Most of us long for a better world –a world free from conflict and war, lying and cheating, corruption and injustice. We long for a world where there is justice and peace. But the reality is that in various ways and to various degrees, we become caught up in the ebb and flow of human conflict and injustice. ‘Can anyone be trusted?’ we ask. And indeed, because these human failings seem to have become endemic, we become cynical about law-makers, the opinion-makers, and the traditional church.
Where in the world today do we look for hope – to lawmakers, educators, or the courts? All these institutions can do great things, but if we’re honest we know they can only do so much. I want to suggest that because our real problem is our broken relationship with God, there is no real answer apart from the events of Good Friday and Easter day that we have touched on over the last weeks.
Consider the charge he left his disciples that we read about in Acts 1:8: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. These words go to the heart of The Acts of the Apostles which we can sum up with the phrase: ‘The Hidden Rule of Christ’. Two things stand out: the limited agenda of the disciples, and the global agenda of Jesus.
The limited agenda of the disciples: Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel? they asked. Jesus had been speaking about how the new age of God’s Messiah had dawned and how the promises of the prophets were being fulfilled. The disciples were excited about this and began thinking that at last Jesus was going to reveal his true power and position as Israel’s rightful king. They spoke of Jesus restoring the kingdom. Clearly they were thinking in political categories – the restoration of the monarchy.
They also referred to the kingdom of Israel. They were thinking in nationalistic terms: the power and position of Israel as a nation. They questioned whether this would happen soon. They were thinking that now Jesus was risen from the dead, his coming in kingly power and glory would soon take place.
We need to consider this.Many have thought in much the same categories as those first followers. Events in the Middle-East, especially if they involve Israel, always stir some people to open up the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New, with a view to making predictions concerning the end times.
But look at Jesus’ response: He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. His words are a rebuke: ‘Friends,’ he is saying, ‘That’s not for you to know. That’s ‘Top Secret’! We need to remember this when people are getting excited with predictions about the end times: ‘You’re not to worry about that,’ says Jesus. ‘I have something much more important for you to do with your time and energy.’
Consider his agenda: You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Yes, it’s another agenda, but it’s his action plan for his followers. Their vision is short-sighted and parochial – limited to the nation of Israel. Jesus wanted them to lift their eyes to the needs of the world. ‘Listen,’ he is saying, ‘you’re being nationalistic and territorial. Come with me and see the big picture. The account and the implications of my death and resurrection must be told – first, here in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth.’
It is easy for us to be like the disciples and put all our energies into working at political solutions for the world’s ills. Yes, politics have their place, but God did not send a politician to rescue the world. He sent a Savior. What is more, the Savior, Jesus Christ, now calls us into partnership with him in his agenda that is spiritual in its focus (men and women need God’s gospel to touch and change their minds and souls), global in scope, and far-flung in time.
Yesterday’s New York Times (May 5, 2015) carried an article by Nicholas Wade, ‘A New Order to Life’s Origins’. The article focuses on a hypothesis of Dr John Sutherland, a chemist at the University of Cambridge, England, that life on earth has its origins in an asteroid bombardment from Jupiter and Saturn some 13.8 billion years ago. However, the article notes that other eminent scientists have serious questions about Dr Sutherland’s hypothesis.
My purpose here is not to discuss the merits or otherwise of the thesis (I am not a scientist), but to observe once again the scientific recognition of the extraordinary complexity that we find in the universe and in life on earth. Yet despite the disagreements amongst scientists, the opinion-shapers in the world of academia and in the social media consistently dismiss the Bible’s account of the origins and meaning of life. The public voice has been persistent: the Genesis account of creation must be dismissed – no further questions. What is overlooked is that Genesis makes no claim to be a scientific explanation. It is not interested in the ‘How’, but ‘Who?’ So, Psalm 19 speaks into our world with, The heavens declare the glory of God.
When we come to the New Testament it is significant that every outreach presentation is undergirded by the statement that Jesus rose physically from the dead. If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith, writes Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 15.
Jesus’ resurrection is extraordinary.
But unusual things do happen. G.K. Chesterton applied words of Lord Byron to Christianity, Truth is stranger than fiction, he said, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it.
In Corinthians we read: He (Christ) was buried,… he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and… he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living…1 Corinthians 15:3ff
Christianity didn’t start because a group of fanatics had invented a story about their hero. It didn’t start because a group of philosophers had come to the same conclusions about life. And it didn’t start because a group of mystics shared the same vision about God. It began with a group of eye-witnesses – a company of very ordinary men and women who saw something very extraordinary happen. In a word it began with history.
The tomb of Jesus of Nazareth was empty, not because the body had been stolen, or because the disciples had removed it, or because Jesus had come out of a coma in the cool of the tomb, but because of a divine intervention. The late Dr. Pinchas Lapide, an eminent Jewish theologian, said this about Jesus’ resurrection: …In my opinion the resurrection belongs to the category of the truly real… A fact which indeed is withheld from objective science, photography, and a conceptual proof, but not from the believing scrutiny of history which more frequently leads to deeper insights.
Jesus’ resurrection is not a mythical story. It was the real God, breaking into real history at a particular place and a particular time. This is what makes Christian faith with all it says about God, you and me, and the meaning of life, credible. Christianity is real because it has the evidence of eye-witnesses.
Prayer
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give humble and hearty thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us and to all people. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your amazing love in the redemption of the world through our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us that due sense of all your mercies, that our hearts may be truly thankful, and that we may declare your praise not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Writing in the New York Times yesterday (April 28), David Brooks asked, ‘Can bad people be good leaders – people who, by implication, have power?’ “People who are dishonest, unkind and inconsiderate have trouble attracting and retaining good people to their team… Leaders who lack humility are fragile…” I quote this, not to engage in a political discussion, but to raise a point of principle. One of the striking features about Jesus is that although he possesses power that can only come from God, he is alsoin every way a good man – he is goodness personified.
GOODNESS AND POWER
Consider the scene in John 21:4-14:
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
POWER
In the same way John testified that Jesus was truly dead when he was taken from the cross, he now provides further testimony that Jesus was raised physically from the dead. In this encounter, Jesus lit a fire on which he was cooking fish. Ghosts cannot physically handle things, for wraith-like fingers would pass through objects. Indeed, when the disciples brought in their miraculous catch of fish, Jesus was the one who gave them the bread and the fish for breakfast.
GOODNESS
A feature of this narrative is the way Jesus turns up in the normal events of a day. In a state of frustration Peter and the disciples had gone fishing, but that night they had caught nothing. As the day was breaking, a figure on the beach called out to them, ‘Have you caught anything?’ ‘No,’ they replied. ‘Throw your nets off the right hand side of the boat,’ responded the lone figure. The catch was astounding: 153 large fish.
It is tempting to look for symbolism here, but it is more likely that John is focusing our attention on the reality that the risen Jesus is still in charge. He directed where the nets were to be thrown; he was the host at breakfast, taking the bread and fish and giving it to them. And there is something else here that is significant: Jesus uses his power not to serve his own interests but to serve the needs of others.
ASSURANCE
It is most reassuring to know that the risen Christ does not just possess divine power; he is also kind and compassionate to his people. We can depend on him at every point in our lives.
PRAYER
Almighty God, you alone can order the unruly wills and passions of sinful men and women. Help us so to love what you command and desire what you promise, that among the many and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys may be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Occasionally op-ed pieces attempt to bridge the divide between the culture and faith. In 1998, Hugh McKay, a Sydney commentator opined: ‘The historical, literal truth about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus has little connection with the Easter celebration of Christian believers. Faith thrives on doubt and therefore, even if Jesus didn’t live, die and come back to life again, Easter would still have meaning.’
HOPE WE HAVE
It’s quite attractive to say that Jesus’ resurrection is no more than a mystery of faith. But this is one thing the New Testament refuses to accept. For contrary to what society thinks, what some theologians teach, and what some ministers preach, it is insistent: Jesus’ tomb was empty. His first followers, who were very ordinary people, staked their lives on the claim that they had seen something very extra-ordinary: they had seen Jesus’ physically alive. Indeed, every outreach talk they gave was based on this assertion.
During this Easter Season it is worth taking time to consider the reality of Jesus’ resurrection.
Read
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
REFLECT
One of the remarkable features of the account of Jesus’ resurrection is the witness of the women. All four Gospels record women going to Jesus’ tomb first and finding it empty. If Jesus’ resurrection was fiction, women would not be the first witnesses. In fact they would probably not be witnesses at all. Under Jewish law the testimony of a woman was not admissible. Indeed, even in enlightened Roman society a woman’s testimony was not treated with equal weight as that of a man. Yet women were the first witnesses to the empty tomb.
In John 19:39-41 we read that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had buried Jesus’ body according to Jewish custom, wrapping it in linen cloths spiced with a mixture of myrrh and aloes. It was a new tomb and fulfilled what Isaiah prophesied: his tomb was with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). Focusing our attention on one of the women, Mary of Magdala (there was more than one woman, hence we in verse 2), John records the events of the first day of the week. Seeing the stone had been removed from the tomb and doubtless fearing Jesus’ body had been desecrated, Mary raced to tell Peter and John.
John’s witness is significant. Even though he outran Peter, he was not the first to enter the tomb. Peter was. Both men saw the linen wrappings lying there and the linen cloth that had been around Jesus’ head… rolled up in another place. The evidence was clear. Human hands had not removed the body. John saw and believed. Jesus had gone to be with God the Father as he had said (John 14:2-4). However, neither John nor Peter yet understood what Jesus meant when he said they would see him again, physically risen from the dead.
Like John the Apostle, we may believe that Jesus has gone to be with God, but we find the idea of his physical resurrection difficult to grasp. Yet the weight of evidence is that Jesus did physically rise from the dead. In his resurrection we have the assurance of faith, the defense of the gospel, and the foundation of our hope.
PRAYER
Grant, Lord, that as we have been baptized into the death of your dear Son our Savior Jesus Christ, so by continually putting to death our sinful desires we may die to sin and be buried with him, and that through the grave and gate of death we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for his sake who died and was buried and rose again for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, Easter Eve – adapted)
Back in 1985 Christianity Today carried an article by Marshall Shelley entitled: The Problem of Battered Pastors”. He observed: “the modern preacher has to make as many visits as a country doctor, shake as many hands as a politician, prepare as many briefs as a lawyer, and see as many people as a specialist. He has to be as good an executive as the president of a University, as good a financier as a bank president; and in the midst of it all, he has to be so good a diplomat that he could umpire a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
Given the diversity of expectations of ministers what does the Bible teach us about their role?
Read
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep”.
Reflect – In John 21, Jesus challenges Peter three times: “Do you love me…?” At the Passover meal on the Thursday night Peter had said he would lay down his life for Jesus (John 13:37), yet three times he had denied him. Now the risen Jesus turns specifically to Peter and challenges him three times: “Do you love me?” Three times Peter says, “Yes, Lord”. Three times Jesus commanded: “Feed my sheep”. With these words Jesus was telling Peter he was forgiven. At the same time he was commissioning him along with the other disciples, to be his apostles. It is not about making Peter’s ministry pre-eminent, it is about reinstatement. Central to their ministry was the task of ‘feeding his sheep’. God’s people are Jesus’ sheep, not Peter’s or the apostles’ sheep. God’s people are to be fed God’s Word.
Peter took Jesus’ words to heart. Indeed, he echoes them in his First Letter where he writes: Be shepherds of God’s flock (1 Peter 5:2). Peter passed on the commission and the challenge that, in principle, applies to all who would be teachers of God’s people in every age – in church, in Sunday School, and in the home. Ministers, Bible study leaders, Sunday School and Scripture teachers, and parents, are charged with the task of instructing those in their care with the food of biblical truth and morality. They are to defend God’s people from the ravages of false teaching, tend the young, care for the sick, and rescue the wandering.
Feeding God’s people with God’s Word is front and center in the services (Ordinal) for the ordering of Anglican Church ministers. Archbishop Cranmer’s 1552 Ordinal, reaffirmed in 1662, sets out clear job descriptions for all three ministries. None of these services focus on ritual or ceremony but rather each ministry primarily involves the proclamation of God’s gospel and disciple-making, the protection of biblical truth and the care of those in need. All three ministries involve the feeding and protecting of God’s people.
‘Who would be a minister?’ we might ask. Some sheep resist the diet and many ignore it. Others can’t get enough of it. In 1 Peter 5:6-7 we read: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. Yes, true ministers feel the burden of the ministry of God’s Word weighing heavily upon them – as do godly parents. However, we must be humble enough to share this burden with God himself, with Christ who is the Chief Shepherd, for he cares for each one.
How important it is that we pray for, support and encourage our ministers, Bible study leaders and parents. Especially we should pray that they are faithful in their teaching of God’s Word and that their character and their lifestyle exemplifies what they teach.
Prayer – Heavenly Father, give us faith to receive your Word, understanding to know what it means, and the will to put it into practice; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP – adapted)
