The Resurrection: A Summary

The Christian year begins with a birth of a baby. The angels sing, the kings of the east come, and the shepherds shout for joy, but we are left with a baby that is tired and hungry and fully God and fully man. The fabric of the universe is torn. The calculations of the wise are altered. God has come.

Four months later in that same calendar we come to the apex of the year. That baby is now a man who is crucified, died, and buried. Dead in the ground, death had won. For three days Satan had his victory. God undone. Hell victorious. On that Sunday morning Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome head to the tomb in pain and grief. The teacher is dead. The Messiah they thought they had known was no more. Their leader dead and so was their hopes and dreams for the future. He had brought so much to their lives and it was now over.

They reach the tomb and a man in white tells them, "He is risen! He is not here." They do not know what to do or what to think. What does it mean that he is risen? The implications were unclear. Jesus is alive, that is enough for now. So they ran back and told the remaining disciples. Peter and John go to see for themselves. It is true Jesus is no longer dead.

Jesus who is God was dead and now he lives.

Over the next few months Jesus appears to many of his followers. He says that the Kingdom has come. But Rome still rules. He says, see with new eyes, but their sight is still darken. Then Jesus ascends into heaven. He is seated at the right now of His Father. The disciples are bewildered. What now? What does this all mean? The Messiah lives! The Kingdom has come! But it is not what we expected. And so they follow his command and head to Jerusalem to wait.

Jesus is the Messiah. This they know. He was dead and now he lives. God has changed the world. Still, they do not fully see it. The world is different, but how, remains to be seen. They must wait in Jerusalem, for God isn't finished yet.

The Darkness

Jesus is dead today. His body lays in the tomb. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He made the blind see, the cripple walk. What was broken was made whole. We went to Jerusalem expecting a coronation. Instead, all we have is this darkness. I gave my life to this prophet. For three years I wandered and learned. I was mocked by my family. My brother talked to me about responsibility, about loving your mother and father. I told him, listen to the teacher, he is going to make the world right. He fed thousands out of a boy's lunch. I couldn't believe, I still can't believe. We don't know what to do. Many have already left, slinking away to the darkness. He is dead. And I am wrong. The messiah is not here.

Romans 12: Bridging the Divide

Paul has spent the last eleven chapters explaining why and how both Jews and Gentiles are part of God’s family. He wanted the church in Rome to understand that both belonged and neither could claim superiority over the other. The Jews could not say they have God’s special favor and the Gentiles could not say that God has rejected the Jews. Paul wanted them to get along and understand that they were a family. But this isn’t your, “you guys are brothers, so stop fighting” type of family. Paul lays out clearly what is a desired, a family based on God’s love.

First, remember it’s not about you or what you have done, it’s about what God has done and is doing. Second, we all have different gifts, but we are all one body. Third, love each other and hate evil. Fourth, love your neighbor, even if he hates you. Feed him, clothe him, bless him.

Paul is saying what Jesus said, you gotta die to self. It ain’t about you, but about God. Fortunately, God love you and sent his son to rescue you. By dying to self you find your true self in God. Paul wants the church to live in harmony and peace (shalom) with themselves and with others. God leads, you follow.

God of the Hills

Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. So begins the famous the Shema found in Deuteronomy 6:4. It is the definition of the Jew’s relationship with God 3000 year ago and today. Throughout the Bible you find this theme: that God is one and he rules the whole world, that all powers are beneath Him, that nothing can separate us from Him. Moses knew this. Paul knew this.

Yet, for the people of Israel it is a difficult commandment to fully comply with. Throughout most of their history the Israelites live in the hill country of Judea. Their neighbors control the lush plain and the coast. The hills are too often barren, good only for sheep and goats. The Israelites see the ease of their neighbors and wonder about their gods. See, in this ancient world the gods are particular to space in time. Too many, Yahweh is just a god of the hills—one of many. His way is hard and difficult. His way depends upon the fickle rain. The gods of the valley give abundant grain to the cities.

The Israelites see their neighbors and in their jealously cannot resist their neighbors’ gods. It is not so much that Yahweh stinks, but that He isn’t enough. So they hedge, setting up sacred poles, buying a few idols in the market. Maybe, they think, if this god works for the Amorites then it will work for me. And so the Israelites fall in their weakness and envy. They, like us, cannot trust enough in God. They, like us, hedge their bets.

Psalms 105 and 106

Asking, what is your story, is a way of asking, who are you? How did you get here? And therefore, where are you going?

Humans, as it has been often pointed out, are obsessed with story and narrative. We watch baseball and over a season a story starts taking shape. It may be a team overcoming adversary or falling to that common vice of pride or reaching beyond themselves. The stat geeks fight against the story, talking about fip and ops and regression to the mean and the role of chance over any seven game series. We may nod in agreement, but despite our knowledge of chance we still find the story in the smallest things.

Now those smarter than us will state that we are evolutionary inclined to story and meaning. That we need to face facts and deal with the randomness of it all; to recognize that our lives do not have an arc or much of a purpose. Our stories are only self told, meant to delude us into action.

Perhaps this is true. Perhaps we tell lives so that we live as we ought too. If so, I wonder what we should make of Psalms 105 and 106. These psalms, probably written in the late Kingdom or during exile tell Israel's story. They remind the Israelites of their story--how they were slaves in Egypt and brought out by their God's might and power. The Psalms specify what happened to Israel, their ups and downs, their sins and glory. The Psalms remind the current Israelites who they are and that they have a purpose and that they are connected to a God greater than their suffering. This story, as told in Psalms 105 and 106, remind Israel that they are a people called by God, who need Yahweh to find their way.

Your Wild-Eyed Prophet of the Day

It's no secret that some of the Old Testament prophets have a bit of that crazy in them. The mere fact that you'd stand up to kings and nobles and proclaim their coming doom requires a certain amount of unnerving certainty. Nevertheless, certain prophet give off the crazy vibe much more than other prophets. For example, Elijah performs miracles and signs of wonder and dukes it out the Ahab (one of the best scenes in the Bible) yet seems sane. He is man fulfilling God's strange call. Isaiah, to some degree, fits that same category. Sure, he has visions, but his calling to repentance and justice rings true to this day.

On the hand, we have Ezekiel. Like any decent prophet Ezekiel had visions, but he was also called by God to act out God's words, like some ancient performance art (from Ezekiel 12):

"Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."

So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.

It's a reminder that God's call is not necessarily a sane call, or a proper call, or a call to tell your grandma about over a cup of tea.