WATCHWORD:
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. Mark 9:9
18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.19 On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were meeting behind locked doors, in fear of the Jewish leaders, suddenly Jesus was standing there among them, and said, “Peace be with you!” And how wonderful was their joy as they saw their Lord! John 20:15-20
Meditation:
The Resurrection
What do you believe about the Resurrection? Is it important to you? Where does it “stack-up” among those important and/or tragic happenings in history? Where does it “stack-up” with you and your relationship with God? Or is it an event, a happening, a divine act that makes meaningful our faith?
How about this: Is the Resurrection just one of many elements of your belief in Jesus? Do you hold each element like a treasure in your heart. Each of equal value? Which came first, your belief in the Resurrection and then you received those other elements? What is the order of things that make up your faith?
This is what Oswald Chambers has to say about our faith journey, which, I think, also applied to the original disciples:
“…say nothing until the Son of Man has risen in you – until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you truly understand what he taught while here on earth. When you grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words Jesus spoke become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before.”
There is no conflict between Jesus’ early command to tell no one until… and the joy of truly knowing Jesus. We know we have arrived at the “until” when what we believe in Christ dominates our lives, our thinking and our communications with others. If we still see “Go and make disciples of all nations” as too big a lift for us, then we are not understanding His words and His meaning. Making disciples is as easy as giving a drink to the thirsty, as smiling support to a child, as being there in support to one who has lost a loved one, and, of course, sharing your inner joy of being a child of God.
When we complicate Jesus’ words with our meager understanding, we make Christ too small. If your “born-again” experience dominates your talk of faith, yet there is no connection between what you say and how you live. Then, so what? Don’t you wonder why your life doesn’t add up? Maybe because the Son of Man has not yet risen in you? How long will it be before His resurrection life is formed and evident in you and in me? Thoughts to pray about? May it be so.
In Christ Alone:
Closing Prayer:
O Risen Lord, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Make us faithful followers of the spirit of Your Resurrection. Grant that we may be inwardly renewed, dying to ourselves in order that You may live in us.
May our lives serve as signs of the transforming power of Your love. Use us as Your instruments for the renewal of society, bringing Your life and love to all, and leading them to Your Church. This we ask of You, Lord Jesus, living and reigning with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever. Amen.
