Jesus on the Surface of it was a big failure
Easter Sunday
April 20, 2019
There was a New Yorker cartoon published some time ago that showed two very bored and fed-up looking Roman soldiers standing guard outside Jesus’ tomb. And one of them says to the other, “I don’t know what all the fuss is about, in a year’s time no one will remember his name.”
And in one respect those cartoon soldiers were right. Up until Holy Saturday Jesus’ life looked like it ended in failure. Let’s consider the facts: Jesus held a public ministry of 2, maybe 3 years. He gained a fair number of followers. But most of his followers did not understand him. They seemed to misunderstand Jesus more than they understood him. They behaved in petty ways wanting to withhold grace when it suited them. They failed to heal at times and had to ask Jesus for help even though Jesus has given them all power and authority to heal the sick. His right hand man, Peter, denied knowing him when he could have really used some moral support. Another disciple, Judas, got so frustrated that Jesus wasn’t behaving the way he wanted him to that he called the authorities and handed Jesus over to them – hoping that if he handed Jesus over, Jesus would start behaving like the Messiah they had been hoping for – one who would throw off Roman occupation and oppression.
It’s quite likely that most of Jesus’ followers felt let down on Good Friday. They hoped for more from Jesus. And instead, Jesus died in agony on a cross, largely deserted by his followers. And the followers were not the only people who felt let down, on Good Friday, pretty much everyone let Jesus down.
But then something truly spectacular happened: The resurrection. In our gospel reading this morning we hear a conversation between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Jesus telling her – don’t hold on to me – don’t cling to me, do not hang onto the Jesus you used to know – there is something more that I am called to. I am called to ascend to the father – and after I ascend to the father, my saving love may be known not just here in Israel – but known throughout the world. And the stories you tell about me after I am gone, about my life being about mercy, love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope, can spread to the four corners of the earth. And as you gather and share stories of my healing and feeding miracles, you will know that you are called to do that same. And as you gather together and remember what I taught you about how you need love people into the kingdom of God, and to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit the prisoner, to let the oppressed go free, you will continue my work in the world in my name.
And this is what happened. People who loved Jesus, followed Jesus, did amazing things – like opened up hospitals as early as the 5th century following the Rule of St. Benedict. Educational institutions sprung up around cathedrals, and, universities were established such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, to train clergy – and then those institutions’ vision of who they were to educate and what education should be expanded to include people from not just the theological world, but the wider world – educating doctors and nurses, poets, teachers, computer scientists, engineers, lawyers, accountants, etc.,. Religious institutions started training midwives to birth babies safely. The Red Cross went into the most dangerous arenas of war to heal wounded soldiers and to hold hands with the dying.
This seeming failure of Jesus’ life was a spectacular success – and all because Jesus touched the hearts of those who followed him – to love and to serve.
On this subject of success and failure, I was talking to a politician some time ago who is an alumna of Wellesley College. She and I spoke about this ephemeral thing we call success in this world. What is it? Is it having a prestigious job? Is it having a perfect family with children going to perfect colleges? Is it popularity? Is it running a marathon and writing a book in the same year? Is it having all your clothes folded into perfect Marie Kondo burritos and having a house that is filled with things that only spark joy? What is this thing called success? And she said to me that after years of public service she has come to the conclusion that success is simply this: it is making a difference in the life of someone – some adult or child. In her case, she is particularly focused on helping children. But it is helping some-one, not everyone, not a crowd, not the entire world – start with making the difference in someone’s life. And if we were all able to do that, we would make a significant change in the world. That is success.
When Jesus died for us, appeared to his disciples, rose to heaven, and became the savior of the world – he did that not so that we could adhere to the fickle and impossible standards of success in our world – Jesus did that so that we would have life, and life in abundance, and so that, we, through the joy of knowing that abundant life, can bring light to a world so badly in need of love and healing.
Amen
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