I can just see the Internet memes: a depiction of the empty tomb, large stone rolled to one side, and overlaid with the words, "You had one job, Tomb Guards!" I've been thinking about those men assigned to guard Jesus' tomb. We usually discredit them. But do they deserve that?
I know a lot of people associated with the military. Likely, you do as well. My dad served in Europe in World War II. My father-in-law served on General MacArthur's Honor Guard during the post-surrender Japanese Occupation. Various cousins and friends have served our country in conflicts across the globe. So, maybe it won't come as a great surprise for you to learn I have a bit of a soft spot for those who serve our nation, militarily.
If you know anything about military service, then you know that the basic events of the Tomb Guard story are not isolated to them. Yes, our folks usually accomplish the objective. But, from time to time, those in military service are tasked by their civilian commanders to perform a duty in the interests of national security ... and it doesn't work out as intended.
And that brings me to the guards dispatched to keep watch over the tomb in which lay the body of the discredited rebel, Jesus. Whether you read the Matthew 28 passage to mean that Pilate sent Roman soldiers to perform the task or you understand it to mean that these were Temple Guards dispatched by the Jewish leadership, it comes down to one thing: they were soldiers, commanded to perform a task by their civilian superiors. To their credit, when they failed in that task ---and who can defeat God?--- they immediately reported the truth to their superiors ... as good soldiers do.
Yes, they were paid and instructed by their superiors to tell a different story, one that, in the view of their leaders, served the national interest much better than the truth.
But, eventually, someone talked.
Yes, even though paid ----and, lets face it, threatened--- by their superiors, at least one of those guards, somewhere, sometime, spilled the beans. We have the entirety of the story in the Gospels, "on the record" if you will. So, someone on the inside told someone on the outside.
At some point, the soldiers and their civilian leaders arrived, as have we this week, on the other side of those three days ... the fourth day, the fifth, the 40th: the story continued. News of Jesus' resurrection spread far and wide. Lots of people struggled with just what to believe about Jesus, people like Thomas in this week's Lectionary passage from John's gospel. Those guards had seen things, heard things, experienced things vastly different than most humans in all of history. Their piece of the story was extraordinary in the extreme.
If you were one of those guards and had experienced what they had experienced, would you give credence to the claim that the person who had occupied that tomb had, in fact, risen from the dead? Could you believe the other things people were saying about Jesus ... that He was the Son of God, that he could forgive sins, that His kingdom was a heavenly one, that anyone could enter that kingdom by following His commandments?
I think you might.
And I think you, too, might break your silence.
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[Was it right for their superiors to ask them to do that? The lenses of time, spiritual understanding (and our own moral compass) tell us, clearly, "No." But, as scripture makes plain, the actions of those Jewish leaders toward Jesus were predicated on concerns for national security: their fear that Rome would wipe out the nation of Israel if any of the supposed "messiahs" ever led a successful rebellion. Sure, in their decision-making, they ignored the "signs and wonders" performed by Jesus; and they, like us, will someday have to answer for their choices and their actions.]
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
2nd Sunday of Easter (April 23, 2017)
John 20:19-31
1 Peter 1:3-9
Psalm 16
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Table of Easter Lectionary Readings
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/lections.php?year=A&season=Easter
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Lectionary Breakfast continues to meet Friday mornings at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. Lately, we've been in the back meeting room (the outside entry is around the side near the back of the building). Ask at the host stand if you can't find us. Our times are flexible, but we usually start at 8:00 and wrap up in the neighborhood of 9:00. Late arrivals are not only welcome; they're common :-)
Blessings,
Steve
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