Living in the Resurrection
Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message
April 19, 2017
“Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
One of the striking elements of the
stories of Jesus’ bodily reappearance after his death is that the disciples do
not trust each other enough to believe what they say they have seen. “How could the early disciples have been such
scrubs?” we ask. But these stories are
about us as much as about the first generation of Jesus’ followers.
Women disciples in the
original, short ending of Mark’s Gospel see an angel at the tomb announcing
that Jesus is not there but has risen, and telling them to report this to the
others. The women run away “trembling with astonishment” and tell no one
about it “because they were afraid,” presumably of what others will think of
them telling such a story (Mark 16:8). In Luke, as the women come back
from the tomb, they remember words that Jesus had said to them while he was
alive, and this gives them the confidence to announce what the angel has
said. But the apostles take it as “an idle tale,” and they do not believe
the women (Luke 24:10-11). In the extended ending that was added to Mark
by following generations, Mary Magdalene sees Jesus after he is raised from the
dead, and she tells the other disciples.
But they refuse to believe her (Mark 16:9-11). And it does not seem to be just a problem of
men not believing women. In the story
from John we will read this Sunday, Thomas doesn‘t believe the witness of the
rest of the eleven, until he can see it with his own eyes and touch it with his
own hands (John 20:19-29).
We often reject the
witness of others because it goes against our own convictions, against what we
have come to believe. When Jesus appears
to the ten in John 20, he breathes on them and says “If you forgive others,
they will be truly forgiven.” Jesus
touches us and lets us know we have the power to forgive, the power to accept
things that we may not think are quite how we think they should be. The resurrection of Jesus teaches us to trust
God, and each other. “Judge not, lest you be judged” (Matt. 7:1) means that our
default should be to give each other the benefit of the doubt, and have hearts
open to the experience and witness of others, regardless of our prior
convictions. This is at the heart of the newness of life that comes with
baptism and the resurrection.
Here in Ashland, we
often hear people taught about “positive” and “negative” energies and
“vibes.” Backbiting, gossiping, and
complaining about those who are not present are ways that we express judgment,
lack of trust, and closed minds and hearts.
They are ways of driving out the spirit of God, and of creating a
negative and toxic environment deadly to healthy community and to the newness
of life that Christ calls us to in his resurrection.
On the other hand,
open ended listening, welcoming new people into participation, and keeping our
big mouth shut when we do not have something uplifting or affirming to
say—these are ways of building healthy community and finding the joy of the
spirit in our daily life and relationships.
Newness of life is
about positive and affirming relationships.
It is stronger that death, and more powerful than our old ways of
beating up on ourselves and others.
Grace and Peace. Fr. Tony+ 
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