Category: Kim’s Blog

Shock. Surprise. Bombshell. Cataclysm. Upheaval. Disruption. For us, these words usually refer to something bad happening. A couple was killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver on their way home from Thanksgiving dinner. This caused shock. Surprise. It was a bombshell to the family. A cataclysm. A source of upheaval and disruption in the lives of loved ones.

Advent, too, is about shock, surprise, a bombshell, a cataclysm, causing upheaval and disruption. Love breaking into the world, stirring things up and turning things upside down is a drastic unexpected turn of events.

Jesus, a poor peasant from a one stop sign town, was a complete surprise as a messiah. Not a first born son from a prominent, prestigious family. His ministry hit Israel like a bombshell.

While we may not like the way things are, we certainly don’t like change. And the birth of Jesus is about change. Scripture tells us that God does a new thing. The very origin of Jesus is an unexpected beginning for a messiah and it goes on from there. He heals whoever comes regardless of religion or ethnicity. That offends some. He criticizes the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. That stirs up others. Things eventually come to a head in the crucifixion. Jesus was far from universally loved and lauded.

In this season of lengthy darkness, cold stark nights, and short, frosty days in many climates, when things seem stark and bare and still, Advent signals a revolution. An upheaval that calls us away from our inner darkness to the light of healing love for ourselves and the world.

This year at Lakewood UCC the theme is “Give me Jesus,” the line from the spiritual. Jesus is the gift to the world that we celebrate at Christmas. Given the present state of things, we are mindful that to ask for Jesus is to ask for trouble – upheaval, disruption, shock, and surprise. It is also a plea for joy, wholeness, justice, and peace.

For reflection: How does the gift of Jesus rock your world? What kind of change and disruption come with the Jesus life?

Prayer: We yearn for healing. We long for peace. We want to see an end to injustice. We share these hopes and dreams with Jesus. We pray for the courage and vulnerability to receive the divine love bestowed upon the world in Jesus. Amen.

Dead and buried. Our gospel stories tell us that Jesus was crucified and then buried in a tomb before the Sabbath. His friends then visit the tomb after the Sabbath, early in the morning, and we have our Easter stories.

What were Jesus’ friends doing in that intervening time? We can speculate that they commemorated the Sabbath, but also that they were grief stricken. Perhaps weeping. Consoling and cajoling one another? They must have been devastated by the horror of the excruciating death their friend endured coupled with the injustice of the whole thing. Then there was the threat that they, as his cohorts, will meet the same fate. We can readily imagine that they were seized by grief and fear and perhaps anger and remorse. The aftermath of Jesus’ crucifixion must have been unimaginably painful for his friends and loved ones.

And what about Jesus? Once he was dead we have no definitive historical evidence of what happened to his body. We have the traditions written decades after the fact that the body was placed in a tomb. We may like to think that he was at peace; out of his misery here on earth. There is the gnostic view that Jesus went back to be with God from whence he had come and he was back in paradise. Through the years, the church developed another tradition about the time in the tomb between the burial and the resurrection. The idea emerged that Jesus descended into hell not to suffer torment, but to rescue all those who had been consigned to hell in years past. Jesus went down to hell to bring them all out and take them with him up to heaven. There are paintings of Jesus down in hell, flames and all, coming up out of hell with streams of people in his wake accompanying him on the journey out of hell to heaven.

Talk about working on the Sabbath! Well, Jesus was known for that. When there was good to do, you just had to do it. I love this image of Jesus going into hell and rescuing the souls languishing there. You get the sense of a God whose love is so strong it is unstoppable. No one, anywhere, ever beyond the scope of divine love and care. A tireless God who forgets no one. Gives up on no one. Ever.

This Holy Saturday, we may want to consider how we are going out of our way to share God’s love. What are we doing to connect with those who seem beyond reach? How are we making the extra effort for those that we have given up on, forgotten about, or ignored? The violence and greed that are epidemic in our society show us that many around us are in need of experiencing the saving love of God. May they experience that love through us.

Prayer: We give thanks for the faithfulness and trust of Jesus in life, in death, and beyond death. May we come to trust that love is stronger than fear and even death itself. Trusting Divine Love, may we reach out to others – even those who have given up, or been given up on. God does not give up on anyone. God does not give up on us. May we not give up even when life seems to be hell. Amen.

The drama around the death of Jesus is a study in leadership. Here is Jesus, a leader who is a compassionate servant of others. He has the needs of the people at heart. He is completely committed to serving their best interests. He is not interested in fame or acclaim. He simply wants to show people God’s intentions for creation. He brings new life through justice and community and dignity. He has no devious, covert, self-serving agenda. He is not looking to get “re-elected” by pleasing the people and being popular. And what happens to him? He is convicted and given the death sentence. He is killed through the painful, publicly humiliating process of crucifixion. The Empire’s deterrent. Step out of line, and this could be you. Leadership through violence, fear, and intimidation.

Then there is the leadership of Caiaphas, the High Priest, and the council of the Sanhedrin. They only have the power the Romans will give them, and they aren’t about to sacrifice one bit of it. They will not tolerate any threats or challenges to their power and authority. The Romans control them, and they control the Jewish people. And they jealously guard the little power they have. This Jesus? He is undermining their authority with the masses. He is challenging their dictates and regulations and decisions. They want to maintain the illusion that they speak for God when really they are protecting themselves; jealously guarding their authority, serving their own interests, not the interests of their people oppressed by Roman rule. They want to keep their fat cat status and Jesus is calling them out on it. So, the self serving, lustful, arrogant religious leaders work against Jesus. They want him dead and gone. A bad, short-lived memory. What they didn’t foresee was that killing Jesus made his friends even more passionate about the realm of God that he portrayed. In the aftermath of his death, Jesus’ followers had even more zeal for his vision. The religious leaders’ plan to kill Jesus to eliminate a threat backfired. When leaders function out of self interest, the consequences can cause unexpected problems.

Then there is Pilate. He is the Roman leader in this story. He may not see the goodness of Jesus but he certainly does not appear to think Jesus is evil unlike the religious leaders. But then Pilate does not experience Jesus as a direct threat the way the religious leaders do. Pilate also seems aware that the religious leaders are jealous of Jesus. And he exploits that conflict. He knows they see Jesus as a threat. He wants to keep the religious leaders in his pocket. Get them to implement his will, so he has to throw them a bone once in a while. So they want this Jesus. All right. So what? He couldn’t care one way or the other about the life of one more troublesome Jewish peasant. But Pilate is shrewd. He also doesn’t not want to alienate the people many of whom were supposedly enamored with Jesus. PIlate wants to keep the people in line; keep their cooperation with the dictates of Rome. So, he plays it neutral. He’ll do whatever the people and the leaders want. Give them their way, so that ultimately he can get his way. He even washes his hands of the whole thing. [Ironically, some churches today are practicing the ritual of hand washing in place of foot washing.] Pilate appears innocent and neutral but really he is manipulating everyone involved. By looking like he is giving them their way, he is getting his way. He is cunning and devious.

Sadly, we see far too many leaders like the Caiaphas and crew and Pilate in our world today. And our government is rife with such self-interested leaders. They want people to think they are giving them what they want but it is really the politicians getting what the politicians want. And, we the people, play into their hands. We allow ourselves to be manipulated and co-opted.


Jesus’ followers did not succumb to the High Priest or to the Roman governor. After Jesus’ death, they gave their primary allegiance and ultimate loyalty to the commonwealth of God as they experienced it through Jesus. That gave them the power and the strength and the courage to stand up to the principalities and powers and even to face death willingly with prayers for their killers on their lips.

This Good Friday may we asses the status of our loyalty. Where is our ultimate allegiance? Where would we be on Good Friday? Hiding scared? Partying in triumph and relief? Going about our business unconcerned? Risking being present with Jesus in solidarity?

Prayer: We are grateful that the love of God never deserts us. However low we may stoop we cannot separate ourselves from God’s love. Even death, final as it seems, does not separate us from divine love. We so easily give our loyalty and trust to leaders who betray the common good and mask their greed and self interest as altruism. May this the darkest of all days in the church year, inspire our devotion to the God who never betrays us. Amen.

With tensions mounting and death imminent, Jesus celebrates the Passover among his friends. He is an observant Jew. As tradition dictates, he has gone to Jerusalem for the festival. The meal is over. They have commemorated God rescuing the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. They have praised the God of liberation.

Now Jesus takes his friends off to Gethsemane to pray. He knows that for him there will be no rescue. There will be no liberation. The cross awaits him. Death is near. Jesus knows he needs to pray. To connect with God. To stay centered. To tap into divine strength and peace. He needs this now more than ever.

We are told that Jesus is grieved and agitated. He prays for deliverance, but will accept the consequences of his faithfulness to Divine Love. We could argue that this is Jesus’ lowest moment. His greatest challenge. He needs God and he needs the support of his beloved friends. Yet what do the disciples do when asked to pray for but an hour? They fall asleep. Again, Jesus asks them to pray with him, and again they fall asleep. How can they sleep at a moment like this? With such tension in the air? With the last moments with their beloved teacher slipping away? In the presence of the deep need of the one who has responded to all of their needs, how can they sleep?

Why might the disciples have fallen asleep? Too much food and drink? That is certainly an issue in our culture both literally and figuratively. Our lives are too full. We are saturated with possessions and images to maintain. And, yes, we do generally eat and drink too much. Too full to be attentive, available, and responsive. Were the disciples in denial? No, Jesus isn’t really going to be crucified. It’s just rumors. Scare and intimidation tactics. Maybe the disciples were effected by the shadow of Passover. God rescued the Hebrews, surely God will save Jesus. Were they thinking, Jesus doesn’t really need us? He’s the strong one. He’s the one with the direct line to God. We aren’t needed. He’ll handle everything. He’s just being nice asking us to stay awake with him. Trying to make us feel needed and important to him. What do you think about why the disciples fall asleep in this story?

In his remarks on Palm Sunday earlier this week, Pope Francis made reference to this scene in Gethsemane. The Pope asked, “Has my life fallen asleep?” I think that that is a very good question for us this Holy Week. Are we asleep? Are we so busy with some things that we are ignoring what we should be paying attention to? Do we think that we have nothing to offer? Do we not see the needs around us? Are we saying we are leaving it all up to God as a testimony of our strong faith when really we just don’t want to be bothered?

Recently we have heard more about the killing of the boys in the Dozier School here in Florida. Who was asleep while that was going on? Who had their head down, looked the other way, ignored the heinous murder of those boys? Who was asleep as the brothers grew into terrorists and bombed the Boston Marathon? What adults in their lives were asleep and not seeing what was happening to them? Who in their lives was oblivious to the direction they were going? Who was asleep while they let evil overtake them? Who is asleep to the climate crisis manifesting around us? Who has their eyes closed and doesn’t want to see the changes that are taking place and the changes that are needed? How are we asleep to the needs of those closest to us? Are we asleep to how self absorbed we have become? Who is sleeping while the world is begging for healing and hope. How are we asleep? Will we wake up? Will we let the undying love of Jesus open our eyes? Wake us up? Energize our beings? Jesus is not asleep. He is waiting for us, praying for us.

Prayer: Jesus, wake us up to the full and abundant life that awaits us when we follow you. Wake us up to the joy that comes from being in solidarity with those who are falsely accused, unjustly condemned, or innocent victims of institutional violence. May our attention be focused on you as you promised to come to us – in the least of these. Amen.

We just need to hear the name Judas and we think “betrayer.” He is known as the villain of all eternity. Judas, who turned Jesus over to the authorities. Judas, who gave Jesus the kiss of death. Judas, who wanted the money from the oil used to anoint Jesus to be sold and the money given to the poor. Judas, who sells out for 30 pieces of silver. Judas, who kills himself. Judas. Want to label someone a betrayer? Just call that person “Judas” and the message is clear.

Was Judas, a Zealot, a political radical ready to take up arms against the Roman Empire, disgusted with Jesus’ non violent tactics? Did Judas give up on Jesus as Messiah because he would not embrace the role of military leader and stage an armed rebellion? Is that why we know Judas as a betrayer? Because he felt betrayed by Jesus?

Whatever the reason, in paintings, artwork, altar carvings, and the rest, you can single out Judas. He is always set apart in some way. His back is turned. His clothes are dark. He’s in a shadow. Something distinguishes him. There are the disciples, and then there is Judas.

In some alternative interpretations, Judas is seen as the one closest to Jesus. The one who is most willing to give all, to sacrifice. The one who really understands the political implications of what is going on. Judas realizes the danger and the risks they are facing. We never hear Judas counter Jesus when Jesus mentions that he must suffer and die. Judas is not the one to say, “No, not you, Master.” While Peter misses the boat again and again, and the others quibble over who is the greatest, we never hear Judas caught up in those games. Some see him as the one Jesus could most trust because he had the best grasp of what they were about. Some interpreters think that Judas is the one who most understands Jesus’ mission and ministry and that is why he agreed to betray Jesus. He knew Jesus had to be a martyr to further the cause so he helped Jesus to accomplish that. He was the only one strong enough and faithful enough to be fully obedient. And so he betrayed Jesus to fulfill the plan that had to be carried out.

Then there is newer scholarship based on recent findings of ancient texts that offers other possibilities. Jesus came from God, from heaven, from another realm. And he needed to return there. And the only way for that to happen was for Jesus to die. In this scenario, Judas betrays Jesus out of love and compassion. He wants to help Jesus get back to the divine bliss with God that he left to live an earthly life.

We will probably never be able to sort out the full story of Judas. But what we are learning is that good and evil can both be disguised masterfully. Something that appears good may in reality be just the opposite. What appears bad may actually be good. It can get quite complex sorting out motivations and consequences in ways that lead to clear ends. Yes, we must be willing to sacrifice to be faithful to God, but what will that sacrifice entail? It may not be what we expect. Before we point the finger at others, judging their behavior, this is a week to examine our own lives, our choices, our behavior, and look at the sacrifices we are making. Are they really for God? Or for ourselves? Or for less worthy ends? How are we putting ourselves on the line for love?

Prayer: In this intense week we focus on the earthly life of Jesus. We consider the sacrifices that he made and the good that he did. May we learn from the various images of Judas to truly examine our own choices and to proceed fearlessly. Despite the complexities of our times, we pray for wisdom and courage to do whatever we are called to do to further the commonwealth of God. Amen.