Pastor Sue Koenig
Graceham Moravian Church
(4/1) In the baptismal liturgy of
the Moravian church, the congregation is asked, "Those of
you baptized into Christ Jesus, how were you baptized? The
response follows, "Into his death. We were buried with him
through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised
from the dead through the glorious power of God Almighty,
we too might be raised to live a new life." This question
and response are drawn from the Apostle Paul's letter to
the Romans, chapter six, verses three and four. Paul
continues, "For if we have been united with him in a death
like his, we will certainly be united with him in a
resurrection like his." (Romans 6:5) In the Apostle's
Creed, we profess our belief in the "resurrection of the
body."
As Christians enter the solemnity
of Holy Week, reading the gospel accounts of the arrest,
crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, we must first
condemn any distortion and use of the sacred texts for
anti-Semitic purposes. Jesus was Jewish, as was the
Apostle Paul. The women who came to the tomb at early dawn
on the first day of the week, had observed the Sabbath,
and they came to anoint the body of Jesus in accordance
with the spiritual practices of their faith in the God of
Israel. Jesus' mission was a threat to those in power, and
he was crucified in an attempt to stop the movement he was
building – the coming of the reign of God that he was
ushering in. Jesus came "bringing good news to the poor,
proclaiming release to the captives and recovery of sight
to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19)
Jesus' way is always the way of
love and community, and never the way of hatred. As Sam
Gray, a bishop of the worldwide Moravian Unity and
Director of Intercultural Ministries for the Board of
World Mission, recently posted in response to the killing
of Muslims in New Zealand, "Much of Jesus' earthly
ministry involved ministering to people of other
faiths...as a Christian, I stand not only with the people
of New Zealand, but also with our Muslim friends
everywhere. Why? Because even though I'm not that good at
it yet, I try to follow the example of Jesus Christ, the
one for whom my faith is named." Jesus' way is the way of
love, and the way of life – abundant and eternal.
God's prophet, Ezekiel, gave that
great answer of faith to God's question as he looked out
over a valley of dry bones: "Mortal, can these bones
live?"/"O Lord God, you know." God's tortured and faithful
servant Job exclaimed, "For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and
after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I
shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes
shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!"
God who creates out of nothing, who makes a way where
there is no way, who breathes life into dust, raised
Christ from death to life – not as a disembodied spirit,
but in a new and glorified body – a sign of God's
hallowing of humanity and creation.
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the
mother of James, and the other women who had accompanied
Jesus and provided for his ministry from their resources
(Luke 8:1-3), who had witnessed his crucifixion, death,
and burial, now in terror and amazement, find only an
empty tomb - "they did not find the body." Their hearts
fainted within them – their Redeemer lives! A mortal body
has put on immortality; a perishable body has put on
imperishability. But it is a body. It is as poet John
Updike penned in Seven Stanzas at Easter: Make no mistake,
if he rose at all it was his body; if the cells'
dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the
amino acids rekindle, the Church will fail....The same
hinged thumbs and toes, the same valved heart that –
pierced – died, withered, paused, and then regathered out
of enduring Might new strength to enclose...
Christ's resurrection is the
moment that God's reign on earth breaks in and overcomes
sin and death. It is the reality of God's reign of love,
righteousness, and goodness on earth; the reality of the
beginning of the fulfillment of Christ's mission to the
poor, the imprisoned, the blind, the oppressed. Christ is
the firstborn of the new creation, of the "very good"
creation that God loves, redeems and blesses. The women
came to the tomb thinking that the life and work of Jesus
had ended – but it was a radical new beginning, God's
eternal "yes" to life, and our participation in the
in-breaking reign of God on earth. Christ's resurrection
ushers in the new heaven and the new earth, no longer
separated by death. God's vision for humanity and all
creation shatters the hold of powers and principalities,
sin and death; God's vision that will one day come in its
fullness has already come in the resurrection.
As Samuel E. Balentine writes in a
reflection for the Great Vigil of Easter:
"We remember the crucial events
that Holy Week commemorates: the betrayal, the
crucifixion, the resurrection. We remember the ongoing
story of God's relentless commitment to love humankind
into covenant partnership that promises life, purpose, and
wholeness...Easter is not an ending but a beginning. We
come to Jerusalem in order to depart into the world. We
stand at the cross where Jesus suffered in order to be
able to see his hands and feet in the suffering of others.
We enter the empty tomb, but we do not stay there, because
we have learned to look for Jesus among the living, not
the dead."
Those who follow the Resurrected
Christ are called to partner with God to bring life,
purpose, and wholeness to the world, to live into God's
vision for God's good creation. God's vision requires that
we live in community with others, recognizing God's image
in all humanity, and ensuring that all are loved and
valued; all are shown kindness, mercy, and compassion; all
have voice; all are free from oppression; all have what
they need to live and flourish; all dwell together in
peace and harmony; and all care for creation.
We embody God's vision and go into
the world to live in community with others, to stand in
solidarity with those who are suffering, and to use our
freedom from the power of sin and death to bring life and
wholeness to others; to do "Tikkun Olam" - from the Jewish
tradition, the work of "repairing the world."
One day, God's reign will come in
its fullness, there will be no more suffering or dying,
all people and all creation will be well, and good, and
whole. Yet now, God's reign breaks in with resurrection
where people of diverse faiths gather in solidarity with
those who suffer hatred and violence and death, to
remember the precious lives of those killed at Tree of
Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, in the Al Noor and Linwood
Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, at Mother Emanuel in
Charleston, and First Baptist Church in Sutherland
Springs, Texas. God's reign breaks in where there is
repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation for past and
original sin; where people whose voices were once silenced
are heard; where those who suffer addiction, embraced by
God's love, turn to embrace recovery; where those who
grieve are comforted; where hope, once lost is restored.
Easter, the day of resurrection.
The first day of God's new and very good creation.
Read other articles by Pastor Sue Koenig
