One thing that modern religious consumers crave is certainty. It can feel very comforting. You feel like you know what’s really going on. But sometimes it becomes deceptive. A false sense of certainty will keep people away from the truths they really need to hear.
This came to mind when I was studying the empty tomb narrative in the gospel of Luke. Luke 24:6-8 includes the angelic figures telling the women this: “’Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words…” Notice the role that memory plays in this. There was a great quote from Fred Craddock in his seminary textbook on preaching: "So much of a pejorative nature has been said and written about reflection as hindsight or understanding which comes too late that it is difficult for many to appreciate it as a learning posture. But the fact is, the Bible is a product of reflection. Its portraits of Jesus are offered after a time of remembering and experiencing what was *really* going on. The disciples did not understand at the time, say the Evangelists, but after the resurrection they remembered." Think of what a powerful thing memory is. Learning comes by way of hindsight; it doesn’t always happen right away. This is true with preaching, with lessons from parents, and with other life experiences. In this case, the women had heard Jesus speak before in anticipation of the violence, rejection, and death that He would suffer (in Luke 9:22,44-45; 18:31-34) – but it didn’t really register at the time. It’s just like it was for me in my driver’s education class in high school. So much of driving is intuitive and experiential that you don’t really learn it well from studying the books. The same is true in other parts of life: Christian teaching and engagement isn’t just for the present moment. This is a hard thing to grasp in a culture that values short-term and immediate results. But we’re in it for the long haul. Look at how it played out in Luke 24:9-12: “…returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.” Mercy Oduyoye, a Methodist theologian from Ghana, once wrote: "...without women's participation the transformation of human society towards justice, peace and compassion will not happen, because it takes women to insist that hierarchical and periphery/centre paradigms should give way to caring community." Amen! The experiences of women should not be devalued. They have a great capacity for initiating godly change. Jesus’ disciples were initially dismissive of their report from the empty tomb. But notice how things changed when Peter got curious and went to look for himself. This is how great change comes about: There’s initially a false sense of certainty in a collective mindset, but it just takes one person to start questioning and investigating. Then the old certainty is left behind and others come on board. What was the driving force for Peter? At least one part of it was curiosity. In the Bible curiosity is a good thing. Exploring, learning, and discovery are life assets (e.g., Proverbs 25:1-5). That’s why I’m glad to be in a church tradition that elevates academic learning. There have been so many colleges and universities through the years that have been founded by Congregationalists. Curiosity drives learning, which shapes conviction. And it's the truth that makes us free. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church
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When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”
- Matthew 26:20-25 I love a good holiday meal. It’s so much fun when everyone gets together, when there’s good food to share, a ball game on TV, visiting relatives, etc. And I think of that whenever the Passover comes up in scripture. The Passover was to the Jews in Jesus’ time all that Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the 4th of July are to us. It was religious holiday that celebrated national independence – going back to the book of Exodus when God liberated the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Like the holidays of our time, there were traveling relatives, big meals, and an atmosphere of festivity. There were lots of happy holiday feelings. All of this made for some irony when Jesus said that one of the disciples would betray Him (26:20-21). This doesn’t make for happy family talk around the dinner table. And it was troubling because it was internal. It’s hard enough for churches to face the enemies and pressures that come from the outside. It’s even harder when there are self-sabotaging behaviors. Warren Harding, America’s President from 1921 through most of 1923, was quoted as saying that his enemies he could handle; it was his friends who hurt him the most. He presided over one of the most scandal-ridden administrations in American history. The truth sometimes is hard to handle, but you need to face the truth – and Jesus is all about the truth, which is why He spoke it. And the Bible said it created some distress among His disciples (26:22). If faith is all about encouragement and love and positive emotions, why on earth did Jesus do this? It makes me think of a couple things…
So Jesus didn’t immediately alleviate the distress His disciples were in. The holiday meal pattern in those days was to have common bowls of food where it was taken by hand. It was a shared food supply. The disciples shared a common life together in everything they did. Jesus spoke to this when He said “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me is the one who will betray me” (26:23). When you get into relationships with people you end up making yourself vulnerable, because you’ve opened yourself up. And that’s why betrayal hurts so much when it happens. Matthew 26:14-16 previously indicated that Judas was bribed into his betrayal; the other gospel accounts say that Satan entered into him. But really these two things are closely related. Financial corruption and dark spiritual influences go hand-in-hand. Yet in Matthew 26:25 we find that Judas took the same tone as the rest of the disciples did: “Surely not I”. But there’s a key literary distinction in how Judas addressed Jesus: He called Him “Rabbi”; the other disciples called Him “Lord” (in 26:22). This tells us something about the difference. Betrayers want to keep Jesus as a safe distance – seeing Him as an inspiring teacher, but not much more than that – certainly not getting all on-board when it comes to following Him. Submitting to Jesus’ lordship is a more radical thing that just considering Him an interesting teacher. So this would give betrayers more room to do whatever they want to do, even if it means ignoring Jesus – or turning against Him eventually. But the ball is always in our court. Jesus responded to Judas (in 26:25b) by just going back to what he has said. Judas didn’t have to do the things that He did because our God is not a deterministic God. We can make our choices – whether they be of faith or by rejection, good or bad. And the good news of the gospel is that Jesus took a path that was cut out for our own good. “The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him…” (26:24a). The “Son of Man” is a messianic title that’s taken from the book of Daniel. And the way it’s written of Him sets up a paradox: The betrayal of Jesus was certainly sinful, but in spite of that God’s plans will never be thwarted. We don’t want to interpret the gospels as to make a hero out of Judas Iscariot; and yet the salvific death of Jesus was absolutely necessary – because we all need a savior. We all suffer from the common problem of sin. And on Good Friday we remember that when we were in the distress of our sins, Jesus died at the right time for us. And so Judas gets the words of woe (in 26:24b): “…woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Those are harsh words, but we have to remember that in the gospels the antithesis of a woe is a beatitude; that’s a genre that Jesus used which He borrowed from the Old Testament. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Judas made his choice. He took money, seemingly opting for a lesser-value inheritance. But there were others that night at the holiday meal who called Him Lord – and indeed He was the Lord of their life. Perhaps we can join them in that feeling of distress – being aware of our weaknesses and prone to vulnerability: “Lead us not into the time of trial, but deliver us from the evil one.” But this distress is good if it points us to the cross of Jesus. Jesus was a man who was seized by history because He was ultimately seized by our sins – and His death is redeeming for all those who call Him Lord. This is why we live with a sense of trust that sets us free from distress. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry - First Congregational Church |
Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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