10:30
Rich
texts. Lots of stuff. But what struck me most in the gospel story
is its physicality….especially the physicality of Jesus…so I want to just walk
through the story and see what comes to us, as we imagine ourselves there…..and
I want us to imagine ourselves as Jesus, for we have come to be known as the
church which has come to be known as the body of Christ (Christ has no hands
but ours…etc)
Jesus’ whole
being, body, mind, spirit, and in a group, is on a journey
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise on a journey that involves our whole being, and we’re in a
group, not travelling alone
…on edge of
city, place of transition, not in, not out,
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called to be present to the moment, whether we are on the
edges of the city, at work, or on vacation, be present wherever we are. And not
only just present, but
Jesus’ eyes
saw her—not just the procession and the noise and overall commotion, but he
centered in on the most important core of the situation…the widow. He puts himself firmly in the biblical
tradition of compassion and justice (our psalm an example of that tradition) by
noticing the social situation in front of him.
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called to have our eyes open, to not just show up but to
pay attention to what really matters
Jesus’ mind
and heart had compassion on her—widow, personal desperation leading to social
destitution
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called to allow ourselves to feel the pain of others deep
in our own being = compassion/suffering with
Jesus’ mouth
spoke to her
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called beyond feelings to speech, to speak a word of
comfort or consolation, to speak encouragement or hope, to address the
injustices that allow destitution
Jesus’ feet
moved forward
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called beyond feelings and speech into action. Don’t just stand there, don’t just stand there
and mouth words, but do something
Jesus’ hands
touched the bier, the coffin say other translations….defilement for him; not
only hands dirty but put him in a situation where he confronted the religious
rules – an action that would have social consequences for him
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called to get our hands dirty, to risk some social
consequences
Jesus’ mouth
spoke again, this time to the dead body….but it’s not referred to as a dead
body, Jesus calls him, Young man---he has an identity, a personality; he is
still a child of God. Get up!
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called to acknowledge the personhood of all, including
ourselves, who are in dead places,socially, physically or spiritually. And to speak a word of belief in them, that
they can indeed, get up, arise, our of that place.
I’ve done a lot of funerals and this
has never happened at one of them, but at every one of them I hear the voice of
God raising them up to new life beyond this one, and I hear the voice of
God calling to each of us there to rise up to new life in
this one.
Jesus’ hands
(presumably since it means handed over) gave him to his mother
We, Jesus here now, the body of
Christ, are likewise called to do whatever it takes to restore relationships,
one on one, or as a society. That
restoration comes in many forms….maybe with a healing, maybe with renewed faith
or livelihood or status, maybe as with Paul, changed behavior. And that restoration takes different actions
to accomplish…perhaps repentance and forgiveness, perhaps political and social
action, perhaps simple change of attitude and heart towards another.
Whatever it may be, the point
remains. An encounter with Jesus in the
midst of our travels – whether to Damascus or to a cemetery—demands of us an
answer to this question…..Are we the Body of Christ?
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