Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”
The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.
A Step BehindRunning to catch up to someone ahead of you is hard work. Ask my wife. When we go walking together she has to take two steps for my one. My stride is about 4 feet long and hers is about two. If we walk at the same rate she is behind. I need to walk slower than I can and she walks a little faster than she might if she were alone.
The ladies at the tomb arrived early in the morning even before the sun came up. They had bought their supplies the night before and probably slept little before giving up on sleeping and heading off to the tomb. But when they arrive Jesus is already gone. They are too late to find him there.
Jesus is going ahead of them into Galilee the angel tells them. “Go tell the disciples and meet him there.” The ladies leave bewildered and frightened.
We talk about not walking ahead of Jesus or behind Him, but alongside of Jesus in Christian circles. Don’t get ahead and don’t get behind we tell each other, but is it ever a possibility to walk ahead of or beside Jesus? Can we ever do anything but walk behind him? Where can we go that Jesus has not already gone? Are we ever his equal?
It seems to me, Jesus walks just one step ahead of us, and that is exactly where he wants to be. Think of the self-ascribed analogy Jesus uses in John’s gospel. “I am the Good Shepherd.” The Good Shepherd leads the sheep. He goes before the sheep. Certainly Jesus does not want us to be two, three, four or more steps behind. One step behind is perfect. We are as close as we can be when we are walking in the footprints he makes for us.
I guess it is like how my dad used to walk with me in a heavy snowfall when I was little. Could I forge the path ahead of him? NO! Could I even walk beside him, forging my own path as he forged his? NO! But I could walk one step behind him, placing my foot in his footprint, holding onto his shirt for balance.
Guide, and trail maker of life, I acknowledge my stubbornness and tendency to try and make my own path through life. I recognize again today how much better it is when I walk one step behind you as you lead me through life. I want you to be my guide for all of life. - Dan Jones
Thank God for inclusionsLet’s remove the beautiful word, “inclusive” from the current cultural battlefield. Let’s rescue this casualty of culture war, mend it, and restore it to its place among powerfully transformative words!
Thank God for the place he holds open for people who disappoint him, fall short of his standard, and come face to face with their own painful vulnerability to sin. I suspect the risen Jesus personally instructed the angels to be sure these women included Peter in their witness to an empty tomb.
Mark overlooks, by inspired intent, I think, several events surrounding this astounding resurrection event that the other Gospel writers include. But he reports a detail as powerful as it is brief – “Including Peter”. He’s the self-assured guy who promised to follow Jesus to the death and then, when the heat singed his soul, he denied knowing Jesus.
Perhaps Jesus’ followers all know about the gut-wrenching failure. Or perhaps, Peter has slunk into some invisible corner in utter self contempt. Either way, the angels wanted to be sure that Peter, especially Peter, got the message that the last eye contact he and Jesus made, at the very moment Peter swore he didn’t know Jesus, would not be the final contact. There was hope for something more!
In God’s kingdom, there is room for those of us who miserably fail our commitments to Jesus. We who love him with all our hearts and minds, but who come up short when the heat gets hot, don’t get excluded from Jesus’ heart and mind.
Be sure to include Peter!
God of the inclusive heart, thanks for including me in your kingdom. I hate to disappoint you. I beat up on myself when I do. But your hand never clenches into a hammering fist or an opened palmed shove away from yourself. Instead you lift me up and draw me out of my corner of self-condemnation, Thanks for the inclusion! - Mike Leamon
1 comment:
Since God is omnipresence, He is every where, including before us. However, I believe we can step out too soon or get ahead of Him by being over zealous or prsumptuous.
One of my favorite spiritual authors is Chuck Swindoll. I was just reading one of his books and he had mentioned that there is a delicate line between faith and presumption. PRE- meaning in front of and ASSUME- meaning to take upon oneself with out warrant.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
"Because we are not aware of our "hidden faults", we need divine assistance and acquittal. We are prone to rush on, refusing to be patient and to quietly wait for God's time. This tendency toward "presumptuous sins" is ever with us. David asked that God might keep him back-hold him, restrain him-from presumptuous sins. He added ,"let them not rule over me." That can suggest that presumption can dominate a person's life. Admittedly, it is often difficult to know the difference between faith and presumption. That is the one reason to pray as David prayed, "Keep back thy servant..." How pleasing it must be to God to hear us genuinely say,"Hold me back...I'm willing to wait...I want YOUR will most of all, my Father."
If the light is red or even yellow, you're wise to let Him hold you back. When it turns green, you'll know it. Don't race your motor while you're waiting. You'll burn up all your fuel...and might slip across that delicate line. God's moving-violation fines are quite expensive."
For me, I'd rather walk hand in hand with my Father and when the snow is too high/deep, have Him carry me on His shoulders.
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