Living Intentionally: Embracing Wholeness Through Christ

 

Summary

In reflecting on the concept of "memento mori," we are reminded of the brevity of life and the inevitability of death. This phrase, meaning "remember that you must die," serves as a call to live intentionally, much like Jesus did. Jesus lived with the awareness of his impending death, focusing not on earthly accomplishments but on fulfilling his Father's will. His life was a testament to living with purpose, as he dedicated himself to revealing God's nature and expectations to humanity.

Isaiah 52 and 53 offer a prophetic eulogy of Jesus' life and mission, written centuries before his birth. This passage highlights the unexpected nature of the Messiah, who did not fit the anticipated image of a warrior king. Instead, Jesus came in humility, without the physical attributes or grandeur that people expected. His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, rather than a mighty steed, exemplified his humble approach. Despite the lack of recognition and the betrayal by those closest to him, Jesus remained silent and steadfast, trusting in God's plan.

Jesus' death was necessary to bear our infirmities and transgressions, offering us wholeness and peace—shalom. This wholeness is not merely physical but encompasses every aspect of life, including our relationship with God. Jesus' sacrifice was not about condemnation but about love and redemption. He willingly took on our messes, offering forgiveness and healing. His death and resurrection provide a path to true wholeness, a state we cannot achieve on our own.

As we remember Jesus' sacrifice, we are called to acknowledge our own messes and seek forgiveness. Jesus' work on the cross is likened to a "poo crew," cleaning up the messes we create and disposing of them properly. His death was not the end, as we know the good news of Easter is coming. Yet, on Good Friday, we pause to remember the significance of his death and the wholeness it brings to our lives.

Key Takeaways:

- Memento Mori and Intentional Living: Embracing the concept of "memento mori" encourages us to live with purpose, just as Jesus did. His life was not about accumulating wealth or status but about fulfilling God's will and revealing His nature to humanity. This intentional living calls us to focus on what truly matters. [00:00]

- The Unexpected Messiah: Jesus defied expectations by coming in humility rather than grandeur. His life and appearance did not match the anticipated image of a warrior king, yet he was exalted and recognized as the most important person who ever lived. This challenges us to look beyond appearances and recognize the divine in the unexpected. [03:11]

- Silent Trust and Sacrifice: Jesus' silent endurance of suffering exemplifies his trust in God's plan. Despite the betrayal and humiliation, he did not retaliate but remained steadfast, demonstrating the power of silent trust and sacrificial love. This invites us to trust God in our own trials. [05:29]

- Wholeness Through Jesus: Jesus' death was necessary to bring us wholeness—shalom. This wholeness encompasses every aspect of life, including our relationship with God. Without Jesus, our efforts to achieve peace and prosperity fall short, but through him, we find true fulfillment. [12:46]

- Redemption and Forgiveness: Jesus' sacrifice cleanses us from our messes, offering forgiveness and healing. His work on the cross is a reminder that we are not defined by our mistakes but by the redemption he provides. This encourages us to seek forgiveness and embrace the wholeness he offers. [19:57]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:30] - Memento Mori: Living with Purpose
- [01:45] - Jesus' Intentional Life
- [03:11] - The Unexpected Messiah
- [05:29] - Silent Trust and Sacrifice
- [07:00] - The Prophetic Eulogy
- [08:30] - Wholeness Through Jesus
- [10:40] - The Necessity of Jesus' Death
- [12:46] - Shalom: True Wholeness
- [14:45] - Redemption and Forgiveness
- [16:00] - The Messes We Create
- [17:30] - Jesus' Cleansing Work
- [19:57] - Reflecting on Good Friday
- [21:00] - Closing Prayer

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12

Observation Questions:
1. How does the concept of "memento mori" influence the way Jesus lived his life according to the sermon? [00:00]
2. What unexpected characteristics of the Messiah are highlighted in Isaiah 52 and 53, and how did Jesus embody these traits? [03:11]
3. In what ways did Jesus demonstrate silent trust and sacrificial love during his suffering? [05:29]
4. How does the sermon describe the wholeness, or "shalom," that Jesus' death brings to believers? [12:46]

Interpretation Questions:
1. What does it mean to live intentionally with the awareness of "memento mori," and how can this perspective change one's priorities? [00:00]
2. How does Jesus' humble entrance into Jerusalem challenge common expectations of leadership and power? [03:11]
3. In what ways does Jesus' silent endurance of suffering serve as a model for trusting God's plan in difficult times? [05:29]
4. How does the concept of "shalom" redefine the idea of peace and wholeness in the context of Jesus' sacrifice? [12:46]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your own life: Are there areas where you are not living intentionally? How can the concept of "memento mori" help you refocus on what truly matters? [00:00]
2. Consider a situation where you might have judged someone based on appearances. How can Jesus' example of humility encourage you to look beyond the surface? [03:11]
3. Think of a current trial you are facing. How can Jesus' example of silent trust inspire you to rely more on God's plan? [05:29]
4. Identify an area in your life where you feel incomplete or lacking peace. How can you invite Jesus' "shalom" into that area to find true wholeness? [12:46]
5. Reflect on a personal "mess" or mistake. How can you embrace the forgiveness and redemption offered by Jesus to move forward? [19:57]
6. How can you incorporate the practice of remembering Jesus' sacrifice into your daily routine, especially during challenging times? [19:57]
7. As Easter approaches, what steps can you take to prepare your heart to fully embrace the resurrection and the new life it promises? [19:57]

Devotional

Day 1: Living with Purpose in Light of Mortality
Reflecting on the concept of "memento mori," we are reminded of the brevity of life and the inevitability of death. This phrase, meaning "remember that you must die," serves as a call to live intentionally, much like Jesus did. Jesus lived with the awareness of his impending death, focusing not on earthly accomplishments but on fulfilling his Father's will. His life was a testament to living with purpose, as he dedicated himself to revealing God's nature and expectations to humanity. Embracing the concept of "memento mori" encourages us to live with purpose, just as Jesus did. His life was not about accumulating wealth or status but about fulfilling God's will and revealing His nature to humanity. This intentional living calls us to focus on what truly matters. [00:00]

"For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding." (1 Chronicles 29:15, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can begin to live more intentionally, focusing on what truly matters in light of eternity?


Day 2: Recognizing the Divine in the Unexpected
Isaiah 52 and 53 offer a prophetic eulogy of Jesus' life and mission, written centuries before his birth. This passage highlights the unexpected nature of the Messiah, who did not fit the anticipated image of a warrior king. Instead, Jesus came in humility, without the physical attributes or grandeur that people expected. His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, rather than a mighty steed, exemplified his humble approach. Despite the lack of recognition and the betrayal by those closest to him, Jesus remained silent and steadfast, trusting in God's plan. Jesus defied expectations by coming in humility rather than grandeur. His life and appearance did not match the anticipated image of a warrior king, yet he was exalted and recognized as the most important person who ever lived. This challenges us to look beyond appearances and recognize the divine in the unexpected. [03:11]

"He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him." (Isaiah 53:2, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a situation or person in your life where you might be missing the divine because it doesn't meet your expectations. How can you open your heart to see God's work in the unexpected?


Day 3: Trusting God Through Silent Endurance
Jesus' silent endurance of suffering exemplifies his trust in God's plan. Despite the betrayal and humiliation, he did not retaliate but remained steadfast, demonstrating the power of silent trust and sacrificial love. This invites us to trust God in our own trials. Jesus' silent endurance of suffering exemplifies his trust in God's plan. Despite the betrayal and humiliation, he did not retaliate but remained steadfast, demonstrating the power of silent trust and sacrificial love. This invites us to trust God in our own trials. [05:29]

"But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth." (Psalm 38:13, ESV)

Reflection: In what current trial or challenge can you practice silent trust, choosing to rely on God's plan rather than your own understanding?


Day 4: Finding Wholeness Through Jesus
Jesus' death was necessary to bear our infirmities and transgressions, offering us wholeness and peace—shalom. This wholeness is not merely physical but encompasses every aspect of life, including our relationship with God. Jesus' sacrifice was not about condemnation but about love and redemption. He willingly took on our messes, offering forgiveness and healing. His death and resurrection provide a path to true wholeness, a state we cannot achieve on our own. Jesus' death was necessary to bring us wholeness—shalom. This wholeness encompasses every aspect of life, including our relationship with God. Without Jesus, our efforts to achieve peace and prosperity fall short, but through him, we find true fulfillment. [12:46]

"For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility." (Ephesians 2:14, ESV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels fragmented or incomplete? How can you invite Jesus into that space to bring His wholeness and peace?


Day 5: Embracing Redemption and Forgiveness
As we remember Jesus' sacrifice, we are called to acknowledge our own messes and seek forgiveness. Jesus' work on the cross is likened to a "poo crew," cleaning up the messes we create and disposing of them properly. His death was not the end, as we know the good news of Easter is coming. Yet, on Good Friday, we pause to remember the significance of his death and the wholeness it brings to our lives. Jesus' sacrifice cleanses us from our messes, offering forgiveness and healing. His work on the cross is a reminder that we are not defined by our mistakes but by the redemption he provides. This encourages us to seek forgiveness and embrace the wholeness he offers. [19:57]

"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities." (Psalm 103:10, ESV)

Reflection: Identify a mistake or sin that you have been holding onto. How can you bring this to Jesus today, seeking His forgiveness and embracing the redemption He offers?

Quotes

I wonder if you've ever heard the phrase memento mori it is Latin for remember that you must die it is said to remind us of the brevity of life the inevitability of death and the need to live intentionally in monasteries around the world there are rooms where the skulls and bones of those who live there are displayed as a daily reminder a popular tattoo includes the phrase memento mori along with the skull and or an hourglass to remind a person that every moment matters Jesus lived with memento mori at the front of his mind he knew he was going to have a short time on this earth he knew his death was inevitable and necessary we don't know much about the first three decades of his life but we know a fair amount about the last three years years you [00:00:01]

Isaiah tells a story of judgment and a story of hope. This hope is in a Messiah who will save Israel from its captors and bring them home from exile. But this hope is not just for Israel, it is for all the people of the world, and in fact, for all of creation. In the first section, 52, verse 13 to 53, verse 2, we discover a Messiah who did not look the way that was expected. He was expected to be a great warrior. We would expect him to catch your attention when you walked by. But he gave up his heavenly appearance and wasn't recognized for his importance. [00:02:26]

In fact, in 53 verse 2, we read that he had no form or majesty that we should look at him. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Think back to when Jesus first started his ministry. When he chose his disciples, Philip was trying to persuade Nathanael that he found the Messiah. But Nathanael said to him, can anything good come from Nazareth? Even where Jesus grew up was unimportant. And yet, the opposite was also true. Jesus was more than anyone expected. After Jesus' death and resurrection, he was recognized as way more amazing than anyone imagined. [00:03:16]

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday and we remember a few days before Jesus died when he entered Jerusalem into streets lined with people waving palm branches lining the streets with their cloaks and with their praises looking to him as the one who would save them from the evil Romans and the oppressive power but rather than entering on a mighty steed towering above the crowd with fine robes and a sword at his side he entered on a donkey. I once rode a pony and I'm a fairly tall person and might were dragging on the ground and I always have that picture in my mind of Jesus being on this donkey and his feet dragging on the ground it just doesn't sound very kingly to me [00:04:49]

He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shears is silent he did not open his mouth i spent quite a bit of time with this passage this week as you heard at the beginning i am a shepherd i have a small flock of eight sheep and sheep are quiet only if they're content and their bellies are full they are not the rest of the time if i have a bucket in my hand they start yelling at me and create honestly a deafening noise especially in an enclosed space also if we try to do anything to them like even to help them you know they have something stuck on them a burr in their fur [00:07:40]

Jesus, our lamb, loves us so much that he would go along with the crowds, endure the beatings, and even be hung on the cross without a physical or verbal fight, because he knew to look to his father whom he trusted fully. He knew they had a plan together, and he knew this had to happen, and so he went, willingly and quietly to his death. To steal a line from N .T. Wright, our God did not hate the world so much that he killed his son. Rather, God loved the world so much that he gave his son. And I would add, the son went willingly. He understood that he must die, and he understood why he must die. [00:09:43]

Upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. Jesus needed to die. To beat all these things that take the life God planned for us, away from us. He needed to die. He needed to die. He needed to die. die to remove the power of all that separates us from God. He took our infirmities and carried our diseases. Jesus came to carry for us to understand our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual anguish and put this on himself. The soldiers and the crowds and even his disciples thought that Jesus was defeated, but he made the choice to suffer these atrocities for us, to make us whole. [00:10:40]

Jesus suffered all of this to give us shalom, to make us whole in every sense of the word, in every part of our life, in every relationship, and especially in our relationship with God. We cannot find wholeness without God. We try it all the time. Humans have been trying to be happy and prosperous from the beginning of time, but without God we mess it up. We instead create H -O -L -E holes, holes that trip us, holes that keep us from others and from God. But Jesus came to make the opposite true. Jesus came to heal the H -O -L -E holes in our life so that we could accept and we can give love and forgiveness and peace and prosperity. [00:12:03]

Jesus came and died so that we could experience the W -H -O -L -E, wholeness of God. In our life now and in our life to come even more when Jesus comes back and makes all creation new. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have all turned to our own way and the Lord has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. Sheep are not smart. Without fences and a shepherd to keep them within a small area and away from danger, they would wander off and get lost or eaten. We cannot have shalom, we cannot be whole without Jesus. All human efforts to do this have led to selfishness, deceitfulness, war and creation in crisis. [00:13:20]

Many people have destroyed in the name of Jesus. The genocide of people, groups, murder, and slavery have all been justified by those supposed followers of Jesus. But would our Jesus, who suffered the humiliating death on the cross silently to give the world shalom, would he really support what those people did? Absolutely not. He showed us a way to live in humility, serving others, and being willing to sacrifice our physical and even mental comforts to bring wholeness to this world. [00:14:44]

Good safe pasture of our God we have tried to do things our way we have tried to be kind and helpful and create a better world but somehow selfishness and anger and greed creep in and distort what even the kindest try to do but if we turn to Jesus he takes all our mistakes on him he takes the blame for our mess and says you are forgiven I see what you did I see your desire to fix it and I will help you in the last section of this passage in verse 11 we read out of his anguish he shall see he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge the righteous one my servant shall make many righteous and he shall bear their iniquities [00:15:14]

Death on a cross was meant to humiliate, and it was meant to serve as a warning for others. In fact, many of the victims of crucifixion were left on the cross for days so that other people could see and make sure they did not stand up against the Romans. However, family and friends could request to bury the bodies, and this is what happened with Jesus' body. God moved the heart of two secret followers of Jesus, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night, and Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph put Jesus' body in his own tomb. We don't know a lot about this man. [00:17:23]

With the rich although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth now we are Easter people so we know this tomb is not Jesus final resting place we know good news is coming but today is Good Friday and we don't want to get ahead of ourselves today is the day that we remember Jesus had to die today we remember that he did die he hung on the cross until his heart stopped beating his brainwaves ceased his breathing stopped the lamb was truly silent now Jesus resolved to come and do his father's will had been completed Jesus lived with memento mori in mind he lived to remember that he must die and his purpose for dying was clear he took on our pain [00:18:27]

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Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?