Child: Get Up

"He turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up...."

 - Acts 9

Why did Jesus raise Lazarus, and the child of the Centurion, up from the dead?

Why did people jump out of their graves when Jesus died on the Cross?

Why did Jesus Himself come back to life?

Why did Peter raise up the woman, Dorcas, also called "Tabitha" which means, "Child"?

And having raised them up, why did they all (except Jesus) have to die again?

And why hasn't He continued to raise people from the dead? What makes earlier generations better than ours?

Doesn't it all seem a little cruel? This is what we all long for: to live again, or to live forever.

How could God just give us the greatest gift, and then snatch it away?

Well, maybe there's a little pop psychology going on here. If you take it away, they'll want it even more. 

But I think that in the end, in every case, it's because we have hard hearts. And even though we crave a sign of God's power, when He finally gives us one, we still doubt. We say "Oh the person wasn't really dead - they faked it." We say "There must be a rational, scientific explanation for it" (there probably is; what difference does that make?)

The early Church needed such a sign of God's power. Even an Apostle, a human, full of faith, can raise the dead. God's plan basically needs an occasional demonstration, that He is God, and that He is in charge.

It's easy to see why, ever since the Nicene Council and all of the cynical evil that followed it, in the name of Jesus, there simply is not enough faith on earth to merit something as earth-shattering as a resurrection. All it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed. But we don't even have that. Our minds are warped by generations of science, schooling, philosophy, stoics, mammon, greed, materialism, sensuality, and self-love. 

But God predicted that. There won't be much faith left by the time Christ returns. We can't even tilt the scales of public debates, on morality, a few critical percentage points. What makes us think we can manage even the simplest card trick in the name of Christ?

Peter's faith was pure and strong, and the time was right. Tabitha got up.

The Son of God

"He is the Son of God."

 - Acts 9

Finally, about a third of the way through the Acts of the Apostles, Saul the Persecutor is transformed. He takes on his gentile name, "Paul," and begins to minister and evangelize.

Why didn't God just let the Holy Spirit continue to spread the Gospel? Why was Paul needed? 

And why haven't others, since Paul, been similarly touched by a miracle, likewise to build the Kingdom?

Occasionally in God's time, it is required for Him to step in and guide events more directly. Sometimes He has to nudge things a long. Is it because He has planned it so? Or does He respond to human events as needed? Would the Church have died out without Paul? Would it have sustained too many roots in the Hebrew traditions?

We'll find out some day. For now we just accept that God knew what He was doing, and that He did what had to be done. Saul was chosen. Chosen.

And when the time came to begin preaching, Paul focused on this, and this alone: "He is the Son of God."

When we are at a loss for words in our witnessing, or even in our preaching, do what Paul would do. Just open with these words:

"Jesus is the Son of God."

And go from there . . . 

Hope for the Entire Year

"Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel."

 - Isaiah 7

If we took the Christmas story accurately, we would read about the conception of Christ, about now. And indeed, in the liturgical calendar, we do!

Just as Easter concludes, comes the Anunciation of Mary, when the Angel appears and tells her she is to give birth to the Son of God. Yes, about nine months prior to Christmas.

Whether Christ'a actual birth took place in December, or more likely in the summer; and whether or not we should actually celebrate it as a special day; still it is good to keep in mind that the openings chapters of the New Testament did not all occur in a compact four weeks called "Advent." Rather, they take up at last a nine month period. That's three quarters of the year.

This leaves a quarter of the year to contemplate the final months, and then week, of the Life of Christ, that time when He began to look, with resolve, to the Cross, and make His progress towards it.

We can spend an entire year on three topics: the birth, the death, and the resurrection of Christ, and be doing our Christian walk a good service.

Today we recognize the announcement to Mary . . . and then the waiting really begins.

Uneducated

When the rulers and elders and scribes saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men . . . 

 - Acts 4

Of all the harm that social media has done to society, none are much greater than the assertion that a person without a college education doesn't measure up. "Study shows Fox News Viewers are Less Educated than MSNBC Viewers." Such is rubbish, offensive, and possibly dangerous to society.

The Believer should not be at all persuaded by someone with an education, just because of the education. As a young adult I learned to shudder in theological discussions, when it was expected that you back off from disagreements with pastors and other ministers, since they had "studied the Greek," etc. 

Why even have a Reformation? Why not just keep it all in Latin?

If it is learned that someone does not have a college degree, our response should be: "Good - what can we learn from this person?"

I went to college to get some professional credentials. I did not go so that I would be smarter than others.

Can't Stay Away

"Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

 - John 12

In the last year of Jesus' life, before He suddenly lost favor and began the final trek to the Cross, a group of Greeks sought Him out. The Greeks were probably considered quite learned, quite logical, rational men of note. They would want proof. They would want to see for themselves.

They had heard about this Man of magic, or of wisdom, or of vision. They followed the news of His comings and goings, and by-and-by it became convenient for them to find Him in Jerusalem.

They approached the Disciples.

"Sir, we would see Jesus."

And so became the first people in history, to mouth and have recorded, the words of true seekers throughout the ages.

"Let me see Him."

The longing, the urgency: If I could just see Him.

Yes, when people see the Church, they should see the Body of Christ. They should see the Lord Himself. But we all know that's all kind of figurative. I want to see HIM. "I really want to see you Lord but it takes so long!"

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was God, and the Word was with, or toward God. Creation itself longs to be put back together. The Son of God, among Men, is the created Being that leads that reunion of all, with our creator. The Word of God, Christ, moves toward God, in language that evokes lovers running towards others from a great distance, not mindful of snares and potholes along the way. They cannot stay apart. Even the most learned among us, the most skeptical, when having the chance to see the Prince of Peace, cannot stay away.

Sir, we would see Jesus.

When the Left is Right, we Say So

He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless; he will not despise their plea.

 - Psalm 102:17

Today, the Political Left (which does not seem terribly convicted that the Word of God is true, and essential to life), likes to use Scripture in the face of believers. Like Satan, when tempting Christ, they are always saying "Isn't it written . . . ", but only to shame God's people.

This passage from the Psalms is a good one. If God looks with favor on the homeless, then what's the Christian Right's problem? Why are they always cutting federal support for housing programs?

Why do we care how the homeless get their help, as long as they get help?

God does direct us to care for the homeless. In the Old Testament, it is right up their with sexual morality. So we do have to care for the homeless. Shame on us if we don't

But it does not have to be through taxes and government programs. That is not what the Lord meant. We are supposed to personally and directly help the homeless.

But we are supposed to help them.

The Three Young Men

"For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any other nation,and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins."

 - Song of the Three Young Men

Israel, for a brief period of a couple of generations, shone like no other kingdom in earth's history. What was it like to have been an Israeli citizen, during the reign of David, or of Solomon?

The impact was so great, as to have become the stuff of legend. Hundreds of generations later, the world still recalls the golden age of Israel.

But it goes out as a warning to all great nations that followed, especially those that presumed to be God's people: You can lose it all.

In the time of Daniel, and the "Three Young Men," Israel had dwindled down to near extinction. A handful of the faithful are scattered throughout the ancient world, being carried forward by their faith alone, under the protection of the occasional worldly leader in whom they found favor.

The lesson is worth reflecting upon, by every generation.

We too may be called upon to stand firm, against impossible odds.