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Category Archives: Early Church
Delicious Heresies or Junk Food for the Soul.
NOTE: In 2003 I gave a talk at Saint Johns Memphis, Tennessee about the DaVinci Code the page turner by Dan Brown. The piece below explains the adventure. I came across this on the internet recently and thought it might be worth sharing.
I wrote this in 2006
Dear Friends
Below is an article I wrote for ExploreFaith.org. It remains topical two and a half years later. Three years ago this November a quote from an interview I gave about the Da Vinci Code published in the Commercial Appeal was subsequently quoted by Dan Brown on his website, DanBrown.com. This citation opened a “minor career” on matters Da Vinci. Calls have come from La Monde Magazine, Paris, France, The Guardian, Sidney, Australia and even talk radio in Sacramento, California. Now the movie is about to be released and I have agreed to respond to questions from the Commercial Appeal readers. All this says a great deal less about my “authority” than about the ubiquitous nature of the Internet. Below you will find an article I wrote for the web page, Exploring Faith. It continues to reflect my sense of the Da Vinci Code phenomena.
In November (2003) I led three conversations about issues raised in The Da Vinci Code. Months earlier, while browsing in a bookstore, the cover of the novel caught my eye, and because I have a long fascination with Leonardo (he is never called Da Vinci), I bought the book to read as a diversion. I found nothing new there, but it was a good page-turner.
Then something interesting happened. People old and young, male and female, began to ask me could it be true, as the Code contends, that Jesus and Mary of Magdala were married and perhaps even had a child. This and other questions continued through the summer with such frequency that I realized that this book provided a teachable moment.
I prepared to have a conversation about the book with interested members of the congregation I serve. A press release was sent to the local newspaper and I was asked for an interview. The resulting lead article once again indicated a high level of interest, but the turnout the night of our first gathering was completely unexpected: Six hundred people packed the pews.
What is it about Dan Brown’s novel that enticed hundreds of people into church for a conversation? When questioned by a reporter about why I thought so many people were reading this book, I replied, “It is filled with delicious Christian heresies.” Did Jesus marry Mary from Magdala and have genetic descendants? However intriguing the notion there seems to be no compelling evidence that Jesus married at all.
The idea has prompted people to ask, “What am I to believe and why?” That is a very valid and enduring question. Toward the end of that first meeting a woman stood up and said, “We are here tonight because we are searching.” One of the challenges for the searcher is the interpretation of discovery. What does a new idea or experience I have encountered mean? Is it true? If it is true how is it true? If it is true how does it apply to my life?
In an age of anxiety it is tempting to reach for certainty. If we can be certain then we can be safe. If we are safe then we are in control. However, certainty is illusionary. There is no certainty. In fact certainty is contradictory to faith. As Allen Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, puts it, “The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.”
For me at least, notions that promise certainty are suspect. For Christians faith is the posture in the face of mystery. What God has revealed in Christ Jesus is a mystery. How could the birth of one man in one moment of history make a difference for all people at all times within history? Many have found this preposterous. And yet that is the core belief of classical Christianity.
What is there to find that is unique about the classical Christian understanding of Jesus? Over centuries Christians came to believe that Jesus is fully human and fully god. I believe that he is. That is an act of faith for me but increasingly I suspect that it is true because it is not the easy way out.
Humanity likes the quick fix, the black or white option—clear cut and simple. Heresy, from the word, “to choose,” is the tendency to choose a part of a notion and carry it to a logical conclusion, thereby ignoring the complexity and richness of the fuller reality.
Northrop Frye
As Northrop Frye writes in his book Anatomy of Criticism, “… the full metaphorical statement ‘Christ is God and Man’ is orthodox, and the Arian (the belief that Jesus was not god but the highest creation of God) and Docetic (Jesus only appeared to be god but was in fact only a virtual god) statements in terms of simile or likeness (are) condemned as heretical.” The heresy is to not be willing to live with the tension of the paradox, but rather to want reality easily understandable.
The Da Vinci Code introduces many people to the fact that there were many exotic flowers in the early garden of Christianity. There are many reasons that they didn’t become the dominant form of Christianity. In some cases they couldn’t compete in the marketplace of ideas and in others they were eradicated by the political power of the state allied with the church. The church has not always covered itself in glory by mercy and justice.
All that notwithstanding I think the principle reason that classical Christianity endures to the present is the fact that the easy way was not the way chosen. The fact that the church chose the way of paradox and ambiguity as the most authentic way to live in the mystery of God revealed in Christ is the most telling reason for the enduring power of its life and message. Even in the church there is a desire for certainty. That is the human condition. The courage to face paradox is the most authentic expression of the Christian life. I believe that this is the life for which people unconsciously search. That is why I suspect that six hundred people showed up on a Wednesday night to talk about a novel.
Now the movie opens and questions abound. I don’t think that this novel threatens anything. It’s existence provides a teachable moment and as Christians we should be in words of the Apostle Peter be prepared to give an accounting for the hope that is in us (I Peter 3:15). We must be about the business of our Lord and the culture is prepared to talk. That’s a good thing.
In hope, in spite of the facts.
John Sewell
MONDAY OF EASTER IV
May 13, 20
JOHN 10:22-30 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe.
Temple of Herod is in the middle. The columned porticoes run the perimeter of the Temple Mount.
Pardon me for going on about location but in this case it is part of the message. Jesus walked in the Portico of Solomon. Back story is required here. The Portico of Solomon is on the Eastern side of the Temple Mount, opposite the Mount of Olives. It is here that Messiah was to return to Jerusalem.
Zachariah 14:4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward.
Jesus certainly knew his scripture. So did his opponents. Is Jesus making a subtle point here? It wouldn’t be the first time. After Pentecost, the followers of “The Way” as we were known in those days, gathered, where? The Portico of Solomon of course. Why? They wanted to be the first to greet Messiah at his appearing so they looked to find a great seat.
When Muslims walled up the two portals of the eastern gate in the ninth century, Christians took note of the prophecy in Ezekiel 44:1-2: “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.” Torahclub.ffoz.org
In hope, in spite of the facts.
John
FRIDAY OF EASTER II
May 3, 2019
Thomas, Apostle of India
JOHN 20:26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
Following John’s chronology, this reading falls a week after Easter.
He wants to experience this for himself. A week later, things are a bit calmer, when Jesus appeared the second time. He materialized right in front of Thomas inviting just the scrutiny that Thomas claimed he needed. In fact, it turned he didn’t need it at all. He was clearly Jesus, Thomas knew at almost a cellular level.
“My Lord and my God” is pretty clear where Thomas came down on the issue. Between Easter Day and Pentecost, there must have been some mighty long conversations, lectures and holy power point presentations as Jesus got the disciples ready to carry resurrection everywhere. Having done that, he ascended, instructing them to stay together and in one place (I like to think he smiled at Thomas when he said it) until the Spirit comes. They did and The Holy Spirit did. More about that later.
Thomas Martyred – Rubens
Icon of Thomas
Tomb of Thomas today
After Pentecost, Thomas went on down to Alexandria, sailed across the Indian Ocean never to return. The story is that he preached resurrection, lived resurrection and dispensed resurrection to the point a local priest (isn’t it always) brained him with a dye bat. You can think what you like about such tales and doubt much about them. However, in this case when the Portuguese arrived in Indian there were Christians there to meet them. In Goa, the church was a little odd by Western practice, but clearly they preached the same resurrection. They heard the Good News from our favorite doubter very soon after the resurrection. They called themselves Mar Thoma or Saint Thomas Christians. Though, I doubt he much cares any more about that doubting moniker, shouldn’t we at least give the guy a break. For crying out loud.
In hope, in spite of the facts.
j
MONDAY OF EASTER II
April 29, 2019
JOHN 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Yesterday we faced our fear. Today we face our peace. Facing peace is not much easier than poking our head from under the covers when something goes bump in the night.
What is peace if it is not, “not fear?” In Greek the word means, “peace of mind; quietness or rest.” This is not too far from “not fear,” and very acceptable to Ego. Peace of mind for Ego is everything under control, including people, all living things and inanimate object. Then, and only then, can Ego take a breather (but only for a minute).
Hebrew peace is, similar, but different in crucial way. Not defined in the negative, peace, points toward wholeness, complete, but not perfection. This is peace as progressive maturing integrity. The is the sort of peace that sees the lights of the highway patrol, glancing at our speed, relaxed as the officer speeds toward another motorist. This peace is a matter of intentional discipline; inebriated recklessness is not our practice. It doesn’t mean that our speed is always spot on as we drive because 90 mph is appropriate if a passenger is bleeding out.
I do not wish you “not fear,” I bid you peace.
In hope, in spite of the facts.
John
FRIDAY OF EASTER WEEK
April 26, 2019
Jesus appears by the sea – James Tissot
JOHN After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. 9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples
The Last Breakfast – Janet Brooks Gerloff
Here we join the last breakfast. Jesus is cooking by the time the guys came in from fishing without anything to show for being wet and cold. He must have walked down to the water, shouting the question all fishers hear as the boat nears the dock, “Boys, didn’t catch anything, did you?” “Nothing,” the glum reply. Chuckling, Jesus said, “Throw the net on the right side, there’s fish to be caught.” To which, John thought, “haven’t we been here before? It’s the Lord!” Peter not to be outdone dives into the sea getting to the beach first.
The Last Breakfast – James Tissot
The grill was hot. Jesus called for fresh fish and they ate right there. It’s like a group of buddies had serve as pall bearers for the best among them, only suddenly there he is alive but changed and all for the better. If death can’t stop him, what can stop any of them? Sated with food, they lay around like a pile of puppies. The scene is irresistibly attractive, the kind rising from a genuine religious experience. Oh, there were issues to tend and a whole world to save, but on that clear cool morning they were at peace, together again.
By the time John writes this text, only he remains. His brother, James was the first to fall. Now he will be the last. Sons of Thunder, bookends of the Apostles. In the high altar mural in the church here at Saint John’s is the old John. He’s not crazed exactly, but clearly he has seen something.
And he did. I’m grateful for his Gospel. Wish there was Volume 2.
In hope, in spite of the facts.
John
THURSDAY OF EASTER WEEK
April 25, 2019
LUKE 24:36b Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence. 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you— that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
While Cleopas and friend were hoofing it back to Jerusalem to tell their story, Jesus appeared to the disciples. Putting it mildly, he scared them silly. Notice, in Scripture that angels always say, “Peace, don’t be afraid,” because fear is always people’s first response. The resurrected Jesus now does the same. What did he look like? Clearly there is a genuine continuity between before death and resurrected Jesus.
Is it because they don’t expect to see the dead, although ghosts are one explanation. Jesus put that to rest by asking for something to eat. He ate the offered fish, thus proving he was not a ghost. His wounded hands and feet are enough to convince them. Then he opened his second lecture of the day.
Again, through the whole of the Hebrew Bible he shows them where he is prefigured. He also points out the suffering servant in the writings of the Prophet Isaiah, which was largely overlooked when Messiah was discussed. They are spellbound as he reminds them of things he said before his passion. “You are witnesses of these things.” This good news must go out from Jerusalem to all the world. And so it did.
In hope, in spite of the facts. John
WEDNESDAY OF EASTER WEEK
April 24, 2019
Walk to Emmaus – Debbie Salt
LUKE 24:13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
The account of the walk to Emmaus is reserved for services on Easter afternoon or evening. It is one of the most beautiful of the post-resurrection accounts. Cleopas married Mary, sister of the mother of Jesus. Family gatherings must have been very confusing. So, Jesus’ uncle by marriage walks the few miles to Emmaus village. Perhaps, he and Mary lived there. He is accompanied by an unnamed companion. I like to think it was his son, Simeon, who figures largely in the earliest church. Jesus’ family is largely on the margins in the Gospel accounts. Humans just love dynasties, so James, his brother, is the first Bishop of Jerusalem. The second bishop is Simeon, Jesus’ first cousin.
The risen Jesus joined them and seeing their mood, asked what was wrong? Cleopas exploded, “How could you not know about the ruckus in town about Jesus. A great young man, murdered by the priests because they felt threatened. What a shame, he was so young.” His voice trailed off into the silence save for the sound of a stone dislodged by a foot rolling away from the path.
Jesus then began to explain how Messiah must suffer and die and rise throughout all the Old Testament. This must be the first time that prefiguring types in the Hebrew Bible are restated as antitype in the life of Jesus with greater clarity and power. As they neared the village, dusk was falling quickly into the true dark (electricity changed that). They invited him to stay and he did. Having refreshed themselves with cool water and washed their feet, they sat down to table.
Jesus took bread, blessed, broke and gave it to them. Before the bread reached their mouths, he disappeared. Ever since that night in Emmaus, when Christians gather for Eucharist they know, that seen or unseen Jesus is there. It’s so, I’ve felt him often. You?
In hope, in spite of the facts.
John+
EASTER MONDAY
April 22, 2019
MATTHEW 28:9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” The Report of the Guard 11 While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 telling them, “You must say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.
The crowd that bribed the guards with, admittedly a “large sum” of money, are the very ones who plotted to kill Lazarus after Jesus raised him from the dead. Why? Today, the polls they run, focus groups they convene would tell them that the public’s mood was with Jesus. That scared the bejeebers out of them because they assumed that Jesus would behave like they would if given the opportunity.
Jesus did ride into town according to ancient prophecy. Having arrived and the crowd gathered, he did not launch into a stump speech, shamelessly pandering to the worse fears as well as hopes of his audience. I shall resist the temptation to compare this with Presidential politics, but you make your own inventory.
Now….. I’m waiting….. Ok – back to the meditation already in progress.
The political types, ordained or not, never understood what Jesus was about as it is simply counter-intuitive. A kingdom where all are loved, cherished and cared for, simply does not compute. Groucho Marx once said, “I never want to be in a club that would have me.” The priests and such would never be a Kingdom, of God or other, where they were not high and lived up above the ordinary.
How about us? I must admit it makes me uncomfortable sometimes. How about you?
In hope, in spite of the facts.
John
EASTER DAY
March 21, 2019
Empty Tomb – James Tissot
JOHN 20: Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you keeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Resurrection Never Crossed our Minds.
Resurrection never crossed Mary’s mind in the dark deserted streets. The garden, very near the skull shaped hill, where, Jesus was hoisted on a rough-hewn cross, splinters the size of the nails in his feet. She barely remembered walking from the cross, walking beside Joseph, an aristocrat, whose generosity saved Jesus from a common grave. Joined by Nicodemus, a Senator, they, their aides and servants, carried the dead weight through gathering dusk across the manicured lawns to Joseph’s new tomb.
She shifted the heavy jar of myrrh in her arms. Myrrh’s complex earthy scent, hinting of foreign lands, was universally used at burial. Its strong odor was useful at such times.
Smell, evokes the most vivid memories. Ever after, the faintest whiff and Mary was in the garden, the stars, dimming at the hint of dawn in the East.
The men had carefully rolled the round stone into its slot across the entrance. She saw them do it. There is a dark hole where the tan stone should be. His body, limbs out of socket, limp as a worn-out rag, covered with blood, was gone. The great stone rolled aside, witness to the absence of tortured remains. She hurdled heedless of feet in the dawn to warn his men that some ghoulish mischief had befallen his body. Romans do not disturb the dead. Nor, Jews, usually. Who would rob a grave on Passover?
Resurrection never crossed the minds of the men huddled by the fire, hiding from the mighty whose henchmen might be searching at that very moment. They flinched at the door knock.
John & Peter run to the Tomb – James Tissot
Resurrection never crossed the minds of the two as they left the others walking quickly, suddenly running like school boys; John, the younger by over a decade ran as the young run sprinting ahead only to wait, a quick glance, hesitating, while Peter, as Peter would, barged right in. John followed. The burial clothes of thin linen bands, wrapped in haste; adequately, were quickly finished before Passover sundown.
The burial clothes were more than there; they lay as if Jesus simply vanished, evaporated rising right through them as they collapsed neatly onto themselves in a way, not to be faked. Oddly, the head cloth neatly folded lay near the wrappings, testifying to subtle divine presence.
Resurrection did cross John’s mind and he believed. Suddenly, hideous events on Friday were made new sense, aroused suspicions of glory and strange saying of Jesus were strange no more. His absence translated by hope become coherent to ears that listen, ears that hear. They departed slowly, thoughtfully – wondering if this meant what they thought it meant, unsure but with small bright potential joy in their hearts where before was only despair.
A movement peripheral, a man, [only a gardener would stir so early,]. Passing through the hedge, Mary, voice breaking inquired of grave-robbers … “Mary,” and she knew his voice; it was he, the one who said his sheep know my voice, and saying her name called her clear as ever. Resignation fell away, not as amnesia forgets, but remembering with power a greater vision, redeemed by holy intervention.
She grabbed him, weak with vertigo of deep grief leaping into singular joy in a single bound. Gently, he loosed her hands, telling her he had not yet ascended to his Father; an entirely different order of homecoming, embraced by the peculiar, mystical love of the Godhead.
She must let him go, not for loss this time but for gain, gain for all, for all time. The spare, precise truth, brought Mary and all who will ever believe to his God and their God and his Father and their Father.
Resurrection had never crossed Mary’s mind until, she met Resurrection face to face.
And it was ENOUGH!
Resurrection never crossed our minds in the tyranny of the immediate. I-phones, e-mails, constant litter of data: important to nobody but forwarded by somebody to everybody.
Resurrection never crossed our minds in the routine of sameness, body tired, minds fuzzy with the demands of a new day, while the old day, its red-flagged emails, all caps, shouting, invades the new day.
Resurrection never crossed our minds even in the Week Holy, as the world continued, the relentless, urgency of the trivial, blotting out the ultimate, flattening all affect into numbness.
Resurrection – James Tissot
We slouch into our several pews late, tired, distracted, our minds arriving minutes after our bodies dropped into a seat. Today the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, the Queen of Feasts: This EASTER lies at the end of a long relay race beginning on that Eighth day of the Week, the day Mary went early in the dark; John and Peter came and went and Mary loitering near the cave met Jesus alive, [changed but somehow the same] – full of resurrection.
Resurrection never crossed our minds when Meister Eckhart said that the savior’s birth is always happening. But if it happens not in us what does it profit? What matters is that he be born in us.
Resurrection never crossed our minds until we, too long removed from that day encounter him who was absent then, only to be fully present for all time. Sometime, somewhere, when we finally hit the wall that defeats the best moves of our egos — when we find something we cannot fix, there
we will meet Jesus and Resurrection will finally cross our minds and he will not only be born in us but resurrected as well…
and it will be ENOUGH!
May that same resurrection cross your minds and give you new life.
In the name of the father, son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
John Sewell
Beyond Contradiction 