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Rez is a community where Jesus welcomes, shapes, and sends disciples for the good of our neighborhood. No matter where you are in life, this is a place for you.
Life Together In The Goodness Of God
tonight we do well to ask the ancient question of why this night is different from all other nights this question is asked at every Jewish Seder and the answer is that it is different in order to remember everything the Lord God did to bring Israel out of Pharaoh's bondage away from the powers of Empire and into a land flowing with milk and honey we do indeed do well to ask the same question why is this night different different from our regular worship in this space different from our regular Friday night activities of dining sports movies having a good time or perhaps just collapsing on the couch after a hard week well the answer is not really very different than that given at the Seder this night is different because we want to recognize the immensity of what God has done for us brought us out of slavery to sin and death and into new life but we might say we hear of these acts God's acts all the time we read our Bible we pray and we come to worship Sunday after Sunday that's true but this most solemn and holy night is different even as we're removed some by some 2,000 years from the actual events that took place in Jerusalem we seek to place ourselves there by remembering completely we ask were you there when they crucified my Lord and we tremble in response so what is it we remember what is it that makes us tremble tremble tremble for me and I believe for many it is the reality once again brought to us of the immensity of God's passion of God's love for creation of God's love for us on this night the words from John 316 for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life on this night these passionate words take on a sober yet somber tone eternal life meaning that death no longer will have power over us death and fear of death will no longer rule now the words are passionate passion is a word we hear a lot during this holy week right beginning with palm slash passion Sunday now the Webster dictionary tells us that passion means suffering being acted upon by external agents or forces and has specifically come to mean the suffering of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death but we often use the word passion with a different meaning and Webster's goes on to describe passion as convictions or feelings that are intense driving even angry as strong liking or desire or devotion to some activity object concept or person we say we are passionate about someone or something on this good Friday night we obviously think of Jesus's passion we just heard it proclaimed as gospel we hear we we hear of his suffering during persecution his trial his crucifixion his death and his burial we think of the cross as the instrument of the passion that led to his death his physical death we might also say that Jesus's own passion led to this day to his death his death what Jesus was passionate about led to his death his passion for wholeness for community for life for truth his passion for stretching out his hand and making the lame walk his passion for mixing mud and spit and making the blind see feeding thousands when only a few fish and a bit of bread was to be found his passion of healing and including the outsiders and the untouchables opening up the gates of death and calling Lazarus out of the grave teaching that following the law meant compassion and neighborly care rather than exclusion teaching that the last will be first and the first will be last doing and saying all these things and much more calling the people into wholeness health community love calling all calling all into God's kingdom got Jesus in trouble the powers of the day could not bear it could not bear that their view of God's power of law order and hierarchical exclusivity was not what Jesus God's son revealed to them and so they appealed to the powers of the empire and got help in betraying Jesus betraying Jesus he who would never forsake any of them they point fingers at Jesus he who would heal them with an outstretched hand they drew lots for Jesus clothes he who would give them his coat they pierced Jesus side so blood would flow blood flow from he who would stop the stop the blood flow of a hemorrhaging woman they made Jesus as vulnerable as possible made one vulnerable he who would give strength and healing to all they sought to separate Jesus from all even as from the cross he would make community here is your mother here is your son Jesus was passionate is passionate about a world where no one is forsaking forsaken no one is ridiculed no one is naked or hungry or frightened hungry or frightened a world where no one has the power to hang anyone on a cross but to many of us that much goodness just feels too risky makes us too vulnerable makes us afraid of not getting everything we think we deserve and so we go along with the world with the powers that be choosing a known evil barabbas over the holy one of God so we might despair on this night if it was just an ordinary night when we witnessed the murder of an ordinary human being but this night is different what is truly different about this night is that our passionate God holds it all together even as we see our world falling apart God holds our world together even as we see it falling apart God holds it all the mutilated body of Jesus God's own son and the millions of others who have been and are excluded persecuted and murdered God holds the naked body of Jesus and the millions who have no roof over their heads or clothing on their backs God hears the cries the cry of Jesus and the cries of the millions who suffer thirst and hunger God holds it all God holds us and on this night says in spite of your efforts and sometimes lack of effort in spite of your failures I will make all things new and in spite of yourselves you get to be part of all that is the new creation on this night more than any other night we come to the cross and trust that somehow God takes the worst we can dish out and makes it into new life and every one of us gets to live that new life right where we are right here right now and tomorrow morning and all of our days we are where they laid him in the grave we are present where they laid him in the grave and oh how it makes us tremble tremble tremble through our cheerful eyes we keep watch at the guard as the garden grave is sealed trusting the words we have already heard behold I make all things new I will give you a new heart a new beginning and new life in Jesus we're told in the revelation to John yes this night is different with the anticipation of bringing new life out of death I'm in