Disciples have not been living a usual life. They’ve been living an unusual life with an unusual guide, Jesus, a peacemaker. Usual life consists of living under warmaking rulers who judge common people’s sins and calculate the payment they must suffer through to be redeemed of their sinner status. The payment might be money, it might be property, it might even be their life. Unusual life consists of a community of men and women who neither judge nor extort payment from sinners but give love and act not as warriors but as healers. All of it is very disturbing to the usual rulers. So the usual rulers took their usual actions and killed the unusual Jesus. For a time, Jesus’ disciples blend into the usual, afraid they too will be killed. And then, disciples claim Jesus appeared to them, Risen – quite unusual. Unusual as well, he ascends and leaves his abiding Spirit. Encouraged by Jesus’ abiding Spirit, they too now begin leading unusual lives and acting as unusual guides.
Do peacemakers appreciate the unusual nature of our life witness? Do self titled Christians appreciate it. There seems much about Christians that is quite usual. We are quite like the fearful followers blending into the usual, afraid we might simply stand out let alone be killed. We have taken positions as the usual rulers. We make the usual judgments about the usual people for the usual sins and inflict the usual harm. We are not much of a disturbance at all to the usual folks. We usually talk and work and play so as to not disturb the usual way. Even the songs we have been singing for the last six weeks do not disturb the usual lies we tell about Jesus. As we close out the liturgical season of the remarkably unusual Resurrection we sing the usual nonsense that sanctifies the usual rulers, sin, and suffering. “Jesus Christ is ris’n today, – our triumphant holy day, – who did once upon the cross – suffer to redeem our loss” – No. That is not why he suffered, to redeem our loss. He suffered because soldiers tortured him. “Hymns of praise then let us sing – unto Christ our heav’nly King, – who endured the cross and grave, – sinners to redeem and save – Again, No to the sinning, redeeming, and saving. Also, Jesus is not another king. It was the usual kingship set that ordered his execution. So it is that even the oh so very unusual Resurrection is made usual. Jesus’ resurrective healing from rulers, their judgments justifying suffering and violence, have all been twisted back around again into the usual story of a savior king and the suffering and violence that save us. How does any of it help us live unusual lives and act as unusual guides like Jesus – a peacemaker, a commoner who loved and healed? It does not. All of it helps us lead the same usual lives under the same usual rulers who killed Jesus.
We can stop the usual retelling of Militarism’s usual cover story for their usual crimes – that dominating, torturing, and killing people is godly, salvific. It is not salvific when done by Roman soldiers in ancient Palestine. It is not salvific when done by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not salvific when done by U.S. agents at the southern border. We are not saved by U.S. Border Patrol police destroying water cans left for people in the desert. We are saved – meaning we are salved or healed – by people like Scott Warren. Mr. Warren is a volunteer with No More Deaths who is taking the unusual action of guiding people to water in the desert. Mr. Warren is taking this action because, as is usual in empire, rulers and their minions are judging common people’s plight as asylees and immigrants sinful and have decided the payment they must suffer through is their very life. The usual rulers have thus arrested Mr. Warren, put him on trial, and threatened him with 20 years in jail. Mr. Warren however, a peacemaker, persists in giving witness to our unusual life. Scott Warren is a commoner reaching out to other commoners, loving them, and healing them.
Prayer: Jesus Christ is Risen today. Amen.
Question: How unusual am I for the Christs of my world?
June 02, 2019 Gospel Luke 24:46-53 Ascension