[The Last Chapter of the Gospels]

Greetings!

BlogFam,  today’s blogpost posted a little later than usual because I was not sure what to write about.  Since Salvation and Stilettos is so much more than a daily journal, I had to wait to see what direction we would go in next.  So, on today, we will begin to explore the stories recorded in the Gospels that take place AFTER the Resurrection of our Lord.

I honestly think that this is such a significant moment in Scripture though not much is recorded in any of the Gospels.  The average is about one chapter in each Gospel about the Resurrection. So, based on the biblical text, we really do not have much to go on strictly based on the Gospels.  We have plenty in the remainder of the New Testament but I would be interested to know what the Gospel writers would have continued to say about their life after the Resurrection had we been privileged to their perspectives beyond what we have today.

To be honest with you, BlogFam, I think this is something for all of us to consider because as much as our Lord came to transform our whole life,when we begin to read Acts, in some ways, the people did revert to what was familiar by organizing churches and establishing communities of people  that was different from what Jesus taught them before the resurrection.  Friends, help meout!  I really do not recall any passage where Jesus teaches us to start churches or set rules or establish hierarchies or create denominations or anything that supercedes the Reign-dom of God.[Reign-dom, a progressive term I learned from Dr. Michael Lomax, a Homeletics professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center] 

Perhaps, this is why we find it so hard to live into the power of the resurrection because the pattern was set thousands of years ago.  Perhaps, we do not truly understand the freedom to live beyond the crucifixion because we are so used to the bondage and hold that the enemy and the inner-me has such that when we speak of rising again, we remain content with rising in some areas but conform to the bondage of the life before the resurrection – or before salvation for us on today. 

In order to help you understand what I am saying, let me ask you one question: On Sunday, April 8, we celebrated the glorious resurrection of our Lord and many of us reflected on that moment as a monumental event in the life of our faith tradition; however, on this day after that celebration, did you wake up with a fresh perspective and a new motivation because your life has been transformed by the power of the resurrection? OR is this just another Monday morning, Spring Break is over and you are counting the weeks to graduation or your next vacation or summer break?  I’m just asking.  Is your life different because life as you know it has been raised anew since Jesus came into your heart?  Was yesterday a celebration of your salvation and has that energy carried over into this Monday morning?

This week, we will begin to look at the stories in the Gospels that record Jesus' life after the Resurrection. We will start with the Gospel of Matthew and finish with the Gospel of John.  Friends, I invite you to let the zeal of the Resurrection to linger in your hearts and minds beyond the moment you took off your new clothes and went to bed last night.  Let us all live into the Resurrection power of our Lord! For –

 

Friends, I am not sure how long this series will last but I am excited to extend our reflection of the resurrection of our Lord for however long the Holy One sees fit.  I pray that you will join me and that you will invite someone to read or listen along with us as we bexplore our task to live as resurrection people.