Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15
Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,
through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the
message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in
vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had
received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the
scriptures,
and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.*
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me.
For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not
been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though
it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Observation:
Paul was sent to the Gentile world, religious outsiders, non-Jews- people who were not educated in the story of God and the faith of the Jewish people. He was sent to share their message about Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi who was killed by the Romans for a crime he didn't commit. He was raised from the dead and appeared to his followers. Paul himself, a persecutor of the Christians, encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was on that road to find and arrest followers of Jesus who were spreading "the lie" about his resurrection. Then, Paul has a vision. He sees Jesus. And is struck blind. He is led to a city, where a disciple of Jesus tends to him and heals his blindness. And that changes the direction of his life. He was not part of Jesus' inner circle, was an opponent to the Christian community. And then, something happened to him that turned him around 180 degrees. He became the most important figure in 1st century Christianity, and the writer of 2/3 of the New Testament. Paul made the Jewish story of salvation accessible to everyone. Because he believed if this was good news for him, it was good news for everybody.
Application:
Anyone can become part of what God is doing to rescue the world from the powers of evil, suffering, and death . The firmest opponent, anti-church person can become an integral part of the gospel mission. Paul had a kairos, as one untimely born, and it changed his life. Nobody is beyond the reach of Jesus, who desires that everyone experience the power and freedom of his resurrection. What would the church be without Paul's ministry, witness, and writings? We all know someone who is not a "church person". So, what good news do we have to offer people? What kairos experiences of God's grace might we share? Where have we seen the risen Jesus changing hearts and minds, inviting people into his life, giving peace and healing and love? What great mercy work do we get to participate in and share with others?
Prayer
Jesus, 2,000 years later you still come to us. We see you. In the homeless mother; In the hospice nurse's compassionate care; in the lives of our friends doing what they can to serve their neighbors. Help us to recognize you among us and tell others who and what we see. Amen.
Friday, April 01, 2016
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Go
Scripture: Matthew 28
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Observation:
Jesus was crucified by the Romans and buried by his friends. The following Sunday, the tomb is empty and he appears alive to his followers. Men and women. He has a glorified body, a different kind of body, wounded and healed. He has broken the bonds of death. His resurrection tells us that his life's work is ongoing, never-ending, and completely confirmed as right ad good and true---universally--for all people in all times and places. Because his way and words and works were love, healing, forgiveness, mercy, peace, healing, friendship, sacrifice, welcome. His way is the best way to be human in the world. Some do not agree with that characterization. I suspect the church's pale version of his love or outright perversion of his gospel over the centuries has done considerable damage to his message and reputation.
At the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gathers with his disciples on the mountain. (Same place he taught the sermon on the Mount--see Matthew 5-8). According to Matthew, his resurrection was divine authorization to continue the mission through the lives of his followers. These people worshiped him and doubted. Doubters and worshipers. Sounds like church. Jesus sends these people to make disciples. Perpetuate his work by teaching others, showing others what he had taught and shown them. Spread the love by loving others as he loved them. Baptizing, reaffirm their birthright as God's beloved children. Remind them that they are born children of the heavenly Father. Adopt them as daughters and sons. Wash away the stain of sin. And teach them to obey. Notice he doesn't promise them success or acclaim or greatness. Notice, he will not measure them by how well they accomplish them mission. He just promises to be with them always.
Application
The church's mission is not to erect buildings. It is not even to gather for worship. It is not to convince doubters that they are saved. It is to make disciples. Only disciples can make disciples. So, what did he teach? What were his ways? We must become learners. Imitators. Apprentices to Jesus. We won't get it right. Our imperfections and mistakes are anticipated. It's why he was so forgiving and why he chose uneducated fishermen. If they could do it, anyone can. So it is with me and you. If I can do this, anyone can. What can we do as disciples of Jesus?
Jesus healed and fed people. He accompanied and showed compassion to abandoned, ignored, rejected, and despised people. He saw their pain, their fear, and their anxiety. He comforted them. He freed people from blindness, paralysis, prejudice, animosities, and distrust. He told stories.
Maybe we can do these things? Why don't we start with food. Easy enough. We feed people, especially hungry people. We don't have to count how many people we feed. We don't have to publicize or start a program to do this. One person. Show the love of Jesus to one person. See what happens.
We are learning together in huddle what it is to be a disciple of Jesus who makes disciples of Jesus. Persist. Practice. Ask. Reflect. What is Jesus about? How can I be about that, too?
Prayer
Lord, help us to trust your ways and be like you. What can we do today to show that we are your disciples, your apprentices? Amen.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
Observation:
Jesus was crucified by the Romans and buried by his friends. The following Sunday, the tomb is empty and he appears alive to his followers. Men and women. He has a glorified body, a different kind of body, wounded and healed. He has broken the bonds of death. His resurrection tells us that his life's work is ongoing, never-ending, and completely confirmed as right ad good and true---universally--for all people in all times and places. Because his way and words and works were love, healing, forgiveness, mercy, peace, healing, friendship, sacrifice, welcome. His way is the best way to be human in the world. Some do not agree with that characterization. I suspect the church's pale version of his love or outright perversion of his gospel over the centuries has done considerable damage to his message and reputation.
At the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gathers with his disciples on the mountain. (Same place he taught the sermon on the Mount--see Matthew 5-8). According to Matthew, his resurrection was divine authorization to continue the mission through the lives of his followers. These people worshiped him and doubted. Doubters and worshipers. Sounds like church. Jesus sends these people to make disciples. Perpetuate his work by teaching others, showing others what he had taught and shown them. Spread the love by loving others as he loved them. Baptizing, reaffirm their birthright as God's beloved children. Remind them that they are born children of the heavenly Father. Adopt them as daughters and sons. Wash away the stain of sin. And teach them to obey. Notice he doesn't promise them success or acclaim or greatness. Notice, he will not measure them by how well they accomplish them mission. He just promises to be with them always.
Application
The church's mission is not to erect buildings. It is not even to gather for worship. It is not to convince doubters that they are saved. It is to make disciples. Only disciples can make disciples. So, what did he teach? What were his ways? We must become learners. Imitators. Apprentices to Jesus. We won't get it right. Our imperfections and mistakes are anticipated. It's why he was so forgiving and why he chose uneducated fishermen. If they could do it, anyone can. So it is with me and you. If I can do this, anyone can. What can we do as disciples of Jesus?
Jesus healed and fed people. He accompanied and showed compassion to abandoned, ignored, rejected, and despised people. He saw their pain, their fear, and their anxiety. He comforted them. He freed people from blindness, paralysis, prejudice, animosities, and distrust. He told stories.
Maybe we can do these things? Why don't we start with food. Easy enough. We feed people, especially hungry people. We don't have to count how many people we feed. We don't have to publicize or start a program to do this. One person. Show the love of Jesus to one person. See what happens.
We are learning together in huddle what it is to be a disciple of Jesus who makes disciples of Jesus. Persist. Practice. Ask. Reflect. What is Jesus about? How can I be about that, too?
Prayer
Lord, help us to trust your ways and be like you. What can we do today to show that we are your disciples, your apprentices? Amen.
by his wounds, we are healed
Scripture: Romans 7
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
Observation:
I said yesterday that I would write a little something about the human condition, Sin and goodness. Easter faith is couched within a certain understanding of the human situation. It is, after all, a Jewish story involving Sin, guilt, punishment, forgiveness, and redemption.
In the letter to the Romans, Paul is making a case for the death and resurrection of Jesus as an antidote for Sin. Paul is describing his personal inner struggle, a universal struggle to know and do what is right and good. Paul is describing the human condition from a Jewish, biblical, theological perspective. Jews and Christians believe that humans are made in God's image, there is goodness in our DNA; and we are tragically flawed creatures. (See Genesis chapter 1-11). We are capable of disobeying God and our own best inner voices. We will kill in anger or envy when our egos are wounded. Hatred is a kind of spiritual killing, isn't it? We will sometimes ignore the right thing to do what is easy or safe or pleasing or more comfortable. We will remain silent in the face of great injustice. And we can often know the difference between right and wrong, what is just and unjust, good or evil. Jews believe that their God gave them a law (commandments, see Exodus-Deuteronomy). This law set them apart as God's holy people, called into obedience as a sign of loyalty to this God. But the people ignored the law. Despite all that their God had done for them to secure their freedom and provision. Sin, the condition that causes disobedience, could not be remedied by knowledge of God's law or by communal accountability. National, systemic injustice plagued them as much as personal sins against one another.
In Romans, Paul is describing this dual nature of the human mind and body---divided between what is Godly and what is Sin. Sin is a condition of the heart and mind, an infection of sorts, that plagues all humanity. It is a denial of God and the right way of God that has been revealed through the law of God (commandments) to God's people. Sin distorts the law. Sin ignores responsibility and rules and abuses freedom. Sin is greater than immoral behavior or bad choices. Those things are "symptoms of the disease." Sin is also corporate, national, and systemic. Doing away with "bad people" does not reduce or eliminate the infection. In fact, it multiplies its effect.
Talk about Sin is unpopular today. Some Christian leaders deny it, refuse to discuss it because they think that people don't want to be told how bad they are. I disagree. The Jewish/ Christian story compels us to wrestle with the flawed human condition---to see the world through the lens of sin, and injustice. There is something beautiful about our flaws though. We are like God, but we are not God. We are capable of such goodness, such sadness, such anger, such passion, such mercy, and such depravity. We are individuals and we share a common, universal truth---no one is without Sin.
Application
The story of Jesus is set within a particular theological anthropology---a way of thinking about God and the human condition. That way of thinking has lasted thousands of years because it resonates universally with so many people. There is one God. That God is the good creator. But creation is imperfect, flawed, distorted. Why? Because it had to be. In order for God to be God, that which God made could not be confused with divinity. The gift of imperfection is that we can know God---that which is greater than all things. Sin is easily identifiable and seemingly incurable. Certainly inescapable. And yet the story of Jesus teaches us that "goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death." (Bishop Desmond Tutu). The biblical God provides a way out, an antidote. It is found in Jesus. And distributed through the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of communion. "By his wounds, we are healed". If we deny Sin, we do not need Jesus or salvation. But denying an illness, living with the symptoms, and ignoring a cure does not seem like a way to live. There is another way.
Prayer
Lord, we are sinners. And we are made in your image. And because of Jesus we are set right. Reborn. Renewed. Reconciled. Restored. Help us to do what is right. And help us to be grateful for the gift of forgiveness when we don't. Amen.
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
Observation:
I said yesterday that I would write a little something about the human condition, Sin and goodness. Easter faith is couched within a certain understanding of the human situation. It is, after all, a Jewish story involving Sin, guilt, punishment, forgiveness, and redemption.
In the letter to the Romans, Paul is making a case for the death and resurrection of Jesus as an antidote for Sin. Paul is describing his personal inner struggle, a universal struggle to know and do what is right and good. Paul is describing the human condition from a Jewish, biblical, theological perspective. Jews and Christians believe that humans are made in God's image, there is goodness in our DNA; and we are tragically flawed creatures. (See Genesis chapter 1-11). We are capable of disobeying God and our own best inner voices. We will kill in anger or envy when our egos are wounded. Hatred is a kind of spiritual killing, isn't it? We will sometimes ignore the right thing to do what is easy or safe or pleasing or more comfortable. We will remain silent in the face of great injustice. And we can often know the difference between right and wrong, what is just and unjust, good or evil. Jews believe that their God gave them a law (commandments, see Exodus-Deuteronomy). This law set them apart as God's holy people, called into obedience as a sign of loyalty to this God. But the people ignored the law. Despite all that their God had done for them to secure their freedom and provision. Sin, the condition that causes disobedience, could not be remedied by knowledge of God's law or by communal accountability. National, systemic injustice plagued them as much as personal sins against one another.
In Romans, Paul is describing this dual nature of the human mind and body---divided between what is Godly and what is Sin. Sin is a condition of the heart and mind, an infection of sorts, that plagues all humanity. It is a denial of God and the right way of God that has been revealed through the law of God (commandments) to God's people. Sin distorts the law. Sin ignores responsibility and rules and abuses freedom. Sin is greater than immoral behavior or bad choices. Those things are "symptoms of the disease." Sin is also corporate, national, and systemic. Doing away with "bad people" does not reduce or eliminate the infection. In fact, it multiplies its effect.
Talk about Sin is unpopular today. Some Christian leaders deny it, refuse to discuss it because they think that people don't want to be told how bad they are. I disagree. The Jewish/ Christian story compels us to wrestle with the flawed human condition---to see the world through the lens of sin, and injustice. There is something beautiful about our flaws though. We are like God, but we are not God. We are capable of such goodness, such sadness, such anger, such passion, such mercy, and such depravity. We are individuals and we share a common, universal truth---no one is without Sin.
Application
The story of Jesus is set within a particular theological anthropology---a way of thinking about God and the human condition. That way of thinking has lasted thousands of years because it resonates universally with so many people. There is one God. That God is the good creator. But creation is imperfect, flawed, distorted. Why? Because it had to be. In order for God to be God, that which God made could not be confused with divinity. The gift of imperfection is that we can know God---that which is greater than all things. Sin is easily identifiable and seemingly incurable. Certainly inescapable. And yet the story of Jesus teaches us that "goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death." (Bishop Desmond Tutu). The biblical God provides a way out, an antidote. It is found in Jesus. And distributed through the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of communion. "By his wounds, we are healed". If we deny Sin, we do not need Jesus or salvation. But denying an illness, living with the symptoms, and ignoring a cure does not seem like a way to live. There is another way.
Prayer
Lord, we are sinners. And we are made in your image. And because of Jesus we are set right. Reborn. Renewed. Reconciled. Restored. Help us to do what is right. And help us to be grateful for the gift of forgiveness when we don't. Amen.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
believing is seeing
Scripture: John 20
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
But Thomas (who was called the Twin*), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
Observation:
The Easter experience was initially articulated as frightening, unbelievable, strange, and unexpected. That Jesus died and was somehow alive again destroyed the natural order of things and upset those who were closest to him in ways that demonstrate their inability to believe the impossible. They are, after all, only human. And they were experiencing something abnormal and inexplicable. He was somehow the same and different. He was a physical body with wounds. And he could somehow pass through solid walls. He was present and absent to them at the same time. He was recognizable as Jesus and also unrecognizable. His resurrected body was both old and new to them.
Some might argue that the first "believers" were somehow in a collective state of denial or a dissociative mental state, whereby they "experienced" Jesus as both alive and dead at the same time. Psychology may suggest that their experience was of a community mourning. But then we read the story above. They didn't all share the same Easter experience, and yet they did all come to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Most of them would stake their lives on it.
Thomas, one of the 12, was not with them in the room when Jesus first appeared to his disciples on Easter night. They were afraid that they would be accused and punished as associates of Jesus. They were so afraid that they remained behind locked doors. Where was Thomas? Why was he absent from the group? He refused to believe the others' story about Jesus. Without physical evidence and proof, he could not believe it. He sounds like any reasonable person in their right mind responding to this story. Seeing is believing.
But a week later, he experiences the physical presence of Jesus. And Thomas interprets this experience as a God-moment, a kairos. All he can say is "O My Lord and O my God."
The gospel writers reported the experience with little interpretation or assignment of meaning. What they could say was Jesus was alive. The tomb was empty. He was raised. "I have seen the Lord" was the first Easter sermon, given by a woman named Mary Magdalene.
Application:
Doubt and disbelief are real and reasonable responses to the story of Easter. In the above story, Jesus himself acknowledges their fear and doubt. He offers them peace (an extension of his person, vulnerable and open for them to receive); he makes himself available to them physically; he breathes on them the Holy Spirit (invisible presence of God giving them insight and understanding); he reconnects them to his mission and sends them out to forgive sins. (This emerges as an initial interpretation of the event of Jesus' death and resurrection; it produces or at least announces the full forgiveness of sins. So, what is that about? See my next post.) For us, we might notice that the first believers were no more faithful than we are. They struggled with doubt and fear. They did not understand the meaning of Easter Sunday. That would come in time and we will pay attention to the emerging interpretation found in the New Testament witness in the days ahead. Suffice it to say for now, Easter provokes a response. Doubt,faith, wonder, awe, fear, amazement. Believing this is seeing God and the world in a whole new way. It's THE kairos moment in history.
Prayer:
Lord, I am sometimes skeptical, even doubtful of your resurrection. I want more proof of life. I want you to appear to me, too. I want to see and I am afraid to see, because if it is true then everything will and must change. On the days when I do believe, I do see things in a new way. Give me that kind of vision always. Amen.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
But Thomas (who was called the Twin*), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
Observation:
The Easter experience was initially articulated as frightening, unbelievable, strange, and unexpected. That Jesus died and was somehow alive again destroyed the natural order of things and upset those who were closest to him in ways that demonstrate their inability to believe the impossible. They are, after all, only human. And they were experiencing something abnormal and inexplicable. He was somehow the same and different. He was a physical body with wounds. And he could somehow pass through solid walls. He was present and absent to them at the same time. He was recognizable as Jesus and also unrecognizable. His resurrected body was both old and new to them.
Some might argue that the first "believers" were somehow in a collective state of denial or a dissociative mental state, whereby they "experienced" Jesus as both alive and dead at the same time. Psychology may suggest that their experience was of a community mourning. But then we read the story above. They didn't all share the same Easter experience, and yet they did all come to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Most of them would stake their lives on it.
Thomas, one of the 12, was not with them in the room when Jesus first appeared to his disciples on Easter night. They were afraid that they would be accused and punished as associates of Jesus. They were so afraid that they remained behind locked doors. Where was Thomas? Why was he absent from the group? He refused to believe the others' story about Jesus. Without physical evidence and proof, he could not believe it. He sounds like any reasonable person in their right mind responding to this story. Seeing is believing.
But a week later, he experiences the physical presence of Jesus. And Thomas interprets this experience as a God-moment, a kairos. All he can say is "O My Lord and O my God."
The gospel writers reported the experience with little interpretation or assignment of meaning. What they could say was Jesus was alive. The tomb was empty. He was raised. "I have seen the Lord" was the first Easter sermon, given by a woman named Mary Magdalene.
Application:
Doubt and disbelief are real and reasonable responses to the story of Easter. In the above story, Jesus himself acknowledges their fear and doubt. He offers them peace (an extension of his person, vulnerable and open for them to receive); he makes himself available to them physically; he breathes on them the Holy Spirit (invisible presence of God giving them insight and understanding); he reconnects them to his mission and sends them out to forgive sins. (This emerges as an initial interpretation of the event of Jesus' death and resurrection; it produces or at least announces the full forgiveness of sins. So, what is that about? See my next post.) For us, we might notice that the first believers were no more faithful than we are. They struggled with doubt and fear. They did not understand the meaning of Easter Sunday. That would come in time and we will pay attention to the emerging interpretation found in the New Testament witness in the days ahead. Suffice it to say for now, Easter provokes a response. Doubt,faith, wonder, awe, fear, amazement. Believing this is seeing God and the world in a whole new way. It's THE kairos moment in history.
Prayer:
Lord, I am sometimes skeptical, even doubtful of your resurrection. I want more proof of life. I want you to appear to me, too. I want to see and I am afraid to see, because if it is true then everything will and must change. On the days when I do believe, I do see things in a new way. Give me that kind of vision always. Amen.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
impossible surprise
Scripture: Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Observation:
3 women go to the tomb of Jesus to prepare his body for a proper burial. They aren't certain how they will access the sealed tomb. In their grief, they haven't thought ahead. When they arrive, the tomb is already open! Inside, they find a man in a white robe. It is not Jesus. He says, "You seek Jesus of Nazareth who has been crucified. He was raised. He is not here." He orders them to look at the place where they laid his body. His absence is supposed to mean something to them, remind them of what Jesus said to them before. And then he orders them to go and tell the others that Jesus is going to Galilee and will see them there. But, instead they say nothing to nobody, for they were afraid. And that is the end of the story. It begs a lot of questions. 1. Who rolled away the tombstone. 2. Who was the man in white? 3. Why didn't Jesus himself appear to them? 4. Why must they return to Galilee? 5. Why does God choose terrified women as the first witnesses of the resurrection?
Application:
Resurrection is not normal or natural. It was unexpected, surprising, and terrifying. His absence and their silence are about all Mark gives us. Crucified and raised. Two passive verbs describe Jesus' state of being. Apparently, he is also traveling on the road to Galilee. Dead people don't typically travel.
Initially, Easter's message is delivered by an unknown surrogate. Is he an accomplice? In Matthew's account, he is an angel. In Luke's story, there are two men dressed in white. In John's story, two angels in white appear to Mary Magdalene. In Matthew's and John's accounts, Jesus also appears outside the tomb. In Luke's gospel Jesus appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, yet they fail to recognize him. He walks and talks with them. And when they break bread for supper together, they see that this man is in fact Jesus, and then he disappears! The accounts differ. Where the account of his final days and hours are strikingly similar, the accounts of Easter vary dramatically. All four accounts suggest one thing though: Jesus is no longer dead. He is, somehow, alive.
The first followers of Jesus struggled (and even failed) to believe, understand, trust, recognize, and interpret what happened on the Sunday after his death and burial. And yet without their testimony, their telling of the story, their interpretation of this surprising experience, would Christianity exist at all? Why didn't the first century church edit these stories to tell a more favorable, consistent, and credible story? Easter faith is a bold, audacious, foolish, unprecedented claim that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died and was buried. And that he rose from the dead. The inconsistencies and blemishes point to two things: the crazy realness of this experience and the need for faith to believe the impossible. Before we consider the meaning of this story, we need to sit with it. He was dead and was made alive again. How do we feel about this story? What response do you have to it? If you were hearing this story for the first time, what would you think? What else is possible, if this is true? What can we say about Jesus, about God, in response?
Prayer
It's hard to believe, Lord. An impossible surprise. What else compares to this story? Easter faith is the news that the impossible has happened, a man was raised from the dead. Help me to believe this news and see Jesus in a new way---as more than a teacher and leader and spiritual man and healer and prophet of divine justice/mercy, who was killed because of his work. He is alive! Amen.
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Observation:
3 women go to the tomb of Jesus to prepare his body for a proper burial. They aren't certain how they will access the sealed tomb. In their grief, they haven't thought ahead. When they arrive, the tomb is already open! Inside, they find a man in a white robe. It is not Jesus. He says, "You seek Jesus of Nazareth who has been crucified. He was raised. He is not here." He orders them to look at the place where they laid his body. His absence is supposed to mean something to them, remind them of what Jesus said to them before. And then he orders them to go and tell the others that Jesus is going to Galilee and will see them there. But, instead they say nothing to nobody, for they were afraid. And that is the end of the story. It begs a lot of questions. 1. Who rolled away the tombstone. 2. Who was the man in white? 3. Why didn't Jesus himself appear to them? 4. Why must they return to Galilee? 5. Why does God choose terrified women as the first witnesses of the resurrection?
Application:
Resurrection is not normal or natural. It was unexpected, surprising, and terrifying. His absence and their silence are about all Mark gives us. Crucified and raised. Two passive verbs describe Jesus' state of being. Apparently, he is also traveling on the road to Galilee. Dead people don't typically travel.
Initially, Easter's message is delivered by an unknown surrogate. Is he an accomplice? In Matthew's account, he is an angel. In Luke's story, there are two men dressed in white. In John's story, two angels in white appear to Mary Magdalene. In Matthew's and John's accounts, Jesus also appears outside the tomb. In Luke's gospel Jesus appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, yet they fail to recognize him. He walks and talks with them. And when they break bread for supper together, they see that this man is in fact Jesus, and then he disappears! The accounts differ. Where the account of his final days and hours are strikingly similar, the accounts of Easter vary dramatically. All four accounts suggest one thing though: Jesus is no longer dead. He is, somehow, alive.
The first followers of Jesus struggled (and even failed) to believe, understand, trust, recognize, and interpret what happened on the Sunday after his death and burial. And yet without their testimony, their telling of the story, their interpretation of this surprising experience, would Christianity exist at all? Why didn't the first century church edit these stories to tell a more favorable, consistent, and credible story? Easter faith is a bold, audacious, foolish, unprecedented claim that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died and was buried. And that he rose from the dead. The inconsistencies and blemishes point to two things: the crazy realness of this experience and the need for faith to believe the impossible. Before we consider the meaning of this story, we need to sit with it. He was dead and was made alive again. How do we feel about this story? What response do you have to it? If you were hearing this story for the first time, what would you think? What else is possible, if this is true? What can we say about Jesus, about God, in response?
Prayer
It's hard to believe, Lord. An impossible surprise. What else compares to this story? Easter faith is the news that the impossible has happened, a man was raised from the dead. Help me to believe this news and see Jesus in a new way---as more than a teacher and leader and spiritual man and healer and prophet of divine justice/mercy, who was killed because of his work. He is alive! Amen.
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