Lent 2011: Learn of Jesus Christ to die (3)

The gospels tell us that Jesus died saying the following words: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Lk 23:46). Jesus had intimate fellowship with God the Father when he died. He committed himself into the hands of the Father. We too call God our Father, once we are not anymore removed from him.

"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." This last word from the cross expresses Christ's perfect commitment to the Father when he breathed the last.

Jesus always demonstrated a perfect and godly commitment to the Father. He also showed his complete obedience though out his life and ministry. Even when he was a boy, visiting Jerusalem with Joseph and Mary he already said: "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Lk 2:49). And when the Evil One tempted Jesus during his 40 days of prayer and fasting in the desert before his baptism, Jesus remained obedient to God and every time defeated the devil with the Word of God. "My food," Jesus then said, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (Jn 4:34). Jesus always perfectly did everything for the honour and glory of God.

As Jesus lived, so he also died. In his hour of death, he surrendered into the Father’s hands. His death was completely in line with his whole life and ministry. At the hour of his death, he remained trusting in the Father and he maintained his lifelong unwavering confidence in his Father. The intimacy that characterised the life of Jesus was also displayed in his death.

Learn of Jesus Christ to die! We also will die in the same way that we lived. Either in an intimate relationship with God if this is how we lived, or, God forbid, removed from God and as a stranger to him - as we lived. Our Lord could commit his spirit into the hands of his Father in death, because he had been in the Father's hands all through his life! If Jesus is more than Saviour to us – if he indeed is the Lord of my life, I too will commit my Spirit with confidence and completely comforted into the gracious Father’s hands in everything I do and wherever I may go.

Yes, you can at the hour of death commit your spirit into the hands of God, if you have already committed your spirit to God during your life. If you have committed your life to him!
Have you done this? Is your life in the hands of the Father?
Do not wait – even today say to God - "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

Lent 2011: Sixth Station of the Cross

Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
The Sixth Station of the cross

John 19: 2 & 3: And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face.

What cruel irony! Jesus finally received the words he deserved: "Hail, King of the Jews!"
What incomprehensible irony! Jesus, the true King of Israel endured the pain and mockery of the crown of thorns as part of his humiliation for us and our salvation.

Prayer
Gracious, merciful Lord, how hard it is to read of the abuse you suffered even prior to your crucifixion. What can I say in response, but "Thank You" for walking the path of grief, suffering and shame for my sake. You took the abuse that I deserved, and gave me your glory in return. Help me, dear Lord, to always honour you as my King in all that I do. Amen.

Lent 2011: Fifth Station of the cross

Jesus sentenced by Pontius Pilate.
Fifth Station of the cross

Pontius Pilate is a paradigm of the person who fails to take responsibility for his actions. Pilate issued the verdict that sent Jesus to the cross. Yet he did so in a way to appear innocent of the blood of Jesus. He did not take responsibility for what he had done. He washed his hands of what he was doing wrong

Matthew 27:23-24 “What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

When blaming others when I do wrong, I won't confess what I have done as sin. This will keep me from experiencing the grace of God, enjoying the fullness of God's forgiveness. We will be blessed when we tell God the truth about our sins, and experience his forgiveness through Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to acknowledge my sins, both to myself and to you, rather than justifying myself through immature and pointless excuses and defences. My hands will only be clean, Lord, when I am washed in the blood of the Lamb! Amen.

Lent 2011: Learn of Jesus Christ to die (2)

We last week referred the moving statement in a Lenten hymn that asks us to “learn of Jesus Christ to die.”

The gospels tell us that Jesus died, saying the following words: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Lk 23:46). Jesus again had fellowship with God the Father when he died. The Saviour was once more in peaceful, loving communion with the Father. He could once more speak to the Father, because the Father was no longer removed from him. We too call God our Father, once we are not anymore removed from him.

When we call God our Father, to die means to go from the hands of men, into the hands of God.

Jesus warned his disciples that he would fall into the hands of men. He said to his disciples, that (Mk 10:33-34) "... the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him ..." (Mk 8:31, 9:31). And, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, (Matt 26:45-46) "... Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

On the first Easter Sunday the angels reminded us how (Lk 24:6-7) “... he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"

Christ could have steered clear of being in the hands of cruel, hateful men. He could have called on legions of angels to defend him. But, out of love and in obedience to his Father, he freely gave his life, to save sinners. Jesus selflessly submitted and laid down his life to become the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

For twelve hours Jesus suffered at the hands of men, and then, when he died, he delivered himself from the hands of men into the hands of God, his Father. This means that Jesus will never again be at the mercy of the wicked! He committed himself into the hands of the Father, and he and the Father are one forever.

"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." In the Father's hands Jesus was raised from the dead. In the Father’s hands he was exalted to the highest place in heaven and on earth. In the Fathers hands he was given a Name above every other Name and “at his Name every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11).

When we are not removed from the Father anymore, we too pass from the hands of men to the hands of the Father at the last breath! We too are safe in the hands of God, and so are our loved ones that passed before us. In his hands we shall enjoy God’s glory and we shall on the Day of the Lord be raised and we shall reign with Jesus forever!

Death has no sting when at the last breath we commit ourselves into the hands of the Father. Even though we have little understanding of what all of this means literally and practically, we know that we shall live safely in the Father’s hands, and pass to him on the day we die: comforted and with much joy!

The Heidelberg Catechism asks in its Lord’s Day 1: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
And the answer remains so very important to all of us:
That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto him.

Lent 2011: Fourth Station of the Cross

Peter denied Jesus.
Fourth Station of the Cross
Luke 22: 56 - 57 Then a servant-girl, seeing Peter in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”

Why did Peter deny Jesus? Because he was afraid.
Fear startles us in the middle of the night and keeps us awake for hours. It prevents us from reaching for our dreams or from reaching out to others in love. Fear cripples our souls and binds our hearts. It locks us in prison and throws away the key.

What is the remedy for such fear? It is in trusting God, believing the Word of Christ. It is in knowing what divine love is, because of what Jesus did for me on the Via Dolorosa, the way of grief, that fear is conquered.
Not through rationalization or mind-control, but by leaning more fully into the loving care of God and knowing that he will never let us go.

Prayer: Forgive me, dear Lord, when I let fear get in the way of my relationship with you. Forgive me for all the times I have fallen short in my discipleship, because I've been afraid. Forgive me for failing to trust you when you've proven yourself to be completely worthy of my trust. Amen.

Lent 2011: The Third Station of the cross

Jesus Condemned by the Sanhedrin
The Third Station of the cross

Luke 22: 66-69: When day came, the assembly of the elders (the Jewish Sanhedrin), both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought Jesus to their council. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

Jesus was condemned by the Sanhedrin because he claimed to be the Messiah who would share in the glory and the power of God! Jesus claimed that he would be "seated at the right hand of the power of God". This was perceived by the council, beginning with the high priest, as clear evidence of Jesus’ blasphemy.

We are blessed, when we as followers of Jesus who acknowledge him as personal Saviour, seek to do the works of his kingdom, looking forward to the day when it will be completed.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, help me to understand what it means when I confess you as the Christ, the Anointed of God and glorious King of everything. May this confession lead me to a life of complete faithful discipleship in everything I do. Let your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. And let this happen in my life today! Amen

Lent 2011: Learn of Jesus Christ to die. (1)

There is a hymn we often sing during the Lenten Season that makes this statement in the final verse: “learn of Jesus Christ to die.”
The verse reads as follows:

Calvary’s mournful mountain climb;
there, adoring at his feet,
mark the miracle of time,
God’s own sacrifice complete;
it is finished, hear him cry;
learn of Jesus Christ to die.

It sounds like such a sombre topic to learn about – to learn how to die.
Yet, it remains a hurdle we all will have to face, only some of us sooner than others.
It may be the one obstacle before entering God’s paradise eternally that we feel the most uncertain about, and because we do not how it is to die, may be feared more than any other milestone in our journey with God.

And so, because we all are faced with the reality of our mortality, and because it is one of only a few things absolutely nobody can avoid, it is not only important to learn of Jesus how to live, but also to learn how to die.

"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (LK 23:46) These were the words Jesus said when he died.
We cannot hear these words without remembering how he suffered. Without remembering three awful hours when the perfect fellowship between the Father and the Son, was broken and Jesus cried out loud: "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" — which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46).

Up to these three hours of darkness, there always had been perfect fellowship between the Father and the Son. During the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus could pray to the Father saying, "All I have is yours, and all you have is mine ... you are in me and I am in you" (Jn 17:10,21).

And then all his work was done. "It is finished," Jesus had said on the cross. The cup of God's wrath was drained and the darkness was over. "Father," Jesus said, "into your hands I commit my spirit."

This last word on the cross shows Jesus to again have fellowship with God the Father and once again calling him Father too. The Saviour was once more in peaceful, loving communion with the Father. He could once more speak to the Father, because the Father was no longer removed from him.

He whom Jesus calls Father is also our Father. What comfort we find in being able to call God our Father, once we are not anymore removed from him. I call God Father because he loves me, cares for me and supplies all my needs. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us," says John, "that we should be called children of God!" (1 Jn 3:1).

"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." This is how Jesus died. In fellowship, yes in union, with a loving Father. Those who know God as Father, as Jesus knew God as Father, will be able to die as Jesus died: at peace, without fear, feeling safe without uncertainty and content that we achieved God’s purpose with our lives.

What a comfort that we who learned of Jesus how to die, will call God "Father” at the last breath.

(Next Wednesday we will learn from Jesus going from the hands of men, into the hands of the Father.)

lent 2011: The second station of the cross...

Jesus betrayed and arrested
The second station of the cross...

Luke 22:47-48: While Jesus was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, "Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?"

It was the custom that a student would greet his teacher with a kiss in Biblical times – to show respect and to show submission. It would be similar to the kiss of a son given to a father today! Judas chose to use this sign of respect, to betray the Lord.

How many times did we reverently confess Jesus as Lord, yet we are continuously reinforcing ourselves as the real lord of our lives? How many times have we worshiped Jesus, saying and singing that we are in awe of his sacrifice - with our mouths - not with a kiss but with words, only to again abandon him in our souls and in our works?

“O Lord, as much as I hate to confess it, there is a bit of Judas in me. Forgive me for the times when I pledged allegiance to you, made promises to you, (even in church with the congregation as witnesses) only to discard you in the way that I live. Help me to see where my message to you is a mixed one, where worship and praise and betrayal and deceit live in the very same heart. Deliver me oh Lord, for what I do, is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing! Through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen."

Lent 2011: First Station of the cross.

Jesus on the Mount of Olives
First Station of the cross

On the Mount of Olives Jesus prayed alone, on his knees, with humility and obedience: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Lk 22:42)

After struggling with God in prayer, Jesus was ready to enter upon the road to the cross and to follow it to the bitter end. Why would he have done this?

It is for us! Jesus willingly drank the cup of God’s wrath for us. It should have been us.
Instead, it was Jesus who drained it to the dregs.
See how much he loves you and me!

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, we can face life, knowing that when we humbly seek your will, your strength will be our strength, because you drank the cup of judgement to make us righteous in your Father’s sight. Your loving, merciful will be done, your glorious kingdom come – also in my life!” Amen

Ash Wednesday 2011 observed today!

Today is Ash Wednesday and at the Centurion West Presbyterian Church we all meet tonight for a very special Communion Service at the chapel, at 19:00.

Not all denominations observe Ash Wednesday. In the protestant world it is mainly Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists and Anglicans. But it is observed by Christians for probably more than 1600 years in some or other format and it is observed across the globe. On this day we remember our mortality and weakness and repent anew of all our sins. This reflection drives us to our Saviour Jesus and through considering his suffering over the next 40 days, we are assured of our salvation and of eternal life!

How did this custom start and should we still observe it after more than 1600 years? During the second century it became customary to baptise all Christian converts on Resurrection Sunday (Easter Sunday.) These new Christians had to be prepared for the confession of their faith and for their challenging walk with the Lord during those times of persecution and martyrdom. The preparations lasted 40 days – not counting Sundays.

Those who taught the candidates in preparation of baptism, shared in observing this time of strict spiritual discipline. After some time other Church members wanted to share in it again and over time it became a Season for all believers to observe. The season’s purpose was to be prepared to celebrate Easter in a meaningful way. Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Season of Lent.

The name Ash Wednesday recalls the ancient Near Eastern custom of placing ashes on one's head, signifying repentance, as related numerous times in the Bible.

Ash Wednesday is observed by a service of repentance as a result of our personal sins, and that of our congregation, our leaders, our denomination, our country. It is a time of reconciliation with God, our neighbour, our family, friends, children. It is a time to make peace with God, man, ourselves and our environment. We can only find peace in Christ Jesus who suffered and who died, to set us free.

May we come together as one before the Lord! Who knows what a blessing will be in stall for us, if we come together, as the one Body of the Lord!!

The death that leads to true life.
The Season of Lent leads us into a deeper spiritual relationship with Christ. Remembering all that Jesus did for us, it should lead us from knowing about Jesus, to loving and following him wholeheartedly.

It is a dark journey in which we confront the strongholds of evil in our lives, deeply ashamed of what we became as a result of the lack of discipline that should be an integral part of being followers of Christ.
It is also a journey that leads to the light of God’s presence when the cross, the blood, the suffering, death and the grave of Jesus grant us hope, forgiveness and a deep sense of joy about the love, grace and the mercy of God.
On Ash Wednesday we confront the evil and sin in us, in preparation of our journey with Christ on his way of suffering, learning to love him more and becoming more devoted to him.

Lent is also a Season for paying attention to our own lives. We remind ourselves that we are bound for death — and that we are bound to the death of Jesus Christ. Ash Wednesday and the whole of Lent provide a time to focus our attention on the mystery at the heart of the Christian life: that through death, the death of Jesus Christ, we have entered new life.

As Paul says to the Corinthians, “We are treated as impostors and yet are true, as unknown and yet are well known, as dying, and see — we are alive.”
This is the paradox of Christian life. We have been joined to Christ’s death once when we were saved, but we spend the rest of our lives growing to live into that union.

We have already died once, with Christ.
Yet the light of the resurrection waits for us at the end of the journey.
Ash Wednesday invites us to turn again, take up our cross, and move ahead on the way to meet the one who shapes us, marks us and claims us as his own. Because after dying in Christ comes the miracle to be resurrected in Christ.

May a meaningful journey into the life that Jesus Christ gives, be granted to all God’s people during this Season.

Ash Wednesday – observed 9 March in 2011

On Wednesday 9 March, the majority of Christians in the world observe Ash Wednesday. It is the first day of Lent, the season in which we remember the suffering of Jesus Christ, culminating on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
And then follows the great contrast when we celebrate Easter Sunday with immense joy, remembering the resurrection of our Lord!

Ash Wednesday is primarily a day of repentance – of sorrow because of our sins and the grief it caused our Saviour Jesus Christ, his work and the people with whom we share our lives.

According to the Bible, repentance consists of…
• an earnest sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness;
• an expectation of God's grace and mercy in Jesus Christ, our Saviour;
• an actual hatred of sin itself
• a turning from sin to God; and
• a determined effort seeking a holy life in obediently walking with God.

2 Cor 7:10 - Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

The remorseful understands himself to be just what God has always seen him to be and declares him to be:
guilty, impure and helpless!

But repentance understands not only such a sense of guilt, but even more importantly, also anticipates grace and mercy,
Psalm 130:4 - But with You there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

Many millions of Christians will go to church on Ash Wednesday to repent and to receive a message of hope and forgiveness.

At the Centurion West Presbyterian church we meet at 19:00 on 9 March.
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