't. Because Jesus didn't.

We embrace today, tears and all.

And they crucified him. (Mark 15:24)

Holy Week: Awkward Dinner Thursday

A couple of months ago, a kid at youth group asked me what I would want to eat for my last meal. That question made me uncomfortable. It reminded of a time several years ago I was poking around online late one night and came across a site that listed the last meal of every inmate put to death in Texas. This was one of the most depressing things I've ever read; but I could not stop. What would cause a grown man to request red kool-aid as a last drink? I imagine it has much less to do with the drink than the memories that drink contains - and the chance to savor them one final time.

I'm not going to ask you to ponder this disturbing question on this Maundy Thursday. I'm going to ask one that is even more uncomfortable.

What would you do if you knew that you only had 24 hours to live? 

What would you say if you knew that you only had 24 hours to live?

Jesus did a bunch of things, 4 of which we mark on this day. 

• Jesus washing the disciples feet.
• The Institution of the Eucharist 
• The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
•  The betrayal of Judas.
  

These are the things that make John 13-17 the most compelling drama ever penned regarding a man's final hours.

Then at the end of chapter 14, Jesus says it is time to leave.

What if we were invited to venture out of the upper room and into the darkness and uncertainty Jesus was facing on this Thursday night?

Maybe too often we try to keep Jesus inside. He is welcome in the church with our safe and orderly worship on Sunday mornings. But Saturday night, not so much. 

Like the disciples, we certainly need Jesus when we are inside. Like Peter, we may even make some promises we really cannot keep once we get outside. 

Yet, Jesus tells his disciples it is time to go outside. Offering himself, speaking words of life, words of hope, they venture into a dark world where they are basically wanted criminals.

If only we could stay inside, Friday would not have to come. We could avoid everything that is coming.

Yet that's the problem. We can't avoid it. Staying inside is simply not an option. 

Jesus is going outside and He asks us to come along.

And His followers follow Him. Outside.

This Maundy Thursday, we hold our breath. Staying inside is no longer an option. And if we are honest with ourself, we might be wonder from time to time if Jesus really knows what he is doing.

Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here. (John 14:31)

Holy Week: Coldplay Wednesday

Then there's the glorious "Fix You," supposedly written for Martin's wife after the death of her father. The song plays like a modern day "Bridge Over Troubled Water," offering peace and comfort to the weary: "Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones/And I will try to fix you." It's up to listeners to decide who's offering to repair the soul. -Christianity Today

Wednesday is always a busy day for me. Many Youth Pastors refer to Wednesday as the day we "live the dream."

Sure, Sunday is always a busy day but there is something uniquely special about Youth Ministry and Wednesday nights. When I was growing up, I attended some good youth groups and some awful youth groups (believe me, I could write a book) and they were all always on Wednesday.

Days of prep and work are capped off with our youth gathering and those of us called to this thing known as youth ministry are able to do that for which which we were placed on this planet.

Sure, working with the rest of the church is great, but I'd not trade any of it for Wednesday night.

So what do Wednesday and a British alternative rock band have in common?

It's unexpected. And on this Holy Week, we need to embrace the unexpected.

We like the expected - not the unexpected. Very few things catch us off guard. We watch news as it breaks. We see the weather forecast a week ahead (and when its wrong we are really thrown off.) We even have forecasts on our retirement savings. I can tell you exactly how much money I am suppose to have 30 years from now.

We expect so much.

Israel expected a king - a king like David. They expected a prophet - a prophet like Moses.

What they got was unexpected to say the least.

Which brings me to this beautiful song by Coldplay. It is certainly not expected that a 4 year old song by a rock band can teach us much of anything on this Wednesday of Holy Week.

But I think it does.

Because we need fixing in our lives. We have broken relationships, poor behavior, and tend to be quite selfish.

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know, Just what you're worth

Tears stream down on your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Lights will guide you home...

And ignite your bones...

And I will try to fix you

As we continue our journey this week, we recognize that we need to be fixed. We need to be redeemed and made whole. We acknowledge it. We receive it. In unexpected ways.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (Matthew 5.4)

Holy Week: Tuesday Mood Swings

Yesterday I stopped by a church here in town for a meeting about some things we are planning for several youth groups in town this summer. As I was leaving, the custodian had the palm branches from Sunday piled up just outside the church. I'm not sure if he was saving them for Ash Wednesday next year or if he was throwing them in the trash.

I did take notice of how out of place the palm branches looked on the windy, rainy Monday we experienced yesterday. They actually made me look forward to summer.

It also made me thing about what comes next. What comes after the triumphant entry on Palm Sunday? It's not as glorious as one may think.

First Jesus curses a fig tree - which promptly dies. Then He gets royally ticked off at the temple, turning tables over and yelling at everyone.

Do these 2 versions of Jesus even go together? Can "blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord" one day break tables and curse trees the next?

Yes.

Because for Jesus to make the world right, He has to address what is wrong.

Yet, I still contemplate the vast difference between the Palm Sunday Jesus and the emotional yelling and tree cursing Jesus.

Maybe Jesus is not either - maybe He is neither. Maybe He is something unlike the world has ever seen. Maybe the events of the next few days will rock our very foundations and no part of this globe will ever again be the same.

Yeah, that's it.

But today, on Tuesday, we wait; feeling the tension rise and the not sure how to deal with our own uncertainty.

Holy Week: Sports Fans Monday

I think there are 2 types of sports fans.

There are folks that enjoy watching their favorite teams. They might even have a shirt or a hat declaring their loyalty. They may make it to a few games each year. They always cheer and always hope for victory.

But a loss does not destroy their week and a win provides little more than a "good job guys."

Then there are the fans who paint their faces, rearrange their schedules to make every game possible, wear the team logo every day, and go into bouts of depression after a loss and experience sheer joy after a win.

This is the group of sports fans I just don't get.

Sure, I love the Arkansas Razorbacks. Yet I have never once shed a tear because they lost a close game.

If you come over on a Sunday afternoon in the fall, the Seahawks will be on our TV. However, I clearly remember shaking my head at a woman on the news a few years ago who said Seattle playing in the Superbowl was the greatest thing that has ever happened in her life.

I love to go to Mariners games, but I've never had a desire to paint my face before I get there.

I even watch NASCAR, but I've never even thought about getting in a fist fight because someone else is cheering for the guy who wrecked Mark Martin.

Yesterday, Jesus arrived on the back of a donkey to a crowd with painted faces, wearing team colors, and are as excited about His arrival as anything else that's ever happened.

But today is the morning after the big game.

Where have all of the devoted fans gone?

Was this ride nothing more than a publicity stunt to get more fans?

Or did Jesus believe this journey was something to get excited about?

The rules that Jesus are establishing are much different than the ones people were expecting.

Yesterday, the fans were looking for a white stallion and they got a donkey. They were looking for war, but they got a message of peace. They were looking for pride, but they got humility.

Where are the fans today?

I wonder if when we realize that God in envisioning a different game that we are expecting, will we wake up the next morning and still wear the colors?

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” (Matthew 21:10)

-Justin-

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

-Thomas Merton