Easter

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

Stephen was the first deacon chosen by the apostles, and we hear that he was “a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). We also hear that he was “filled with grace and power” and that he worked “great wonders and signs among the people” (6:8). This, along with his preaching, earned him the distrust and ire of some powerful people, who incited others to accuse him of blasphemy (6:9–15). His lengthy response to the charge ends with a reminder that his accusers’ ancestors had also persecuted the prophets (7:51– 53). He further infuriates the crowd with his claim to see “the glory of God” (that is, a visible sign of the presence of the unseen God) with Jesus at his “right hand,” a position of power and authority. This would seem to confirm the charge of blasphemy (which is why they cover their ears), the penalty for which was stoning (Leviticus 24:13–16). Stephen’s death conforms to that of Christ when he asks Jesus to “receive my spirit” and he prays that Jesus will not “hold this sin against them” (see Luke 23:34, 46).

The book of Revelation ends with the creation of “a new heaven and a new earth” and a new Jerusalem, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (21:1–2). This city represents the church of God, formed around the “God and the Lamb,” from whose throne flows “a river of life-giving water” that waters the tree of life, bringing the biblical story back to its beginning in the Garden of Eden (22:1–2; Genesis 2:9; 3:22–23). Now the human race, banished from the source of life ages ago, can return home. The book also ends with the reminder that this vision, while trustworthy, is only “near” and awaits fulfillment with the final coming of the Lord of history, the Alpha and the Omega. Both the Spirit and the church pray for this coming, and the author exhorts his hearers to do the same. Christ himself, who gives the testimony of this final victory, affirms that he will certainly return, bringing with him the fulfillment of all of God’s plans and promises for all of creation.

In the Gospel reading, John’s characteristic intertwining and repetition of themes is on full display, a rhetorical device that mirrors the close connection among those themes, which are “abiding,” faith, and witness. In the first place, Jesus prays that his followers “may all be one,” just as he and the Father are “one” because they are “in” each other. In this Gospel that means not only an ontological identity (being of the very same nature) between Jesus and the Father (1:1), but also a union of wills and a sharing of the bond of love (15:9). Jesus thus prays that the church will “abide” in him and so also in the Father through the bond of love, manifested by, among other things, a visible unity. This unity is a sign of the divine origin of the church because it is a sign that Jesus was sent from the Father. Christian unity thus has a crucial function for evangelization, giving plausibility to Christian claims about Christ. Division and lack of love among Christians makes it impossible to accept their testimony about Christ. Thus the mutually “abiding” in love of the Father, the Son, and the church is a witness to the truth, and so a firm foundation for belief and faith.

Dec 10 2024

Glimpses of Glory

It had been a lovely December flight from California, uneventful and smooth. The sky was vast and blue, golden with radiance. A solid blanket of clouds sat low beneath us. I buckled up for that moment of brief descent through the clouds. I could see the Cleveland-Hopkins airport just ahead. Except . . . we were supposed to be headed to Akron-Canton . . .? We suddenly pulled up and turned. Rain pelted the windows. We flew just under the clouds, so low that I could watch the cars traveling down I-77. We flew slowly. It felt like an hour of drear and drab: clouds, fog, and rain. I was so ready to get home. We landed into a dark and wet night. And then, for weeks and weeks throughout that winter, the Northwest Ohio “perma-cloud” hovered. It was gray. It was dismal. But just above those clouds, I remembered, I knew: the sun shone in a radiant sky. I could not see it. But I knew it was there.

At the Ascension, Jesus goes home, back to the radiance from which he originally came. He descended into the drab and drear to be with us. But now he has gone back to the brilliance of heaven, that glory which is not so very far away. He will come back to take us with him.

Today as we celebrate the Ascension, it is not the drab of winter. It is cheerful June. The sun shines. The oak leaves sparkle. We don’t have to drag radiance out of deep winter memory; its grandeur is here. We get glimpses of that eternal glory here and now, even as we travel through earthly time. The Ascension doesn’t celebrate Jesus’ descent into our dreariness, but the ascent back out of it. The apostles are overjoyed! The Spirit is coming. Wait. Just wait!

Consider/Discuss

As I write this, I am so done with waiting, waiting for a grandchild to be born, concerned about my daughter-in-law with her child now twenty days overdue. Trying to trust. Living in a perma-cloud of worry. And not doing well. What kind of weather are you living in today? Are you flying through a winter of fog? Are you living in a summer of joy? Where is the glory of God in your earthly travels today?
The Canticle of Canticles says, “I sleep but my heart watches.” How can we learn to be present always to that Radiance who is so near, shining always, even when life feels dreary and drab?

Living and Praying with the Word

Jesus, why did you have to go away? We need you. We stand and look at the clouds. Sometimes those clouds threaten to overwhelm us. Where are you? Fill us with a long vision of life, that all will be well. Today it doesn’t feel that way. Yet you are our hope. Above the clouds, we know that the sky is blue. You are our joy. Help us to recognize that our earthly plodding is beautifully graced, for you are the eternity who radiates into our earthly time. Strengthen our trust as we wait for your Spirit. Send us your power from on high!

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

The ascension of Jesus to the Father takes place forty days after his resurrection. Forty days is, of course, a common time frame in the Bible, often signifying a complete time of “training” in the ways of God (think of Moses on top of Mt. Sinai, Elijah at Horeb, or even Jesus in the wilderness). Having taught his apostles for forty days, Jesus departs from them, leaving them the task of carrying on his work (as Moses, Elijah, and Jesus had done God’s work before). The apostles, despite their instruction, are still not clear on at least one point and wonder if now is the time when God will reestablish the temporal kingdom of Israel. Jesus corrects them by emphasizing that God’s reign will be reestablished through their preaching “to the ends of the earth” until he returns again.

A central point of the letter to the Hebrews is that Christ, as the great High Priest, has rendered former temple sacrifice unnecessary. Whereas the earthly high priest entered into the earthly sanctuary to offer sacrifice, Christ has entered into the true, heavenly sanctuary to “appear to God on our behalf.” This is not an appearance that takes place regularly, as on earth, but continually, as he now resides in that sanctuary. In the end, Christ will bring his faithful into the sanctuary with him. Those faithful have no fear of approaching God through Christ, as long as they do so “with a sincere heart and in absolute trust,” purified by Christ from sin and its effects.

In his final appearance before his ascension, Jesus instructs his disciples about the scriptural testimony to him, as he had for the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27). The suffering and death of Jesus were not accidents but part of a mysterious divine plan. Also part of that plan is the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all the nations, the task now being handed on to the disciples. To do that, they will be “clothed with power from on high” by the Holy Spirit, “the promise of my Father.” They are not to do anything until that time, lest they attempt to act under their own power and inspiration rather than God’s. With this instruction Jesus departs, leaving the startled but overjoyed disciples to return to Jerusalem to await the Spirit.

Dec 10 2024

Does God Love Me?

I sat at her kitchen table with a cup of tea. She had been at a retreat that I had given a week earlier, and she wanted to talk about it. “You know, I really don’t believe you,” she said. That sharpened my attention. “Would you tell me about that?” I asked. “Well,” she said, “You told us that the core of our faith is that we are loved with a mighty love by a wonderfully good God.” I nodded. She shook her head. “I can’t believe that.” She went on, “I believe that you believe that. And I believe that God loves you.” She looked down at the table. “I just don’t believe that God loves me.”

That was twenty years ago. Since then, as a hospital chaplain and a teacher, a spiritual director and a preaching coach, I have heard it many times, though perhaps not said so explicitly. Others have that same block of being unlovable. I cannot just intone, “God loves you.” It does not it sink in.

I recently participated in a seminar on childhood trauma. It began to fit. Trauma survivors are not helped by solutions. “God loves you” sloughs off like oil in a non-stick pan. Trauma survivors are helped by developing resilience to deal with those early experiences that do not go away.

Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “We will make our dwelling with you.” Resilience comes through that “with.” Love comes in relationship, that there is Someone who walks with us no matter what life has thrown at us. That presence is what brings peace. The Spirit is our Advocate, God by our side here and now.

And yet . . . even as I write them, these words also just feel like words, solutions. The experience of divine presence—that is what will heal our hearts. Holy Spirit, come, make it so!

Consider/Discuss

It is estimated that 50 to 70 percent of the people who sit in the pews of Christian churches have been impacted by some kind of childhood trauma. One of those people may be you. One of them may be your brother or spouse or child. How has the presence of God, Father, Jesus, Christ, Holy Spirit—whatever name for the divine works best for you—helped you to cope with life’s experiences? What words could you use to share that sense of presence with someone whom you know that needs healing? What words don’t work?
Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” These words come just before he is to suffer the deep and difficult trauma of the cross. Pain is real. Yet we are in the Easter season of resurrection; we believe that the Lord has transformed this valley of tears. Healing is also real. Death and destruction are not the final answer. How does Easter resurrection give you peace and/or hope?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord God, you who love us so deeply, we come to you for presence. We turn to you in silence. We wait for you. You know the broken places within us. You know where we block you out. You know where we have been hurt. Sometimes we cannot believe the words that we hear about you. Sometimes they feel too good to be true. Come and be with us. Walk with us. We are afraid. We are troubled. But we bring you that fear. We bring you our troubles. We cannot walk through this valley of tears alone. Be with us. Help us. Let us not be afraid to come into your presence, to enter into your glory. Be present with us now in quiet and in splendor and in peace.

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

Today’s reading recounts what is often called the Council of Jerusalem, the earliest instance of the church debating and clarifying matters of doctrine and practice. The issue at hand is the status of certain aspects of the Mosaic law: are they required of disciples of Christ? At this point, Christianity is not a distinct religion, but understood by followers of Christ to be a living out of the covenant relationship with God. Some understandably take this to mean that followers of Christ have to become Jews. Paul and others disagree (as we know from Paul’s letters). The leaders in Jerusalem determine that those who are not already Jews need not become Jews, and thus take on all covenant responsibilities, but they must avoid ethical transgressions of the Law, which would be considered binding on anyone following Jesus.

An angel takes John to a high mountain so that he will be able to behold in a single vision the sight of the new Jerusalem, a representation of the totality of God’s holy people. It is envisioned here as an idealized earthly Jerusalem, God’s holy city. The city, or people, of God encompasses both Israel and the entire world, as represented by the twelve gates, all facing in one of the four cardinal directions. The foundation of this holy people created by God is the proclamation of the gospel by the apostles. Unlike the earthly Jerusalem, this new city has no need of a temple, a sacred precinct set apart for God to dwell in nearly inaccessible holiness. The new people itself has been made holy by God, who now dwells with the Lamb in the midst of the people.

In his final words to his disciples, Jesus returns to the topic of love. Love, here as in the rest of the Bible, is not so much an emotional attachment (although it can be that) as it is a firm commitment to the good of another, or—in the case of love for God—a commitment to living in God’s will. Especially in his imminent death, Jesus demonstrates his love for his own in the world, for which he is willing to die, even though many have rejected him (John 1:11; 3:16). Those who are able to love others make it possible for both the Son and the Father to dwell within them, giving them fullness of life. Jesus does not leave his disciples with commandments alone, but also with the promise of the Spirit and the inestimable gift of peace, which surpasses any “peace” the world has to offer.