THE FINAL TWIST

We all love a final twist in the plot where everything seems broken beyond repair – squashed – over – hopeless – and then everything changes. The first clue is a twitch, light in the darkness – a word – a tear – SOMEONE clicks. For Jesus? It was two women at a grave mourning; it was a team of guards keeping the Roman seal intact. And then this angel, this powerful being of light who moves a ton of stone like it’s made of Styrofoam. And suddenly, everything begins to reverse. It’s like one of those cold mornings in Spring where at 6 AM, there’s frost on the ground and at 2 PM there’s this thaw – and you hear your first robin. It was a confusing day in April that started out with no believers – and ended way differently than anyone ever thought it world. By the end of the day, it was very clear that the previous 3 days had been no tragic accident.  It was part of a master plan that is still unfolding and won’t be over till it’s all made new. But there’s always a hold-out. Judas was lying crumpled and dead at the end of a broken rope. Peter was still grieving over a moment he wished he could relive, and Thomas still wouldn’t believe. Today, it’s Easter – Easter #1900 and something. Where are you? Have you had the final twist in your story?

CRUSHED BETWEEN DREAMS

Jesus had a plan for the Kingdom – a kingdom driven by grace, humility and love – led by servants! Increasingly, throughout His ministry, He ran up against a bunch of other dreams. For some, it was a dream of having money and success; but for others, it was a dream for the temple and the Torah to rule the world. For the Romans, it was a dream of a 1000 year Reich – to put it in terms we all understand. For the Zealots, it was a dream of a Roman Empire full of dead Romans. Meaning? Well, when Jesus entered Jerusalem and began the last week of His life, it was like a powder keg. Even His followers had dreams – and the hangers-on had dreams.  With all these competing dreams, someone’s dream wasn’t going to come true!