Good Morning Friends,
Freedom from tyranny like miracles are important if for no other reason than they help us put in priority order, God before all other things. The miracle of creation…the miracle of God having an active hand in the nation of Israel… our own wellbeing….and of course, the resurrection, integrity and the very existence of God. But it does not come without a fight. In today’s text from Nahum, a temple prophet little is written about, we have the beginning of an acrostic weaving in the creation story with the fall of Nineveh. To depict it I have included an 1829 painting titled, The Fall of Nineveh by John Martin but not the 600-page epic poem by the same name from his friend, Edwin Atherstone. Together with scripture they are an example of the curse on evil being on equal footing with the blessing of good. Perhaps the message is that out of death comes life. For Nineveh it was the destruction Jonah had hoped to see but was delayed in coming. But when it did come with floods, fire and earthquakes and fighting, the people who were not destroyed rejoiced. They were given new life. And in our passage from Matthew, which comes right after Jesus has told Peter he was acting as Satan, we have a passage on the importance of redemption as it relates to a tool of torture and death in the reality that sometimes death does indeed bring life worth living. And that presents us with today’s question. So, Do The Crosses We Bear Reflect The Miracles Of Justice Or Of Mercy That We Seek?
Scripture: For ask now about former ages, long before your own, ever since the day that God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of heaven to the other: has anything so great as this ever happened or has its like ever been heard of? Has any people ever heard the voice of a god speaking out of a fire, as you have heard, and lived? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by terrifying displays of power, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, while you heard his words coming out of the fire. And because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them. He brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than yourselves, to bring you in, giving you their land for a possession, as it is still today. So acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you, so that you may long remain in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.
Deuteronomy 4:32-40 (NRSV)
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:24-28 (NRSV)
A shatterer has come up against you. Guard the ramparts; watch the road; gird your loins; collect all your strength. The shields of his warriors are red; his soldiers are clothed in crimson. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day when he musters them; the chargers prance. Ah! City of bloodshed, utterly deceitful, full of booty— no end to the plunder! The crack of whip and rumble of wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, piles of dead, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt, and make you a spectacle. Then all who see you will shrink from you and say, “Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you?
Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 (NRSV)
Message: The destruction of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital was a real event that happened in 612 B.C. They got a stay of execution during the tenure of Jonah, but when the Medes and the Chaldeans joined forces this long-time center of oppression fell, and the reverberations of the event were felt throughout the then-known world. Perhaps it is even part of the revelation of God in how and when justice is served up. It was seen as a miracle. And the beauty is that it like other miracles proves that everything, including timing, is completely under God’s control, even time itself, but especially love worth dying for. And the thing is that these miracles reveal God’s purpose in our lives too. Sure, laws exist related to what we know but God is not subject to them. Still God is moral. There are more miracles and crosses to bear than we usually think that reflect this reality. It is a miracle that the scriptures have been fulfilled but also a cross to bear. It is a miracle that we have been forgiven but also a responsibility. It is a miracle that we can believe what we cannot see and sometimes what we can. But the love of Jesus on the cross is perhaps the greatest of miracles. It is a miracle when we too willingly bear the suffering and burdens of others. Friends, we are to live a radical Christian life always on the edge extending our faith and love as Jesus did in facing death on the cross. And frankly, it is a miracle when we do, but also evidence that helps us to believe in mercy as well as justice. Perhaps that is why we are to live lives that are not dull or boring or safe but always on the threshold of needing a miracle so that when it comes, the glory will be God’s but in a way that gives us hope. You see, when God is doing the driving, when we are moved by the Holy Spirit, we become wonderfully positioned to realize our full potential and to become the people God intended us to be when he said we were very good. Friends, we were created to believe in the love of God and not just the wrath. We are to carry the cross of both justice and mercy so that new life can be born.
And So, friends, we all have crosses to bear in life. Sometimes they feel like heavy burdens pushing us to the brink of our abilities. And yet these painful hardships can become some of our most powerful teachers. They push us to think differently. And if we say to them, get behind me, we can indeed follow Jesus. This is our human condition. It is what life is about. Some of us try to play down our crosses, smiling and lying to ourselves and others that everything is all right when it is not. Some of us spiral into a whirlwind of self-pity, bitterness, anger and even hatred of oneself and others. I have seen myself do both, and while the former may seem preferable, less harmful approach, it is not particularly honest or healthy. The only option left is Jesu who taught us to hold our crosses with dignity while still acknowledging them for the burdens they are. The oppression must be destroyed while we remain truthful even when times are dark. Jesus did this on the cross. Out of death comes life but also redemption. And that is a miracle worth believing in. Of course, sometimes people seem to prosper while others suffer without regard to how evil or good any of them have been. But today’s scripture tells us that justice is coming and a payback for good and evil is assured. Related to this is the whole idea of carrying our cross in the awareness of the cross that Jesus died on. The context of today’s Gospel passage is of Jesus helping the disciples to understand that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer and be killed, and be raised the third day. Jewish Messiahs were traditionally conquering military heroes who saved Israel from enemies. Jesus went totally against that paradigm, prophesying His crucifixion. This seemed to be admitting defeat. Peter’s immediate response was to reprimand Jesus. Yet, in Jesus loss is gain, defeat is victory. The cross transcends all vain human ideals. We have expected the Christian life to be one of health and wealth and no suffering. That is a false gospel. Ask the people of Nineveh. Life includes suffering. We may want to try and prevent pain. Yet, our good intentions may actually do more harm. Like Peter, we may be benefiting the devil. Jesus wanted Peter to quit opposing Him, being an adversary and get behind Him and follow Him. When we try to take the lead from Jesus, to be more righteous than Jesus, we are adversaries.
Pray we see the signs of God in the miracles of God. Pray we see the power of God validated in the presence of divine power in this world. Pray we experience the awesome evidence of the Kingdom of God ruling in our lives. Pray we have the faith and hope to believe. Pray our experience of God increases our faith and hope and love. Pray that God help us carry our crosses as we help carry the crosses of others. Pray we put God in the driver’s seat. Pray we follow Jesus and never complain when others perceive our conviction as tedious. Pray we identify our intentions. Pray we fulfill our intentions to God’s glory. Pray we endure the cross we bear because we truly love God and others. Pray we be a sign of hope in the crosses we bear.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 