May 8, 2022
Easter 4 C – George Yandell
The scene in the gospel has Jesus at the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Jewish leaders query Jesus, “Are you the messiah? Tell us plainly.” He uses a figure that was in the minds of the people- from intertestamental writings, from the psalms and prophets- “You don’t get it, because you don’t belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice- I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life- no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Jesus ends with the radical statement, “The Father and I are one”.
The scene occurs in winter at the temple, in the City of David and the Seat of Orthodoxy. Right out there, in front of God, the doctors of orthodoxy (and anyone else who happened to be on hand), Jesus utters the unthinkable to the strict Hebrew monotheists. Yes, he and the Father God of Israel are one. One in spirit? One in being? One in like-mindedness? One in personality? The particulars are not mentioned. But enough is enough. Even to insinuate, even to give the slightest impression that this hillbilly rabbi from Galilee who speaks with an accent is equivalent to the HOLY ONE of Israel is beyond laughable; it is dangerous blasphemy of the highest order. Somehow, Jesus escapes a stoning on the spot—only to endure death by crucifixion a short time later. [Adapted from King Oehmig’s article in Synthesis,
May 1, 2022
Easter 3 C – George Yandell
It was around 34 C.E. Paul was in his early 30’s. From the passage in Acts we read, Paul was converted in or near Damascus, Syria. But contrary to popular interpretation, he was not converted from a Jew to a Christian, but it was a conversion within Judaism, a deepening of his own tradition. He was very devout as a youth, raised a Pharisee, and knew Hebrew and Greek. His hometown of Tarsus on the coast of today’s Turkey was a Greek-speaking environment. Tarsus is roughly 400 miles north of Jerusalem. Damascus is @ 150 miles north of Jerusalem.
Paul was a Pharisee, according to his own account. To be a Pharisee, one had to have an intense religious impulse. After the Damascus road experience, Paul had repeating, frequent mystical experiences of Jesus resurrected. Unlike other followers of Jesus, he experienced only the risen Christ, not Jesus during his earthly ministry. Our view today is: if the crucified Jesus can be experienced alive by a Pharisee who was persecuting followers of Jesus, then God had said yes to Jesus – God had vindicated Jesus against the forces of the empire when God resurrected Jesus. Paul was transformed in Damascus to proclaim that vindication. Paul stands as the most persuasive witness of resurrection the world has known.
Together with Peter, featured in today’s gospel reading, they were the two best fishers of humans to follow the resurrected Jesus. As John tells the story,
April 24, 2022
Easter 2C – George Yandell
“Peace to you,” said Jesus to his disciples, huddled in the room in fear on Easter evening. ‘Salem’ is Peace in Aramaic, ‘Shalom’ in Hebrew. They feared those who’d collaborated with the Roman officials to have Jesus crucified, they feared living without Jesus. They were scared enough to lock the doors and hideout. Maybe rumors of the empty tomb had reached them- maybe they were just still too traumatized by Jesus’ crucifixion to venture out of a safe place. But Jesus came, stood among them, and said, Salem. And he said it again. “Peace to you.”
Interestingly, he and the disciples were gathered in Yaru-salem, the city whose name means “Foundation of God.” I think the disciples may have heard two complementary messages when Jesus spoke to them, and we might as well.
1) Jerusalem, the city of Zion, was the site of the crucifixion, and the resurrection. It became the foundation for their faith in the resurrected Jesus.
2) When Jesus spoke “Peace” to them, they also might have heard echoes of Salem, a name for God. I think they may have been quaking, seeing Jesus alive, and they may have realized that everything is different, the foundation of God has shifted, everything is new. All is right!! Jesus lives!
The peace Jesus spoke is the new foundation of the new city of God. Poor Thomas- he’d missed the appearing of Jesus, so no wonder he didn’t get it. How could he?
April 17, 2022
Easter C – George Yandell
“Now I lay me down to sleep…..” How many of you recited that bed-time prayer as children? I don’t know about you, but I never dwelt on “If I die before I wake, pray the Lord my soul to take.” Some say Jesus was praying a bedtime prayer on the cross, psalm 22- we’ve been reciting Psalm 22 on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, but we’ve left off the last stanzas, which are uplifting. They are vindication for the one praying the psalm, where God has forsaken him. Hear some of those stanzas:
“To God alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; my soul shall live for God, my descendants shall serve God; they shall be known as the Lord’s forever. They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds that God has done.” If Jesus did pray those stanzas, he was doing much the same that many of us did- he was taking solace from familiar bedtime words. Almost foretelling that his ministry, his life would continue and thrive after his death. And then, Easter morning:
Resurrection!! Jesus rose from death before anyone else knew of it. He rose alone, long before dawn, on the first day of the week after Passover in 30 a.d. It was a new day, a new week, a new creation. God had raised him, not taking his soul, but re-creating Jesus, a new man.
The idea of resurrection was known first in the mind of God. The unfathomable,