Jesus died for the bad guys too…

I was taking my kids to pre-school this morning and my son Colm suggested we play a game.  I asked him what he would like to play and he said we should all take turns saying something about Jesus.  He started by saying that Jesus lived in his heart and on my turn, I said that Jesus died on the cross for us.  Colm responded by saying, “Jesus died for the bad guys too”.  I am amazed at the insight of my kids sometimes.  He understands at 4 years of age a concept that most adults never seem to be able to grasp a hold of.  I was exceptionally proud in that moment.

Colm understands that Jesus didn’t come so that good people could somehow earn their way to Heaven by doing enough good things to outweigh the bad things that are done.  Jesus came because each of us is in need of a Savior.  Nobody can ever be good enough to earn their way into Heaven.  Jesus died for each one of us…even who the world would deem the worst of us. The truth is, we are all broken and in need of Jesus no matter how bad we think we are…or how bad others think we are.  Scripture tells us that we all fall short of God’s glory.   It means what it says…all of us fall short.  Colm understands something profound…may we all have the same insight that he does…that each of us needs Jesus.

Struggling Through Holy Week…

This is a tough week for Pastors.  With all the extra fanfare that this week gets in the church combined with the extra services like Sunrise, Good Friday, and Maundy Thursday…it is very difficult to catch your breath.  This has been an especially difficult week for my wife and I.  After 10 months of trying to get pregnant, we found out last week that we were pregnant.  We were so excited.  Less than a week later we were told that we were going to lose the baby.  No explanation.  It was devastating…and in all honesty still is painful to think about.

So in the middle of all of this…I am supposed to somehow preach Easter.  Good Friday I get.  Suffering and pain I understand right now, but how do I stand before three congregations on Sunday morning and preach about the Good News that is Jesus when I don’t feel it.

Now with all that being said, I still have no idea what shape my sermons will take on Sunday, but I am sure of this.  Despite my pain, God will be there and He will speak to people….even me.  He will continue to pour hope into the lives of people as the good news of the Resurrection is proclaimed.  By no means can I say that I am o.k. with what has happened, but I can say that if this week teaches us anything, Jesus suffers along with us.  He is present in our sorrows and in our grief.  He loves us.  I may not feel like preaching Easter this year, but I can’t think of a more appropriate time to hear about Jesus’ victory over sin and death.  I can think of no more appropriate message than that in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear evil because…in the beginning and the end and everywhere in between…Jesus.

So… as I ponder this Holy Week in terms of its relevance to my life, the life of the congregations I serve and for all those lost people out there who are in need of healing, I turn to Rocky for inspiration:

Jesus…help me move forward!!!

Cheer and Junk…

Recently I started a twitter account and every couple of days I go looking for a good quote to tweet.  This morning, I stumbled upon this quote:

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” J. R. R. Tolkien

There is definitely something in these words that resonates with me.  I wonder how much cheer and merry making I have missed out on because I have been hoarding the wrong kinds of things.  How much of my life has been over complicated by hoarding things I have no need of when when I could have found more joy in some of life’s simpler treasures like food,  family and friends, and song?  One of the things I think about often is finding a way to simplify life, and yet, in reality I am attempting to find new places to hide away all the junk that get collected and is seldom used.  Perhaps if we valued the more simple things that keep us connected to one another, we would be less likely to fill our lives full of junk that has no place.