We’re Still Standing!

Did you know that the most frequently written about event in the Bible is not crossing the Red Sea or getting the 10 Commandments or the Christmas story?  We only have two stories of Christmas, and they are different from each other in many ways.  But guess how many resurrection accounts there are in the New Testament?

There are the four accounts in each of the four Gospels, and another three sermons in Acts, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Peter.  There are over 50 other references sprinkled throughout the Gospels and the letters.  Something very significant happened to folks that first Easter morning.

So significant that it felt like an earthquake that shook them up like nothing before.  It turned their understanding of the world on its head.  They found the courage and the enthusiasm to go out into the same world that had killed their leader and preach exactly the same message that got him killed in the first place!

Now folks like Richard Dawkins think they conspired to lie or else they were stupid idiots.  But the lie theory doesn’t hold water to me.  To put it in a modern context, while I might promote the lies of someone whom I look up to, especially if he is a rich billionaire and ex-president of a democratic country, I won’t promote it if it means risking myself getting involved in a lawsuit.  And Jesus was neither a rich billionaire nor a former president.  Jesus was a peasant rabbi, a faithful Jew.  Who on earth would want to die for such a poor homeless person?  The lying theory doesn’t hold water for me.

What about the ‘stupid idiots’ theory?  That Jesus came up with an elaborate scam that made David Copperfield or Chriss Angel look like amateurs, and pulled the wool over his followers?  But Peter and the rest sound like down to earth, no-nonsense people.  The one truth they all agreed on was that Jesus taught them to build a community based on sayings like “The Truth will Set you Free”, and “Don’t be like the lying hypocrites”.  That is not a conspiracy scam.  These were rough and ready, cynical men who were more interested in fame and power than humbleness.  Yet, after Easter they left their homes and families, gave up fame and fortune, and turned from self-serving students to passionate witnesses willing to risk their lives.  Wow!

The earthquake that was the death of their beloved teacher should have dropped them in their tracks.  They should have, as Matthew colorfully put it, “fell down as though they were dead.”  That’s exactly what the Roman officials expected.  They were old hands at disrupting political opponents.  They knew the best way to diffuse rebellions was to take the leader out.  It worked like a charm repeatedly over and over.  Lop off the head and the followers slink off into oblivion. It was one of the main reasons why the Roman empire lasted for 300 years.  Public executions kept the local peasants afraid and obedient.  Until one day it didn’t.

That one day was Easter.  Three days after his friends and family had experienced the devastating and humiliating execution of their beloved teacher, suddenly they experienced the message to not be afraid in a courageous new way.  Suddenly the earthquakes of life had no power over them.  Suddenly they had strength and endurance and passion for the boldest message they had ever heard.  Love is unstoppable.  Bullies will not win.  Power has no power.  Empire is no God.  Death is not the end.

We are living in earthquake times.  We have endured our world being turned upside down.  We have seen the deliberate preaching of intolerance.  We are seeing the fragility of banks, world peace, and our environment.  We hear of more gun violence, the rise of mental illness, the undermining of democracy and good governance.  We feel the challenge of inflation, and rising crime rates. These earthquakes are real.

Or are they?  While on one hand we have lots of bad news stories, we also are called as Christians to look for God working in the world in unexpected ways.  Look at the statistics of crime from our government: 

The violent crime index went up because of domestic violence during Covid lockdowns, but everything else is dropping!  Our local RCMP are cracking down on drugs and guns, with lots of stories in the paper about their latest seizures. Solar panel businesses are on the rise as are solar panels on Canadian rooftops.  EV car sales are increasing too.  Hybrid heat pumps that use less natural gas are being sold faster than expected.  All good news for the environment.  The number of people hospitalized for Covid in Alberta is down to 450 now, and that is also good news.

God’s good news has been working for centuries.  Don’t be afraid!  Jesus is still with you!  Death is not the final answer, the final defeat.  This good news destroyed the corrupt Roman Empire and stopped the large-scale slaughter of innocent people.  This good news led to ordinary followers like you and me establishing schools for all children, and hospitals for anyone in need.  This good news led folks like us building hospices a thousand years ago for Muslim, Jew, Christian and pagan alike so they could die in dignity.  This good news continues to end the power of elites to do whatever they want and avoid justice.  Even now, research done by reputable universities are finding that being involved in a healthy faith community can improve our happiness, our health, our longevity and our emotional resilience!  Gathering together on Sunday mornings, doing crazy things like collecting coins and supplies for Ukraine or socks for the homeless, combats loneliness and meaninglessness.  It gives us the strength and courage to withstand the earthquakes in our lives and helps us boldly proclaim that in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us, we are not alone, Thanks be to God, halleluiah!