And overhead the birds welcomed the sun rising up behind the Rincons

“Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:11

“Before you speak of peace, you must first have it in your heart.” —St. Francis of Assisi

Richard Rohr spoke of imagining myself sitting on the shore of a river with boats floating past, boats piled high with thoughts and feelings. And while acknowledging them with a nod, yes, this is indeed one of my thoughts, I allow them to continue to float on down the river without jumping on the boat. Just let it float away. This is a practice in un-possessing, detaching, letting go. With every idea, with every image that comes into your head, say, “No, I’m not that; I don’t need that; that’s not me.”

As I walked down to the Benedictine Monastery this morning to spend some time remembering my crucified Savior, the one who chose to become what you fear: nakedness, exposure, vulnerability, and failure. . . . He became the crucified so we would stop crucifying, another image came into my heart, that of a rolling sea.

Waves are indeed real. And they have force and strength, but if I don’t fight them, if I duck down under them, they dissipate into a quiet soothing surf. And a peace surged through me. A profound peace, perhaps that same profound humility that I have been asking for.

It’s not about me.

It’s the we, the beloved sheep stumbling through life.

The ones He came to seek.

Jesus became the sinned-against one to reveal the hidden nature of scapegoating. Jesus says from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

I sure don't know what I am doing.

But at the end of it all, He will be exalted.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning. New every morning.

Great is His faithfulness. 
Be peace.

Who are you? What have you sacrificed?

And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” Matthew 27:23

I must confess that images from Jesus Christ Superstar are those that frame these verses. The egos and hysteria and twisted plots swirl around the alert, even poised figure in white. He is the one who knows what He is about.

Crucify Him. Crucify Him.

What evil has He done?

And all of the deceit and grudges and manipulation and doubt and meanness and cruelty and lust and envy and disrespect and other products of brokenness were piled so very high onto the altar on Golgotha.  Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Once and for all. The punishment that brought us peace.

And darkness fell over all over the earth.

And He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” They did not know that they were participating in the fulcrum point of all history. We never really know the backside of the story.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Glory.

That time of darkness and despair will not go on forever

And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them. Matthew 4: 23-24

As much as I dwell on the love and grace of God for His beloved children, there is still the cry for rightness in my heart, particularly when I read the newspaper headlines, I long for those who oppress the poor and helpless to be held accountable for their actions as in May They Experience Woe: Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow. Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

Perhaps it is because it is a shared longing.  He is the one Who reached past the natural law of Survival of the Fittest and instilled His value of justice. This is part of the good news of the kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim: good news to the poor and liberty to the captives; sight to the blind, liberty to the oppressed.

And what a comfort to hear testimonies from Lebanon and Jordan and Turkey that His good news is still being preached in Syria, and among the more than two million refugees who have fled their homes and are clinging to life along the borders of because of murder and mayhem and “oppressive decrees.”

But what draws them to Jesus and His life and death and life again is not a message of justice, but of forgiveness.  Not a message of vengeance is Mine sayeth the LORD, but of mercy.  Not a message of hatred, but of love.  

Where do you get this message? His followers are being asked.

This is the good news from the One who heals every affliction among men. And who, when faced with the greatest injustice of all, was able to cry out, “Father, forgive them.” And it seems that we more the injustice we suffer here on this earth, the more we can be like Jesus. drawing close to His heart.

Perhaps that is how He was able to lift His eyes up to His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, and say: Blessed are you who are poor now. Blessed are you who are hungry now. Blessed are you who weep now. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil. You will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

Catching snowflakes on my tongue

They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink... Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Psalm 69:21, 24

And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar... Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34

And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to.temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Luke 11:4

There have been long chunks of time where I pretty much wallowed in the deep mire of Psalm 69. Waiting for “an acceptable time,” when God would get around to saving me, for the waters had come in unto my soul.  And really it is perfectly reasonable thing to do, when life’s injustices roll over like a flood– to list the wrongs done me, cross my arms and wait for God to step in and do His thing, speedily.  Straighten everything out, that is.  

But Jesus shows me a better way.  While the spit was still dribbling down his cheek, He asked His Father to forgive them.  

Spirit, strengthen me.  Do not let me yield to temptation.  Deliver me from this evil.  The thick black mud of unforgiveness.  And before I will praise the name of God with a song, let me leave my gift there in front of the altar and first go and be reconciled to my brother; then come and offer my gifts.  Reconciled, washed away snow-on-the-Catalina-mountains clean with the blood of Calvary.  Nary a hint of memory.  Never to recite again.  

And as much as I appreciate the rhythms and disciplines of life, this newfound joy comes from the release, dropping the burdens that I was hauling, the great weight pressing down every footstep, at the cross.  

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.  Jude 1:22