The New Body

The Rev. Dr. John Judson

Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011

 

 

 

It was not what I expected to see. It was last Tuesday and I had come in early to get some work done before the Tuesday morning Bible study class. In order to jump start my body I decided that I would make the coffee for me and the class. Since the coffee maker was not working in Calvin I sauntered on down to Knox, measured out the coffee, prepared the machine and then went back upstairs. After about ten minutes I decided that the coffee was ready and went down to retrieve it. As I turned into Knox kitchen the brown river flowing across the floor caught my eye. My mind quickly raced through the possible things I could have done wrong as I looked at more than a gallon of liquid gold inching toward the drain. At that moment I was grateful to be the only person in the building so that no one could hear what I said as I discovered that the last person to clean the coffee maker had not closed the spigot…and I had forgotten to check it out. Being able to triage the situation I took care of the most important thing first. I closed the spigot and made a new pot of coffee…then I went, got the mop and cleaned up. To say the least it was not how I had planned for my day to go.

 

Have you ever had a day like that? Maybe I should ask if you have ever had days like that? We all know the drill. Our days are planned and scheduled. We know how our days are going to go; get up early for school; get to the gym and work out; make it into the office and take care of all the matters on our desk; or perhaps it is that we are going to sleep in and relax a bit. Then reality breaks in. The car won’t start. The computer crashes. The phone rings. The dog has eaten your homework. Traffic is backed up on the expressway. The best of our plans have suddenly bit the dust and the trajectory of our day…and sometimes longer has been altered. And if you are like me there are moments when we wonder why the world has chosen on this day to make us the victim of Murphy’s Law. But before you think that either you are alone in this or that this is something new, let’s return to our morning’s lesson…the day the women thought they were going to have was not the one they got.

 

The women in our story this morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, had been followers of Jesus. His death had stunned and demoralized them. His death had not simply been the end of a friendship but it was then end of their hopes and dreams. For the first time in their lives there had been a man, a rabbi, a leader who had treated them as if they mattered in and of themselves. They were not simply an extension of their fathers and husbands…they were not chattel…they were human beings made in the image of God. But now he was gone. Their day, according to Matthew was to center around remembering their dead friend. They had gone to see the tomb; to sit and remember Jesus. But all of that changed the instant they arrived. First there was an earthquake. Though not common it was not unheard of. Their day changed even more when it became apparent that the earthquake was of angelic and not seismic origin. They changed even more with the words from the angel…that Jesus was not there, that he had been raised. It changed for good when they encountered the resurrected Jesus, held on to him and listened to his voice once again. This was not how they had planned their day.

 

This was not how they had planned their lives either, for you see the raising of Jesus from the dead was not on their radars. Though he had hinted at it, his death and resurrection were such foreign concepts that regardless of how many times he spoke about it no one could have comprehended it. It was a foreign concept because the resurrection of the dead was the sign that God’s kingdom was breaking into the world and that God had finally begun to restore God’s creation. The resurrection meant that these women had gone from being victims to victors. Here is what I mean. The women, along with the rest of the world were victims to death. Death was the final note in life. It robbed people of meaning and purpose. It robbed them of a future and a past. But with the resurrection of Jesus death’s grip on humanity was broken. They were now victors over death. The women were also victims of the power of sin in the world. Sin ruled and reigned over the hearts and minds of humanity. It turned people’s hearts inward causing them to be self-centered, cruel and fearful. Sin’s grip meant that any time God’s people made progress toward being the beloved, redeeming community of God, they would fail; falling back into habits of lusting after power and prestige. Jesus’ resurrection broke the power of sin thus allowing his followers to become the beloved and creation redeeming community. Not only had the women’s day changed, so had their lives.

 

Our lives have been changed by the resurrection as well. We too have become victors and not victims. What is interesting about our society is that it tries to convince us that we are all victims. We are victims of the rich, or the poor. We are victims or business or unions. We are victims of the church or of secular atheism. We are the victims of those who are different from us. We are victims of life itself because death will take us. And what seeing ourselves as victims does is that it makes us angry, fearful, and resentful. It makes us turn our hearts alienating us from others so we are not capable of being the beloved and redeeming community. But the resurrection of Jesus changes all of that. We are no longer victims we are victors. We are victors over death. As those who are baptized into Christ Jesus we are baptized into his death and resurrection. Death cannot harm us. We are no longer victims of the power of sin. Our hearts have been turned outward and we are set free from hate and fear. We have become capable of overcoming every difference, every fear and ever obstacle that keeps us from being the loving inclusive community God has created us to be. Now let me be clear here…is there still injustice? Yes. Is there still evil? Absolutely. But in the end evil now only has the power we give it. We have been set free to become the beloved community in which the love of God transforms lives, community and creation itself. Our lives are different. Our world can be different.

 

During Lent we have been using the image of the body as our theme. We have listened to Jesus describe what his body ought to look like; loving, compassionate, forgiving, sharing, humble, transforming and fearless. The gift of God in the resurrection of Jesus is that we can be that kind of a body. The gift of God is that we are becoming that kind of body. The gift of God is that this body, composed of ordinary people is capable of extraordinary deeds. What I would like for you to do this morning is to look for a moment at your bulletin cover. There you will see a snap shot of this part of the body of Christ; young and not so young, men and women, people of different races and backgrounds, a hodge-podge community. Yet it is a hodge-podge community of victors. Along with all who follow Jesus we are victors over sin and death, over pride and anger, over fear and resentment. But here is the coolest part…there is always room for more. If you look carefully you will see that there is an empty space in in the picture…right over the heart of Christ. Just as the arms of Christ are spread wide welcoming all, so too is his heart. Christ invites all of us to be victors…to be those who live out the call of the beloved community.

 

So here is my challenge for this Easter week. It is to ask yourself this question…how am I living as a victor…unafraid, open and loving in the image of the one who loves me?