After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.
But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”
So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (NRSVUE)
“Christ is risen!”
“Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!”
“The Lord suffered for the sake of him who suffered, and was bound for the sake of him who was imprisoned, and was judged for the sake of the condemned, and was buried for the sake of the buried. So come, all families of human beings who are defiled by sins, and receive remission of sins.
“For I am your remission, I am the Passover of salvation. I am the Lamb sacrificed for your sake. I am your ransom. I am your life. I am your Resurrection. I am your light. I am your salvation. I am your King. I lead you toward the heights of heaven. I will show you the eternal Father. I will raise you up with my right hand.” Melito, Bishop of Sardis (died c.190 C.E.)
So, why not today, of all days on the calendar? Why not experience miracles on this Day of Resurrection in which new life abounds? Why not sense the power of Christ’s Resurrection coursing through your spiritual veins? For this is the day of new beginnings, leaving old grudges and bitterness behind. This is the day of deliverance from all things which hinder us from knowing God and seeing the Savior.
O God, of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things are made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. People who are self-centered aren’t able to please God.
But you aren’t self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you. (Common English Bible)
The chapters of Romans 5-8 are a core biblical text for the Christian life. They get down to the fundamental issue of a Christian’s identity and daily practice.
In the mind of the Apostle Paul, all persons are either in the Spirit of God, or not; selfish or unselfish; thinks of the common good of all, or only thinks of oneself and what is best for the individual me.
For Paul, the tell of one being a Christian is to orient one’s life completely around the person and work of Jesus Christ. If not, then one cannot claim to be a Christian, at all.
Regular Bible-readers will notice that I have used the Common English Version’s rendering of the Greek word σάρξ as “selfishness” instead of the literal and often translated English word “flesh.”
My choice highlights the reality that, although “flesh” may make some reference to the physical body, it has much more to do with a person’s holistic expression of sin by means of the mind, emotions, and soul. In other words, “flesh” can be appropriately translated as “selfishness” since it truly takes the whole person to accommodate sin’s desires.
The selfish nature of human individuals (and communities) can take many forms such as the passionate pursuit of material possessions, winning at all costs, unchecked power, and seeking influential positions.
What’s more, this fleshly selfishness is seen in communal ways through extreme promotion of capitalist ideology; hierarchical forms of power which dominate and oppress others; societal norms which keep people locked into class warfare; and exploitation of the earth’s resources for selfish purposes.
Those who are in these sorts of mindsets and social practices cannot please God, because they fundamentally contradict the overarching ethics of Holy Scripture.
We are not to dwell in the realm of selfishness but are to live in and according to the Spirit of Christ. All of this means that every believer has within them a great potential for both good and evil. Even though we have been freed from the realm of sin, the individual (and the community) must actively use this freedom from Christ for good purposes.
Simply avoiding the bad – although quite necessary – will not do. Only focusing on not getting into trouble may easily leave one complicit to evil by not helping when it was in our power to do so. The Lord Jesus avoided a simple skate through his earthly life. He instead sought:
“to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, CEB)
These are actions rooted in Old Testament ethical practices. They are socially minded aspirations meant for the common good of all people, and not just some persons.
The Spirit invades our lives in order to unite us to Christ. In him the believer is made righteous, and given new life and hope. Christians now have a real possibility to live according to the words and the ways of Jesus.
We no longer need to “watch out for number one.” The love of God in Christ provides what is necessary to melt the old selfish desires.
We can now remove ourselves from unholy cycles of condemnation toward both others and self.
We can now speak in a manner which encourages and uplifts, rather than use our speech to verbally decapitate another with harsh divisive language.
We can now relate to others with genuine spiritual care, instead of personal disinterest.
And we can take great hope in the fact the work of God in this world is ongoing, because of transformation by divine grace. I need no longer to listen to all the condemning messages emanating from ignorant persons who are quick to make knee jerk judgments on things they know little about.
The Spirit of Christ and the Word of God are more powerful and have greater effectiveness than any other spirit or word that is expressed or spoken. The inner testimony within the individual knows this to be true. The Christian’s identity is firmly in Christ, not in selfishness.
Perhaps it is so hard to live unselfishly because self-surrender to God feels like dying. Often our longings betray the fact that we have forgotten who we are. When that happens, we tend to search for that identity in all the wrong places.
Let’s instead put our effort into the ultimate ethic of love as embodied in the Lord whom we serve – not in idyllic ideas of romance, but in accepting people for who they are, and not what we want them to be.
I’m talking about a love that is present to others and stays with them; sharing my life; putting up with another’s difficulties; seeing things through and plugging away at what I know is right.
Most of the time, living in the Spirit is just a matter of meeting what comes day by day, and persevering with patience through it in the best way I know how.
The love of God in Christ tends not to be the kind that people write stories about, but is simply doing things with a good attitude, a right spirit, and proper motives. If we relate deeply to life and experience both the joy and pain of living on this earth, then I believe we will find that our longings fade into the background.
That’s because I am now living in the realm of the Spirit of love. And when I’m in that zone, there’s no reason to seek anything else, because the Spirit is your life.
God of compassion and consolation, your breath alone brings life to weary souls. Pour out your Spirit upon us, so that we may face despair with the hope of resurrection and faith in Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.
“The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.” (Exodus 12:49)
“Pursue hospitality to strangers.” (Romans 12:13)
“The respect for the stranger and the sanctification of the name of the Eternal are strangely equivalent.” Emmanuel Levinas
For the past decade or more, I’ve been asked many times about “God’s design” for marriage, gender roles, and a whole host of societal questions. There is one question, however, that I have never been asked: What is God’s design concerning immigration?
I reframe the question a bit differently with a few clarifying questions:
When it comes to immigration and immigrants, what is God’s intention for a rightly ordered society?
How does God feel about the immigrant?
Is there a biblical framework for approaching the subject of immigration?
Indeed, there is. In fact, there are several words for the immigrant in the Old Testament. There are references to both Jewish and foreign immigration; “strangers” who are foreign immigrants living in the land of Israel; and foreign workers (migrants) who sojourn in and through the land.
Most English translations of Holy Scripture use the words “alien,” “stranger,” or “foreigner” when speaking of immigration. When it comes to the foreigner who settles in Israel, the general rule and stance toward that immigrant is to welcome the stranger among you; and treat them as equals in approaching to the law.
The ancient Hebrew people were foreigners in the land of Egypt for 400 years. God’s judgment on Pharaoh and the Egyptians brought the opportunity for justice amongst the Israelites. The Jews were delivered from their bondage and oppression.
Because of their redemption out of Egypt, the Israelites formed an identity that included ethical treatment to foreigners who came and resided among them.
Since the Israelites had been immigrants to Egypt, they were to welcome the immigrant among themselves and treat foreigners with respect, since all of them together were under the law.
It was important for the Jewish people to take a stance of empathy toward the immigrant. They knew firsthand what it felt like to suffer in a foreign land. Therefore they were to see life through the eyes of the other – the migrant, the refugee, and the asylum seeker – who resided next to them.
Early in the Bible, Abraham was commanded by God to leave his country and immigrate to a foreign land:
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1, NIV).
Because God loves the immigrant, so too, we are to love them, as well:
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:17-19, NIV)
Furthermore, because the Lord is a just God, we are to provide justice not only for our own people, but also for the foreign immigrant among us:
“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21, NIV)
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice… Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this. (Deuteronomy 24:17-18, NIV)
Holy Scripture is replete with admonitions and commands to protect the foreign immigrant and be mindful about their well-being. They, like us, are humans created in the image of God, and therefore, deserve to be honored as fellow image-bearers by treating them justly.
The New Testament upholds and extends basic concern and consciousness to the foreigner:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2, NRSV)
In the Gospels, let’s be mindful that the Lord Jesus himself was an immigrant – a refugee fleeing to Egypt from oppression in his homeland. (Matthew 2:13-15)
Jesus existentially knew what it was like to be a foreigner. And so, in keeping with his Jewish upbringing, he respected the alien and stranger around him. In order to demonstrate his concern and commitment toward the stranger, he told several parables.
The following parable of Jesus describes what a rightly ordered society looks like when it comes to the foreigner among us:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”
The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.”
Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”
The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”
Then Jesus said, “Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46, CEV)
According to Jesus, the current Trump administration – especially the Department of Homeland Security under Kristi Noem – has been pursuing a policy that is in direct opposition to basic biblical ethics and morality.
What’s more, believers who support such a policy are demonstrating, at the least, ignorance concerning the Scriptures; and, at worst, a concern about following President Trump rather than following the Lord Jesus.
Someday, the Trump administration will have to give an account of their attitudes, words, and actions toward the immigrant foreigner in America to the God who loves the alien and the stranger.
In the end, grace and love always wins.
The God of Holy Scripture has already communicated a positive stance toward the immigrants among us.
God has said that immigrants are not monsters from sh** countries. They are humans who were brave enough to make dangerous journeys to the United States in order to support themselves and their families with the hope of liberation from oppression; and the freedom to provide for themselves and to support their new country.
A well-ordered society with a biblically ethical design includes caring for all residents, not just some. The immigrant – no matter where they are from – has landed among us by the providence of God.
So, let’s not make it any worse for them here than where they’ve come from. Instead, let us be helpful to the foreign immigrant among us. It’s what Jesus has already said he would do.
Theophilus, I first wrote to you about all that Jesus did and taught from the very first until he was taken up to heaven. But before he was taken up, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen with the help of the Holy Spirit.
For 40 days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God’s kingdom. While he was still with them, he said:
Don’t leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Contemporary English Version)
One of the unshakable and foundational convictions I have is that the earth revolves on an axis of grace. Apart from grace, we wouldn’t even exist.
If God’s grace in Christ was only an undeserved gift, that would be incredibly wonderful and more than enough for us. Yet, it is even more.
The word “grace” doesn’t need to be in every verse of the Bible for the reality of grace to be embedded within every verse of the Bible.
Grace is the answer to every question that humankind can ask. Grace not only forgives and loves unconditionally, but it also infuses us with freedom and power within our souls.
Grace is the ultimate game-changer. And grace is evident everywhere in Holy Scripture, powering its message and mission. It’s evident in today’s New Testament lesson…
The Grace of God Choosing People
In this biblical passage of Christ’s imminent ascension to heaven, Jesus intentionally made gracious provision so that his apostles could carry on without his bodily presence.
First of all, and priority above the ability to be and to do anything, is the gracious reality that Jesus chose his apostles; they did not choose him. In fact, every disciple of Christ was chosen by God before we made our choice. That, my friend, is grace.
Christ deliberately chose twelve Jewish men to be his intimate followers on this earth during his ministry. No follower and disciple of Christ is ever self-appointed to anything, nor are they really appointed by any committee or by some human means.
What’s more, every church pastor, elder, deacon, and leader of any sort is providentially chosen and appointed by Christ himself well before being chosen by a body of believers in a church, synod, or board.
The Lord’s intentions in choosing people for a specific purpose (and especially for salvation) is first of all a tremendous act of divine grace. This ought to be of great encouragement to us, that Christ who builds the Church, sees us and chooses us.
The Grace of Seeing Jesus
Second, God showed his infinite grace by having Jesus shown to his apostles after his resurrection. The twelve, along with many other disciples, were eyewitnesses to the bodily resurrection of Christ.
After his sufferings, the risen Lord revealed his presence to his apostles. He gave them many convincing and decisive proofs that he was truly alive. And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus kept it up for 40 days until his ascension.
Jesus talked to them about the kingdom of God, about God’s gracious rule and reign upon this earth. He prepared them for the ascension, and helped them make sense of all the nonsensical things happening in their lives. Jesus showed them that he was no ghost, but could be touched, hugged, and enjoy a meal with.
The entire post-resurrection experience was a time of amazing grace in getting to see, feel, and listen to Jesus.
The Grace of Christ’s Commissioning
Third, Jesus not only spoke with his apostles, but he also commissioned them by giving them instructions to proclaim gracious good news of forgiveness and new life with God.
The word “apostle” means to be a herald, an envoy or messenger; being an ambassador sent out with the authority to boldly proclaim good news for the nations. Disciples are to have a ministry of proclaiming peace and reconciliation between God and humanity, and between one another. Indeed, it is all about grace.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NIV)
The Grace of Having the Holy Spirit
Finally and ultimately, Jesus promised his apostles the greatest grace gift of all: the very Holy Spirit of God. The Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, would remind them and teach them of all things concerning God’s gracious and benevolent kingdom. (John 16:12ff)
The Holy Spirit is the battery, the power source, of the Christian life. Apart from the Spirit we can do nothing.
The Need For Grace Today
It is imperative that we continually remember grace, and keep grace in the forefront of our minds and our hearts. It’s especially needed in this day and age.
We live in a time in which ungracious and unjust words and actions are in front of our faces continually. The biblical witness is adamant that life is not about having earthly power and wielding it for our own earthly purposes.
Grace is what gives and sustains life. Grace is the real power operative in the world. And if we fail to realize this, and do not tap into grace, then we are truly doomed and are to be pitied above all persons.
So, let us keep bearing in mind that:
God’s grace is why we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit
The purpose of Jesus is to alert people the presence and eventual fulfillment of God’s gracious realm and reign
The Spirit’s presence among us equips us to be Salt to ICE by melting injustice and a lack of mercy; and Light to those blinded by greed by showing the world how to live a different way.
Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, so that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 