Okay Christian person. Let me ask you a question that is enough to make your brain hurt. Easter was Sunday. The resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. Now what? What do we do with the Post-Easter Jesus? That’s literally the age-old question we’ve been struggling with since the women discover the empty tomb. And by “we,” I mean us—Jesus followers. What do we do with him? You start to really feel the struggle in the early Pauline letters. 1 Thessalonians is probably the first of Paul’s letters to emerge and it likely doesn’t come along until mid-1st Century—20 years after the crucifixion. In fact, Paul’s letters emerge before the Gospels. Then Mark comes first and not until at least 60-65. The others much later, and John’s Gospel may not have emerged until as late as the 2nd Century! Even the Didache, which is literally a manual for being a person of “The Way”—basically what they call the lifestyle of following Jesus—They aren’t even known as “Christians” yet! The Didache comes out also mid-1st Century, and even the Didache doesn’t talk about the resurrection. Not one word! After a lot of thought and study I think I understand why no resurrection. I think it’s because they are living it. Like, if put yourself into their context, in the years immediately following Jesus they are mourning, processing, developing love and community around his teaching. They are experiencing and actually becoming the resurrection. This is no “belief structure.” This is lifestyle. This is huge! It’s also important to know that Paul never meets Jesus of Nazareth! Paul’s experience of Jesus comes on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9) post-Easter and he has a serious life-changing confrontation with the risen Christ! He is blinded by the light of Christ! So, what we get here in 2021 are these glimpses of the Risen Christ through the eyes of the earliest followers. And this is significant! Scholars agree that to best understand the impact of a leader, a movement, or a culture is to examine the lives of the adherents. What do they do? How do they live? What do they teach their children? Hmmmm. That’s enough to make your brain hurt, too! What do we do with this Post-Easter Jesus? And that is it. Are we becoming the resurrection? Following Jesus? Loving each other as Jesus loves us? Building welcoming community and taking care of our neighbors? Yes or no? When we look in the mirror, do we see the face of Jesus? Sorry to make your brain hurt—I’m just askin’…
