Were you there in the upper room?

Luke 22:7-23

This week, on our monthly observance of Holy Communion, we read the Passover story, the Last Supper story in Luke 22. Jesus asks Peter and John to go into the city and there someone will meet them and show them where to go to prepare for the meal.

Someone is in the city, working on their side, to shelter them and protect them from the deadly forces that are coming after Jesus and anyone with him.  They aren't totally alone, it seems. There are believers still standing with them to protect Jesus.

As the followers gather in the upstairs room of a house, Jesus shares with them the traditional Passover meal, which would have been celebratory in nature, Jews celebrating the time when they were spared and saved by God from annihilation, but what an atmosphere to celebrate it in.  A time when their leader is in grave danger... the story would have had a special and significant import for them this night. Can God save and spare us now?, they must have asked themselves.

But Jesus says something to change the tone. More than one thing, actually. He uses the Passover elements to demonstrate for them what is about to happen.... "the bread is my body given for you.  The cup poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." He is trying to get them to see that saving him may not be possible . . . that his sacrifice for the new covenant may be necessary.  It may be that the powers in charge DO kill him, but he is trying to get the disciples to see that they have formed a new covenant together to bring God's love to everyone and that they must keep that mission alive. They must become the body and the blood for the path ahead, no matter what.

Then he tells them that one of them will betray him. One with his hand on the table.  Now, everyone's hands were likely on the table at this point, and so they get into a discussion over which one of them might betray him.  They get distracted from the covenant by this argument among themselves and perhaps don't digest the importance of his symbolic body and blood metaphor just a moment ago.  Or perhaps the weight of it is just too much to take and so they idly chat about this instead.  (Keep in mind Judas had already secretly gone to the chief priests and declared he would betray Jesus at this point.) 

What is Jesus trying to say to us in the elements today?  Why has this tradition carried on so long and so consistently throughout all the twists and turns of Christianity?  Why do you think Jesus tells them that one of them will betray him just after he shares the message of his body and blood in the Passover meal?  What is the relationship between the new covenant and Jesus' announcement that one would betray him?  Wonder what Judas' body posture and facial expressions were like during this time of the Passover meal?  

Thoughts? Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.

"Were you there betraying him?"

Luke 22:1-6, 47-53

This week's piece of the journey to the cross is the toughest to navigate.  There's this line that says "Satan entered Judas" which made him look for a way to betray Jesus.  And though conventional wisdom tells us he did it 'for 30 pieces of silver,' this scripture says he went to the chief priests first and pitched the plan to betray Judas and they just gave him money, almost as a thank you, and not as a bribe.   And then Jesus seems to know what Judas is doing when he walks in with a crowd behind him and kisses Jesus. "Judas, do you betray me with a kiss?" Jesus says.  He has mentioned earlier at the Passover meal that one who was seated among them would betray him. Did he know then that it would definitely be Judas? Or does he figure it out when Judas walks in with a crowd?

I find this story so disturbing.  There is a part of it that implies Judas has no agency to choose right or wrong in this.  There is a part of it that implies that Jesus needs someone to betray him. There is a part of it that implies that Satan can control a situation, even when Jesus is a part of it.  And, frankly, lets face the simple truth that this is Luke's account... Luke's version written for a specific reason. So we should look a bit at that, too.

Later on in the book of Acts (which is basically the second part of Luke, since they were written by the same person to be read together), we hear of Judas one more time, in this gruesome account: 

Acts 1: 16-20

Friends,[e] the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong,[f] he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it’; and ‘Let another take his position of overseer.

So Judas dies a very gruesome death and then he lives on, remembered forever, but in infamy. There isn't a part of this story that ends the way Peter's betrayal does, when it says "Peter went out and wept bitterly." (Luke 22:62)  We don't know if there was remorse in this account of Judas. It doesn't tell us there is or isn't, just that his guts explode and he dies.

 Is the message, then, that betrayal is different than denial only when there is no remorse shown?  In some ways Judas and Peter both deny Jesus, but Judas doesn't in this account weep over the fact. Or do they do something so different in this story that you can't really compare the two at all?  

I find Judas to be a complicated character.  I mean he was a disciple, so that meant he was a trusted member of the group.  In fact, when Jesus says one will betray him, they don't know which one of them it will be... so he obviously wasn't an obvious choice.

When do we become like Judas in our faith journey?  Do we ever betray ourselves or our faith for the lure of something that seems more important?  Or is any comparison to him to difficult to make? Why is he so difficult to understand? 

Email me at peverhart@niwoutmc.org or comment below.

"Were you there denying him three times?

Luke 22:31-34, 54-62

 And Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.”

This story is possibly just about as essential to the passion story as the crucifixion itself. We must remember that those who vowed wholeheartedly to follow Jesus all the way to his death, no matter what, come hell or high water.... didn't.  Peter (and actually all the others except the women) do not follow Jesus to his cross.  

Peter's story begins earlier in Luke 22 when Jesus hears Peter declare his loyalty and then he tells Peter, "umm, no actually you're gonna deny me all the way through this ordeal, buddy."  That is the first part of this week's reading.  

The next thing that happens is the prayer in the garden that we read about last week, with the disciples sleeping because of grief.  After that, we have Judas coming forward and identifying Jesus to the soldiers who arrest him.  And then, after these events,  Peter actually begins the process of denying Jesus three times.

Now, of course, I get that tensions are very high and the consequences could not be more dire... It is this time of intense self-preservation and fight or flight that Peter denies Jesus.  I'm not entirely sure I would have done things differently.  How could any of us for sure say we would stand with Jesus the whole way?  So I don't feel like I could in good conscience say, "Really, Peter? I mean, how could you do this to Jesus?" without at least wondering if I might not do the same thing.

How do we deny Jesus day after day, week after week, all the time?  We don't always knock ourselves out to proclaim our loyalty to Jesus Christ in every part of our lives.

But here's the great part of the whole thing.  Peter, that same Peter who denies Jesus three times... He is declared by Jesus to be the rock upon whom the whole church is built.  Our entire faith comes from the church established by Peter in the days following the resurrection.

We are a church of people who are filled with human frailty who believe in a God who is filled with nothing but overwhelming grace for us, despite who we aren't when the going gets tough.  I love that God's grace is most evident in the figure of Peter. That God is an amazing, grace-filled God that I will always claim... In my weakest hours and in my strongest moments.

What do you think of Peter? Is his denial any more than or less than any other disciple who fled?  And what are your thoughts on the church being founded by just such a flawed and ordinary human?  

Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.

"Were you there...?"

For Lent this year, we will be looking at the Passion story as it plays out in Luke 21-23.  Each week (beginning with and including Ash Wednesday), we will look at a different section of these chapters in Luke and focus on the specific characters and setting in that section as it relates to the overall journey of Jesus toward the cross.  This in-depth look at one gospel writer's version of the events should help to ground us in the story in a particular way and perhaps give us insight into how we feel about the message and our own role, our own place in the journey to discipleship.

"Were you there at the temple?"
 (Ash Wednesday, February 10, service at NUMC at 7 pm)

First this week is Ash Wednesday's scripture Luke 21:34-38.  This text appears at the end of a couple of chapters relating various 'sermons' and topics Jesus taught at the temple. Jesus is telling those who have gathered to hear him teach, which he did DAILY in the temple, that they are to be on guard... to be constantly aware of what is going on around them because a day is coming when they will need to muster all the strength they have to stand up for what they believe.  

I think this is a good section of this story to read for Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday is a time when we come to worship God in an attitude of repentance and reflection. We offer confession and we submit humbly to the Lenten journey. A good time, then, to hear words from Jesus telling us to pay attention to what is going on around us. A good time to consider not putting our heads in the sand, but our hearts in the game.  How can we reflect upon the deeper meaning of this passage for our own lives as we begin a Holy Lent this year.  

When you come to the service on Wednesday (2/10 at 7 pm), you will have the opportunity to share in the sacrament of Holy Communion with Rev. Susan Warren officiating.  You will also have the opportunity to come to me for the imposition of ashes.  This is a deeply reflective time and I look forward to being with you once again as we embark on this holy season together.

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"Were you sleeping in the garden?"
Luke 22:39-46  (First Sunday of Lent, February 14)

In this section of the scriptures, we have the famous story where Jesus is praying before he enters his 'time of trial.' This is a very emotional time for Jesus and although the scripture tells us that Jesus knows what is going to happen to him, he still is in anguish and prays to God to take this away from him. "Take this cup from me..." famous lines that end with "but not my will, but your will be done." A hard task.. the hardest anyone has to face... and Jesus is praying in anguish.  And then he sees his disciples sleeping during his time of prayer and anguish. So he questions them about why they are sleeping.

So much has been written about this scene over the years and different gospel writers relate it in different ways.  But, in Luke, we have disciples sleeping and the gospel writer says it is because of their grief that they are sleeping.  Not laziness, not inattention, not cluelessness... but grief.
This adds another dimension to this story.  The disciples are grieving about what? Do they understand more than we think they do about what is going to happen to Jesus in the days ahead? Or are they afraid that he is losing his mind? Or are they worried about how they are going to get caught up in this whole thing as it plays itself out?

This should be an interesting section of the story to focus in on and try to get to the bottom of this week.  And, most importantly, how do we fit in this story?  If you are sleeping in the garden this Lenten season, then why? Are you afraid of what is ahead? Are you worried about the future of the church? Your future?  Many things make us go hide under the covers. And sometimes that changes from day to day.

Comments? Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.  Always appreciate your feedback.

“What is God’s Home Like?”

Psalm 84

And how blessed all those in whom you live,
    whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
    discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and    at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!  --Psalm 84:5-7, The Message

I don't always like using contemporary translations to the psalms because the poetry in them is so beautiful and sometimes get lost in a contemporary translation. However, I am a fan of Eugene Peterson's translation of Psalm 84 in The Message.  His matter-of-fact language of what God's home is like is great.  God is home to us when we are on the roads traveling. God is home to us in the lonesome valleys. God travels all of life with us so that no matter where we are we have a home.

I like that image. Perhaps I like it so much because I have moved a lot in my life. I have lived in twelve different abodes in my adult life in four different states.  So, the image I have of home needs to be secured in something besides an actual building, though I have fond home memories in several of those.  

And, perhaps even more formational for me, the house I grew up in was taken over by a four-lane highway when I was 15, and so I watched after school one day as the house was literally lifted up and moved away, bricks ripped off, house hoisted up onto a moving platform, away it went. That image is still seared in my head. The only home I had ever known was moving down the highway. It was surreal.  We moved into a brand new home a few miles away. I even got to pick out colors for my bedroom carpet, the bathroom, my walls, everything... so for a teenage girl what could be better? But I cried myself to sleep that first night as I visioned that truck taking my home away.   So I had to relearn what home was. Little did I know I would be doing that over and over again as the years went along.

What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
    I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,    where I could sing for joy to God-alive--Psalm 84:1-2, The Message

Home resides with God.  First and foremost.  But what, exactly, does that mean to you?  How do you define home? How do you define a 'home in God?'

Thoughts? Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.  
Oh, and GO BRONCOS!