Give It Up For Lent

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Give it up for Lent – that solemn time of year when we are to join in Christ’s sufferings, maybe by giving up soda or cookies for 40 days.   However, I’m not sure that’s the kind of sacrifice that captures the real spirit of Lent.  Besides, there is likely a hidden motive there to lose a few winter pounds.  In that case, who is really benefiting from such martyrdom?  The kingdom of God or our own self image?

I prefer to think of Lent as “a time for making room for God”.  For some, that may mean giving up something in order to create some space for God in their lives, such as skipping lunch on Friday to spend some time talking with God.  For others, it could mean adding a new habit, such as reading the Good News before opening up the morning newspaper.  Whatever the choice is, Lent is meant to be a chance to deepen our relationship with God.

One year I gave up Oprah for Lent.  Instead of plopping down on the couch from 4:00 to 5:00 each afternoon, I spent that hour listening to some good music and reading some spiritually challenging books.  I never went back to Oprah.  Giving up something I enjoyed was hard at first, but since there was a replacement plan, I didn’t feel deprived.  In fact, what started as a sacrifice ended up being a joy.  How like God – to surprise me with joy.

We shouldn’t let this season pass without an intentional attempt to make a way for God to be more at home in our lives.  Maybe that will mean giving up soda or cookies, but let’s allow that craving for a Pepsi or Oreo drive us to the only One who can truly satisfy our longings.  Or let’s do something a little more unique: give up the need to be right for 40 days and discover that others have some good ideas.  Let go of the desire to hold a grudge, and by Easter see if it’s worth your energy to pick it back up.  Fast from blaming or complaining or nagging for a few weeks and see if your relationships improve.

God will not barge into our lives, but politely waits to be invited.  So let’s make some room and be hospitable for a few days.  Prepare for a pleasant surprise.

“To obey is better than sacrifice.”  1 Samuel 15:22

Green Smoothies

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My boys have become men: they drink green smoothies.  This is truly revolutionary.

I tried for years to get my kids to eat healthy foods.  When they were little I never bought sugary cereal, hardly ever had soda in the house, and was able to sneak all manner of pureed vegetables into spaghetti sauce.   My husband and I went to great lengths to make it fun to eat green beans.  While sitting at the supper table, I would distract everyone while my hubby would stick a string bean in his ear.  It wasn’t long until a squeal would announce that, once again, green beans were growing out of dad’s ear!  Somehow the possibility of vegetables growing out of their ears made it enticing to down the pile of beans on their plates.

So what makes a young man (who at one time showered his momma with his mouthful of green Gerber baby food) drink a green smoothie?  What possesses a boy to go and buy a bag of spinach, put it in a blender and drink it?  Well, actually, he throws in a banana or a kiwi, but it is green as green can be.  It looks strangely like the Gerber version.  It looks gross.

As the kids grew, I gradually gave in to providing all the junk food their hearts desired.  But the winds of change are blowing.  The days of chocolate cereal and endless frozen pizzas may be coming to an end.  The bags of chili corn chips and microwave mac and cheese may be no more.  My boys have become health conscious, and oddly enough, I am disgusted by the green goo they guzzle.  Pass me that bag of chips.

Regaining My Sight

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The camp-out with Bartimaeus continues…  The last sentence of the story is on my mind.  “Immediately he regained his sight…”

It doesn’t seem that anything happens “immediately” in my relationship with God.  I don’t get immediate answers to prayer, but instead often labor long and hard on my knees.  I don’t see immediate changes in my bad habits, but rather, I tend go over and over the same ground.  I don’t know immediately what I’m supposed to do when perplexed, but usually approach decision making in slow motion.  Of course, while Jesus was on earth, he was time-bound.   This encounter with Bart occurred just before Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem to die for the sins of the world.   If  Bart was going to get healed, it was going to have to be right then and there.

Now, however, the Spirit of God has moved inside us, and there seems to be no hurry.  He has all the time in the world, literally.  I suppose that if all my prayers were answered immediately, then I would begin thinking of God as my go-fer and we would miss all those sweet hours together.  If all my bad habits were dispelled in moments, I would become prideful in my perfection.  If all my decisions were easily made, I would stop learning how to reason and discern.

So I accept the terms.  Bart had his lucky day.  Jesus heard his cry and healed him.  But I have a blessed life.  Jesus hears my every thought and is constantly and forever at work in me.

Did you catch that word in the last sentence of this passage?  Regained.  Bartimaeus regained his sight, so it says in the ASV (American Standard Version).  So, it’s true that at one time Bart could see, but somehow lost his sight.  He knew what he was missing and desperately wanted it back.  Perhaps I’ve lost sight of something.  Did I have better focus early in my journey with God on what it means to be a Christ follower?  If I went back and read my journals from 35 years ago, when I was a new creation, would I be surprised at who I find?    Lord, I want to see.

The Question

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Jesus asked Bartimaeus the question: “What do you want me to do for you?”  Did you catch that?  He said “want”.  Want. Shouldn’t He have asked, “What do you need me to do for you?”  After all, Jesus takes care of our needs. (“And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need…”  “And God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches….”)  I would be much more comfortable with the question, “What do you need?”  But want?  Is that really what He asks?  Why does that make me so uneasy?  That is a question that’s very hard for me to answer.

I try to make my response sound spiritual.  I say, “What is it You want me to ask for Lord?”  I am afraid I will want the wrong thing, have my shallowness revealed, sound selfish.  If He would just tell me what to want, I will want that.  But such a response rings hollow.  If I asked my kids, “What do you want for Christmas?” and they said, “What do you want me to want?”  I wouldn’t accept that.  “No,” I’d say, “what is your desire?  I need to know what’s in your heart.”

It seems to be a dangerous place – this whole idea of wanting.  Just before going into Jericho and healing Bart, Jesus was approached by two of his disciples: The Sons of Thunder.  James and John boldly came to Jesus with this ultimatum: “We want you to do for us whatever we ask.”  Can you imagine the nerve of those two?  Jesus calmly responded, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Same question He asked Bartimaeus.  Very different situation.  But same question.  After voicing their ridiculous request Jesus told them that they didn’t know what they were asking.  And that was the end of that.

I fear doing something Sons-of-Thunder-ish and being abruptly dismissed.  I don’t want to mistake arrogance for boldness.  I don’t want to make a request that is totally out of line.  I really don’t know how to answer that question.  What do you say to a Savior that stops, singles you out of the crowd, and, although you can’t see clearly, you feel the warmth of his breath as he says, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Bart was ready with his request.  He didn’t have to stop and think about that for a moment.   Jesus asks me, “What do you want me to do for you?”  I’ll have to think awhile before I answer.  Can I get back to you?

I Am Bartimaeus

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Honestly, I didn’t mean for that to sound like a take-off on “I Am Spartacus”. “I Am Bartimaeus” is a much more humble declaration. I am admitting that I am often a blind beggar sitting by the road, wrapped in my cloak of insecurity and brokenness. I have nothing to offer and am much too dependent on the good graces of others. I am aware that when I beg for my needs to be met by people, it is an irritation. “Please make me feel good about myself.” “Please tell me I am a significant person.” “Please give me some attention.” I continually hold out my empty cup, hoping someone will fill it, only to start over again the next day. It is annoying. People can’t be expected to meet my needs like Jesus can.

What does it take for me to be insistent in my cry for mercy? Only the chance to be heard by the Savior.

What does it take for me to keep it up in the midst of shushing? Only the determination to be found by Him.

What does it take for me to throw off my beggar’s cloak and jump to my feet? Only the sound of His voice calling me to come.

Jesus answered Bart’s cry for mercy, but not by putting coins in his cup. Jesus answered by getting Bart up on his feet, getting him healed and getting him on his way. So, be careful when you cry out to God, especially if you are simply looking for sympathy. He may tell you to get up and live a life you never thought was possible.

A Gleeful Christmas

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When all the kids were home in January, we did some after-Christmas gift giving.  One of the presents was the entire first season of the television series “Glee” on DVD.  We packed the entire 13 episodes into a marathon of TV watching over a couple of days. (We did have to stop occasionally to eat.)  As soon as everyone was up in the morning, someone would say, “Glee?” and in moments we were transfixed in front of the screen.  At midnight someone would say, “Just one more episode?” and we’d all nod our glassy-eyed heads.

The story line was sometimes quirky, sometimes compelling.  The characters developed before our eyes and we began to feel for these make-believe teenagers. The music was never disappointing and the humor began to grow on us.  One thing I noticed as I immersed myself in the story: it was on my mind all the time.  I woke up in the morning with a song from the show going through my head; I often thought about the story line during the day; I even had dreams at night about the episodes we watched.  Once, one of the kids started humming the show’s theme song and we all spontaneously joined in.

I thought, “What if?”  What if I was that purposeful in prayer and study of God’s Word?  What effect would consistently devoting time with God have on my waking moments in the morning, my thoughts during the day, and my dreams at night?  Perhaps that’s what “being filled up with God Himself” really means: immersing ourselves in The Story so that it affects every aspect of our lives.   Perhaps that’s what true worship really is: hearing God’s theme song and joining in with each other.

“This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long!”

Camping out with Bart

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I like to stumble onto a story that grabs me.  I may try to push through and read on, but if my mind keeps pulling me back,  then I know it’s time to stop and camp on that place.  For the past month, I’ve been camping out with Bartimaeus.  His story is in the tenth chapter of the gospel of Mark.  There is no going on to the eleventh chapter for me, because I’m drawn like a magnet to a roadside in Jericho and I must stay awhile.

What was life like for a guy like Bart?  He was blind and sat by the side of the road day after day begging.  He survived on the mercy and kindness of people who would drop a coin in his cup on their way out of town.  One day, however, he asked the right person for mercy and everything changed.  You just have to know who to ask.

That day, the usual crowd was unusually electric.  Bart couldn’t see with his eyes, but his other senses were sharp.  He heard the words, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  How did Bart know this was his chance?  Had he heard stories about the traveling teacher/healer?  Had Jesus passed this way before?  How did Bart know that Jesus was the Son of David?  He is the first person to use that term in Mark’s gospel.  Had Bart been trained in the Hebrew schools as a young boy – before blindness came?  Did Bart know that the Messiah would come from the line of David?  Did he remember that the Messiah was foretold to give sight to the blind?  Was a blind beggar the only one in the crowd to get that?

So there he was, sitting by the road, shouting into the darkness, “Jesus!  Son of David!  I don’t deserve you, but I need you!”  No amount of shushing would stop him.  Those around him became annoyed with his incessant shouting.  “Shut up,” they said, but it only made him yell louder.  “Messiah!  Mercy!” And Jesus stopped cold in his tracks.  That’s the voice he heard above the din of the crowd.  A plea for mercy.  Were those the same words Bart used every day  (“Please, sir, have mercy on me”)  as he sat by the road listening to endless footsteps pass by?  But this time the footsteps stopped and called for him.  The crowd went from “shut up” to”cheer up”.  Fickle  crowd – you can never depend on the crowd.

 
Bart jumped to his feet, throwing off his cloak.  That cloak wasn’t just for warmth.  That cloak was what identified him as a beggar; it was his “city license” to sit by the road and beg for alms.  That cloak had pockets that kept his coins protected.  Throwing off his cloak was Bart’s great act of faith.  He was saying, “As soon as Jesus heals me, I won’t need this old thing anymore.”  He stopped defining himself as a blind beggar before he was healed.  No wonder Jesus said, “Your faith has healed you.”

 
Bart told Jesus he wanted to see.  In other words, “I want my life to change.  I want to stop living in darkness and stop depending on people to keep me going.  I want to stop begging and start living.”  Bart’s encounter with the Son of God meant that going back to begging by the road was no longer an option.  Now he would follow Jesus on the road.   Wholeness and healing from Jesus got him off the side of the road listening to life pass him by, and put him on the road of life.
 

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“Words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.”   Lord Byron

I love words. Words swirl around in my head. I think about words and play with words. I’m taking a chance that a few of my words might fall like dew upon a thought and make a few, perhaps, think. My offering here is nothing more than a small drop of ink.

My life is dedicated to serving The Word, who became flesh and lived among us.  May He inspire every drop.