Mardi Gras: deader than a doornail

Around the world, today will be marked with excesses of pleasures, eating, and crossing normal social boundaries. It's Mardi Gras. For many, that means a day of celebrating everything bad before they're supposed to be contrite and good (Lent).

This reading caught my eye this morning:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Galatians 2:20-21 NIV

So, on this Mardi Gras:

1. I'm not pretending to being anyone. I don't have to live up to anyone's expections. It's not that I'm bad or good. I'm dead.
2. Dead is necessary for a fabulous new life. To live fully present, the person I used to be had to be fully surrendered to God. I've given over my old stuff to live an entirely different kind of life.
3. Deadness is not something I can accomplish. God's grace has done this. Grace means He's pronounces, "Girl, you're good!" Without His grace, I'm ... well, not only bad ... but nothing at all.
4. I'm God's beloved, ransomed from useless things and a meaningless life. He did what I couldn't imagine, so I can live and revel in His love.
5. Whoo hoo! So excited to be living this abundant life on Mardi Gras. I don't have to get drunk, dress weird or go naked, or prance around, shaming myself publicly to show off. I won't have a hangover tomorrow morning or feel sick to my stomach because I did something stupid. Nope. That's not me anymore. 

Jesus promised "life, and that more abundantly." (John 10:10) With all my junk and stuff still sloughing off the old me, I remind myself that a corpse is not tempted nor drawn into bad things. It's dead. But I'm not just dead - I've been raised to new life.

I'm jumping around with happiness and glee. Unmasked. Best Mardi Gras ever!

Read more:

*Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 ESV

*I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. Isaiah 43:11 ESV

*Now the word of the LORD came to [Jeremiah] saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 

Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 

But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD." 

Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." Jeremiah 1: 4-10 NRSV

*The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Ephesians 1:17 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Sovereign God, you are the one true God, our Savior. You sent your Son to earth, to live among us and to redeem us. Grant us the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge to know you more fully each day. Give us thankful hearts for your many blessings. Amen.

Lent Day 38: Almost there

At this point in Passion week, Jesus knows he's headed for the cross. He has another day. What will he tell his disciples? How will he say good-bye and see you again? What kind of organization will he set up so his followers stay on track in the Kingdom of God?

The final chapters of John summarize the interactions between Jesus and his disciples. How tender he is! How grace-filled. Even Judas seems to have the chance to change his course ... until he commits to betrayal.

There's no frantic micromanagement in Jesus' last days before the cross. No: "Let's get this perfect, guys! We're making history here, so let me make sure everything is A-1 for the Passover performance. Hey, you sit there. ... Hmmm, I think we should have a blue towel, not the one the host brought..." (You get the picture.)

Sometimes we fuss over details because the outcome and the moment is so special. What if we took Jesus cue of being fully present, reviewing what we know about God (His life-giving grace and goodness), while preparing others for challenges and difficulties. Jesus acknowledged (warned of) failure, abandonment, and broken trust. But he didn't attack or demean Peter or Judas or the disciples. After all, he was going to the cross for their brokenness and weaknesses, alongside everyone else's.

When I'm tempted to huff and puff, to stress out, and to juggle details so I can control the presentation, I need to remember the "in-the-moment, with-you-always" Jesus. Eating. Drinking. Communing. Teaching. Loving. Praying.

• with death on the horizon
• with the cross at the end of the path
• with the pretense of "all is well" by those around him
• with his reputation about to shatter through accusations by hateful leaders

 "For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross," wrote an early Christian (Hebr. 12:2).

What joy would help you to endure what is before you this week? This season? This year?

Read more:
*If the godly give in to the wicked, it's like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring. Proverbs 25:26 NLT

*The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Psalm 50:1 NLT

*Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV

*See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking. Hebrews 12:25 NLT

Moravian Prayer: God of light, promise, and hope, may we hear your voice calling us again, as if for the first time. May the stories of this holy week dare us to take part anew in the unfolding drama of your love. Amen.