12 April 2020 - bright angels attesting

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”

None either of the women or  of the disciples had any idea what was happening. They knew Jesus had claimed to be the resurrection and the life. But they had seen him die. They were still unwilling to give up entirely. But they didn't know what to hope for. They remained near to this tomb because being there seemed preferable to all the vain consolations the world could offer. He had said he was the life. Could he really be dead? It seemed so very final. Yet they remained near the tomb expecting they knew not what.

In fact, Jesus had explained what would happen to him. But the faith of those to whom he explained it was not yet deep enough to accept it. Even his making it clearer and clearer, culminating finally in the raising of Lazarus, was not enough for them to recognize the signs of it happening. Or perhaps they were afraid to recognize it happening. Perhaps hearts with hopes so crushed by the world, all but dead themselves, needed supernatural life infused to bring them alive with hope again. 

Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.

Perhaps this Easter morning we ourselves are the ones with hearts so crushed by the world that we dare not hope again. Maybe we find it much easier to believe any explanation than the hopeful one. We encounter empty tombs, opportunities to hope in the LORD, but attribute them all to grave robbers.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

As we discover the empty tomb this morning we are invited to see and believe with the eyes of our hearts. What we see is startling, both for the first witnesses, and for us. It is something no one would have guessed. It burst all the preexisting categories. It was not a story they or we would have ever thought to make up. The very otherness of this offer of hope is evidence in its favor. Do we hear the invitation to believe? The resurrection is calling us to let God redefine everything we know about him, ourselves, the world, and our relation to it. It is not simply a belief about something that happened once in the distant past that now seems historically interesting. Rather it is a belief by which we become we learn that death and decay no longer have the last word. Because this is true we ourselves need no longer be slaves to fear (Hebrews 2:15).

This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

Jesus is made visible to us by the faith to which he invites us. This is the dawn from on high that breaks upon us. He himself is the light who enlightens all men. This is the first morning of the new creation, the day that the LORD has made.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

We are called to live from the new reality already present in Christ, where the not yet of the resurrection has already begun in the here and now.

Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.

We are called to clear out the remnants of a past life, a life dominated by death. By Easter bells, we are called to have our hope healed and restored to a new world where with God all things are indeed possible.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

11 April 2020 - at the tomb

From the Gospel burial accounts:

Matthew 27:57-66

Mark 15:42-47

Luke 23:50-56

John 19:38-42

Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, 

Let us first look at this figure known only for his appearance on Holy Saturday. Joseph of Arimathea is an impressive figure. He was"a virtuous and righteous man", both a disciple of Jesus and a member of the council. Though a member of the council, he did not consent to the plan to kill Jesus. Though he was a rich man it became obvious that his riches were not the most important thing to him. He following Jesus secretly while it was possible for him, "for fear of the Jews". Perhaps this let him remain on the council and try to tilt that balance toward justice from that position. But when it came down to it, he was willing to be expose his secret.

[He] came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

It is an unusual faith that was willing to risk his position and reputation and riches for the body of Jesus. We could imagine standing up for Jesus before the crucifixion. We could imagine ourselves being seen with him as we followed him. Perhaps we could see ourselves trying to fight for him against those trying to take him captive. But how many of us would still have concern for the body of Christ after the he breathed his last, before the dawn of Easter? What kind of faith was this that Joseph possessed? To what hope did he secretly cling to risk everything at that moment, of all possible moments?

Another example of the special kind of faith Holy Saturday calls for can be found in Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and John. The stone was rolled closed on the tomb, signifying to most that the story was over, the hope was ended, and that Jesus had apparently failed. Yet we read,  precisely after this tomb was closed that:

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.

In another gospel, just as the stone was rolled close we read:

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid.

They had also shown affection for the lifeless body. They had aided in the burial customs, anointing and wrapping his body with such tender care. Yet when the stone rolled closed they could not bring themselves to abandon hope, to return home, to concede defeat. They persisted in faith stubbornly in spite of the dead body that they themselves had prepared for burial, in spite of the closed tomb before their eyes.

It seems likely that the story of Lazarus spread among all those who followed Jesus. But only these figures at the tomb seem to have taken to heart and clung to it as proof that they need not abandon hope. Could the one who said "I am the resurrection and the life" be killed? They did not accept that he could. Because they knew Jesus, even in his lifeless body they intuited that death could not be the final word.

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it (see Acts 2:24).

Even after watching and helping the body to be laid to rest, these examples of faith believed, maybe not explicitly, but nevertheless actually, that this sleep in the earth was somehow temporary, for some unfathomable reason waiting to be taken up into a larger plan as yet unseen.

Jesus chose this Sabbath rest for himself. No one took his life from him. So too was the time he spent in the tomb, before the third day, deliberate. He asks us now to enter into that quiet and that darkness, but not without expectant faith, not like those who have no hope. We who know the final shape the plan would take have even more reason than these figures from Scripture to watch at the tomb with devout affection.

11 April 2020 - something strange (on earth)

Reading from the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday

From an ancient homily On Holy Saturday

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

10 April 2020 - really, good

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”

9 April 2020 - the tide flowing

Today's Readings

(Audio)

They shall take some of its blood
and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they partake of the lamb.
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Today we celebrate the lamb whose precious blood saves us from the angel of death.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (see John 5:51)

We need the body and blood of this lamb to be saved. If the blood of Christ does not anoint our own hearts we too will ultimately face God's judgment, just as Egypt did. Our hearts dwell in the land of sin and worship of foreign gods. Only the blood of Jesus protects us so that we can begin our exile from Egypt toward the promised land.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (see First Peter 1:18-19).

Sin is serious and merits judgment. But God does not want to see us condemned. He loves us and longs to see us fulfilled and fully alive. He cannot do this by ignoring sin, looking the other way, pretending everything is OK, while it festers and corrupts his creation. He has no alternative but to bring judgment on sin and those who cling to it. But he does not do so without also doing all he can to provide a way to salvation for all who will accept it.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (see John 3:17).

The most amazing thing about the way God chose to deal with sin is that not only did he not ignore or minimize it but that he took the full consequences of sin upon himself. He didn't ultimately insist that each person pay an unpayable debt. He didn't simply look the other way and give the world something less than the full restoration it needed. He himself became the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Jesus is the lamb, our perpetual sacrifice, and our hope before the throne of God. If he will go as far as this, what won't he do to save us?

He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

Jesus shows the deep inner meaning and logic of his sacrifice when he washes the feet of his disciples.

he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He stripped himself of his outer garments, the divine glory he had from the foundation of the world, in order to do a task that was too low even for a servant. He humbled himself out of obedience to the Father and love for us.

One thing which was not evident in the original Passover that should now be evident is just how this should transform us. The lamb is no longer some arbitrary third party. The lamb is the one who has chosen to be humbled for the sake of love. He therefore calls us to do the same. Our hearts can learn this when we ourselves are anointed by his precious blood. Jesus, by not minimizing judgment, but with his abundant mercy has revealed this deep necessity to us.

Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.

8 April 2020 - the grace of forgiveness

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;

Jesus wants to give us ears that are open to hear the Father's will. He wants us to be able to accept the invitation to love and obedience even when that means suffering for us.

And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

We are called to love even our enemies. We are called to love no matter what response we receive in return. But we often do rebel and turn back from this call when it becomes too personal. We have this abstract way in which we believe we are prepared to forgive anything. We imagine ourselves like the Amish, forgiving egregious acts of violence. But we aren't ready when our feelings are hurt. We more readily imagine forgiving a grievous act of violence from someone we never met than we would forgive having some effort of ours ignored or not acknowledged. To be honest, most of our ideas of forgiveness turn out to be mere braggadocio when put to the test and we are fortunate that we are no tested more rigorously.

Jesus does forgive those who persecute him. Even from the cross he asks for their forgiveness. How is he free to do what comes only with great difficulty for us?

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

The identity of Jesus is grounded in his knowledge that he is the Son of the Father. Because he has that knowledge he also knows that he doesn't have make a false effort to protect his own ego but not forgiving. His Father sustains him no matter what rights he foregoes, what he himself gives away and offers in love.

We have been made sons and daughters in the Son. Because of this our identities need not be at risk when we forgive. But for us, forgiveness is an act of faith. It is believing that God will sustain us when we seem to be giving away too much. But faith is given as grace, and it grows as it is used.

“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”

We are called to forgiveness beyond limits. Jesus would have forgiven even Judas had he but asked. He forgave Peter his betrayal. He continues to forgive all who ask him. This is what freedom looks like. We are called first to receive that forgiveness where we ourselves need it, and then to spread it wherever we can.

7 April 2020 - you will follow later

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,

We have a lot in common with Peter as we continue into Holy Week. We have the desire to follow Jesus, even to remain with him as he goes to his death for our sakes. But we don't really know what this entails. It is an easy intention to form until it is tested.

Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”

Jesus looked at Peter in that moment with amazing mercy. He knew about the betrayal. It wasn't that it didn't deeply hurt his heart. But he was able to see the bigger plan for Peter's life and how his ultimate restoration and forgiveness would strengthen him to that end.

though you will follow later.

So too with us. God knows that many of our intentions for this week may not be successful. To be successful is not the main point. To remain in process with God, to return to him in humility for mercy is more important. It is right to set these intentions. And it isn't that we set out planning to fail. We set out with the same zeal of Peter, with all the zeal we can muster for a week so sacred. Whether or not our plans succeed God will use them to bring us more deeply into his Paschal mystery.

Even our failures our redeemed by the cross of Christ. The cross was what seemed to be the biggest failure in history, but which turned out to be the greatest victory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.

Our own failures are subsumed into that apparent failure, giving us the right to share in the victory.

And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.