An Easter Story Lithograph

An Easter Story Lithograph

rev. 4/16/2017

Alleluia! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Happy Easter!

By now, I am sure that you know that the stone got rolled away from the tomb to be the base of the snow man and that the clothes of the angel didn’t just look as white as snow, they were snow, and Jesus saw his shadow this morning so that there will be six more weeks of winter. Oh, yes, there must have been some magic in the old silk hat they found, for when they placed it on his head he began…I’m sorry,…six more weeks of winter? It’s the middle of April! What was I thinking?  At times, I am such a blockhead. I have something much more important to talk about than silly old superstitious nonsense.

I have come to tell you about the joys of being a Christian stone, okay you might call me a rock. My name is Petros, it means rock, because I’m a little dense, hard-hearted you might say—rock, dense, hard, get it?

Now, if you are one of the people in the world who believe in reincarnation, then I might be your worst nightmare because this is where you end up when you haven’t succeeded in any of the other life forms you have known. Of course, if you believe in reincarnation, you already know that the afterlife is a punishment.

Let me tell you a secret. It’s not the case. Today I am here to tell you that I am one of the happiest rocks that has ever rolled down hill because it’s not true.

But before I tell you the news, let me tell you something about life as a rock. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. There are some rocks that are destined to greatness—Michelangelo’s Pieta and David, now there were some rocks stars that really made it. Then, of course, you know about Rushmore, and the problems those rocks have—constant cosmetic surgery; Lord, have mercy. They always have someone working on them. The stories I could tell you and the foundation makeup they use… I’m sorry, I get carried away.

Then there are the finer building stones. Some of them are so good that they get used over and over again. Some of my closest relatives started out in the Roman Coliseum and ended up in St. Peter’s Cathedral.

That’s a funny one, too. Peter is just Petros in another language. So really, it’s St Rock’s Cathedral, made out of stones.


Well, my friends and I thought it was funny.

Then there are the cobblestones. They’re another branch of the family who just lie around in roads, patios, and sidewalks—not great stones, but sometimes helpful. Some of them are tricksters so watch your step.

Me, well, I’m sort of common. Old Granddad Bluff said I’d never amount to much. “Lacks grit and polish,” he said.

I had dreams about greatness at one time, but when the sculptors came, they passed me by. They can be such chiselers you know, always looking for a bargain. When the builders came, they said that I was flawed; rejected again.

I was too big to be a cobblestone, too small to be a monument, too flawed to be much of anything. I was rejected and afraid that, like my dreams, I would be crushed. It is hard enough to grovel, but to be gravel?

Then one day a cryptcarver came along and sized me up, rolled me onto his cart, and carted me to the mausoleum he was building. I was going to be the boundary marker between the living and the dead. On the greatness scale, it’s not so much.

As I said, if you believe in reincarnation, this is about as low as you can go—not really in the world of the living, almost in the world of the dead. I thought, “There are corks that are better off than this.”

It didn’t take long. (At least in daylight rock time, which is an hour faster than standard rock time, so it didn’t seem like it took long.) The day came when they brought a dead man to put into the tomb. Then, they rolled me into place. A notch carved into the ground made it easy to sit there, but because of my flaws, I suppose, people came with clay and pushed it in around the edges. Then a soldier came and pressed the temple seal into the clay in four places.

That night I heard them talking. The dead man was Jesus of Nazareth. Some thought that he was a holy man sent from heaven to save the people from Roman rule, but he was just a man; and the soldiers were there to make sure that riots didn’t break out during the great Sabbath of Passover.
You never know what kinds of crazy things followers of these so-called prophets might do. Some people went so far as to say that he was the son of God. As if.

And then, it started. I thought it was a sigh at first and then a burst of air. It pushed hard against the sealed edges of the hole I was covering. It seemed as if the inside space was too big and had to come out. Like a giant sneeze, that came from somewhere deep inside the earth this breath of…of life came bursting out around me. Then everything started to happen at once.

Lightening started flashing, the earth started shaking, the soldiers cried for mercy and fell down on the ground; the clay seals broke apart, and I was rolling. I can tell you. There was a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. And then, and then, Jesus, the dead man, walked out of the tomb and into my life; and this other person came and sat on me.

Two women came, and the person talked with them. “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’”


It was the strangest thing. I know that rocks don’t look very animated, but that day I was so proud to be Petros, the rolling stone, the rock, with all of my imperfections. In spite of the fact that I had been turned down for almost every job of any greatness, I, Petros, was the first to witness the amazing resurrection breath of life.


It was not reincarnation. Jesus did not come out as something less than he had been before, instead he seemed quite the same but somehow more. This rising from the dead was not a punishment to walk the earth, to learn a lesson, or to become one with the universe. I tell you Jesus walked out of the tomb like a man with a mission. There was no compromise in what he did or said.

“Hello!” he said, and the women came to him, bowed down to the ground, took hold of his feet, and kissed them. You could tell that they were scared. It’s not everyday that you see and hear and touch someone who has been raised from the dead. As I said, there was a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.

And Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid; get up, go and tell the others to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” And he left.

Over the centuries, I have heard the stories of Jesus’ disciples, how they went to Galilee, told the resurrection story to the world, and how they baptized the people of the world into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but, more than that, I need to tell you that the world was changed that day.

I, Petros, the rock, sealed and settled at the tomb, could not stand in way of the resurrection. I was rolled away for new life to enter the world, and I was changed. My ordinary, flawed self became the cornerstone of the church. God used me to be a symbol of the resurrection.

Each Easter I am used again as the foundation stone to build faith. I roll away with joy. With me, you see God’s anointed son, Jesus Christ, walk from death to live with us in ministry—leading and calling us in love; to join, as servants of all, to shake the powers of the world, to be living stones.

All of us can be a little hard-hearted at times, but do we want to be stones, stuck and sealed over death, or stones rolled away so that others might see and know the promise and hope of life?

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Easter Day

John 20:1-18 (NRSV)       Jesus is Alive

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

There are many of us who remember with nostalgic fondness Joni Mitchell’s words,

“We are stardust, we are golden,
We are trapped in the devil’s bargain,
But we’ve got to get ourselves

back to the garden.” (Woodstock, 1969)

With these words, Joni Mitchell captured the restless anxiety of a nation in pain and pointed the way to a more idyllic place—the garden.

Others, of you, will recall C. Austin Miles’, 1912 spiritual song, In the Garden, “I walk through the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.”

 In both cases, the songs speak of places that do not and cannot exist. We cannot get back to the past because the past is over; it is dead. That would be living in a grave. Nor can we peacefully walk in a garden holding Christ to ourselves. That would mean that we had cut ourselves off from the world. They are pleasant places to visit in our minds, but we shouldn’t want to live there.

In today’s reading we see Mary in the garden. As in the Garden of Eden, God comes to speak with the people of creation. But Mary does not recognize who the speaker is. She thinks it is the olive grove gardener, and it is. What she doesn’t understand is that he is the Master Gardener—the one who raised us up from the humus to be humans; the one who breathed the breath of life into us; the one who put the garden into our hands to care for, the one raised up for us. Mary doesn’t fully understand the world of resurrection even though Jesus has told her that he would be raised. Maybe we don’t either. In the garden that the Master Gardener gave us, with Mary, we meet this one who is speaking, the one who walks among us and knows our lives and pain even unto death. But, at the sound of her name, her teacher is fully revealed to her. And, at the sound of our names—“______, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” (ELW, Sacrament of Holy Baptism)—Christ is fully revealed to us.

Yet the cemetery garden is not a place where we can or want to stay. The one in the garden is not standing still, and neither can we. In the cemetery garden, we are commanded to re-enter the world of the living. “Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” And Mary goes.

We are reminded that all the world is God’s garden. We are to tell our gardening companions that God continues to be active and present in our world. It is not a place to get back to; it is not a place where we are alone. It is in the center of the world we live in with the people that God has given us to serve.

In Candide, Voltaire tells us that if we want peace in the world we need to tend our gardens. Our Master Gardener gives us similar advice, “Tend my garden. Spread the good news!”

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Prayer

We give you thanks, dear Lord, for breaking the bonds of death and freeing us from the chains of history. Help us always to walk with you into the new future you have given us, with hope and the confidence you give. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, amen.

Former Dead Guy Suing Jesus Also!

THE ANGELUS TRUMPET           

The Unexpurgated Source for Alternative Bible Facts

 

Former Dead Guy Suing Jesus Also!

Dateline: Bethany, April 2, 11:01:12:11

by Jack D. Sypal

Late Friday, Lazarus of Bethany, who we reported Jesus has brought back from the dead, joined I. Seituwell in suing Jesus for unwanted care. There seems to be considerable pushback against this miracle worker’s activities. Speculation has arisen that Lazarus and Seituwell may join forces with others in a class action suit. As political tensions rise and governmental pressures come to bear, could-be followers may choose to seek deep-pocket recompense.

Following is an interview account of the latest person to lay claim against Jesus.

“I mean, I thought [Jesus and I] were close. We had this real bromance going. So, when I was told that Jesus was going off without me, I was really hurt, like cut to the core hurt. I thought that we had something special going on there, and then he was gone with the rest of the guys.

“It wasn’t long after they left me, I was feeling pretty low, and then I got sick. I felt pretty lousy and had to go to bed for the day. My sisters, Mary and Martha, came in with some of that good Jewish penicillin around supper time, but it didn’t seem to be very appetizing. And if you know my sisters’ cooking, you would understand how unusual that was. In the middle of the night, I got this terrible stomachache and sweat started pouring out of me. That is about the last thing I remember for a while.

“My sisters would tell me they sent a message for Jesus to come, but no … I don’t know, maybe the message got crossed up or something, but he thought that he would hang for a couple of days.

Apparently, I got a lot worse. My temperature went sky high. I remember some time on the second day it felt like someone poured ice water in my belly. It hurt a lot; it was excruciating! When I asked my sisters about Jesus, they shook their heads. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t come.

“The next thing I remember, I was being called out. I was in this really peaceful place. I didn’t have any pain, and I was just totally chill, ya know? And then, this annoying voice started calling me out. I really just wanted to lay there. Then I noticed this stink. It was awful. It was sort of like being down at the slaughter yard on a hot day, standing near the fresh hides on one side and the blood pool and feces on the other. Yeah, it was pretty bad.

“And that voice kept nagging me, ‘Lazarus; come out, Lazarus; come out.’

“I finally recognized the voice as my man, but I thought, ‘What the hell? Why is he calling me now? He was the one who left me behind.’

“But finally, the smell got to me and I had to get out of there. That’s when I discovered that I was the smell. When I got out of the cave, I was struck by the sun, and the stench really took on a life of its own. And then I got a whiff of my own breath. Lord have mercy! It was enough to blow a fly off a gut-wagon. You know what I mean?

“Finally, people came and started stripping the wrappings off of me. I had to show my nakedness before all of those people. Public nudity is one thing, but I had pustules erupting on my body and skin sloughing going on. It was pretty disgusting.

“Most people looked at me with horror. They were petulantly pronouncing prognostications of pernicious, purulent, pustule pestilence. Penitents were prostrating themselves on the property, proposing persistent, pietistic popcorn-prayers of propitiation. Everyone was trying to hold their noses, and as soon as they could, they built a proper pyre for burning everything I had on. Even that smelled pretty preposterous.

“I spent hours in the bath trying to scrub the stink off, but after my skin started sliding off, I resorted to wiping my body off in nard. It didn’t get rid of the smell, but it masked it pretty well.

“Everybody thought that it was so cool; that I should be so thankful, but somehow, when I really needed [Jesus], he didn’t show. When I didn’t need him anymore, then he showed up, to do what? Leave me again?

“A couple of nights ago, my sisters invited him to supper; ‘To thank him,’ they said. Apparently I was still smelling pretty bad, so Mary went and got my nard and covered Jesus’ feet with it. The fragrance filled the whole house

“All I could think was, ‘Thanks, sis. Now what am I supposed to do tomorrow?’ I mean the stuff isn’t cheap. We may be wealthy, but we aren’t rich, if you know what I mean.

“Today I find out that there’s a contract out on me. Half the people are treating me like I’m a god, which I’m not; and the other half of the people treat me like I’m this zombie creature who will hex them for the rest of their lives, which I won’t. I can’t go back to work. I’m not even able to hang with my friends. It feels like the bromance is truly over, and I can’t get rid of this stink. If I can’t get my life back, I want pay back.”

The Peoples' Court, Matthew 25:31-46

To everything there is a season: a time to reflect and a time to dream. As we stand on the threshold of 2017, reflecting on the past year and looking forward to our time together in the future, we are called in today’s readings to pause and consider Christ’s judgment of where we have been and challenged to think about where we are going. We are called to take time to contemplate our place in the world and our place in God’s Kingdom. We are encouraged to take some time to dream about the possibilities of what God’s good creation and goodness means and what a world of mutual care and support might be like.

Here, near the end of Matthew, tucked in between Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem and his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection, is this amazing and disturbing scene of the end time. It is not presented as a parable, “The kingdom of God is like…”; rather, it is set in apocalyptic literary form in the great judgment hall of heaven. Here the son of man comes in glory to sit upon the throne of glory to judge the nations.

In this heavenly courtroom, we are called to look around and notice where we are. We are called to remember the other times we have been here. Noting this space, we remember the other words that have come down to us from this judgment place. We hear the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the other prophets declaring God’s words of judgment, forgiveness, and reconciliation; and we remember that this scene of judgment is not the final statement of Matthew’s Gospel.

So, as a people of the nations, as people of the United States of America, let us sit in the gallery of the heavenly courtroom and witness the judgment of the world. Let us sit in anticipation of our nation’s judgment. Will we be among the sheep or the goats?

I can imagine myself sitting in the gallery, not being surprised to discover that there are no sheep, only goats. And yet, in this heavenly courtroom, Jesus tells us that the picture of the world is not as dismal as it first seems: indeed, the nations wonder how they were chosen as sheep. Indeed, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or imprisoned?

2016 has been one of those years that will probably have historians scratching their heads for many years to come. Crises throughout the world have raised the specters of fear and hate, death and despair, arrogance and oppression, and, in response to these specters, many nations have turned to isolationism, preferring to pull into themselves like a turtle into its shell, withdrawing from the problems of the world.

Yet, the problems of the world do not go away. More than 4300 people have been shot this past year in Chicago alone. Of them, more than 700 died. There was the shooting massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the bombing and the attempted bombings in New York. This is without mentioning those who have died in our area due to violence and drugs.

Many of those who have been entrusted with the duty of protecting and serving us have been captive to racism and power. In the performance of their duties, law enforcement officials have killed more than 950 people; more than 40 of the victims were unarmed, and many were mentally ill. In response, people have shot and killed 64 innocent police personnel without cause. These 64 deaths account for almost half of the 135 police officers who died in the line of duty.

“Then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the peoples, one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Other than the fact that I am blind, is there something wrong with my vision? I am not seeing any sheep! I am only hearing the bleating of goats.

Internationally, we were already reeling from the bombings in Paris, when Brussels was bombed in February. Then there were the truck attacks where more than 80 people were killed in Nice, and most recently, 12 killed and 48 injured in Germany. Let us not forget the tens of thousands of men, women and children who died in Aleppo.

In the meantime, we held an election that included the selection for the highest office in our country. During that process, some of the most vitriolic language was used by our two major parties. Threats of imprisonment and charges that parts of our society are irredeemable were made. Indeed, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger, or naked, sick or imprisoned?

But there are sheep. They are gathered at the son of man’s right hand. He has called them to recognize their blessings and to enter the kingdom that has been prepared for them from the foundations of the world. But where are the sheep coming from?

If this heavenly courtroom scene were the last statement of Matthew, I would have nothing but dreadful words of condemnation for you today. With the disciples, I would throw up my hands and say, “So who can be saved? I know that there was a plan that was good and strong from the foundations of the world, but remember? Humanity screwed that one up years ago. We have proven time and again that we are more interested in ourselves and our personal relationships than we are with you, God, or anyone outside our personal zones of influence. We are a selfish, stiff-necked people. We are interested in our own sense of honor, our own privilege, our own homes and our 401K’s. Okay, we give to what we consider to be good causes, but really Lord, the dead-beat jobless? The sick? The imprisoned? Illegal aliens? The naked? The hungry? And thirsty? Why don’t you just ask us to clean up the air and the water, to give up our scenic vistas so that endangered species will thrive again? What do you mean, it’s not about us?”

And as the Gospel of Matthew continues, we are confronted with a hierarchy that wants to arrest and kill Jesus; disciples who begrudge Christ’s anointing; the Last Supper that leads to Jesus’ arrest, trial, renunciation, crucifixion and death. Jesus will be hungry, thirsty, called a Nazarean stranger, stripped of his clothes, sickened by oppression, and imprisoned. Throughout this time, his closest disciples will betray and desert him. It will be left to just a few—Pilate’s wife, Simon of Cyrene, a centurion and those with him, Joseph of Arimathea, and some women—to be the sheep, the ones who cared enough to recognize Christ for who he is. The rest of the world are goats who deserve to suffer eternal punishment.

But wait! The throne of glory for the son of man is not a royal throne but a cross. The judgment of the world is not based on merit but grace. The verdict is not about who we are but whose we are. The decision of eternity is not based on our lives but the resurrected body of Christ. God’s judgment does not end at the tomb. He goes ahead of us to Galilee; and we are called to follow and find him there to baptize and teach, to gather at Christ’s table to feed and give drink, to welcome all into our midst in Christ’s name, to be clothed in Christ’s righteousness, to support them in sickness and in health, to lift them up from the prisons of those things that attempt to separate us from the love of God, and to walk in Christ’s ways.

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to despair and a time to hope, a time to die and a time to rise from the dead, a time for reconciling peace. I swear it’s not too late. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, I am beginning to see a lot of hopeful sheep. Thanks be to God!

JOBLESS AND HOMELESS IN ANGEL HEIGHTS

TEMPLE TIMES

Editorial: B. A. Roman

JOBLESS AND HOMELESS IN ANGEL HEIGHTS

From time to time, social issues come to the attention of this paper which deserve to be covered as a forum for reform and for the public good. Recently one such story came to the attention of the editorial staff at the Temple Times. In the name of law and order, and the future wellbeing of the state, this pernicious story should call our citizenry to examine and address the radical consequences of jobless bums in our public spaces, the problems of teenage pregnancy, and life conditions for run-aways in our urban centers.
 
I must warn our readers that the following material may be dangerous and strong parental guidance is recommended for our younger readers. It is a scandalous story. It is so scandalous that there are those who have told it and been imprisoned and sentenced to death for repeating it, but because of its long reaching ramifications, this paper feels compelled to report this story.
 
A few years ago, a young girl got in trouble; well, she got pregnant. She was only about fifteen years old and of course there were people who talked. Charges of statutory rape were considered. Her boyfriend, Joseph Jacobson, 19, emigrated here recently. After thinking about it for a while, he decided that he would marry the girl, but he wanted to do it right, in his hometown of Angel Heights. The two of them journeyed back to Angel Heights, but no family member would let them stay at their home. They went to a hostel. Even there they were turned away because of her minor status and condition. Finally, in desperation they sneaked into a garage for the night.
 
With all the stress of the trip and the humiliation of being turned away time and again, the young girl went into labor. Fortunately, there were no complications, and a healthy baby was born. They covered the baby with some rags they found there and waited to see what the next day would bring. Later that night they were mobbed by some hard cases—very rough, dirty, men who just showed up. They smelled like they hadn't showered for weeks.
 
It turned out that these men had been staying in Shepherd park a little way away and had been rousted by the Angel Heights Police Department (AHPD). They had also come to the garage for refuge. At first the young couple thought that they were going to be robbed, but, when the men saw the baby, they decided to have a party.
 
I suppose it was because of the poverty of his parents, or maybe it was the bad company the child grew up with and hung out with, but what this paper knows for sure is that while he was young, he ran away from his parents at least once. Then when he was old enough to be out on his own, he chose to associate with the most unsavory people. He was part of the fringe culture disrupting social order advocating for radical social reform and equal rights. He was cited for demonstrating without a permit and was frequently seen in the company of questionable low-level bureaucrats who are presently also under investigation. Finally, after a night of partying which will long be remembered, the child was arrested. It turns out that he and his cohorts were involved with some radical sect who were plotting against the government. He was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.
 
Following his execution, his body disappeared.  It has never been found and subversives within our community continue to lift up his principles for living claiming that he still lives.
 
With such disturbing life stories rising from the streets of joblessness and homeless despair, this paper asks its readers. “What do you think should be done?

Time for Loving Matthew 1:18-25

Okay, I have to admit that I have always thought of this passage as being lame. It’s sort of like spending a lot of time on the genealogy that precedes this text. Yes, there are some interesting names and situations that arise from the genealogy, but really not that much. Or is there?

We really don’t give Joseph much time. He is the almost contender. He is the guy that God beat out. He is the guy that I never wanted to be or hoped to be. Maybe that is why Joseph doesn’t get much time. It just may be that Joseph makes us nervous. As a matter of fact, aside from this story in Matthew and the second chapter story of Joseph taking Mary and Jesus to Egypt and then returning after Herod has died, nothing else is said about Joseph in Matthew at all.

Yet the imprint of Joseph continues to influence the story of our faith in interesting ways. Tradition says that Joseph is a carpenter and that he passes the trade of carpentry down to Jesus. In some of the non-biblical stories of Jesus we hear that Joseph and Jesus build a cabinet together, and, when they get it finished, it is too big to go through the door. Jesus shrinks the cabinet enough for it to go through, and then he expands it to its original size so that they can deliver it as ordered. Another time Jesus cuts a board, and it is too short so he lays his hands on it and stretches it to the right length. (There have been a few times in the shop when I’ve wished that I could do that.) No, we don’t get this information from the Gospels, but there is a long tradition that says that Joseph is indeed a carpenter, and, because of that, Jesus is a carpenter too.

So, who is Joseph? From the genealogy given in Matthew we learn that Joseph is the son of Jacob. Really? Wasn’t there another Joseph who was the son of Jacob? Wasn’t Jacob the father of twelve sons who became the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel? Wasn’t Jacob’s son Joseph the one who was sold into slavery? Wasn’t Joseph the interpreter of dreams? Wasn’t Joseph the one that the Pharaoh went to with the dream of the fat bullocks and the skinny bullocks? Wasn’t Joseph the one who saved his family in the time of famine and gave them a place to live in Egypt? And wasn’t that first Joseph the ancestor of Moses who led God’s people out of slavery into the wilderness and then to the Promised Land?

We may not know much about this Joseph, but there is a great deal that we know about the first Joseph who was the son of Jacob, and Matthew wants us to remember these things when we begin to think about who this Joseph, the father of Jesus, is. Therefore, we are not surprised when the angel comes to him in a dream and tells him he needs to take the mother and the child to Egypt. We are not surprised when they return from Egypt because of a dream. This is the pattern of freedom and learning to walk in faith with God. The difference this time is that we learn what it means to have God walk with us having faith for us.

So today the outcome of so much depends on Joseph’s decision and actions concerning his betrothal to Mary. We are introduced to him with these words: Joseph is “a righteous man”. For many of us, we might easily translate righteous into good and therefore think, “Joseph is a good man.” And, because he is a good man, we might think he will naturally do good things. Joseph is righteous because he follows the law, not just the 10 commandments, but all of the laws found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy including Deuteronomy 22 which prescribes the consequences of being pregnant  while engaged. By law, both the woman who got pregnant by someone other than her betrothed and the other man were to be stoned. If the woman was taken (raped) in the fields, the man was to be stoned, but the woman was to be unpunished. Still that engagement was ended, and the woman was shamed. This is what the righteous man should do. He should end the engagement and walk away. Although he could be generous by doing this quietly, people would probably still talk.

When the angel comes to tell Joseph that the baby is from the Holy Spirit, Joseph is caught in a dilemma. If he walks away from Mary, he will dishonor God, but, if he honors God, staying engaged to Mary, then he states to the community that he is the father of the child, taking the shame of Mary’s pregnancy upon himself. Joseph is confronted with the other side of righteousness. The first definition of righteousness is to follow the law, but the other is to do justice. What is a guy to do?

Joseph’s decision pushes us in a new direction. His decision marks the beginning for those who will follow this child, this Jesus, our Emmanuel. For from this moment on, when law and justice do not walk hand-in-hand, justice will be the part of righteousness that will win out. This decision of Joseph’s marks the beginning of Christian thought that says to act with concern for the other is sometimes more important than personal appearances.

And so, Joseph makes the decision to choose unrighteousness in order to become righteous for the sake of the world. Doing this, he claims Jesus as his son with all of the responsibilities that go along with that decision. As a righteous man, he teaches his son his trade. He passes on his love of his work. In the process of living, he passes on his understanding of the law and the need for justice that goes beyond personal honor, a justice that lifts up the dishonored and the shamed as having value. He passes on his love of God’s people in a way that claims the need of God’s people to live in relationship together is more important than living by the letter of the law. From this decision, learned and appreciated by his son, we will hear, “You have heard it said,…but I say,….”

In the deserted wilderness place, Joseph’s son will feed thousands. In the midst of the world’s suffering, the outcasts (the blind, the lame, the unclean, the deaf and the poor) will be lifted up into new ways of living. From this righteous man, Jesus will learn to care for the needs of those around him even to the extent that he will suffer death, even death on a cross, taking the sins and the shame of the world upon himself, for the justification and justice of the world.

No, we do not know much about Joseph, but, through his ability to interpret dreams, he discerns the way to go. He claims and protects the one who will free us from our slavery to sin, who will lead us through the wilderness of our lives into the relationship of God’s grace and mercy that lifts up all of creation into God’s own kingdom of justice. With his decision, Joseph claims a time for loving judgment rather than punitive vengeance. By his decision, Joseph initiates a time and a season for loving that will only grow through the life, death and resurrection of his adopted son.

Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way, learning of God’s love and sharing it in our time and Advent season of loving.

What does resurrection mean? Luke 20:27-38

Before I begin, how many of you have thought about the willingness of the seventh brother on the eve of his wedding? When I was in catechism and had to study this story as a means of getting us to talk about what the resurrection meant to us, I have to admit that the only thing I could think of was, “How dumb are these guys?” I was 14, and I knew that I would be heading for the hills if I were the seventh brother. Actually, I thought that I might be on the road if I were the fourth brother. I imagined that I didn’t really like my third brother, so I didn’t want to warn him, but I knew my place. I had no idea about the resurrection and what it meant, but I knew that I would have serious concerns about my future wife’s mental health.

Although this is the alternate text for All Saint’s Sunday, I feel that it is wonderfully appropriate that we read this parable today. How wonderfully rich to question life in the resurrection at this time in particular as we celebrate All Saints Sunday. So let us consider this brazen affront to Jesus and to our faith in this time of grateful remembrance.

Within the context of this day and the challenge of this text, we are confronted with “What does the resurrection mean?” We have to understand that life after death was not a new idea in Jesus’ time. But that there was a debate between some Jewish people about life after death. Those who only read the Books of Moses, thought that there was no after life. The Sadducees were part of this group, but they were already in the minority in Jesus’ time. Many of the cultures around the Mediterranean Sea and around the world already believed in an afterlife, but they would be vastly different from what our Christian understanding of heaven is.

The Greeks had hades, a place where warriors could fight and die day after day, only to awaken the next day to fight again. Okay, it wasn’t all that great for women and children, but none-the-less, they had a place of life after death.

The Egyptians had the great necropolis, the city of the righteous dead, who passed the judgment of Osiris, where they lived in comfort, served by those who were righteous enough but not the most righteous. They ate well and were able to take many of their earthly riches with them. Life in the necropolis was highly ordered and reflected the order of the society and culture they had lived in during this life time. It was a great place for the wealthy who had many possessions to bring with them, but not so hot for the poor.

The Norse had their own twist on life after death with Valhalla. It was a place of drinking and fighting, with valorous storytelling and songs, great feasts, and dancing. It was not a place where women faired very well either. They were expected to cook the meals, brew the beer and mead, serve at the tables, clean the victory halls and entertain the men throughout eternity. Women were sent to Valhalla with their men as sacrifices. Children need not apply.

These conceptions of the afterlife were highly restrictive. Only the best of the best were welcomed. At best it was a segregated space for the elite of the world. It reminds me of the story. When this man died, Saint Peter welcomed the person at the pearly gate and said, “Well, there are several places in heaven that you might want to live in throughout eternity. So, let me show you around. He and the person went from place to place. Saint Peter was excited to point out the high points of each place and why the person might choose that location. As they were walking along one of the golden paths, Saint Peter suddenly said, “Now you are going to have to be very quiet until we get to the other side of those trees.”

The person wanted to ask why, but Saint Peter put his finger over his lips. As they tip-toed by, the man saw all kinds of people singing and laughing, playing games and having a picnic. It really looked like a lot of fun.

So when they got beyond the trees, the person finally blurted out, “Why did I have to be quiet there. They were making more than enough noise by themselves. I doubt that they could have heard me if I shouted. What’s the deal?”

Saint Peter said, “We have to be quiet because they are the pious Lutherans and they think that they are the only ones up here.

These stories of heaven as a place of privilege depend on a significant part of the population not being allowed in. Those people are usually resigned to hell. I mean, what kind of fun is heaven if there isn’t a hell? How can the presence of God be open to just anyone?

When we say those words, “He descended into hell, and on the third day he rose again,” we aren’t really saying that Jesus might have taken those people with him into heaven are we? Seriously, when I get to heaven, am I going to have to live next door to that person who never mowed the yard and left trash all over the place am I? We have all kinds of ways of asking the Sadducees question about whose wife will this woman be? And when we do that, we miss the point that Jesus is trying to make.

Living in the eternal presence of God means that life will be different. We will be able to live in a place where God will be first in all that we do. The order of this world will no longer determine our behaviors. Jesus tells us that in a world that thinks of women as property to be sold, traded, or given away in marriage, that that will no longer happen. All people are going to be recognized as valuable and loved. We will no longer belong to one another, but we will belong to God, in relationship with one another in ways that lift up our value. Indeed, this is not a land of the dead that practices deadly games of war. Heaven is not a place that continues to grant privilege to the wealthy, at the expense of the poor. It is not a place where we celebrate our own actions on earth like recounting the tenth inning of the Cubs/Indians game. Heaven is that place where we are invited into Sabbath time to be guests in God’s presence with the angels and like them we will die no more but be called the children of God. As such, we will live in the fullness of our relationships with God and one another.  

In the meantime, in anticipation of that great banquet time with Christ, we continue to see the imago dei, that is, God’s image. reflected to us in the face of our neighbor. We mourn and celebrate the relationships we have with those who have gone before us and value those around us. And, with the promise and hope of the resurrection we continue to lift our neighbors up into the relationships we have with one another and Christ. Claiming, with confidence in the one who is risen from the dead, that God is God of the living, and, although some are dead to us, that they continue to be alive with Christ in the fullness of their relationship with God. In the midst of the craziness and chaos of this world, in the midst of the pain and the sorrow that we know, we can still say with Job, “I know that my redeemer lives and at the last he will stand upon the earth...Then…I shall see God.” With the writer of 2 Thessalonians we can say to one another, “Now may our Lord, Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.”

What will heaven be like? I really can’t tell you, but I can say that the one who is risen from the dead, that is Jesus Christ, has gone before us and waits for us there with welcome and love.