Resurrection: God's Ultimate Covenant

Do you appreciate the mystery of cliff hangers?  Whether it be a book or tv show in a series, I hate the "who-done-it" mystery that keeps us hanging - waiting for resolution.  Remember the tv show Dallas & the question heard round the world?  "Who shot JR?"

Well this cliff-hanging technique is how Mark ends his gospel with Jesus' resurrection.  We can get more resurrection details from the other three gospels.  But if we stick with Mark we can wrap ourselves up in wondering.  Why did Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome come to the tomb early Sunday morning when Sabbath was over, if they knew the tomb was sealed with a huge stone?  Why did they purchase sweet smelling spices to anoint and embalm their beloved Jesus if they would have no access to his body?  How was the stone rolled away?  Who was the young man in white robes sitting in the empty tomb?  How did he know what had happened to Jesus?  Why were the women so afraid and terrified when they heard that Jesus had been raised - as Jesus had predicted before his death?  What kind of story ends with the women running away telling no one, when they were instructed to tell the disciples and Peter?

As Tom Long says, "Is this any way to run a resurrection?" (TG Long, "Dangling Gospel," The Christian Century, 2006.)

This open-ended ending is an invitation for us to continue the story of proclaiming to the world that Jesus has lived, died, and been raised to new life.  This non-ending means that our lives and our testimonies carry the story into our time and place.  This cliff hanger invites us into a mystery of faith - provocative and inclusive of our experiences of Jesus who goes ahead of us as part of God's Promise - God's Covenant with us.  Where/when/how do you see Jesus whispering, inviting, and beckoning you to follow?  Who will you share stories of Jesus with?

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley

What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose - By any other name would smell as sweet," Juliet says to her star-crossed lover, Romeo. Here Juliet tells Romeo that a name is an artificial, meaningless convention, and that she loves the person who is called "Montague", not the Montague name and not the Montague family. Romeo, out of his passion for Juliet, rejects his family name and vows, as Juliet asks him to "deny (his) father" and instead be "new baptized" as Juliet's lover. This one short line encapsulates the central struggle and tragedy of Shakespeare's play. 

The Bible has different take on "what's in a name."  When God re-names Abram to Abraham and changes Sarai's name to Sarah, it is to signify the everlasting covenant that God makes with this faithful but barren couple in their 90's.  God says to them in Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16:  "You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations." (NRSV, v 4b)  God too claims a new name for Godself:  El Shaddai - God of the mountains - the One who created heavens and earth - God of the highest mountains and the lowest valleys - God of all creation.  In this second covenant of the Hebrew Bible, El Shaddai blesses Abraham and Sarah with the promise of a child and the royal promise that Abraham and Sarah's descendants will forever be God's people.

It's fitting that the gospel lesson  (Mark 8: 31-38) paired with this second covenant is Jesus' answer to the immediately preceding question Jesus poses to the disciples:  "Who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8: 29).  Jesus goes on to foretell his death and resurrection, which will define his disciples as Christ followers:  "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross..." (Mk 8: 34). What does it mean to be named a Christ follower?  How does it change us?

We can begin to claim our identities as Christ followers by trying to understand what it means for Jesus to claim his identity as Messiah - a process Maya Angelou succinctly critiques in response to someone who identifies himself as Christian with "What?!  Already?!"

God took the initiative with Abraham and Sarah.  God names Jesus at his baptism as "Beloved Son."  In baptism God claims us and names us as children of God.  In covenanting with our descendants, our Messiah, and with us, God initiates the relationship with re-naming.  Our challenge is to respond to our new names  as Abraham and Sarah did - fall on our knees and rejoice.  Our challenge also is to avoid responding as Peter did by rebuking and rejecting the servanthood sacrifices Jesus lays out for us.

What's in a name?  The answer:  Our very identity and relationship with our Lord.