the Resurrection: was it real?

Rembrandt, "The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene"

For Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Sunday

Did The Resurrection really happen? If it did, this was the turning point of all of history, for in this moment, Man discovered that his relationship with God, broken by his own rebellion, could be reconciled, and with this, his entire life restored.

I believe this did happen and is an historical event. If it could be proven otherwise, then I would reject my faith, for it would be useless. As said the Apostle Paul:

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; your faith also is in vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15:13-17).

How about you? If you aren't sure, here is a good place to start.

I became a Christian at age 13 by praying a simple prayer. "God, I believe that you sent your son to earth to die on the cross for my sins." I believed. I am now 47 years old and I still see that as the crucial moment of my life. I'm still on the journey, and haven't followed perfectly by any means, but I'm still following, and still being blessed as Mary was when she realized that the man she mistook for a gardener in Gethsemane was none other than Jesus himself, raised back to life.

For those of us who believe, when we get to heaven, wouldn't it be fascinating to sit down with Mary and ask her, "What was that like?" We'll have the opportunity and this is indeed something to celebrate.

Happy Easter.

See and Believe

Claude Lorrain, "Easter Morning" (1681)
Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Germany

Easter Sunday
For Sunday, April 12, 2009

Claude Lorrain painted this at 81 years of age the year before his death. Apparently he was close enough to heaven that he could see it from there. Christ is risen! In the Orthodox East it is customary to proclaim this on Easter morning. The response is then also proclaimed: "He is risen indeed!"

This week's first reading, Acts 10:34-43, proclaims the gospel with crystal clarity. "They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day (vv. 39-40). . . He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God has appointed 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" (vv. 42-43). I proclaim with the Apostle Peter that there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. Do you believe this as well? Then we together have received forgiveness of our sins. Hallelujah.

This week's second reading, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, celebrates the salvation in which we have believed. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. If we take a moment to reflect on the reality that God has made this day and every day for us, we will rejoice and be glad in it. This is how I want to live.

This week's third reading, John 20:1-18, is one of my favorite passages, because of the playful joy of the gospel which it conveys. Peter and 'the other disciple', most likely the author John himself, are running to the tomb after being informed by Mary Magdalene that Jesus' tomb was both open and empty. Curiously, John points out that this 'other disciple' outran Peter and reached the tomb first (v. 4). Why is this important? He doesn't say, but notes this same detail again two verses later: Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first . . . " Do you remember being a kid and just running for the joy of life? Maybe this is what John intends to convey here. Let us run to this Easter with a playful joy because of what God has done for his Son along with us.

This week's final reading, Colossians 3:1-4, sets our course moving forward from Easter. Since you have been raised with Christ set your hearts on the things above. Set your minds on the things above, and not on earthly things. Let this Easter be a day in which we set our hearts and minds on Christ seated at God's right hand upon the throne of heaven. For in so doing we will then live out our remaining days on this earth to the praise of His glorious grace, just as Claude Lorraine portrays for us so beautifully.

Christ is risen! Go ahead, say it with me: "He is risen indeed!"

Good Friday is good... right?

El Greco, "Christ Carrying the Cross"

This was the question a co-worker put to me yesterday as I the elevator door was closing between us. I didn't get a chance to answer then but appreciated the question. Another co-worker had asked yesterday, "What does Maundy mean?" so let's tackle both of these.

Let's start with Maundy Thursday. Wikipedia has a great article on this here. 'Maundy' you'll remember derives from the Middle English and Old French mande'. ... You didn't remember that, did you? Neither did I. In fact, one of the only people who would is Milt Rosenberg of Extension 720 fame. In one show a few months ago he couldn't resist reading through Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in Middle English. Very funny. Anyway, continuing on, mande' then is a derivation of the Latin mandatum, which means "commandment". It is a reference to the first word in the Latin for the Gospel of John chapter 13 verse 34: "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos". Translation: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another even as I have loved you." So, in summary, 'Maundy Thursday' really means "Commandment Thursday", and the command being referred to is that believers in Christ love others the way that Christ has loved them. Cool...

So, turning then to Good Friday, what's good about it? The Wikipedia article (see prior link) doesn't explain this but there is an interesting note on this in the discussion section for the article. Another term used with reference to 'Good' is 'Passion', which is a reference to Christ's 'passion', or the event of His death on the cross. What's good about Good Friday is that this was the day that God's one and only Son went to the cross to secure victory over humanity's curse. This curse is called sin, which means alienation from God.

Presumed in all of this story is a key question: what is wrong with us? Whenever I hear about torture, starvation, and other profound cruelties I'm reminded of this question. It's a question that each of us has to answer for ourselves. The answer that I've come to is that the Bible has it exactly right: what is wrong with us, ultimately, is that we need God in our lives. The secular culture in which we live, which wants to divide the sacred from the secular (or "earthly"), and wants to hold the sacred at arm's length with both skepticism and disdain, can distract us from acknowledging or even recognizing this need. Yet at the same time our own brokenness reminds us daily that something is indeed very wrong.

The good thing about Good Friday is that it is an opportunity to recognize what is wrong with us, accept God's offer of forgiveness in the form of Christ dying for our sin on the cross, and then to invite God to be with us, heal us, and bless us.

Good Friday is good.. right? If we will say 'yes' to God it is good indeed.

a divine appointment

Claude Lorraine, "Easter Morning"
(1600 - 1682, Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Germany)

Acts 10:34-43
Easter (Sunday, March 23, 2008)

Skeptical scholars sometimes argue that Judaism was a construct of the Jews intended to provide themselves with a special national identity. Such thinking completely misses the point of both the Old and New Testaments. The promise God originally made to Abraham was never meant for the Jewish people alone but rather for every people on the earth. Thus Peter says here, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (vv. 34, 35).

And so Peter finds himself here in the home of a Gentile named Cornelius. What a fun evangelistic appointment this must have been: God had so prepared Cornelius that he and his family were prepared to accept everything Peter said before Peter opened his mouth. This is a good reminder for those of us concerned about proclaiming our message: it is God who opens hearts - not our words or even our actions.

It's fascinating to see how Peter summarizes the gospel for Cornelius and family. Peter calls it "the good news of peace through Jesus Christ" (v. 36). Peter continues, "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (v. 43). The gospel is this: our problem as human beings is that we are broken by sin, which is rebellion against God and all that is right. Yet God offers us forgiveness of sins through his Son's death on the cross for us.

If you haven't yet believed this message, please look within yourself today. Do you see brokenness? Would you like to be put back together and to be forgiven for your own failures to do what is right? Then let today be your day. There is a new life waiting for you. Let this Easter be your own personal resurrection from the dead.

Pentecostal Easter?

Rembrandt, "The risen Christ appearing to the Magdalen"

Easter Sunday (April 8, 2007)
Acts 10:34 - 48

One of the great things about reading the Bible based on a schedule like the Revised Common Lectionary is that one comes across passages that might be other than what one's faith community might typically read on given occasions. This passage has little chance of being read in my evangelical church on Easter Sunday.

For Pentecostals, this might be a wonderful passage. "See, here is clear evidence that when the Holy Spirit comes on someone they will speak in tongues, and that what is really happening is the baptism of the Holy Spirit."

May I suggest that there is something a bit different going on here. The focus of this chapter is clearly on the gospel reaching not only the Jews (like Peter) but the Gentiles as well (like Cornelius). 'Tongues' (v. 46) is now taken in contemporary English to mean "special spiritual languages," but this is a meaning being imposed on the text from without, and is therefore not a good translation. Why does the New International Version (NIV) then use it? I'd like to know the answer to this question myself. I'll try to find out. The alternate translation, which the NIV itself provides, is much better: 'other languages'.

What is happening here in chapter 10 is confirmation of what happened at Pentecost in chapter 2. Pentecost was about the coming of the new covenant for the benefit of every tribe, tongue (ala German, Russian, Italian), and nation. The prophet Joel had predicted that when the new covenant came we would know it in part because the Spirit would be poured out on "all people" (Acts 2:17). The word used here for 'people' is the Greek word SARKOS, which literally means "flesh". One of the uses of SARKOS is to refer to races of people (e.g. Rom. 11:14, "I can make the people of my own race (SARKOS) jealous"). What is Acts 2 about? Races of people receiving the Holy Spirit. Each race was hearing the gospel in their own language (Acts 2:11).

You might raise a question at this point: "Ahem, excuse me, but in Acts 10 those receiving the Spirit are not speaking in their own languages, but in other languages. Precisely. The issue at this point in the story is for the Jews to know that the Spirit really had come on these Gentiles. What better way to demonstrate this than for these Gentiles to speak in languages they didn't know, and which the Jews knew they didn't know, but which the Jews present understood. Forgive me for being so blunt on Easter, but had these Gentiles at this point started saying, "Yabba dabba doo, I want that too," nothing would have been accomplished.

I submit the above humbly as food for thought. There is however a real connection between Easter and Pentecost on which Christians of various persuasions can agree. The resurrection of Christ opened the door for the salvation of every people on earth. As new storm clouds are gathering on top of the existing ones in the Middle East, this is something about which we can truly rejoice. How good to know that amidst strife and conflict, the church remains steadfast, and offers hope to all who enter.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.