Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age

 

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

 

- Matthew 28:11-20 

 

Yesterday we read that after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb where Christ had been buried.  And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!"  So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

 

  Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.   My study Bible comments that this lie about the disciples stealing Christ away is absurd.  The disciples were afraid and had all gone into hiding.  Moreover, most of them went on to suffer terrible persecution and martyrdom.  It's simply unthinkable that they would have willingly endured such sufferings over a known fallacy.

 

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  Here Christ declares that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now possessed by His glorified human nature.  My study Bible adds that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy -- which is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  

 

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, . . . "  This statement by Christ is called the Great Commission.  It is our Lord's final commandment given on earth.  My study Bible says that it is to be lived out in the Church until Christ returns again.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection is not simply for Jesus Himself, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

" . . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study Bible comments that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always, both personally and in the Holy Spirit, because neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age, my study Bible says, does not by any means imply that we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

It is truly remarkable to consider that, from Christ's words here, so many countless generations and people have been inspired to follow His last command.  But even more important is the understanding that He is with us always.  My study Bible comments that the power of the Resurrection is not simply for Jesus Himself, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  So the power of God's creation, of life and renewal, is with us also.  In Revelation 21:5 we read that the One who sat on the throne, who is Christ in His risen authority, says, "Behold, I make all things new."  In the verbal tense of the Greek, this is literally translated, "I am always making all things new."  And this is truly the power of Resurrection present with Christ at all times in our lives.  It is the power to remit sins, to repent ("change of mind"), to be transfigured and transformed in the light of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And we should not forget, either, that where One Person of the Trinity is, all are present.  Since Christ's death and Resurrection, the world has changed immeasurably due to the life given to us by Christ.  We cannot count the ways in which His life, death, and Resurrection has given us the foundation of life as we know it, and the things that we value and perhaps take for granted.  As we go forth in faith, we should have confidence that Christ is still at work, within us and among us, and that so long as the world exists, it will be so.  While we may witness things and events in the world that terrify or scandalize, we must keep in mind that Christ Himself has also prophesied for us that such things will continue to the end of the age.  What is important is keeping our faith, continuing to worship, and practicing our faith by living faithfully, by doing the things that He has taught.  So long as life continues, so will this mission of the Church -- and of each one who makes up the Body of Christ -- in each facet of life, from the great to the small.  We don't need to live "grand" lives for this to be so, for Christ's power works through the small and the weak (see 2 Corinthians 12:8-10).  Effectively, throughout the centuries of Christian life, it is simplicity that enables us to most clearly see our way through the grace of God we may perceive, and such has been the pursuit of those monastics who have dedicated their lives to Christ, and through constant prayer.  In applying these teachings to our present time, let us consider the proliferation of images to imitate and consume with which we are constantly bombarded, especially through the internet.  We don't always know the influences present to us and to our children, we don't always understand clearly whatever manipulative messages and techniques may be used.  But we can be assured, through our own emphasis on prayer and worship -- and on the power of simplicity and humility and truth -- that we will find our way properly for the gospel to be preached and to be lived.  Our lives are still intertwined with the power to be always making all things new, the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ -- and His glorified human nature, so that we may follow, unburdened of sin and death and to enter into and participate in His glorious life.  Let us not live by appearances, but by an understanding that it is through this power that our lives in this world are transfigured, transformed, and that grace is always present to us in our lives.  Ultimately, all authority is invested in Christ.   Let us rely upon our faith.  

 

 

You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."

Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." 

- Matthew 22:23-40

Yesterday, we read that the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Jesus in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for you do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  So they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."   The Sadducees were a type of aristocratic landowning group, another party holding power in the temple and the Council.   The text itself explains that they had no belief in resurrection, while the Pharisees disagreed on this.   The focus of the question to Jesus is a type of inheritance question, which might be fitting to the perspective of the Sadducees.  They did not hold to the "traditions" of the Pharisees and believed in a more literal interpretation of the written law.  After the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the Sadducees ceased to exist as a  party.

Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.   Christ confirms there will be a resurrection, but what the Sadducees imagine is meant by "resurrection" is a false concept.  They're assuming resurrection is a continuation of earthly life (including earthly marriage).  My study bible says they are mocking the concept, therefore, with an absurd scenario.  But importantly, Jesus tells them they do not know the Scriptures, nor do they understand the power of God.  The Scriptures in fact reveal a transfiguration of life in the resurrection.  How can Abraham and his sons be alive in God (as the present "I am" indicates) even if they are physically dead?  My study bible tells us that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  Here Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees, and the question also reflects their particular emphasis and orientation.  They had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures, and debated about which was central.  Here Jesus clearly places the first and second in relation to one another, and make up a grand summary of the Law.  My study bible says that although this lawyer (an expert in the Law) has come to test Jesus with malice, St. Mark's account teaches us that he was converted by the answer of Christ (Mark 12:28-34).

Faith is an interesting thing to consider.  How do we come by our faith?  How do we know what is true, and what is not?  Ultimately faith is about a perception in the heart.  When Jesus speaks about "hard-heartedness," He's speaking about a failure to perceive something, to understand.  "Hard-heartedness" is a form of denial, a type of implacability, an unwillingness to reconsider.  The Sadducees begin with a question that comes from their own limited understanding of the Scriptures and also of the power of God.  Jesus' answer is to expand that, to respond with a reading of the Scripture that indicates both the nature of the resurrection, and also the nature of God and the reality of those who live in God.  The Pharisees come testing Him with an assumption that perhaps they can debate His answer, but His answer is too expansive -- and it pinpoints the full nature of the Prophets and the Law in two commands which teach us about how we are to live.  It defies the assumption that there is just one law that is better than all the rest or more important.  Ultimately, Christ reveals to us both the nature of God, and the nature of human beings as creations and as children of God.  Is it possible that we may live in God, that the resurrection defies all our expectations of life?  Yes it is.  The revelation in the Scripture has taught, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," a testimony to the fullness of life beyond limitations of time and space.  The two great commandments give us the fullness of the relationship with God that extends to relationship between all the rest of us and its rootedness in love and loyalty, a full expression of covenant beyond literal readings of  law.  We have to expand our own understanding to find the fullness of these teachings, and that requires the involvement of the heart.   What does it mean to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind?  This asks of us the experience of such love to understand it and to find all of the things it may give us.  Faith can't be understood with proofs that deny experience of that faith, of that love.  How does one explain such love discovered in relationship without the experience of it?  The growth of a person in relationship to God is an experience of love, what it does for the lover, not only the beloved.  This is a key part of why the second commandment comes next and also must be included.  How does one understand what capacities love and relationship give us to then in turn wisely love others, without the experience of the loving relationship with God which helps to teach us what we don't know about love.  Hard-heartedness is linked to all of this because it is the failure to perceive.  That is, a kind of stony internal state that does not want to know and is incapable of receiving what is given in such a relationship.  And that's where we start with knowledge of God, and the joy of such relationship and relatedness.  Righteousness, in this understanding, is "right-relatedness."  We first seek relationship with the author of love, and in that relationship we are taught to extend it into the world, making our lives a journey of understanding and growth in this task, and giving us light and joy in expanding our knowledge of God and of life itself.  For that there are no proofs but the fruits of the Spirit, the experience of this journey, and our capacity to understand it and see it in ourselves and others.