Why Do You Seek The Living Among The Dead?
2022년 4월 17일Why Do You Seek The Living Among The Dead?
< Easter Sunday >
There is an ancient Jewish story (Midrash) about Moses going to Pharaoh to demand he free the Hebrew slaves. Pharaoh asked Moses the name of the Hebrew God who gave him the temerity to appear in Pharaoh’s presence and ask for such an outrageous request. Moses replied he had come in the name of Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Pharaoh summoned his priests and had them recite a litany of the pantheon of Egyptian deities: Horus, Set, Isis, Osiris, Amun, Ra etc. etc. There are more than 1,400 Egyptian gods! But no mention of Yahweh. Unimpressed, Moses replied, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” You might recognize that question from the gospel of Easter. The angels ask the women, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
The women on that first Easter morning weren’t expecting Jesus’ resurrection. They went to the tomb in order to anoint Jesus’ corpse. But death cannot contain the Son of God. Jesus had gone to a higher existence. He retained his wounds and his relationships. But he had somehow changed. The question is still relative for us today. Why and where are we looking for Jesus? It’s interesting to note that the one place the risen Jesus did NOT appear was in the Temple. Instead, he appears at an evening meal, having breakfast on a beach, fishing with his disciples, and with them in prayer in the Upper Room. Belief in the Resurrection is the central tenet of Christianity. If Jesus is truly risen, this means we can encounter Jesus in our lives today! In prayer, yes, but also in service to the poor, the oppressed, the lonely, the hungry. In other words, among the living! May we encounter the Risen Lord today!