Matthew27:: Zombieland

Matthew 27

I have found a kindred spirit in cartoonist David Hayward. He is a pastor in Canada and I "get" him, though I don't always agree with him. I got this cartoon from him yesterday.

After reading through Chapter 27, I had a very similar thought. I even uttered this phrase in my prayer with my daughter tonight, "Thank you for Good Friday, even though calling it that seems weird." In all it's goodness, it is still the most solemn and horrifying day of the year for me...always has been and I hope it always is.

Back in the early 90's a friend of mine made a video to the song, "Because He Loved Me" by Celine Dion. Not that uncommon, just check out youtube. What was uncommon was his choice of video footage. He used scenes from the Visual Bible: Matthew. I posted a clip from there back with Chapter 18. The Jesus depicted in the at movie was a Jesus I really liked, admired and wanted to hang around. He got the nickname, "The Happy Jesus." Up until then, I had always been bored to tears with the Jesus portrayals in movies. They all looked pale and almost malnourished. This Jesus was different. By the time I got to the end of the movie, my heart ached during Chapter 27 like never before. This was a friend. This was someone I identified with. This was very different. Ever since then, Good Friday has been anything but for me.

Here is what got me today:

^51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)

Now, verse 51 has always been one of my favorite verses. The temple, which had always separated the holy from the secular, the haves from the have-nots, was now torn apart. Now everyone is granted access to God! Man, that's awesome.

But what about this next part. Was this the New Testament version of Zombieland? I mean, I'm a little taken aback by this and frankly not even sure I remembered it. Many dead people were raised up - the resurrections before the Resurrection. I'm a little puzzled by this and don't really know why it happened. I don't have any good preacher-talk for you. That's just what stood out a little more than normal today.

Matthew15::Defecation and Dog Food

Matthew 15

          Okay, did today's reading make anyone else chuckle like it did me?  I admit that I have a sense of seventh-grade humor and any time certain words are said, I laugh a little.  Sorry to burst the bubble that I am a well-sophisticated gentleman.  I just am still getting used to the language of The Message and don't really expect to read about "defecation."

          Now, here is what bothered me this morning.  In the middle section of Chapter 15, Matthew recounts a story of a Canaanite woman who comes to Jesus begging for him to heal her daughter who is stricken by a demonic spirit.
          Jesus ignored her.

          What?  Why in the world would he do this?  I mean, I know why I would it, but why would Jesus do such a thing?  He brushes her off to his disciples.  They can't stand her and they can't handle her.  She's sandpaper to everyone.
          Then she comes back to him and he tells her that for him to help her would be like taking bread from a child's mouth and throwing it to the dogs!
          Her response to Jesus is priceless.  She agrees with him and says "but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master's table."  He is taken aback by her response and heals her daughter immediately.
          I am going to have to wrestle with this a little today.  I may come out with a limp at the end of this, but I don't have a good "pastor-answer" for this.  If you have one (pastor-answer that is), keep it to yourself, but if you have some honest thoughts about what Jesus might be meaning hear post away!