Jesus is the truth about God. Perhaps, it has happened throughout history. But in the world of 2022 and the years leading up to now, it seems as if no two people can concur with what is truth and what is not truth. It’s confusing and exhausting. So, why is it important to ask the question, “What is truth?”
3/20/2022: The Wholehearted Jesus: Our Fainthearted Moments
We, like Peter, do and will again turn our backs on Jesus. God, however, does not walk away from us. Jesus tells Peter that a time will come when Peter will deny that he knows Jesus. “Jesus who?” Peter, of course, can’t believe that he would ever deny Jesus. Search your memory and your heart and think of a time when your response could have easily been “Jesus who?”
3/13/2022: The Wholehearted Jesus: God’s Version of Power
Jesus chooses to exercise his power with an extraordinary demonstration of love and humility. Who comes to mind when you think of the word “power.” Does this say anything about how you perceive power? Who are the people who hold power in the world, and how did they become powerful? For the disciples, Jesus was their leader, a powerful person in their eyes. Yet, Jesus grabs a basin of water, a towel, and makes his rounds to wash the feet of the disciples. What is Jesus’s perception of power and why is he so interested in feet?
3/6/2022: The Wholehearted Jesus: Jesus Had Friends, You Know
Mary, Martha and Lazarus were three of Jesus’ trusted and cherished adult friends. Are we called to be a friend to Jesus?
Throughout the years, many have sung the hymn, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus.” It’s not hard to think of Jesus as our friend, but do we ever consider how we might be a friend to Jesus? Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were Jesus’s friends, and their friendship was very dear to Jesus. Does the resurrected Jesus, the one who now sits at the right hand of God still want us and maybe need us to be his friend? How do we do that?
3/2/2022: The Wholehearted Jesus: A Gate or A Shepherd
Ash Wednesday, 2022
Jesus says, “I know my own and they know me.” “Knowing” in John’s Gospel has to do with relationship rather than knowledge.
Jesus says, “I am the shepherd.” That’s an easy image for our minds. But Jesus also says, “I am the gate.” That’s a more confusing image. What does Jesus mean, and what is he trying to tell us about his radical commitment to being in a relationship with us? Jesus really wants to know us. Do we want to be known?