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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
April 2006 |
From the Bishop:
Jesus on the loose
On Easter, we are celebrating the fact that Jesus is "on the loose."
That phrase happened during one of those wonderful serendipitous moments in a children's sermon. While I was talking with children about Easter and how the women found the empty tomb, I asked them, "What did it mean that the tomb was empty"?
He is out ahead of us! He is already leading the way into new life. |
One of the children replied enthusiastically, "It means Jesus is on the loose"!
That child was right. Easter is not about worshiping a Risen Christ who is captured in our stained-glass windows, wonderful choir cantatas, beautiful Easter lilies or even in dynamic sermons proclaiming "Christ is Risen." No, Jesus cannot be contained in our own celebrations of Easter. He is on the loose! He is out ahead of us! He is already leading the way into new life.
In fact, the message of Easter seems to be, "You just missed him. He was here, but he is already gone again." The women found an empty tomb, and were told, "He is not here. He is risen." Peter and the other disciple also ran to the tomb, only to discover that Jesus was already gone. Certainly Thomas had that experience of missing Jesus, but fortunately got a second chance a week later when Jesus appeared with His disciples.
The whole Easter message is: Jesus is not here; He is not where you expect to find Him; He is already ahead of you, so get going and follow Him!
The disciples were told that Jesus will "meet you in Galilee" just as He had promised. But don't get out your map. "Galilee" is not just a northern province of Israel where Jesus spent so much of His early ministry with His disciples around the Sea of Galilee. No, "Galilee" is where it always has been - it is the place where Jesus is at work, ministering to people.
Over and over again in the early days, the disciples had to run to catch up with Jesus as He preached, taught, healed and challenged. Why would it be any different after Easter?
Once again, the disciples are told, "You missed Him. He was just here, but He is gone already. He is out working and ministering ahead of you - just like always."
What do we do with such a Jesus? He won't stay long in any one place. He is always moving on to the next place of need. It is just as He always said, "The Son of Man has no where to lay His head." Jesus is not contained in our best religious expressions; He is on the loose; He is out in front of us, leading us into ministry wherever our "Galilee" might be.
I heard a story a few years ago about a church that voted to open its building to a homeless shelter. This caused quite a controversy in that staid, respectable, religious congregation. In fact, one woman who opposed the idea confronted her pastor in great anger by yelling, "If Jesus knew you were letting those dirty people into our church, He would roll over in his grave"! She had missed the whole point of Easter. Jesus isn't in His grave. He is on the loose. And He is leading us to do ministry in hard places, with difficult people, in circumstances that are not easy.
Perhaps the whole history of the church is a long story of our failure to domesticate Jesus. We keep building nice buildings, developing beautiful music and liturgies, and writing impressive theological treatises. We want to understand the Gospel, and even more, we want to contain and control Jesus. But Jesus is "on the loose" - He is alive - He is not here - we just missed Him - already He goes before us.
So, let's take time to celebrate Easter. But then let's hurry on to try to catch up with Jesus, because He is still on the loose.
from Michael J. Coyner,
Indiana Area of
The United Methodist Church
"Making a Difference . in Indiana
and around the world
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008