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35: Loving Through Pain · Finding God at Work

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  (Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, I'm Chris.
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  This is Finding God at Work.
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  Just a reminder that Finding God at Work
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  isn't just a podcast, it's also an online
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  course.
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  Check it out at findinggodatwork.org.
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  Our current series is Meaningful Work, Calling, Formation,
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  Service, and Love.
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  Today in the liturgical calendar, it's Maundy Thursday,
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  which is the day when Christians commemorate Jesus'
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  last meal with his disciples, after which he
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  was arrested and then moving forward into Friday,
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  his crucifixion.
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  And so I wanted to take some time
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  as we're looking at what does it mean
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  to love our teammates at work, to look
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  at how we love people through pain.
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  And when we're experiencing pain and suffering in
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  our personal lives, that definitely affects our energy
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  in the workplace.
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  Or when we're facing pain at work, obviously
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  that's right there in front of us.
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  And how we choose to respond when we
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  face pain makes a world of difference to
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  the people around us.
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  And Jesus is our example here.
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  So as I was thinking about this, I
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  was reflecting back to an earlier season of
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  life that me and Katie were in.
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  We had been married for about three years,
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  and we ended up in the emergency room
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  at Rush downtown.
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  And just some weird symptoms, some pain that
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  Katie was experiencing, we didn't know what was
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  going on, turned into a really long night.
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  And that night was kind of the first
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  night of three straight years of health crisis
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  for Katie.
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  And, you know, the details are more her
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  to share than mine.
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  But we faced one thing after the other.
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  Mental health stuff, physical health stuff, stuff related
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  to earlier stuff she had experienced in childhood,
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  stuff that was new.
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  We joked at some point that she should
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  just get a t-shirt that says comorbidity,
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  which is the technical term when you have
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  a lot of different things going on at
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  the same time.
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  And for me, we were very young, we
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  were still in our early 20s.
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  I was just totally unprepared for this.
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  I did not expect to be in this
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  kind of caregiver role for Katie so early
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  in our marriage.
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  There was this kind of fog of confusion
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  that rolled in.
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  It was really hard for me to pray.
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  It was hard for me to have energy
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  for things like work.
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  Sometimes I would just find myself sitting and
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  staring for a while and kind of have
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  to come back to the moment.
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  And that painful moment in our story became
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  a really spiritually formative time for me.
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  As I learned, rather than running away from
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  the pain that I could actually face into
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  it.
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  I think that's the challenge for us whenever
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  we're in a season of life like that,
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  is not to run away from the pain,
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  but to face into it.
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  And on Monday, Thursday, we have the example
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  of Jesus who can show us how He
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  faced into the pain.
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  And so I want to look at some
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  of the Gospel of Luke and its description
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  of this day in Jesus's life.
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  And I think we see kind of four
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  aspects of how He faced into suffering, and
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  I've phrased them as kind of I statements.
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  This was Jesus's attitude.
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  I'm ready for this.
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  I don't have to fight this.
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  I can love others in the middle of
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  this.
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  And there's something better on the other side
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  of this.
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  Okay, so first I'm ready for this.
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  As Jesus and His disciples are sitting down
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  at the table for what Jesus knows is
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  the last supper He will have with them
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  before His death.
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  He says, I have eagerly desired to eat
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  this Passover with you before I suffer.
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  Jesus knows exactly what's coming.
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  He's ready.
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  He prepares for it.
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  He doesn't run away or avoid the suffering.
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  He's ready for it.
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  Okay, second thing, I don't have to fight
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  this.
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  The difference between Jesus's attitude and the disciples'
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  attitude couldn't be more different.
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  They are not ready for Jesus to suffer,
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  and they've resisted the idea of Jesus suffering
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  earlier in His ministry, and then that's also
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  what happens at the moment that Jesus is
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  arrested.
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  So this is Luke chapter 22, verses 49
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  through 51.
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  When Jesus' followers saw what was going to
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  happen, they said, Lord, should we strike with
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  our swords?
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  And one of them struck the servant of
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  the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
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  But Jesus answered, no more of this.
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  And he touched the man's ear and healed
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  him.
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  If this wasn't such a serious and poignant
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  scene, the disciples' response would be comical.
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  It's so the opposite of what Jesus has
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  been calling them to.
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  They think that, you know, violence is the
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  answer here.
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  And some of them think to ask Jesus.
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  But then one of them, who we know
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  from other accounts is Peter, he just goes
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  ahead and tries to, apparently tries to kill.
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  I mean, you're swinging a sword at somebody's
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  head, that's a lethal move.
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  This soldier, this servant of the high priest,
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  whose ear gets cut off.
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  And yet Jesus, He stops them.
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  He says, no more of this.
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  And then He heals this servant.
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  That posture matches His readiness.
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  Instead of feeling like He has to do
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  whatever He can to avoid suffering, even hurting
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  others, He embraces suffering.
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  He goes willingly with those who are arresting
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  Him.
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  Okay.
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  So, so far, Jesus' attitude, I'm ready for
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  this.
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  I don't have to fight this.
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  And third thing, I can love others in
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  the middle of this.
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  And we know from our reflections on love
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  that to love is to seek the good
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  of the other.
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  But that requires paying attention to others, as
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  we looked at in our last episode.
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  And suffering, if you're like me, when you're
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  suffering, you can be tempted to just really
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  focus on yourself.
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  The suffering draws you away from looking at
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  others, and you just look at what you're
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  going through.
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  But Jesus, in the midst of His suffering,
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  was able to persist in focusing on others,
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  their needs, their desires.
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  He was present to them in the moment,
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  even while He was going through that pain.
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  And so we see this with three particular
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  cases on this night in Jesus' life.
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  First, the high priest servant, the one who
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  got his ear cut off, right?
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  Jesus does a miracle.
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  This is His final miracle before His death
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  and resurrection, is this miraculous healing of His
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  enemy.
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  Unlike many other miracle stories, there's no description
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  of the high priest putting his faith in
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  Jesus here.
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  Since he's taking part in His arrest, we
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  could probably imagine he probably doesn't believe Jesus
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  is the Messiah.
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  Although I wonder what happened to him after
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  this encounter.
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  But Jesus would have been totally within His
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  rights to oppose this enemy, and yet instead
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  He looks at what He needs.
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  He's like, oh, He just got wounded by
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  my hot-headed Peter.
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  He needs healing.
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  Jesus is still moving for the good of
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  others, even at this moment.
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  It's totally unmerited love for this servant of
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  the high priest.
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  As the story goes along toward Jesus' crucifixion,
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  there are other people who, like those soldiers,
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  like the servant of the high priest, are
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  opposed to Jesus.
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  And there's this mixed crowd of Jews and
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  Gentiles who begin mocking Jesus in different ways.
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  So Luke writes, this is in the next
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  chapter, 23, starting on verse 35, Now, the
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  typical response that human beings have when they
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  face this kind of abuse from others is
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  to just wilt in the face of it,
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  or to return it in kind, to condemn
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  those who condemn you, to return contempt with
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  contempt, in kind of angry defiance.
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  But Jesus doesn't do either of those things.
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  He doesn't wilt in response to others' hatred,
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  and He doesn't return hatred for hatred.
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  Instead, He takes an interest in what's going
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  on in these people's souls.
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  Again, He's seeking their good.
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  He prays for them.
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  Father, forgive them, for they do not know
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  what they are doing.
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  That's Luke 23, 34.
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  In His own pain, Jesus takes time to
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  make excuses for the people who are mocking
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  and murdering Him.
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  And then finally, there's the disciple who we've
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  come to know as the thief on the
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  cross.
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  So this is another crucified prisoner right next
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  to Jesus on one of the three crosses
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  there.
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  And he says, Jesus, remember me when you
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  come into your kingdom.
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  That's Luke 23, 42.
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  And Jesus responds, Truly, I tell you, today
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  you will be with me in paradise.
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  Again, Jesus is mustering the attention and the
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  energy needed to love even at His lowest
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  point.
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  And the historical research about crucifixion has shown
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  it was very difficult to speak while you
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  were crucified.
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  It would require pushing yourself up painfully on
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  your nailed feet in order to speak.
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  So Jesus actually embraces that a little bit
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  more suffering in order to respond to the
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  faith of this man next to Him, in
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  order to reassure him that his faith is
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  well-placed, that he will be with Jesus
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  in paradise.
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  So we see these three different cases, the
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  high priest-servant, the soldiers and the mockers,
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  the thief on the cross.
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  Jesus is still focused on loving others in
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  the middle of His suffering.
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  Okay, so those are the three parts so
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  far.
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  Jesus' attitude is, I'm ready for this.
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  I don't have to fight this.
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  I can love others in the middle of
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  this.
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  And then the fourth part, there's something better
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  on the other side of this.
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  Jesus' statement, today you will be with me
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  in paradise, shows that Jesus is still confident
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  in the power of God.
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  Jesus knows that the story is not over
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  on Good Friday, but that God's life will
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  still have the final word, that resurrection Sunday
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  is coming.
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  He trusts himself, he entrusts himself to God,
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  who he knows will vindicate him.
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  That's really important.
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  Jesus would not be able to have this
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  attitude of readiness, of not having to fight,
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  of loving others, unless he was confident something
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  better is coming.
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  So now let's think about how we can
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  practice this.
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  When you face pain, maybe it's in your
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  personal life and that's sapping your energy in
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  the workplace, or maybe it's a challenge right
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  there at work, maybe a work project that's
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  going the wrong way, maybe a relationship at
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  work that just doesn't have the trust it
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  needs, maybe a boss or superior who's treating
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  you unfairly.
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  While you're facing that pain, what would it
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  look like to adopt the attitude of I'm
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  ready for this, I don't have to fight
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  this, I can love others in the middle
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  of this, and there's something better on the
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  other side of this.
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  Take some time this week, meditate on Jesus'
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  life, his death, the hope of his resurrection,
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  and ask him to show you how you
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  can live that out, even in the midst
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  of pain in the workplace.
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  Thank you, Jesus, that you went to the
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  cross for us.
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  Thank you that you draw us into a
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  life like yours, a life of love, even
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  when it hurts.
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  Give us that power beyond normal human attitudes
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  to choose what we didn't choose, to love
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  you and love others, even in the midst
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  of pain.
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  Jesus, do your work in us as we
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  do our work with you.
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  Thanks for listening.
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  Finding God at Work is a production of
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  Mission Central, a ministry based in Aurora, Illinois,
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  dedicated to forming Christians for mission in everyday
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  life.
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  podcast series, read our blog, and get info
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  about upcoming courses on faith in the workplace,
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