The first thing Jesus did when he rose from the dead?
He went for a walk. Here's a guy who'd just risen from the dead. Not your every day miracle, right? And his instinct wasn't to call together the masses that had watched him die on a cross to flaunt his superpower. He didn't take time to show off the grandest I told you so moment ever. Nope, he simply went for a walk. And along a rural road he encountered two of his disciples. The bible says they were sad. My guess is they were devastated, having watched their friend, Jesus, die on a cross. Jesus didn't immediately make it known to them who he was. He didn't let them know the friend they were grieving was the friend walking beside them. Jesus simply started talking to them and comforting them with scriptures from the old testament. The two men invited Jesus to dinner. And it was at dinner when Jesus made it known to them that it was indeed Him, their friend, the risen Jesus. The friends shared sort of an "I knew it" moment. They say to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” He is interesting, this Jesus. Here he was, just risen from the dead, making his first order of business to walk alongside grieving friends. This risen Jesus, picking up where he left off with his last breath on the cross. Burning hope and light into the hearts of the struggling. Too often, when we experience darkness, we try to rearrange the order of things on the outside of our lives. We try to piece together the puzzle of the outside of our lives we've convinced ourselves is the answer. When the answer is actually to just go for a walk. When Jesus walked out of that grave and went looking for his friends who were sad, I think he was making a point that he wasn't an external cure, but an internal and eternal comfort. When Jesus walked out of that tomb and went looking to reconnect with friends, he was reminding us that when we feel locked in a tomb, he's wanting to go for a walk with us. He's wanting us to be reminded of his light. I believe he also wants to remind us that as long as his light lives in us, we ARE his light. And maybe we need to make a walk our first order of business. A walk alongside the hurting. The grieving. Those longing for burning hearts. “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" (Luke 24:32) Go for a walk with him. For you; for others.
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I am a Christian.
At the heart of that is my belief that Jesus died. Three days later Jesus walked out of his tomb. Jesus ascended into heaven but left his spirit behind to live in me. And one day Jesus is returning to get me and that spirit and is bringing us home to live with him forever. I believe all that. Or do I? Do you know in spite of the scriptures foretelling that Jesus would rise from the dead, and in spite of Jesus telling them himself that he'd rise from the dead, AND - in spite of Jesus demonstrating to them that he COULD raise someone from the dead (Lazarus) - there is not a shred of evidence that his disciples actually believed Jesus WOULD rise from the dead on Easter Sunday. Like if they actually believed it, would they have let his body out of their sight. If they actually believed it, would Jesus have had to work so hard to convince them it was him they were seeing AFTER he actually rose? But do we believe it any stronger than they did? If I have a friend I love and haven't seen in years who is showing up at the airport today for a visit, I'm getting my house in order, shopping for some food, printing off his arrival times and gate, and then I'm going to go sit at that gate and wait on him. That is, if I actually believe he is coming. If I don't actually believe it I may just go on with life and keep my phone turned on in case he calls. Sometimes - maybe more than sometimes I fear as I write this - I'm running around with my phone turned on just in case Jesus calls. He's told me he's coming, he's told me what to pack, he's told me how to get prepared for his visit - and yet, many days, I act as if he never told me a thing. Jesus rising from the dead was never intended to be an annual spring Sunday celebration. A day to play dress up. Color eggs. Hunt for eggs. Eat lots of chocolate eggs. Those things are all well and good, but they were never the point. The point was an invitation to start getting ready. Start packing. To start living our stories like we know how the story ends. To live like we believe Jesus is coming again. Not hoping he does; fingers crossed. As we prepare to celebrate Jesus rising from the dead, it's a good day to get re-committed to believing Jesus is coming again. It's a good day to review the packing list. Because Jesus gave us one. Jesus said: ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, “I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Jesus made it clear, if we truly believe he is coming again, our every day will look like us pouring into others - especially the least of these - with confidence that loving them is loving the Jesus that is coming to get us and bring us home. That is, if we TRULY believe he's coming again. Jesus told his disciples he would rise again. Many of them watched him die on Good Friday. And then walked away and spent Saturday feeling defeated. Because in spite of all they'd heard and seen they didn't believe for a second that Sunday was coming. It's Saturday once again. Do we believe it? Do we believe he will rise again? Or do we simply have our fingers crossed - hoping? Review your packing list. It will tell you all you need to know. And if you're like me, you'll be left feeling like maybe you have to begin doing a little more believing than hoping. The least of us deserve more than our fingers crossed. 4/7/2023 0 Comments I assure YouThe thief on one side of him mocked him.
Ha - so you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself, and us too if you really want to show off some magic. 🤣 The thief on the other side, he simply asked to go with him. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 🙏❤️ Jesus didn't lash out at the mocker; he simply said yes to the man looking for assurance. "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." If ever there is a day to find assurance, today is that day. In your feelings of being unloved, today is the day to be assured you are loved like no other. In your feelings of loneliness, today is the day to be assured one like no other accompanies your every breath. In your feelings of inadequacy, today is the day to be assured in His name you are capable of steps beyond any step you've imagined. In your feeling that the thief on the cross is a saint compared to you, today is the day to be assured that at the same time Jesus was assuring that thief of a home he was assuring you: Today you will be with me in paradise. Today is a great day to quit waiting on assurance and turn to it. We don't have to wait until we're hanging on the cross for our assurance - our assurance lives inside us. Every day. Every breath. Full of love and full of heart, always ready to say the words to us. I assure you. One of the mistakes we make in our relationships with one another is assuming the worlds we see in one another are the worlds one another are choosing.
It's easy to assume we are both here in this moment because we choose to be. We are behaving as we choose to behave. We have become who we have chosen to become. We all have choice; that's true. I'm not here to suggest otherwise. We have personal responsibility and accountability. But neither of those are as simple as a demand. Of ourselves or of one another. Because sometimes our choices are accompanied by uninvited guests. Guests from our past that we were sure we'd locked away. Only some guests are escape artists. They are never locked away. We try new locks, they keep picking them. Sometimes this fear I have of you has nothing to do with you, it's all about the escape artist. Sometimes this unwillingness I have to open up to you has nothing to do with you, it's all about the escape artist. Sometimes my lashing out at you has nothing to do with you, it's all about the escape artist. The unpredictable escape artist that let's me freely make the choices I want to make, but denies me any freedom to decide which choices it gets to be a part of. Sometimes the escape artist doesn't care for peace, so it inserts volatility. Sometimes in doesn't like quiet, so it inserts noise. We are not hopeless or helpless against this escape artist, though. It is only dangerous when we try so hard to keep it locked up. It is only dangerous when it is the world we deny. When we begin to allow the world we deny to be a part of the world we choose we deprive the escape artist of it's power to invade. To show up uninvited. Imposters are no longer imposters when they are invited guests. When we begin to accept them for who they are; ghosts from the past. And more importantly, who they are not. They are not you. They are not me. Denying who we are and where we've been creates turmoil within. Only turmoil doesn't have much interest in staying within. It loves a good fight. But we don't have to force turmoil to fight its way out. We can invite its way out. Invite it out and see it for what it is. A ghost long gone. It is not me. It is not you. Ideally, we come into the world surrounded by cheerleaders. People hovering over and around us who have a common desire for us to thrive.
They are there, hooting and hollering and celebrating our first steps. Ingraining in us forever a longing for cheerleaders in our lives. Maybe even a NEED for cheerleaders? I had a conversation yesterday with a young lady who does a lot of work for and with me. She was letting me know she'd decided to follow her heart and take on a new job. One that fits long held passions and her picture of her future. From a selfish standpoint, there was nothing to cheer about. From the standpoint of having nothing but a desire for this young lady to thrive, I could do nothing but cheer. So I cheered. Before I went to bed last night I had a conversation with someone who'd read some of my writing. They said it had been helpful. They said I should keep on writing. And then they said: "I am rooting for you more than you can ever imagine. Isn't it nice just knowing that someone wants you to thrive? I think it's great" There is something energizing about pom poms. About waving them and about having them waved at you. It's almost like cheering and being cheered are part of our makeup. An inheritance from birth. I went to bed wondering last night, how many people never hear those words - I am rooting for you more than you can ever imagine. How many relationships fail because there's not a single pom pom to be found? How many people fail to thrive because they don't have people around them wanting them to thrive? How many people miss out on one of the greatest joys in life when they don't find people to cheer for? There's a difference between I support you and I am rooting for you. Cheerleaders have an energy about them. Maybe it feels a lot like taking those first steps. Falling into the arms of the cheerleaders who'd been waiting to see you walk as much as you'd been wanting to walk. Your success written all over their faces. You can feel YOUR success in THEIR hearts. I think we were made to have cheerleaders in our lives. I think we were all made to BE cheerleaders. Isn't it nice just knowing that someone wants you to thrive? I think it is. In fact, I think it's great. I spent a lot of time this weekend watching the men's and women's final four games. It's hard to imagine more athleticism and talent gathered in one building. And when watching, it's easy for me to begin believing I am watching young women and young men do things I could never do.
I wonder, though, if I was actually watching them do what I have not often enough done. In many post-game interviews I heard young people say they were experiencing a dream come true. I don't think I agree with that. I'm not sure I am any longer a fan of the phrase 'dream come true'. Because these young people weren't living in a dream come true. Most of them were catching something they'd spent much of their lives chasing. You can dream. Or you can chase. You can wait on one day to arrive, or you can treat today like it is day one in my journey to getting there. I think dreaming can lead to wasted time. There are a lot of ways of imagining your one day arriving. But chasing - chasing demands investment, not imagination. Chasing demands that I recognize one day might never come. I can imagine it every day, but no amount of imagination in the world will bring one day to life. But day one; it is here. Right now. If I don't take it, and own it, and make it my own. If I don't invest it, if I don't make it my partner in my chase, then ONE DAY becomes the dream that never comes true, and the DAY ONE I wasted becomes the nightmare reason why. It's important to ask ourselves when we are watching people live what looks like dreams come true; is that really a dream come true? Or am I watching someone catch what they've spent a lot of their life chasing. Am I watching someone who was always too busy living out day one to spend a lot of time imagining one day, and in turn, found themselves living out one of the most beautiful one days of their lives. 4/2/2023 0 Comments I am a grain of wheatSometimes I wonder what Jesus' disciples thought of him when he would out of the blue drop random bits of wisdom on them. Like, did they just stand there and stare at each other with collective 'where did that come from' looks?
In the book of John, when you read the Palm Sunday account, you read about a conversation Jesus had with Phillip and Andrew. They had come to Jesus to let him know there were some Greeks at the feast who would like to meet with him. When they told Jesus this, Jesus responded: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." Uhm, Jesus - dude - we just came to tell you about these Greeks..... A simple yes or no will work here. When I read words like this, and feel the randomness in them, I know they aren't so random. I'm sure Jesus picked those words and that moment to speak something into the hearts and minds of two men he loved - Phillip and Andrew - and in a way that would give them pause. And maybe - maybe Jesus chose to deliver them that way so they would one day - in this moment - give me pause too. Because it's true. I am a grain of wheat. Only I don't have to wait to die and fall into the ground and bear fruit. I get to make that choice. I get to make that choice every day. Certainly in this moment Jesus was speaking in part to his own impending death. I'm sure he was trying to help his disciples understand what was about to happen. Maybe not in that moment, but later on when they reflected on this conversation. Because we all reflect back on conversations that mean more to us after we experience different things in life. I think as much as giving understanding to his disciples, though, Jesus was issuing a challenge to his followers. I am one of them. When I read this challenge it would be easy to hear Jesus telling me I can't be afraid to die. But really, the real message here is for me to fear not living. Not living life fully in love for one another. Because when Jesus talks about bearing much fruit, he's always talking about the fruit that comes when we love one another the way he loves us. The way he commands us to. His warning here is that I can get so focused on loving myself, that I begin living my life in isolation. I begin living life in love with myself at the expense - and at a blindness to - the world around me that needs me to live my life loving them. I hear Jesus saying here that it's only when I begin to hate the idea of being in love with myself that I'll be fully equipped to be in love with the idea of loving EVERY ONE else. "Whoever loves his life loses it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." I suppose one could interpret that as a threat. I don't. I interpret it as life-giving not life-threatening. I interpret it as preparation. Because I do believe in eternal life. I just don't believe that life is somewhere down the road; it is now. I hear Jesus saying to be fully alive in this eternal life, to fully embrace it and experience it the way I was designed to experience it, I have to look away from my life and much more deeply into the lives of others. I have to be a grain of wheat that doesn't wait to fall into the ground. I must dive there. Willingly and lovingly and with great faith that in that dive, that is where I will find life. A life that will bear much fruit. 4/1/2023 0 Comments Take a glance at your futureI'm not a big future guy. The future can easily distract me from today. I do, however, like to take frequent glances at my future.
I don't like to stare at it. I don't stalk it. But I do glance at it. And I ask myself, what do you see there, Keith? Because my future hasn't happened yet, it's mine to imagine. It's mine to create. It's mine to use to measure today. It's mine to know if I'm any closer to where I'm going. It's mine to inform my next choice in life. For much of my life I had no idea where I wanted to go. I'd open the window to my future and see chaos. Or nothing at all. Until eventually I just quit looking at the future. Not even a glance. When you quit glancing at the future your next choice becomes about surviving and not thriving. It becomes about living without actually living. Knowing where you're going doesn't make every choice easier. Or without pain. Sometimes choices are painful. But when you know where you're going. When you glance at your future and you see it and you know my next choice is a requirement to get there, a painful choice becomes worth it. Not painless, but worth it. I think many of us have no idea where we are going. We see nothing when we glance. Or we see chaos. We go on making painful choice after painful choice and that adds up to a painful existence. That pain isn't because of the choices but because we have no idea what we want those choices to add up to. When we know we want our life to add up to 2, we pour 1 and 1 into our life. No matter how painful each of those ones are. When we don't know what we want our life to add up to we just keep adding. And adding - burdens and pain and wondering what this is all about. If that's you, I encourage you to take a glance at the future. It hasn't happened yet, so it IS yours to imagine. Yours to create. Write it down. Draw it. Email it to a friend. Do something that says my glance at tomorrow is important enough to shape my today. My tomorrow is important enough to battle through the pain of this day. Then keep glancing. Keep battling. And go where you want to go. |
Robert "Keith" CartwrightI am a friend of God, a dad, a runner who never wins, but is always searching for beauty in the race. Archives
May 2024
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