Cultivate

The Nudge for November 23rd

Hey there, welcome to the Nudge – we’re going with the text version again! We normally put out a weekly video to encourage deeper conversations between friends, but I (Sean) am still on the path to getting better, and I thought I’d give it a go writing again!

The thought behind this is that you and a friend or two can read this when you have time during the week, and then get together and talk through the related discussion questions.

It could be over coffee, on your lunch break, taking a walk after work, maybe over the phone on your commute home.

Today’s Nudge is based on Thursday’s Scripture Reading, John 20:11-18.

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Mary, heartbroken over losing her teacher and Lord, goes to the tomb. Not understanding the moment, she things that they have taken the body of Jesus. Even as He converses with her, she is lost in distraction, assuming he was the gardener.

But notice what turns her head: Jesus calls her by name, in that familiar way. The voice of the One who spoke to her freedom to her fears. The One who in His same words declared her forgiveness, her value, her identity.

“Mary.”

In the same way, I must be called back from my distractions, my fears, and uncertainties. At times I am as lost as Mary Magdalene, wandering places of the dead, looking for something. And Christ in His mercy calls my name.

I’m so grateful this Thanksgiving season for the One who called my name, and still calls me back to Him. Be blessed, my friends!

The Nudge for November 16th

Hey there, welcome to the Nudge – the UN-VIDEO version! We normally put out a weekly video to encourage deeper conversations between friends. Well as you have probably noticed, the flu is going around pretty forcefully, and that includes me (Sean)! So I can at least type.

The thought behind this is that you and a friend or two can read this when you have time during the week, and then get together and talk through the related discussion questions.

It could be over coffee, on your lunch break, taking a walk after work, maybe over the phone on your commute home.

Today’s Nudge is based on today’s Scripture Reading, Matthew 21:1-11. You can read that here.

What you’ll see in the passage is Jesus’ disciples bringing a donkey and a colt from town to Jesus, who rides them into town. This fulfills ancient words from the Israelite prophet Zachariah, who spoke of their King riding in gentle on a donkey.

A crowd forms and is elated, spreading cloaks and branches on the road. Their Savior is here! Hosanna! Save us!

But we know a few days later, Jesus is arrested, tried, convicted, and crucified. The crowds that had once shouted, “Hosanna! Save us!” switch to “Give us Barrabas! Crucify Jesus!”

What were they looking for? A King who would ride victorious, crushing Rome in its path? It is likely. But God had other intentions. He was looking to overthrow captive hearts, and free us from sin and death. And that required the suffering Messiah, who humbly took our place.

What does this mean for us? Well, for one, that we might be forever grateful. Secondly, though – have there been times when among one crowd you have shouted, “Hosanna!” only to find yourself in a different position later? Disappointed in God? Unsure? Doubting?

You aren’t alone. The crowd in that time was there, too. Every disciple as well. I include myself in that bunch. What matters most is what you do in a moment of despair and disappointment. May the grace of God lead us back to the heart that cries out, “Jesus, save us!”

Have a blessed week my friends.