Lakewood United Church of Christ
St. Petersburg, FL
Date: April 15, 2012
Scripture Lessons: John 20: 19-31 and Acts 4:32-35
Sermon: Resurrection Reprise
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
It’s April 15, a day to remember that the only things we can be sure of in this life are death and taxes! This insight comes to us from the sage, Benjamin Franklin, who borrowed the image from Daniel Defoe when he commented in a letter to a colleague:
Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.
Death and taxes may be certain, but what about after you die? The familiar tradition of the Christian church maintains that for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he rose from the dead, there is life after death in heaven with God and with our departed loved ones. The church teaches that this is a certainty which can be counted on. This tradition is based on the New Testament stories of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
I grew up in the church with the understanding that the resurrection was a one time special event that happened only to Jesus. It was what made Christianity unique. We had the biggest, most impressive magical miracle in our tradition and that’s what made our religion pre-eminent. That was my impression growing up in
the church.
Today, this is still a strong belief stream within Christianity. It is the resurrection that defines Christianity. And the reason to be a Christian is so that you can count on spending eternity in heaven with God. And, by implication, not languishing in the fires of hell. The promise of heaven and the fear of hell drew people into the church and that belief system still brings some people into the church today.
Given the power and influence of the resurrection story in the history of Christianity, let’s take a look at the background of the resurrection tradition. First of all, in the culture of the middle east in the first century, resurrection was a commonly assumed concept. It was part of many religious traditions. Resurrection of the dead was a common theme in Judaism. Some Jewish factions believed in resurrection and some did not, but that was a difference that was accepted within the Jewish tradition. Other religions had figures who had come back to life from the dead and were resurrected. As Steve Patterson tells us in the book, Beyond the Passion, “Ancients, for the most part, had no trouble believing in resurrection per se. It was a common element of most ancient religions, and a fate thought to have been shared by many prophets, martyrs, and heroes.” [p. 104] It was common to attribute a miraculous birth, death, resurrection and ascension to prominent figures. In that context, the stories of the resurrection of Jesus would not have been unique or particularly “magical.” They would have blended into the cultural/religious milieu of the day.
We also want to remember that Jesus’ followers had given up much to follow him. They left home and family and livelihood. As animosity grew against Jesus among the leaders of the day, the followers of Jesus also were threatened. After Jesus’ death, they were afraid for their lives, which was a valid fear, given that many were hunted down, persecuted, imprisoned, and killed for their devotion to Jesus. These early followers were facing death for their commitment to the values of Jesus and to his teachings. They wanted to know that they had not misplaced their devotion; that their sacrifice was not in vain, that they had bet on the right guy. The story of the resurrection shows that the way of Jesus goes on in spite of the efforts of the Romans and the Jewish leaders to put a stop to it. It conveys that the killing of Jesus did not end him, his teachings, and the power of his witness. This continues on after his death among his followers. The resurrection is a way of saying that the witness of Jesus did not die with his body. His way triumphs. His followers are vindicated.
There are also other historical considerations that come into play when thinking about the Biblical tradition of the resurrection of Jesus. The followers of Jesus were Jews, but a variety of forces were dividing the Jews who followed Jesus from those who did not. When the gospels were written, traditional Judaism and the “Jesus” strain of Judaism were in the midst of an acrimonious parting. For the Jesus Jews, the story of the resurrection was a way of saying, “We are right. Our way is right. We have the truth.” In a context of conflict, you’re going to hammer that nail hard and that was what was happening in the latter part of the first century. The resurrection stories were intended to give validity and authority to the Jesus strain of Judaism over against the mainstream of Judaism.
In addition, as the Jesus movement came into its own as a separate religion, there was the need to establish power and authority in this newly emerging organization. The resurrection stories helped to set up a certain pecking order in this newly emerging faith. Who got to the tomb? Who saw what when? Who was there first? These things helped to establish the authority of the leaders in the new church. So the resurrection stories had a political function within the new religion of Christianity.
Then, as we think about the resurrection stories, we want to take into consideration how after someone dies, we may still experience their presence. And we may experience that presence in very real ways. Think of someone close to you who has died. Have you felt their presence in some way that was very compelling? In the movie, “The Way,” Martin Sheen plays a character whose son has died. In the course of the movie, in various scenes, Sheen “sees” his son in situations where the son would have been present. He is experiencing the compelling presence of his departed loved one. This is a common human experience. Put that together with the cultural and historical context we have discussed and it is easy to see how the resurrection stories emerged.
The resurrection stories developed in a context that was receptive to that concept, but they emerged because of the experience that the followers of Jesus had in his presence when he was alive. Because his life was special, he is attributed with a special death. People were not originally attracted to the way Jesus because he was raised from the dead because he hadn’t died yet. People followed Jesus because of the power of his teaching and his way that drew them in and led them to leave home and family to follow him. They were drawn to the alternative reality that he created.
We want to make sure that we have a basic understanding of the world that Jesus and his followers were part of so that we can really appreciate how the way of Jesus was a radical departure from the contemporary reality. Jesus and his friends lived under Roman occupation. They were controlled by the Romans and were heavily taxed by the Romans. The Romans chose the high priests of the Jewish Temple. It was essentially economic, social, political, and religious strangulation. The Roman system of power and authority was held in place through patronage; the people on the lower levels doing favors for those above them so that those above them would throw them a bone. So the people at the very bottom – women, children, widows, those who were sick, orphans, people who were landless – they were always vulnerable. The whole thing was then held in place through the system of sacrificing to the gods. The sacrifice system produced food, specifically meat, in a context where many people scrounged for their daily bread. Meat was scarce. The sacrifice system fed those on top first, and it was up to them what to pass on down the line, then up to the next level to decide what would go to those below them. For those on the bottom, there may very well be nothing. The society was based on hierarchy and patriarchy. You had to have land or some way to win the favor of those above you to make sure something came your way, and many people had no way to access that system. So those with nothing potentially got nothing, except at the good graces of those above them. It was very precarious.
Though not as severe as the sacrifice system of the Romans, the Jewish Temple also had a sacrificial system that was similar in maintaining hierarchy and patriarchy. It was a system designed to keep everyone in their place, and it defined the boundary between those who were clean and unclean in terms of ritual access to God.
Think of the stories of the gospels. Who does Jesus befriend and hang out with? Those on the bottom of this socio/economic pyramid. He was undermining the whole economic, social, and religious system of his day by seeking out and attending to the nobodies who were at the bottom of the pile. There was no patronage in his way. No sacrifice to be shared down the line according to a pecking order. The one who would be greatest is the one who serves others. Food is provided for everyone and all are equally welcome at the table. This was radical and subversive. The way of Jesus was a way of egalitarian community with people of all walks of life welcomed and coming together to share the abundance that God has provided for all. And the people of the day found this witness so compelling they were drawn to Jesus and the communities that formed among those following his way.
We see the counter cultural way of Jesus manifested in the scripture lesson from Acts that we heard this morning:
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
[Acts 4:32-35, New Revised Standard Version]
This shows the power of Jesus‘ teaching and witness. This is the kind of community that was created by his way and his life. This kind of radical, counterculture movement was the result of his life and ministry. This is what Jesus lived for. This is what people were devoted to. This is what drew people into the fold of his followers. Embracing this alternative reality was NEW LIFE in the name of Jesus. The teaching and ministry of Jesus, the compelling power of this new way of living was so strong, so vital, so transforming that it continued to be life-giving even after he was killed. The truth of what he embodied lived on. The people still felt the empowerment and the love as they continued to live his way. Because this witness continued with such strength, the tradition of Jesus being resurrected developed as a way to convey the experience of his followers as they continued to do and be what they were with him, and the sense of divine purpose was still present. How to tell of that? In that context, in that tradition, at that historical moment, the concept that fit for them was the concept, already well established and familiar, of resurrection.
People could believe and have life in Jesus’ name by participating in this new radical, counter culture reality that he showed to others. You could follow Jesus without subscribing to the literal molecular reappearance of his body after his death. The resurrection tradition developed because of the life that Jesus lived.
Now, why does this matter today? The fastest growing religious population in the US is the “nones.” These are people who claim no religious affiliation. Forty percent of these nones say they believe in God, pray, and are “still hoping eventually to find the right religious home,” according to the March 12 issue of TIME Magazine. [TIME, March 12, 2012, p. 68] One of the things that I believe is keeping the nones out of church is the impression that being part of the church will require you to set aside your rational mind, ignore the physical laws of the universe, and subscribe to beliefs such as Jesus was born of a virgin and was physically bodily resurrected from the dead. At one time, belief in the literal physical resurrection may have brought people into the church, and it still may bring some in today. But I would like to suggest that it is also keeping many people out of the church. Thus they do not have access to being part of the community that celebrates the way of Jesus and they do not have full access to new life in his name. They are essentially shut out of the community of Jesus. The common understanding of Christianity today that you have to believe Jesus literally rose from the dead in the body and that if you believe you will go to heaven is, I believe, keeping many of the nones out of church.
But let’s remember what drew people to Jesus in the first place. Life in the name of Jesus is about following and trusting his countercultural, subversive, alternative life style that undermines patriarchy, hierarchy, and economic, religious, and social oppression. To be part of a community that was held together by the new principles and values that Jesus lived, that was new life. To be part of communities of mutual care where there was no power abuse and all were equal, that was new life. To be welcomed and experience the unconditional love of God, that was new life. To live outside of the imposition of empire through violence, that was new life. To be out from under religious strictures that kept people down and separate, that was new life. To be part of a community of generosity and compassion and healing, that was new life. That was transformation. That was powerful and compelling. That’s what the way of Jesus was about and Christianity still has all of that to offer to us, and the nones who are without a church home.
The church does not need to rise and fall on belief in the literal resurrection. In first century Judaism, there were differing beliefs about the resurrection. Some thought there would be a resurrection from the dead, others did not believe that and they still held together as one faith. The church of today can also embrace that kind of diversity in terms of beliefs about the resurrection of Jesus and what happens after you die. Some can believe Jesus was actually raised and we will live on in some kind of heaven with our loved ones after we die. That’s fine. Others who see resurrection as a metaphor for the way of Jesus, and don’t know what happens after we die, can also be part of the church. What needs to define church and Christianity is the way of Jesus, the lifestyle and values of Jesus, the strength and power of life that people experienced in his presence and continued to experience in the communities that followed him; that compelling experience of God that came with commitment to love others and serve others across lines of race, class, social, economic, and all other divisions. That’s what defined Jesus’ way in the first century. That’s what Jesus lived for. That’s what he was willing to die for. That’s what attracted his followers and led them to keep his story alive. Jesus’ way was life giving in a way that went on even after his death. That’s why we have the stories of the resurrection. Because of his life, not his death. In today’s world, the church’s insistence on belief in the resurrection and the focus on the afterlife is keeping people out of church and preventing the life-giving message of Jesus from having its full impact in the world.
I believe the church needs to be resurrected as a community committed to the way of Jesus: an alternative to patriarchy, violence, domination, and empire. I believe God is seeking to breath new life into the church as the body of Christ, living the way of love in the world. If resurrection of the body and the promise of heaven is important to you, believe it. But that should not keep anyone out of church. In the church, our common ground should be that we all embrace the WAY of Jesus. What he lived for. That’s what brings people new life. That’s what the nones are searching for. That’s what the church has to offer to the world.
Death? Inescapable. Taxes? Inevitable. Physical resurrection? For some. New life in the way of Jesus? For all! Amen.
A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.
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