Man of sorrows what a name

for the Son of God, who came.

Phillip Bliss

I may not know you, but I know something about you. You’ve learned so much more about life through failure, suffering and pain than you have through pleasure and success. Your sorrow is intimacy and the people all around you, with smiles and small talk, add nothing to the transcendence of life. Sorrow is the gift no one prays to receive. And yet when sorrow comes it brings clarity, intimacy and a desire to change.

You’re not the only one that grieves the evanescence of our time on this blue marble. Jesus grieved, wept, and lamented as well. He wept at the tomb of a friend. He mourned a city lost in the crippling legalism of alien liturgy and legalistic isolation.

When I look at my life, I, too, grieve. I grieve the obsessions I embraced that foolishly looked like safety and humility, when in fact they only gave birth to deeper dangers and pride.

Like you, Jesus loved someone with no reciprocation.

Like you, Jesus saw promises and covenants dispatched in a moment.

Like you, Jesus felt the shame of false accusation.

He showed us how to rise above the arrow-paths of a thousand earthly sorrows.

“Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling the secret of who you are, but more often than not of the mystery of where you have come from and are summoning you to where you should go next.”  
Frederick Buechner

Reflect

Take a moment to identify the things for which you mourn.

Understanding Sorrow

When we grieve over the right things we find a fairer day ahead. The trick is to be able to bury the dead things that must be buried and call upon God to do what only He can do with the rest. We mourn but we do not sorrow as those who have no hope.

Lord, save me from the kind of sorrow that leads to despair and draw me to the sorrow that leads to forgiveness and dancing.

There is so much more to You
The ways of mystery and hiddenness
The pain of testing like the threshing of the wheat.
The crowning of each day with the setting sun
The movement of the wind
The waves of sea
And yet the greatest joy of my life
Worthless as I so often am
is this:
You know me
Every part of me
The emptiness in heart of me.
And I am face down in wonder
Put together
Torn asunder
Even when I lose my own identity
You find me, the one I’m meant to be
This is all I ever hope to be
O to be known by Thee!

Can you believe it? I’m free! After months of chains, the stench of the prison, the hopelessness of my existence—I’m free!

I waited for the guards to call my name and to lead me to the Place of the Skull. They arrested me, chained me, and sentenced me to die. I heard the crowds scream out my name. My heart pounded. I knew that this was the day. The day I would experience the torture I deserved. This was the day that I would gasp my final breath.

The punishment would soon follow. I heard them screaming, “Barabbas! Barabbas!” Their voices echoed all the way down into the depths of that dark cell where I had been chained. Then silence. I heard the voice of Pilate shouting to the people, but not loud enough for me to understand. Then I heard the mob scream out, “Crucify Him!”

And then within a few minutes I heard the guards walking down into that musty cell where I was. They opened the doors and broke the chains.

“You are free” They said. “Free? What do you mean?” I asked.

“You have been set free. Someone has taken your place.”

What is His name? The one who takes my place. What is His name? Why? Someone took my place on that cross. I must know His name. Do you know Him? This man who is dying on the hill for me, do you know His name?

I have a confession to make. Love really hurts these days. It all began when my 14 year old got MMA lessons for his birthday. Often I come through the door of the house and somewhere lurking in the shadows is a 140 pound guy with the body fat of a coat hanger who will bring me into submission.  This was fun when he didn’t know Brazilian Jujitsu.  There’s a lot I didn’t know about MMA.  It would have been great if he would have told me that “tap out” is a mercy command. I would have tapped out the moment I caught a glimpse of his swan dive from the top of the stairs to the top of my head as I came through the foyer of our home.

I’ve learned a few terms over the past few weeks including…

[pullquote1 align=”right” variation=”orange”]I know there will come a day when he won’t be hiding around the corner to see if he’s stronger than his father. The connections we make together over the next four years will impact his life and mine for eternity. [/pullquote1]

The Armbar: a joint lock that hyperextends the elbow. Note: It causes pain. Tap out, Dad.

The Anaconda Choke:  consists of trapping one of your opponents arms with an under-hook and clasping hands on the other side of his neck, squeezing his neck and arm together to cut off air supply Note: Anytime anaconda and choke are used in the same sentence, I don’t want to be involved.

The Heel Hook:  A hold which is applied on the heel and then fully accomplished by twisting the knee at the joint. (I am limping this morning.)

The Twister: Involves facing your opponent’s feet while in half guard, putting your hand on your opponents knee and creating space to spin your foe into submission. (I prefer the Milton Bradley game version.)

There’s a lot of stress for my 9^th grader and if being his personal crash test dummy creates a bond between us, I’m in. I will recover from his pinch grip ties, arm bars, over-hooks, and leg locks. Caleb is a guy and like most guys we are programmed for battle. I’m even more proud that he realizes that there’s a spiritual battle out there and in here.
There’s a formidable foe and he has a strategy for both of us. We’re ready. And together with God the ultimate tap out is certain!

Jesus
creator
King of every king
and yet this was Mary’s boy.
blood spilled grace on me
and still Mary’s boy
piercing your heart Mary
to save me
forsaking you
and his kingdom
for me.
What a terrible loss
you suffered
to watch this one you feed, changed, embraced
carried, protected, and nourished
now condemned to bear nails and thones
whips and shame
so that we could all come to the table.
and face the Gethsemane of every broken generation
he cried for his Daddy as the sunset brought shadows
on the edge of town.
You had others
but that night He was your only Boy.

Why is God so interested in money and time? The answer is simple: it determines where our heart’s desire really is.