Good Morning Friends,
Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord…the things we see with reason and the things we see with faith. And the event in its retelling and experiencing is filled with meaning for it is not just the coming back to a mortal life of someone who had died. That had happened before. What we are to experience is a resurrection that is also a transformation into something wonderfully eternal. The women are the first to the tomb. And this is important for we see them in the process of unpacking what they have experienced. And they are confused not because they are women but because they are experiencing something that they did not expect. Rather shockingly, the tomb is empty, so they go and tell Peter and John what they have concluded has happened. Peter and John rush to see for themselves. But regardless of what they could believe at that moment, there is a deeper question about vision and faith we are to ponder today prompted by the events they confronted. So, friends, How Can We See Jesus’ Eternal Love In Our Lives?
Scripture: Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, that message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
Acts 10:34a, 37-43 (NRSV)
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4 (NRSV)
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.
John 20:1-9 (NRSV)
Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:6b-8 (NRSV)
No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well.
Isaiah 65:20-23 (NRSV)
Message: Between John (most likely the other disciple), Peter, and Mary Magdalene— all of whom were at the empty tomb on that first Easter morning— only John seems to have had faith in the Physical Resurrection of Jesus. Everything Jesus had taught John about his death and resurrection seems to have come together in a flash of insight. And I think it is helpful for John that he was at the crucifixion. For we are to see the resurrection through the lens of the cross. And if you are an intuitive thinker like John, you might understand how all this is connected. But I wonder if he had as much impact as Peter and Mary Magdalene. Yes, John seems to have had faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus but the impact on others came from those who had yet to grasp the meaning of the moment. John sees and believes even though he does not fully understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. The others were slower to grasp what was going on. And that is helpful for us to know in sharing the Gospel, for there are those who are incredulous of the thought of the resurrection of Jesus who now sits on the right hand of God. The whole idea bounces off the minds of many people. But the cluelessness of Peter and Mary, I think, honors the cluelessness in others by helping people realize that they are not alone in having difficulty in processing this event. John’s Gospel shares Mary Magdalene’s misunderstanding and this has more impact as a teaching moment than a lecture on doctrine or John’s intuitive thinking. It is clear the women went to the tomb not believing. Perhaps the news of the empty tomb, the resurrection, of Jesus’ victory over death was simply too overwhelming for them to believe, too difficult to assimilate all at once. Perhaps any anticipation of the resulting challenge to their reality was just too great. But what is laid out here for others is a process of gradually understanding and gradually believing and sharing in the hidden things of Jesus, but also a visible love. Not all will grasp what John grasps. Not all are as fast as John to process that the tomb is empty…the grave clothes are all laid out nicely and that means Jesus is alive…Jesus is in a glorified state…Jesus has been resurrected from the dead. And so, our job now is to seek and find Jesus. Our job is to learn how to see Jesus’ love in our own lives as a witness to the light of the resurrection.
And So, Christ is to live in us as a tremendous treasure revealing to us the glory of God from within our being. In the reality of seeing, we are to share with others the miracle that helps us to live in and love the abundant life of Christ with us in Spirit. We are to experience Jesus making a home in our hearts and lives each time we extend love through acts of faith. And we are to realize that this will enrich our experience and enjoyment of Christ in a practical, daily way. It is not just to live in a Christ-like way or to glorify Christ through our behavior but to experience and share that Christ lives in those who believe in the love of God manifested. Friends, the Christian life is not a just matter of behaving like Christ, but of allowing Christ Himself to live in and through us though a love that is eternal. For the thing is that even though we are born again we still have a sin nature. Our worthiness does not come from our actions but the actions of Christ. By the grace of God through faith we are to see Jesus living in our lives. That is the Way of salvation and transformation in the love of God.
Pray the temple of God lives on in our hearts rebuilt with Christ as the cornerstone. Pray we realize that God is living in the Good News of a new creation. Pray Christ takes charge of our lives manifesting the promise of health and sustainable livelihood and meaningful work that Isaiah prophesied. Pray we share the enthusiasm and faith of the Apostle John. Pray we come alive in Christ. Pray we have eyes to see Jesus in those we consider the least of these. Pray our self-centeredness is crucified with Christ. Pray we believe in the transcendence of the resurrection. Pray we believe that Christ is alive right now. Pray we share what we believe in a way to make the greatest impact. Pray we remember Jesus. Pray Jesus remembers us. Pray we remember that we have been blessed despite our failings, for Christ has risen in us empowering us to love in a way that makes a difference now and forever.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 