Good Friday...

greetings...

i am sitting here in the living room crying...

this blog came alive tonight...

Jeep thinks i must have lost it...

hope it touches my undergroound family -- and YOU -- the way it stirs me...

enjoy...

"I prayed to receive Jesus in my heart one night when my Mom and I were saying our goodnight prayers at the farmhouse in Plant City… I was young – really young – I don’t think I had even started school yet… So I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a follower of Jesus [or at least on the journey]…

But I can remember the very day when the reality of the resurrection came alive – fully alive – to me… It was a surprise – a shock – it was a revelation – an awakening… Not in church… Not in seminary… Not at a conference…

It was almost 50 years later in my spiritual journey… Holy Week two years ago… At a rundown trailer on the outskirts of Claire Mel… In a dingy and depressing little bedroom that seemed a lot like a prison cell… The TV was always blaring – it numbed the mind and took away the pain of thinking… The smell was memorable…

I had been visiting David for about a year…

An Assembly of God kid who loved Jesus and believed in heaven – in fact, he was living for heaven – it was the bright spot in his drab pseudo-existence… He was in his mid-20s and dying… Dying a slow and suffocating death from Lou Gehrig’s disease [ALS]…

I watched death crawl up his body – starting at his feet – paralyzing him as the disease raged to the north… It took his feet – he could no longer walk… It took his legs – he could no longer stand… It took the muscle control of his bowels – 20something sporting a diaper… It took his stomach – food lost its appeal… I watched David fading away into eternity with every visit…

Death was slowly creeping up his body…

It was getting really serious by the spring – the disease had set its sights on his lungs… David was struggling to sit up – it was becoming a challenge to breathe – every breath was a battle – a consuming labor… The days were numbered – it wouldn’t be long now… You die when you can’t breathe anymore…

So I showed up to see David on Holy Week two years ago…

I 'crawled' into his cell… He turned the TV down… We started to chat… He wanted to talk about heaven – he smiled and said that he was 'dying to get there' – we chuckled… The disease had not destroyed his sense of humor… Even small victories are a thrill…

Then it happened…

I suddenly said something I can never take credit for [cause I’m just not this bright] – it was a 'kairos' moment – a God moment – an encounter with the holy – we had a moment suspended in time where we were both fully present in the present – face-to-face with the Lord…

'David, did you know there is something even better than heaven?'

'Now Chaplain Guy, I ain’t too sure about that – what could be better than heaven?'

'Well, you are going to heaven – but you will have a brand new body – a spiritual body just like Jesus!'

The pause seemed almost eternal… I could see a tear forming… Then a smile – a radiant one that transformed his whole face…

'Chaplain Guy, I am going to heaven with a brand new body – NO MORE ALS BODY FOR ME! I will be able to walk – to run – to jump – no more limitations…'

'Yes David, you will have "a resurrection body that will never decline, decay or die"’! [quoted from NT Wright in Surprised by Hope]…

'NO MORE ALS BODY!!!'

I suddenly got it!

I was looking at 'Good Friday' – a human being gripped by suffering – a beloved son of the Father who was enduring the curse of sin, sickness and a fallen existence…

The agony of Good Friday… The unspeakable tragedy of suffering… The short-term victory of darkness and death… A work of redemption yet unfinished…

Good Friday…

But, Easter Sunday will soon dawn!

It may be Friday but Sunday is coming!

Beyond the darkness is the light! Beyond the night is the dawn! Beyond death is life! Beyond the comma of defeat is the exclamation point of resurrection! Beyond defeat is sweet victory! Beyond the incomplete is fulfillment and perfection! Beyond the cross and grave is the empty tomb – JESUS IS RISEN!

Easter Sunday came soon for David…

He couldn’t get his breath. His body betrayed him. ALS won for the moment. He died…

But now he lives… He is filled with the very breath of God… He is in heaven… He has a brand new body… No more decline, decay or death… ALS has no power over him… No more goodbyes – cause eternity is forever – with Jesus!

Maybe today is like a Good Friday in your life – a rough spot…

Do not lose hope – Resurrection Sunday is dawning very soon…

It was on Good Friday that Jesus boldly proclaimed: 'IT IS FINISHED!' [John 19.30]

Paul knew the power of the resurrection: 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? How we thank God, who gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our risen Lord!' [1 Corinthians 15.54-57]

'David, I am looking forward to seeing you again – NO MORE ALS BODY…'

I finish tonight with tears of joy – I will never forget this moment – this 'kairos' revelation when the resurrection became reality for me… More than a doctrine… More than history… More than a confession… SPIRITUAL REALITY!!!

And it is still just that real…

Thank you for sharing this journey with me during Holy Week – see you Sunday!!!"

i hope i never "get over" this moment...

guy