Fourth Sunday of Easter, 2024 - Living in Hope

They are all around us—these reminders of life’s harsh reality. The apostle Paul described this reality as creation living in “bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21).

Decay—the Greek word Paul used refers to deterioration that results in destruction. Creation—the word Paul used is kosmos—experiences it. Our bodies experience it. Deterioration that results in destruction is an inescapable reality of life.

I am reminded of this reality as I trim dead branches from trees, as I removed trees and bushes that have died over the winter, as I replace edging that has rotted away, as I note trim on the house that needs replacing, as I replace boards in the fence that surrounds my back yard. My body reminds me of this reality as I deal with decreased stamina and strength due to aging, as I cope with aches and pains that I didn’t have when I was younger, as doctor appointments appear on my calendar with frustrating frequency.

Indeed, we live in bondage to decay. Deterioration that leads to destruction quietly, but steadily, manifests itself in the many arenas of our lives.

Yet, in the midst of this pattern of decay, spring bursts forth with the promise of new life, growth, vitality, and eventually fruitfulness. It challenges the reality of decay, proclaiming that the decay with which we cope is not the last word. It stirs hope in the face of decay.

In the text in which he speaks of “bondage to decay,” Paul spoke of hope—the hope of being set free from this bondage. Creation longs for this freedom, groaning as if it were experiencing labor pains (Romans 8:19-22). Like creation, we, too, “groan inwardly while we wait” (Romans 8:23). We too long to be set free from this harsh reality that defines our lives.

Paul ties creation’s freedom from its bondage to decay to “the revealing of the children of God” (Romans 8:19)—to when God’s transforming work is done and we as the children of God are fully conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29). He spoke of this time as “adoption, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). Paul’s reference is to when we ourselves will personally experience the resurrection.

In his death and resurrection, Jesus broke the power of sin and death. He broke the power behind our bondage to decay. As a result, deterioration that leads to destruction is no longer the defining reality of our lives. Death is no longer the final word. The grave is no longer our final destination. Because of his death and resurrection, we like Christ will pass through death into life. We too will experience resurrection from the dead. The final word is resurrection into life.

Resurrection and life, freedom from our bondage to decay is the hope with which we live as the followers of Jesus. “For in hope we were saved” (Romans 8:24).

Assurance of this hope is found in our experience of the Spirit and the Spirit’s work in our lives—we “who have the first fruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23; compare Romans 5:3-5). We experience the work of the Spirit whenever we experience the forgiveness of God that frees us from guilt and shame, in the peace we experience whenever we rest in God’s steadfast, faithful love, in the joy we experience whenever we use our gifts to make a difference in the life of another, in those moments when we rise above our inherent self-serving, what’s-in-it-for-me spirit to act out of the servant spirit of Jesus, whenever we embrace someone who is “other” as a beloved child of God, whenever we gain insight and understanding into spiritual truth, whenever we grow spiritually by incorporating and acting upon such insights, whenever we have the power to do what we cannot do in our own strength, whenever we respond with faith to times of challenge and suffering, whenever we sense the presence of God, whenever we continue to faithfully live the ways of God Jesus taught even though we do not sense the presence of God. These kinds of experiences are evidence of the Spirit’s work in our lives today. They are the first fruits of the Spirit.

By referring to such experiences as first fruits, Paul implied the Spirit would produce additional fruit in our lives. The Spirit will continue to work until we were completely conformed to the likeness of Christ—until we are set free from our bondage to decay—until we move through death into life eternal.

Decay—deterioration that leads to destruction—quietly, but steadily, manifests itself in the many arenas of our lives. There is one arena, however, which decay fails to impact. That one arena is our spiritual lives. Our spiritual lives are governed by progress and growth, not decay, because of the transforming work of the Spirit. In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul spoke of this reality: “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Our outer nature refers to our physical body. It is wasting away because it lives in bondage to decay. Our inner nature refers to our spiritual lives. We are growing spiritually because of the transforming work of the Spirit. Our spiritual lives have been set free from bondage to decay through Jesus’s death and resurrection and by the transforming work of the Spirit.

In our present experience, we cope with the seemingly inescapable reality of our bondage to decay. Yet, we live in hope, waiting for the time that we will be set free from this bondage. “We wait for it—freedom from our bondage to decay—with patience” (Romans 8:24).

Well, sometimes I wait with patience. On other occasions—when I am dealing with yet another expression of this bondage to decay—I am not so patient. Just shows I continue to need the Spirit’s transforming work in my life.

Third Sunday of Easter, 2024 - Thomas

It seems to me that Thomas has gotten a bad rap.

According to the gospel of John, Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them on the evening of resurrection Sunday. When they told him they had seen Jesus, he responded, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). All he asked was to have the same experience the others had. “He (Jesus) showed them his hands and his side” (John 20:20).

Because of his response, Thomas has been viewed as a doubter. He is commonly called Doubting Thomas.

I believe a better descriptor for Thomas would be realist. Thomas was a realist, not a doubter.

This character trait is readily seen in an event found in John 11. Jesus had been summoned to Bethany by Mary and Martha because their brother Lazarus was sick. Rather than responding immediately, Jesus remained in Galilee for two days. When he told the disciples they were going back to Judea, they were hesitant, resistant to the idea. “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” (John 11:8). When Jesus told them he was going because Lazarus had died, Thomas said to the others, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16).

Thomas assessed the situation. The Jews were seeking to kill Jesus. Going back to Judea would expose Jesus to that threat. Thomas dealt realistically with the situation, recognizing the danger and the possibility. He was a realist. In spite of the danger and the risk involved, he was willing to go with Jesus, even if it meant death for them all. He was deeply committed to Jesus. He was willing to die with him. In addition, he encouraged the others to move beyond their fear and hesitancy. He called them to act in spite of the danger. Could we say he challenged them to have faith, the very thing we accuse him of not having regarding the resurrection?

Thomas’s reaction on the evening of resurrection Sunday reflected that same kind of realism. He had seen Jesus crucified on the cross. He had seen the spikes in his hands, the spear thrust in his side. He had seen Jesus die. That was the reality he knew. In order to believe Jesus was alive, Thomas needed an experience that would offset that reality. He needed more than the word of the other disciples. He wanted to see the wounds just as the other disciples had.

When Jesus appeared a week later, he offered Thomas what he needed. “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side” (John 20:27). Thomas’s response was immediate. He proclaimed his faith. “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Interestingly, his response was without touching Jesus’s hands or side. Seeing Jesus alive was the experience he needed to offset the reality he had known. He now had a new reality with which to deal. Jesus had indeed been raised from the dead. That reality would now shape his life.

What about today’s Thomases—those realists who assess the situation and deal realistically with it? They do not have the opportunity that Thomas and the other disciples had—to see the wounds of Jesus, to see Jesus alive. What might today’s Thomases experience that would stir their response of faith?

Indulge me as I answer my own question. Faith is spawned when today’s Thomases see the impact of the resurrection in the lives of others. Transformed lives are as convincing as Jesus’s wounds.

The resurrection becomes a reality today’s Thomases can accept when they see people they know set free from guilt and shame, living with freedom and joy and peace . . . when they see people they know moving beyond the self-serving, what’s-in-it-for-me spirit to live out of a servant spirit that seeks the good of others . . . when they see people they know facing life-threatening illnesses and the threat of death with faith, not fear . . . when they see people they know accept and embrace those who are different from themselves, treating them with dignity and respect rather than viewing them as a threat or as undeserving . . . when they see people they know give freely and generously of their time and material wealth to make a difference in the life of another . . . when they see people they know live with openness and authenticity rather than projecting a pretentious persona created to gain attention and social standing. The resurrection becomes a reality today’s Thomases can accept when they see the followers of Jesus living the ways of God that Jesus taught.

Notice that I said nothing about beliefs or church involvement or morals. These things do not point to the reality of the resurrection as does living the ways of God Jesus taught. Sadly, church people too often substitute beliefs and church involvement and moral living for living the ways of God Jesus taught. Even more sad is the reality that beliefs and church involvement and moral living do not require us to live the ways of God that Jesus taught. They often become barriers to doing so.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29). Blessed are those who embrace the resurrection as a reality, giving themselves to learning and living the ways of God Jesus taught. Blessed indeed!

 

Second Sunday of Easter, 2024 - Shaped by the Reality of the Resurrection

 It was the evening of Resurrection Sunday—the evening after Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene (as told in John’s gospel). The disciples were gathered together behind locked doors our of fear that they might be the next target of the religious authorities (John 20:19). They were still living out of an old reality—that Jesus was dead, killed by his enemies—in spite of Mary’s testimony that she had seen him alive. The resurrection had happened, but it had made no impact on them or their lives—at least, not yet. It was not, in their minds, a reality.

Then Jesus stood in their midst and spoke to them. One minute he wasn’t there; the next, he was standing in their midst. That’s when the resurrection became a reality for them. That’s when it began to impact and shape their lives.

The gospel writer packed a lot into a few short verses—the validation of the resurrection, the gift of peace, the gift of the Spirit (Pentecost in the gospel of John), an assignment for their lives (the Great Commission in the gospel of John), and authority to proclaim forgiveness (John 20:23). Each of these are related.

Jesus’s presence validated the testimony of Mary Magdalene. Jesus indeed was alive! He had been raised. They too had encountered the Risen Christ! The resurrection was a reality—a reality that had the power to shape—yea, transform—their lives.

The Risen Christ gave to them the gift of peace. Twice, he said to them, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19, 21). Before his death, he had promised them the gift of peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:26-27). Now, in assurance of the resurrection, in experiencing his presence, they could know his peace—peace with God, inner peace that calmed their sense of guilt and shame, peace that quietened their fear of what might happen to them. All of that inner dis-ease and debilitating anxiety was replaced with his gift of peace.

His gift of peace was associated with the gift of the Spirit. The apostle Paul wrote peace was a gift of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Jesus breathed on them, bestowing on them the gift of the Spirit. The gospel writer drew on the imagery found in Genesis 2. There, the Lord God breathed into the lifeless form he had fashioned from the earth and the form became a living being—Adam. Here, Jesus breathed the Spirit into his disciples. They came alive in a new way—alive with the very life of God through the Spirit. They experienced the life of the Spirit at work in them and through them. They became Spirit-filled, Spirit-guided, and Spirit-empowered.

The gift of the Spirit empowered them for the work Jesus gave them to do. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). The central message of the gospel of John was the Father had sent Jesus, the Son, to reveal the Father (John 1:14, 18)—that is, that we might know what God is like at the core of God’s being, that we might know the steadfast, faithful love that fills the heart of God. Jesus was sent that we might know the Father personally and experience God’s grace and forgiveness in our own lives. “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Now, empowered by the Spirit, his followers were to continue his work—helping people know the love-filled heart of God, helping them open their lives to God so they would know God personally, helping them claim and live out of God’s grace and forgiveness.

This Spirit-empowered commission centered in the awesome authority to proclaim God’s forgiveness so others could experience it in their own lives. It also included the terrifying responsibility of withholding forgiveness. They (we) withheld forgiveness by failing to proclaim its reality, thereby offering others the opportunity to open their lives to its transforming power. 

The reality of the resurrection has life-shaping, life-transforming power. When it becomes real to us, it leads us into the inner peace of Christ. It fills us with the life of the Spirit, empowering us to love as Jesus loved. It gives us a new purpose in life—helping others know this God of self-giving, servant love that we have come to know through the Risen Christ, helping others experience God’s grace and forgiveness—which brings the peace of Christ—in their lives.