The Art of Easter

As I reflected on the story of the Road to Emmaus for our recent Easter service, I ran across this painting by Caravaggio from the 17th Century. I thought that this Supper at Emmaus was a beautiful rendering of this 1st century revelation. (You can view this and other Caravaggio images at http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/caravaggio/) When I took a second look at the photo, though, I began to wonder about the number of people seated at the table. The Biblical record would tell us that Jesus walked the Emmaus road and then sat down for dinner with two men. Who's this third guy?

Now, I'm not an art major, but my understanding is that Caravaggio had a habit of painting himself into many of his portraits. Do you notice the man seated in the overly-modern chair? I believe Caravaggio put himself in a place that we all need to find ourselves in at some point on our faith journey. Caravaggio put himself there, where Christ revealed himself as the risen Savior and Lord. Shortly after the moment this painting depicts, Jesus disappears and the two men sprint back down the Emmaus road to Jerusalem to share the revolutionary news- Jesus is alive!

The revelation of a living Christ changed the lives of these two men, as well as countless others who would follow after them. I believe that for each one of us, Jesus walks into our life, and at some crucial moment, reveals himself to us, proclaiming, "I am all that I claim to be." And when we accept him as the everlasting Savior, our lives our changed forever.

Have you sat at the table with Christ? Has he revealed his resurrected life and hope to you? Will you receive it? I hope you have, and I hope that you will. It's the life changing message of hope for the ages.

Journey on.

Snow Days

It's snowing here today. As the white fluffy stuff falls from the sky, children across the county wish and hope for those two most wonderful words of all, "schools cancelled." No dice today- sorry kids. But this does remind me of those snow days we had when I was a kid; days when the weather was just so miserable and cold that you just didn't have the heart to go outside. You'd make hot chocolate, snuggle up in blankets, and waste away the day playing monopoly. Those days reminded you how nice it was to slow down. The weather forced you to take it easy, and enjoy the comfort and quality of the people around you.

We live in a world that is bent on 'doing.' You used to have to attend a football game to hear the cheer "go, fight, win." But this has now become the anthem of countless multitudes around us. We become consumed with where we must go, the battles we must fight, and winning at all costs. In a spiritual sense, we could all use a snow day- time to unwind and remember that God has not called us first to do, but rather to 'be'- to be His child, to be at His feet in prayer, to be at peace with who we are because we are at peace with our creator. Psalm 27 reflects on this: "My heart has heard you say, 'come and talk with me.' And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming.'" Can you hear that tug on your heart today? To leave behind the running and the going and the doing in favor of the resting, the reflecting, and the being.

May you find for yourself a spiritual snow day in this season of life. God is waiting to welcome you in. "Come and talk with me," he says, "the fire is nice and warm and I long to hear all you have to say."

Journey on.

Simpson Quote

Hi Everyone!

In a recent message, I closed with a quote from A.B. Simpson called "Himself." For the full text of that quote, including the entire sermon he preached before giving it, just go to the following link:

http://www.christinyou.net/pages/himselfabs.html


The poem/hymn is at the end, but the whole message is worth reading if you have the time.

Journey on!

Keeping Vision in the Rain of Life

It's been raining here in Washington for 33 straight days. They say that the record (50 days) is within reach. When it stays this gloomy for this long, it can be easy to forget how nice sunshine is. In a way, you begin to lose sight that better days are ahead!

I was reading lately the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph went through an amazing amount of trials on his way to great power in Egypt. In my mind, though, I have always pictured Joseph as this quiet stoic who patiently endured, knowing God would have His way in the end.

But listen to something Joseph's brothers said, regarding the time they put him in a dry cistern, and then sold him into slavery: "We saw his terror and anguish and heard his pleadings, but we wouldn't listen." Rather than a peaceful resolve to what was happening, Joseph was terrified and overwhelmed! I think we can expect that he may have had similar feelings in Egypt as he faced betrayal, slander, injustice, and abandonment. Yet in his fear, and his doubt, and his pain, he still kept sight of his hope in God. During his big "reveal" to the brothers, he exclaims, "Don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it! He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives."

Do you get the connection here? Joseph experiences deep fear and pain AND he keeps sight of God. So often we think that if we really look to God and trust him, we'll have no fear or doubt. We also conclude that fear and doubt are a sign that we aren't trusting God! But I think God would have us consider that terror and anguish are human emotions that we will all feel. The key isn't to eliminate these feelings, but to make sure they lead us to God and put us in a place of greater dependence on Him and His plan.

So, if the rain of life brings fear, or doubt, or pain, let it lead you to the Son. He will preserve you through the storm and bring you to the place He has long ago prepared for you. The trials won't get easier, but they will remind us of our need for God. Keep sight of Him.

Journey on, friend.

Is God Slow?

I noticed something today. I've read the Genesis account of Abraham on many occasions, but today something new jumped out at me. Among the several promises God made to Abraham, one was the promise of a son, an heir, that would lead to Abraham's descendants becoming a great nation. What I noticed was this- Abraham was 86 when God made the promise. The very next passage (Gen. 17:1) starts, "When Abram was 99 years old..." Hold on a minute. 99? That's thirteen years since the promise of a son. Thirteen years of Abraham getting older. Thirteen years of Sarah, his wife getting older. And she wasn't young, either. Thirteen years of wondering, and wishing, and trying, but still no son.

This leads me to some questions. Why did God not fulfill his promise for thirteen years? Why not give Abraham a son at 86 or 87? Wouldn't that be just as fantastic? Why not wait until Abraham was like 98 to make him the promise? Does this mean that God is slow?

What this brings up for me is the difference between being slow, and being patient. God is not slow. The New Testament book of II Peter says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness." (NIV) Slow is when you wait at a fast food restaurant for your order, while the workers casually help 14 drive-thru customers while your food sits under heat lamps. Slow is aggravating, because it implies that someone is taking a long time to do something that we know could be done faster. God was not slow in keeping his promise to Abraham. He was waiting. He was patient. God knew just the right time to bring Abraham an heir, and He knew what had to happen in Abraham's heart and life before the son could be born.

Take courage from this. When we wait upon God for an answer to prayer, or the fulfillment of a promise, we can begin to believe that He is slow, or even worse, unresponsive. God is not slow, God is patient. And so as you wait on Him, place your life squarely in His hands and allow Him to work in and through you until the answer comes.

Rest in Him today. His timing is perfect.

Journey on, friends.