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What On Earth...?!?
Joe Killian • May 6, 2016
When I read this week's Gospel I asked myself, "What on earth are you going to say about this one?" The next thing that came to mind was, what an odd expression. What on earth? I Googled it hoping to learn about the expression's origin. What I found were a lot of questions by non-English speakers trying to understand this and various other idioms. Sometimes familiar things cause us to skip over things and take them for granted. This Gospel deserves more of our attention. Check it out.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God. Luke 24:46-53
The disciples have just witnessed Jesus' ascension to heaven. Just a few short weeks before they were completely devastated by His brutal death. Then they were astounded at His resurrection. Now... The disciples have just witnessed Jesus' ascension to heaven! This is totally unprecedented! The disciples have just witnessed Jesus' ascension to heaven!! It bears repeating. THE DISCIPLES HAVE JUST WITNESSED JESUS' ASCENSION TO HEAVEN!!!
What on earth? NOTHING!! There is nothing on earth that compares to the return of the incarnate Jesus to His place in heaven. We can study this like an "idiom" that is foreign to our way of life. But the reality is that there really isn't anything in our world that compares. Therefore, we have to accept it in faith. "What on earth?" was this other-worldly event that happened 2000 years ago. What we believe as Christians should cause others to say, "What on earth?" Think about it again.
The disciples have just witnessed Jesus' ascension to heaven. WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU BELIEVE?!
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
