Some of the most difficult moments of any relationship are those moments when it seems that one of the parties happens to be sending mixed messages.
     Just recently my daughter-in-law was having a birthday. Her two youngest sons (our beautiful grandchildren) decided that they wanted to do something nice for their mom. So they decided to make her a birthday cake. The boys found the mixing bowl in the cupboard and the spoons from the utensil drawer and they were ready to make good things.
     But the ‘good things’ were hard in the making. They had watched their mom bake a cake several times so they knew where the flour was located. But it seems that is all they had observed. They found the flour bags (I say bags because neither boy could read and the flour bags included sugar). But there was a problem; the boys had no idea how much to use or what to put with it. This did not stop them, however, and they continued to mix away!
     By the time my daughter-in-law discovered her sons’ actions, there was white flour and sugar mixture all over the kitchen cupboards, the kitchen and dining room floors and even some tell tale white footprints on the living room carpet.
     We were “blessed” to see all of this because our daughter-in-law had the presence of mind to grab the video camera instead of the spanking spoon. In the opening few seconds of the video clip one can clearly see that the boys were expecting the latter. Because it seemed that although they wanted to do something nice for their mom they were at this moment aware that it had turned out badly and they were sure that they were really going to get it! Instead mom was getting this on tape.
     How fun it was to see the relief come upon those flour covered faces.
     As a grandfather who is theologically trained, I was concerned. I was concerned because to me it looked like there were mixed messages being sent here. The boys had done a naughty thing, though well intentioned, and it seemed discipline was in order. But the camera was out and it appeared that the discipline giver was entering into their mischief. In fact as the boys attempted to ‘clean up,’ mom even got some of the spilled mixture on herself.
     But then I remembered the relief on those little faces, and I thought; “Lighten up, Jerry, this is precisely the way God deals with humanity”
     I think of this especially at this time of the year as we are approaching Easter. It seems in so many ways that in the person and mission of Jesus there were mixed messages too and some of them were directly responsible for his death.
     By mixed messages I mean those expectations of human beings that were somehow unfulfilled by the ‘deficient’ acts of God.  Jesus was proclaimed a king but he was born in a stable. Jesus was proclaimed the Messiah and yet he allowed himself to be persecuted. Jesus said he was the good shepherd and yet he allowed himself to be put on trial by those who refused to follow. Jesus was proclaimed to be the son of God but he died like an ordinary man and was buried.   
     But the wonder of it all is that this was God’s plan from the beginning. God enters into the mess of spilled human endeavor to somehow please God. God understands that human beings don’t have the slightest idea as to how to mix those pleasing moments together. They don’t even know to follow the recipe. No matter how hard they try, things only get messier.
     God’s greatest act of love and grace is that he came to enter into our mess by identifying with us and becoming one like us…even getting our mess upon himself. He suffered the punishment we deserved. He carried the load of our guilt completely. He mixed it with his poured out blood and broken body and said… “It is Finished!”  And in three days when the ‘oven‘ of the tomb was burst open, the beautiful Bread of Life was made known.
     This is not a mixed message but a marvelous message. I pray the truth and power of this message is yours this Easter.