Matthew
28:1-10
The greater somebody’s hopes, the
greater the possibility of disappointment.
Jesus’ disciples, among them Mary
Magdalene and “the other Mary”, had heard Jesus proclaim, over and over again,
“The
kingdom of heaven is at hand!” [Matthew 4: 17].
They
had heard Jesus teach about that kingdom and how God would make a place in it
for
“the
poor in spirit,… those who mourn, …the meek, …those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, …the merciful, …the pure in heart, …the peacemakers, …[and] those who are persecuted for righteousness’
sake.” [Matthew 5:3-10]
They
had heard him talk of an amazing future, and how
“When
the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will
sit on his glorious throne.” [Matthew 25:31]
They
had heard all of that, and had believed with their whole hearts.
Of course, the greater somebody’s
hopes, the greater the possibility of disappointment.
Jesus’
followers had plenty to get their hopes up.
As he went around doing miracles: feeding five thousand people with five
loaves of bread and two fish, restoring vision to the blind, making the lame
walk again, even raising the dead, surely that confirmed their faith in
him. As he confronted the wrongs that are
always part of human life: the political compromises that their people’s
leaders had made with the occupying Romans, the greed of those who had power
over the poor, the abuse of religion by spiritual leaders, the hope sprang up
in his followers of a renewed world, and they committed themselves to being
part of that. They left behind their own
participation in the world’s evils, and took a chance on doing good even when
the people around them did not.
“You
are the salt of the earth,” he told them. “You
are the light of the world.” [Matthew 5:13, 14]
They
heard that and they believed him, and they became better people.
Then
the authorities struck back, because not everyone believed. They arrested him, handed him over to the
Romans, and after torture he was nailed to a piece of wood and left to
die. That part was done publicly, to
make him an example. His enemies watched
it happen, and so did at least some of his friends.
“There
were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from
Galilee, ministering to him; among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”
[Matthew 27:55-56]
Normally,
his body would have been left there to rot, but a sympathizer who had some
connections went to the Roman governor and got permission to bury him, which he
did, again with the women looking on. [Matthew 27:57-61]
The greater somebody’s hopes, the
greater the possibility of disappointment.
Maybe they shouldn’t have expected
so much. Maybe they shouldn’t have
expected anything at all. Maybe they
should, as good and faithful women, have listened to the words of scripture,
“Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place
of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness
was there as well. I said in my
heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time
for every matter, and for every work. I
said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show
that they are but animals. For
the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies
the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the
animals; for all is vanity. All
go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.” [Ecclesiastes 3:16-20]
Maybe it’s best not to expect too
much. The best, maybe, that anyone can
do is learn to laugh bitterly at the human condition. I don’t know if you know that poem called
“The Desiderata” that begins,
“Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may
be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”[1]
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”[1]
There’s a
comedy troupe called “The Firesign Theater” that does a parody of that. They call it “The Deteriorata”.
“Go placidly amid the noise and waste,
And remember what comfort there may be in
owning a piece thereof.
Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are
in need of sleep.
Rotate your tires.
Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself,
And heed well their advice, even though they be
turkeys.
…
Consider that two wrongs never make a right,
but that three do.
Wherever possible, put people on hold.
\Be comforted that in the face of all aridity
and disillusionment,
and despite the changing fortunes of time,
There is always a big future in computer
maintenance.
You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether or not you can hear it,
Maybe
that was how the women, and all the disciples, should have looked at
things. Then there would not have been
the ultimate disappointment of Jesus’ crucifixion. It would still have happened, only they would
have been ready.
But then…
But then came the odd thing. They went to the tomb, thinking just to
complete the burial decently, since it had had to be done in a hurry, and when
they got there…
When they got there, they found that
they had not been wrong to hope.
When they got there, they found that
they had not been wrong to trust.
When they got there, they found that
they had not been wrong to live in a new way.
When they got there, they found that
there was more to it all, and that there was more to come, and that they
shouldn’t dwell on death any longer. The
tomb was empty, except for (of all things) an angel, who said,
“He has been raised from the dead, and indeed
he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” [Matthew 28:7]
The greater your disappointment, the greater
your rejoicing when it gets turned around.
They began running to tell the others, when Jesus himself appeared and
greeted them, and with joy sent them on to gather everyone together and tell
them the same thing.
“Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to
go to Galilee; there they will see me.”[Matthew 28:10]
They were so giddy that if they had had Dunkin’
Donuts in those days, someone would have said, “Take their DDPerks cards away! No more caffeine for them!” The greater your disillusionment, the deeper
your joy when you find out that what you had was not an illusion, but a vision,
and a vision of what God says can and will be.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of
heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be
comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the
earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they
will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive
mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will
see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called children of
God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew
5:3-10]
And that is just the start.
[1]
Max Ehrmann, “Desiderata”.
[2]
Christopher Guest, “Deteriorata”. Full
text is found at http://www.songtexte.com/songtext/national-lampoon/deteriorata-6be362de.html
.
No comments:
Post a Comment