Near West Vineyard Church

The life of Jesus and the celebration surrounding it goes far beyond the day called “Easter.” Included in this celebration is the reality that the life found in Jesus is something that, for those who follow Jesus, infuses each day with purpose. Jesus’ resurrection shows that he has power over death and anything else that would cause even the remotest sense of fear in any person. This includes concern about getting a paycheck, family relationships, what people think of us, past regrets, past mistakes, present pain, future decisions, etc. It includes us experiencing the greatest pleasure in life as we give ourselves back to the one who created us, knows us, and understands what brings us true joy.

As people live a life in Jesus, they attempt to live a life according to God’s standard. This is done with complete understanding that all people are stuck in the consequences of their mistakes without Jesus. People must always live in his grace as they relate to God themselves and as they relate to the people around them. Living in Jesus also assumes that God is fair and just. Whatever people deserve for their mistakes, God is willing to have compassion on all people, none of whom deserve it.

Easter is about our ability to follow God as we live according to his standard and are able to bring positive change to the city of Chicago (or wherever we live), where, like in every place all over the world, Jesus’ life, love, and justice is needed.

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There are many things we can think of in which we’d be better off if we gave them up.  Physically, there are tran-fats, carcinogens, and the delicious dessert - although some of these have their benefits.  I still have movies in my mind that have scarred me for one reason or another that I saw years ago.  There are influences that go behind this as well- issues that delve into areas of self-esteem, worldview, or other philosophies which affect how we live - some negative and some positive.  It is  beneficial to take a look at some of these influences and see how we can get rid of those that do more harm to our life than good.

Whether or not you do anything for the time leading up to Easter or even care about celebrating Easter, it is good for all people to look at things in their life which call for change.  Lent, the forty-six days (forty not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter, is not a time merely of giving something up to be part of a ritual, but it is a reminder of our need for deep change.  It isn’t about ashes being wiped on a forehead, although this may be helpful for some, it is about our need to seek real change from someone who is greater than ourselves.

Jesus life shows a positive example of how we can live a full, meaingful life.  He provides a life style to emulate.  There is no formula involved in this because Jesus was led by the guidance of his Father through the Holy Spirit.  There are things that Jesus did that can be copied, but to merely do what Jesus said without being led in a similar way by God would reduce following God to something formulaic or something to be copied.  There is beauty found in the freedom Jesus had to live a life led by God.  It is similar for each of us as God will use our personality, our passions, and ways in which we’re gifted to enjoy a full, meaingful life and to be used to let others do the same.  In Isaiah 61:1-3 (a passage quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18-19), Isaiah talks of a time of renewal: including people being given “a crown of beauty instead of ashes” (verse 3)  Part of this change will naturally include a change of heart (repentance) and omission of “carcinogens” in our life.  But even more, it will include an opportunity for us to experience life, and others the opportunity to experience life through us, if we give ourselves over to God.

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How can we love the people in our community? I’ve received some interesting responses to this question. Some people admit that they don’t love the people in their community or don’t care to love the people in their community. Others, understandably, have a hard time describing how they would love people in their community or what that even looks like for anyone. We cannot exhaust the answers to this question which begs the use of our creativity and presents us with a daunting issue to address. To prescribe specific ways to love can belittle the immensity of love. Love never has and never will present itself in a way that can be captured in a bottle or bound in any way. This is why we are called to be in communication and connected to the one who is described as love: God (1 John 4:8, 16). This connection and communication happens through Jesus and enables us to creatively address that daunting issue of loving people in our community. It includes our individual personality and the creativity that comes with it. It faces the reality that loving a community is beyond the reach of any one person. It calls for our trust and dependence on the One who can work powerfully through us and empower us to love our community so that our community is confronted with the reality of love and is moved to act on this love.

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What is the best gift you have ever received? I remember getting an ATAT (an All-Terrain Armored Transport to hold my Star Wars figures ) when I was little. I was really excited about getting it and when I received it I realized I couldn’t do much with the gray bulky plastic toy – as great as a gift it was to receive.
As I’ve been asking this question to people in my community, I’ve gotten several answers including a couple “I gotta car” responses. I’ve received some heart-warming “friends” and “family” responses. I’ve gotten a couple spiritual responses. All of which has had me reflecting on different gifts which I have received throughout my life.
Apart from basic necessities, no material gifts mean much detached from the people who give them. We may want to think so but, in the end, loneliness trumps the shallow pleasure received from material items.
For some of us, the family and friends and the support they give are immeasurable. They contribute a large part to who we are. As great as our friends and family are, God wants us to know that he is the one whom we can depend on. And for those of us who don’t have the best family and friend relationships (or maybe no family and no friends,) we know that our family and friends will not always be there and, when they are, they will sometimes fail. I am the only person who will always be with me. As self-focused as this may sound, it doesn’t take away from the truth of the statement, at least, with a caveat. God is always with us and as the name “Immanuel” first was applied to Jesus’ presence on earth, “Immanuel,” God with us, is still true today.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive,” Acts 20:35. Jesus was an example of God acting on this idea. God gave his only son (John 3:16) in the form of tender flesh and a baby’s delicate body. God sent Jesus to drag us out of the darkness of the situations we live in and/or are around us. He sent Jesus to deliver us from the depths of any personal torment in which we live. He sent Jesus so that we can experience true joy, unrelated to material benefits and unrelated to circumstances. God sent Jesus as a gift for us to receive, a gift which can redeem us from wherever we are and wherever we’ve been .
Romans 6:23 says, “the gift of God is eternal life”. Knowing and experiencing Jesus is part of this gift. This gift includes a relationship with God and a purpose and meaning in life to which no gift can compare. God knows us better than any person and knows what is best for us. Receive this gift if you haven’t and appreciate and live it out if you have. God created us and knows what will bring us the greatest pleasure and fulfillment. We just need to receive this gift of Jesus, which brings true joy to the world.

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The coming holidays brings thousands and thousands of us through airports and bus terminals and onto inter-states to the front doors of our destinations. We come with our baggage. What comes with us is a mixed bag. This baggage includes things like clothes, joy, toiletries, pain of past experiences, and/or an expectation of a good time with family and friends. For those of us who will spend time with people we have known for years this holiday season, we have a history and with that history comes great memories and, unfortunately, baggage.
Baggage, in the emotional sense, is understood with a negative connotation. There is a whole range of emotions that can be discussed. In light of the context of the season and spending time with people we have known for a long time, it is natural for us to address dealing with this baggage.
The most appropriate way to deal with baggage is through forgiveness. Forgiveness is not equivalent to sending thoughts like planes to O’Hare airport to be held in permanent holding patterns nor is it like shooing a passenger off to the nearest chair to sleep in the terminal forever. Forgiveness, although sometimes frustrating, is freedom. It brings freedom to perpetrators and that is good news for all us who have screwed up. It frees us from the guilt that weighs us down. It is also freeing to the victim. It frees us from experiencing the bitterness of past events over and over again. Like hungry teenage boys, guilt and bitterness will eat away at us as if we are the pumpkin pie at a Thanksgiving dinner. And although I speak of this in light-hearted terms, the reality of forgiveness is huge for any of us who have held onto the guilt or the bitterness of the circumstances that happen to us in life.
I want to challenge you to get rid of your baggage. Take this season and the time you have with people you don’t see often (or people you do see regularly) to mend any wounds you have and to make things right. How do you do that? “Forgive each other… just as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). Earlier in this book, it says that “when you were dead in your transgressions… he made you alive (Colossians 2:13). It also says that we were “enemies” (1:21) to the ways of God but even in that state God sent a way for us to be reconciled. So regardless of what people have done against you, take it as an opportunity to be freed from that baggage you have regardless of their current attitude towards you. And if you wish, take it a step further.
Jesus Christ has made it possible for us, regardless of the crap we have done or been through, to experience a relationship with God. It is a mystical experience and a mystery that trust in Jesus can bring us into a relationship with God. It this life-giving supernatural experience which inspires us with purpose to live in the world around us with the power of its Creator.

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