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Resuscitation vs. Resurrection – Skye Jethani

21 Aug

Dear God, I was spending time with a pastor friend of mine recently, and he told me he recently asked his congregation for sermon topics, and one that came back was, “Do we have to be born again?” Interesting question. Some pastors might respond, “Of course! John 3. Jesus and Nicodemus!” Others would say, “That term has some baggage that we now need to get away from. Let’s talk about it in a different way.” I have a feeling the person who sent in the question is likely in the latter camp. They might see people preaching “born again” as fire and brimstone preachers trying to scare people into heaven by selling them fire insurance.

I thought it was probably a topic that was going to fester with me, but then I heard this extraordinary talk by Skye Jethani of the Holy Post (behind a pay wall, but you can get a one-time free listen). He talked about the difference between “Jesus, save me” and “Jesus, transform me.” He told the story of how the writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace” was saved from a storm at sea early in his life after he shouted into the wind, “God, have mercy on us,” or something like that, but that wasn’t transformation. It was just resuscitation. His life was just prolonged. That boat was a slave trading boat, and he went on capturing humans and selling them to others. It wasn’t until later in his life that he considered himself to have been transformed by you. Skye made the point that Newton’s life only got better after the saving on the boat. He eventually became a captain. But after the transformation and he repented of slave trading and started working to abolish it, his life actually got harder. But that’s when he wrote the words, “I was blind, but now I see.” It wasn’t after being saved in the storm. It was after he was resurrected and born again, a la 1 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is born in Christ he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.”

The first question is, “Am I born again?” Not, “Am I resuscitated?” Am I changed and am I continuing to be changed in Jesus? I think I am, but there is a lot of chane that still needs to happen.

The next question is, “While I am on my journey, am I selling change to my friends and those I know? Am I selling born again, or am I just selling resuscitation?”

The person asking the original question was probably relating it to getting into heaven. They were probably similar to the rich young ruler who was asking Jesus, “What must I do to be saved?”

Father, I love you. Thank you for giving me not just a prolonged life, but a new life. I am different now than before I started growing in you. I am grateful. I love you. Help me to keep growing. To press on (Philippians 3:14).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 21, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“Then Came the Morning” by Luke Garrett

05 Apr

“Then Came the Morning” by Luke Garrett

They all walked away, nothing to say
They’d just lost their dearest friend
All that He said. Now He was dead
So this was the way it would end

The dreams they had dreamed
Were not what they’d seemed
Now that He was dead and gone
The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nails
How could a night be so long?

The angel, the star, the kings from afar
The wedding, the water, the wine
Now it was done, they’d taken her Son
Wasted before His time

She knew it was true, she’d watched Him die too
She’d heard them call Him just a man
Oh, deep in her heart she knew from her God
Somehow her Son would live again

Then came the morning
Night turned into day
The stone was rolled away
Hope rose with the dawn

Written by Chris Christian, Bill Gaither, and Gloria Gaither

Dear God, when I wake up on Easter morning, this is the song that almost always pops in my head. I first heard it about 40 years ago when Luke Garrett came to perform for a weekend revival at our church, and he stayed with my family (I was in high school at the time). I remember driving him back and forth to the church in my old truck. He was very kind to me. A good man. He died too young. I later found out that it was written, at least in part, by Gloria and Bill Gaither. That makes sense. It sounds like a Gaither song.

I think what I’ve always liked about it is how it puts me in the story, but it spends some time with the part the Bible passes over. The 36 hours or so between the burial in the tomb and when Mary visits the tomb on Sunday morning. It’s one of my own favorite things to do when I read and ponder scripture. To put myself into their shoes and see if I can think of some of the things they are experiencing.

In this case, Jesus is dead. What was it all for? Mary, his mother. What must she have been thinking as she saw this train on the tracks for at least months if not the last three years? How did this line up with what Gabriel, the shepherds, Anna, and Simeon said to her. The only thing that might have lined up with this was Simeon’s words in the Temple in Luke 2:35: “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Was this that sword?

There were the other women at the foot of the cross. There were the eleven remaining disciples. There were the other believers. There were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. All of these people had to have been so disillusioned.

The part of the song that just says, “The dreams they had dreamed.” What were their dreams? Power? Glory? Redemption and success for Israel? If those were their dreams, they would never come back–even after the resurrection. That’s not why he came or did what he did. No, his ultimate plan would be revealed on Sunday morning, after the resurrection. He was here to be the Passover Lamb for all of us and for all time. All we need to do is metaphorically put his blood over the doors to our heart. That’s what he taught us to do. And that’s what we need to teach others to do.

Father, I’m so grateful for this morning. I’m so grateful the night turned into day. I’m so glad you didn’t fulfill their expectations and that you don’t strive to fulfill our expectations to this day. No, you know what we need, and you see life beyond this physical world and the short number of years we are here. Continue to shape and mold my mind. Help me to see what you want me to see and understand what you want me to understand. I just want to fulfill your glory for your glory’s sake.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 5, 2026 in Hymns and Songs

 

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John 20:1-10

27 Dec

20 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

John 20:1-10

Dear God, when I first read this passage this morning, I just wanted to spend some time in John’s head. I find the details he shares interesting.

  1. He ran ahead of Peter. Normally, you would think they would have kind of run together, but John was younger, probably more fit, and capable of getting there faster. He didn’t care about waiting for the older Peter at that point. He just wanted to get there as fast as he could. No hinderances. No pacing himself. Just raw speed. He went from being terrified and hiding to full out running for the tomb. I want to spend some time with that in a minute.
  2. When he got there he was still cautious. He just looked around before going in. I think this was a pattern for John: impulsive but cautious. He was the one who wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans. He was the one who as at the foot of the cross. So he was passionate. He wanted to be there to show Jesus love even though he had initially run away in the garden.
  3. Peter rushes in. To me, this explains why Peter was the leader of the group. No, he wasn’t physically as fast as John, but when he got there he took charge. He went in. Then John followed Peter.
  4. He doesn’t indicate what Peter was thinking in the tomb, but he reveals his own thoughts. He believed. He looked at the evidence. Linens that covered Jesus lying on the ground. The head coverings folded. If someone had taken the body they probably wouldn’t have wanted to take off the linens and reveal his body. And they wouldn’t have folded the head coverings.
  5. The walk home. Did they even talk on the way back? What did they talk about? Were they trying to make sense of it all?

Now, where I want to spend my time is with John and his thoughts while he ran to the tomb. The information he gives us leading up to there is that Mary Magdalene came to him and Peter and said Jesus’s body had been taken. “They” took him. Who is “they?” The Romans, I presume. So that’s when they take out running.

Here are my thoughts on what might have been ignoring Peter’s slower pace and running to the tomb. First, I assume the previous 36 hours he’d been thinking about everything Jesus said, and was trying to find nuggets that would make sense of what he had experienced. Maybe some of Jesus’s mentions of suffering and dying and rising again were finally starting to gel and make sense. Could it be this was really happening. Could Jesus rise again? He’d seen him raise Jairus’s daughter, Lazarus, and the boy from the funeral procession. Could he raise himself? Or was it all over and he was disillusioned, having to come to grips with the humiliation of what Jesus’s death meant to the last three years of his life and his hopes of power and glory for the future. I think that any little piece he could think of while they were hiding during the Passover was running through his mind while his legs were running to the tomb.

Then he gets there and he’s ready to believe. He looked for evidence that would tell him Jesus was either taken or walked out on his own. The evidence he describes tells him Jesus walked out on his own. This isn’t over yet. Jesus is alive! What’s next?

Father, there are some things in my life that I’m tired of praying for. I’m a bit disillusioned on them. But if I got a sign of hope, I’d tear out of this house running as fast as I could. I’d break traffic laws. I’d do whatever I could for hope that is fatiguing and fading. But you call me to faith. You call me to hope. You call me to love. So I will have faith that you are moving, even when I cannot see it. Even when it’s Friday night. I will have hope because I believe Sunday is on the way. And I will continue to love because that is the greatest of these. Faith and hope are internal. Love is external. Love includes action. Help me to continue to take the love you give to me and turn it outward to others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 27, 2025 in John

 

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Luke 20:27-40

22 Nov

27 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. 28 They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. 29 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 30 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died. 31 Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children. 32 Finally, the woman also died. 33 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!”

34 Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. 35 But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.

37 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

39 “Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there. 40 And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Luke 20:27-40

Dear God, a couple of things stood out to me in this passage.

  1. What an interesting custom/law they had for being responsible to marry your brothers widow if she had not sons. I mean, that what ultimately happened with Ruth and Boaz after her husband’s death, and that turned out to give us David and then Jesus, so it was a valuable custom. But it’s still interesting. At present, I have one son and it looks like he is not going to have children and carry on my name through having children. My last name will stop with my dad and me on my branch. I guess that makes me kind of sad, but is it important? I don’t know. I think one of the important aspects back then was that women had so few options in supporting themselves and owning property. They needed a male husband or son to have agency. It seems messed up, and as I’ve said before, I heard someone describe some of the weird-looking decisions you made in the Old Testament as you constantly having to triage and accommodate bad decisions from you people. After the garden, it was all just making the best of a bad situation. That’s what this sounds like to me.
  2. Right here, Jesus gives us one of the clearest pictures of the afterlife and what happens after death. Are all souls immortal? Is it possible for a soul to die? I’m no theologian, and I know this is a very debatable point. In fact, I heard a Christian who is older than me, wiser than me, and much more spiritually mature and knowledgeable than me say on a podcast this week that “all souls are immortal.” I think she’s wrong about that, but I don’t know. Is there a sorting one day? Yes, Jesus is very clear about that. Will there be pain and suffering by some? Yes, Jesus is clear on that. Will that suffering be for eternity? That is much less clear. Who will make the cut on heaven vs. hell? That’s pretty unclear too. In fact, Jesus went out of his way to say a lot of people will be surprised where the cut line is (Matthew 25:31-46) But in this case, Jesus makes it seem as if there will be some worthy of being raised from the dead and some who won’t be. He also says the post-death lives of the worthy will be unlike anything we experience here. 35 But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 And they will never die again.
  3. The entirety of verse 36 is interesting: 36 And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection. I’ve talked with my wife about the ideas of calling angels “Saints.” For example, “St. Michael the Archangel.” The designation of calling an angel a “Saint” seems like a demotion to me. Jesus says that John the Baptist was as great a human as there has been, but he will be less than the least in heaven (Matthew 11:11). So let’s leave angels in their proper places as much greater than us and much greater than “Saints.” And that will always be, into eternity. We will not be great in heaven. I will never be great in heaven. And that’s okay because none of it is about me.
  4. It’s a little vague who complimented Jesus at the end. Was it some of the Sadducees who were impressed with the answer or Pharisees who appreciated Jesus putting the Sadducees in their place? Not sure, but I think we are all good with Jesus when he supports our biases and frustrated when he doesn’t. If it’s the Sadducees complimenting him then I’m at least impressed with their ability to appreciate a good argument. If it’s the Pharisees then they are just behaving like I would expect them to behave.

Father, I think my big take-away from this passage is that I am so small. I am just so small. And I always will be. And that’s okay. I don’t need to be big or great on this side of heaven or the next. My life is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task you have given me: The task of sharing your gospel. Let it be so.

I pray this in the name of Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 22, 2025 in Luke, Matthew

 

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Luke 7:11-17

16 Sep

11 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” 17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.”

Luke 7:11-17

Dear God, is it terrible that my first thought this morning when I read this familiar story was, “Was that really the best idea, Jesus?” Answer: Of course it was the best idea! It was Jesus! But this certainly raised the bar on who the people thought Jesus was.

It’s interesting to put all of Luke’s book into one character development arc and story that he’s unfolding for us because these things all fit together, but we forget that since we are used to just reading stories in segments and not part of the whole. So in the last two chapters we had Simon’s mother-in-law healed, Jesus calling the 12, and then a mini Sermon on the Mount. Now, we’ve seen the faith of the Centurion from yesterday and today Jesus actually goes next level by raising someone from the dead. And this isn’t like Jairus’s daughter where he did a little misdirection and told everyone she was only asleep. This was like Lazarus, but maybe even more so. And then tomorrow we will get John the Baptist, from prison, asking if Jesus is the Messiah or if there is another one to come. But I’ll get to that tomorrow. There’s probably a lot to say about that.

But back to this miracle resurrection. I wonder how many times he did this that we aren’t aware of. Off of the top of my head, I’m counting three including this instance, Jairus’s daughter, and Lazarus. Now, he didn’t necessarily need to be the Messiah to do this. There was a history of both Elijah and Elisha doing it. But it did mean that he had power from you at a very high level. He was to be respected and adored. In the minds of the people there, maybe not worshipped, but revered as being from you.

Father, as I look for applications for my life today, I first just want to thank you. Thank you for the reality of this story. I do not doubt its veracity. I guess I do wonder what this young man’s life was like after this. What did he do? How long did he live? How did he eventually die? How did his life touch others and ripple through time, even until this day? Maybe that’s the reminder for me. That all of our lives will ripple through time whether we realize it or not. And we can do the best we can and still knock over negative dominoes as well as positive ones. So I’ll just pray that you guide me today. Make my life as positive of an impact on our community as you can. Love through me. Love me through others. And help me to always give you the glory, for you are the giver of all good gifts.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 16, 2025 in Luke

 

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Exsultet from the Easter Vigil

20 Apr

This is the Night,
When Christ broke the
Prison bars of death
And Rose victorious from
The underworld…
O Truly necessary sin of
Adam,
Destroyed completely by
The death of Christ!
O happy fault
That earned so great, so
Glorious a Redeemer!

Exsultet from the Easter Vigil

Dear God, this entry bring my journey with Sister Miriam and her Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation to an end. It has been good to have something to focus on the last six and a half weeks. Sometimes I’ve liked it. Sometimes I’ve wanted to do something else but stuck with it. Some days have been good and some days have been hard. Some days I’ve felt spiritually attacked and some days I’ve felt incredibly protected by you. The truth is, I was always protected by you.

Yesterday, my day of not adding sound like music, videos, or podcasts to my world, was harder than I thought it would be. In fact, it might have been the hardest day. Then I had something going wrong with work that was really frustrating me. In fact, it is still frustrating me this morning. But when I would start to get frustrated yesterday, I would try to remind myself of the devastation the disciples experienced on that Saturday 2,000 years ago. My day and my experience was nothing like theirs as they hid in a house, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives now that they had seemingly been suckered in by a false Messiah. Could Peter, James, and John show their faces back on the fishing docks again after that?

Then came the morning! The night turned into day. The stone was rolled away. Hope rose with the dawn. Then came the morning. Shadows vanished before the sun (Son?). Death had lost, and life had won, for morning had come. (“Then Came the Morning” by Gloria Gaither / Chris Christian / William Gaither)

So here I am this morning, dressed in a bright pink shirt and ready to celebrate something that I paid nothing for. Something I didn’t earn. It’s like when the university I graduated from won a national championship in basketball a few years ago. I celebrated even though I had nothing to do with it outside of a modest donation to the athletic department. The victory wasn’t mine, but it was. In this case, the victory is even bigger and will never end. That national championship team has been replaced by other teams, and other universities have won the championship since then. But Jesus, oh my Jesus, you won for forever. You turned history on its head. I get to celebrate the richest victory because you not only won, but because of your victory I get to sit here this morning and community with you, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

Father, thank you. I love you. I worship you. I celebrate you. Let this Easter be impactful for some of the people who are coming to church for the first time in 12 months. Or maybe even 12 years. Bring healing to relationships this morning. Bring people to yourself. Help those who have been running from you and others to stop, turn, and sink into your love and the love of those who are always there for them. I know a friend who is mourning the loss of her mother from Friday. Love her and comfort her as well. Make this an Easter of resurrection, hope, peace and comfort for her.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

 

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“Would you still follow Jesus?” (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)

29 Nov

Dear God, I was listened to the Holy Post Podcast yesterday that interviewed a friend of Tony Campolo’s, Shane Claiborne. They were discussing Tony’s recent passing, and there were several good parts of it. I expect to listen to it again, but as I sat down this morning and thought about it, I think this is my favorite part. Claiborne mentioned this as one of Tony’s core messages when he would speak to groups, and it is something I trace back in my own life to when I used to say the same things to kids at camp when I was a counselor 35 years ago.

I remember a couple of years later when I was sharing that philosophy (theology?) with a Christian friend who was older than me, and he scolded me for it. He pointed to Paul when he said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” This caught me flat-footed and I remember not having much to say in return. That conversation was 32 years ago, and it’s amazing how much it still haunts me now.

If I were to have another shot at that conversation, I would want to point out the context of that verse:

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

In my opinion, and perhaps my friend would still have disagreed, for Paul, the idea of afterlife with you is part of the argument for Jesus’s resurrection. You can’t separate them. If no afterlife, no resurrection. If no resurrection, no afterlife. As I sit and think o this now, I just had a thought that takes what Paul taught one step further. If no afterlife, then no reason for us to even care about you. No reason for the incarnation in the first place. No reason, honestly for you to care about us any more than we care for our pets. Our lives would be so unbelievably insignificant in your presence as specks of dust that are here and gone (Psalm 103:14-15), then what would be the point. No, afterlife is truly the lynch pin to everything I believe in about you.

With that said, following Jesus and what he taught us is not about picking the lesser of two evils: It’s a pain to follow you, but it’s better than hell! It’s about the opportunity to follow you and live a victorious, sacrificial life here on earth that grows the fruit of your Holy Spirit within me regardless of what it physically costs me. It’s about the peace I get here. The love. The joy. The patience. The goodness. The kindness. The gentleness. The faithfulness. The self-control. Knowing you. Loving you. Serving you by serving others. That’s what it all is about. That’s what I’m offering others when I talk to them about you. It’s not a guillotine over their head and a threat that they better follow you or else. It’s an invitation into true life.

Father, I have got to be better about offering this life to others! I am sorry that I’m not. I’m sorry to you, but I’m sorry to them as well. Help me to really get this concept and compel me to live it out. Thank you that you taught it to me. Help me to teach it to others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 29, 2024 in 1 Corinthians

 

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Passion Week – The Resurrection of Christ: John 20:1-10

21 Apr

The above image is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard. It is titled “Christ Risen” and was created by Edward Knippers.

John 20:1-10 [ESV]
And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 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.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’s head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Dear God, I’m so grateful this morning. I’ve spent the week trying to sink into the depths of this Passion. Sure, I didn’t really go all the way. I had work. I had other things that took my attention. But I can say that this is likely the most thoughtful I’ve ever been about Holy Week. And here we are.

When I woke up this morning and made my breakfast, I played four songs. “Sunday’s on the Way” by Carman, “He’s Alive” by Don Francisco, “Easter Song” by Keith Green, and then “Gotta Tell Somebody” by Don Francisco. The first three were about Easter and Jesus’s resurrection in one way or another while the fourth was about a grateful father who just had to tell somebody what Jesus did for him. It was fun and worshipful. You are alive! And you have done great things for me.

Father do I “gotta tell somebody?” Have I counted my blessings and shared your greatness and mercy with others? Do I live with the joy that you are alive? Help me to do better. Live through me. Love through me. Let you kingdom come and your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 21, 2019 in Hymns and Songs, John, Passion Week, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups, Uncategorized

 

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Peter & John — Luke 24:8-12

13 Nov

Luke 24:8-12 NASB
[8] And they remembered His words, [9] and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. [10] Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. [11] But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. [12] But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

Dear God, this time must have still been so foggy for Peter and the rest of the disciples. In this telling of the story, the others don’t believe so Peter goes alone. In another telling, Peter and John both go. Either way, there are no examples of the story where they all go. Maybe they were afraid of being caught. And maybe it would have been bad for all 11 of them to be seen at an empty tomb.

Now that I think about it, it was a brave thing for Peter and John to come out of hiding and go to the tomb. I wonder if Peter’s regret from Friday had grown into determination on Sunday. He was still in the fog and trying to make sense of everything that was happening to himself. I’m sure he was trying to think back and remember everything Jesus had said that Peter didn’t understand at the time. Could this really be true?

Father, help me to know and understand from moment to moment the things that you need me to know and understand. And for those things that knowing and understanding would hold me back and keep me from pursuing you and found your work, keep me intentionally ignorant and give me peace in that ignorance.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 13, 2018 in Luke, Peter and John

 

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Emails to God – The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10)

22 May

1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Dear God, there are different tellings of this story in the Gospels, and it is interesting to see the different details that each write shares. Matthew seems to be more nuts and bolts about the story. Perhaps it’s the accountant in him. He doesn’t tell us the story about Jesus appearing as a gardener. He doesn’t tell us about Peter and John running to the tomb to check it out for themselves. But I just looked at the other four stories and I think this is the only one that mentions the earthquake.

In times like this I always try to take the story’s details and try to figure out what the author’s message to me is. What is it that Matthew wants me to take away from this? In this case, I think he wants me to know that:

  1. It was the women who were out working to ensure Jesus was buried correctly. In fact, the disciples didn’t do anything to take care of Jesus’ body after the crucifixion (that was left to a couple of Jewish church leaders) and they were apparently not going to do anything to ensure his body was buried correctly (perhaps this was considered “women’s work” at that time, but it’s still interesting).
  2. The women felt God move supernaturally. They felt the earthquake. They saw the angel. They saw the stone had been moved. They saw the guards “like dead men.”
  3. The angel told them that Jesus was alive, “just as he said,” he was going to Galilee, and that they needed to tell the disciples to meet him there.
  4. The women actually saw Jesus himself, and He also told them to tell the disciples about meeting Him in Galilee.

Father, I guess my overall take away from this story is that this wasn’t a vague, mysterious resurrection. You demonstrated your power. You communicated with the women who were trying to care for Jesus. You reminded them that this had all been predicted before. Then Jesus actually appeared to them. There was no room left for interpretation. Thank you for this story. Thank you for the resurrection. There is a gentleness about this story that is sweet. It seems to be about reassurance (to the women) and forgiveness (of the disciples). There is no vengeance here for the terrible death of Jesus. There is only a continued execution of the plan. How great is that?

 
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Posted by on May 22, 2012 in Matthew

 

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