See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
See the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out
It was a beautiful day
A beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
The hopeful picture that is portrayed in the song “Beautiful Day” by U2, reminds us of the truth that on Easter the sting of death gave way to the joy of resurrection. Easter is God's announcement to all of creation that the cross of Jesus was a victory, not a defeat.
If Good Friday tells us that there is a serious problem in the world that needs fixing, the truth that the story of Easter conveys is that the light of new creation has broken into our dark world. The reality of new creation is the point, the “so what?” of Jesus’ resurrection! (In what follows I presume the truth of Jesus’ bodily resurrection.)
Let’s look at the resurrection narrative in the Gospel of John to further explore the point of Jesus’ resurrection…
“On the first day of the week, very early, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. So she ran off, and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They’ve taken the master out of the tomb!’ she said…on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Judeans. Jesus came and stood in the middle of them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. With these words, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the master. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said to them again. ‘As the father has sent me, so I am sending you.’ With that, he breathed on them. ‘Receive the Holy Spirit,’ he said.” (John 20.1-2, 19-22)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep (Genesis 1.1-2). On that first day God’s Spirit swept over the face of the waters. Life and light were born as God spoke them into existence with his mighty Word. On the sixth day creation is complete. “God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good” (Genesis 1.31). And on the seventh day God rested from his work of creation (Genesis 2.1-3). Sabbath.
“In the beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh and lived among us,” says John (John 1.1, 14). Through that Word, life and light came into the world once again. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8.12). New creation burst forth through Jesus’ every word and action. But then came Good Friday, the sixth day of the week. “Behold, the man,” said Pilate. Fallen humanity sentences King Jesus to death by crucifixion. Flesh dies, and yet again, God’s good creation is spoiled by sin. Darkness covers the land. And then comes the dark hopelessness of Saturday, the long Sabbath. Jesus rests in the cold tomb on the seventh day of the week.
But then, “on the first day of the week” new life bursts forth from the darkness of the tomb! This “first day” when Jesus was raised represents the first day of God’s new creation. This is the new day when the risen and glorified Jesus comes to proclaim “peace” to those who dwell in darkness. Jesus visits his disciples and breathes on them the breath of life, just as God had done to Adam in the beginning. They receive the promised Holy Spirit. And they are sent into the world to proclaim the message of new creation, to extend the offer of God’s forgiveness.
This (and much more) is the point of the Easter story.
In Jesus’ resurrection, God says, “Yes!” to Jesus and God says, “Yes!” to all that Jesus said and did. In Jesus’ resurrection, we see God’s redemptive promises coming to fulfillment and we witness God’s new creation bursting into this present evil age.
And what is more, in the power of Jesus’ resurrection, God sends us into the world to proclaim the message of new creation. Through the Holy Spirit, God makes us the embodiment of his re-creating power and sends us out with the message of new life!
Christ is risen! Earth and heaven never more shall be the same.
Break the bread of new creation where the world is still in pain.
Tell its grim, demonic chorus: “Christ is risen! Get you gone!”
God the First and Last is with us. Sing hosanna everyone!
Song: “Christ Is Risen”
Text: Brian Wren, 1986, Hope Publishing
March 23, 2008
March 21, 2008
Good Friday
Jesus, Jesus help me
I’m alone in this world
And a fucked-up world it is too.
Tell me, tell me the story
The one about eternity
And the way its all gonna to be.
Wake up, wake up dead man!
Wake up, wake up dead man!
These searching words from the song "Wake Up Dead Man" by U2, remind us that there's not just a serious problem in our world; there's a serious problem that needs fixing.
The problem of evil, sin, and injustice is an ever-present reality in our world. Millions of people suffer from serious illness, while millions of other people undergo unimaginable forms of physical and/or psychological abuse. Innocent civilians are killed every day because of violent conflicts around the world. And nature itself rages. The raging sea swallows ships and all those who are on board. The furry of hurricanes and tornadoes leave a path of death and untold destruction behind them. And massive earthquakes flatten whole communities, kill thousands of people, and leave millions homeless.
And so, the question must be asked: Is the suffering that results from evil and injustice a sick joke, which is sprung on us by an impersonal universe? Is it even possible to believe in a loving, caring God in a world full of evil? And further, can such a God bring good out of suffering? Is redemption possible? Can hope spring forth from the seedbed of sin, oppression, and injustice?
In light of such questions it must be said that there is no redemption in the simple acknowledgement of a problem. The acknowledgement that there is sin or evil in the world does not necessarily resolve the problem. After the problem of evil is acknowledged, it must be dealt with. And this leads us to the story of Good Friday.
“Jesus answered and said, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Surely I say, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it produces much grain…Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.” (John 12.23-24, 31-33)
A worldview generated by the Gospel of Jesus affirms both the reality of evil and the truth that the problem of evil has been dealt with through Jesus’ death on the cross. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the means through which God has fulfilled his covenant promise of redemption and has dealt with the problem of evil, sin, and death. Through Jesus’ paradoxical death on the cross, God has reconciled all things in heaven and on earth, having made peace through the blood of Jesus cross (Colossians 1.19-20).
This “Jesus-centered” worldview also asserts that evil will finally be conquered when Jesus returns and God establishes his new creation. This is a hopeful picture, indeed!
But there is more. The message of the Gospel is deeply personal. For we who humbly acknowledge our sin before God, who receive God’s offer of forgiveness, and who experience the new life of the Spirit are called to be God’s co-workers. We are called to follow Jesus to the place of pain and suffering and to bring God’s healing love to bear in that place. In this ‘time-between-time’ God is sending us out into the world as his bearers of peace and reconciliation.
We are called to live by faith in God, to live in the strength of Christ’s Spirit, and to live in loving service to all God’s creatures. And as we remain faithful to that calling, we work at becoming the willing agents of God’s new life and we set up divinely inspired signposts of God’s fully restored kingdom. As we live in light of the coming Day of Justice, we bring hope in the midst of despair and we help carry burdens that cannot be carried alone. That is the joy and mystery of following the crucified and risen Jesus in this world that God so dearly loves.
Good Friday Prayer:
King Jesus, on the cross you accomplished our salvation; enable us by your Holy Spirit to be faithful to our call to be your ambassadors in the world. Grant us strength to bear our crosses and endure our sufferings, even unto death. Amen.
I’m alone in this world
And a fucked-up world it is too.
Tell me, tell me the story
The one about eternity
And the way its all gonna to be.
Wake up, wake up dead man!
Wake up, wake up dead man!
These searching words from the song "Wake Up Dead Man" by U2, remind us that there's not just a serious problem in our world; there's a serious problem that needs fixing.
The problem of evil, sin, and injustice is an ever-present reality in our world. Millions of people suffer from serious illness, while millions of other people undergo unimaginable forms of physical and/or psychological abuse. Innocent civilians are killed every day because of violent conflicts around the world. And nature itself rages. The raging sea swallows ships and all those who are on board. The furry of hurricanes and tornadoes leave a path of death and untold destruction behind them. And massive earthquakes flatten whole communities, kill thousands of people, and leave millions homeless.
And so, the question must be asked: Is the suffering that results from evil and injustice a sick joke, which is sprung on us by an impersonal universe? Is it even possible to believe in a loving, caring God in a world full of evil? And further, can such a God bring good out of suffering? Is redemption possible? Can hope spring forth from the seedbed of sin, oppression, and injustice?
In light of such questions it must be said that there is no redemption in the simple acknowledgement of a problem. The acknowledgement that there is sin or evil in the world does not necessarily resolve the problem. After the problem of evil is acknowledged, it must be dealt with. And this leads us to the story of Good Friday.
“Jesus answered and said, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Surely I say, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it produces much grain…Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.” (John 12.23-24, 31-33)
A worldview generated by the Gospel of Jesus affirms both the reality of evil and the truth that the problem of evil has been dealt with through Jesus’ death on the cross. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the means through which God has fulfilled his covenant promise of redemption and has dealt with the problem of evil, sin, and death. Through Jesus’ paradoxical death on the cross, God has reconciled all things in heaven and on earth, having made peace through the blood of Jesus cross (Colossians 1.19-20).
This “Jesus-centered” worldview also asserts that evil will finally be conquered when Jesus returns and God establishes his new creation. This is a hopeful picture, indeed!
But there is more. The message of the Gospel is deeply personal. For we who humbly acknowledge our sin before God, who receive God’s offer of forgiveness, and who experience the new life of the Spirit are called to be God’s co-workers. We are called to follow Jesus to the place of pain and suffering and to bring God’s healing love to bear in that place. In this ‘time-between-time’ God is sending us out into the world as his bearers of peace and reconciliation.
We are called to live by faith in God, to live in the strength of Christ’s Spirit, and to live in loving service to all God’s creatures. And as we remain faithful to that calling, we work at becoming the willing agents of God’s new life and we set up divinely inspired signposts of God’s fully restored kingdom. As we live in light of the coming Day of Justice, we bring hope in the midst of despair and we help carry burdens that cannot be carried alone. That is the joy and mystery of following the crucified and risen Jesus in this world that God so dearly loves.
Good Friday Prayer:
King Jesus, on the cross you accomplished our salvation; enable us by your Holy Spirit to be faithful to our call to be your ambassadors in the world. Grant us strength to bear our crosses and endure our sufferings, even unto death. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)