In this year of 2010, the church
began its journey of Lent 40 days ago. 40 days ago this journey of prayer and
contemplation began. Our cycle of worship brought us to Holy Week, brought us
to recreate those dramatic events which occurred in Jerusalem two thousand
years ago. Last Sunday we waved palm branches, and welcomed Jesus into
Jerusalem. On Thursday, we commemorated the Last Supper, and on Friday, on
Friday, we journeyed through the death of Jesus, we recreated, reenacted the
moment humanity crucified Jesus, and put he who was sinless to death.
The first
good Friday certainly would not have seemed all that good to the disciples of
Jesus. On that first good Friday it would seem that death had one, that evil
was victorious, that everything Jesus said about himself, about the coming
kingdom, about the hope and peace that surpasses all human understanding was a
lie—or some kind of odd delusion. That was a dark day—a dark day in the eyes of
the sheep who were now without a shepherd, or so it seemed. But the reality was
that God has a greater plan. But
who would have seen it? Who would have seen that through the worst day, God was
brining about the best day—that the world was journeying through the darkest
valley to get to the best and
brightest place, that the promised land was two days over the horizon. Three
days after he was killed, Jesus arrived, was the first to reach the promised land. And having reached it,
Jesus, the first fruits of a new creation, has made a place for us there.
Where is
this promised land? Where is this place? Yes, it is a place of the future, it
is the New Jerusalam so vividly described by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah,
This is the kingdom of heaven where there shall be no more weeping or cries of
distress. This is the new heaven and new earth, where the former things shall
not be remembered or come to mind.
The former things. All adults, and too many
children,alive today are familiar with those former things, either through
witness or direct experience, and all will have to face the most hideous of
those former things, which is death—the last enemy to be destroyed. But this
reality of the promised land is difficult, if not impossible, for many to see.
For many, reality is more or less a good Friday world. For many people who live
out there lives, good Friday, and its horizon of bleak finality is the everyday
space they move and find themselves. The evening news, the newspapers, the and the parade of horror which
flashes across the television screen only reinforce this perspective.—as do the
history books. They do not see God’s great plan for a glorious future free of
death, and suffering, and pain, and oppression, where infants live but a few
days, and old people do not live out their lifetimes. Many do not see that God
has established an everlasting kingdom, that God is victorious—that God has
defeated death, and given the gift of everlasting life.
On
that first morning, on that first Sunday after his son’s death, God was victorious, and the kingdom had
been established, the promised land was a reality. It certainly would have been
the furthest thing on the minds of the women who had visited Jesus’ tomb to
prepare his body for burial. They were firmly expecting a corpse. And why not? That’s the reality of
living in a Good Friday world. But Jesus had told them otherwise. Jesus gave
them a glimpse of that first morning horizon, had told them about the promised
land—told them that the Son of man must be handed over to sinners, and be
crucified, and on the third day rise again. He told them that. But they had
forgotten. In the tragedy and the grief, and the hustle and bustle, and
depression, and oppression of living in a Good Friday world, which moved into
Saturday, they had forgotten. But
in that tomb, on that first morning, they were reminded--reminded by the men in
dazzling clothes. “ Jesus told you. Jesus told you about his mighty act of
deliverance, his new and ultimate Passover, and about the promised land.” Then
they remembered, and when they remembered their vision was radically and fundamentally altered.
Their
perspective was changed forever. The two Marys, Joanna, and the other women
raced back to tell the men—the very same men who had journeyed with Jesus for
three years, the same men who sat at the feet of their Lord and heard his
teaching. Their reaction? It must be
an idle tale. In other words, “Don’t give us that baloney. You women are so full
of beans that their spillingout of your ears.” The men were stuck. They were
stuck in a Good Friday world, in a limited reality.
But
something stirred. Something stirred in Peter. Remember Peter? He was perhaps
the closest to Jesus. He was the one who pledged his absolute loyalty to Jesus,
the one who drew his sword in the garden of Gesemene. He was also the one who
denied, denied that he had ever known his master. What did this empty tomb news mean to him? What did all of
this signify to Peter? The text
doesn’t tell us. But there was much heaviness in his heart, and a yearning for
more, much more than there was—a deep longing to transcend, to move through
this guilt laden veil of tears, a deep desire to move out of the Good Friday
world. So he ran, and he saw. He saw the linen clothes lying there. And there
he saw a glimpse, he saw evidence, he witnessed an indicator that maybe, just
maybe, there was something over the horizon. In a few days he would encounter
the resurrected Christ face to face, and know with absolute certainty, that
deliverance had been accomplished, that the good Friday world had been
defeated, and that Jesus had arrived to the promised land.
Through the
life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s glorious vision for the future
had been realized. The promised land prophesized in Isaiah has been
established. Christ is King, and Christ reigns.
Hold on a second, you might ask? What
about all of that ugly stuff?—all of the pain, all of the suffering that sis
still a reality. Don’t we really still live in a Good Friday World?
The Kingdom
of God has been established, and all has been accomplished through the life
death, and resurrection of Christ. The Kingdom has been established, but not
yet in its fullness. The realities of Good Friday are a real and present
reality. But they are defeated, and lost their grip on our destiny. They ultimately have no power-- even
while from our perspective, they may seem to. It may seem like we live in a Good Friday World. But remember
this, Jesus has brought us to the promised land, and that promised land is his
kingdom, and the kingdom is real and present reality in the here and now. Yes,
the promised land is our future destiny, but also our present reality. God has
given gathered us together to live in this promised land reality, to live in
the hope of his kingdom. And this hope is not as the world defines it, a kind
of wishful thinking for better things. It is a bold trust in God’s ultimate
vision, both in the future and in the present.
When I was
interning in Prince Rupert two years ago, I had witnessed many examples of this
bold trust of people who, by the power of God were able to see past the things
of the Good Friday world and live in realities of the promised land. I remember visiting a woman who lived lived in a trailer, in a place of incredible natural beauty. I had been asked by her
friend to pay her a visit. I was told that she was very unhealthy, and didn’t
have to many years left. I made this visit a priority during one of my bi-monthly
visits. I remember walking over muddy gravel and reaching her trailer. I
remember walking up wooden steps and not knowing who or what to expect. I knocked. A voice inside told me to
come in. I pushed the creaky door open. The voice inside told me not to worry
about my shoes, and to grab a seat. Across from me sat a middle aged woman. To
her nose were attached clear plastic tubes, which were connected to oxygen
tanks. She reached out her hand and introduced herself. She invited me to sit
down and soon told me that she was going blind, and was suffering from emphysema.
This didn’t stop her from smoking. Over the course of the next hour she talked
about many things, about her life, about the mistakes she made, and that she
new she would not live long. But one thing which was not a mistake was moving
to this beautiful land. She told me about her belief in God, and about how God
had created all of this beautiful landscape for us humans to enjoy. And though
she was losing her eyesight, she could still make it out—this wonderous beauty which defies all description.
Somehow the beauty of God’s creation was reaching her, was reaching through and
touching her. The reality of God’s kingdom was shining through to her, were she
was. She expressed gratitude to God for this beautiful life. She thanked God
for bringing her through and showing her the promised land. She thanked God for delivering her from
a troubled past, and showing her a new reality—showing her a glimpse of the
promised land.
As I walked
away from her trailer, I contemplated this meeting, and realized what it was.
It was an experience of the Kingdom in the present, a meeting in the
promised land, which for that day,
that moment, for the two of us was in Northern BC.
When two or
more or gathered in the name of Christ, it is always an experience of the
kingdom in the present, because he has promised to be there, and where He is,
his kingdom is also. He is with us today, he is with us here now, speaking his
promise, feeding us his word, and nourishing our faith, our faith in Him and
his everlasting kingdom, his everlasting reign in the promised land. Amen.
