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Posted: March 24th, 2008 at 12:46am By: Rev. Kristi Denham
Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter - every year we who call ourselves Christians hear the stories of Jesus' last days and try to somehow make sense of them or integrate them into our lives. Coming, as they do, always near the beginning of spring (and this year as near as they will get for another 220 years), the imagery of death and resurrection always fit the natural movement of the seasons. The ancient church was wise to link this remembrance with the first full moon of spring.
As a minister, it is my job to somehow bring this ancient story to life for people each year. And in a postmodern world with scientific-minded folks in my mainline Protestant church, it is easy to get sidetracked by arguments over how illogical it all is.
Why would a loving God require a blood sacrifice for sin? How can a physically resurrected Jesus, whose hands you can touch (John 20:27), who shared a fish meal (Luke24:42), also walk through walls (John 20:19)? The questions are legitimate and often take me down theological paths that lead nowhere, or at least to more arguments and questions.
This year I found myself pondering the historical facts that can be verified: Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine, early in the first century. This is substantiated by independent historical sources.
His followers were not initially hunted down and killed. Rather, they quietly grew in numbers in spite of repeated persecutions. Many of them claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus, although some early Christian communities followed the teachings of Jesus without any emphasis on his death and resurrection.
The People of the Way, as they originally called themselves, were derided as Christians or "Christers" and later claimed the name for themselves. Most of the original disciples eventually died at the hands of the Empire, but not before their Way had become pretty unstoppable.
Do we need to believe in the doctrine of sacrificial atonement, that Christ died for our sins, to explain the power of Jesus' life, teachings, death and resurrection? Is it possible to be truly inspired by the fact that he went to his death without complaint, without protest or explanation, in order to literally save his friends from immediately following in his footsteps?
Less than 40 years after Jesus was crucified, the Roman Empire destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and thousands of its citizens within the city as punishment for an insurrection. If Jesus had in any way acted like the King of the Jews he was accused of being, there is no question that the slaughter of innocents might have happened much sooner.
Jesus knew that death is just a door. Many of his disciples already believed in the resurrection (John 11:24). He knew he would be able to encourage his followers from beyond the grave. The number of witnesses to his appearances makes it clear to me that he did. To demand that I, or any 21st century thinker, believe in the exceptional, exclusive, bodily resurrection of Jesus is as weird to me as asking me to believe the world was created according to Genesis and literally just 6,000 years ago. It's silly.
But anyone who has lost a loved one and experienced a visitation afterward (and that's a whole lot more people than you might imagine) would understand how Jesus could transform a group of ragtag followers — some of whom betrayed or denied him, all of whom seemed confused by just about everything he said — into a powerful, courageous force for change, for good, for compassion, and for justice.
They experienced their risen Lord, not as the one and only son of God, but as a son of God, his father and our father. He was firstborn in a family that ultimately includes us all. Happy Easter!
— — —
Rev. Kristi Denham is pastor of the Congregational Church of Belmont, California (United Church of Christ). Her email address is {email RevKristi@aol.com}RevKristi@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Kristi Denham.
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Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter - every year we who call ourselves Christians hear the stories of Jesus' last days and try to somehow make sense of them or integrate them into our lives. Coming, as they do, always near the beginning of spring (and this year as near as they will get for another 220 years), the imagery of death and resurrection always fit the natural movement of the seasons. The ancient church was wise to link this remembrance with the first full moon of spring.
As a minister, it is my job to somehow bring this ancient story to life for people each year. And in a postmodern world with scientific-minded folks in my mainline Protestant church, it is easy to get sidetracked by arguments over how illogical it all is.
Why would a loving God require a blood sacrifice for sin? How can a physically resurrected Jesus, whose hands you can touch (John 20:27), who shared a fish meal (Luke24:42), also walk through walls (John 20:19)? The questions are legitimate and often take me down theological paths that lead nowhere, or at least to more arguments and questions.
This year I found myself pondering the historical facts that can be verified: Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine, early in the first century. This is substantiated by independent historical sources.
His followers were not initially hunted down and killed. Rather, they quietly grew in numbers in spite of repeated persecutions. Many of them claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus, although some early Christian communities followed the teachings of Jesus without any emphasis on his death and resurrection.
The People of the Way, as they originally called themselves, were derided as Christians or "Christers" and later claimed the name for themselves. Most of the original disciples eventually died at the hands of the Empire, but not before their Way had become pretty unstoppable.
Do we need to believe in the doctrine of sacrificial atonement, that Christ died for our sins, to explain the power of Jesus' life, teachings, death and resurrection? Is it possible to be truly inspired by the fact that he went to his death without complaint, without protest or explanation, in order to literally save his friends from immediately following in his footsteps?
Less than 40 years after Jesus was crucified, the Roman Empire destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and thousands of its citizens within the city as punishment for an insurrection. If Jesus had in any way acted like the King of the Jews he was accused of being, there is no question that the slaughter of innocents might have happened much sooner.
Jesus knew that death is just a door. Many of his disciples already believed in the resurrection (John 11:24). He knew he would be able to encourage his followers from beyond the grave. The number of witnesses to his appearances makes it clear to me that he did. To demand that I, or any 21st century thinker, believe in the exceptional, exclusive, bodily resurrection of Jesus is as weird to me as asking me to believe the world was created according to Genesis and literally just 6,000 years ago. It's silly.
But anyone who has lost a loved one and experienced a visitation afterward (and that's a whole lot more people than you might imagine) would understand how Jesus could transform a group of ragtag followers — some of whom betrayed or denied him, all of whom seemed confused by just about everything he said — into a powerful, courageous force for change, for good, for compassion, and for justice.
They experienced their risen Lord, not as the one and only son of God, but as a son of God, his father and our father. He was firstborn in a family that ultimately includes us all. Happy Easter!
— — —
Rev. Kristi Denham is pastor of the Congregational Church of Belmont, California (United Church of Christ). Her email address is {email RevKristi@aol.com}RevKristi@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Kristi Denham.
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