Good Friday

Good Friday was not a time of celebration for those who conspired against Jesus. The Pharisees went to a lot of trouble to stir up the people of Jerusalem during the days following Palm Sunday. It was easy to recruit the merchants. Jesus pretty much got off his donkey and made jackasses out of them, “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written, he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:12-13)

Jesus would call out the teachers of the law and the Pharisees in a scathing retribution of how they manipulated and twisted the truth of the scriptures for their own gain.  He labeled these corrupt leaders hypocrites, blind guides and fools. He accused them of neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness. He labeled them unclean, wicked and descendents of murders of prophets. He challenged them to do what their hearts were already plotting, “Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!” (Matthew 23:32)

His instructions to his followers were direct and to the point, “So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (Matthew 23:3-4)

They were in charge! They decided who was worthy and who was not! They were not about to let some homeless guy who they believed healed people by the power of Satan and told others that their sins were forgiven usurp their positional and personal power in the Jerusalem community.

G.K. Chesterton offered this insight, “As savage heroes might have kept the sun in a box, they kept the everlasting in the tabernacle. They were proud that they alone could look upon the blinding sun of a single deity; and they did not know that they had themselves gone blind.”

Pontius Pilate was in this too. He was afraid to put Jesus to death because of the risk that he would have to put down yet another rebellion. Pilate knew that two of Jesus’ followers, Judas Iscariot and Simon, were both Zealots and he lost many Roman soldiers to injury or death from Zealot attacks. It would not be a good end to his week making terrorist mad by crucifying their leader. His intuition and experience with the Sanhedrin told him that Jesus was not the trouble maker they made him out to be. Even his wife knew something was different about Jesus and sent Pilate a note during the trial that read, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” (Matthew 27:19) How to get out of this?

Pilate put the decision in the hands of the people and gave them a choice. “Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd…So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.” Offering up Barabbas would be like offering up Charles Manson. The Pharisees and elders were ready for this and the members of this kangaroo jury yelled out, “Give us Barabbas!” “When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility!’” (Matthew 28) Pilate took the easy way out and ordered the execution of Jesus.

With Jesus gone, they could go back to business as usual – or could they? They had to get beyond the third day after his death to be sure. Jesus said that if they destroyed the temple, he would raise it again in three days. They had to keep his followers from stealing the body and make more of a martyr out of him. Roman soldiers guarded the tomb and a Roman seal was placed on the stone; but fear still gripped them.

It would seem that in the 21st Century, 2,000 years after the resurrection, the crucifixion would not continue to strike fear in the hearts of people. In 2003, I served as a Public Information Officer and one of my responsibilities was to represent law enforcement at a number of civil rights organizations. I attended a monthly meeting of one particular group and the discussion focused on the upcoming release of the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ. The movie is a very realistic depiction of the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Media reports were out and speculation of the film’s impact ran wild. I was shocked when one member of this “civil rights” group proclaimed, “Temples will burn when this movie is released!” The comments, unchallenged by anyone in the room, demonstrated to me that even after 2,000 years, the cross still brings with it fear and trembling. 

As you contemplate the cost of your salvation today, pray for those who cannot yet comprehend the meaning of the cross. Let us unite in prayer so that those whose hearts are calloused will be able to hear with their ears, see with their eyes and know the grace, peace and forgiveness that surpasses all understanding.

No Parking

“Whatever people expect, they soon come to think they have a right to: the sense of disappointment can, with very little skill on our part, be turned into a sense of injury.” - Screwtape, Senior Tempter, Hell. (The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis)

“An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.” Proverbs 18:1

One night in Santa Barbara, I met a partner at a 7-11 for a cup of coffee. We got our caffeine fix and stood outside the front door of the store next to my police car. We talked for a few minutes and a woman pulled up in a car next to where we stood. I could see that in the back seat was an orange, 2 ½ foot tall “A” frame sign printed front and back with the words, “City of Santa Barbara - No Parking.” These signs are used to create temporary no parking areas for special events, road work and such. Now it looked to me like this woman “borrowed” the sign from the City to create her own personal “No Parking” space when she needed it. I was looking into her car trying to figure out why she would have the sign in the first place and she saw me staring. 

“Can I help you?” she asked with sarcasm halfway to the front door.

“Yes, where did you get that sign?”

“It was a gift.”

“A gift? From who?” This was getting interesting.

“From someone who is with the city LONGER than YOU!!!” She was winding up and clearly irritated that I would dare to ask such a question.

Now here was a person who was skirting the rules and got caught. I knew it. She knew it. It was now a game to see how I could get the sign out of the car.

“You can’t have that.” I said in very matter of fact tone.

She started to argue and insisted that the sign was given to her.

“You can’t have that.” I repeated the statement.

“What do you want me to do? Give YOU the sign?” Sarcasm dripped from her words.

“Yes.”

She walked back to her car and started a verbal barrage about how this was unfair, how she had a “right” to the sign and expressed her general distain for city employees. She unlocked the car, took the sign out and handed it to me.

“Thanks.” I said. I opened my trunk, put it in and continued to drink my coffee.

The woman was really mad now. She was yelling as she walked into the store. The door closed behind her and while I could not hear her words, it was clear that she continued to yell as she walked to the Slurpee machine. People inside stopped what they were doing and watched the unhappy tax payer. My partner suggested it was time to go.

I got in my car and backed out to leave. The woman sees me leaving; bolts from the back of the store, past the cashier, shoves open the front doors and yells, “WHY DON’T YOU GO EAT A DOUGHNUT!”

I laughed as I drove away.

The sad reality was that this woman believed she had a right to this sign. Who was I to question her possession of it? It does not take long working as a peace officer to figure out that people who break the law are, for the most part, driven by selfish ambition. Galatians 5:19-21 puts selfishness in perspective: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Considering that selfish ambition falls into the same category as extreme as witchcraft on one end and as innocuous as discord on the other, it is clear to me that all have sinned and fallen short of the kingdom of God. (Romans 3:23) While it is not likely that we will face a judge for the choices we make, the truth is that we will all have to answer for the No Parking Signs we have a in the back seat of our cars. There is no break we can get from a cop, no court that can issue a stay and no amount of time spent in a prison cell to escape eternal judgment. Forgiveness is only found at the foot of the cross.

Mark 10:32-34, “They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ‘We are going up to Jerusalem,’ he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.’”

Hitting Rock Bottom

“Those who have fallen may remember the fall, even when they forget the height…There is such a thing as the momentary power to remember that we forget. And the most ignorant of humanity know by the very look of earth that they have forgotten heaven.” G. K. Chesterton - The Everlasting Man.

One afternoon, I was set up on a busy street with a radar gun watching for speeders. It did not take long to catch a guy driving much faster than the speed limit and I pulled him over in a gas station parking lot. A contact like this always starts the same way, “Good afternoon. My name is Officer Aspland with the Santa Barbara Police Department. I stopped you for speeding. Is there any lawful reason why you were exceeding the speed limit today?”

The guy was quick to admit he was speeding. I suppose part of his motivation was that a cloud of smoke smelling very much like marijuana was wafting out of the cab of his truck. I told him, “I need to see your driver’s license, registration, proof of insurance and the rest of the marijuana you haven’t smoked.” He looked surprised. I figured he did not think I would notice the smoke and the odor if he admitted to speeding.  He popped open the center console of the truck and gave me a baggie of pot.

I had him step back to my car and my partner stood by with the guy while I searched the truck. He left the keys on the truck bench and I noticed a very small Tupperware bowl hanging off his key ring. Inside the little storage container was a rock of cocaine.  My speeding ticket turned into a felony arrest for possession of coke. 

The following year on the Fourth of July, I worked foot patrol at Shoreline Park just north of the Santa Barbara harbor. It was in the parking lot that this guy walked up to me and told me his arrest was the wake up call he needed. He told me that he was so strung out on cocaine that he forgot that he stashed his dope in a key ring, Tupperware charm. He was now sober, reunited with his family and salvaged his marriage. He walked me over to his picnic area, introduced me to his wife and insisted that I share in his barbeque. Rock bottom was in this situation was a key ring charm.

For the Apostle Peter, rock bottom happened when he denied he was a follower Jesus during the crucifixion. Peter’s denial came on the heels of his proclamation that he would never abandon the Lord. To make things worse, Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three times before the night ended. “Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” John 13:38

Matthew 26: 69-75 tells the rest of the story, “Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. ‘You also were with Jesus of Galilee,’ she said. But he denied it before them all. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said. Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, ‘This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ He denied it again, with an oath: ‘I don’t know the man!’ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, ‘Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.’ Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’ Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

After Jesus died, Peter went back to his job as a fisherman. What else was he going to do? He spent three years of his life serving Jesus and then denied knowing the man Peter believed was God. A few days following the resurrection, Peter went out all night fishing and caught nothing. He was bringing the boat into harbor when a man standing on the shoreline called to him and told him to cast his nets over the side of the boat for one more try. Peter did as he was told, he had an empty boat with nothing to lose. The net was so full that he could not haul all the fish in. Peter realized that the man on the shore was the resurrected Jesus. He jumped over board and swam in from his boat. He walked onto the beach and found Jesus had prepared ... a barbeque! After breakfast, Jesus called Peter to begin his ministry to build the church. Rock bottom for Peter was the foundation for changing the world.

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16: 17-18 

Rock bottom is different for everyone. The question is what will you do when you get there?

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Occupy Jerusalem

The Occupy Wall Street movement started when the Canadian editor of an anti-consumerism magazine proposed the occupation of Wall Street on September 17, 2011. His call to action went viral and spawned a worldwide movement. Groups representing the “99%” protested a variety of causes and many engaged in criminal behavior causing millions of dollars of property damage. These protesters required public safety agencies to clear encampments; make arrests and restore order. Media reports spun the movement as representing the economically trampled on one hand or as anarchists trying to take over the world on the other. I saw firsthand in San Francisco how a small group of people disrupted communities and disrespected people who chose not to be part of their movement.

Behind it all is a man not really interested in meaningful reform proclaiming, “We will wreck the world.” He and his followers are self described anarchists. His first act of defiance was to jam a quarter into a shopping cart dispensing machine in a Canadian supermarket parking lot rendering it inoperable. “I didn’t stop to analyze whether this was ethical or not. I just let my anger flow.” What followed was a philosophy that espoused the hatred of big business in any form. “Let your anger out. When it wells up suddenly from deep in your gut, don’t suppress it -- channel it, trust it, use it. Don’t be so unthinkingly civil all the time. Rage drives revolutions.”

With the beginning of Lent, we celebrate and remember a very different Occupy movement in Jerusalem. Occupy Jerusalem took place 2,000 years ago on what we call Palm Sunday. Matthew 21 describes it this way, “The disciples…brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, 'Who is this?’ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’”

This “occupy” movement started with one man and twelve apostles. This was no call to anarchy but a call to repentance. Jesus would unite God to man on the cross and break the power of sin. If Jesus and his followers were part of the 1%, it was only to reach the 99% that were perishing. Where one man called followers to anarchy to, “wreck the world,” Jesus called people, by grace, to be saved through faith.

1 John 4:4-6, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

John 1: 1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”