120408 Easter Matters (?/!)

The Easter Debate

The Story of Easter.  The earliest written account of what happened at Easter comes from a man named Paul, who was an "Ivy League" educated Jewish scholar who spent the early part of his career seeking to destroy the reputation of the long-gone Jesus and wipe out his followers.  Literally.  But that changed when he had his own Easter experience, as he wrote in his letter found in the Bible that we call 1 Corinthians:

"Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. ² It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

³ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. ⁴ He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.⁵ He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. ⁶  After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.⁸ Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. ⁹ For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. (1 Corinthians 15:1-9, NLT)

The earliest disciples were very clear about a couple of Easter-related details.  First, they were completely unashamed to proclaim that Jesus really died and was buried - a very big deal if you're trying to proclaim the executed Jesus as a victorious, long-awaited Messiah.  Second, the disciples were adamant that they experienced Jesus alive again.  Every reputable scholar agrees that Jesus lived - he was an historical person.  They also agree that he died.  And they also agree that his disciples believed he lived again.  But it's on this final point of agreement that there is still great debate, even after 2,000 years.

The debate revolves largely around the emptiness of the tomb - where did Jesus' body go? - and the state of his resurrected body. For an excellent, academic resource on this topic and more check out The Meaning of Jesus by NT Wright and Marcus Borg .  NT Wright has written more than anybody on this topic in recent years - a 700 page academic tome investigating issues revolving around the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  Marcus Borg takes a different approach to the topic, carefully assessing how the mindset of first century writers impacts what, when and why they wrote their work.  Below are some lift outs that I found particularly interesting...

Resuscitation v. Resurrection.  Wright points out that today, when we think of resurrection, we often simply think of life after death, like they are the same thing.  Call it reincarnation, or spirits, or ghosts - all life after death stuff.  But is that how the ancient world thought of it?  Nope.  One distinction that is helpful to note: when the writers of the New Testament chose their wording, they were careful.  None of them used the word for resuscitation for what we are talking about.  They aren't talking about a person who dies, and their body is brought back to life, as in present day cases of using the paddles to restart someone's stopped heart.  The most popular form of Judaism, embraced by the vast majority of Jews though rejected by the Sadducean Jews who controlled the Temple, all believed in resurrection.  They believed that a day would come when God would raise at least the righteous - and perhaps everyone - to new life.  In that time, God would give new bodies to those who had passed on, and God's very spirit would animate them.  The idea of resurrection was not new.  What was new was that it reportedly happened for just one person - Jesus.

Apparitions and Appearances.  Just like today, some people saw the spirit or ghost of someone they recently lost.  To see an apparition, however, was to conclude that the person was dead.  Still dead.  There is a story in the book of Acts where the Apostle Peter was imprisoned, and miraculously escaped.  He went to a home where he knew other disciples were staying, and when he knocked on the door and announced who he was, whoever went to answer the door didn't open it.  She left him standing outside, and ran back to tell the others that Peter's spirit (or angel or ghost) was outside.  She assumed he had been killed in prison, and that what was outside was an apparition.  What we read about in the New Testament is a bit different.  We read of appearances of Jesus that are not simply ghosts, but include a physical body that - while having very unusual qualities - can be touched, eats, catches and cooks fish, speaks, etc.  Ghosts don't do that.  Simple visions don't do that.  Furthermore, the ones who experienced such appearances did not then claim that Jesus was really, really dead, but that he was really, really alive.  

Seed v. Plant.  What is the resurrection body like, then?  The resurrected Jesus seemed to have flesh, but it also seemed like some natural laws did not apply to him.  He could enter into locked rooms without opening any doors - simply appearing.  He was also not recognized by his own disciples - his appearance was much different than before.  Why the difference?  Paul speaks a little bit into this question:

 ³⁵ But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” ³⁶  What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. ³⁷  And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. ³⁸ Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. ³⁹ Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

⁴⁰ There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

⁴² It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. ⁴³ Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. ⁴⁴  They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.  (I Corinthians 15:35-44, NLT)

NT Wright speaks of this as a new mode of physicality.  He maintains that we are getting a glimpse of what our future resurrection bodies may be like - very different from our own, but related.  Borg thinks the appearances are more like visions of some sort, that there is no need for there to be a physical body in order for the resurrection to carry its significance.  What both Borg and Wright agree on, however, is that what the disciples and Paul experienced as disciples - the resurrected Christ - impacted them profoundly, moving them to proclaim the story and invitation to follow Christ at the risk (and eventual cost) of their own lives.

But the real question for us today is, does Easter still matter?

The Easter Differential.  There are a number of helpful ways to think about Easter in answer to this question.  Here are just a few.

• Rejection and Vindication.  When we look at what happened on the cross, we first see a very good man (to say the least) being executed unjustly.  But after three days, he is experienced as alive and well.  While he may have been rejected by the powers that ruled his day, he was vindicated by God in the resurrection.  Sometimes we feel like we have been victimized by others.  Sometimes we are treated with indifference and neglect, and at other times we may experience emotional or even physical abuse.  It is easy at those times to feel bad about ourselves.  Sometimes we even begin to believe the awful things that are being said of us by the ones who are hurting us.  But Easter reminds us that God does not see us as worthy of abuse.  God's desire is to restore us right now, in spite of our struggle, to become more and more like the "us" we were meant to become.  Of course, there will come a day when we will wake up to a new experience of life - resurrected life - which gives us hope when we feel hopeless.

• Defeat of Powers.  God is a redeemer.  Israel was in bondage in Egypt, slaving away their lives, hopeless.  Then God came and redeemed them.  Similarly, when Jesus was on the cross, it seemed like there was no hope for him.  But God came and redeemed Jesus in the resurrection.  In the same way, we sometimes feel powerless in our lives, like we need help to overcome any number of struggles: greed, self-absorption, addiction to food, alcohol, substances, anger problems, the list goes on and on.  These struggles give us a little taste of death whenever we encounter them.  But God is more powerful than the things that seem to destroy us.  Easter reminds us to turn to God in our weakness, and allow him to work in our lives to resurrect us from the life we're in to one that is much more whole.

• Revelation of the Way.  This may seem sort of obvious, but Jesus had to die before he could be resurrected.  One comes before the other.  This is true in our spiritual life as well.  As we become aware of them, we are called to let die the thoughts, attitudes and behaviors we have embraced in favor of the Way of Christ.  Paul uses a clothing metaphor - drop the old rags behind and put on your new clothing.  Sometimes we think we can just add God into our life right alongside all the junk that is in direct contrast to God, and we wonder why things aren't going well.  It may be because we haven't let some things die that are keeping the new life at bay.

• Revelation of the Love of God.  Whenever we wonder whether or not God loves us, we only need remember Easter.  Jesus willingly died, unjustly, and when he was raised to new life, his motive did not change.  He was all love and grace.  His mission was to embody the love of God all the way.  Especially when we think our behavior has caused God to walk away from us, we need to remember that Jesus forgave those who were responsible for his crucifixion.  In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul noted that while we were still sinning, Christ died for our sins.  Easter means God is love and loves us.

• Sacrifice for Sin.  I'll never forget seeing him after service.  I had just talked about the love of God, that God's forgiveness is complete, forever.  He just began to weep.  I am not certain what sins he was trying to shake.  Was it memories of being in war and taking the lives of others?  Was it regretting his love of alcohol for many seasons of his life to the neglect of his children?  Was it his anger problems?  Hard to know.  But the story of Easter means we are forgiven.  Sins past, present and future are no match for the cross - a symbol to which we can cling whenever we feel the need to appease God with some token offer to buy God's grace.  Stop thinking of God and God's grace this way.  See grace as a constant.  It is not a license to keep being an idiot, of course, but can be an unshakable foundation to build your life on.

• New Creation.  From a Jewish perspective, what is seen in the resurrection is a new beginning.  God is a creator, and is still creating.  The Jewish hope for the world was that God would restore the earth and all who dwell in it to its Eden-like state, where the ways of God would be normative.  Peace on earth would be a reality.  Genocide would be a distant memory.  Hatred wouldn't exist.  No more starvation.  No more politics.  They expected a mass resurrection to occur when God was going to put this in motion (which is probably why Matthew - targeted toward Jews - included an account of many people coming back to life).  But Jesus was the one who walked around in the new creation body, showing himself to many people.  It was the start of something new.  Following Jesus in every way sows seeds that will grow into that new creation.  Following Jesus serves to bring about the new creation we all long for, one step at a time.  Easter is an invitation to a new, grand vocation to be part of the movement that serves to redeem and restore the world and her inhabitants to its potential.  Easter matters because it marks the beginning of the new dawn of God's new creation in our midst.

• Emmaus Happens.  Beyond the theological, cerebral stuff above, Easter didn't just happen.  Easter happens.  Two disciples were on their way to a village called Emmaus when a stranger joined them.  It was Jesus.  If NT Wright is right, then Jesus was in his new mode of physicality, explaining why he went unrecognized.  Jesus doesn't disclose his identity, but rather unpacks the scriptures for them so that they have some understanding of why the death and resurrection happened.  When they arrived in Emmaus, the still-clueless disciples invited Jesus to stay.  When they sat to break bread together, something shifted for them, and they recognized Jesus for who he was.  This happens to a lot of people still today, and can happen for you as well.  God shows up in unexpected times, in unexpected circumstances, and surprises us with his presence.  It happens a lot for me and many people I know.  I know the resurrection is real because I experience the living Christ breathing into my life.  Christ is alive to me - not dead - and therefore I have the confidence and strength I need to carry on.

How about you?  What is the significance of Easter for you?  What is your understanding of resurrection?  What are you doing with Easter?  Does Easter matter to you?