Readings

Alleluia. Christ is Risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Even though only Luke’s Gospel narrates Jesus’ ascension, all four Gospels wrestle with how Jesus can be present to us now. Mark, the earliest Gospel, is perhaps the most profound. Recall the young man’s words to the women at the tomb: “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you” (16:7). Work at doing what Jesus told us; everything else will sort itself out. In Matthew we hear “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (18:20). In John Jesus speaks repeatedly of the Holy Spirit (“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever” [14:16]). Luke tells us about two disciples on the road to Emmaus who encounter Jesus as Scripture is opened and bread is broken, a one-time event, but equally—transparently—each local community’s gathering around Word and Table.

That’s good, because we need that ongoing interaction with Jesus for any number of reasons, one of which we encounter in our reading from Peter’s first letter, including the verses just before our reading started:

“Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1:13-16).

We need that ongoing interaction with Jesus also because Peter’s “the futile ways inherited from your ancestors” is often a good description of our notions of holiness, righteousness, goodness, etc. Since we’re reading Matthew this year, recall the Sermon on the Mount, in which, early on, we hear “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20). Jesus’ audience would assume that high on the list of what righteousness looks like, of what distinguishes God’s people from others would be practices like keeping the Sabbath and observing the Mosaic food laws. But Jesus says nothing about the Sabbath or the food laws in the entire lengthy Sermon. The practices that Jesus thinks should distinguish God’s people? The love of enemies. The absence of anxiety. “And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (5:47) “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things” (6:31-32a).

So instead of the Pharisees’ checklist we use Jesus’ checklist? Hardly, for neither the Pharisees at their best nor Jesus were using checklists, but rather examples to spur reflection. Why? First, it’s God’s character and conduct define holiness, righteousness, etc. And Paul’s “For now we see in a mirror, dimly” (1Co 13:12) applies also to our knowledge of God. So, our holiness or righteousness is always going to be partial, an approximation. That’s bad news if we want a checklist. It’s good news as long as we keep learning, for the quest for holiness is the quest—at God’s invitation—to enter ever more deeply into the inexhaustible mystery and glory that is God.

Reflection, second, because holiness, righteousness: in specific situations context matters. So, again, Matthew’s first story features Joseph, who’s identified as righteous, and who’s about to dismiss Mary quietly. It takes an angel to help Joseph understand his context (Mary’s pregnancy), and, thank God, he listens.

So we get admonitions like this from Paul:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God– what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

“Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:10).

Let me come at this another way. From our first reading: “’Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, “Repent…’” That might suggest that repentance need only happen once. But when, centuries later, Martin Luther put up a list of 95 theses (propositions) to be discussed, he opened with this one: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” That might sound rather dreary. But read alongside Paul and what Jesus does in the Sermon on the Mount, it’s an invitation to continual learning. Repentance, the profoundly hopeful recognition that with God’s help we’re not stuck; we can do better.

Recalling Paul’s “For now we see in a mirror, dimly,” there’s plenty of room for doing better.

And this is also why we hear this from Peter: “Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.” Why? Even with the best intentions we hurt each other, and asking and granting forgiveness come easier if there’s love. Equally important, as a learning community, we need that love to listen deeply, also to hear the silences.

I like the saying attributed to Mark Twain: “Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from making bad decisions.” In the Apostles’ Creed we say “I believe in…the forgiveness of sins.” That should be freeing us up to acknowledge our bad decisions—and learn from them.

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly.” Sometimes because we can’t do any better, sometimes because we rather like it that way. But the Spirit that brooded over that formless void at creation rarely leaves things as they are, even if the change is at a glacial pace. From today’s Gospel: “Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.” But the two (male) disciples ignored that. The same chief priests and leaders who crucified Jesus had always told them that women were unreliable witnesses… The chief priests and leaders were wrong about Jesus but right about women? Seeing in a mirror, dimly—on steroids. It took us until 1976 to ordain women.

“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” We’re still learning what that means. But Jesus promises at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28:20), so we don’t need to be learning alone.

Alleluia. Christ is Risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.