rise again

Astonished by Grace

Posted on

By Linda Rex

April 4, 2021, RESURRECTION SUNDAY | EASTER—We’ve been going through a long season of challenges. In the midst of this pandemic, economic and political struggles, we have been faced with a variety of deaths, big and small. Many of us have had to deal with these personally, while others of us have shared in the corporate experience of loss and difficulty.

What I am reminded of as we come to this special day on the Christian calendar is how so often we are like the women as they approached the tomb on Sunday morning. We are spent emotionally from all the pain and suffering we have experienced. All we can think about is that every dream, every possibility, every hope is gone. We have no idea how we can move on from where we are right now. And so, we do the one thing know we can do—we express our devotion and sorrow for what is gone and departed, and anxiously wonder how we’re going to go on.

It seems that no matter how often Jesus talked about dying and rising again the third day that his followers acted as if it would not happen. Christ taught them he would be resurrected, but here we see the ladies are going to the tomb carrying spices to anoint Jesus’ body and are worried about how they are going to move the heavy rock from in front of the tomb. Apparently, they were not aware that Roman guards had been set about and the tomb had been sealed—this would have created even more difficulty. In any case, the way they approached the tomb indicated they were certain Jesus was dead and decaying, never to rise again.

The message they needed is the same message we need today. We need to be reminded that Jesus is risen. He is still our crucified but risen Lord even today. His body didn’t simply rot away and return to the earth—it was transformed. Jesus Christ rose, bodily, from the grave. By the power of the Triune God, Jesus walked away from the tomb glorified, prepared to return to the right hand of the Father in heaven.

The apostle Peter explains in Acts 10:34–43 how he and others who were chosen beforehand to be witnesses to this great event saw Jesus after the crucifixion. Peter had personally experienced this dramatic reversal in a unique way. He had denied Jesus three times during his trial, with the Savior looking right at him at the instant of his final denial. The disciple keenly felt deep gratitude for the grace of Christ expressed to him around the campfire following the resurrection. The risen Jesus had valued his relationship with Peter, enough to restore their fellowship, offering his disciple his forgiveness and commissioning him to care for God’s people.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1–11 the apostle Paul tells how many witnesses saw Jesus after his resurrection. There was even a group of five hundred people who saw him. The book of Acts tells how he appeared to many people, guiding them as the early church began to grow and expand. Appearing to Paul, Jesus turned him completely around, moving him from being a persecutor of believers to a faithful defender of the faith.

What does this mean for us today? The evidence of the Scriptures as well as the testimony of witnesses then and throughout the ages is that Jesus Christ is risen. His resurrection wasn’t just a one-time event, but is an endless one, as Jesus is eternal in the heavens as the crucified, risen Lord. He bears our human flesh in the presence of the Father in the Spirit now and forever. He is a living Lord, active in our world today by the Holy Spirit. He is ever-living, at work in this world, restoring fellowship between all humanity and the Father in the Spirit.

Today as we celebrate the resurrection, it may be helpful for us to pause for a moment to reflect on how we are approaching the things we are facing in our lives. I have been wrestling with a situation where I know change needs to be made but I don’t find within myself the capacity to make it. From a human point of view, it seems as though I am in the same place as the women approaching the tomb. I grieve over the loss and the struggle. I despair over my inability to change anything in the situation. And I wonder how I will ever bear having to go on and on with things being the way they are.

As I look at these passages for this Resurrection Sunday, I see that they repeat this one message that I need to hear: “He is risen!” How do I begin to look at this situation and my circumstances through the lens: I have a risen Lord? Seeing everything from this viewpoint changes how I face the world and what is going on in my life and my relationships. If Christ is a living Lord who has sent his Spirit, then there is every hope that this is not the end—only the beginning!

What new thing can Jesus do in me and my life by his Holy Spirit? What can he do in you and in your life and circumstances by his Holy Spirit? What can he—will he do—in this world? All of a sudden, we find ourselves not in a dead end, but in a place of infinite possibilities!

Where in your life do you see place where you believe you have come to the end? Is it time to let someone or something go? What is God wanting to give you in its place? And is it simply possible that God wants to offer you a new beginning—to bring you to an entirely new place where his new life may be more fully expressed in and through you?

Whatever you may be facing, be encouraged. God has, in Christ, given us the grace to share his good news with others, to live in a difficult world, and to love him and one another the way we were created to. Our risen Lord is alive and active in this world, leading us into new paths and new directions, enabling us to share the good news with all those around us. Everyone needs to know and believe what we have only begun to experience in our own lives, that Jesus is risen. Let’s not allow fear to get in the way of telling others about Christ, but be assured that our risen Lord goes first, providing all we need in every situation to follow him wherever he leads.

Dear God, thank you for this marvelous thing you’ve done and are doing, giving us your Son to save us. Thank you, Jesus, for going all the way to the cross and into death, rising again so we could be included in your life with the Father in the Spirit. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for being so active in this world and in our lives. Finish what you have begun in us. Remind us anew that Jesus is our crucified but risen Lord, that we may give him glory and praise, now and forever. Amen.

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’ Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.” ’ They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Mark 16:1–8 NASB

“… and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:8-10 NASB

This entry was posted in Blog Site and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Known in the Breaking of Bread

Posted on

By Linda Rex

April 26, 2020, 3rd Sunday of Easter—It would be safe to say, I feel, that life for most of us is not what it used to be a year ago. As the specter of COVID-19 and its consequences approaches us more closely, touching family, friends, and acquaintances, I cannot help but wonder what life will be like in another six months or even a year. Who will still be with us? What will life be like for those who are survivors of this disease? Will anything go back to the way it was before?

Truly, change is not always a welcome event in our lives, especially when it is perceived as a negative one. We would prefer that life be filled with positive changes, making life better, fulfilling our expectations of success, prosperity, and comfort. Unfortunately, life doesn’t normally work that way. Very often, before success, prosperity and comfort can occur, we may go through struggle, suffering, and difficulty.

Two people who were traversing the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus over two thousand years ago were deep in conversation when they were joined by another traveler. When this man, who they thought was a pilgrim returning home from the festival, joined them, he asked them what they had been talking about. They were amazed that he was not aware of what had been the biggest story to come out of Jerusalem in a long time—Jesus of Nazareth, the man who was going to rescue the Jews from Roman oppression, had been crucified but they had found his tomb empty that morning.

The reality these travelers faced was that the oppressive Roman government they had hoped to finally be free of was still going to be their reality. The person they thought was Messiah wasn’t. The news of the empty tomb, brought by the women who weren’t (in their view) reliable witnesses, brought concern—did someone steal the body? What really happened?

The only thing they knew was that the life they had had with Jesus, of walking and talking with him, of seeing him do miracles and heal people, was gone. This person, who they thought was Messiah, would no longer be a part of their everyday life and they could not longer sit at his feet to be taught, to learn the truth about their heavenly Father and his love for them. They would miss the intimate fellowship they had experienced in his presence while he had been with them.

Jesus, when encountering them on the road, had an opportunity to see how these disciples were responding to the events which had occurred. He did not reveal his identity to them at that moment, but met them where they were so he could bring them where they needed to be in their understanding of what had happened. His admonition, that they were slow of heart to believe and understand the scriptures, must have caught them by surprise.

Slowing himself down to their pace, he began to explain to them that the events which had just occurred had been written about centuries before in the Hebrew scriptures. He took the time to help them to see that they had misunderstood the mission of the Messiah—he was to be a suffering servant not a conquering hero.

As they neared their destination, the day grew dark. These men offered this fellow traveler the culturally appropriate hospitality, inviting him to stay with them for the night. Joining them at their evening meal, Jesus took on the role of host and began to break the bread and bless it. How often had he done this with his disciples as they sat by the road in their travels or ate in someone’s home? There was such a familiarity at first, but then, in an instant—they knew. This was Jesus, present right there with them. And then he vanished.

Here they thought that everything they had hoped for was gone, never to be hoped for again. Rather than being at the mercy of an oppressive human government, they were part of an otherworldy dimension which involved a resurrected Messiah who could come and go as he willed! Was this what the others had experienced? Astonished and excited by their discovery, the two immediately grabbed their belongings, and in spite of the danger of traveling at night, headed straight for Jerusalem to see the other followers of Jesus. There they heard the testimonies of those who had seen and talked with the risen Lord.

The difference between how these two persons handled the events of the crucifixion and the empty tomb was determined by one simple thing—the presence of the living Lord Jesus Christ. It was in the fellowship of the breaking of bread that they were given the ability to see and recognize him for who he was—their risen Savior. Before, they were forlorn, believing that they were abandoned and forsaken; afterwards, they were excited and courageous, willing to take risks they might not otherwise have taken, because they knew he was still present and with them though they could not see him.

We can look at the events happening right now and believe that we are being abandoned to our fate. Not seeing beyond the physical events which are occurring, we can be caught in the belief that we have to solve this ourselves or that utter catastrophe is at our doors. Having lost a job, or lost a loved one, or even lost our retirement funds we had counted on, we find ourselves staring at a future without hope—what has happened to our Savior? Why is this happening? Who is at fault? Our minds are filled with questions or concerns, and our hearts overflow with fear, anxiety, anger, and a myriad of other toxic emotions.

What we need in the midst of all this is a real encounter with our living Lord. How are we slow to believe and understand all that was written about him? Have we resisted believing the testimonies of those who saw him live, die, and then rise again from the grave? Why is this? Perhaps what is missing is the joyful companionship with Jesus, in the breaking of bread—gathering around the table with him to eat the bread and drink the wine of communion. We need to hear the stories of those who have experienced the living Lord—whose lives were and are being transformed by his real presence in and with them by the Spirit.

Who do you have in your life who knows Jesus intimately and can walk the road with you, explaining and sharing the testimony of the written word of God and the living Word, Jesus Christ? Is there someone in your life who is struggling to understand where God is in all that is going on? Maybe you can slow down and join them on their road and walk them through the testimony of scripture. Whatever the case, the miracle which occurs in the breaking of bread, in the intimate fellowship of communion, is a gift of the Spirit straight from the hands of Jesus—and we want to share in this miracle by walking the road with Jesus and one another, both now and forever.

Abba, thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son to bring us to yourself. Thank you, Jesus, for joining us on this road of life—that you never abandon us, but are always with us on the journey. Grant us the grace by your Spirit to ever invite you to join with us, to commune with us in our everyday life. Thank you for continuing to make all of our lives a conversation, a constant communion with you, Father, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.

“And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and 1with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. … They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.” Luke 24:25–27, 35 NASB

See also Acts 2:14a, 36–41 and 1 Peter 1:17–23.

This entry was posted in Blog Site and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .