WEEK TWO: You + Me + Jesus: WAITING to Get Got

Weekly Reading: Luke 6-7

Here’s my suspicion: One of our deepest desires is to get got. When we encounter someone who gets our intentions, our wit, our brilliance–our sheer persona–without great explanation, a kind of homecoming happens in us. (Personally I experience a curious paradox: I spark with energy and simultaneously feel at rest.)

Yet getting got is a bit of a mystery. It can be developed through shared history; it’s that friend who saw us through our big hair days, our jock crushes, and our post-graduation funk. Or at times it’s someone who shows up in our lives suddenly, swaps secrets, and adores our quirks. We point to each other and declare, “You’re my people.”

This gift of getting got is a treasure—and often a rare treasure. We can wait and wait and wait for that best friend, that sense of community, that soul mate. Wait. And wait. And wait.

And in the interim we can get missed a million times. We encounter people who just don’t catch on to how freak’n funny we are, how nuanced our look at the world is, how much we have to offer. And when that happens we can feel a bit banished, like displaced people. (I can revert to that fourth-grade feeling of being picked last on the kickball team.)

JESUS, NO STRANGER TO IT ALL

This longing to get got and the reality of being missed are fundamental to the human experience…and so not foreign to Jesus.

During Jesus time on earth his family and dearest friends misunderstood him, his religious community rejected him, one of his followers betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver, and strangers chanted for his death.

And yet Jesus shared deep and at times instant affinity with the most surprising of people: tax collectors, prostitutes, scholars, and Roman soldiers.

In Luke 6 and 7 we get just a glimpse of Jesus’ relational life—with its deep rejections and soulful interactions. And through it we might gain wisdom and strength in our own waiting to get got.

In Luke 6:1-11 we get two snapshots of Jesus on the Sabbath (the Jewish weekly day of rest and worship). In both scenes certain Pharisees (religious leaders) criticized Jesus’ actions.

I can only imagine how frustrated Jesus was. The Pharisees were supposed to be Jesus’ people. They had committed their lives to studying God’s law and seeking God’s face. They should have recognized Jesus when he said he was Lord over the Sabbath and celebrated the fact that he healed others on a day of worship. But instead, these guys were enraged and became hell-bent on attacking him.

In the face of striking rejection from the religious community Jesus’ response is fascinating. He didn’t fiercely pursue revenge tactics or reputation-management strategies. Rather, he stole away for a time of prayer and solitude.

In Luke 6:12-16 we see Jesus go to a mountain and pray the whole night. He sought God and had time alone—I suspect to be reminded of his true identity. No matter what others said, he remained God’s Son, beloved. And then he chose his twelve disciples the next morning.

I am in awe of Jesus’ response.

Perhaps prayer and solitude are the most potent guardrails to dealing with rejection and for developing community. Out of communion with the Father and comfort with himself, Jesus pursued others.

REFLECTION EN ROUTE: How do you respond to rejection? How do you approach friendships?

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WEEK ONE: You + Me + Jesus: WAITING to Begin

This Week’s Reading: Luke 3:21-4:30

Have you ever waited and waited, and then when you finally thought your waiting was over you’re told: “Sorry. You have to wait a bit longer.”

You land the job and then there’s a hiring freeze. You get engaged, and your fiancé gets cold feet. You spend your day-off at the DMV and then don’t have all the paperwork. Ugh! The stops and starts of waiting can physically, emotionally and mentally undo us.

Curiously enough, Jesus was no stranger to the extended wait.

LET’S GET GOING

In Luke 2:41-52 we get a snapshot of Jesus as an adolescent boy bantering with rabbis in the temple. Luke tells us Jesus goes on to grow “in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all people” (Luke 2:52). But from age twelve to thirty Jesus seems to live in obscurity.

No doubt some of Jesus’ peers become rabbis and he watches as messiahs appear on the scene, claiming to be Israel’s saviors. All the while he takes up carpentry (stone-cutting) and waits. Almost two decades Jesus waits.

Then the moment comes. Luke spotlights Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist gathering crowds in the wilderness to be baptized (Luke 3:1-20).  John invited people to repent and partake in an ancient purification ritual and ready themselves for the true Messiah. And what does Jesus do? After all this waiting, he sets the record straight and makes it known he’s the legit Savior. Not quite.

Jesus gets baptized too. While he has no need to repent, he submits. Instead of making himself known through miraculous acts or self-declarations, Jesus humbles himself.

As he does the Spirit descends like a dove, then a voice from heaven announces: “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy” (Luke 3:22). Jesus’ public ministry begins with an affirmation of his identity rather than a display of accomplishments.

Before we see him teach, heal or cast out demons first we see his Father pronounce delight.

REFLECTION EN ROUTE: So often I’m fixated on the fulfillment of my external desires that I miss the deeper realities of what I already have. I just want to get going. But when the day finally comes for Jesus, he pauses. He is postured to hear what is most important—what will carry him through the seeming stops and starts of his call. He is beloved by his Father.

This week as you wait for whatever you’re waiting for how can you create space to hear God’s voice love? Perhaps you’re reminded of God’s delight as you take a brisk walk outside. Maybe you determine to pause and savor the laughter of your kids, and in their joy you sense God’s joy for you.  Perhaps you cook one of your favorite meals and dare to believe you are God’s child extravagantly loved.

I believe the biggest saboteur to us waiting well—and ultimately beginning well—is a failure to remember our true identity. We may finally get what we’ve waited for but if we’ve lost our identity as a beloved child of God than our fulfilled desire will never be what we hoped it would.

INTERLUDE.

Luke seems to break from the Jesus’ story just when it’s getting going to remind us of his linage (Luke 3:23-38). It’s as if Luke is saying you might think Jesus waited for decades for this day to come, but imagine if he’s been gearing up since the beginning of human history. That’s some epic waiting as the Son of God. But don’t forget he too is the Son of Man, just as human as the rest of us. Ok, then.

 HALTED YET AGAIN. SERIOUSLY.

So Jesus is now ready to get going. His identity has been affirmed. His stature has been established. The masses are bound to embrace him as Savior of the World. Right?

In Luke’s next scene Jesus, full of the Spirit, treks off into desert (Luke 4:1). There, however, he doesn’t encounter crowds clamoring to see his Messianic mad-skills on display. Rather, he’s greeted by the devil.

A cosmic showdown transpires. After such a long wait Satan tempts Jesus physically, emotionally and mentally to take shortcuts to fulfill his immediate desires and long-term call.

PHYSICALLY 

“He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’” (Luke 4:2-4)

What? Jesus responds in the exact opposite way I usually do. I tend to treat myself to physical comforts if I’m waiting for emotional desires to be fulfilled. If you’re not going to give me what I want right now, the least you can do is serve me a pound of dark chocolate, a goblet of Merlot, and you might as well throw in a cappuccino while you’re at it. (Cheers to my victim-thinking, once again.)

Jesus forgoes immediate gratification to be reminded of a greater desire for God.

REFLECTION EN ROUTE: What’s your physical comfort go-to (food, alcohol, drugs, sleep, sex, etc.) when you’re not getting what you’re waiting for, especially after a longtime?

What if during Lent we asked the Spirit to help us refrain from whatever our default comfort is in order to cultivate a deeper desire for God?

Choose a passage this week that reminds you of God’s goodness and presence. For me it’s: “If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, your strength will support me.” (Psalm 139:9-10)

EMOTIONALLY

Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’” (Luke 4:5-8)

The devil offers Jesus a shortcut to power if only he would worship him. Jesus was called to rule the kingdoms of the world but he was called to do it through love and sacrifice. So Jesus responds by saying you must worship the LORD your God.

When we’ve been waiting for something—especially for a long time—our emotions become weak and easily deceived. We settle for lesser loves. We forget our deepest passions and instead we vie for money, power, security, sex, control, etc. We lose sight of what God has for us, and how he desires to give it to us.

Our lesser loves can turn into the gods we worship.

When I’m emotionally spent and most vulnerable I worship the god of perfectionism. If I could be perfect, surely I would get what I want and I’d get it a lot sooner. In fact if I was perfect I’d already be married and a mom, right?

The call is for me is to abandon the god of perfectionism and trust God’s invitation to be faithful.

REFLECTION EN ROUTE: What is the god you’re tempted to worship when your emotions are threadbare from waiting?

How might the Spirit be enticing you to worship the true God?

This may sound curious but one of the best ways for me to kill the god of perfectionism is to give myself permission to play, rest and have fun. The joy of faithfulness does judo on the pressure of perfectionism. What defiant act might you do this week against your default god? Have fun with it!

INTELLECTUALLY 

“Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” (Luke 4:9-12)

The devil tells Jesus to jump off the temple and let God rescue him to prove he is the Son of God.

As I observe this interaction it’s as if the devil provokes Jesus to doubt his own identity as God’s son and God’s ability to come through for Jesus.

After a long season of waiting it’s so easy to doubt our worth to God and God’s good intentions toward us.

I have a tendency to think, “God if you are good, if you love me, you would give me_________.” I begin to determine God’s character based on God’s fulfillment of my desires. And I not only put God’s character to the test based on his capacity to fulfill my desires but to fulfill them on my timeline.

When that happens my intellectual engagement with God gets distorted.

REFLECTION EN ROUTE: In the midst of your waiting how have you doubted your identity as a child of God and God’s ability to come through for you?

Consider praying this week: “Lord forgive me for doubting you…for putting your character to the test according to my timeline. Help me revel in the reality that I am your beloved child and you are good.”

GIFTS IN THE DESERT: Nutrients for the next terrain…

After Jesus emerges from the desert, Luke shows him entering his hometown (Luke 4:16). Jesus returns to Nazareth keenly aware of his call. He is initially embraced but when he expresses such an expansive view of God’s love (that encompasses the foreigners and doesn’t line up with their vision of the Messiah), they actually try to kill him.

Yet Jesus is undaunted by their rejection. He had come out of the desert fortified—physically, emotionally and intellectually strengthened. His faithfulness in the long wait enabled him to withstand the challenges he encountered as his public ministry took off.

REFLECTION EN ROUTE: What are the ways God might be fortifying you in your desert of waiting?

Spend a few moments exploring what you may be gaining physically, emotionally and mentally as you wait. How might those gifts help you when you finally get what you desire?

 MY PRAYER: My prayer for you this week is that you would sense God’s extravagant love for you and trust that He is doing worthwhile work in you as you wait. May this hope grow large in you.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:3-5

 

You + Me + Jesus WAITING at the Gravesite of Hope: Intro to a Lenten Journey through the Gospel of Luke

I have a suspicion: We’re all waiting—waiting for something, or perhaps for someone. Maybe it’s for a job promotion or clarity on what career path to take. We could be antsy for our hip to heal or desperate for our youngest to get out of diapers or our oldest to make it through puberty in one piece. Perhaps we’re waiting for the day we finally get to parent. We wait for love. We wait for purpose. We wait to shed fifteen pounds, to have a true best friend, to get affirmation from our dad. We wait.

Here’s a confession: I don’t like to wait. Some days waiting is a minor irritation; other times it’s a subterranean reservoir of rage.

But what if there were gifts in the waiting? What if this desert of waiting contained beauty and necessary nutrients for the terrain beyond?

I want to be grateful for the waiting, but here’s another confession: I’m not. Not yet. But I’m up for the journey that leads to gratitude, and I’d love for you to join me.

INVITATION: During this Lenten season, let’s look at Jesus’ story and zoom into the scenes when he found himself waiting—for his call to be revealed and received, to be known, to have a home, to nurture, to die, to resurrect. And let’s see if there’s anything in Jesus’ journey of waiting that can give insight—and ultimately hope—to our wait.

6-WEEK WAITING PLAN: Each week during Lent, I’ll post a reading from the book of Luke (an historical accounting of Jesus’ life) that spotlights a time when Jesus found himself waiting. I’ll also include personal reflection questions focused on the intersections between Jesus’ story and ours. I’d love to find out what you’re discovering, so please post your insights. It also may be great to do this with a friend, meeting once a week to banter, grapple, and pray.

STARTING LINE REFLECTION: What are you waiting for? What questions do you ask about God—or assumptions do you make—when you’re waiting for something important to you? What questions do you ask of yourself? Are there any unhelpful assumptions you make about yourself or others when waiting starts to shatter your hope?

The journey of Lent always begins with confession, with the invitation to express our sorrow for ways we’ve missed God and our need for more of his grace. If you dare, take some time today to be candid with God and see what comes of that.

YET ANOTHER CONFESSION: I have often doubted God’s goodness in my waiting. I have assumed He’s holding out on me. And so, I’ve felt like a victim. I’ve felt I’ve had to live a lesser story than I want, than I deserve, than what others get. Victim. Victim. Victim.

And yet I know that’s no way to wait. It’s no way to live.

When I pull back from my assumptions, I find myself asking three questions:

  1. Is the waiting worth it? Do I have cause for hope?
  2. Am I alone in the waiting? Do I have community?
  3. What should I be doing in the waiting? Do I have guidance?

These are my questions as I wait. Perhaps yours are different. But let’s see how Jesus’ life can speak into our deepest longings as we wait…and as we hope.

MY PRAYER: My prayer is that you and I will not only find renewed strength and hope in our waiting, but that ultimately we’ll get to know Jesus more truly and deeply and experience more of his love en route. Cheers to that!

Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.  Isaiah 40:31

 

 

 

I Still Marvel….

@ air travel.

This morning I was in Cairo, surrounded by sand, traversing over desert.

This afternoon I am in London, gazing at snow.

Tonight I will be Brussels, where the streets are lined with chocolate shops.

On the stoop of heaven, I land.

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