Lenten Devotional (18) & the Strawbridge Forum in Lancaster, PA
Pastors live in the economy of words. He must dispense them carefully, circumspectly, but not rigidly or radically.
Mark 15:21: Simon from Cyrene happened to be coming in from a farm, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.
To live crucified lives is to live the life of Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled to bear the cross and later joined the mission of the Kingdom. Our calling sometimes comes in unexpected ways and times. It may come as you leave the church's parking lot or wonder in the marketplace, but when the opportunity arises to serve the crucified Lord, we must be willing, even if compelled. We are to bow before the cross to bear it; we are to be prepared in season and out of season for the season of testing.
Indeed, our hearts do not willingly submit to that blessed cross. Sometimes, we are first compelled to bear it before we humbly desire its beauty and grace. Bearing the cross is no easy task. It is draining, tiring, and exhausting. Fathers and mothers, and friends know how hard it is to serve one another in the Name of Jesus when the cross comes at inconvenient times— when the future is uncertain. But it’s precisely at such times that this call makes the Lenten journey compellingly engaging. We may not always want the cross, but no one has ever regretted carrying it to Calvary.
Lent drains our dependence on self and calls us to look to Another for aid. As Watts so powerfully reminds us:
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
When the cross does come, will we assume that role as ambassador of the One who bore the cross for us in death?
Prayer: Merciful Father, I feel hopeless and helpless, and your cross seems always too hard and heavy to bear. But beneath your cross is the only refuge I have. Give me a willingness to follow after you and seek the joys of your blessed tree through your holy name, amen.
Hymn of the Day: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Notations
If God is truly authoritative, he invites men to dialogue with him. And when the data is not favorable towards our cause, that’s precisely when we should trust him in that dialogue.
In Mark 14, the high priest tears his garments in utter fury to condemn Jesus’ declaration as Messiah. The irony is that while the priest condemns Jesus for blasphemy, he himself is committing blasphemy by tearing his robe.; an act forbidden in the law (Lev. 21). For a priest to tear his robe is to lose his calling. Later, the veil would be torn from top to bottom. Israel’s vocation and priesthood are lost when they crucify the Lord of glory.
I had such a splendid evening at the kickoff dinner for the Pastoral Forum last night. Here is a sample of my talk:
Pastoral ministry is a public ministry. It’s out in the open. It is exposed to the public. The man of God lives off the economy of words. He speaks from the pulpit. He assesses from the pew. He uses words of comfort in the hospital. He sacramentalizes on the altar of marriage and the altar of bread and wine. Pastors live in the economy of words. He must dispense them carefully, circumspectly, but not rigidly or radically. The pastor is the wordsmith connoisseur, delicately massaging his rhetoric to fit each circumstance.
Much gratitude from readers:
Lenten Blessings.
Uriesou Brito