S7s: March 27: Break

1) Spring Break has begun. I have no plans really, I am going to the be at the track a few days. Suelee and her kids are in town for the week. She's transitioning between jobs. I'd like to camp, backpack or get out of town for a few days, but who knows. There's lots of stuff that needs to get done around here too: yardwork, fix washing machine, sort clothes and other things to give away. My big hope is that I and my students mentally recharge and my athletes heal up from their injuries and afflictions.

2) Today is Easter. This day means everything. It gives purpose to my life. There is a purpose. There's a seat for us as the table and we are not chained by our sins.

3) One of my favorite paintings is Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus as told in Luke 24:13-35. The painting has so many gorgeous aspects, but perhaps my favorite is that it is an invitation. There's a open spot for us. We are welcomed at the table.

4) NC Passed House Bill 2 this past week. Basically, it's the state's response to Charlotte's city ordinance that allowed transgendered people to use the restroom of the gender that they associate with, not necessarily the gender they are born with. The framers of HB2 say it is about protecting women and children but the bill does seem overreaching and has implications that go beyond just bathrooms and who gets to use them. It overrides all local ordinances that protect certain individuals. I do have some issues with the bill, mainly:

• It will get challenged in court and cost the state lots of money.
• They called special session that costs about $42,000 just for this bill. It was that urgent?
• I don't think it's just about bathrooms.
• It runs the risk of affecting many people adversely, not just gay, lesbian and transgendered people.
• Written into the bill was also a stipulation that local communities could not set a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. 
• For a party of small government and local control the GOP in NC sure is legislating a lot and taking away the ability of local municipalities to craft local ordinances that are good for their communities. 

5) Terrorists attacks in Belgium on Tuesday and Pakistan yesterday. Tragic and heartbreaking, as it always is. I don't want to write much because I don't know what to write. What else do you say. I'll share this link from NPR because the photos tell a much better story than I do.

6) NCAA Basketball tournament is down to four: UNC, Villanova, Oklahoma and Syracuse. I have no preference. I still don't know if the upsets are a result of parity or poor seeding.

7) Went on an epic bike ride with Stephen Willis, Robert Duggan and Robert's friend David yesterday. We started at Andrews Geyser and rode up to Ridgecrest. Then we went up Rattlesnake Trail and hit the Toll Rd. Rattlesnake was super steep and hard. I pushed. The Toll Rd was not too bad, just long. At the top, the rocks became loose and larger, so it was hard pedaling sometimes.

After almost 16 miles of climbing, we reach Heartbreak Ridge. What a fun downhill! Long and mostly rideable. It was a great time! We were so tired though from the slog. We thought that we'd shuttle Kitsuma, but I was hungry and everyone agreed, so we went up to Black Mountain and had food and drinks at Fresh Wood Fired Pizza. It was pretty good. Great route, I can't wait to ride Heartbreak again.

Spring break means brutal climbs, fast descents and geysers. #giantbikes #geyser #mtbike

A photo posted by @heanguy on Mar 26, 2016 at 11:29am PDT

My Reflections on Easter

Tomorrow is Easter. Bunnies, Peeps, caramel eggs. Oh yeah, Jesus rose from the dead.

I have been thinking: What if Jesus were alive today? I've come to the conclusion that if Jesus were among us, we (the Church) would probably hate him. Perhaps we would crucify him. I mean, how could we follow someone who loves people who are so messed up?

Insert your sin here in the blank: Why would Jesus love a __________________.

Did you insert Atheist? Gay? Muslim? Murderer? Adulterer? Drunk, fornicator, swearer?

One of the many reasons people cannot relate with the church is that church presents itself (and it's followers) as somehow better, more righteous and deserving. People in the church don't drink, smoke, swear or think bad thoughts. That's why they are saved. And that's why the rest of you are going to Hell.

Watch this video with Jars of Clay lead singer Dan Haseltine. He makes a great point. A lot of people cannot relate to the church. The church isn't real. In turn the church doesn't relate to a lot of people.

Luke 7:41-42 says: Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denari, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back,
so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?

Simon Peter answers the one who had the bigger debt forgiven. He was right.

Christ has canceled the debt of all of us. Only when we realize how great the our own debts were can we recognize the Grace that was given to us. My friend Brian says to this effect: if you believe you are 90 percent good, you only need a 10 percent Jesus. I believe that more people would follow Jesus if we would sell them a 100 percent Jesus. Instead, the church sells a 10 percent Savior-- with the other 90 percent taken care of by our good works, righteousness, steadfast prayer and all those other wonderful holy things we do. If you would stop being you and start being us, then you could get this deal too.

In college, I attended a David Wilcox concert. I love the guy, he plays great melodies, writes amazing lyrics and ends up with relevant music. Many of his songs are spiritual with heavy Christian undertones (see Fearless Love, Hold it up to the Light). After the show, my friend asked him if he was a Christian. He responded that he does not like to answer that question. The reason was because the question too often was less about whether he loves the same Savior as they do and more about whether he hates the same people they hate.

Happy Easter. I guess my prayer is that we don't allow religion to crucify Christ. It's already happened before.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-- Roman 5:8

My Chains are Gone

This was a message I sent last year to our FCA officers, with some recent additions:

Easter got me thinking today. Over the last few years, God has revealed big themes to me as far as my faith. A few years ago it was the idea of brokenness, that I will not allow God to use me until I am broken in spirit. Then came "redemptive suffering" or suffering for the sake of others. Recently, I've been learning more and more about freedom. We talk about it all the time, especially in the context of war and terrorism and oppression. But what does freedom in my faith mean?

Read Romans. Romans is a book about freedom. It's about Freedom from sin through grace but also freedom from the law through grace. If we choose to obey the law we are slaves to righteousness. If we choose to sin, we are slaves to our sin (Romans 6:15-18). Either way we are slaves; we are not free "So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin" (Romans 7:25). Through Christ we are free. The law, whether it is God's, man's or sin's, cannot save or condemn us. In freedom is redemption, peace and joy.

"For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14)

Easter is an empty tomb. All of the cosmos, in it's mighy, vast and infinite time and space, converge in this singular moment in history, in an ordinary and empty tomb.

Cross = Forgiveness

Tomb = Freedom

On Friday, we celebrated the forgiveness, the Passion, that Jesus had for us. We rejoice in the suffering that he endured; He became the Lamb that was slain (Isaiah 53).

Today, we celebrate the resurrection and the freedom that came in that empty tomb. No chains, no stone, no tomb can hold us. Not even our sins, death or the judgement of man. Sin cannot enslave us, the law cannot hold us captive. The tomb is empty, we are free.

Amazing Grace, I've been set free
My God, My Savior, has ransomed me
And like a flood, his mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing Grace

Happy Easter