Forensic Faith: Believing and Seeing

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio

John 20:19-31

Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

 

What if I told you that Science and Faith aren't opposites. What if I told you that the proclamation of faith often uses elements of the scientific method? It's like me saying that Art is scientific... and I'll say that too in this entry. All of these wild allegations can be seen in today's painting and Scripture reading about St. Thomas' investigation into the veracity of Christ's resurrection.

The Faith Hypothesis

 

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Science in its most basic/broad definition is knowledge. The Latin word "scientia" translates as such. It is the systematic organization of knowledge into testable forms. It is the documentation of what we know that can be proven. In earnest it is a conversation over the millennia in pursuit of information. data and/or truth. The most popular usage of this term refers to the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, etc.) but their are other sciences such as library science, political science, military science and social science. With each areas entrance into the cannon of knowledge is based upon testing. Knowledge is a Caravaggio painting: starting as images emerging from darkness, slowly illuminated...enabling the viewer to understand the whole picture. Knowledge has always painted itself this way. In the beginning was the Word. The word was God. The word of God became flesh and we saw it, heard it and touched it. Something we could inspect, reason with and investigate. We loved it because it became tangible in the Person and love of Jesus the Christ. Yes, as St. Paul once stated "faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen" but what is the object of our faith? The thing that our faith hopes for is something that will be. The thing that is presently not seen will one day be revealed. You may be thinking, "well the object of our faith is God: who by his non-physical nature cannot be seen." This is true. But if you, like me, believe in the Christian God, then you believe that God has been seen in the person of Jesus Christ. When Christ revealed his risen glory to the Disciples in the upper room it was one of the final acts if God fully revealing Himself to humanity. No longer would God conceal himself in a cloud as He spoke to his prophet, Jesus exposed the face and friendship of God to this last prophetic generation. He breathed on them the presence of the Living God. These Apostles in return would reveal the heart and hand of God through both the establishing of His Church and writing of His Word. The foundation of the Church would be on this teaching/doctrine of the Apostles: the New Testament. The proclamation of this new community based in the foundation of the Apostles (what you may know as preaching) is tested by its trustworthiness to this premise. Preaching as a science. Yes, it is an Art too. That is the intricate dance between homiletics and hermeneutics: sermon delivery and biblical interpretation. In the end authentic homiletics only springs from authentic hermeneutics. The  scientifically testable authentication of Christian preaching and practice lies in its fidelity to the testimony of the Apostles...it's adherence to Scripture. Through Scripture the Apostles reveal who Jesus was: what they saw, heard and experienced. And Jesus reveals who God is. So faith is like the hypothesis part of the scientific method... where you form an "If... then" statement. But it is not just a "If God said it then I believe it" mantra that we say in churches. All to often that just equates to "If pastor says it then I believe it... and never question his authority." True faith like a true hypothesis is tested. If not willingly by us then unwillingly by God and by life. Like a hypothesis it is preceded buy a question and followed by a prediction, testing and analysis... that often leaves us with more questions. But like other sciences it is how we gather knowledge. In earnest it is a conversation over the millennia in pursuit of God.

Experiments In Faith
 

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Science involves only trusting what we know. What we have personally seen and tested or what the greats in your field have seen and tested before you. You may just trust them because you are floored by their legendary genius, or by the support of the community of learning that supports their conclusions or by being convinced by reading their writings. Caravaggio was a student of the latter type. When formulating an image based on a religious narrative he didn't just go with the conventional imagery of the popular legend. He broke from the traditional depiction of saints and biblical figures that was still popularly practiced by his contemporary colleagues. Caravaggio used a scientific exploration of Scripture to reveal the true depiction of Jesus and the Apostles. It wasn't a study in what their faces looked like as much as what their lives looked like...what their company looked like and what their actions where like. Caravaggio revealed the dirty foot prophets of the poor. Caravaggio's Christ was a friend of sinners and his Apostles were brothers with the least of those amongst us. His use of unwashed street people and prostitutes as models may have been vulgar to the critics but they were beautiful to the artist. They were reminiscent of the actual unwashed street people and prostitutes that God used to model His mercy centuries before. True lights of God that break through the darkness of a humanity that is ignorant of the knowledge of God. They were not fanciful figures floating on a cloud but rather grounded, earthy men that could be touched by the sufferings of the flesh. Caravaggio's Jesus is one that is our great High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. That is the Jesus that St. Thomas came to know. The one whom he touched. Thomas gets a bad rap as the doubter of the Disciples. I would argue that his fault was not in his doubt but rather in his tardiness. If he had arrived earlier in the day he like the other Disciples would have seen Christ willingly reveal his wounds. But alas how we benefit from St. Thomas' perceived doubt. St Thomas revealed the whole truth of the resurrected Lord: one with flesh and blood... one with battle scars. Thomas' investigation of Jesus' wounds was not a rejection of faith but a step in the faith process. One that God had full control of. Being that I have strong Calvinist leanings I believe that it is the Holy Spirit's promptings that leads one to conversion and repentance. It is the same Spirit that develops on in their faith journey. The Holy Spirit does this, like all things, that God might be glorified in the end. Think of how God has been glorified all the more with us knowing that we like Jesus will be bodily resurrected one day... that God has conquered both spiritual and physical death. .. that He can take our once mortal and sinful body and glorify it into something holy and beautiful. These hypotheses that were once formulated by the prophets were later verified by the testing of Thomas. 

Double Blind Trials

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

 

The rift between certain Christians and the natural sciences is as stark a contrast as the tenebrism employed in Caravaggio's trademark chiaroscuro style. In it we paint a narrative where we spotlight the dramatic battle between the forces of Modernity/Liberalism and Theological Conservatism. We cast characters like Darwin in the shadows playing the villain who attempts to martyr the Creation story of Genesis. This particular exercise has been going on for a century but in itself part of a greater struggle that goes back to the trial Galileo. Likewise there are those in the Scientific community who respond by excommunicating the legions of the faithful to the land of the Luddites. The modern foundation of Natural Science is based upon the notion of a Closed System that excludes the miraculous. Even though I am an advocate of a fairly conservative theology I am not an enemy of this closed system approach. It just helps us understand the subject better if we isolate it our thinking. I also don't believe that Scientists are the only ones having closed systems in their thought. Protestant Fundamentalism was born out of an unbending aversion to scientific modernity (Disclaimer: I am an Evangelical, which can be argued is just a re-branding of Protestant Fundamentalism). I am an advocate of the inerrancy of Scripture but not of the inerrancy of our understanding of Scripture. God's Word does testify to the Truth but do we currently understand what and how it is trying to tell us the truth? If I can borrow a Catholic catch-phrase, "All Truth is God's Truth." It is a paraphrase of St. Augustine's quote: "A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature, but rejecting superstitious vanities and deploring and avoiding those who 'though they knew God did not glorify him as God." It was popularized in a book with the same name by the Evangelical philosopher and professor Arthur F. Holmes. He argued for "Christians to not shy away from the difficult questions that may arise from whatever subject of academic study they choose. With a firm belief that any truth they find can be reconciled with their faith, Holmes challenged educators and Christians in academia to grapple with what they are interested in, noting that a strong faith can handle some turbulence while coming to a better understanding of God's creation." I believe that in the end Scripture and the Natural Sciences both inform the believer, even when their is an apparent conflict. This conflict of allegiances may prove to be a trial for thinking believers but surely it is not the only trial of faith that they will encounter. It also not a trial that the Lord will not equip them for. It may be tedious, troubling and tiresome but as James stated it is the trying/testing of your faith that produces patience. Christian character is not just built by what we believe but by the trial of our beliefs to create a more robust faith. These are the times that God has put us in and He places every man/woman in their age for a reason. We must engage the age and provide faith that can be seen. Knowledge of God that can be touched, heard and interacted with. The Church must provide faith with physicality. We are not the first generation that demanded a sign of the invisible God's existence. Hence the miracles in Scripture are referred to as "signs and wonders." Jesus used physical signs in his age to show God to his listeners. Jesus was the physical sign that showed God. God is not above engaging your doubt with evidence. We didn't just realize post Age of Enlightenment that dead men don't get up. Humanity has always known that. Millennia of testing and human experience told us that. So Jesus engaged the doubt of Thomas. He made Thomas formulate a question about all that he knew, and humanity knew, about life. Thomas tested the physicality of Christ's flesh. The holes in his cartilage: the dried blood in his abdominal wounds. Maybe Thomas was driven to hypothesize, "If Jesus was correct in his assertion about the afterlife then he was right about how I should live this present life." Yes, life always ends in death but Christ revealed the knowledge of eternal life and life more abundantly. Thomas spent the rest of his life teaching others about the knowledge of God that had been revealed to him and he had tested. God in His infinite wisdom decided that the age of Jesus and the Apostles was a good time to reveal the knowledge of Him through signs and wonders. He had done this in a few other eras. What evidence does God use now?

 

Applied Knowledge

 

God continues to do miraculously amazing things that defy our current understanding of the universe but He consistently uses humans to reveal His knowledge in un-miraculous ways. The signs that He uses to induce wonder amongst nonbelievers today is through the mercy, forgiveness and love of believers. Alas stories of amazing mercy, forgiveness and love travel slower than stories of amazing miracles... and are dwarfed in speed by the rate at which salacious stories of sin on the part of believers travels. The evidence that God used in the age of scripture can be seen in the paintings of Caravaggio but the evidence that God used throughout the following eras of human history are absent in Caravaggio's life. Caravaggio was a murderer, fugitive, brawler, suspected pedophile, accused whoremonger and recently alleged pimp. Though he testified to the truth of God in paint the personal life of Caravaggio is void of any knowledge of God. Sure he knew God's Word (maybe he even believed it), had been baptized and was consistently employed by churches but true faith is not shown by belief only or association with the faithful. True faith does not stop at a hypothesis about God. It must be tested out in your own life. You must follow the example of Marie Curie and use yourself as an a laboratory: experimenting with the application of God's truth until your life radiates with His mercy and love...and yes, that was a horrible joke at Marie Curie's expense. True faith is illustrated by everyday acts of mercy just like true science is verified by consistent tests and experiments. Both may seem boring and mundane at times but they authenticate true applied knowledge. The evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a faith that has been proven faithful. It can be see, touched and heard by those around us. When our lives touch their lives they can touch the scarred hands and punctured side of Jesus. We are living epistles. Do they see an explanation of the Gospel in our character? That does not mean that we are perfect and do not currently struggle with sin and/or have a past. We are the street people and prostitutes that God has painted as his dirty foot prophets. We are God's signs and wonders in our age. We can become the forensics behind others' faith. It is by investigating us that they will know that Christ has truly risen.

 

New Testament Word & Image: 1 Peter 1:3-9 & Harriet Powers' quilts

Pictorial quilt, Harriet Powers

1 Peter 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Bible quilt, Harriet Powers

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him,yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Empty Tomb, Full Faith

ODD FELLOWS REST, TOMB WITH FERN, Sandra Russell Clark

John 20:1-9

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

In her photography series Elysium Sandra Russell Clark explores the cities of the dead. The title comes from the Ancient Greeks' notion of an afterlife abode that was separate from Hades (sometimes referred to as Elysian Fields). It was a place reserved for mortals "chosen by the gods, the righteous, and the heroic." Sandra Russell Clark's Elysium refers to a place more personally familiar to me. She and I both share our birthplace in the city of New Orleans. New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana holds fast as a center of Catholicism embedded within the overall Protestant stronghold of the Deep South, while simultaneously flirting for tourists with its historic connections to the folk religion of Voodoo. It is a city that has its seasons of devout religious fervor and secular hedonism. In the midst of this city life of contrasts is set the reminder of death and the question of the afterlife: our historic cemeteries. Since New Orleans is below sea level our graves are traditionally not underground but rather above ground. Our cemeteries are ornate white wash neighborhoods for our ancestors: cities of the dead. Walking through the rows of domiciles of the departed you can chart three four centuries of our former residents form the great and notorious to the humble. The deceased are not interred into the ground but rather into tombs, like Jesus was. The scripture reading for this Easter Sunday doesn't feature Jesus. It doesn't even feature Jesus' dead body. It actually features the absence of Jesus and evidence that he  had once been in this scene: linen burial cloths and a handkerchief. It costars three followers of Jesus: Mary Magdalene, Peter and an unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved. But the star of this scene is the scene... the setting. The star is the tomb. It is an empty tomb, yet it is full. Jesus no longer resides there but one by one we encounter his followers in this scene. They too were like this tomb, empty shells that once housed death. The thing that the tomb lacked to fulfill its purpose is that which the followers of Jesus would receive. These early Christians would go on to see Jesus and after he ascended into Heaven they would later receive his Holy Spirit. Jesus would come to reside in their heart but never again in the tomb.

Death to Sin

Art is not forgiving of people's past... especially religious art. You are forever depicted in each painting or sculpture bearing a symbol of what you are most famous for. It is a tool to make the image easily identifiable for the viewer and cue their memory of the narrative surrounding them. For some it may be that of a prophet, beggar, king, soldier, martyr or virgin. For Mary Magdalene it is that of a prostitute. In most imagery she is clad in the scarlet red of harlotry. Not far from the Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the are near French Quarter and Basin Street where Storyville once stood. Famous for being one of the birthplaces of Jazz, it was also New Orleans' turn of the century red light district where prostitution was legal. Just like in the case of Mary Magdalene its historic reputation has stuck. Still today much of the city's gentleman's clubs and illegal sex workers can be found there. Although society is slowly drifting towards removing the stigma associated with people who work in this industry, the physical, emotional and spiritual damage that can come to those involved in these trades still remains. All to often it is a lifestyle of sin that those who become engaged in to make ends meet become trapped in permanently by the threat of physical violence. This is the life that Mary Magdalene once knew. Prostitution was a tomb that she lived in, risking physical death from disease and spiritual death through alienation from God. Even if she knew that her life was in spiritual death, who knows if leaving it meant risking physical death by the hands of her employer? It appears to be a risk that she was willing to make. In Christ she saw life eternal and a new start at the present life. Christ had risen her from the shame of her past life and she would soon encounter him as he stood victorious having bought her eternal life. It all started because Mary Magdalene chose to leave spiritual death by putting death to sin in her life. She forsook her former life and took up the life that Christ had for her. She is an example to us all that no matter the risk deciding to follow Christ is the most life giving decision. It is an act of faith that removes spiritual death from sin and replaces it as a life of holiness. 

Death to Self

The way that you can recognize the tombs in New Orleans and learn about the life of those that are interred is by reading their tombstone. Simple enough because it is the same way the world over. The tombstone tells you the deceased name, lifespan and maybe something about their vocation, death or a revealing quote. All of these collectively reveal the person's identity but the greatest of them is the person's name. Ironically that is what is left out of the description of the first Disciple that entered Jesus' tomb. He is only revealed as "The other Disciple." Yet we do know a few things about what he did. Apparently he was a fast runner, he was a good reader of real life context clues, he had faith and Jesus loved him. The greatest part of his identity has been hidden from us... or is it? In the end what is the most important thing in life: who we are or what we do. Doesn't what we do reveal who we really are? Doesn't it reveal our character? While our surname that goes on the top of our tombstone reveals who our family was our character is a better portrait of us as an individual. There is yet another revealing detail that the author of this Gospel has left us in saying that he was the "disciple whom Jesus loved." Most scholars see this as a sign that this is referring to St. John, but it even tells us more than his identity it tells us his relationship to God. While it is good to uphold your character so that your fellow man may know who you truly are, only the virtues of faith and love can reveal who you are to God. Sure God is omniscient and knows who everyone is, but can he consider you a friend? Can he consider you his child? He can if you put to death your identity and take up the identity of Christ. That is the paradox of Christianity. You become your true self (the one that you were designed to be when you put death to the "self." That does not mean that all Christians become the same straight laced, eurocentric, 1950's cornball. Your diversity, quirks and individual gifts are needed. Don't shave off your mullet! It means that you deny your self and take your cross daily and follow Jesus. It is lining your will with the will of God and pursuing less of your whims and more of the general good of those that God has called you to serve. It is the death of selfishness and the birth of Love. It is decreasing our selves so that Christ might increase in us. It allowing space for love and action for others in our lives. It is doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is not just abstaining from sin against others but actively pursuing works of righteousness that would benefit others. It is an act of faith that puts to death selfish love but opens up your life to selfless love. It is what Jesus did out of love for us and it is what he loves to see in others. After all, God is Love.

Death As Service

Besides being a resting place for the dead the cemeteries of New Orleans are tourist attraction. Most things in New Orleans are a tourist attraction. After losses in the Gulf of Mexico oil industry in the early 1980's tourism took over as main engine of the economy in New Orleans. This became complicated in the early 1990's when violence started rising in the city. Just like much of the late 80's/early 90's violence in America it was mostly due to the illegal drug trade and easy access to firearms. The surge in violence spread crime to those who were unconnected to the drug trade and often normal robberies turned into murders. Things were at their worse when tourists started to be attacked while visiting the cemeteries. The sad irony was that people were killed in the area set aside to house and honor the dead. For sometime after that everyone was on guard while in cemeteries since they had now been deemed dangerous neighborhoods. Walking in the midst of this area surrounded by death made one consider his own demise. When Peter entered Christ's tom he was not considering his own mortality. He was just looking to retrieve the body of his rabbi. When Peter first encountered the risen Christ he was not considering his own mortality. He was just celebrating that Christ was risen from the grave. But then Jesus stuck around... for forty days. While Jesus was around for these forty days Peter was not considering his own mortality. Why should he? He had just experienced Jesus defeat death! But Jesus had a conversation with Peter where he asked him to consider his own mortality. He actually spelled out the way that Peter would die: he would one day be crucified. Then Jesus said that Peter's martyrdom would glorify God. Peter was a great Disciple/Apostle that was called to many great things that would give God glory. He would preach the sermon on Pentecost day that would ring thousands of souls to Christ. He would write portions of Scripture. He would perform miracles. He would act as a missionary. Tradition holds that he even founded the first church in Rome and served as its first Bishop. Even amongst all of these accolades Jesus highlights his suffering and death as his greatest service to God. Now most Christians have not and will not be called for martyrdom (that's just math). However, all Christians must be willing to make a sacrifice in their service to God. At times it may be something that you have proven weak in the past. That was the case with Peter (who had previously denied the Lord to escape danger). Yet we must remember that whatever the Lord calls us to, he will equip us for. My personal wish is that the Lord has called me to eat ice cream to his glory... but I doubt that this is the case. Whatever we discover it is the Lord is equipping us for we have faith in God that in the end His will is for the good. I imagine that Peter faced his martyrdom with courage because he knew from meeting the risen Lord that this death was not an eternal one. This death was just a doorway to eternal life. Peter chose an act of faith that put death to death and left room for eternal life.

Jesus was not from New Orleans. He could not be held in any tomb despite its Antebellum charm or no how Anne Rice-beautiful and Gothic it may be. Jesus was not a Greek nor did he share spiritual ideas with the Greeks. He was a Hebrew who worshiped the God of Israel. Yet the idea of Elysium is parallel to a notion that he preached. Yes of course their are the obvious parallels of Hades/Hell and Elysium/Heaven but I wonder if you notice another element to this analogy that may be a little more subtle. The city that Jesus focused his message on was not just a city of the dead. It was a freedom from the city of the living dead. It was a kingdom that was not just set aside for the after life but one that offered a new life for the reborn. This place that housed citizens from both the land of the living and dead is the Kingdom of God. You may know it as Heaven but the truth of it may be contrary to some of your preconceived notions. God's kingdom is not just a place for good dead people. It is more than a geographical place, it is a reality that God's children live in: be they in this part of life or the afterlife. God's kingdom is where God's reign is. It is the king's domain. It is not just a future designated time or separate space from where you are now. As Jesus put it "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Or later when he said "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." In other words the Kingdom of Heaven is here, now, within your very body. Yes the kingdom of Heaven is also where a bunch of good dead people are, if those good dead people (just like you) have received Christ. That is the key: the kingdom of Heaven is Christ. The kingdom of Heaven is the Body of Christ, which is all believers across space and time that worked out the grace, faith and mercy that they have received from God. Similar to Elysium the Kingdom of God is a gathering of  mortals chosen by God, the righteous. Our righteousness resides not in any great gift that we naturally posses but rather through the great gift of Grace that God has given us. It is subsequent gifts of mercy and love that we receive daily from this loving God that empower us to work the works of Jesus in our own age. The hope of all of the followers of Jesus that originally encountered his empty tomb that Sunday morning was that they would find Jesus. The hope of all current followers of Jesus this morning is the same. How overjoyed Mary, Peter and the unnamed disciple must have been when they encountered a living Jesus and not a dead one. How overjoyed we will be when we encounter a living faith and not a dead one. It is that faith in a living God that dwells within us through his Holy Spirit that allows us to die to sin, make sacrifices and die to self. God has cleared the death out of our mortal shells and renovated us into temples of the living God. In the end we as believers are all empty tombs full of faith displaying evidence of a risen Lord.

 

 

Holy Week- New Testament Word & Image: Colossians 3:1-4 & NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory

The Cassiopeia supernova captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Colossians 3:1-4

 

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 

 

Large Magellanic Cloud captured by Chandra

 

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 

 

Pinwheel Galaxy, NASA, Chandra, Hubble, Spitzer

 

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

 

Eta Carina, Chandra

 

When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

 

Andromeda Galaxy (Courtesy: NASA)

 

 

#jesuswept

John 11:1-45

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick”...

If you happen to follow this blog on twitter (https://twitter.com/JesusArtJokes) then you may have gathered that I keep up with the foolery that lurks in the "twitterverse." Unlike its earlier more civilized relative, the blogosphere, the twitterverse is limited by the amount of characters/letters one can type. Twitter isn't a blogging site (like Blogger.com) it is a microblogging site. This being the case, original and developed ideas are few but references and catchphrases run amok. Twitter thrives on the use of the hashtag to connect users who are discussing similar ideas. A secondary benefit of this is that one can see what ideas, discussions and pop-cultural phenomenon are presently trending. You just put a "#" in front of the unspaced word or phrase and it registers. So let's be honest, the most interesting usage of the social networking site is when the Twitterverse collectively unites to make fun of something. That is usually when the hashtags come out the most. So let's say someone wears some outfit to the MTV VMA's that is deemed a fashion fail, a new fight breaks out on you Reality Show of Choice or a politician or athlete says something less than articulate. You would jump in the pile on of mean girl-ness by using a popular hashtag that expresses your comedic dismay. Popular ones include such favorites as #hotmess, #nowaygirl, #fail, etc. One popular hashtags that has caught my attention lately has been #jesuswept. It's as if to say that something was so terrible that it made Jesus cry, do a facepalm or better yet made "baby Jesus" cry. A comedic interest in the phrase "Jesus wept" has haunted people for at least a few decades. I even found a sculpture in Oklahoma City titled "And Jesus Wept" and no, it isn't in response to the Oklahoma City Thunder's chances of winning a NBA championship. So where does it come from and what does it actually refer too? It comes from John 11:35 and is the shortest bible verse in all of Scripture. It is often taught to children who cannot memorize long Bible verses when they need an "Easter speech" to impress their heathen uncle who never goes to church but has donned a pastel colored suit to attend on this special once a year occasion. But the Gospel of John isn't about Jesus' best tweets, it is about his full developed ideas, sermons and interactions with people. So for the full context we have to look at John 11:1-45. No only will it give us insight into the meaning of the hashtag and the sculpture but the rather the verse and the sculpture will give us insight into one of the hardest questions that we face as believers in a just God. 

 

 

 

 To reveal the heart of the story for both the Bible story and the sculpture a little background history is needed. When we start out the story of Lazarus the writer has not provided his story but that of his family. It appears that all three siblings were followers of Jesus and figure in multiple important stories throughout the Gospels. They were not only followers of Jesus but also friends. From all the information provided it seems like this family treated Jesus as if he were family. When someone lets you into the heart of their family, a certain level of reciprocal care and responsibility is expected on your part. The background of the sculpture starts not with the heart but the heartland. On April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City was the scene of a heinous domestic terrorism attack. This tragedy shocked Americans for several reasons: the fact that Americans planned and executed this attack, the location of the bombing (in the crossings of the American Midwest, South and Bible Belt) and the number of people killed and injured. In total 168 people were killed and 500-850 injured. Yet what appalled Americans the most were the 19 children who were killed. Over the years there were several memorials constructed near the bombing site. Among these was the "And Jesus Wept" statue that was donated by the St. Joseph's Old Catholic Church, which is near the bombing site and was also severely damaged. When the innocent die an unjust death it pricks the heart of all. Tragedy also brings out the religious inclinations of most people as they search for meaning in suffering. What does God do during times of tragedy? What did Jesus do?    

When God Is Unmoved

...When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, whe1n He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him”...

The Jesus of John 11:1-45 and the Jesus of this sculpture are similar. We gaze upon them as life-size figures that rise from the earth and project toward the heavens. Yet while surrounded by tragedy they remain still. Jesus hears the news of his dear friends sickness yet remains in the same place for two more days as unmoving as a statue. This isn't the only case like it. Jesus has a pattern of staying still when something tragic is occurring. Not only did he do it during Lazarus' demise, but also during his cousin John the Baptist's incarceration and execution and later during St. Paul's torment with the "thorn in the flesh." On all three occasions Jesus offered great proclamations but no immediate action. In all three instances he spoke of the Lord's work, will or warranty (I should have said "promise" but I just wanted another "w") but he does not provide any relief. In the cases of John the Baptist and St. Paul he doesn't save them at all. They must bare the hardship of suffering and eventual martyrdom alone with the promise of eternal life to comfort them. In the story of Lazarus Jesus proclaims that God will be glorified in this tragedy and promises that it will not end in death (though he never says that death will not be part of the story). These verses and the innocent children dying in the Oklahoma City bombing fly in the face of contemporary preaching that promises that we can have our best life now if we just follow Jesus. Were not Lazarus and his sisters followers of Jesus? Was not John the Baptist the forerunner of Jesus? Was not Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ? Weren't there any believers in that government office building in the middle of the Bible Belt? I believe on a God who rains on the just and the unjust: who expresses kindness on believers and on believers alike... but surely their must some exclusive membership benefits for signing up to Club Jesus while we are still living. I guess this is just another instance of the age old question: Why does God allow bad things to occur to good people? Even to his friends and followers. Why did Jesus choose not to move?

When God Is Moved



...So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus wept. 
Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”...

After Lazarus dies, Jesus finally does move. He not only moves physically but he also moves with compassion. This is also where we encounter the second pattern in the story. It is not a pattern on Jesus' part but rather one on the part of Lazarus' sisters Mary and Martha. The pattern is in the sisters' individual greetings upon seeing Jesus. Both start off with identical statements concerning Lazarus, Jesus' timing and power. They both say “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Isn't that interesting? I've heard this story preached several times and the faith of the sisters being questioned. The never lack faith in Jesus' ability (actually they both affirm faith in his power to have healed Lazarus). The only thing they question is Jesus' timing and decision not to come sooner. The thing that changes in these interactions is Jesus' reaction. Jesus responds to Martha with a the theological response. It is a response that asks "do you understand this about me (God)?" On the other hand Jesus responds to Mary with an emotional response. It is a response that declares "I understand what you are going through." This is the point in the story that "Jesus wept." We have a God in Christ Jesus that understands human emotions and experience because he lived a human life. God does not always prevent tragedy but just as Christ prophesied of Lazarus, the tragedy is not the end of the story... and it certainly isn't the end of God's interaction with us. When both Mary and Martha affirmed his power but questioned his will, Jesus proved himself willing and able to help them. His emotional response showed that he was willing and his theological response showed that he was able. Now it was time to show it to the crowd.

When God Moves
 

...Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go." Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him...

As Jesus foretold, Lazarus' sickness would not end in death even if it had included death. When Jesus acted in the life of Lazarus he acted out the truths displayed earlier in his emotional and theological responses. He showed that he was moved by human suffering and cared. He also showed that he was willing and able to affect the situation because the power of resurrection dwelt within his will. But these things were not beyond Mary and Martha's beliefs of what could have occurred because they had seen Jesus act as the agent of God's power and will before. Before Jesus ascended into Heaven he gave the same miracle working power to his Apostles and their generation to reveal the rest of God's word. That is God's modus operandi: He always uses agents to do his will. He created the Earth and on the seventh day and then He ceased from labor. After that point he has used his creation to act out his will. Even when this creation is not a human "creature", like in the story of the Great Flood in Genesis when Nature executed God's judgment (and no, I'm not saying that natural disasters are always God's judgment). But what about in our time? Who is the agent of God's will and power today? Well if you are a follower of Christ then it is you... you with your faults and lack of superpowers. At times when we read of the miraculous feats of some in Scripture (and the awesomeness of Nature) we may be lead to think that God only works with those that he has given miracle working power. I doubt that God has stopped working with people in the past 2,000 years. I also disagree that he only worked in the Bible days with those that he endowed with miraculous power. Let's return to the story of the Flood in Genesis. God's agent of judgment in that story was Nature but his agent of salvation was Noah. Yes Noah, a man with a drinking problem and no miraculous powers that he could name. However the gifts that God gave Noah were a strong work ethic and time... which were what one needs if they are to build a large boat. So in this generation God is left with you and me. So the question is: do we, like Noah, have time and a work ethic? But more than that, do we have a heart for God's children and desire for His will? If so then God is willing and able to move through us as His agents. We are the Body of Christ, the hands and feet of God... and it is time for His feet to move.  

The God Movement

God truly does weep over human suffering. He is moved by human suffering. He displayed this in Jesus' preaching, compassion and action in the lives of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. These three siblings were Jesus' friends because they listened to Jesus and longed to be the agents of God's love themselves. God did not remove tragedy from the world nor did he remove those who desire to do harm to others. For where their is darkness their is an opportunity for light to shine all the greater. When the congregation of St. Joseph's Old Catholic Church donated the "And Jesus Wept" sculpture is was not without criticism. The criticism was not due to it being a display of religious imagery (Jews, Muslims and Methodists had also constructed memorial monuments) but rather how the image appeared and what it appeared to be saying. Wikipedia describes it as "Jesus faces away from the devastation, covering his face with his hand. In front of Jesus is a wall with 168 gaps in it, representing the voids left by each life lost." Many saw it as God turning his back on the victims of this tragedy. Just like Mary and Martha saw Jesus as forsaking Lazarus. There Jesus is with his back to the opening of the Oklahoma City National Memorial like his back must have been turned to the opening of Lazarus' tomb. And Jesus wept. But maybe it is a matter of perspective. Maybe Jesus is seizing a teachable moment. Maybe it was less of Him turning his back to the departed and more of his facing the crowd...facing his Disciples...facing us. Jesus is allowing his followers to get a view of his sorrow, compassion and his fallen friends to be seen in the same frame. It is as if he is saying to us "I know what I am going to do about it but what are you going to do about it?" We know that Jesus is going to turn around and raise the departed souls of the Oklahoma City bombing one day just like he raised his friend Lazarus...because he "is the Resurrection." But who are we and what are we going to do? God gave some of us the gift of being a comforter and we can show compassion to the mourning. God gave others the calling of being a police officer or in law enforcement and we can work to prevent such tragedies. God uses some of us for pastoral ministry and we can eulogize the dead and preach hope to the living. Who are you and what are you going to do? God is willing to act in times of tragedy. The question is: are we willing to act? Jesus wept. Jesus acted. Do we weep? After we weep are we willing to act?

 

New Testament Word & Image: Romans 8:8-11 & Andrea Mantegna

 

Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Andrea Mantegna

Romans 8:8-11

So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.