The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son(s)

Our readings from Sunday, April 26 speak of the mysterious but powerful presence of the risen Christ. In the story of the travelers on their way to Emmaus we are told the risen Jesus appeared unrecognized to two of his followers and told them how the Law and the Prophets foretold that the Messiah would suffer, die and be raised from the dead. But for the Jews of Jesus’ time, and for us, the Old Testament’s predictions of a crucified and resurrected Messiah are not obvious. Peter was horrified when Jesus said he would be killed, and as our reading from Mark below points out, even when the crucified and risen Jesus was standing right in front of his disciples they still didn’t understand or believe what was happening. If the whole of the Old Testament speaks of a crucified and risen Messiah it must do so in more subtle terms, otherwise the disciples and even Jesus’ opponents would have been quick to understand who Jesus was. How does the Old Testament prepare is for a suffering and resurrected Messiah?

On one level there are a number of individual stories in the Old Testament that have death and resurrection themes. Abraham almost sacrifices his son, Isaac, but at the last minute God stops him; Isaac nearly died but was restored to life. Joseph, Jacob’s beloved son, was presumed dead by his father but in reality was sold as a slave in Egypt, with his time as a slave and a prisoner a kind of death before he rose from the depths and was seated at the right hand of Pharaoh and then restored to his father. Decades later, a different Pharaoh, who did not know of Joseph, became afraid of the growing Hebrew community within Egypt. He ordered all newborn Hebrew males to be drowned in the Nile to curb the Hebrew population. Moses’ mother, to save her son, put him in a waterproof basket and left him in a spot on the river where she knew he would be found, and like Joseph Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s household. In each of these stories beloved sons face death but are instead given life.

One can look at the broader story of Israel as one of death and resurrection. Perhaps the best example of this is Ezekiel 37, where the nation of Israel is described as a valley full of dry bones – of corpses – that is resurrected by God. For Ezekiel this image is a way to describe Israel’s experience of exile. In exile Israel is not just cut off from their land, but from everything that gave their life purpose, direction and meaning. Israel’s exile is not just about being forcibly removed from their homeland. It’s about their broken relationship with God. Time and again the prophets describe a time when Israel’s relationship with God is restored and then Israel will be able to return to the Promised Land. The readings below from Jeremiah and Hosea speak of God restoring his people from their “death” in exile to life in their Promised Land. In Jeremiah we hear images of the passion, or the suffering, of Israel in their distress and of God acting to save Israel from their time of great distress.

Perhaps as the risen Jesus explained how the Law and Prophets foretold his death and resurrection Jesus did not use specific proof texts to show that he would suffer, die and be raised. Instead perhaps Jesus retold the story of Israel as a story of suffering, death and resurrection that matched Jesus’ own story. For exiled Israel resurrection was not primarily about what happens after death, but about a renewed sense of purpose, meaning and direction that allowed for life even in the midst of suffering. This helps us see that resurrection is not only about what happens after death, although resurrection is certainly about this as well. Resurrection is also about a renewed relationship with God that brings about a new sense of meaning, purpose and direction, grounded in love for God and for neighbor, that is mindful of the suffering and injustice in the world but allows us to live creatively as resurrected people who are no longer bound by sin.

Understanding Jesus’ death and resurrection in this way can help us engage more fully the Scriptures of the Old Testament. In many ways Israel was always on the verge of either death or resurrection, always on the verge of losing their identity as God’s distinct people yet sustained by the promise God would never forsake them. While we don’t face slavery in Egypt we do face powers that dehumanize us. How does the Law “resurrect” us in the face of such dehumanizing powers and help us live differently? Neither do we face the threat of exile in Babylon, but worldly powers do attempt to seduce us away from the Gospel of the crucified and risen Christ. How do the Prophets help us identify these worldly powers and provide for an alternative life based on God’s act of restoration and resurrection?

What stories do we have of “death” and “resurrection,” of “exile” and “homecoming?”

Monday 4/27
Jeremiah 30:1-11
I John 3:10-16

Tuesday 4/28
Hosea 5:15-6:6
II John 1-6

Wednesday 4/29
Proverbs 9:1-6
Mark 16:9-18

Read Psalm 150 each of these three days