Finally, Paul gets to another controversy that the Corinthians are involved in: whether the dead are raised or not. Apparently this is another disagreement that the Corinthians have, and Paul meets it head on, and ends up with one of the most beautiful (and oft-quoted) chapters in the New Testament.
It appears that the Corinthians do believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, because one of the arguments he uses is that, if you aren't raised from the dead, that means that Jesus wasn't raised either. He also appeals to the witnesses to the resurrection: Cephas (Peter), the Twelve, 500 disciples, James, and then, finally, to Paul. (Note that when he sees Jesus on the road to Damascus, it is more like a vision, but it is still proof to him that Jesus has been raised.)
Here's what I don't like about Paul: he doesn't mention Mary Magdalene, or any of the other women. Nothing. Is it because women are considered to be unreliable witnesses? Still, all of the gospels put the women first....
He's pretty blunt: if you don't believe in some sort of resurrection, for yourself and for Jesus, then your faith is in vain, and you are dead in your sins. In other words, the resurrections means victory over sin, the possibility of new living, and victory over death itself.
He tries to describe resurrected bodies (with limited success); they will be very different than the physical bodies we have now, just as a tree is different than the seed that is planted. They will be real, but spiritual bodies, designed to live in a new realm, a new reign. And this new reign is the purpose and end of our faith.
Chapter 16 brings greetings and a recommendation to for them to care for Timothy, as well as final words of encouragement and exhortation. This is a congregation that Paul has corrected, warned and yelled at. But he ends by saying, "My love is with all of you in Christ Jesus."
Showing posts with label resurrection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resurrection. Show all posts
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Day 34: The Resurrection.... and The Life
Chapter 19 should have been the last chapter, but it wasn't. Death should be the end of the story for Jesus, but it isn't. Joseph of Arimathea provides the tomb for Jesus' body. And the stone is rolled in front of the tomb, and that should be the end of it.
But it isn't. For Mary Magdalene, first to the tomb, and first to find it empty. For Peter and the Beloved Disciple (whoever it may be), For the other disciples, afraid and behind locked doors. For Thomas (a week later). For Mary, it's the sound of her name that convinces her that Jesus is not the gardener, but her friend and her Lord. For the disciples, it is the sight of his nail-scarred hands and his words, "Peace be with you." For Thomas, it is Jesus' invitation to touch him and find out for himself.
What is it for you?
At the end of Chapter 20 John hopes we who have not seen have come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that we too have life, and that this chapter is not the last chapter for us, either.
But then, curiously, there is this other chapter, chapter 21. Chapter 20 seems like it ought to be the end, especially with that wonderful summary of the purpose of the Gospel at the end. But then there is chapter 21, which begins with some of the disciples together -- doing what? -- we don't know. It seems like they were just hanging out when Peter says "I am going fishing." And Jesus appears to them, and he gives Peter the commission to "feed my sheep," and he says words that seem like a prophecy of Peter's eventual martyrdom.
And then, again, John ends the gospel for the second time, by telling the readers that his 21 chapters are only a fraction of the stories that could be told about Jesus. There are so many stories about Jesus that all of the books in the world could not contain them.
And the story will never end.
But it isn't. For Mary Magdalene, first to the tomb, and first to find it empty. For Peter and the Beloved Disciple (whoever it may be), For the other disciples, afraid and behind locked doors. For Thomas (a week later). For Mary, it's the sound of her name that convinces her that Jesus is not the gardener, but her friend and her Lord. For the disciples, it is the sight of his nail-scarred hands and his words, "Peace be with you." For Thomas, it is Jesus' invitation to touch him and find out for himself.
What is it for you?
At the end of Chapter 20 John hopes we who have not seen have come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that we too have life, and that this chapter is not the last chapter for us, either.
But then, curiously, there is this other chapter, chapter 21. Chapter 20 seems like it ought to be the end, especially with that wonderful summary of the purpose of the Gospel at the end. But then there is chapter 21, which begins with some of the disciples together -- doing what? -- we don't know. It seems like they were just hanging out when Peter says "I am going fishing." And Jesus appears to them, and he gives Peter the commission to "feed my sheep," and he says words that seem like a prophecy of Peter's eventual martyrdom.
And then, again, John ends the gospel for the second time, by telling the readers that his 21 chapters are only a fraction of the stories that could be told about Jesus. There are so many stories about Jesus that all of the books in the world could not contain them.
And the story will never end.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Day 26: Necessary to Suffer and to Enter into His Glory
Jesus is sent to Pilate, and then to Herod, and then to the crowds, and then crucified. We've been through this now twice before. And yet....
Did you notice that when Herod and Pilate meet, they become friends? Formerly, Luke says, they were enemies, but as of today, they became friends. Hmmmm. What do you suppose that means?
When Simon helps Jesus carry his cross, Jesus has words for the women of Jerusalem, who follow him, weeping. "Weep for yourselves," he warns them. On Jesus' Last Day, he flashes forward to another Last Day that is coming: the destruction of Jerusalem.
In Matthew and Mark, the only words that Jesus says from the cross are these: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark takes the trouble to translate it into Aramaic.) These words are a verse from Psalm 22, it's true, and if you read the whole lamenting Psalm, you will find comfort and hope there. But still, this is called The Cry of Dereliction for a reason.
Luke reports three different words from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (to those who are crucifying him), "Today you shall be with me in Paradise" (to the repentant thief), and "Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit." These words form a much different picture than the one in Matthew and Mark.
As in every single resurrection story, the women come to the tomb. They are so frightened when they see the angels that they fall on their faces. And, here's a twist: when they try to tell the disciples what they saw and heard, the disciples consider their words to be "nonsense." (in other translations: an idle tale.) By the way, did you know that in ancient times, a woman's testimony was not accepted in a court of law?
Everyone has favorite Bible stories: I happen to really like Matthew's account of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. The next story, about the two disciples walking to Emmaus, is close second. The story is full of surprise, humor and irony. The disciples are walking with Jesus and learning from him, but they don't know it. I imagine Jesus trying to keep a straight face when he asks them to tell him the story of the things that have happened during the past week. "Really?" he says. "Is that so?" And the two disciples begging the stranger to stay with them, and finally recognizing him once he breaks the bread. Then they run back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples, who have the same news to share, "We have seen the Lord!"
Really, the brief recounting of Jesus' ascension is pretty anti-climactic after this. But, when we get to Luke's 2nd volume, (his second "orderly account"), we'll get a fuller version.
That would be Acts. Keep your finger in the page. We have one more gospel before we return to Luke's story.
Did you notice that when Herod and Pilate meet, they become friends? Formerly, Luke says, they were enemies, but as of today, they became friends. Hmmmm. What do you suppose that means?
When Simon helps Jesus carry his cross, Jesus has words for the women of Jerusalem, who follow him, weeping. "Weep for yourselves," he warns them. On Jesus' Last Day, he flashes forward to another Last Day that is coming: the destruction of Jerusalem.
In Matthew and Mark, the only words that Jesus says from the cross are these: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark takes the trouble to translate it into Aramaic.) These words are a verse from Psalm 22, it's true, and if you read the whole lamenting Psalm, you will find comfort and hope there. But still, this is called The Cry of Dereliction for a reason.
Luke reports three different words from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (to those who are crucifying him), "Today you shall be with me in Paradise" (to the repentant thief), and "Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit." These words form a much different picture than the one in Matthew and Mark.
As in every single resurrection story, the women come to the tomb. They are so frightened when they see the angels that they fall on their faces. And, here's a twist: when they try to tell the disciples what they saw and heard, the disciples consider their words to be "nonsense." (in other translations: an idle tale.) By the way, did you know that in ancient times, a woman's testimony was not accepted in a court of law? Everyone has favorite Bible stories: I happen to really like Matthew's account of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. The next story, about the two disciples walking to Emmaus, is close second. The story is full of surprise, humor and irony. The disciples are walking with Jesus and learning from him, but they don't know it. I imagine Jesus trying to keep a straight face when he asks them to tell him the story of the things that have happened during the past week. "Really?" he says. "Is that so?" And the two disciples begging the stranger to stay with them, and finally recognizing him once he breaks the bread. Then they run back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples, who have the same news to share, "We have seen the Lord!"
Really, the brief recounting of Jesus' ascension is pretty anti-climactic after this. But, when we get to Luke's 2nd volume, (his second "orderly account"), we'll get a fuller version.
That would be Acts. Keep your finger in the page. We have one more gospel before we return to Luke's story.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Day 16: Death and Resurrection, short and long endings
Didn't we just start reading Mark? And today we are coming to the end of this shortest of Gospels. Jesus didn't "hang around" much, if you read Mark's gospel; he was always on the go, healing people, helping people, celebrating. His teachings were short and pithy (not like in the Gospel of John, but, I'm getting ahead of myself).
The story of Jesus' crucifixion is told simply as well. Though to me, it seems as if time does finally slow down. The Jesus who has been on the go, going from place to place "immediately", now walks slowly, dragging a cross.
So Jesus is handed over to Pilate, who tries to hand him back. The shouts of "crucify him!" Ring in the air.
It's the small things that I notice: There's Simon of Cyrene, forced to carry Jesus' cross. It is only in Mark's gospel that Simon is named as the "father of Rufus and Alexander": a small detail not carried over to the later gospels of Luke and Matthew. Even though we don't know anything about Rufus and Alexander, it's interesting that Mark includes their names, as if he is saying to his readers, "You know, Simon: Rufus and Alexander's dad!" Possibly these two men were well-known to Mark's community.
As in Matthew, Jesus' only words from the cross are of abandonment: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
And a roman centurion sees Jesus hanging dead from a cross and says, "Surely this was God's Son." He tells the truth. But is he speaking sincerely? Or derisively?
In Mark, chapter 16, we have the shorter ending (most certainly the genuine one) and the longer ending. Both present problems. If we end with verse 8, we have no appearnce of Jesus after the resurrection, and the women run away, afraid, saying nothing to anyone. (Although this does beg the question, if they really didn't say anything, how do we know?)
In the longer ending, Jesus does appear, but one of the things he does is scold the disciples for their lack of belief. (In the longer ending, Mary Magdalene does spread the news, but the other disciples don't believe her.) In the longer ending you have all these weird signs associated with the disciples: drinking poision, snake handling, as well as speaking in new languages and healing people.
And oh, in the last two verses of the longer ending, there are these lovely words, "But they went out and proclaimed the message everywhere. The Lord worked with them.."
I don't know how your translation puts it, but I love these words, "the Lord worked with them..."
I hope it still is true today. "The Lord works with us."
What strikes you most in these last two chapters of Mark? And what is your overall impression of this gospel? What do you think of Jesus after reading the Gospel of Mark?
The story of Jesus' crucifixion is told simply as well. Though to me, it seems as if time does finally slow down. The Jesus who has been on the go, going from place to place "immediately", now walks slowly, dragging a cross.
So Jesus is handed over to Pilate, who tries to hand him back. The shouts of "crucify him!" Ring in the air.
It's the small things that I notice: There's Simon of Cyrene, forced to carry Jesus' cross. It is only in Mark's gospel that Simon is named as the "father of Rufus and Alexander": a small detail not carried over to the later gospels of Luke and Matthew. Even though we don't know anything about Rufus and Alexander, it's interesting that Mark includes their names, as if he is saying to his readers, "You know, Simon: Rufus and Alexander's dad!" Possibly these two men were well-known to Mark's community.As in Matthew, Jesus' only words from the cross are of abandonment: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
And a roman centurion sees Jesus hanging dead from a cross and says, "Surely this was God's Son." He tells the truth. But is he speaking sincerely? Or derisively?
In Mark, chapter 16, we have the shorter ending (most certainly the genuine one) and the longer ending. Both present problems. If we end with verse 8, we have no appearnce of Jesus after the resurrection, and the women run away, afraid, saying nothing to anyone. (Although this does beg the question, if they really didn't say anything, how do we know?)
In the longer ending, Jesus does appear, but one of the things he does is scold the disciples for their lack of belief. (In the longer ending, Mary Magdalene does spread the news, but the other disciples don't believe her.) In the longer ending you have all these weird signs associated with the disciples: drinking poision, snake handling, as well as speaking in new languages and healing people.
And oh, in the last two verses of the longer ending, there are these lovely words, "But they went out and proclaimed the message everywhere. The Lord worked with them.."
I don't know how your translation puts it, but I love these words, "the Lord worked with them..."
I hope it still is true today. "The Lord works with us."
What strikes you most in these last two chapters of Mark? And what is your overall impression of this gospel? What do you think of Jesus after reading the Gospel of Mark?
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Day 10; Crucifixion, Resurrection, Always
We think we know the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, at least, the stories are very similar (and John does contains a fair amount of similarities as well, but we'll deal with that later). In all four gospels, Peter denies Jesus. In all three gospels, Jesus is tried by both the religious and Roman authorities. In all three gospels, Jesus dies at 3:00 in the afternoon, and darkness covers the earth from noon until 3:00.
In all three gospels, Jesus is buried in a tomb which is then sealed with a huge stone.
But there are a few details in Matthew worth noting:
Pilate's wife has a minor role in the story: she has a dream (there are those dreams again) and warns Pilate that he should have nothing to do with the Galilean.
As well, the shouts of "Crucify him!" that the crowds shout so lustily are matched by another cry from the crowd, "His blood be on us and on our children." Unfortunately, this cry, unique to Matthew, has been used to persecute Jews as "Christ-killers" for centuries. But what is the lesson in the the cries of the fickle crowd? Not to try to figure out who is to blame, but to realize that we all are to blame.
After Jesus dies (only in Matthew), the graves of many holy people are opened up and the dead are raised up. They walk around the city for the weekend, it appears. What do you think that is about?
And after the stone is rolled in front of the tomb, Pilate puts two guards in front of it so that no one may come and steal Jesus'body. This detail as well: only in Matthew. Early in chapter 28, those guards are immobilized when Jesus really does rise from the dead.
At the end of chapter 28, Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain. If you haven't noticed, mountains figure in the book of Matthew. From the Sermon on the Mount until now, important things happen on mountains. On the mountain Jesus reveals himself. On the mountain, the disciples believe (but some doubt).
On the mountain now, after his resurrection, Jesus does not have a long sermon with many instructions and laws to keep. Instead, he tells them to go and make disciples -- that's all. And he gives them a promise -- that he will be with them always. It turns out he really is Emmanuel.
But what does it all mean? Why is it so important that Jesus is with us? To what end? Just what do you think he's trying to teach us, who is he trying to make us into?
In all three gospels, Jesus is buried in a tomb which is then sealed with a huge stone.
But there are a few details in Matthew worth noting:
Pilate's wife has a minor role in the story: she has a dream (there are those dreams again) and warns Pilate that he should have nothing to do with the Galilean.
As well, the shouts of "Crucify him!" that the crowds shout so lustily are matched by another cry from the crowd, "His blood be on us and on our children." Unfortunately, this cry, unique to Matthew, has been used to persecute Jews as "Christ-killers" for centuries. But what is the lesson in the the cries of the fickle crowd? Not to try to figure out who is to blame, but to realize that we all are to blame.
After Jesus dies (only in Matthew), the graves of many holy people are opened up and the dead are raised up. They walk around the city for the weekend, it appears. What do you think that is about?
And after the stone is rolled in front of the tomb, Pilate puts two guards in front of it so that no one may come and steal Jesus'body. This detail as well: only in Matthew. Early in chapter 28, those guards are immobilized when Jesus really does rise from the dead.
At the end of chapter 28, Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain. If you haven't noticed, mountains figure in the book of Matthew. From the Sermon on the Mount until now, important things happen on mountains. On the mountain Jesus reveals himself. On the mountain, the disciples believe (but some doubt).On the mountain now, after his resurrection, Jesus does not have a long sermon with many instructions and laws to keep. Instead, he tells them to go and make disciples -- that's all. And he gives them a promise -- that he will be with them always. It turns out he really is Emmanuel.
But what does it all mean? Why is it so important that Jesus is with us? To what end? Just what do you think he's trying to teach us, who is he trying to make us into?
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