Maimed Yet Made Whole

  • April 1, 2024
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Matthew 5.29-30
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 18.7-9
7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Reflection: Maimed Yet Made Whole
By John Tillman

Christ’s resurrected body was glorious and mysterious in many ways. Tangible, yet able to move intangibly from place to place. Physically identifiable, yet at times unrecognizable. Living, yet bearing deadly wounds.

So then, would our wounds persist if we took Christ’s words about removing hands or eyes literally? Will we “enter life” maimed?

If we attempt to interpret our Heavenly existence by these words, we have turned the instrument the wrong way around. This saying is not a telescope for looking into Heaven but a microscope for examining our hearts. It does not tell us what Heaven will be like. It tells us how to live on Earth until the resurrection comes. Yet, reflecting on the resurrection can help us live now.

The life we live now, in the body, we live by faith in the Son of God. In the resurrection body, we will live face-to-face with the Son of God. In this life we must discipline our bodies, our flesh, conforming it to the image of Christ. We begin and continue this work in faith partnered with the Holy Spirit but completion only comes at the resurrection. 

The point of the resurrection is not that life will continue as it is now. Thank God. After tasting this life, would we really say, “More, please.”? If we would, the fault lies in our limited palates and imaginations. There is a better world. A banquet worth indulging in.

The resurrection does not condemn the physical; it redeems it. Our bodies are not evil and our spirits good. The resurrection reclaims and restores our full nature as simultaneously physical AND spiritual. 

What we will be is yet to be known, but we will be like Jesus. Our bodies will be so mysteriously glorious that C.S Lewis said if we could see the average human now as we will be, we would be tempted to worship that glorious being as a god.

Resurrection life will be mysterious and unrecognizable to us now. We see through a mirror darkly, yet we know we will be changed. We will be like the angels. We will be as Christ is, transfigured and resurrected, maimed yet made whole.

Let us live now, straining toward what is ahead, with no regrets for what is behind but with wonder at what is to come. This life will maim us, yet we will enter life made whole.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Cry of the Church
Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again!

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Song of Songs 8 (Listen 2:23) 
Matthew 5 (Listen 6:03)

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Why The Cross?

  • March 29, 2024
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Matthew 2.13
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 

Galatians 4.4-5
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Romans 5.7
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Reflection: Why The Cross?
By John Tillman

If salvation merely needed the blood of the sinless one, then any death would do. Herod’s soldiers could have killed two-year-old Jesus. He could have leaped from the top of the Temple as he was tempted by Satan. His friends and neighbors could have thrown him off of a cliff. He could have been stoned. He could have been beaten with clubs or killed with the sword.

Why the cross?

Inside and outside Christianity, people express discomfort with the cross. “Isn’t it gross?” “Isn’t it violent?”

Ancient people agreed. Perhaps the first historical depiction of Jesus’ crucifixion is the Alexamenos graffito, dated to about 200 AD. It scoffs, “Alexamenos worships his god,” under the image of a donkey-headed crucified man. 

I saw a set of memes recently from a former Christian who is now a skeptic/atheist. The AI-generated images showed life if Rome used guillotines rather than crosses. In a beautiful cathedral, a guillotine hung in shafts of stained glass-colored light during a wedding. Monks carried a flower-bedecked guillotine through festival streets. Elaborate guillotines decorated headstones and crypts in a peaceful graveyard.

Why is the cross worthy of architectural enshrinement in our places of worship? Why is it worthy of remembrance in festivals, jewelry, and decor? Why is it worthy of being a symbol of reverent hope on headstones? Why obsess over a gruesome instrument of torture?

In his sovereignty, out of all places, all times, and all means, Jesus chose the cross to bring the greatest good out of the greatest evil. (Romans 5.6; Galatians 4.4-5) 

Jesus did many good things before the cross. Healing. Teaching. Serving. Jesus did many good things after the cross. The harrowing of Hell. The resurrection. The ascension. The coming of the Holy Spirit. But on the cross is where he accomplished the ultimate good he came for. 

Every good thing before the cross pointed to it. Every good thing after the cross is evidence of the power broken on it.

On the cross, God was in Christ, reconciling us to himself (2 Corinthians 5.18-19), accomplishing all that scripture promised. Sin dead. Death defeated. Satan vanquished. 

The cross is worthy because of the work Jesus did on it: “It is finished.” (John 19.30) So, we are not ashamed of the gospel revealed on the cross. Let us continue to remind ourselves of it, center our teaching on it, and reverence it in every appropriate way.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? — Psalm 22.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Song of Songs 5 (Listen 2:43)
Matthew 2 (Listen 3:18)

This Weekend’s Readings
Song of Songs 6 (Listen 1:48) Matthew 3 (Listen 2:17)
Song of Songs 7 (Listen 1:55) Matthew 4 (Listen 3:09)

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Inaugurating The Era of the Servant

  • March 28, 2024
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Matthew 1.20-21
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

John 13.34
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

From John: The “Maundy” of Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus’ words “I give you a new commandment.” May we walk in this commandment, in this new era of love and service.

Reflection: Inaugurating The Era of the Servant
By John Tillman

The three sections of Matthew 1’s genealogy mark important eras in the history of God’s presence with and relationship to his people.

Beginning with Abraham’s era, God was a promise-maker and promise-keeper. He promised children, kings, nations, and a blessing that would be for all people. God brought Abraham’s family closer and closer to himself, revealing more and more of his nature. He became their God, and they became his people. He made with them a covenant, a promise of promises, to be their faithful God.

Beginning with David’s era, God was the mighty king, dispensing justice and wisdom. In this era, he defeated monstrous animals, enemies, and empires. Even when human kings were flawed, unfaithful, and wicked, God was the faithful, righteous ruler.

Through the exilic era, God judged and punished his people’s wickedness but also protected and preserved the righteous remnant and was the redeemer who brought his people home. Exiled for their sins, this remnant took God’s presence and blessing with them, even into the bellies of the beastly empires that swallowed them. God brought judgment on those beasts in due time and brought his people out from captivity again.

A new era is announced to Mary and Joseph. Jesus is proclaimed as one who will save his people from their sins. Sin wrecked every era of existence. Sin broke the promises of the covenant. Sin turned the wisdom and power of kings to wickedness. Sin still haunted the hints of former glory in the restored Temple and the wicked rule of the string of Herods who called themselves kings of the Jews.

In this time, in this place, among these people, God revealed himself in Jesus as the savior, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world.

Jesus inaugurated the next era on the night of the Passover meal. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and declared afterward ​​“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13.34)

What era speaks to you? The promise-keeper? The King of Kings? The Redeemer? The Savior? The Servant? Jesus is the fulfillment of every era and every need. Today, his body, the church, is called to live out the era of love and service. Let us love one another so that the world can recognize who we are.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God, trust also in me. — John 14.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Song of Songs 4 (Listen 2:46)
Matthew 1 (Listen 3:29)

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Lament and Transformation

  • March 26, 2024
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Psalm 70
1 Hasten, O God, to save me; 
come quickly, Lord, to help me. 
2 May those who want to take my life 
be put to shame and confusion; 
may all who desire my ruin 
be turned back in disgrace. 
3 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” 
turn back because of their shame. 
4 But may all who seek you 
rejoice and be glad in you; 
may those who long for your saving help always say, 
“The Lord is great!” 
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy; 
come quickly to me, O God. 
You are my help and my deliverer; 
Lord, do not delay.

Reflection: Lament and Transformation
By John Tillman

Psalm 40 begins with thanksgiving, but Psalm 70 (identical to verses 13-17 of Psalm 40) dives directly into desperation. It is pure lament, with no bright resolution at the end, only grim determination.

Federico Villanueva finds Psalm 70’s focus on pure lament a liberating message. He reflects, “It affirms the fact that there are times when the life of faith consists purely of desolation. We do not have to see ourselves always lacking in faith when we cannot find the answer to our situation right away. The psalm can be our companion as we wait for God.”

In the 16th century, St. John of the Cross described the “Dark Night of the Soul.” The term has become a cliche for any difficult experience. However, St. John saw it as not a minor misfortune but a major crisis. For spiritual growth to occur, he believed all Christians must experience it.

Our souls will go through dark times. We may weep at the beginning, the middle, and all the way through. It may help us navigate our souls’ dark nights to remember that Jesus went before us.

We memorialize Jesus’ dark night of the soul yearly during “Passion Week.” In this usage, “passion” does not mean strong emotions. The original Greek word meant suffering. His suffering began with the Triumphal Entry.

Jesus wept before entering the city. (Luke 19.41-44) He knew they welcomed him with impure desires. They wanted Rome’s power broken, but Jesus came to break the power of a far more dangerous empire—Satan’s empire of sin and death. Christ’s dark descent continued from the streets to the Temple, the garden, the cross, and the tomb.

Jesus is our companion in darkness and weeping, even when it is so dark, we lose our sense of his presence. Christ’s suffering, his dark night of the soul, had a glorious ending. The same can be true for us.  “We share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8.17b)

Don’t feel pressured to produce praise, happiness, or thankfulness during your dark nights. Feel the freedom of pure lament. Holding on to happiness is not the point of the dark. Transformation is.

May dark nights of lament lead to glorious transformation in our lives. Don’t waste the dark. Lament, weep, and transform. Following Christ’s example, our dark nights of the soul can go from crisis to chrysalis.


Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Early in the morning I cry out to you, for in your word is my trust. — Psalm 119.147

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Song of Songs 2 (Listen 2:15)
Psalm 70-71 (Listen 3:29)

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The Mire and the Monster

  • March 25, 2024
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Psalm 69.1-2, 14-15
1 Save me, O God, 
for the waters have come up to my neck. 
2 I sink in the miry depths, 
where there is no foothold. 
I have come into the deep waters; 
the floods engulf me. 

14 Rescue me from the mire, 
do not let me sink; 
deliver me from those who hate me, 
from the deep waters. 
15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me 
or the depths swallow me up 
or the pit close its mouth over me. 

Reflection: The Mire and the Monster
By John Tillman

Jesus taught that David was a prophet and spoke through “the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 12.36) As the “Son of David,” Jesus took up and lived out many of David’s psalms of salvation and lament. Psalm 69 is one of the psalms that the Holy Spirit brought to the gospel writers’ minds when they recorded the life of Christ. 

Jesus did not quote this psalm from the cross, as he did with Psalm 22, however, gospel writers quoted both verse 9 (John 2.17) and 21 (Matthew 27.34; Mark 15.23; Luke 23.36; John 19.28-30) as pictures of Jesus.

The imagery of death by drowning may not sound, at first, like language describing the cross. Jesus, however, thought of his coming death in these precise terms. Jesus described his death as similar to Jonah’s. (Matthew 12.38-41; Luke 11.29-32) Sinking in deep water, with seaweed wrapped around his head, swallowed by a monster of the deep and taken down to the depths with no hope of return. (Jonah 2.1-9)

The psalmist describes his fate in this way. First, he is stuck in mirey mud. He cannot pull his feet out. The mire rises. He is sinking in his muddy trap as the watery mud rises up his body, trapping his limbs and restricting his movement. The weight of the mud restricts his breathing as it rises to his neck and above his chin. He is thirsty yet about to drown. He pleads with God not to allow the depths of the pit to swallow him.

David’s prayers in Psalm 69 were answered. He was pulled out. For the Son of David, God had a different answer.

The death Psalm 69 describes is a fitting image for us to reflect on Christ’s final journey to Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, he stepped purposefully into the muck and mire and allowed himself to sink. On Good Friday, Jesus hung on the cross as the muddy mire of sin itself rose up his neck, over his chin, covered his mouth, nose, and eyes, and he was swallowed up. The monster’s mouth closed over him as the stone rolled over the tomb’s entrance.

God’s answer when we are stuck may be to pull us out, like David. But eventually, we will follow the path of the Son of David. We will be pulled under the muck into death, but that is not the end. That monster’s mouth has been broken, and Jesus himself will take our hand and pull us out.


Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
O Lord, my God, my Savior, by day and night I cry to you. Let my prayer enter into your presence. Psalm 88.1-2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Song of Songs 1 (Listen 2:16)
Psalm 69 (Listen 4:04)

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