Word of Life Church Podcast

<p>Among the Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion; among the mocking chief priests and the jeering crowd hurling insults; among the Passover pilgrims hurrying past the horrifying spectacle of crucifixion, there stood near the cross of Jesus three women all named Mary.</p>

<p>The raising of Lazarus after four days in the tomb is Jesus’ greatest miracle. But it is also the sign in the Gospel of John with the greatest theological significance: The one who called Lazarus out of death will call us of death as well.</p>

<p>The light has come into the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we have to be willing to leave our darkness and live in the shining light of Christ. If we want to stay asleep in our coffins we can—but the gospel calls us out of our sleep, out of death, out of darkness, and into the light.</p>

<p>Wars, revolutions, and grand political ambitions are often cast as heroic attempts to save the world. But let’s look at saving the world in the light of Christ. Our drama plays out, not on a battlefield, not in a capital city, not in the halls of congress or parliament, but at an ancient well in tiny village.</p>

<p>The third temptation was to avoid the cross. But the cross is how Jesus re-founds the world. Instead of being organized around an axis of power enforced by violence, at the cross Jesus reorganized the world around an axis of love expressed in forgiveness.</p>

<p>What Peter, James, and John saw in the Transfiguration of Christ was prophetically anticipated in what Moses saw in the Burning Bush.</p>

<p>To fully understand what Jesus says about fulfilling the Law and the Prophets at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, we first have to understand Isaiah’s prophecy of the ancient ruins restored.</p>

<p>The kind of Christianity Christ blesses is on that is in harmony with the Beatitudes.</p>

<p>Like the Phial of Galadriel that was a light in dark places when all other lights go out, we pay attention to Jesus as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the Morning Star arises in our hearts.</p>

<p>Four o'clock in the afternoon is just four o'clock in the afternoon…unless you encounter Jesus in some new and unexpected way. When that happens, that four o'clock in the afternoon will change your life. Divine encounters are real—and though they cannot be scheduled or manufactured, they should be expected. These divine encounters or mystical experiences need not occur at some sacred time on in some especially spiritual place—they can occur in the most ordinary places at a most ordinary hour, like four o'clock in the afternoon.</p>

<p>For people who are like broken reeds and smoldering wicks, the tenderness of Christ is good news.</p>

<p>The story of the Wise Men from the East led by a star to worship the Christ child is one of the most enchanting stories in the gospel. And for two thousand years this story has fascinated artists of all kinds—painters and poets, composers and writers.</p>

<p>Incarnation is salvation. The moment the Word became flesh and joined the human race, salvation for humanity was guaranteed. Everything connected with this would have to play out in due course—a human life, death upon a cross, resurrection on the third day—but salvation for the human race was guaranteed the moment Mary said, “Be it unto me according to your word.” With the birth of Jesus, humanity would no longer be founded in Adam but founded in Christ. Incarnation is salvation.</p>

<p>In 735 BC Isaiah gave a prophecy to king Ahaz about a young woman giving birth to a boy called Immanuel—a prophecy that seemed to be fulfilled with the birth of Hezekiah and the destruction of Aram and Samaria. But there was to be a much deeper fulfillment of this prophecy—as deep as Sheol, as high as heaven—because the testimony of JESUS is the spirit of prophecy.</p>

<p>It’s very hard to take Messiah as he is, when you have your own expectations of what Messiah is supposed to do. But Advent is about waiting. So while we're waiting on the world to be saved, let’s take Christ as he is and not to make him do something or be something that isn't Christlike.</p>

<p>The royal monarchy of Judah was established by David, the youngest son of Jesse. But after two and a half centuries the Davidic monarchy was mostly a regime of corrupt kings. That's when Isaiah foresees a shoot, a branch, a new root from the line of Jesse who will be the sevenfold Spirit-anointed king who establishes righteousness and justice.</p>

<p>The Hebrew prophets were poets of profound imagination. Poetry was their medium for pronouncing judgment and for offering visions of hope. The Hebrew prophets were not pragmatists or political activiststhey were Spirit-inspired poets possessed with prophetic imagination. They could imagine a world that did not yet exist, but one they believed would come. And the among the greatest of the Hebrew poet-prophets is Isaiah son of Amoz.</p>

<p>In Jeremiah's day Jews had to learn how to live as exiles in Babylon. The New Testament refers to the baptized as citizens of heaven who also have to learn how to live as exiles in Babylon.</p>

<p>When asked about the resurrection, Jesus spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as being alive to God. If we think carefully about this, it has enormous theological implications on how we understand when resurrection occurs.</p>

<p>John the Elder tells us that the world under the sway of the evil one is driven by pride, greed, and lust. (Think of how much advertising appeals to pride, greed, or lust.) This world (prophetically called Babylon) cannot be harnessed for good—even though religious ambition for political power imagines it can. The task of the church is not to reappropriate the engines of pride, greed, and lust, but to be something altogether different—the kingdom of Jesus Christ energized by faith, hope, and love.</p>

<p>"The nuns taught us that there are two ways through life—the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you will follow. Grace doesn't try to please itself, accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked; accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to Lord it over them, to have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it, when love is smiling through all things. They taught us the no one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end. I will be true to you whatever comes."</p><p>- The Tree of Life</p>

<p>Job was a blameless man caught in a contest between the divine and diabolical that he knew nothing about. He lost his wealth, his health, and all ten of his children. His friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to comfort him but end up accusing him. Job defends his integrity in a series of poetic debates that lasts for 27 chapters. Then Elihu enters the story...</p>

<p>Job is a poetic book probably written in the fourth or fifth century BC, possibly written in Persia. The authors (there appears to be more than one) were almost certainly Israelites—but the story itself occurs outside of Israel and doesn't appear to have Jewish characters. The book is a poetic exploration of the problem of suffering and our response to it.</p>

<p>The prophets and psalmists of lament show us how to find faith and hold on to hope in the time of tears.</p>

<p>“I believe” is a powerful statement. When we express our faith in Jesus we are not saying one thing, but four things. The shape of faith is made up of four sides: belief (what we do with our minds), confidence (what we do with our hearts, trust (what we do with our bodies), and allegiance (what we do with our will). Growing as people of faith requires growing in all four areas. </p>

<p>Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God primarily in parables. These parables are not folksy illustrations to help us better understand the point—quite the opposite in fact. The parables of Jesus are often deliberately disorienting. Jesus wants to throw us off balance so that we might stumble into a previously unknown world—the world of God’s grace where many of our most common assumptions are subverted.</p>

<p>The gospel story of the cross says this: Because of God’s love the Son of God came into the world, and despite his actions of love, healing, and mercy, the Son of God was ultimately rejected, condemned, and crucified by a sinful world built upon violent power. And yet, in that moment, when the world did its very worst, the Crucified One was not condemning the world, but saving the world.</p>

<p>Sweet Sounds Of Heaven</p><p>by The Rolling Stones (feat. Lady Gaga)</p><p><br></p><p>I hear the sweet, sweet sounds of heaven</p><p>Fallin' down, fallin' down to this earth</p><p>I hear the sweet, sweetest sounds of heaven</p><p>Driftin' down, driftin' down to this earth</p><p><br></p><p>Bless the Father, bless the Son</p><p>Hear the sound of the drums</p><p>As it echoes through the valley</p><p>And it bursts</p><p>Let no woman or child</p><p>Go hungry tonight</p><p>Please protect us from the pain</p><p>And the hurt</p><p><br></p><p>I smell the sweet, sweet scents of heaven</p><p>Tumblin' down, tumblin' down</p><p>To the earth</p><p>I hear the sweet sounds, the sweet sounds of children</p><p>And they're praising</p><p>The land of their birth</p><p>No, I'm not, not going to hell</p><p>In some dusty motel</p><p>And I'm not, not going down</p><p>In the dirt</p><p>I'm gonna laugh, I'm gonna cry</p><p>Eat the bread, drink the wine</p><p>'Cause I'm finally, finally quenching</p><p>My thirst</p><p><br></p><p>You can't have a light without a little shadow</p><p>Always need a target for your bow and arrow</p><p>I want to be drenched in the rain of your heavenly love</p><p><br></p><p>Let the music, play loud</p><p>Let it burst through the clouds</p><p>And we all feel the heat</p><p>Of the sun</p><p>Let us sing, let us shout</p><p>Let us all stand up proud</p><p>Let the old still believe</p><p>That they're young</p>

<p>Beautiful Things</p><p>Benson Boone</p><p><br></p><p>For a while there, it was rough</p><p>But lately, I've been doin' better</p><p>Than the last four cold Decembers I recall</p><p>And I see my family every month</p><p>I found a girl my parents love</p><p>She'll come and stay the night</p><p>And I think I might have it all</p><p><br></p><p>And I thank God every day</p><p>For the girl He sent my way</p><p>But I know the things He gives me</p><p>He can take away</p><p><br></p><p>And I hold you every night</p><p>And that's a feelin' I wanna get used to</p><p>But there's no man as terrified</p><p>As the man who stands to lose you</p><p><br></p><p>Oh, I hope I don't lose you</p><p><br></p><p>Please stay</p><p>I want you, I need you, oh, God</p><p>Don't take</p><p>These beautiful things that I've got</p><p><br></p><p>Please stay</p><p>I want you, I need you, oh, God</p><p>Don't take</p><p>These beautiful things that I've got</p><p><br></p><p>Please don't take</p><p><br></p><p>I found my mind, I'm feelin' sane</p><p>It's been a while, but I'm findin' my faith</p><p>If everything's good and it's great</p><p>Why do I sit and wait 'til it's gone?</p><p><br></p><p>Oh, I'll tell ya, I know I've got enough</p><p>I've got peace, and I've got love</p><p>But I'm up at night thinkin'</p><p>I just might lose it all</p><p><br></p><p>Please stay</p><p>I want you, I need you, oh, God</p><p>Don't take</p><p>These beautiful things that I've got</p><p><br></p><p>Please stay</p><p>I want you, I need you, oh, God</p><p>I need</p><p>These beautiful things that I've got</p>

<p>Imago Interlude by nobigdyl.</p><p><br></p><p>Christian music or music that Christians use</p><p>To get they fix just another hit of the clicks and views</p><p>Officially I don't play by your silly rules</p><p>We independent cuz that's how I felt the Spirit move</p><p>Looked for Yeshua I didn't see him on the tube</p><p>I couldn't find him on the web or in triple letter news</p><p>I saw him on the corner begging for some drugs and food</p><p>I couldn't stop cuz I'm a little late for Sunday school</p><p><br></p><p>Christian music or music that Christians use</p><p>I read epistles and take a sip of the liquor too</p><p>And everyone you listen to I saw they did it too</p><p>I saw a lot of dying happenin' in livin' rooms</p><p>Is that a preacher or a wolf that's covered in the wool</p><p>Is that a fetus or human covered in the womb</p><p>We disagreeing or are we just politicians tools</p><p>Can't pledge allegiance to a system feeding off of fools</p><p><br></p><p>Christian music or music that Christians use</p><p>I looked for Jesus and I didn't see him on the news</p><p>Saw him in Palestine the power lines were out of juice</p><p>He was a 9-year-old her body had been battered bruised</p><p>Saw him in Zion too a missile through a tattered roof</p><p>A father clinging to his child pleading out to you</p><p>Saw him in Kyiv and Moscow</p><p>The bleeding won't stop now</p><p>The cop and the black body he shot down</p><p><br></p><p>Christian music or music that Christians use</p><p>Looked for Messiah I couldn't find him in interviews</p><p>Sittin' in silence I felt an ancient pull</p><p>He said to be Samaritan to every single Jew</p><p>Right then he showed me rockets over top of Tel Aviv</p><p>Colonizers shippin' people across the seven seas</p><p>Televangelist devisin' petty schemes</p><p>You don't know Jesus till you see him in your enemy</p><p><br></p><p>I hate the people that we became</p><p>I love the people we became</p>

<p>Shelter from the Storm</p><p>Bob Dylan</p><p><br></p><p>’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood</p><p>When blackness was a virtue, the road was full of mud</p><p>I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured</p><p>I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word</p><p>In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved</p><p>Everything up to that point had been left unresolved</p><p>Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail</p><p>Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail</p><p>Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there</p><p>With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair</p><p>She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost</p><p>I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed</p><p>Just to think that it all began on an uneventful morn</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount</p><p>But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts</p><p>And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>I've heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove</p><p>And old men with broken teeth stranded without love</p><p>Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes</p><p>I bargained for salvation an’ she gave me a lethal dose</p><p>I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p><p><br></p><p>Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line</p><p>Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I'll make it mine</p><p>If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born</p><p>“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”</p>

<p>I woke up this morning with the blues all around my head</p><p>I woke up this morning with the blues all around my head</p><p>I felt like someone in my family was dead</p><p><br></p><p>I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees</p><p>I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees</p><p>I called all around me,</p><p>Have mercy on me, please</p><p><br></p><p>Then over by the window, a voice came low and hollow</p><p>Over by the window a voice came low and hollow</p><p>It s poke into my pain, into my yearning sorrow</p><p>Spoke into my pain</p><p><br></p><p>Who was it? I cried</p><p>What wild ghost has come in agitation?</p><p>Who is it? I cried</p><p>What wild ghost has come in agitation?</p><p>It's half past midnight</p><p>Oh, why you disturb me so late?</p><p><br></p><p>Then I saw a movement around my narrow bed</p><p>I saw a movement around my narrow bed</p><p>A ghost in giant sneakers, laughing stars around his head</p><p><br></p><p>Who sat on a narrow bed, this flaming boy</p><p>Who sat on a narrow bed, this flaming boy</p><p>Said, "We've all had too much sorrow</p><p>Now is the time for joy"</p><p><br></p><p>All across the world they shout out their angry words</p><p>All across the world they shout out their angry words</p><p>About the end of love</p><p><br></p><p>Yet the stars stand above the earth</p><p>Bright, triumphant metaphors of love</p><p>Bright, triumphant metaphors of love</p><p>That blind us all who care to stand and look beyond</p><p>That dare to stand and look beyond, above</p><p><br></p><p>And I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees</p><p>I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees</p><p>I called all around me</p><p>Have mercy on me, please</p>

<p>Good Old Days</p><p>The Revivalists</p><p><br></p><p>Changes come, I watch them grow</p><p>In your eyes, an ancient glow</p><p>I caught a glimpse, a dangerous smile</p><p>Oh, my God, she's a wild child</p><p><br></p><p>I've been dreaming, I've been pushing through</p><p>I'm not the star of the story</p><p>I've been hurting, I've been missing you</p><p>I'm that special kind of lonely</p><p><br></p><p>These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind</p><p>These are the good old days, I have to keep that in mind</p><p>These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind</p><p>These are the good old days...</p><p><br></p><p>I came of age, tempting fate</p><p>Growing up, had to wait</p><p>In my dreams, I miss someone</p><p>Love is blind, deaf, and dumb</p><p><br></p><p>I've been dreaming, I've been pushing through</p><p>I'm not the star of the story</p><p>And I've been hurting, I've been missing you</p><p>I'm that special kind of lonely</p><p><br></p><p>These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind</p><p><br></p><p>Passing through, passing out</p><p>Dancing in the kitchen while the neighbors shout</p><p>Feeling up, getting down</p><p>Gotta show love while we're still around</p><p>So don't stop, just let it out</p><p>Don't quit, don't let me down</p><p>Don't stop, just let it out</p><p>Don't quit, don't let me down</p><p><br></p><p>'Cause I've been dreaming, I've been paying dues</p><p>I'm not one for the glory</p><p>And I've been falling, won't be landing soon</p><p>It's not the end of the story</p><p><br></p><p>These are the good old days, they're ahead and behind...</p>

<p>Crazy Train</p><p>Ozzy Osbourne</p><p><br></p><p>Crazy, but that’s how it goes</p><p>Millions of people living as foes</p><p>Maybe, it’s not too late</p><p>To learn how to love, and forget how to hate</p><p><br></p><p>Mental wounds not healing</p><p>Life’s a bitter shame</p><p>I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train</p><p>I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train</p><p><br></p><p>Heirs of a cold war,</p><p>that’s what we’ve become</p><p>Inheriting troubles,</p><p>I’m mentally numb</p><p>Crazy, I just cannot bear</p><p>I’m living with something that just isn’t fair</p><p><br></p><p>Mental wounds not healing</p><p>Who and what’s to blame</p><p>I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train</p><p>I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train</p>

<p>The present tends to seem more distressing to us than the past, for the simple reason that we are not obliged to live in the past. Nevertheless the distress of our present age is real and therein lies the temptation to despair. We see senseless wars and war crimes; we see Machiavellian politics and political corruption; we see growing inequality and flagrant injustice; in the words of the psalmist, the arrogant prosper and the wicked have no pain. And so we are tempted to despair. But we do not have to despair.</p>

<p>Jesus is the teacher who in the parable of the Good Samaritan calls us to show mercy. </p><p><br></p><p>Jesus is the Good Samaritan who comes to us and saves us after we're are left for dead. </p><p><br></p><p>Jesus is the one beaten by robbers who we are to be a neighbor to by showing mercy. </p><p><br></p><p>Jesus is the innocent one crucified with the robbers, so that he can save them too.</p><p><br></p>

<p>We are all familiar with this theological problem: If God is all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, why is there is so much evil and suffering in the world? Theodicy is the attempt to reconcile these realities and thus justify God. But is a Christian theodicy possible?</p>

<p>When James and John in their hostility suggested a drone strike on a Samaritan village because Elijah did something like that, Jesus rebuked them for their wrong spirit. From this story we learn that you can find things in the Bible that you cannot find in the spirit of Jesus.</p>

<p>Jesus is creating a new humanity by breathing the breath of life upon the Church, just as God in the beginning breathed the breath of life upon a pile of dirt to create the first humanity. This breath of life is the Holy Spirit. Our part in all this is to develop a posture of openness and receptivity to God the Holy Spirit. We want to be the kind of people who welcome the Holy Spirit on a regular basis. As Christians we remain open to receive the Holy Spirit primarily for two things: transformation and empowerment.</p>

<p>In a world where fear, division, and isolation often feel like the norm—what if love became our home? What if, at the center of the universe, there isn’t just chaos or power… but a holy relationship?</p><p><br></p><p>On Trinity Sunday, we explore the image of God revealed through Jesus—one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A God who invites us out of the house of fear and into the house of love where’s a seat at the table for everyone. </p>

<p>In 1971, commenting on the Charismatic Renewal, the German Catholic theologian Karl Rahner said, "The devout Christian of the future will either be a 'mystic,' one who has 'experienced' something, or he will cease to be anything at all." Christian mysticism is simply the experience of God, and the Holy Spirit is the experience of God.</p>

<p>The Ascension is not about the absence of Christ, but about the ascendancy of Christ. The ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God in the heavens is the ascendancy, the rise, the elevation, the promotion, the exaltation of Jesus to the position of all authority in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, the ascension of Christ does not lead to the absence of Christ, but to his cosmic presence everywhere.</p>

<p>The third appearance of the risen Christ to the disciples in John's Gospel is when Jesus restores Peter after his thrice denial around a charcoal fire in the courtyard of Caiaphas. The story of Jesus and seven disciples having breakfast around a charcoal fire on the shore of the sea of Galilee is one of the most tender and beautiful stories in all the Bible.</p>

<p>Emmaus is about seven miles from Jerusalem and a world away from what was. Once we recognize the risen Christ present in Scripture and Sacrament we have entered a new world.</p>