Great Lakes Crossing is a temple--if we give our hearts to it. If shopping and entertainment are our summit, then this is our holy site, our Midwest Jerusalem, our Babylon with plenty of parking. Scripture promises the eventual overthrow of every such place and its ideology.
We look for a Lord who looks the part – powerful, in charge, with bodyguards, who rides in a limo and gets calls from Oprah and Fox News. The problem is, that is not the Lord we have, now or ever. This Lord comes to town on a donkey, not a Humvee.
At this point, the jury is still out in regard to Jesus. But Nicodemus is intrigued enough to search him out. Is Jesus a true prophet or just a troublemaker? If he is a prophet, Nicodemus wants to know him better. If he is a rabble-rouser, Nicodemus needs to know that too.
It's still traditional in most corners of our land that we observe Remembrance Sunday. We might visit a grave – because there are still plenty of servicemen's graves in our cemeteries, not everyone died abroad.
If the thought of the last day of our life or the last day of everything fills you with fear, then be consoled by the fact that we have a living King. Jesus promised the man next to him, "Today you will be with me in Paradise". He promises us a future after death.
The Ten Commandments warn us against small gods. For example, the Sabbath commandment warns us against the small god of Work, whose worshipers--and they are numerous--resort to frenetic activity in order to feel they have a right to exist.
Under similar circumstances some people lash out in defiance, others are paralyzed by pain, broken by torture. Jesus chooses a different alternative, a regal one, that shows his cross is not a trap, but a throne. He forgives those who are mocking him. He sees them for who they truly are. Not powerful people, but weak, ignorant, blind, and fearful.
It's been said that the number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim Christ with their mouths but deny him with their lives is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable. So what we're talking about here is a life focus, not just a Sunday morning focus.
What we find in the beatitudes and the woes is a reversal of our value system. What appears to be desirable and lasting in the eyes of the world turns out to be an empty promise; while the things that are undesirable and unpopular in the eyes of the world are the source of real life.
We are the ones who shout not only "Hosanna!" but also "Crucify Him!" Nevertheless, the Good News, the Gospel for today, drives us to give thanks that God's love for us is bigger than our misguided demands and flawed expectations.