All Saints'- Phoenix: Walking to Jerusalem

April 14, Good Friday

Pressing On: And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:15

It is finished. We’re at the end of our walk to Jerusalem. Are you weary or are you physically more alive and spiritually more attuned?

Hopefully this has been a journey of physical and spiritual renewal. Hopefully you’ve satisfied your soul with spiritual food and living water. Hopefully the increased exercise, disciplined prayer, and faith in action has renewed and revitalized the body God has given you and you are able to have more energy for God’s vital work on earth.

Reconciliation, love and sacrifice requires perseverance and commitment. It helps to know that our feet, our hands, and our minds have been called, specifically by our Creator, as tools for reconciliation.

Questions to ponder:
Can I be a reconciler when I am out of energy? Have I developed the tools for revitalization? Have I developed relationships with others who are on a similar journey as me?

April 13, Maundy Thursday in Holy Week

First Things First: … leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Matt 5:24

Jesus is real clear on this action. This, I believe, is the most ignored verse in the Bible. Later, Jesus said, “"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother” (Matthew 18:15). You are to make the first move.

Peacemakers take the initiative. “But,” you say, “Why should I go to the person when they are the one that hurt me.” Do you want the biblical answer? Because Jesus says so. Conflict is never resolved accidentally. That first step may be a letter, a phone call, or a visit.

If someone has wronged you or you have wronged someone else, take action today. Your peace of mind and your Christian witness depends on your taking the first step. Happiness awaits action.
When you take the first step and speak to the other person, before you speak, remember the word of Solomon.

Solomon wrote, “A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath. Empathize. Consider the situation. Attack the problem not the person. Clarify, don’t confront.

Questions to ponder:

I’ve forgiven—now how do I rid myself of the ill will? Am I still welcome in community when my heart is heavy with sin? Won’t forgiveness just come with time? Can things every go back to the way it was before the injury?

Great ideas for starting a walking group! As we come to the end of our time "Walking to Jerusalem," consider how you continue your fitness: mind, spirit AND body!

5 Ways To Start Your Own Walking Group Walking coach Michele Stanten shows how to start your very own walking group—from lace-up to finish line and using walking for weight loss.

Transformation:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

The opposite of peacemakers is troublemakers. People who are mean-spirited, stirring up strife, creating conflict. Allow me to quote pastor and author Kent Hughes: “If we are not peacemakers, but instead are troublemakers, there is every likelihood that we are not true children of God." Notice his word choice. Troublemakers definitely are not bearing the character of Jesus. In fact, Hughes questions their position in the family of God.

Peacemakers are sometimes troublemakers to bring peace, but troublemakers make trouble for the sake of trouble. If our character is such that we spread rumors and gossip about others; if we are constantly fomenting discontent; if we find joy in the report of trouble and scandal; if we are omni-critical, always faultfinding; if we are unwilling to be involved in peacemaking; if we are mean—if these negative qualities characterize our lives, there is a good chance we are not Christians.

Questions to ponder:

How do I show my thanks for being forgiven and reconciled? What does it mean to be members of one body?

Just Like Jesus:
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

The radicalness of Christ’s call to peacemaking demands a radical remaking of human personality. One must first have a profound experience of the shalom of God. No one can become a peacemaker until (s)he has found peace (her)himself. We cannot give what is not real to us. Peacemaking begins with an experience of peace in our own hearts.

The salutation of the Apostle Paul’s letters almost always begin “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Reading his letters, you never find the order reversed to “peace and grace.” Grace always comes before peace. We have to experience the grace of God before we can experience the peace of God. We have to come into relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ before we can be purveyors of peace to others. We have to know peace ourselves before we can make peace in our relationships. In other words, we can’t make peace if we don’t have peace.

Questions to ponder:

Sometimes forgiving hurts. Will it hurt less with practice? Must I forgive if the person offending me isn’t sorry? When I forgive, have I condoned the behavior? Is there a difference between forgiveness and amends?

April 10, Monday in Holy Week

Properly Attired: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12

We need to learn to feel compassion unconditionally by planting the seed and letting it grow. It won’t be complete and whole until we learn to experience compassion for all, regardless of whether they have the same skin color, beliefs, nationality, race, education, socioeconomic status, or anything else. We need to learn that we are more united than we think and that compassion brings about more cooperation and balance rather than unhealthy forms of competition.

A healthy society is not a divided society but a united one where people have compassion toward each other.

With more knowledge comes more understanding, and with that comes our accessibility to our built-in sense of unconditional compassion. Again, feeling compassionate for something does not mean we give free access, and it does not mean we don’t hold people accountable for something negative that they may have done; it means we understand the root of problems and how they were created rather than looking at the surface behavior. This way we can find productive and long-term solutions. Compassion lessens a feeling of rejection, which by itself is the root of many negative behaviors.

We traveled 2722.8 miles between Lent V and Palm Sunday (making our total distance so far 8967.4 miles). While the mileage presses us WAY beyond Jerusalem, we’ve had an experience of “you can’t GET there from HERE!” While we were on route to pass through Chad, Niger and Egypt, it became necessary to move North through Libya and toward the coast of the Mediterranean sea. Our stopping point is Benghazi, Libya (turns out roads in the desert aren't just less traveled... they're NOT traveled).

Libya is an enormous country – twice the size of Egypt and roughly 1/3 the size of the entire EU. It’s 95% desert, and has a tiny population of just 6 million. Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya after the capital Tripoli, and it is located in the Northeastern region part of Libya. The predominate religion in Libya is Islam.

In February 2011, peaceful protests erupted in Benghazi that were brutally suppressed by Muammar Gaddafi's armed kalb forces and loyalists. The violence urged the people to fight back and start and uprise to withdraw Gaddafi from power. At least 500 people were killed in the protests against the government.

On 19 May 2012, residents of Benghazi voted in historic local elections; this was the first time such elections had been held in the city since the 1960s, and turnout was high.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Oddly, these are showing up on our church web page, but not on our "W2J" page.

Sunday, April 9 (Palm Sunday)

Everyone: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Unfortunately, when we read the word of Jesus about making peace, being peacemakers and living in peace, we smile and blandly say, “Oh, that’s nice.” Benjamin Franklin, when writing John Adams, wrote, “Blessed are the peacemakers’ is, I suppose, for another world. In this world they are frequently cursed.”

Peacemaking is not nice.
Peacemaking is messy and wrenching work.
It takes time and a lot of emotional energy.
It is like crossing a fast moving creek on slippery rocks.

The journey is needed. The work is risky. And, sometimes you fall. You get bruised. And, sometimes you don’t make it across the stream. There are those cantankerous types who just go through life picking fights with everyone they meet. You can’t always live at peace with people like that. That’s the best time to focus on, “as far as it depends on you.”

We have traveled so far this week! So many people have been holding onto their miles, times, steps, and prayers. We've nearly doubled our miles this week... and we know there are more out there! Don't forget to log your miles. We'll be posting every day next week to get to Jerusalem!

All Saints'- Phoenix: Walking to Jerusalem

Sunday, April 2 (Lent 5)

Being Childlike: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

Peacemaking is not the absence of conflict. Peace in the Bible is never to be confused with pacifism. Never are we instructed to run from conflict. Putting our head in the sand, hoping that the conflict will end, only delays the inevitable. The person who glosses over the problems, acting as if everything is alright when it is not is not a peacemaker.

A peacemaker is someone who is actively seeking to reconcile people to God and to one another. The word peace is the Hebrew word shalom. Often used as a greeting word or a departing word in much the same way we would utter “hello” or “goodbye,” it is a broad term related to health, prosperity, harmony, and wholeness. It means perfect welfare, serenity, fulfillment, freedom from trouble, and liberation from anything which hinders contentment.

I spend a lot of time with pre-K and kindergarten children who are learning conflict resolution. They don’t sit on their disappointments and sorrows and let them fester. Peacemaking is active. It is about doing and being made. It is bursting with energy. It mandates action and initiative. Peace never happens by chance.