Good Friday is a Downer

     Good Friday is not an easy day to observe. For some, the Tenebrae service is a real downer. (I know, I know…it’s not supposed to be your typical joyful worship service or mass.) I’ve been to a few over the years that were so painful they made you want to throw yourself across a railroad track or off a bridge. Imagine what that must be like for someone suffering from depression.

     In spite of what many think is terrible, horrible news – What? They crucified the Lord? – there is a Gospel (good news) light that breaks through the darkness of the day.

     Today I went to the noon Good Friday service and was drawn into the pastor’s sermon – again. Pastor Rick has a talent for picking out the seemingly most innocuous points in Scripture and building a fascinating message around it. Last Sunday – Palm Sunday – he took an event* that, when it happened, probably lasted all of two minutes and turned it into a 25-minute sermon.

     But before you start to squirm at the thought of sitting that long, that’s probably nothing compared to the amount of time you spend in front of the television, the computer or the big screen.

     Pastor Rick’s Good Friday topic was about the Temple curtain…specially the torn Temple curtain.

     To provide perspective, it’s not your ordinary drape. The curtain in the Temple of Jerusalem that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (where only the High Priest was allowed to enter, once a year, observing all sorts of strict rituals lest he be struck dead) was 60 feet high by 20 feet wide and as thick as a man’s hand; it required 300 men to lift it. So...?

     So, at the moment Jesus breathed his last breath, that curtain was torn from top to bottom. No one was in the Temple at that time…it was not the Day of Atonement, the only day the High Priest could pass beyond that curtain. God and God alone tore that curtain in the most dramatic object lesson ever.

     What does that mean? (Good Lutherans will chuckle at this. For the rest of my readers, it’s an inside joke.)

     Pastor Rick noted that the torn curtain symbolizes three things.

     First, a barrier had been removed. The physical barrier keeping all the people of Jerusalem from entering into God’s presence had been ripped from top to bottom, opening up the Holy of Holies for all to see. There was no longer anything between God and His people.

     Second, a road was opened. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, there is nothing standing in a Christian’s way to come to God anytime, anywhere and as often as we wish. As long as we approach in the name of Jesus, we have instant access to the throne of God. That’s better than having access to the Queen of England and a whole lot easier...because Jesus paid the price and opened the way. All we have to do is believe.

     Finally, the hope of eternal life was confirmed by God Himself. Jesus became an anchor for our soul, lodged behind the curtain in the very presence of God, forever. One of the stanzas from the hymn My Hope is Built on Nothing Less says: “In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.” That veil is the Temple curtain.

     “The painful truth is that if we meditate too long on our sin that condemns us, we begin to doubt if we are really Christian. As long as our faith depends on us, we are in trouble. But if it depends on Jesus Christ, we have a hope that is greater than our shame. Our anchor will hold against the storm of our guilty conscience,” preached Pastor Rick. “Fear not. Do not let your sin keep you away from God for He has opened the door to heaven. The torn curtain is His way of saying “You are welcome to My family. Let nothing keep you away.”

* That event? When Jesus’ disciple Peter cut off the ear of one of the High Priest’s servants and Jesus restored it. Had he not healed Malchus instantly, Jesus and his disciples probably would’ve been killed on the spot by the Roman soldiers, thus avoiding the painful death of the cross. Far better for you and me that things worked out the way they did:

A Good Friday to you!

The Far Country

             I’ve read somewhere – or heard it said – that there’s really no new story to be written, that everything’s already been told. For example, Shakespeare supposedly took many of his ideas for his plays from the Bible. And don’t forget the countless number of popular books and movies are based on the “boy-meets-girl-loses-girl-gets-girl-back” theme. It’s in the twist of the re-telling that can make a story resonate with the audience.

            A lot of my inspiration for blog posts comes from sermons. As I furiously take notes I can’t help but start thinking of the spin I’m going to add or the point that I’m going to take further.

This morning’s sermon on “The Greatest Short Story Ever Told” (Luke 15:11-32) – as opposed to The Greatest Story Ever Told” (the entire Bible) – was a familiar one: The Prodigal Son.

            The minister prefaced his remarks with the note that this would be another one of those “squirmin’ sermons”. I’m not going to share his sermon word for word, but there was one part of it that really hit home: how the Prodigal Son got to the Far Country and then came back.

            There have been a few times in my life when I regretted making a particular decision. Most were non-moral decisions, like deciding not to study for my Master’s degree and, instead, choosing to start a career. There’s no direct guidance in the Bible for that. It’s those decisions that took me to the Far Country, however, that caused more than a little personal suffering. That’s the place I went when I stepped outside of God’s Will.

            How did I get to the Far Country? Although there were five steps that led to the Prodigal Son’s downfall – selfishness, haste, reckless wastefulness, leaving those to whom he was accountable, and making bad decisions – it only took one for me. While I could easily blame my youth – it was the period between age 17 and 25 – I know that some regrettable decisions I made were due to having separated myself from all my significant relationships. (You know, the ones that hold you accountable.)

            I’m not going to go into the details, but I allowed other people to put me in compromising situations that could tarnish my reputation. That was a time when God allowed me – a child of the faith – to head toward the bottom so that I got scared enough to want to go Home.

            The way back included these same steps that our pastor shared today: first, coming to my senses (my awakening); second, changing my mind about the direction I was headed (repentance); third, ceasing to make excuses for my lifestyle (honesty); fourth, making no deals with God (humility) and finally, taking the first step towards Home (resolve).

            I think it may have been that point in my life that I first embraced His grace – and have held on to it fiercely ever since. It’s no coincidence that our boat is called Pure Grace.

            If you, a child of God, have drifted away from Him – perhaps you have been deeply hurt by someone or defeated by personal failures or just made some wrong choices – come back. Here’s what awaits you, according to today’s message: your Father’s kiss of forgiveness; a robe of honor; a ring of authority, sandals of freedom and a feast of welcome.

            One last note: ignore the “older brother”. That is, for those who feel you aren’t worthy of the welcome, their selfishness is the first step into their own Far Country.

The Cat's on the Roof

     A businessman has to go out of town unexpectedly for a length of time so he asks his neighbor to take care of his cat while he is gone. The first evening he is gone the man calls his neighbor to check on the cat.

     “Your cat is dead,” said the neighbor.

     The businessman is thunderstruck and upset. “How can you give me such bad news so baldly?” he exclaimed. “You should have prepared me for this. The first night you should tell me ‘The cat’s on the roof and we can’t get him to come down.’ The next night you should tell me that the fire department tried and couldn’t rescue the cat. And so on for about a week, until you tell me ‘The cat died.’”

     Several months later, the same man has another business trip and this time asks his neighbor to stop in and check on his elderly mother. The first night on the trip he calls his neighbor to see if everything is alright at the house.

     “Your mother’s on the roof,” said the neighbor.

     Bad joke, huh?

     I was reminded of this joke, though, this past weekend when I shot some photos at the city-run animal shelter and saw a sign on one of the dog cages indicating that it was the last day of life for that particular animal…unless it was adopted. 

     

     Because this is not a no-kill shelter, that dog was “on the roof.” It was sad to see the dozens of bulldogs, Rottweilers, and terriers that had been discarded, apparently after they lost their cuteness. Although the no-kill shelters do try to take up the slack, when they are at capacity also there is little that the city shelter can do.

     The young woman at the right, with both physical and mental special needs, chose a very rambunctious, medium-size dog to love. On the way out the door "Breezy" pulled the girl's mother right on to the floor. Yikes, not a good way to start a relationship.

     This large  furball  was going home with three small boys and their mother.

     A tiny little Maltese dog was brought in while I was there and then adopted out immediately. Its new "mom" looks very happy.

     During the short hour that I was there right after the shelter opened on Saturday morning, three dogs and one cat were adopted. Right as I was leaving the girl in the photo below brought in a puppy that she tried to foster for one night but said, “It kept me up all night. I can’t do this.”

     This Siamese cat had a docked tail but it was hard to say if it was born that way or it was abused. This was the most vocal of all the cats and sported a “Most Entertaining” ribbon on its cage. Of course I saw several I would’ve liked to take home, but then I would be the one on the roof!