Good Morning Friends,
Honestly, the joy of our recent vacation was more in the people we met than in the places we walked. I met one Presbyterian philanthropist from San Antonio, Texas in the Amsterdam airport. I told him that it was as if angels were watching over us the whole trip guiding us to something new out of what might be seen as old. He pointed out that not all vacationers had pleasant experiences this summer, and that he was returning early to attend funerals and memorial services for several families who had died in the Texas flooding. Interestingly, he was not so much grieving them as rejoicing that the families he knew believed in Jesus and his promises. And that brings us to today’s topic about the resurrection and angels in our mission of loving God, loving others and making disciples. Now the status of and perception of angels and the resurrection have an ebb and flow throughout history. Angels, it seems, are either in fashion or out, and often considered only folktales. The Bible mentions good angels and bad angels and part of the problem is that in common phrasing, the word has two meanings both a messenger from God and a spiritual being. And these beings are sometimes but not always depicted anthropomorphically and sometimes described as winged sentinels called cherubim standing at the gate of Eden and six winged creatures called seraphim that stand beside the throne of Yahweh in heaven and singing praises. In the early portions of the Bible the different meanings of angels are nicely distinguished, but in the later prophetic books and the Gospels this distinction breaks down. Interestingly Pharisees believed in them, and Sadducees did not. I mention all that because they are referenced in our Gospel reading today, all dressed in white at the site of the Resurrection. And so, as I contemplate today’s scripture and what I have seen the last couple of weeks, I wonder, Is It Easier To Believe In A Resurrected Jesus, In Angels, Or In Someone That Creates Something New?
Scripture: For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (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.” 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.
John 20:1-2, 11-18 (NRSV)
Message: This story of Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus has much to tell us about how Jesus reveals himself to us and a little about angels as well. You see, Jesus is always there if we have eyes to see. Perhaps angels too. If someone came up to you and asked, “Where do you see Jesus in your life?” Have you ever experienced the touch of an angel? What would you say? Mary Magdalene, when asked this question, would probably share the story of the first Resurrection morning. The story of the empty tomb is recorded in all four gospels. In each of the gospels Mary Magdalene is listed as one of the women who walked to the tomb early on Sunday morning. When Mary arrives at the tomb, she discovers the tomb empty. She immediately assumes the worst, like many of us would do, that someone has stolen the body of Jesus. Mary rushes off to tell the disciples. Peter and the beloved disciple return to the tomb with Mary. They confirm that indeed the tomb is empty, but they cannot offer an explanation except the cryptic comment that the beloved disciple looked inside the tomb, saw, and believed. All the while Mary is not only grieving Jesus’ death, but also that someone has desecrated his body. She is confused and overwhelmed by the events of the morning. Even when two angels appear to her and she sees a man in the garden near the tomb, she does not immediately hear Jesus or hope or see Jesus. Mary rose up early that morning to walk to the tomb. She needed to make this trip as an expression of her grief, and to complete the burial preparations of the body. I think Mary also simply wanted to spend time with the person she loved. Jesus had transformed her life. Jesus had loved her when she was thought to be unlovable. And Mary responded to Jesus’ love and saving activity in her life with love. Love motivated her early morning discipline and opened her up to the possibility of seeing Jesus. Following Mary’s example, people schedule specific times in their lives to be with Jesus. These times may be early in the morning, late at night, or in the middle of the day. Whenever they occur, these are times of prayer, devotional reading, and meditation—times to be with Jesus and to love in the newness of experiencing God. But all too often Christians fall into the trap of believing that they must discipline themselves because that is what good Christians do. Soon they find themselves working hard to be good and to do the right things. Mary reminds us that such devotion is truly motivated by love. It is to be easy and natural. Friends, that God loves us with an overwhelming and steadfast love. That Jesus died for us, even when we were rebelling against God’s Lordship in our lives, to forgive our sins and provide us with a new life and a new relationship with God is the message. God invites us to respond to God’s grace with faith and love in a new creation. Spending time in God’s presence, because we love God, opens us up to seeing Jesus in our world and in our lives now and whether the relationship is prompted by and experience of good angels sharing a message of hope or in the ever-present power of the Holy Spirit may not make as much difference as the reality that we love God and others. For that is how we are to experience God.
And So, once again I have asked a question and left it for the most part unanswered. The reality remains, that sometimes the journey to answer an either-or question demands a both-and response. But in the asking it becomes clearer that the fullness of the Gospel cannot just be talked about and reasoned over. We must experience the Gospel each in our own way. It must be loved in the renewing of our mind and resurrected in a newness that comforts. As with Paul’s letter to the Corinthians,’ the message is not about logically deducing God’s character of love, justice, and mercy. Or contemplating the number of angels on the head of a pin. We will never be transformed by just thinking about Jesus or reading about Jesus, though it is not a bad start. Some things must be completed in a first-hand experience, and this is one of them. And because some have not yet experienced God’s grace for themselves, we need to appeal for people to embrace Christ fully because this is more important than most give credit. So here is the thing, some join a worshipping congregation for the social support the church provides, or for the revolutionary idea of one organization where all classes are welcome, or maybe they join to intellectually affirm the Gospel, but they have not necessarily learned to trust and embrace Jesus in love. You see, we must embrace Christ fully and let His grace not just bring us forgiveness but transform us completely into the likeness of Christ Himself, so that we can represent Him to the World. We are being called to see the world through new eyes, but to do that, we need to be transformed by Christ. Once we witness His power firsthand, then we can go out and more effectively be ambassadors for Him and see the experience of life as new creatures in Christ… messengers for the Son of God.
Pray we see Jesus in our suffering as well as joy wherever our journey takes us. Pray that even though we are overwhelmed by the trials and struggles of life that we are not unable to experience the hope of seeing Jesus even through the tears. Pray we experience God’s presence in our lives without effort but instead because of a relationship of love. Pray Jesus reveals himself to us in and through his power. Pray we see through new eyes. Pray we receive the gift of reconciliation and transformation that turns us into new creatures with a heart for heaven.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 