Lent does not dismiss suffering Does not set it aside and say 'there, there' Lent is no place for hiding from the real; Cowering behind platitudes No, it is the place where all suffering is held up, Whether inflicted by self, others, God, or other unseen forces Lent is God's declaration that 'I am here' 'I am there' 'I'm not going anywhere' And when we crumble under the weight of life May we encounter the Jesus who doesn't patronize; doesn't shame But who has truly 'been there.' Strength to finish the journey When our gaze is fixed on him Who journeyed before us and ever remains our sojourner; Only here do we keep this holy fast

We stand at a crossroads: between Palms and Passion, shouts of ‘Hosanna’ and ‘crucify.’ The story of our Lord Jesus forces us to admit the twistedness of our hearts, the fickleness of our decisions, and our tendency to go unthinkingly along with the loudest crowd. We were not there to shout ‘Hosanna,’ and we were not there to shout ‘crucify,’ but we stand today with both shouts in our hearts. Hosannas ring loud and clear when we selflessly care for the poor and the widow in our midst and all over the world, when we forgive, when we helplessly place ourselves in God’s care. We shout crucify in our cowardice, our oppression of the poor, our attempts to mold God into our own image, and our abuse and ingratitude toward his creation and his gifts to us. Martin Luther used the term “simul justus et peccator” for this duality of the Christian life. It means “righteous and at the same time a sinner.” After all, Jesus did not choose between the two crowds, casting lots for precisely whom he would or wouldn’t carry the cross, pour out his blood and empty himself. God so loved the whole world, and in this act of Jesus, love finds its purest embodiment.

A little detail like moving to Capernaum seems insignificant until you realize that Capernaum is in Naphtali, right next to Zebulun. And Naphtali and Zebulun seem insignificant unless you know the setting of the famous words we read from Isaiah 9 each Advent: "For unto us a child is born…and the government shall rest upon his shoulders…and he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" That hope is rooted somewhere, and that somewhere is the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. After his baptism and time of testing, Jesus moves into that neighborhood, which we find out means that the kingdom of heaven moves into that neighborhood. The immanence and transcendence of the kingdom of heaven are right there in Jesus. He’s the most impressive person anyone in Capernaum has ever met, yet few can see it. And those who have met him cannot comprehend who he really is, since he doesn’t carry himself with the pompous self-importance we’ve come to expect from such significant people. Jesus, the embodied kingdom of heaven calls his first followers, and they follow immediately. Peter, Andrew, James and John, called out in pairs, leaving behind their respective, presumably lucrative, family fishing businesses. Leaving behind the life they’ve always lived, and in James and John’s case, leaving their father behind to tend the vessel alone. Even if Zebedee (Zebedee means “thunder,” and I can’t imagine you’d want to make Thunder angry, right?) approved of his sons going off to follow the rabbi, he was surely wounded. They left him. Any father would feel the weight of this loss. Sometimes following Jesus hurts the feelings of the ones we love. For every follower of Jesus for all time, being Jesus’ disciple makes us question the values and assumptions of our families of origin. Sometimes following Jesus leads us deeper into those values which the previous generations handed down, and sometimes following Jesus means challenging the party line. And for some, challenging the party line can mean ostracism, persecution, or plain old hurt feelings. It makes me question how far I will follow Jesus. To the cross, onto the cross, into the tomb, up from the grave, and out into the world, or will I stop short? Will I admire from a distance in my comfortable routines, or follow him, catching the dust kicked up from his feet, even if it costs me?

Thanks be to God for sending Jesus into the embarrassment of a baptism of repentance, shoulder to shoulder with sinners, the world’s richest man in line for a bowl of mediocre soup, only to transform the whole operation! The heavens are open, God is pleased, and his Spirit rests upon his people. Receive the good news, friends!