Theology on Tap Round V
Resurrection
Premise: Resurrection shapes the life of the community God is creating through the ministry of Jesus in the Gospels and the book of Acts.
There are two Greek words that we understand as the action of resurrection - literally, "to be raised":
ἐγείρω,v \{eg-i’-ro}
1) to arouse, cause to rise 1a) to arouse from sleep, to awake 1b) to arouse from the sleep of death, to recall the dead to life 1c) to cause to rise from a seat or bed etc. 1d) to raise up, produce, cause to appear
ἀνίστημι,v \{an-is’-tay-mee}
1a) to cause to rise up, raise up 1a) raise up from laying down 1b) to raise up from the dead 1c) to raise up, cause to be born, to cause to appear, bring forward
The word ἐγείρω is used in Mark’s Gospel to describe Jesus’ own resurrection.
Mark 16:6-7 - “But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised (ἐγείρω); he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. (7) But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’”
If we follow the call of Mark to go back to Galilee, we find ourselves right back in chapter one of the Gospel. The Gospel can be seen as cyclical in this way. The call from the messenger at the tomb points us to where Jesus began his ministry. In the time when this story was told orally, this was an important hook for the audience. It gave the audience a choice of how they responded to the story. They could walk away and leave it as just a story. Or they could return to Galilee, experience the ministry of Jesus unfolding, and pattern their owns lives after what they had experienced. Going back to Galilee helps us to understand the wider scope of resurrection in the Gospel.
Resurrection takes place in the ultimate moment of being raised to new life by God at the moment of physical death. Resurrection also takes place in more subtle ways. Here we think of death in a metaphorical sense. We can have a pulse and move air and still be very much dead to the world. Here death is a metaphor for all that holds us back from living the full life that God has blessed us with in this world. In this metaphorical death we are held back from working, serving, playing, and living fully into to our identity as God’s people. We do not get to enjoy the benefits of life in community.
Throughout the Gospel we encounter Jesus raising people to new life - granting them the benefits and returning them to participation in life in the community. Literally resurrecting them in this world. So we go back to Galilee to witness this social aspect of resurrection.
In Galilee, Jesus begins his ministry after his testing in the wilderness with a sermon in the local synagogue. After the gathering is off to Peter’s mother-in-laws house for a bite to eat. But she is sick with a fever. What follow is the first moment of “resurrection” in the Gospel.
Mark 1:31 - “He came and took her by the hand and lifted (ἐγείρω) her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.”
In this instant, Jesus resurrects Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. In here state of fever, she could not fulfill her identity as a child of God. She could not serve others and live out her call to hospitality. She is metaphorically dead to the community. Until Jesus raises her to new life. Once resurrected, she immediately lives into her identity as person of hospitality. Right there, as the beginning of his ministry, Jesus is enacting resurrection.
We encounter this over and over again in Mark’s Gospel.
Mark 2:11-12
“I say to you, stand up (ἐγείρω), take your mat and go to your home.” 12 And he stood up (ἐγείρω), and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Mark 3:1-5
“Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward (ἐγείρω).”
Mark 5:41-42
“He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up (ἐγείρω)!” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.”
In each of these moments we need to remember that the original audience probably heard this story told before they ever encountered it in textual form. When hearing the story, repetition of words is important. Mark’s use of ἐγείρω is a choice and the audience would not translate it in such a wide variety of meanings as we do today. They would, potentially, hear the word ἐγείρω over and over and build an image of what this concept means. When Mark uses it in connection with Jesus in 16:16, the image and action of resurrection would be complete. Jesus has been practicing all along what God will do for him on the first Easter.
Resurrection happens in real time! Social resurrection is happening now.
A key moment for Mark’s Gospel arrives in chapter ten when Jesus invites the crowd to participate in his ministry of social resurrection.
In the story of Bartimaeus, my favorite Gospel story (and the namesake of this blog), we have the tale of a man who gets invited to participate in life as a disciple of Jesus. This story is rich with metaphor.
Mark 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside( ὁδός, the way). 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up (ἐγείρω), he is calling you.” 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way (ὁδός).
The word in verse 46 that is translated “roadside” is the Greek word ὁδός. It is often translated as road, but for Mark it may have deeper meaning. The name for the early Jesus movement was “The Way” - literally ὁδός. We can understand this moment to be Bartimaeus sitting beside “the way,” in a state of being where he is not engaged in the life of a disciple. Metaphorically he cannot “see (encounter)” the world as a disciple.
In verse 49 Jesus empowers the crowd to call Bartimaeus to him, and they are the ones who raise him to engage new life as a disciple. It is crowd who now participates in Jesus’ ministry of social resurrection. They are the instrument Jesus uses to raise this man to new life. A powerful moment for Mark’s Gospel.
Jesus pronounces that Bartimaeus’ faith has healed him. His faith has literally changed the way he engages the world. Bartimaeus then joins Jesus on “the way,” becoming a disciple.
The lesson from Mark - this is the life we are called into as disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus is about the business of enacting resurrection, bringing people to new life, in this time and place. And we are invited to follow.
The books of Luke and Acts model this same pattern. For Luke, the person considered to be the author of both works, the rhythm of Jesus enacting resurrection in this world is the same. For Luke, the word of choice for resurrection is ἀνίστημι.
Luke 24:5-75
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but they said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen (ἐγείρω). 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 (ἀνίστημι).”
This is repeated by Jesus himself when he appears to the disciples in verse 46 of the same chapter.
The movement of resurrection carries over into the book of Acts. A key verse early on comes in Peter’s Pentecost speech in chapter two.
Acts 2:32 - “This Jesus God raised (ἀνίστημι) up, and of that all of us are witnesses”
Resurrection is what Goes does in and through Jesus. The disciples are witnesses to this action.
In the book Acts, Luke narrates what God does in the world through the Holy Spirit, the main character of the story. What God does in the world is to continue to raise new life out of death; both physically and metaphorically. The witnesses of this action are called to interpret how God is at work in the world and pattern their lives accordingly. They are called to join into God's action of social resurrection.
Our call today is to do the same. We have received these witnesses stories not as fun tales for entertain, but to pattern our own lives accordingly.
An important question for us to ask is “Where have you seen Jesus?” I learned to ask this question while I was in Aggie Lutherans during my time in College Station. My mentor Deb Grant taught us to ask this question with our lives. Every gathering, every devotion, sometimes multiple times a week, we would ask each other - “where have you seen Jesus?” We would listen to each other’s encounters with the risen Jesus. We learned to see the rhythm of God in our midst. I still like to ask this question, so I offer it up to us this morning - “Where have you seen Jesus?” It’s a moment of confession for modern day disciples.
By asking and answering “Where have you seen Jesus?” we confess the power of God’s ministry of social resurrection in our midst.
Two more statements about resurrection.
1) Resurrection does not wait until it’s safe. God does it. We are invited to witness, follow, participate.
2) We do not get to vote on resurrection. Resurrection is God’s action. God will resurrection who and what God wants to - regardless of what we acknowledge or think.
So the next step for us to start asking - "Where Have You Seen Jesus?!”
Showing posts with label Where Have You Seen Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Where Have You Seen Jesus. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Where Have You Seen Jesus?
Easter Blessings!
This is manuscript from the sermon I preached on April 27, 2014 - the second Sunday after Easter. The sermon is based on John 20:19-31.
We also celebrated our Confirmation. We celebrated with ten of our youth as the made public proclamation of their faith.
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." 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So 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." 26A 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." 27Then 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." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
“Where Have You Seen Jesus?”
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
So goes our victory chant for the season of Easter. But if we look carefully at the first Easter story, the victory chant starts out rather quiet. Our story from John this morning picks up on that evening of the first Easter. And it’s an evening not marked by shouts of joy and celebration. That first easter evening is marked by locked doors and fear. The disciples huddle together behind a locked door, perhaps whispering over candle light, scared that they will be over heard by the authorities who led the shouts of “crucify” on Friday. There is fear and trembling. And who should show up, but Jesus.
Right through the locked door Jesus appears. The first words out of his mouth are “Peace be with you.” A greeting of peace for weary disciples. Jesus then shows him his hands and sides, gets his chance to tell the story of his scars (don’t we love that!). The darkness of the room begins to lighten. The faith crisis that had set on Friday begins to subside. God does have the power to work life out of death.
But Thomas is not with them. And if you have been around the church long enough, you are probably familiar with the phrase “doubting Thomas.” Actually it’s a phrase we use in all parts of our lives when someone doesn't believe what we have to say. A catch phrase if you will. One that Thomas is probably not proud of - and certainly one that is not deserved. Poor Thomas has gotten a raw deal for centuries. Perhaps it’s time we set the story straight.
Thomas was absent from the locked upper room the first time Jesus entered without a key. Thomas, who probably drew the short straw and had to venture out to the grocery store to get the makings of dinner, left a room full of fear and returned to a party. He missed the key moment in-between. And by the time he managed to get everyone to stop talking at the same time, trying to tell him the miraculous story of Jesus’ peculiar locksmith abilities, Thomas is more than skeptical. But let’s not go so far as to call him a doubter. Thomas is a realist. He just wants to experience what everyone else is trying to explain to him. Jesus is risen. And Thomas wants to see him.
And can we blame him? He asks for what any other person, any one of the other disciples, any one of us, would have asked for. He wanted to see Jesus. Thomas’ faith had gone through the same roller coaster as the other disciples, only he did not get to experience the resurrection as they had. Thomas is still in the throws of the crisis. He is having troubling believing the story. He is having trouble trusting what the disciples are trying to tell him. And have all been there - we know what it’s like to have our faith tested. And the good news is that God is still with us through the darkness.
Jesus does not get angry with Thomas. He meets him right in the moment of his crisis and does the work of love in building up his faith. What happens next is the moment John has been working towards since chapter one. Thomas’ confession.
Thomas’ confession of faith - “My Lord and my God” - is a climactic moment for John’s story of Jesus. Thomas confesses Jesus to be God. It connects the arch of the story that John started with his first words; “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…..And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Thomas, when pushed on his unbelief, on his lack of trust in the resurrection event, confesses Jesus to be who John says he is, God incarnate in the world. God who came to give life.
The story that John wrote was written for us. Though he did not have Fredericksburg, Texas in mind when he put pen to paper almost two thousand years ago, John wrote this story for us. For ones who would not see, but believe. “But these are written so that you may come to believe Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name.” We are the ones who gather around this story over and over again, to catch a glimpse of Jesus, the son of God. We read and hear the signs that John recorded so that we may come to believe. Or to put it a little differently, so that we may come to trust. We around these stories from John, and others, so that we can come to trust that God is at work in our world. We have been given the sacraments of baptism and communion to give us strength on the journey of faith. So that we can confess the work of God to the world. So that we can trust that God is still at work in our midst.
The power of today’s story is the confession on the lips of Thomas. It’s not about doubt. It’s about Jesus moving us from a place of unbelief (lack of trust), to a place where we confess that God is indeed present in our lives.
In this season leading up to and celebrating Easter, we have been talking about resurrection at Theology on Tap. One of the key moments from this month’s gathering has been asking the question - “Where have you seen Jesus?” I learned to ask this question while I was in Aggie Lutherans during my time in College Station. My mentor Deb Grant taught us to ask this question with our lives. Every gathering, every devotion, sometimes multiple times a week, we would ask each other - “where have you seen Jesus?” We would listen to each other’s encounters with the risen Jesus. We learned to see the rhythm of God in our midst. I still like to ask this question, so I offer it up to us this morning - “Where have you seen Jesus?” It’s a moment of confession for modern day disciples.
I saw Jesus this week on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday evening we gathered in the sanctuary to celebrate the past two years of study. We lovingly questioned these young men and women about the tools that we have to develop our faith. The Bible. The Ten Commandments. The Creed. The Lord’s Prayer. The Sacraments. And they performed beautifully. We then got to sit back a listen to faith statements, my favorite part of the evening.
With nerves running high, each one took their turn in front of the crowd and confessed their faith. Little “Thomas’” everyone one of them. Confessing their faith, their trust in the work of God in their lives. Faith shaped and inspired by parents and grandparents and friends and teachers and cabin leaders and pastors. Faith that will continue to grow. For this is not the end of the journey.
We celebrate a step in the journey of faith today. We gather around ten of our youth to celebrate their affirmation of faith. We call it confirmation. It’s a journey that started around the font a few years ago. A journey that started with water, God’s word, and a few promises from those who would journey with these young men and women. I see Jesus at work in these young people. I see God at work in this faith community. God is alive and well and continuing to do the work of life in this place.
So where have you seen Jesus? This question becomes a way for us to witness what God is doing in our midst. It becomes a way for us to proclaim God alive and well in this world. It becomes a way for us to talk about what we are often shy to address. I commend this question to you this week and in the weeks to come. Ask it around the dinner table. Call up your parents or kids and ask them where they have seen Jesus. If the question feels a bit strange, practice it for a while. Bring it up on Facebook. You know Bethany has a Facebook page now. Social media is great medium for sharing our faith and witnessing to what God is doing in our lives. So let’s continue to ask each other - “Where have you seen Jesus?”
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
God is still at work in our world. Let’s go out and witness it with our lives.
This is manuscript from the sermon I preached on April 27, 2014 - the second Sunday after Easter. The sermon is based on John 20:19-31.
We also celebrated our Confirmation. We celebrated with ten of our youth as the made public proclamation of their faith.
John 20:19-31
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." 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So 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." 26A 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." 27Then 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." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
“Where Have You Seen Jesus?”
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
So goes our victory chant for the season of Easter. But if we look carefully at the first Easter story, the victory chant starts out rather quiet. Our story from John this morning picks up on that evening of the first Easter. And it’s an evening not marked by shouts of joy and celebration. That first easter evening is marked by locked doors and fear. The disciples huddle together behind a locked door, perhaps whispering over candle light, scared that they will be over heard by the authorities who led the shouts of “crucify” on Friday. There is fear and trembling. And who should show up, but Jesus.
Right through the locked door Jesus appears. The first words out of his mouth are “Peace be with you.” A greeting of peace for weary disciples. Jesus then shows him his hands and sides, gets his chance to tell the story of his scars (don’t we love that!). The darkness of the room begins to lighten. The faith crisis that had set on Friday begins to subside. God does have the power to work life out of death.
But Thomas is not with them. And if you have been around the church long enough, you are probably familiar with the phrase “doubting Thomas.” Actually it’s a phrase we use in all parts of our lives when someone doesn't believe what we have to say. A catch phrase if you will. One that Thomas is probably not proud of - and certainly one that is not deserved. Poor Thomas has gotten a raw deal for centuries. Perhaps it’s time we set the story straight.
Thomas was absent from the locked upper room the first time Jesus entered without a key. Thomas, who probably drew the short straw and had to venture out to the grocery store to get the makings of dinner, left a room full of fear and returned to a party. He missed the key moment in-between. And by the time he managed to get everyone to stop talking at the same time, trying to tell him the miraculous story of Jesus’ peculiar locksmith abilities, Thomas is more than skeptical. But let’s not go so far as to call him a doubter. Thomas is a realist. He just wants to experience what everyone else is trying to explain to him. Jesus is risen. And Thomas wants to see him.
And can we blame him? He asks for what any other person, any one of the other disciples, any one of us, would have asked for. He wanted to see Jesus. Thomas’ faith had gone through the same roller coaster as the other disciples, only he did not get to experience the resurrection as they had. Thomas is still in the throws of the crisis. He is having troubling believing the story. He is having trouble trusting what the disciples are trying to tell him. And have all been there - we know what it’s like to have our faith tested. And the good news is that God is still with us through the darkness.
Jesus does not get angry with Thomas. He meets him right in the moment of his crisis and does the work of love in building up his faith. What happens next is the moment John has been working towards since chapter one. Thomas’ confession.
Thomas’ confession of faith - “My Lord and my God” - is a climactic moment for John’s story of Jesus. Thomas confesses Jesus to be God. It connects the arch of the story that John started with his first words; “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…..And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Thomas, when pushed on his unbelief, on his lack of trust in the resurrection event, confesses Jesus to be who John says he is, God incarnate in the world. God who came to give life.
The story that John wrote was written for us. Though he did not have Fredericksburg, Texas in mind when he put pen to paper almost two thousand years ago, John wrote this story for us. For ones who would not see, but believe. “But these are written so that you may come to believe Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that through believing, you may have life in his name.” We are the ones who gather around this story over and over again, to catch a glimpse of Jesus, the son of God. We read and hear the signs that John recorded so that we may come to believe. Or to put it a little differently, so that we may come to trust. We around these stories from John, and others, so that we can come to trust that God is at work in our world. We have been given the sacraments of baptism and communion to give us strength on the journey of faith. So that we can confess the work of God to the world. So that we can trust that God is still at work in our midst.
The power of today’s story is the confession on the lips of Thomas. It’s not about doubt. It’s about Jesus moving us from a place of unbelief (lack of trust), to a place where we confess that God is indeed present in our lives.
In this season leading up to and celebrating Easter, we have been talking about resurrection at Theology on Tap. One of the key moments from this month’s gathering has been asking the question - “Where have you seen Jesus?” I learned to ask this question while I was in Aggie Lutherans during my time in College Station. My mentor Deb Grant taught us to ask this question with our lives. Every gathering, every devotion, sometimes multiple times a week, we would ask each other - “where have you seen Jesus?” We would listen to each other’s encounters with the risen Jesus. We learned to see the rhythm of God in our midst. I still like to ask this question, so I offer it up to us this morning - “Where have you seen Jesus?” It’s a moment of confession for modern day disciples.
I saw Jesus this week on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday evening we gathered in the sanctuary to celebrate the past two years of study. We lovingly questioned these young men and women about the tools that we have to develop our faith. The Bible. The Ten Commandments. The Creed. The Lord’s Prayer. The Sacraments. And they performed beautifully. We then got to sit back a listen to faith statements, my favorite part of the evening.
With nerves running high, each one took their turn in front of the crowd and confessed their faith. Little “Thomas’” everyone one of them. Confessing their faith, their trust in the work of God in their lives. Faith shaped and inspired by parents and grandparents and friends and teachers and cabin leaders and pastors. Faith that will continue to grow. For this is not the end of the journey.
We celebrate a step in the journey of faith today. We gather around ten of our youth to celebrate their affirmation of faith. We call it confirmation. It’s a journey that started around the font a few years ago. A journey that started with water, God’s word, and a few promises from those who would journey with these young men and women. I see Jesus at work in these young people. I see God at work in this faith community. God is alive and well and continuing to do the work of life in this place.
So where have you seen Jesus? This question becomes a way for us to witness what God is doing in our midst. It becomes a way for us to proclaim God alive and well in this world. It becomes a way for us to talk about what we are often shy to address. I commend this question to you this week and in the weeks to come. Ask it around the dinner table. Call up your parents or kids and ask them where they have seen Jesus. If the question feels a bit strange, practice it for a while. Bring it up on Facebook. You know Bethany has a Facebook page now. Social media is great medium for sharing our faith and witnessing to what God is doing in our lives. So let’s continue to ask each other - “Where have you seen Jesus?”
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
God is still at work in our world. Let’s go out and witness it with our lives.
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