REALLY Good News
John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, `I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
I don’t like surprises very much – that probably speaks to my deep desire to control my environment and have things make sense as they happen. But there isn’t a whole lot about the Easter story that makes sense from the human perspective.
Jesus was killed. Murdered. Innocent of any crime and yet still sentenced to a very cruel and violent death. By us. Because you know you would have demanded his death right along with the crowd that day; I know I would have been swept up in the moment and in the energy of the masses and would have joined in the shouting of condemnation. I also would have regretted it once the dust settled and darkness covered the land. If I was a close follower of Jesus, then I may have gone and sat at the tomb to mourn as well and would have stood in disbelief to find Jesus gone on Sunday morning, my mouth standing open in that awkward, non-understanding way that I stand when I am utterly perplexed. I would have been a complete mess of emotions from Friday through Sunday and most likely even beyond into Monday.
I have the benefit of thousands of years of Easters. Being raised in faith, Easter has always been a big deal in our family – not the spiral ham and chocolate bunny big deal, but the glorious resurrection of our Lord big deal. Although I wasn’t in the crowd to yell, “Crucify Hiim!!!!” that fateful day and then mourn my mistakes and his death, the emotions I experience from the end of Maundy Thursday to the beauty and splendor of the Halleluiahs on Easter Day are just as varied. Friday feels dark and hopeless; Sunday feels like a fresh start and completely full of joy and wonder at the miracle.
Mary, Peter, the other disciple, Mary Magdelene – all experienced first hand the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. But sometimes – and most certainly THIS time – the news seems just TOO good. How can this be? Where does the body of their Jesus go? How can he appear to Mary and she doesn’t even recognize him until he calls her name? Our human brain just can’t comprehend the incomprehensible without time and thinking it through – but this is really good news and we want to believe it, right?
Today is that day. Today we choose to be Resurrection People – covered in grace and mercy for no other reason than unrelenting love. God’s love. I don’t believe that God condemns people to death – not my God. That means that Jesus died because God knew we would do that to him. And he loves us enough to do something beyond amazing – Jesus was raised from the dead to prove that the good news is really an understatement – it is Super, Awesome, Fantastic, Unbelievable News!!!! Jesus Christ is Risen Today – Halleluiah! This is more than we could have every dreamed, so let’s keep our faith focused, our practices loyal, our conversations filled with love and our words and our works spent on furthering God’s kingdom. It’s the least we can do when in the face of this REALLY Good News!
We are Resurrection People!
Risen Lord, be known to us as we work, watch, pray and love. We believe that you were risen from the dead to save us from ourselves. We give you thanks for the gift of life and the end of death. We worship you and we adore you. AMEN.
Mostly About Me
Luke 14:1
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsy
14 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
Luke 14:7-14
Humility and Hospitality
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
*Warning: This blog post will reference a Broadway musical called “The Book of Mormon.” The play is not the topic of discussion but will be used as a reference point for today’s post.
We saw the “Book of Mormon” yesterday as a family – it was our daughter’s birthday present from June and she has been begging to see this play since about a month after its Broadway debut. We tried to get tickets to see the show in NYC, but then as luck would have it, the traveling version came to Dallas for a two-week run. My very wonderful husband spent almost three hours in the queue online the day the box office opened and scored the tickets. I knew a little about the play, and knew it was irreverent and a bit naughty, but I was just blown away by the brilliant writing and the talent on that stage. GO SEE THIS IF YOU WANT TO LAUGH UNTIL YOUR HEAD HURTS!!!!
One of the great songs – there are many – is a track titled, “Mostly Me.” Here is a link so you can enjoy this song too, although you will not have the hilarious context unless you GO SEE THIS PLAY!
Today’s Gospel reading ties in perfectly with this song! Jesus gives the wedding guests some great advice. His parable is one of both grace and humility. Grace – because we really never deserve the honor of being a child of God. We get this as a free gift in spite of ourselves. And humility – one of my favorite traits to find in others and one I constantly work on having myself – the ability to be humble; or as I like to think, putting others ahead of yourself. Jesus’ advice to the guests who are trying to decide how important they are at the wedding feast as compared to the other guests is to assume that all are important and you are no more special than the rest.
One of the things I loved about the song “Mostly Me,” is that it speaks to that ugly monster that can live inside us when we get too big for our britches. It’s a well written song to which many of us can relate. We may have felt as if our presence saved the day at one point or another, and conversely, we all have been in the presence of someone who really embodied the lyrics of this song to our annoyance as well. God calls us to love one another, just as he loves us (John 13:34), which I interpret to include that we don’t put ourselves before others in order of importance (among other things that very complex yet simple Bible verse is telling us!). The presence of humility in our beliefs about ourselves gives us a schema for lifting up others rather than judging them, living a life of service in our community, helps us show love in the way we interact with others and gives us the chance to really enjoy when we receive grace and forgiveness.
The Book of Mormon as a play is best enjoyed with a great dose of humility for all who are called to spread God’s word. In teaching others about Christ and the gift of everlasting life, Christians will do well to laugh at ourselves and reflect on our place at the feast. Let’s let others sit in the place of honor, for God will surely call us to be with him though we will never really deserve it.
God of grace and mercy, we give thanks that you invite us to join you in the feast of the resurrection. Help us to put others before you and to continually serve you in all we do and say. We look forward to our perfect life with you when our work here is done. We ask this in your Holy Name. AMEN.
Right Place and Right Time
Luke 7:11-17
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Jesus Raises the Widow’s Son at Nain
11 Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” 17 This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.
Talk about being at the right place at the right time! Jesus has just left Capernaum where he healed the Centurion’s servant (https://paigehanks.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/not-worthy-just-faithful/) and he walks in the gates of the town of Nain. He runs smack dab into a funeral procession, led by a grieving mother who has lost her husband and now her only son. I can only imagine her grief spilling out of her as she begins to accept this unwanted reality. I love verse 13 in particular; “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.'” I love it because it is just so simple. God then brings her son back from the dead with a simple touch.
In the presence of God, why should we weep? I cannot begin to imagine this mother’s sadness and loss. As a mother, I feel like my heart is constantly walking around outside my body every day, even more so as our daughter is approaching the time to set off on her grown up life of college and long distance from my “controlling” ways as a mom. I know several friends who have lost a child and the pain is simply inexplicable and can cover up every other emotion; paralyzing grief I am sure.
But God’s promise for the world is that there is life eternal. I simply don’t understand what that means in any tangible sense and I spend very little time and energy trying to figure it out. I just know that it brings great comfort in times of challenge and overwhelming sadness. But come on; who wouldn’t want to have our loved one come back from the dead? That is one of the great pitfalls in this story of a great miracle.
God has a plan and we are given the greatest gift of love possible – to live life eternal with our Father in heaven. Grief is for the living and as humans, is part of our human condition. I lost my Mom last year after a swift and ferocious diagnosis of multiple primary cancers. Mom was young, professional and worldly and it didn’t make sense for this to happen to a person at the top of her game of life. We all reacted differently to the shock and pain, but for me, it gave me a challenge that was like a river of faith. I don’t know why and it certainly didn’t match other family members’ responses to the situation. And boy do I wish she was still here to talk to and guide me as a mom and our daughter as her beloved Kiki.
She wasn’t raised from the dead to come back to be with us, nor did I expect that to happen. I even got my feathers ruffled a few times when folks said to me, trying to be helpful I am sure, that they were praying for a miracle and that she could beat this disease. We knew better…the situation was grave right from the start. So instead of spending time hoping for Jesus to walk right up to us and heal her, I thought a better way to approach this was to embrace life eternal and that precious gift of perfect healing. loving mom and providing peace and compassion as she lived through dying.
We can’t pray hard enough, do enough good in the world or do just the right thing to invoke the miracles. They come when God’s plan matches our desires. And although I would give just about anything for a few minutes with my healthy Mom, I was so very grateful that her incredibly debilitating pain ended much more quickly than anyone thought or believed. Her healing didn’t bring her back to the human life but brought her into the presence of our Savior.
So we wept for our loss of her presence, just as the mother who met Jesus was doing. This is normal for folks who love and all of us experience loss of this sort. Jesus feels sorry for us too, but now that he gave his life for us, he can call upon us to look forward in anticipation to the great gift of our resurrection. Maybe that is the miracle that is enough…we know what this grieving Mother did not know, that we have life eternal as our promise of perfect healing now. I want to ready at the right place and the right time for that.
Saving Father, we are so very grateful for the gift of your Son, sent to save us from our sins and give us the promise of life eternal. Comfort us as we grieve and teach us to trust your saving love for us. Help us walk in faith and to accept your gift of mercy. We thank you for loving us and protecting us. In your Holy Name we pray. AMEN.
Forgiveness Within Reach
John 20:19-31
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
19 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.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Jesus and Thomas
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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.”
26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 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.”
The Purpose of This Book
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believethat Jesus is the Messiah,the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Maybe it’s just me, but forgiveness is a tough one. I have to work really hard on forgiving those who I perceive have wronged me. Now, I’m not talking about forgiving someone for taking my parking place at the mall or for drinking the last diet coke…I’m really thinking about those biggies. One of the ways to really “get” to me is to misrepresent me. When someone says, “I heard you said blah blah blah,” or “I heard you did blah blah blah,” and those things not only didn’t happen but are contrary to what I WOULD have said or done, it doesn’t bring out the best in me.
But Jesus is pretty clear about the concept of forgiveness. He appears to his disciples following his resurrection, breathing on them the Holy Spirit (wondering about the awesomeness of that!!!!) and explained about forgiveness. He said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Talk about empowerment! Jesus uses the Holy Spirit to gift the disciples with the ultimate power of forgiveness, while chiding them at the same time about what happens if they don’t fully utilize this incredible gift. Through the building of the wider body of Christ, we all have the same responsibility as Christians. Forgive others. Jesus didn’t put any qualifiers on this method of forgiveness. He gives them the power and through the gift of love we all have the same power. And when we don’t forgive others? That’s pretty clear too…the sins are still there.
That’s pretty discouraging if you think about it terms of just humans. But the best news of all is that we are forgiven in totality when we ask God. He will NEVER “retain our sins,” and gives us forgiveness no matter the grievance. And I can assure you I have some pretty egregious sins, I tell you! I ask…he forgives. So why can’t I do that too?
I want to forgive, I really do. I often have to forgive over and over again until it is gone, because one time forgiveness can still leave me with retention of the hurt and pain that came with the wrong. That’s why this one is such a tough issue – our humanity stands in the way of forgiveness at times. But holding on to resentment, pain and the feeling of being wronged gets right between us and God, which no one really wants, especially God!
This joyous Easter season of new life brings new opportunities to grow in our faith. Let’s commit to work on forgiveness…of ourselves and others, without exception. It’s the purest form of love – Agape love.
Lord, we ask you to guide our hearts and minds to forgive. Help us to know and love you and show that love to our brothers and sisters. When we struggle with this, show us the way to reach out and heal our wounds and those of others. We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
Peter’s Redemption
Luke 24:1-12
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Resurrection of Jesus
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body.[a] 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women[b] were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men[c] said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.[d] 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But 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.
You know those days – we all have them. We have the best of intentions and set out to do our part to make the world a better place through our small niche of interactions, actions and reactions. Then it all goes horribly wrong. We make mistake after mistake and even begin to marvel at how absolutely screwed up things have gotten over a relatively short period of time. Those days it may seem even hard to put words together to fully state the crazy events of the day, because it is just THAT BAD. Then we go to bed, glad to have the day behind us, only to awaken with a fresh start and a renewed spirit (hopefully we were able to put the bad day behind us!).
Let’s face it – Thursday and Friday before Easter were some really bad days for Jesus’ friend and follower, Peter. Up until that point, things had really been rocking along with the disciples. They were witness to powerful miracles and developing an intensely personal relationship with Jesus. He was dropping hints about leaving them but I’m sure those subtle statements just rolled away like water off a duck’s back. There was simply no way for mere humans to understand the power of Jesus’ words about leaving – things were just too great to stop it all now. Peter was one of those closest to Jesus, so it must have been quite a surprise to hear – right from Jesus’ mouth – that Peter would deny knowing him not once, but three times. But deny him is exactly what we read that Peter did following Jesus’ arrest. Did he set out to do that – of course not. In fact, I am sure he couldn’t believe he had done it either when he heard that rooster crow the last time. But none of us knows what we will do in a scary conflict until we are there. Peter must have felt incredibly disappointed in himself. Then the events of the crucifixion unfolded and Peter had to have known he played a key role in the process. My bad days haven’t ever really been THAT bad, but Peter’s feelings of devastation must have been so very overwhelming as he watched his friend die that Friday afternoon.
But the opportunity for redemption came much sooner than any of them expected! Peter was the first to hop up and take off running for the tomb when he heard the news that his friend was risen again, just as he said he would. Peter felt “amazed at what had happened.” The word amazed is probably the best English word choice based on translation, but seems to be very much an understatement. When Jesus rose from the dead after the dark and confusing weekend following his death, thinking of it today as amazing seems also to fall short of how mysterious this would have been for Jesus’ friends and followers, especially for Peter.
In our Christian faith, Easter is the big one! It’s the day in the church that represents our foundational belief that Jesus Christ came to save us from ourselves. I’ve made some sacrifices in my life for those I love, but none can even scratch the surface of the sacrifice that God made to share this gift of his son with us, even when we obviously weren’t deserving of it. Jesus Christ is risen today, as we celebrate every Easter morning, with the promise of new life in him. I’m sure his friends were all grateful once they realized who he was (another blog post about how confusing that must have been to not even recognize him when they saw him!), but I’m sure that Peter’s feelings were just indescribable.
Our lives intersect with Peter’s in so many ways. We have denied our Lord many more than three times. We have turned away as things are going badly and we make sure to protect ourselves when confronted with challenges to our beliefs. But Peter and all the rest of us children of God get both grace and mercy on this beautiful Easter morning. Peter spent the rest of his life doing what God called him to do, spreading the word of God to all who would listen and dedicating his work to fulfilling the promise of the Holy Spirit. It seems to me to be the very least we can do as we are renewed and redeemed through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Gracious God, lover of all souls, bring us closer to you through the gift of your Son to the world. We are redeemed through the resurrection and we know what you ask of us as we walk with you in our daily lives. We commit to you that we will love one another and spread the Good News. Jesus Christ is Risen Today – Alleluia! Thanks be to God. AMEN.
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