THREE CONTRADISTINCTIVE GIFTS OF HOLY WEEK

Easter week started yesterday.  During this week, before we celebrate the redemptive grace of God, we celebrate the lord’s goodness as we contemplate:

• The highway of disillusionment – where we acquire truth
• The inner room of betrayal – where we attain servanthood
• The garden of depression – where we obtain victory

How incredible to know that Jesus walked, lived and died less than 100 km from where we find the greatest man-made disaster and human tragedy of our generation

• More people have now been killed in Gaza in the space of 150 days than at any time else in the 21th century.
• 1 in every 68 people in Gaza is now dead in attacks that equal the explosive power of three nuclear bombs.
• Nearly 13,000 children have died. If you place every dead child next to one another with outstretched arms the line will be more than 5 km long.
• Nearly 90% of the population is homeless, displaced and on the brink of starvation.
• Gazans are echoing the words of the palm-leaf bearers: HOSANNA – SAVE US! PLEASE! SAVE US!

If ever Easter had to be proclaimed in the region where it happened.

• Today is that time
• Gaza is the place
• His Church is the messenger

The good news over this Easter Season is that the Crucified Redeemer was also raised from the dead less than 100 Km from where people are currently dying.  And Christ has His messengers there, present and willing to proclaim the Good news of redemption.

• Approximately 182,000 Christians live in Israel; they comprise about 9% of the State of Israel’s population.
• 3 out of every 4 (75.8%) of the Christians in Israel are Arab Christians. They constitute 6.9% of the total Arab population of Israel. Arab Christians in Israel regard themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel.  They are a minority within a minority, navigating their unique cultural and religious identity.
• This is important. Easter in Israel has a Palestinian face

If you want to pray one prayer over Easter – Pray for the Church in Israel and Gaza

If only we had the ability this week to move from our bubbles of comfort into the shoes of those who have lost everything, we will find a world of contradistinctive gifts.  At first contradicting, but then revealing distinctive lessons of survival for all who face their own individual crosses.  I would like to share three lessons that we celebrate in this week, before we celebrate the gift of redemption next Friday

Yesterday, on Palm Sunday, we celebrated

• the highway of disillusionment – where we acquire truth
• On Thursday we celebrate the inner room of betrayal – where we attain servanthood
• And then the garden of depression – where we obtain victory

1. CELEBRATING THE HIGHWAY OF DISILLUSIONMENT

Matthew 21:1-11  As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.  If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”  This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:  “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.  They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”  When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”  The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

We know all too well how this ends.  This triumph becomes a trial, and the trial becomes an execution. The hero becomes the villain.  Jesus entered the city on a donkey, but we know he will leave in a body bag. This is not just a fun parade; Jesus is walking down death row.  For one reason and for one reason only:  He did not meet the expectations of his followers.

So, where are you in the crowd this morning?

You see, our desire for power often enables our minds for manipulation which leads to disillusionment.  The Palm Sunday story displays the truth that with palm leaves in our hands, we often follow God with our own expectations of personal gain.  We hail him as the magician who can make all our political, physical and provisional problems disappear.  HOSANNA!!  Save, Please!!

And then life happens and we find ourselves going from expectation to disappointment and from disappointment to disillusionment.  Our prayers are seemingly not answered, our expectations are not met, and we question God.

The lesson on the highway to Jerusalem is this: God does not intend to meet our expectations. Instead, he meets our needs.  The crowd didn’t need a king, they needed a saviour.

How about you?

I must confess, this type of God makes us uncomfortable.  I want a God that satisfies my desires and my expectations, whether or not those align with my needs. And so it is with all of us.  We welcome God into our lives with anticipation and with expectations.  We’re laying down cloaks and waving palm branches with all we’ve got.  But when God turns out to be someone we don’t recognize, we scatter like smoke in the wind.

One of the most interesting features of this story is how much preparation Jesus does. He lines up everything, making sure to trigger the crowd’s expectations. It’s like Jesus has hired a PR agency, indicating that he knows exactly what he is stirring up.  The exact village, the exact donkey and colt, not just walking but tied, with a rope

But why? Was Jesus intentionally trying to disappoint them?  No. He was preparing to disillusion them.

The word disillusion has gotten a bad rap in recent times, but it’s a gift God gives with abundance.  Disillusionment is, well, the loss of an illusion.  It is what happens when you take a lie—about the world, about yourself, about those you love, about God—and replace it with the truth.   Disillusionment occurs when God shatters our fantasies, tears down our idols, and dismantles our cardboard cut-outs.  It occurs when we discover that God does not conform to our expectations but rather exists as a mystery beyond those expectations.

The definition offered by Episcopal preacher Barbara Brown Taylor in her book ‘God in Pain’ may be the best I’ve seen. She describes disillusionment as

“the sacred experiences that cut us down to size and remind us of our smallness in this expansive universe.” These experiences are often painful but never bad, because they make us shed the lies we’ve mistaken for truth: “Disillusioned,” she writes, “we find out what is not true and we are set free to seek what is—if we dare—to turn away from the God who was supposed to be in order to seek the God who is.”

Ultimately, the triumphal entry is not about donkeys and palm branches at all. It’s a reminder that placing expectations on God based on our wants is a recipe for resentment, but nurturing openness to divine mystery is a framework for faith.

VERA

While writing my latest book, CONSECRATED, I was interrupted by a WhatsApp message from Lebanon.  It was from a precious sister in Christ, Vera, who works amongst the refugees in the Beqaa Valley.  Her heart and her passion for the Kingdom are unequalled. Her witness amongst the refugees is unparalleled.  For several years, Vera faithfully served the Lord even though she suffered from a severe foot injury.  She would always hide the pain behind the most beautiful Lebanese smile, and few would realise the discomfort she suffered.  Remarkably, but not surprisingly, her brokenness made it easier for her to identify with those she served.  She never complained.

Many prayers were offered and many of her co-workers believed the Lord would intervene and heal her.  We all had the expectations that the Great Physician Himself would heal her so that she can serve better.  After all, wouldn’t she be a more usable vessel in the hands of God if she was completely mobile and healed from this debilitating obstacle?

But our expectations were not met, the foot did not get better.

Vera was finally invited to Namibia where a group of caring and loving physicians performed extensive surgery on her foot.  The initial prognosis was positive, and the expectations were that healing had finally set in.

Sadly, her foot did not get better, and it progressed from bad to worse.  While writing the book we got the news that her foot needs to be amputated.  The pot has broken, and many of us moved beyond disappointment to disillusionment.  Why Lord?  Why?

And then, in the midst of Vera’s heartache and fear, she wrote the following message:

Dear Pastor Mike.  I’ve lost a lot—it seems like everything I love, I lose…and am still losing.  This time the foot.  But even though I don’t understand anything and have many questions to God, I said to Him, “You might take away everything I have, or allow it to be gone, but I’ll never give you up, or let anything cause me to lose you.  Whatever will happen to me, even death, I will still love you.  Maybe this is my cross that’s meant to be. I have no choice except to choose to carry it every day, until I meet You”.

Vera confessed that maybe this is God’s consecration allowing her to identify with those Syrian refugees who suffer the heartache of being “amputated” from home, family, and security.  Just like Jesus was consecrated for a cross, she understood that consecration always comes at a price.

Vera’s disillusionment turned into clarity.  Purpose filled her heart and Vera’s truth came through brokenness.  Her imperfection will radiate the beauty of a God who makes new, restores, and redeems.  For the refugees in Lebanon God has sent an angel, and that angel carries with her a truth that is no illusion.

2. CELEBRATING THE IINER ROOM OF BETRAYAL

John 13:4  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.   After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

John 13:34  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

The Thursday before Easter became known as Maundy Thursday —“maundy” being a shortened form of mandatum (Latin), which means “mandate or command.”   Christ’s “mandate” is commemorated on Maundy Thursday and as much as we celebrate Easter Friday and Easter Sunday – the death and resurrection – we need to celebrate Maundy Thursday – the preparation

It was on the Thursday of Christ’s final week before being crucified and resurrected that He washed the feet of those who would denounce Him.  His preparation for becoming the ultimate servant of all humanity was by being the willing servant of those who would betray him.

We recently took our fellowship to visit a Church in Thembalethu – the informal settlement outside George with more than 50,000 people living in very poor conditions.  After the service the Pastor thanked us for coming and then said the following:  ‘Sometimes we are excited to travel to the ends of the earth to tell people about Jesus, but we are not always prepared to cross the highway to the towns next to where we live to start there.  Thank you for crossing the bridge and serving us here where many have forgotten us’

Yes, sometimes, the road to redemption starts by serving those closest to us, in the inner room of nearness.

I find this liberating

How did Jesus deal with the greatest pain any one of us can endure – betrayal by loved ones?  He took the position of servant and washed their feet.  There was no “team-talk”, no condemnation, no prophesies of future resurrection – just a basin and a towel, and 24 dirty feet.

SADLY, we have corrupted Christianity with a worldly sense of privilege and power.  Our misguided sense of leadership made us believe that we can only change the world through power and control.  We threw away the water basins and cloaks and approached the cross with self-determination and self proclaimed authority

Listen to this:

On Amazon:

• If you type in “books on leadership” on Amazon, you get more than 10,000 different results.
• If you type in “books on servanthood” on Amazon you get exactly 69 Results – most of them addressing leadership

We live in a season obsessed with power – and the church has not escaped.  This, is the sickness of our time!  The Thursday mandate in Scripture has become a forgotten art.   We see ourselves as sons and daughters of the most high and want to rule, judge and lead.  We are called to BE SERVANTS, not lead like servants

Let me say that again!  We are called to BE SERVANTS not lead like servants

It really is critical to understand that Jesus as servant was not a title nor was it a position that he took.  It was who He WAS.  He didn’t come to serve, He came as Servant.  The Servant Christ is a character quality.  It is not what He does it is who He is.  The Servant Christ. This is the model we follow

Jesus removed His clothing and acted like a slave. The one most deserving of position and title chose servant as His title and humility as His attitude.

Authentic transformed believers will truly live to fill every space they inhabit with servant hearts, filled with self-denied beauty and grace.  This is our Maundy Thursday Mandate

3. CELEBRATING THE GARDEN OF DEPRESSION

Matthew 26:36-45  Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”  He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter.  “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”  When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.  So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.  Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and author of the classic book “The Cost of Discipleship”.  He was arrested by the Gestapo in April 1943 and executed in April 1945. While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Bonhoeffer wrote the following on embracing persecution and making choices that will suit a transformed Christ consciousness:

“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. The Christian life is a crucified life. ‘Take up your cross and follow Me…’ was the command of Jesus.  ‘I am crucified with Christ’ was the confession of Paul. But just as we must all take up our cross daily and be crucified with Christ, before we get to Calvary, we always pass through Gethsemane, the place where our will meets the will of God. It is here, in this garden, that the battle is fought – and either won or lost. The Roman soldiers did not take Jesus’ life when they crucified Him. He had already laid it down Himself. You cannot kill a man who is already dead!

 Jesus was victorious at Calvary because He was victorious in Gethsemane.  The disciples faltered and fled at the crucifixion because they slept in Gethsemane. Gethsemane is the place where you make the decision every day to get on the cross or to run from it.”

This will be true for every believer who confesses a crucified Christ. Our Gethsemane choices will determine our Calvary conduct.  Choose today!

How do we do it?

The Bible gives us an amazing glimpse into the soul of Jesus the night before he was crucified. Watch and learn from the way Jesus fought his strategic battle in Getshemany against despondency or depression (From Desiring God.[1])

• He chose some close friends to be with him. “Taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee” (Matthew 26:37).
• He opened his soul to them. He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38).
• He asked for their intercession and partnership in the battle. “Remain here, and watch with me” (Matthew 26:38).
• He poured out his heart to his Father in prayer. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39).
• He rested his soul in the sovereign wisdom of God. “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
• He fixed his eye on the glorious future grace that awaited him on the other side of the cross. “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

In Gethsemane Jesus shows us another way. Not painless, and not passive. Follow him. Find your trusted spiritual friends. Open your soul to them. Ask them to watch with you and pray. Pour out your soul to the Father. Rest in the sovereign wisdom of God. And fix your eyes on the joy set before you in the precious and magnificent promises of God.

 

[1] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/six-ways-jesus-fought-depression