I sat in my kitchen last night … sad. As I thought about the past few days, I was reminded that we really do live in a broken, hurting, imperfect world. While it doesn’t take much to realize that, this truth has been right in my face everywhere. From friends who are suffering physically to hearing one youth after another share last night what a rough week it’s been… from emotional pain that loved ones are walking through to stories of broken relationships: the hurt in this world is very evident.
Our lives are messy.
But right in the middle of this mess, our Savior comes. I was reminded of this truth last night as the high school youth spent the evening making the communion bread that we will use in worship next week on Maundy Thursday and Easter.
As we recounted the stories of Passover and the Last Supper… as we pierced the bread just like our Savior’s body was pierced… I was reminded that our God isn’t afraid of our mess. Instead, he came right into the middle of this mess and got messy himself.
He was born in a barn; his first bed was an animal’s feed trough.
He bent down, spit on the ground, made mud, put it on a man’s eyes and healed him.
He touched lepers when everyone else ran away.
He defended ones that others just wanted to condemn.
He was beaten, whipped, mocked, and nailed to a cross.
He got messy and then claimed victory over the mess so that one day… the mess from our lives will be gone forever.
Thank you God for not being afraid of our mess. While we stand here in the middle of it all, it can seem so overwhelming at times. Remind us that you are bigger than our mess, that you lift us out of the mud, out of the slimy pits we find ourselves in, and put our feet on a rock. Give us a firm place to stand until that day when all this mess is gone forever. Thanks God. Amen.
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. (Psalm 40:1-3)
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I love the image of piercing the Communion bread. What a vivid reminder of the greatest act of “lifting” to ever occur – as Christ lifted our sins on the cross and had them pierced because of his love for us.