Where are you looking for Jesus?

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." (Luke 24:5-6)

We must always be very careful where we are seeking Jesus: among the dead or the living.

Seeking Jesus among the dead means to relegate Him and His words to the ancient wisdom of a historic figure, beneficial but optional and largely irrelevant to the issues of modern living. Seeking a living Jesus is an altogether different prospect -- one which acknowledges His mastery over death, His power over life, and His absolute authority over everything. A dead Jesus can be admired, quoted, and then easily dismissed, like an accessory to be adorned when it matches your particular outfit that day. But a living Jesus is a Lord and King, and demands our absolute devotion and total surrender. Which one we seek at any given moment says far more about us than about Him.

Love this quote from John Irving's novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany:

 "Anyone can be sentimental about the Nativity; any fool cab feel like a Christian at Christmas. But Easter is the main event; if you don't believe in the resurrection, you're not a believer."

Following Jesus... at a distance.

Read this yesterday in the Grand Story from Luke 22 and it caught my eye...

"Then they seized [Jesus] and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance." (Luke 22:54)

Peter was "following at a distance." What does that mean? 

Peter was following Jesus, no doubt about it, and in every sense of the word. He had devoted the last three years of his life to becoming a Christ follower. He had left his career, left the comforts of home, left the security of a steady paycheck to follow a rabbi from Nazareth of all places. He was all in, no question.

But when Jesus was arrested and led away to be tried by a kangaroo court and executed, Peter followed "at a distance." By putting some space between himself and this now very unpopular Jesus, he hoped to escape notice, to blend in. "Aren't you one of his followers, too?" The question must had made his blood turn to ice in his veins even as he warmed himself by the fire that night. "Who, me? No... no, I'm not, I... I don't even know the guy."

Following Jesus is not what people do who want to blend in. It's not where you go to be under the radar. It frequently places you in the cross-hairs in the war of cultures. This is the guy who said, "Don't think that I came to bring peace; I came to bring a sword that will divide even families against each other."(Matt. 10:34) All over this one issue: who He really is. 

Because if He is who He said He is, then we are obligated to take seriously that what He says is true. And He makes some pretty bold and unpopular claims on our lives, loves, dreams, desires, money, relationships... If He is who He claimed to be, He has the right to tell us how to live. And that's not popular. Following a guy like that can get you crucified.

As a result, many Christ followers can find themselves "following at a distance." When the predominant views of the culture we live in pinch us between following Jesus faithfully and falling into line with the majority, the temptation to blend in can be strong. Will we try to slide in unnoticed next to those who warm themselves around the fires of sophistication and enlightenment, or will we fearlessly but humbly acknowledge Christ as King, and His Word as the unchangeable authority over every area of life?

Acceptance and approval have been a distraction for the modern church for decades now, and is to blame for much of its anemia. The Bible's unflinching stance on controversial issues like marriage, sexuality, parenting, and abortion (just to name a few) makes it pretty near impossible to court the approval of the culture and maintain faithfulness to Christ. In fact, Jesus promised His disciples that to follow Him was to invite the hatred of pretty much the rest of the world. (John 15:18-19) 2000 years of worldwide persecution, which continues to escalate right up to this very day, would prove Him right. To put it bluntly, the cross just isn't cool. It wasn't then, it isn't now, and it never will be. 

Every time we distance ourselves from Christ by backing off what He said to make it more palatable, or water down the scriptures to avoid being vilified in the press, or remain silent on an issue that demands we stand up and speak the truth even at great cost, it is a betrayal. We are abandoning Jesus to suffer alone at precisely the point we are called to "share in the fellowship of His sufferings."(Phil.3:10, NASB)

"And immediately while [Peter] was speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord... And he went out and wept bitterly." (Luke 22: 61-62)

The story does have a happy ending. Jesus rises from the dead. Peter is forgiven and restored and reaffirmed by Jesus. Later, he would be crucified himself for his refusal to ever follow at a distance again. But even so... I bet he never, ever forgot that look from Jesus that night. In fact, I'd wager it was precisely the memory of that look, seared into his mind and burned into his heart, that brought him to his own cross finally. And into the Kingdom where he could see that face again, and see those eyes, but with a different expression altogether.

Martha: Distraction, Anxiety, and the One Thing

Reading in the Grand Story about Martha and Mary...
"Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.' " (Luke 10:38-42)

I've heard a lot of different takes on this story in my time. The latest trend has been to rush to the defense of Martha and make her heroic or misunderstood. But Jesus understood her perfectly and He addressed the problem in no uncertain terms: "Martha, you are distracted."

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines distraction as "something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention." There is nothing wrong with serving people. In fact, it's an earmark of a true disciple of Christ. Most church leaders would probably agree they would love a church full of Marthas. The problem is that Martha wasn't serving out of obedience to anything her Lord had told her to do. He was speaking. He was teaching them. It wasn't time for scurrying and working and serving. It was time for being still and listening. Martha couldn't see that because she was distracted.

What distracted her? Jesus named two specific things: anxiety and trouble. Martha was a worrier, and she was annoyed and irritated that she was the only one who seemed to be worried. The original Greek word for "troubled" is where we get the English word "turbulence." In the modern vernacular we would say she was "in a tizzy." Why? What had her worried? The key is in her request to Jesus: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me." Did you catch that? "I'm the only one doing anything! If I didn't do it, it wouldn't get done, and then where would we all be?" I have a sneaking suspicion that even if Mary did try to help, Martha would just go behind her and re-do everything she did, all the while muttering under her breath about how if you want anything done right you just have to do it yourself.

It's easy to fall into the Martha trap. It's the classic case of an over-exaggerated sense of our own importance. I have seen it creep into ministries that started off doing good work, but  slowly, over time, they became a little world unto themselves thinking, "We are the only ones doing real ministry. Nothing else is as important as what we are doing." There began to be an attitude of contempt towards other ministries. Other ways of serving. Other styles of worship. Other approaches to preaching. Other denominations. Other people. Until we are all alone in our minds. The only ones who matter. Busyness is not so much about activity as it is the posture of our hearts.

Look, nobody asked Martha to do anything. Not from what I read in the text. Jesus simply responded to her invitation to use her house as a place to teach. It was her idea to complicate it with a bunch of extra service. Like so many churches that busy themselves with a million programs and events and activities, cleverly marketed and catering to every demographic imaginable. Jesus said, "One thing is necessary." Everything else is a distraction. But how would we ever know if that's true. We refuse to try. "No, Jesus, you don't understand. People expect it. They want it. If we don't offer it, they will just go somewhere else. Then what will happen to our church?" And then we wear ourselves out (and our volunteers) chasing every idea that pops into our heads about how church ought to be.

"One thing is necessary." Apparently, stillness is required for listening. Like the mirror-surface of a calm lake, I can only perfectly reflect an image if I am perfectly still and peaceful.

God, help me today to stay focused on that One Thing, and may all other distractions fall away. Keep pride from seducing me into believing I am indispensable or alone in my work. Let me only busy myself with those things that You have told me to do. teach me to be still and listen. For Your glory, and in the name of Jesus. Amen.