Hope From Ashes

Read: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8

When my family moved to Montgomery 11 years ago, one of the serendipities of our new home was the number of people whose travels brings them through Montgomery. Friends from Memphis to Ohio to North Carolina drive through Montgomery to get to where they want to be…THE BEACH! The quality of visit depended greatly on whether we visited with them on their excited and hope-filled way down or their exhausted and sand-filled way back home.

The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3, talks about moving toward a destination. Namely, Paul wished to “attain the resurrection from the dead.” He wanted to be worthy of restoration when the end of days arrives, righteous in the eyes of God and affirmed in his being an heir to life. But how?

Paul is clear that his resume, as impressive as it is, will not get him there. Not his ethnicity. Not his family. Not his physical attributes. Not his knowledge. Not his strict following of the law. What Paul came to understand was that he could not do it on his own. For him to enjoy the “prize of the heavenly call,” Paul had to go THROUGH Jesus. Righteousness was not his to earn; it was Jesus’s to give.

In an age of empowerment and in a culture which highly values what a person earns, going through Jesus to gain life may feel idiosyncratic. What do I do if I can’t attain righteousness by pulling myself up from my bootstraps? What do you mean that I am unable to gain what I want on my own? What does it mean to go “through” Jesus?

Paul puts it succinctly. He wants to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death.” In other words, Paul wants to lean into the story of Jesus, including his suffering.

Maybe the story from John can be helpful here. The story of Mary wiping the expensive ointment with her hair onto the feet of Jesus reveals an extravagant act of love and devotion. Through this act, Mary was leaning into the story of Jesus, seeking closeness with Jesus.

We cannot earn righteousness. However, through Jesus, we can reach our destination. So, may our love for Jesus be as extravagant as Mary’s. How does my worship of Jesus reveal extravagant love? How does my bank account, my use of financial resources, reveal extravagant love for Jesus? How does my calendar, my use of time, reveal extravagant love for Jesus?

The journey to righteousness only goes through Jesus.

Prayer:

God of the Apostles, grant me the wisdom to love Jesus more than my own accomplishments so that I might know righteousness that only come through Him, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.