Bible Tuesday for Easter Sunday, 2015

Acts 10:34-43

Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Only in the Easter season do Christians not read from the Hebrew Scriptures on Sundays. There is so much that Acts has to say to us about Easter that the Revised Common Lectionary planners just had to put Acts in even at the expense of the Old Testament.

This pericope from the 10th chapter of Acts is Peter’s famous proclamation to Cornelius, the Roman commander, and his household. While the apostle, Paul, understand almost immediately that Jesus’ gospel was meant for not only Jews but Gentiles too, Peter and Jesus’ brother, James, did not. It took several rounds of God’s activity among the Gentiles for Peter and James to comprehend this. In this amazing story, Peter says, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,” but Peter doesn’t truly understand, at least not with his actions.

Truly, followers of Jesus continue to struggle with whether or not God shows partiality, and if so, to whom. If we did not, there would be no legal struggle in Indiana right now.

Early Liberation Theology, first developed in South America beginning in the 1950’s and now coming out of developing countries and persecuted Christians all over the world, argued that God does give preferential treatment to some, specifically, the poor! As with many other theologies, there is biblical support both for and against this idea.

Here Peter speaks relays that Jesus only showed himself after the resurrection to some, not to elevate them above others, but rather to make them witnesses and give them very specific testimony. And sometimes in the New Testament after the gospels the apostles are portrayed merely as witnesses, other times as those who have authority over others. And, as imperfect people exercising authority, they show partiality, even when God calls them not to, as in this story.

Psalm 118:1-2 & 14-24

1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

14 The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.

15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.

21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This psalm is a composite of verses from several other psalms. Some scholars think that it may have originally been a psalm sung while entering the Temple during a festival and perhaps was reworked to celebrate the rebuilding and rededication of the Temple after the exiles returned.

As Lutheran, I read “Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them,” and think, “No one is righteous, not one,” and “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” One can find biblical support for both the complete unrighteousness of all humanity, and the idea of some Jews being righteous. Still, to my Lutheran ears, that verse sounds like sheer arrogance.

Verse 22 refers to Israel after it returns from exile. In exile, the people were rejected, but now, following the architectural motif of gates and gateways, now the psalmist refers to foundational cornerstones. Those who have returned from exile to see this day of worship in the Temple rejoice at God’s miracle working both in the Temple, and the day.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters,* of the good news*that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters* at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.* 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

St. Paul writes the lineage of the good news of Jesus as he knows it. Although this is not recorded in any of the gospels or the book of Acts, Paul writes that Jesus made resurrection appearances to James, his brother, son of Mary and Joseph, who later becomes the head of the elders in Jerusalem. The appearance of Jesus to “more than 500 brothers and sisters” could be one of a few post Easter appearances, including the ascention.

Perhaps it would be helpful to review the difference between “apostle” and “disciple”. Apostle is Greek for “one who is sent” or “envoy”, “representative”. Disciple is Greek for student. While Jesus had hundreds and hundreds of disciples, including whole families, there were only twelve Apostles. When Judas died by suicide, the remaining apostles chose another who had been with Jesus since his baptism by John. The rolls of apostles was closed until Jesus appeared to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus. Then, because of the events Paul relates above, Paul joined the ranks of apostles to make them number 13.

Mark 16:1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’4When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ 8So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus dies and is buried on Friday and is resurrected on Sunday. (In the gospel of John, Jesus dies and is buried on Thursday and is resurrected on Sunday.) Hebrew counting begins on the place you are at as “1”. I mean to say, if you are counting in the Hebrew method while playing Monopoly, if you roll a three as the very first roll of the game, you count “Go” as 1, Baltic Avenue as 2, and Taxes as 3, as opposed to our normal system of counting which would be Baltic as 1, Taxes as 2, and Mediterranean as 3. So, using the Hebrew method of counting, Jesus dies on Friday, which is 1, is dead on Saturday, which is 2, and is raised on Sunday which is 3. “On the third day he shall rise.”

In reference to graves and stones in and around Jerusalem: When graves were hewn out of the rock, or a cave enlarged, grooves were chiseled into the top and bottom of the mouth of the cave that would act very much like patio door tracks. The “door” to the grave was not boulder shaped but more disk shaped and was rolled into the grooves which held it in place against the mouth of the cave to keep out larger, carrion-eating animals. (with this method, it is impossible to keep out rodents and the like) When the women are heading to the tomb in the morning, it is the movement of this stone that they are pondering.

Scholars think that this,16:8, is the original ending of the gospel of Mark. Other ending do appear in our Bibles but many of the best ancient manuscripts of Mark do not include these additional verses which leads scholars to believe that verses after 16:8 were not original to the book. Why would the writer of Mark end his gospel with women awed and terrified, saying nothing to anyone? That has been debated almost as long as the gospel has existed. Some scholars think that the entire gospel was written to introduce readers/hearers to Jesus and then challenge them to be better witnesses than the disciples to this amazing gospel. The gospel of Mark recounts time and time again the failings of the disciples, far more than the other three gospels. Now, at the end of the Mark, neither the women nor anyone else tells the amazing news of Jesus’ resurrection. But you, the reader, could you tell this amazing news? Could you do a better job of witnessing than Jesus’ disciples?