{"id":4525,"date":"2022-04-17T17:50:42","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T17:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2022\/04\/17\/the-richness-of-the-unknown-based-on-isaiah\/"},"modified":"2022-04-17T17:50:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-17T17:50:42","slug":"the-richness-of-the-unknown-based-on-isaiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2022\/04\/17\/the-richness-of-the-unknown-based-on-isaiah\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Richness of the Unknown\u201d based on\tIsaiah 65:17-25 and John 20:1-18 (Easter)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

I am so thankful it is
\nEaster Sunday. \u00a0I’m ready to celebrate the goodness of God, the power
\nof life, the unstoppable force of love in the world. \u00a0I’m thankful
\nfor music that resonates in my SOUL, and functions as a ritual to let
\nmy body know this is a time to let go, to be, to savor.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIt has been a long, hard
\ntrudge to get to Easter. \u00a0If I’m really honest, we’re still in a
\nlong, hard trudge, but Easter feels like a great excuse to step away
\nfrom the trudge and just be joyous for a bit.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIt does seem worth
\ndiscussion what sort of joy we’re talking about though. \u00a0By my count,
\nthere are 10 Easter stories in the Gospels (Mark has 4, Luke 3, John
\n2, and Matthew for some reason only 1), 10 different stories trying
\nto make sense of \u2026. something. \u00a0The simple fact that there are so
\nmany stories suggests to me that what happened on Easter (and
\nthroughout the 50 days after it), is hard to put into words and thus
\na variety of metaphors was the best way people could explain it. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThe stories all point to
\nthe idea that the death Jesus suffered on the cross didn’t have the
\nfinal word. \u00a0But they struggle to make sense of it. \u00a0They did not
\nunderstand.<\/i> \u00a0In the two Easter stories we heard from John this
\nmorning the phrase (did) \u201cnot know\u201d came up three times. \u00a0There
\nwas unknowing<\/i> in Easter itself and it its early stories! \u00a0That
\nmakes it OK for us when we come to Easter with some \u201cunknowing\u201d
\nof our own.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nSomehow, Jesus’ disciples
\nand followers continued to experience his wisdom, his teaching<\/i>,
\nand the power of his vitality even after he died.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd whatever it was that
\nconstituted their experience, it was POWERFUL in their lives. \u00a0It
\nchanged them. \u00a0The students became the teachers. \u00a0Those frightened
\nand hidden away came out of hiding and took risks for the sake of
\nsharing Jesus’s good news. \u00a0The women kept on keeping on.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThe ways we explain
\nEaster today continue in the grand tradition of trying to make sense
\nof it all. \u00a0Our metaphors abound. \u00a0Some stick with the early metaphor
\nof \u201cEaster is the day Jesus was raised from the dead.\u201d \u00a0Others
\nwill say, \u201cEaster is about the unstoppable power of life,
\nespecially life with God.\u201d \u00a0Charles Wesley says, \u201cDeath in vain
\nforbids him rise,\u201d and asks, \u201cWhere’s thy victory, boasting
\ngrave?\u201d \u00a0Marcus Borg gives us the language that Easter is God’s YES
\nto the world’s NO.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThere are a lot of
\nwonderful and powerful meanings to be made from Easter, and I
\nencourage you to savor the ones that bring YOU to life.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIn the midst of all I’ve
\nalready offered, for me the greatest power of Easter is in its
\n\u201calways present\u201d quality. \u00a0One way or another, when Jesus died,
\nthe goal of the Empire was to kill him, to stop his life and his
\nministry. \u00a0It worked, as the story says, Mary was weeping<\/i>
\nwhen she showed up that Easter morning. \u00a0The power of death worked
\nUNTIL his disciples experienced SOMETHING on Easter, and after that
\nthey took up his ministry and in doing so claimed his life energy,
\nand kept it going. \u00a0Before Easter, Jesus was the Body of Christ, but
\non Easter the disciples became the Body of Christ \u2013 and this is
\nwhat really matters to me \u2013 and the power of his life-energy, and
\nthe importance of his ministry, and the sharing of his God-vision is
\nSTILL the work of the Body of Christ. \u00a0In important and meaningful
\nways, when I say, \u201cChrist is alive,\u201d I know that is true because
\nI’m looking at you, the church, doing Christ’s work.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIn the Gospel of John,
\nthe words are in Mary Magdalene’s mouth, \u201cI have seen<\/i>
\nthe Lord.\u201d \u00a0In the Body of Christ, I too have seen<\/i>
\nGod at work.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd I think that’s PLENTY
\nmiraculous.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nSo, then, if this is our
\nwork, we want to be as clear as possible about what it means to
\ncontinued the life, ministry, and God-vision of Jesus. \u00a0Because,
\nwell, not everyone agrees about this. \u00a0#Shock.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThis is where I think the
\nIsaiah passage is an incredible EASTER gift to us, even if it was
\nwritten for a people of a different time who used different metaphors
\nfor God’s power over life and death.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThe most striking thing
\nabout the Isaiah passage for me, initially, was its humility. \u00a0Isaiah
\n65 seeks to answer the question, \u201cWhat SHOULD life look like?\u201d
\nand it starts like I think we’d expect. \u00a0It says life should be LONG
\nand ABUNDANT. \u00a0There SHOULD NOT BE young tragic deaths. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nAmen.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nBut then it takes what
\ninitially seemed to me to be a sort of weak turn. \u00a0In this utopic
\ndream of a \u201cnew heaven and a new \u00a0earth\u201d that God is creating
\nfull of justice and wholeness and goodness, what are the defining
\nfactors other than longevity? \u00a0\u201cThey shall build houses and inhabit
\nthem; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit\u201d (65:21) and
\nalso they will be aware of the presence of God.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nI get it. \u00a0This would
\nsound miraculous to a people who have build houses but not lived in
\nthem, planted vineyards and not gotten to eat the fruit, that it is
\nfitting for them that this ends with, \u201cThe wolf and the lamb shall
\nfeed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the
\nserpent–its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on
\nall my holy mountain, says the LORD.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nBut all of that together
\nsuggests that … universal vegetarianism and an end to all violence
\nseems CONSISTENT with \u2026 not having your labor stolen or your home
\ndisplaced.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nWhich suggests that not
\nhaving your home stolen or the fruit of your labor appropriated is a
\nREALLY BIG DEAL. \u00a0But, is it? \u00a0I mean, why stop with just having
\npeople not displaced and able to glean the value of their work. \u00a0Why
\nnot have everyone live at Disneyland, or apparition, or \u2026 I don’t
\nknow, world peace.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nBut the longer I thought
\nabout it, the more I realize this dream is EVERYTHING. \u00a0It actually
\nIS world peace \u2013 because world peace looks EXACTLY like people
\nbeing safe to build homes and live in them without being displaced,
\nand having the consistency to be able to labor and glean the fruits
\nof one’s labor without anyone else coming in with violence to take
\nit.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nAND this is a dream of an
\nend to world hunger too \u2013 because people have access to enough land
\nand resources and the capacity to GLEAN THE FRUIT OF THEIR LABOR.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd the more I think
\nabout people being able to glean the fruit of their labor, the more I
\nrealize that covers A WHOLE LOT of injustices. \u00a0If people can glean
\nthe fruit of their labor \u2013 then the rich aren’t getting wealthier
\noff of the labor of the poor. \u00a0So, it is like universal basic income
\nand a living minimum wage rolled into one. \u00a0It is also an end to
\npredatory lending. \u00a0This is a dream of equity and equality and
\nfairness and justice all at once \u2013 with the \u201csimple\u201d means of
\nstable safe housing and people being able to keep the fruits of their
\nlabors.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen we hear of
\natrocities in the world, most of them equate to violations of this
\ndream. \u00a0People are killed too young, or displaced from their homes
\nand communities, or the fruits of their labor is stolen from them.
\n Please note that the Bible and I agree that part of being a
\ncommunity with fair labor practices is sharing so that those unable
\nto labor are still cared for. \u00a0There have always been those unable to
\nwork, and a functional society finds ways to care for them as BELOVED
\nand VALUED members of that society.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIt is a good life,
\nindeed, with stable safe housing and the capacity to glean the fruits
\nof our labor, and to have enough at the end of it to share with
\nothers. \u00a0It
\nmay sound simple, but it is AMAZING when it happens. \u00a0Far too few
\npeople have lived this dream, and the dream is for EVERYONE.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThe more I think about
\nthis vision, the more I see its power, and the more I see how much it
\nisn’t one that is yet here.\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nHow many people are dying
\ntoo young? \u00a0And how many of those deaths would be preventable?<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nHow many members of our
\ncity lack stable and safe housing? \u00a0How many New Yorkers? \u00a0How many
\nUS citizens? \u00a0And then how many people are migrants and refugees in
\nthe world right now? \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nThen, how many people see
\nthe just fruits of their labor?? \u00a0In the interest of some brevity,
\nI’ll leave that as a thought question for you to ponder.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nIsaiah 65 was a vision
\nfor newly returned Exiles and the people who had been left behind
\nduring the Exile. \u00a0It was a reminder of God’s wishes for a stable,
\ncompassionate, equalitarian society. \u00a0It was a dream to aim for, a
\nreminder of how God wants the world ordered, a clarity on what
\ncommunal holy living looks like.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen we talk about the
\nbeloved community, the kindom of God, the Jesus teaching of a
\nGod-vision, I don’t believe Jesus was breaking with his own Jewish
\ntradition. \u00a0This vision of what God wanted for people is another
\nversion of what Jesus taught. \u00a0This vision of what God wanted for
\npeople is a way of talking about what it means to be the Body of
\nChrist building the kindom of God, or what it means to be an Easter
\npeople.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nLong, good, lives.
\nStable safe housing. \u00a0People able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
\n People having enough to share. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nSuch a simple vision. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nSuch a world away from
\nour reality right now.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\nMay God help us to build
\nthat future. \u00a0Because as Easter people, we believe that love wins in
\nthe end and God isn’t finished with us yet. \u00a0This vision is a vision
\nfor us, and for everyone, and God is willing to work with us on it. \u00a0
\nThanks be to God! \u00a0Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am so thankful it is Easter Sunday. \u00a0I’m ready to celebrate the goodness of God, the power of life, … Continue reading \u201cThe Richness of the Unknown\u201d based on\tIsaiah 65:17-25 and John 20:1-18 (Easter)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38,28,39,33,52,1653,1265,1652,75,58,56,1650,57,1651],"class_list":["post-4525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-easter","tag-easter-photo-show","tag-first-umc-schenectady","tag-fruits-of-our-labor","tag-fumcschenectady","tag-isaiah","tag-schenectady","tag-shared-vision","tag-sorry-about-the-umc","tag-stable-safe-housing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}