When He Speaks Our Name

 “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…But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 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.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).”

John 20:1; 14-16 (NRSV).

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, Jesus was dead. This must be fully understood, or nothing wonderful can come from this story. Friday should have been the end of it. Except it wasn’t. Jerusalem and Rome, religious authority and civil authority, conspired to murder God. Let that sink in for a minute-God allowing himself to be murdered. But just for a minute, that’s not our main point. 

Apart from 1Peter 9-20, which is difficult for us moderns to understand and has little bearing on our present meditation, we don’t know exactly what happened between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. We do know this: John tells us Mary was first to arrive and last to leave. In between coming and going, she encounters the risen Jesus and mistakes him for the gardener. 

Which is one way to read our passage. Another way to read it is Jesus was intentionally masquerading as the gardener. Mary doesn’t recognize Jesus until Jesus speaks her name. Now, this does have modern day implications for modern day readers. 

First, on the ‘passive’ side, we ask the question: who masquerades as Jesus in our everyday lives? Do we-can we-recognize Jesus walking among us disguised as a gardener, or a fast food worker, or a homeless person, a delinquent child, a pastor or politician or police officer? Do we recognize his voice when our name is spoken?

Second, on the ‘active’ side, are we allowing Jesus to walk about masquerading as us? Who hears Jesus speak when we speak? Who sees Jesus act when we act? “

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” James 2:24-17 (NRSV).

Those of us who claim the title ‘Christian’, who claim to be a part of that ancient faith, who aspire to be followers of Christ Jesus, must keep these questions in the forefront of our thoughts, words and deeds at all times. Notice the order here. Thoughts. Words. Deeds.

Amen. Let it be so.

The Erosion of Freedom

 Genesis 3:3-6 (NRSV)

“…God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…”

The phrase “I have the right to” is just another way to eat the fruit in the garden with Eve. That is to say, it’s all about me, the ego-driven me that needs to have its own way. The irony is, individual rights and freedoms are being stripped away, one by one, unseen, unrealized, by the masses precisely because they are so focused on ‘I have the right to’ they can see nothing else. 

Jesus says “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness

(that is, seek what will gain God’s approval). What is it that gains God’s approval? 

Micah 6:8 (NRSV)

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?”

Matthew 22:37-40 (NET)

“Jesus said to him, “ʻLove the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.ʼ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ʻLove your neighbor as yourself.ʼ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Pro Life or Pro Birth

 Psalms 139:13-14 (NRSV)

“For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.”

Many in the pro-birth camp like to pull out these verses as Biblical justification. But if we follow these verses home and see where they live, and compare them with the following lines from Paul, we see a slightly different picture. 

Ephesians 2:10 (NRSV)

“For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Colossians 3:10 (NRSV)

“…[clothe] yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.”

And there’s more.

Galatians 5:6 (NRSV)

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.“. 

The point is firmly established here as well.

Genesis 1:27 (NRSV)

“So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.”

And again Paul says:

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NRSV)

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

Formed my inward parts. Fearfully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God. Renewed in knowledge. Created in Christ for good works of faith working through love. Fully known even now by our Creator. Life affirming. Beginning to end. 

Be Not Afraid

     Both sets of my grandparents-my mom’s parents and my dad’s parents-immigrated from Europe in, I believe, the early 1900’s (I could be off a bit on the dates). That was back in the days when, if the customs officials couldn’t pronounce a last name they changed it to Smith or Jones. The complex where Ginny and I lived before we moved to Florida became home to immigrants from all over the world-Iraq, Bosnia, Nepal, Russia, India. 

I noticed a interesting phenomenon common to those immigrant families and my immigrant family. The first generation-the elders, my grandparents-retained most if not all their European customs including the language (so they were English-as-second language). The second generation-my parents-retained the the language-as a second language-and some of the customs but were well on the way to ‘Americanization’. By the third generation-me-we we’re completely Americanized (much to my later regret I never learned my grandparents’ languages). Although I didn’t realize it at the time it was a wonderfully rich way to grow up.

I saw the same progression in the immigrant families who lived in my neighborhood. They got jobs, opened small ethnic shops (with lots of really good stuff), bought houses. And when they bought those houses they moved all three generations in. Our school district had an English-as-second-language program that was a model for the entire state. Now, I haven’t been back for several years but when I left things were moving along nicely in a positive direction. 

I say all that to say this-I’m not afraid of becoming a racial (or ethnic-probably already am) minority in my country. Immigrants bring in a richness and diversity that benefits all those willing to embrace it. At our core we are all basically the same. We are all quite literally God’s children and it should be apparent to anyone with a modicum of Biblical knowledge-anyone paying attention-that God loves diversity. So to those who say we are no longer a ‘Christian nation’, I wholeheartedly agree. Where we disagree is why.

Political Stunts and Serious Problems

       Let me try to explain my position on DeSantis’ latest political stunt. First, the situation as I understand it. The immigrants themselves-who came from Venezuela-were in Texas, not Florida. DeSantis paid $615,000 to a transportation company to fly two planes to Texas to pick them up and fly them from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. This $615,000 came from a $12,000,000 fund approved by the Florida state legislature to “relocate unauthorized aliens”. It is well known in Florida that DeSantis owns the legislature and gets pretty much whatever he wants. 

This raises a few important questions. First, where does that money come from (more on that later). Second, why was Florida money used to transport people from Texas? According to a Northwest Florida Daily News article that showed up in my email today (09/18/2022) one plane stopped briefly in Crestview to refuel; that was the only Florida connection. Are Abbott and DeSantis colluding in some way? Third, is any of this even legal?

Now back to the money, and where it came from. I hear gentle rumblings from social service agencies (one of which I work for) who rely on government grants-federal money, administered by the state of Florida-(in our case Department of Children and Families)-who were promised money that has since been withdrawn. Now, I can’t verify this but I can say we were assured we would be receiving money and then told we would not receive it. This turnaround caused major disruptions for those of us who spend our days trying to house Florida citizens, some of whom now find themselves homeless. Again. 

Which leads me to my final point. We have serious problems in Florida. Homelessness is on the rise. Rental prices are skyrocketing. The entire state is experiencing an affordable housing crisis. My community is experiencing unsustainable growth focused on six-figure housing with more being planned every day. However, related infrastructure needs-schools, medical care facilities (already overworked and understaffed), storm water runoff, roads, traffic control-are not keeping up. 

We are experiencing critical shortages of teachers, school bus drivers, prison guards, health care facilities and workers, especially mental health care. Suicides are up. Mental health facilities are down. Homeowner insurance costs are increasing as insurance companies flee the state. 

These are serious problems that require serious solutions. We do not need a governor wasting taxpayer dollars on political stunts. We do not need a congressman who will “keep fighting” or a senator who’s platform focuses on eliminating Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We need serious politicians dedicated to serious solutions benefiting all Floridians.

Bible Stories 2.0; Job

       Back in the day, when life was hard but not complicated, there was this guy Job, a stand-up dude, honorable in all his ways. The LORD God liked Job a lot, and it showed. 

       Once when the LORD God was holding one of his monthly board meetings, Satan the Accuser showed up late. The LORD God said to Satan, “Hey Satan, where you been, man?” What you been up to?”. “Satan said, “I been hangin’ out on your earth, checkin’ out your people”.

The LORD God said “Uh huh. You checked out Job? Ain’t nobody like him, all righteous and stuff. Job’s my man!”

To which Satan replied “Yeah, right. That guy’s only in it for what he can get. You quit given’ him all that free stuff, he’ll dump you in a New York minute”. 

So the LORD God said “Go ahead, take his stuff. We’ll see”. So Satan took Job’s stuff; family, livestock, all of it. Which accomplished nothing; our boy Job didn’t flinch nor falter. All Job said was, “Hey man, God gave it; God took it back! God be blessed!”.

Next month, at The LORD God’s board meeting, when Satan came in acting some kinda way, The LORD God said, “What’s goin’ on with you? Where you been?” 

Satan said “Job…” but The LORD God cut him off right there and said “Now see, I told you”. To which Satan replied “No, no man. You still guarding him. You let me touch him. I’m tellin’ you, you let me touch him…” but The LORD God cut Satan off again and said “Go ‘head, touch him, but don’t you kill him. You hear?”

So Satan did indeed touch Job. He touched Job so hard Job’s wife hardly knew him; she lit him up-“Where’s your God at now, fool?”. When Job’s friends came, they lit him up worse.  

But don’t you know Job stood fast, and when the dust had cleared, when the Accuser had no accusations left to make and Job’s friends were exposed for the charlatans they were, Job was fully restored. The LORD God’s faith in His children was vindicated, the Accuser’s lie was exposed-we are indeed capable of loving The LORD God for who He is apart from what He gives.  Understanding The LORD God-well now, that’s another story. For now, love is more than enough. 

Humanity’s Downward Spiral

  If we are in fact created in the image and likeness of God, if this is our vocation, as the Bible seems to clearly teach-that is, if we are here to contain or bear God’s image within and allow the resulting transformation to work its way out in our observable behavior, we now have a solid foundation-a true moral compass-from which to evaluate what comes next. More than that, we now have an explanation for what comes next. 

“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-12; NRSV)

After the garden episode, Cain murdered Able, Lamech 

“[kills] a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.” (Genesis 5:23b; NRSV)

“When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.” Genesis 6:1-2; NRSV)

Murder and violence have become the norm. (“Took as wives any they chose” may indicate the wives taken had no say in the matter). These things are the direct result of “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”(Genesis 3:5; NRSV). 

The problem here is Cain’s good was not Able’s good; Lamech’s good was not the young man’s good’. Whenever “…all the people [do] what [is] right in their own eyes.” (Judges 21:25; NRSV)  anarchy and violence result. Is there any difference in today’s’I have the right to…’ attitude? 

These things do not demonstrate God’s likeness, nor do they please God. At least, I don’t think they please God, who responds by limiting the length of humankind’s days to 120 years. When that doesn’t slow down the ‘wickedness of man’ God determines to blot out the human beings He created, which is exactly what God does. Eventually God changed His mind about us and promises never to flood us out again. Good thing for us “…Noah found favor in the sight of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8; NRSV).

The entire story can be found in Genesis 6-9. My intention here is to make a direct connection between today’s individualism and yesterday’s; to show this is not what we were created for and did not then and does not now please God. But there is another component to the story-God’s ḥeseḏ; God’s steadfast love. Love that reveals itself in God’s restorative plan; love that fully reveals itself in Christ Jesus on the cross. But we’re not quite there. Not yet.