Triune life

Courageous Humility and Service

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By Linda Rex

April 1, 2021, HOLY/MAUNDY THURSDAY—As we go deeper into Holy Week, it occurs to me that Jesus portrayed a type of humanity that was courageous and assured, while at the same time, humble and service-oriented. As a divine warrior, his weapons were not what we use in battle. Generally, when we think of going to war against the enemy, we think in terms of weapons, guns, knives, and war machines. Our effort to slay the enemy is in terms of taking away the life of another human being.

But evil is not truly defeated solely using physical weapons. We may execute the perpetrators of evil, but evil itself exists in the spiritual realm. Paul says we do not war against flesh and blood—this is a spiritual battle we are in (Eph. 6:12). The reality is that the most difficult war that a man or woman wages is the war within themselves. It is the evil that is within that is the most destructive enemy of all.

So often, our defeat comes not from without us, but from within—from the passions and desires that we allow to control and consume us. We allow evil free reign within and we become enslaved to it. The apostle Paul speaks to this when he cries out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” And we find his immediate and joyful response right after, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25a)

Jesus is not the weak, mild-mannered man as he is often portrayed. There is an immense courage that is required when the humility of service and self-sacrifice are called upon to defeat the enemy. Christ knew what it would cost him to once and for all defeat the evil which had rooted itself in the human heart and mind. And he was willing to pay that cost freely.

On the night of his betrayal, Jesus humbly knelt and washed the feet of his disciples—a task the only the lowliest of the household servants did. When Jesus was washing Peter’s feet, Peter was offended by the idea that his teacher would stoop to such a level as to do a menial slave’s task. But Jesus said that if Peter did not allow Jesus to wash him, then he would never be clean. Jesus was not talking about washing the outside of Peter’s feet so much as washing his human flesh free of all sin, evil, and even death.

The path which leads to the removal of sin and evil is the cruciform path—there is a dying that must occur so that real life may come. And if we are not willing to allow Jesus to do what he came to do—to wash us free in this way—then we are unable to experience the precious gift of eternal life he forged for us in his life, death, resurrection and ascension.

Jesus was willing to go to the greatest extent possible to win the war against evil, sin, and death—even to death by crucifixion—so that the enemy would once and for all be defeated. Christ knew where Judas was headed when he left the room that night and said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” He knew exactly the price he was going to have to pay so that this war would be won and humanity would be lifted up to the place in the Triune life they were always meant to have.

We live in a culture here in America where being safe or comfortable seems to be the aim of our existence. When I think about how I was raised and how I raised my children, I realize that a lot of energy was expended keeping me and my children safe and healthy. Our current experience with the pandemic shows how we struggle with the tension between keeping ourself and others safe and taking the necessary appropriate risks to maintain relationships, provide for ourself and others, and to continue to live and work in this world. At what point to we come to the place where we are willing to risk all for the sake of others?

Right now, I can think of many people who are humbling themselves, laying down their lives in daily sacrifice for others. They are walking in the path Jesus walked when he chose voluntarily to go to the cross on our behalf.

Compare this attitude of humility and service with the attitude of the disciples when, shortly before the last supper, they were debating as to who would be first in the kingdom of God! Do you see that true courage, strength, and power are found in humility and service, not in positions of authority, popularity, and control? This is a counter-cultural way of being that Jesus forged into our humanity—that is, he conquered evil, sin, and death—through laying down his life, being a humble servant, and suffering whatever came his way for our sake and on our behalf.

On that significant night, Jesus told his disciples he was headed to a place that they could not go. He had the crucifixion on his mind and the disciples still did not grasp the magnitude of the sacrifice which was needed by each of them, and all humanity, so that they could be freed from their enslavement to evil, sin, and death. What Jesus then said was, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus was calling them, as he calls all of us, to a new level of caring for one another—to the place of courageous, humble self-sacrificial love. On his knees, Jesus humbly washed the feet of those he loved. On the cross and in death, Jesus washed all humanity—those beloved by him and his Father in the Spirit. In the resurrection, Jesus lifted us up into new life. In the sending of the Spirit, Jesus offered himself as the source of this real life in loving relationship with God and one another.

In our once-for-all baptism, and as we in an on-going way take of the bread and the fruit of the vine in communion, we find renewal, restoration, and cleansing in him, remembering the extent Christ went to in order to draw us up into the divine life and love now and forever. Let us draw upon Jesus by the Spirit for the courageous humility to love and serve one another as God meant us to, bearing witness daily to the reality of Christ’s triumphant defeat of evil, sin and death on the cross.

Thank you, heavenly Father, for including us in your life and love through your son Jesus in the Spirit. Pour into our hearts Christ’s courageous humility and heart of service. Grant us the grace to humbly and lovingly serve you and one another in gratitude for all you have done through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13:1(2–17, 31b–35) NASB

See also 1 Corinthians 11:23–26.

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Making Room For All

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By Linda Rex

I was looking at some of the responses to the recent event in Charlottesville and was appalled at the numbers of people who hold to the belief of the superiority of the white race. I understand from personal experience how insidious these lies can be. But what concerns me most is they are drawn from a misreading of the Bible. They twist the Scriptures which when read with integrity and spiritual wisdom point us to the Christ who united all humanity with all its variety in his own Person.

Indeed, Jesus laid the foundation in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, and in the sending of his Spirit. But he also calls us to participate in this reality which he created in himself. We can live in the truth of who we are in him, or choose another path. Living in the truth of our humanity allows us to participate fully in the harmony and oneness of the Triune life, while choosing this other path creates what we see, hear, and experience today in these situations which involve violence, death and suffering.

In contrast to the living God, who is willing to lay himself down for another (and who did so), the evil one sets himself up as superior to others. He wants to elevate himself to a place where others must submit to him. He believes he is the one with the right understanding of how things really are, even though his logic is twisted and his motives are selfish and impure. Rather than assuming full responsibility for his shortcomings and misguided ways of living, he casts shadows onto others, making them at fault instead.

The error of this twisted thinking violates the oneness of the Trinity, where Father, Son, and Spirit live in a harmonious union in which each is unique, not the other, and yet is equal. As children made in this image, we as human beings were created to live in this same harmony as equals and yet as uniquely ourselves.

This oneness is not a forced sameness, but a celebration of what each brings to the table, making room for one another. The reality is there are certain things we cannot bring to the table if there is to be room for everyone. These are things such as hate, greed, lust, pride, selfishness, and indifference.

Making room for all means we need an attitude of unselfishness, of humility, of service, and of giving. It requires a willingness to submit to another’s way of doing things when we would rather use our own. Necessarily, there must be communication, encouragement, trust, and generosity—all things which are not the usual way most humans function. But these are the attributes of the God in whose image humans are made.

Unfortunately, our common way of creating harmony and oneness as humans is to create some form of sameness. We all must have the same clothes, the same behavior, or the same creed. We have to obey the same rules, and follow the same leader. We must be the same color or the same ideology. But sameness eliminates the distinctness God created in the human race.

It is unfortunate the universal church has broken into so many facets. But even broken glass when it reflects the sun creates a pretty pattern on the wall. The oneness of love and harmony between people of all different faiths teaches people about the love of God for us as demonstrated in the gift of God’s Son. It shows there is room for everyone at the table—we are all God’s children and called to be members of the Bride of Christ.

The variety within the universal church makes room for people with different needs, interests, and understandings of scripture. I have come to see that each person has a unique worship personality. Some of us connect best with God through the sacraments and through traditions. Others of us connect best with God and others through social service. Others of us find it is most meaningful to connect through the study of theology in a more intellectual way. God has made room for all in Christ to come into a meaningful relationship with him by his Spirit.

Those of us who follow Christ and who trust in him for salvation must never get to the place where we shut others out of their inclusion in God’s love. Even though many do not see, or if they see and they choose to resist their inclusion in Christ, we must never assume in any way they are excluded from the invitation to share in God’s life and love. There is room for each and every person at the table—there is a seat with their name on it waiting for them.

Nothing about any person is enough to exclude them from God’s invitation to life. The color of their skin, the way they comb their hair (if they have any), their age, and not even their past is sufficient to prevent them from God’s offer of grace and renewal in Jesus Christ. To divide up the human race into separate sections is to divide up Christ himself, and it must not be attempted.

Some may even be offended at the use of the name of Jesus Christ. To talk about everyone and God in the same breath is okay, but to mention Jesus Christ too is to become exclusive, they believe. But the whole point of the Christian faith is that all humanity, every race and ethnicity, has been swept up into Christ, and thereby reconciled with God. Jesus Christ is not a point of separation between us—which is commonly believed and criticized—but is the point of unity between us all. He is our oneness, our harmony with one another.

In Christ’s sending of his Spirit, he made it possible for us as humans to live together in ways we ordinarily cannot live. The Spirit changes hearts and minds, and enables us to find our commonalities instead of focusing on our differences. When the Spirit goes to work and we are receptive, what normally would produce discord and division all of a sudden becomes harmonious. I have seen this first-hand in meetings which I thought were headed toward a free-for-all and ended up being experiences of compassion, repentance, and renewal. We all walked away newly joined together in a deep understanding and acceptance of one another.

But the path toward this type of oneness is necessarily, as Jesus Christ demonstrated for us, through death and resurrection. We need to die to our ungodly beliefs and our unhealthy ways of living and being. This is repentance. We need to rise in Christ to our new life he purchased for us and begin to make room for one another. We need to surrender our prejudices, our hate, our evil, and embrace the grace and love which is ours, while sharing it with each and every person we meet. This is faith. We turn from ourselves and turn to Christ. He is our oneness with God and each other in the Spirit.

Abba, forgive us our hate, our prejudices, and all our failures to love. Forgive us for ever believing we were superior to another, or more important than them. Grant us the grace to humble ourselves and make room for others, allowing them to be the people you created them to be in Christ Jesus. Give us courage and faith to resist anything which is not the truth about who you meant for us to be—to recognize evil for what it is and to bravely condemn and resist it, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26–28 NASB

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