Gospel for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 10:11-18
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is one of the several “I Am” statements made by Jesus in the Gospel of John.  Taken alone, it is a wonderful metaphor that Jesus uses to illustrate his care for his “sheep”  and his willingness to die for them.  But as part of the string of “I Am” statements it is also a testimony to his close identification with the great I Am that I Am of Exodus 3:14, the Lord of all.

Considered as a description of his ministry, though, it is also very powerful.  He draws a contrast between the good shepherd and the hired hand — the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep in the face of danger; the hired hand runs away.

So there are two threats to the flock here.

One is external — first, in John 10:10 Jesus references the thief who:

only comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

Second, there is the wolf.

And then there is a third threat, the internal threat — those who have been entrusted with the flock who run away when there is danger because they care nothing for the sheep.

Not only does the good shepherd lay down his life for the sheep, there is also a relationship between shepherd and sheep:

I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own.

And this relationship between shepherd and sheep is predicated on Jesus’ relationship with the Father:

the Father knows me and I know the Father.

There is an interrelatedness here from Father to Son, Son to Father, and through the Son to God’s people.

However, this is not an exclusive relationship.  Jesus has:

other sheep, which are not of this fold.

They too will hear the voice of the shepherd and follow him.  The image Jesus gives would have been familiar to a culture where sheep herding was common.  A flock of sheep will “imprint” on a shepherd, and recognize his voice when he calls.

And Jesus makes it clear that though he is calling sheep from other places, all will be united in him:

They will become one flock with one shepherd.

Finally, Jesus alludes to the source of his unique relationship with the Father:

Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life,  that I may take it again.

In other words, Jesus is obedient to the Father, and though he be crucified will be raised from the dead.

In as clear a statement as can be made, Jesus declares that he is not a “victim” or a passive player in this drama. He says of his life and death:

No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.

His care for the sheep, even to the point of death, and his obedience to the Father, is completely his choice.

APPLY:  

We see here Jesus declaring to us that he is the Good Shepherd:

• He lays down his life for us.
• In his relationship with the Father is found the grounds for our relationship with the Father.
• Jesus will call people from throughout the world to be a part of his flock.
• We will all be one flock belonging to the one shepherd.

But who are the hirelings who run away when the wolf comes?  Are we best to not focus on their cowardice and/or indifference?  Are they the pastors who teach contrary to God’s Word, or who just don’t show up when the chips are down?

Obviously, those who truly belong to Jesus, according to his own description, are those who know him, follow his voice, and who seek to bring others into the flock that belongs to Jesus.

RESPOND: 

I have always been a little reluctant to call myself “pastor,” which means “shepherd.”  We have one Shepherd, who is Jesus.

Instead, when I was still serving a church, I facetiously told people that I was merely a sheepdog. The sheepdog is the one who tries to run around rounding up the sheep at the behest of the Good Shepherd, and maybe barks at them a little.

But my own personal goal is to know the voice of the Good Shepherd and to follow him at all costs.

Lord, for your willingness to lay down your life for the sheep I am supremely grateful.  Keep my ears sharp for your voice and lead me wherever you would have me go.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Great Pyrenees Sheep Dog Guarding the Flock” by Don DeBold is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 John 3:16-24
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The First Letter of John reminds us of the composition of a fugue, with an evocative interweaving of the themes of love and knowledge.  John brings these themes together in this phrase:

By this we know love

He then illustrates the incarnational and sacrificial nature of love as demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ:

because he laid down his life for us.

If anyone wants to know what love looks like, he’s saying, they need only to look at the crucified Christ.

Therefore, by analogy, believers are to be like Christ as well:

And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Love by its very nature is sacrificial.  But this sacrifice need not be limited to martyrdom.  True sacrificial love means compassion for someone who is in need.

John poses the question:

whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him?

Love is action, not words.

John points out that the true assurance that a person belongs to Jesus is found in their obedience to this simple principle:

This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.

John also offers reassurance for those who are insecure about their faith:

if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

Confidence is not to be found in mere feeling, but in true faith and obedience.

Even more, the believer can know that they are united to God:

He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

There is an echo in this passage of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John 17:20-23:

Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word,  that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.  The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one;  I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.

The proofs are all there — believers know God because they follow God’s commands, which means they believe in Jesus, they love their neighbor, and this is made possible by the Spirit that God gives.

APPLY:  

There are two very exciting applications of this passage for us:

• First, that we can know we have a relationship with God based not on how we feel but on how we love.
  Feelings come and go, but the love that follows the example of Christ is grounded in sacrifice and action.
• Second, that we are to show love.
  As Eliza Doolittle sings in the Hollywood musical “My Fair Lady,”
  Don’t talk of love, don’t talk at all, show me.

John says:

 My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.

Thus, to follow Jesus doesn’t require literal martyrdom; but it does require faith in Christ, and a robust, active love of others.

John also explores some of what Jesus teaches in John 17:20-23, cited above. He says:

 He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

There is a sense here of what G.K. Chesterton calls the mystery of “coinherence.”  Jesus says that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. From our perspective this is a clear reference to the interrelatedness and relationship of the Trinity.  But this also applies to us! As we become Children of God, God is in us and we are in God!  This is made possible also by the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

RESPOND: 

As with so much of Scripture, I find this passage both inspiring and daunting.  To say I want to be more like Jesus is one thing.  But am I as loving and as generous and as compassionate?  Is my love even .01% as sacrificial as is his love for me?

This is where I must rely on his grace, and see my own Christian life as still a process:

if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

Lord, fill my heart with your love, not just by example but as you spiritually fill me with your Spirit.  Only then can I truly live in you and you in me.  Amen. 

PHOTOS: “This Is Love” by Rene Yoshi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 23
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Before David was a king, he was a shepherd.  This Psalm is a shepherd’s song.  We can imagine David the shepherd, gazing out over his grazing flock as the sun is setting, with a deep sense of serenity. The parallels between a shepherd’s watchful care of his flock and the Lord’s care for his people are obvious.

But for our purposes, we find a Psalm that begins as a kind of lyrical hymn that develops the metaphor of God as Shepherd.  The Shepherd guides his flock along paths of righteousness to peaceful, safe, green pasture, and to still waters. This is an important detail.  Sheep tend to be shy of drinking from swift brooks.  Placid pools or ponds are more inviting to them.

This metaphor of water prevails when David says his relationship with Yahweh is like drinking the still waters:

He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

Then in verses 4 & 5 the Psalm becomes a prayer to God.  The third person becomes second person — no longer “He” but “You.” This more intimate voice occurs as the Psalmist describes God’s presence with him in the valley of the shadow of death, and also as he describes God’s protection and provision in the very presence of his enemies:

Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.

The rod and staff are used to discipline and guide the sheep, but also to protect them from predators.

Obviously there is the comfort of provision, protection, and God’s presence in this Psalm.  But we also notice that he speaks of his head being anointed with oil. Anointing with oil was used for healing and for cleansing in the ancient world, but in a Biblical context it was used to signify a holy office, such as a prophet, a priest or a king.

David sums up his supreme confidence in Yahweh that will endure in this life and forever:

Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.

APPLY:  

Our most familiar acquaintance with Psalm 23 occurs at funerals. The reasons are self-evident — language that describes a comforting Shepherd who guides us through the valley of the shadow of death where we fear no evil, and then finally assures us that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever is indeed reassuring in the face of death.

But we do well to notice that the Psalm also offers promises for this life:

goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life

God’s provision, guidance, and protection are not postponed until death.  We need the Good Shepherd now and at the hour of our death.

RESPOND: 

This is a Psalm that I can recite by heart, but it is also frequently my prayer — that the Lord will be my Shepherd, provide for my needs, restore my soul, protect me in the midst of danger, and be with me to the end of my life, and beyond.

Lord, I trust in You as the sheep trust their shepherd. Amen. 

PHOTOS:

"Image Number 5198728" by Jason de los Santos is from Pixabay.

Reading from Acts for April 21, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Acts 4:5-12
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

What has gotten into Peter? The frightened fisherman who denied even knowing who Jesus was, and huddled in terror among his friends in the Upper Room after the crucifixion, is now boldly declaring his faith openly before a council of the elders in Jerusalem.

Although he knows that his message is unwelcome and unpopular with them, he declares to their face that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified by them, and that God raised him from the dead!

What are the circumstances that prompted such boldness, and what has empowered and inspired Peter so?

The context for this “hearing” before the rulers and elders and teachers of the law is the recent healing of the lame beggar near the gate called Beautiful.  Peter makes it clear to the startled onlookers that the power to heal this man has come from God through faith in the risen Christ.  And Peter has spared no one in his honest assessment of responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus.  He accused the people who were in attendance that day of their complicity in the death of Jesus, but also has promised them remission of their sins!

So, the current hearing is an attempt by the Sanhedrin to “get to the bottom” of things.  They ask the question of Peter and John:

By what power, or in what name, have you done this?

This gives Peter a “preachable moment” to make his witness about the power of the risen Christ in this official hearing as well.  And once again he lays the blame for the crucifixion of Jesus squarely at their feet!  Moreover, he makes it perfectly clear that this is totally consistent with the Hebrew scriptures from Psalm 118:22:

the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.

This image of reversal is a central theme in the New Testament — the stone once rejected by the builders is now exalted to the vital role as cornerstone. Christ, rejected by both religious and political authorities, is the exalted Lord.

And finally Peter makes an audacious claim to these gathered religious leaders:

There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!

Peter is making the claim that salvation comes exclusively through Jesus, and from no other source. Not the law, not the temple sacrifices, not religious status.

So we ask again — what has gotten into Peter that has given him this boldness? The text itself tells us:

he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

APPLY:  

We can only marvel at the dramatic, even radical change in character that we see in Peter.  This is attributed completely to his infilling with the Holy Spirit.

His witness is direct and confrontational. He sums up the kernel of the Gospel in a trice.  Jesus has been crucified and raised to life and by the power in his name we may be saved.

Are we so bold to proclaim our faith in the face of hostility today?  Peter did not back down from this “august assembly” although these were the same people who had been responsible for starting the process that led to the cross!

When we hear of Christians beheaded for their faith, or their churches burned, or any number of persecutions, we in the Western church should be grateful for how “safe” our profession of Christ is.  Protected by the First Amendment, for example, American Christians can still worship as we please and speak as we please.

How bold are we to share our faith with the non-Christian neighbor, or the skeptical secularist, or the sad sinner looking for hope?

RESPOND: 

I have been blessed in my Christian ministry over the years.  Since I began preaching the Gospel in 1980, I have usually spoken to polite and even receptive audiences.  Only occasionally have I been confronted about a message that someone found controversial.

I wonder how I would fare as a pastor or Christian in ISIS occupied Syria, or in Egypt, or Communist China, or Indonesia?  Would I have the same boldness that Peter had? The same faith that so many Christians in that part of the world have?

I would hope to say yes, but only if I have the same source that Peter had — the power of the Holy Spirit.  Left to myself, I would be terrified and curled up in a fetal position.

I daresay, Peter experienced that sense of terror — until he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Lord, I pray for those who are modern martyrs. There are those where Christianity is not the religion of the majority, and where civil rights are not respected, whose families, livelihood, and even their very lives are at risk.  May I be bold in preaching the Gospel.  Amen. 

 
PHOTOS:
Background texture for “Bold Faith”: “Texture 157” by Thanasis Anastasiou is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

2nd Gospel for April 21, 2019 (Easter)

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 24:1-12
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

As with other key accounts in the Gospels, there are variations in the descriptions of the resurrection of Jesus.  This shouldn’t alarm us.  The accounts that we have are snapshots of different moments in the events of that extraordinary day, from different points of view, with somewhat different narrative perspectives.  However, the central Truth to which they bear witness is that the one who had been crucified had been raised from the dead.

In this selection of Luke’s Gospel, the focus is on the empty tomb.  The risen Jesus doesn’t appear until he joins the two disciples on their journey to Emmaus, and then later in the room where the disciples are gathered in Jerusalem.

We recall that some of the women who followed Jesus had accompanied Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb, and then went away for the observance of the sabbath.  While they were away, they prepared spices, and then returned to the tomb when the sabbath was over for the purpose of embalming the body of Jesus.  In Mark’s Gospel, the women discuss the problem of rolling the stone away from the tomb, but the question doesn’t come up in Luke:

…on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,  but when they went in, they did not find the body.

So, the first phenomenon that occurs in Luke’s Gospel is the removal of the stone, and the absence of the body of Jesus.

Before they have much time to speculate about these surprises, there is a supernatural appearance — not of the risen Jesus, but of beings who appear to be angels:

While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.  The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,  that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

Not only do these supernatural beings confirm that Jesus is alive, they interpret all of the events that have occurred as part of his original plan.

The women are reminded of Jesus’ teaching about his rejection, death and resurrection, and they return to the community of faith to report what they have experienced.

Luke interrupts his narrative to identify these women:

Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.

From Luke’s Gospel, we know that Mary Magdalene was a woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2).  According to the other three Gospels, Mary Magdalene was also one of the women at the cross.  And in John’s Gospel, Mary had a unique encounter when she alone beheld the risen Christ, and was the first witness to his resurrection (John 20:11-18).

Earlier, in chapter 8, Luke identifies a certain “Joanna” as:

the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza (Luke 8:3).

She provided financial support to Jesus’ ministry, and likely was the very same Joanna whom we see in chapter 24.  No doubt she was taking a huge risk because of her connection with the royal court!

We can’t be absolutely sure who Mary the mother of James is.  Matthew describes a Mary who is the mother of James and Joseph who is at the cross, so this could be the same woman. Is she the mother of James the lesser, (also known as James Alphaeus) who was one of the twelve disciples?  Again, this is likely.

However, the women’s excited report is met with skepticism from the disciples:

 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

This is not only a reflection of the extraordinary nature of their news, which would certainly be difficult to believe.  We must also remember that in first century Judea, women were regarded as second-class citizens.  Their account may have been dismissed as “wishful thinking” and “women’s tales.”

But Peter must have had a glimmer of hope and faith:

 …Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Peter has confirmed at least a part of the women’s report, that the tomb is open and Jesus is not there.  However, we are told that Peter is amazed — but not that he totally believes — at least not yet.   

APPLY:  

We can identify with this passage in many ways.  These women, who loved their rabbi, wanted to show him one last vestige of love in his death by applying the spices to his body.

We know what it is to lose someone we love, and the desire to honor them in some way.

The empty tomb doesn’t prove the resurrection; neither does the witness by the two beings in dazzling clothes. It is like a “lead” in an investigation.  If this evidence is followed, it will lead inevitably to the conclusion that Jesus has indeed been raised and is alive.

From the perspective of the 21st century, we need to overcome our over-familiarity with these accounts, and see them with fresh eyes.  We notice that the disciples are incredulous when the women bring back their report from the angels.  And Peter, though he sees the graveclothes in the empty tomb, is amazed — but we don’t have evidence yet that he believes that Jesus is alive. That will come later.

There are stages in our faith development.  We approach Jesus as a dead figure in history.  Then there are those who testify to us about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  We may be amazed at all of this — and ultimately we must respond in faith or disbelief.

RESPOND: 

I sometimes wish that two dazzling beings would appear on Easter Sunday morning and confirm what I already know by faith:

“He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,  that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

But I have other witnesses — the Scriptures; 2,000 years of Christian testimony; the changed lives of Christians I have known; and the inner witness of my own spirit.

I can identify with Rev. Alfred Ackley, who was once asked by a young Jewish man, “why should I worship a dead Jew?”

Ackley responded:

But Jesus lives! He lives! I tell you. He is not dead, but lives here and now. Jesus Christ is more alive today than ever before. I can prove it by my own experience, as well as by the testimony of countless thousands.

These words, and his efforts to share the Gospel with this young man, inspired him to write the familiar lines:

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

Lord, you are alive!  I know this not because of the empty tomb, which I’ve never seen; nor because of angels who have appeared to me, because they haven’t; I believe because of the certifiable witness of your Scriptures, and because I know it in my own heart to be true.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
"The Holy Women at the Sepulchre" by Peter Paul Rubens is in the Public Domain.

Gospel for April 21, 2019 (Easter)

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 20:1-18
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

We are reminded in John’s Gospel, as in the other three, that the very first witnesses of the resurrection were not the twelve disciples but the women who had followed Jesus.

The account here seems to assume that there is a part of the story that everyone knows.  Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb, as in the other Gospels, but at first she seems to have come alone.  When she finds the stone rolled away, she literally runs to find Simon Peter and the other disciple, who is believed to be John.

But what she says to them suggests that the other three Gospels supply the missing piece:

They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him! (Emphasis mine).

John may be assuming that we understand that Mary was with some of the other women, but that it is Mary who runs to the disciples, and in turn it is Mary Magdalene who returns again by herself to the tomb.

Simon Peter and John respond predictably — they take off running for the tomb! We can assume that perhaps John is a little younger, and he reaches the tomb first. Perhaps in deference to Simon Peter’s age and leadership, he doesn’t go in to the tomb — or perhaps he is held back by reverential awe.  He sees the empty shroud through the opening of the cave.

Simon Peter, whose impulsive reputation precedes him, rushes into the tomb and sees the linen wrappings and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head rolled up by itself.

The next statement is a bit paradoxical:

So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed. For as yet they didn’t know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

On the one hand, John sees and believes — and yet they still don’t fully understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise.  His experience precedes the Scriptural confirmation.

While the two disciples return to their homes, Mary Magdalene lingers by the tomb, weeping.  She has followed them back, perhaps more slowly than they, and now she is alone there.

When she looks into the tomb through her tears, she sees two angels in white — which is also reported by Luke’s Gospel.  In Matthew and Mark, there is only one angel reported.

She blurts out to them,

they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.

Before they can answer, she turns and sees Jesus without recognizing him. He asks why she is crying.

This begins a most extraordinary dialogue and gradual recognition.  She mistakes Jesus for the gardener and accuses him of removing the body, demanding that he tell her where Jesus is.

And then, in one of the most tender moments in Scripture, Jesus says her name:

“Mary.”

Instantly, in that intimate moment, she recognizes him.  Was it because he knew her name without being asked? Or was it the way he said it? And why had she not recognized him before?

She cries out in Aramaic:

 “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!”

What happens next suggests an action which is implied rather than described — Jesus tells her not to hold on to him.  Presumably it is because she has already reached out to touch her Master and Lord in a very reflexive, human moment.

His reason for this is a bit esoteric for us:

Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’

We can only speculate about what this means, so I’ll address this further in the Apply section.

Mary is the very first apostle, if the definition of apostle is one who has encountered the risen Christ and been commissioned to tell others:

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.

APPLY:  

There are so many layers to this passage that, as John’s Gospel suggests elsewhere, I could fill books with reflections on what it means to us.

Let me just focus on two aspects — the centrality of the witness of women in the New Testament; and the mysterious nature of Jesus’ body after the resurrection.

First, it is absolutely clear that the women are the first to behold the risen Christ after the resurrection.  It is true that Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:5:

he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

What he doesn’t say is that he appeared first to Cephas, because the first appearances were to the women.

It is also absolutely clear that the first witnesses were the first apostles who carried the news of the resurrection to the others.  Anyone who questions the legitimacy of women in ministry by only citing a few texts in the epistles needs to step back and review the whole picture.  And perhaps they need to consider Peter’s Pentecost sermon where he quotes the Prophet Joel:

It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams. (Acts 2:17).

And consider the very real possibility that the Junia mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:7 who is prominent among the apostles is a woman.

The second issue that comes to mind is the nature of Jesus’ body after the resurrection.  He admonishes Mary:

Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’

What does he mean? That he has a body is quite clear.  He will show the disciples the scars in his hands and side and feet. He even tells Thomas to touch his scars!  This is the same body that was crucified.  He will ask them to give him something to eat.  He cooks fish by the Sea of Galilee.

And yet, this is a different kind of body.  He passes through solid objects — doors that are closed and locked in fear.  He suddenly vanishes from the presence of the two disciples in Emmaus. He ascends into heaven.  He has powers that are beyond nature.

One can only speculate, but the body that Jesus has in the resurrection may be the body that we can anticipate in our own resurrection. What Paul says is that the resurrection body is:

sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:43-44).

But be very clear — it is a body.  The Risen Lord Jesus is not some disembodied ghost, but a living, breathing, tangible, touchable Person.  If anything, what we see is the perfection of the body — the glorified body that will be restored on the Last Day for all who believe.

RESPOND: 

One thing I notice is that after John sees the empty shroud of Jesus in the tomb, he believes.  He doesn’t yet fully understand how this fulfils the Scripture, and yet he believes.

I don’t want to place experience over Scripture.  Far be it!  But my own experience, and the experience of so many others, is that coming to Christ is quite often a matter of coming to faith without fully understanding it all, and then confirming and guiding that faith through the Holy Scriptures.  Especially in this skeptical age, we may need both Scripture and experience to bring us to Christ.

We experience Christ through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit confirms through Scripture what we have experienced.  But we never place experience above Scripture as our source of authority.  Scripture always maintains its sacred place as the revealed Word of God.

Christ is Risen!  The greatest words that can be uttered!  On this premise, Lord, rests all my faith and all meaning for my life.  May I spend my days knowing you and making you known to others, like Mary Magdalene and the other apostles!  Amen!

PHOTOS:
“Rabboni!” by Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.  This stained glass window is in the basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paray-le-Monial.

Epistle for April 21, 2019 (Easter)

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This selection is from a very systematic and thorough treatment of the resurrection of Jesus by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.

In verses 1-11,  Paul has already established the core of the Gospel message:

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 (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

This claim, that Christ was raised from the dead, is backed up by the appearances to many of the disciples, to a family member of Jesus, to more than five hundred at one time, and finally to Paul himself.  Paul is not relying merely on hearsay.  He is demonstrating the resurrection by offering empirical evidence from witnesses.

In verses 12-18, Paul refutes those who have begun to doubt the literal nature of the resurrection of Jesus.  He makes it clear that if Christ has not been raised, the Apostles are all lying, the faith of Christians is futile, their sins are not forgiven, and there is no hope of eternal life for those who have died. If Christ has not been raised from the dead, the Gospel is a fraud.

This is what leads up to his statement:

If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Rhetorically, Paul’s argument is brilliant.  He has raised the very questions that the doubters are raising, and then demolishes them with evidence.  And he points out that Christianity is not merely an “existential philosophy” that helps us find meaning in this life.  If Christ has not been raised, and our hope is only in a fuller, richer life that he offers in the here and now, then Christians are pathetically deceived.

And then he strikes the resounding chord of the Christian faith:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.

Now he turns from the historical evidence and the impact of the resurrection on the faith and hope of Christians to a theological interpretation.

He references the same analogy that he has used in Romans between Adam and Christ:

Therefore just as one man’s [Adam’s] trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s  [Jesus’] act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all (Romans 5:18) .

Paul further develops this contrast between Adam and Christ here in 1 Corinthians 15:

 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being;  for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.

Paul also finds an analogy in his Hebrew scriptures that explains Christ’s relationship to the faithful who have died — he is the:

first fruits of those who have died.

The offering of the first fruits of the crop and the first born of the flock is commanded throughout the Torah ( the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament).

The first fruits are a representative offering, which signifies the reality that all the rest of the crops also belong to God.  God “deeds back” the 90% to the worshipper, but the offering has been made as a kind of pledge.

So, Jesus is the first fruits from the dead, both in terms of time because he’s the first to be raised; and he is the representative sacrifice who opens the way for all  who believe:

 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

The resurrection of Christ is a foreshadowing of the ultimate resurrection at the end of time:

Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

This is the description of a conquering victor, who is battling against supernatural foes, and who will humble them under his feet.

However, though the outcome is not in doubt, the battle is not yet complete.  Death has been subdued by Christ, who is the first fruits from the dead,  but it will only be completely conquered at the end:

when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father.

APPLY:  

Ultimately, the death of Jesus on the cross is not the death of a helpless victim.  He is a soldier who, through his death, overcomes sin, death and the devil.  His is the ultimate sacrifice of a heroic warrior, not a passive surrender.

The sacrifice of Jesus is redeemed by his resurrection. What seemed an agonizing defeat is actually a glorious victory.

When we face death as believers, we have this assurance — death has been defeated, and we look forward to the resurrection at the end of all things.

RESPOND: 

One of the concepts that really helped me to understand what Jesus has done for us was introduced by Oscar Cullman in Christ and Time.

He compares the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus to D-Day in World War II.  Just to refresh memory, Europe was still the stronghold of  occupying Nazi powers as of June 6, 1944.  But on June 6 — D-Day — a massive Allied force landed on Normandy beach.

Cullman points out that the war in Europe wasn’t over on that day.  It didn’t officially end until after more battles and more fighting for almost a full year, on May 8, 1945.  But he asserts that D-Day was the beginning of the end.  From that point on the Nazi armies were fighting a losing battle.

Cullman says that this is a good analogy for the work of Christ.  Jesus conquered death and crushed the devil beneath his feet on Calvary, and in his resurrection.  This was like D-Day.  It was the beginning of the end.

However, the Devil continues to resist, even though the works of evil have been defeated.  Like a snake whose head had been severed, he writhes and lashes about, seeking others whom he can harm.  But it is only a matter of time until he is destroyed.

Victory Day, Cullman says, arrives when Jesus returns in victory.  Sin, death and the devil have been decisively defeated. On V-Day, there will be no doubt.

Our Lord, the resurrection demonstrates that all of your enemies are under your feet. You are the conqueror of sin, death and the devil; therefore I am forgiven, I need not fear the future, and you have given me the power to resist temptation.  Amen. 

PHOTO:
“Mitigat Accensam Divini Numinis Iram Post Varios esu Casus de Morte Resurges,” by Maerten de Vos is in the Public Domain.

Psalm Reading for April 21, 2019 (Easter)

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
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OBSERVE:

This selection from Psalm 118 is a song of joy and victory that is appropriate for Easter Sunday, the Day of Resurrection.  Obviously, the original context preceded that event by many centuries. (We note that Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 were featured in our lectionary reading for the Liturgy of the Palms last Sunday, so the verses this week provide some amplification to that theme of joy.)

Scholars tell us that this is the last of six  Hallel  Psalms (Psalms 113-118), which were Psalms of praise and thanksgiving.  It is likely that this Psalm is associated with the Jewish feast of Tabernacles and other Jewish festivals.

This Psalm begins with a liturgical phrase that frequently appears in the Psalms, especially here and in Psalm 136, as well as others.  We surmise that this may have been a call and response between the worship leaders ( possibly the Levites) and the congregation:

Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.
Let Israel now say
that his loving kindness endures forever.

In the verses from 14 to 24, the Psalmist explores the nature of Yahweh, his blessings, and the response of the grateful congregation.

The Lord is acknowledged as the Psalmist’s strength and song —  and the Psalmist then describes a new characteristic that he has begun to experience from the Lord:

he has become my salvation.

He then explores what this salvation means to him—  victory, for one thing.  In an allusion to the nomadic life of his ancestors, or perhaps to the encampments of a military campaign, he refers to the songs of praise sung in the tents like those used in the feast of Tabernacles:

The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous.
“The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.
The right hand of Yahweh is exalted!
The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly!”

Salvation also means life, not death:

 I will not die, but live,
and declare Yah’s works.
Yah has punished me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.

The Psalmist calls for the gates of righteousness to be opened to him —  this is likely both literal and figurative, as the congregation is led in procession into the temple.  The occasion is the opportunity to give thanks to Yahweh.  But it is also clear that there are requirements for those who enter:

This is the gate of Yahweh;
the righteous will enter into it.

The Psalmist again gives thanks that Yahweh has answered his prayer and has become his salvation.  And then there is a verse quite familiar to readers of the New Testament:

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.
 This is Yahweh’s doing.
It is marvelous in our eyes.

The cornerstone was the bondstone at the corner of the foundation of the building. This image is used by some of the prophets as well.

From the Psalmist’s perspective, this metaphor probably suggests that Israel is the cornerstone that was rejected by the Gentiles but has become a great nation through the blessing of the Lord.

However, from a Christian perspective this proverb describes the ministry of Christ —  rejected and crucified, he is nonetheless the chief cornerstone, chosen by God and raised to life in order to provide the foundation of a new spiritual temple.

This verse is quoted by Jesus in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 21:42; Mark  12:10; Luke 20:17) as a comment on his parable of the wicked tenants who reject the messengers from the landowner, and then kill his beloved son.  Jesus is the cornerstone whom the wicked tenants have rejected.

In the New Testament, the chief cornerstone  is clearly identified with Jesus:

So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-20).

This selection of the Psalm concludes with an exhortation very appropriate for the observation of Easter Sunday:

This is the day that Yahweh has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it!

This day, of all days, is a day of rejoicing!

APPLY:  

This selection from Psalm 118 is perfect for Easter Sunday, reminding us that God brings life out of death, and hope out of despair.

We are especially reminded that Christ, though rejected, despised and crucified, has been vindicated by his resurrection.

No wonder the early church saw this Psalm as a prophecy of Christ.  Jesus himself refers to himself as the stone rejected by the builders who has now become the chief cornerstone. The carpenter’s Son has begun the process of building his church!

RESPOND: 

There are so many hymns we sing in church that allude to Christ as our cornerstone and  the foundation of our faith.

One of my favorites extols Christ:

Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ the head and cornerstone;
chosen of the Lord and precious,
binding all the church in one.

Though the historic “temple” of the Christian church has been built with elaborate chambers and columns, arches and domes and spires, metaphorically, by Christians of every denomination and tradition, one thing is certain — they all build upon Christ as the one foundation.

Lord, I rejoice that you are the cornerstone of my faith, and the structure of my life is founded upon you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:

“Omaha North Presbyterian Church cornerstone” by Ammodramus is in the public domain.

Reading from Acts for April 21, 2019 (Easter)

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Acts 10:34-43
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OBSERVE:

This is a good example of some of the first preaching in the early church.  What is extraordinary about this is that it is one of the first sermons preached to Gentiles.

Prior to this, the Gospel had been proclaimed by the disciples to the crowds that gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, to believers in their homes, to sympathetic worshipers in the temple, to hostile officials and angry mobs —  almost all of whom were Jews.

Then the Gospel began to spread to Samaria, and then to an Ethiopian eunuch — who may well have been a Jewish convert. Now, Peter must overcome his bigotry and exclusivity and go into the home of a Roman Gentile.

Truly, the command and the promise of Jesus to the disciples just prior to his ascension is beginning to come to pass:

….you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8).

This is the context — Peter has gone toward the Mediterranean coast of Judea, preaching and healing in Lydda and Joppa.  He was a guest of Simon the Tanner in Joppa when a strange vision from God appeared to him, which gives him the message:

What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean (Acts 10:15).

At that very moment, messengers from the Centurion Cornelius, stationed with the Italian Cohort of the Roman Legions thirty miles to the north in Caesarea, arrive at Simon’s house asking for Peter. Cornelius has sent his messengers because he also has experienced a vision in which an angel has instructed him to reach out to Peter.

Based on his own vision, Peter accompanies the messengers back to Caesarea — to the house of Cornelius, which is the setting of this message.

The message is an important example of Peter’s preaching:

• It illustrates that the Gospel is beginning to spread to the Gentiles.
• It includes the essential kerygma of the early church, which is the basic proclamation of the Gospel.
• It reemphasizes the commission to take the message to the world.
• Peter makes clear that this Gospel is the fulfillment of the revelation of God to the Jews in the Hebrew Bible.

Peter confesses that he himself has undergone a kind of “conversion” when it comes to being open to non-Jews.  He sees now that God’s covenant is not exclusive but inclusive, even of the Gentiles:   

Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism;  but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.

However, Peter quickly adds that this Gospel has come first to Israel:

The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ.

Notice that Peter makes clear that the Lordship of Jesus is universal:

He is Lord of all.

Then Peter focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus, of which Peter and his fellow disciples were all witnesses, and to the message of Jesus:

which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem.

But at the heart of Peter’s message is the cross and the resurrection of Jesus:

whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree.  God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed,  not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

Note Peter’s distinction — not everyone  saw the risen Christ, but those who had been chosen by God as witnesses.  Because they were witnesses, they had been given an apostolic authority and commission to preach the Gospel:

He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead.

Peter closes by reminding his Gentile audience again that this message about Jesus that is now offered to them was revealed first to the Hebrew prophets.  The universal message of the Gospel is the forgiveness of sins through Christ:

 All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins.

APPLY:  

Because of the passage of time and the differences in modern culture, we can sometimes forget just how radical it was that Peter consented to go to the home of a Gentile — who also happened to be a member of the hated Roman army!

Imagine being called upon to go to the home of a military officer in communist North Korea, or a  member of the radical Islamic group ISIS, and we may catch a glimpse of how difficult this was for Peter.

However, God’s vision to Peter was very clear — God has no partiality, and anyone who has faith in the crucified and risen Christ will be forgiven, no matter what their race, ethnicity, or culture.

The message of Jesus Christ is eternal and universal — his offer of salvation is offered to all who are willing to repent and turn to him in faith.

RESPOND: 

When I preach the Gospel, it is vital to me that I include a few key ingredients that seem to me to be embedded also in Peter’s message.

It is important to me that I let people know how Christ has impacted my own life.  Peter does that.

But even more important, Peter proclaims the forgiveness of sins and faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead.  I really strive to make sure that the message of Christ is conveyed in every sermon I preach no matter what my text may be and how many other issues I may address.

John Wesley once wrote:

We are not ourselves clear before God, unless we proclaim him[Christ] in all his offices.

Although this seems like an old-fashioned way to speak, Wesley really is on to something.  Wesley also says that it is by faith that we:

receive Christ; that we receive him in all his offices, as our Prophet, Priest, and King. It is by this that he is “made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”

What this means to me is that Jesus guides us into all truth as the Prophet who is our source of wisdom — that’s why we read the whole Bible, because it reveals the whole counsel of God.  As our Priest, Jesus reconciles us to God through his sacrificial death on the cross,  and continues even now to pray for us as our High Priest.  And as King, Jesus is the risen Christ who rules over us forever, fulfilling his law of love in us as he restores us to his image and likeness and brings in his everlasting Kingdom.

Lord, help me to clarify the message you have revealed to us so that I can claim it by faith and, like Peter, do the very best I can to proclaim the Gospel so that others might also come to Christ and be strengthened in faith.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Peter Baptizing the Centurion Cornelius” by Francesco Trevisani is in the Public Domain.