An Idle Tale

Luke 24:1-12
The Resurrection of Jesus
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A1-12&version=NRSVUE
 
The Resurrection is a foundational belief of our faith. As the Apostle’s Creed says, “I believe in Jesus Christ, … was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.” Further in the creed, it says, “I believe in…the resurrection of the body.” These statements about the Resurrection are an affirmation of our faith. So much rests on the Resurrection, that if archaeologists ever found the bones of Jesus, our faith would need to be re-examined. Even so, there are many who believe the resurrection is just “an idle tale” (v.11).

The women go to the tomb to take the spices they prepared for Jesus’ burial, and they discover the stone rolled away. Two angels appear and tell them that Jesus has been raised, just as Jesus had told them. They remembered Jesus' words and returned to tell the others, but the others didn’t believe them. Even though they had heard Jesus’ words too, they thought the resurrection was “an idle tale” or “nonsense,” as the New Living Translation says. They didn’t believe it from someone else’s report.

Peter then runs to the tomb to see for himself, and he returns home “amazed at what happened” (v.12). The Message says he was “puzzled, shaking his head,” and the New Living Translation says he was “wondering what happened.” Shaken, puzzled, and amazed, but not quite believing. Even though he was present to hear Jesus’ words and now he has seen the evidence (the linen cloths) for himself, he still wonders what happened. Perhaps he is turning it over in his mind whether this could be true or if this is nonsense, that it is too good to be true. Perhaps he is fearful to let himself believe such an idle tale could have real significance.
Many feel the same about the Resurrection. They believe in Jesus and his teachings, they’ve read scripture with Jesus’ own words foretelling it, but they just can’t believe in a bodily resurrection. It is not scientifically possible.

It is not until the Risen Christ appears to Peter personally that he believes, and the idle tale becomes a real significance in his life. The same happens to Thomas. He cannot take the others’ word for it. He has to see it for himself, and when he does, it becomes real.

That’s how faith works. We can view all the biblical stories as idle tales, and the historical events that happened to other people have no real significance to us. Or, we can open ourselves to the Resurrected Lord’s presence in our lives, and truly experience for ourselves the Resurrection. Christ resurrected so we can be resurrected from our dead lives. We often feel buried in the tombs of our lives, but Christ enters our tombs and we rise with him to receive new life.

Throughout our lives, we experience tiny deaths that seem like huge, encompassing deaths, like the loss of loved ones, the loss of the dream of what we thought our life would be, the loss or change of careers (or retirement), the loss of relationships that may or may not have been toxic to us (but they hurt nonetheless). When we come to the end of significant chapters in our lives, it may seem like a death. We all experience seasons that aren’t lifegiving, and we feel burned-out, buried, and quite frankly, dead. Christ is with us during these times and is waiting to rise with us. Christ can resurrect us from the deaths we encounter throughout our lives, and we rise to live a new chapter in a new life.

Until we experience the resurrection first hand, it may seem like an idle tale. I invite you to open your heart and allow the stone to roll away, to receive a new, resurrected one. A resurrected heart is filled with Christ’s presence that embraces the life you were meant to live, a life that is filled with love and newness. Will you rise and embrace the new life that is waiting for you? 
 
Reflection Questions
Do you think the Resurrection is an idle tale?
Have you experienced Christ’s resurrection where Christ has raised you from death into a new life?
Is there an area in your life that needs to be resurrected?
What would it take for you to trust that Christ can resurrect that part of your life?
During this Easter season, will you rise and embrace the new life that is waiting for you?
 
Pray:
Rise within us, O God, so we may walk out of our tombs into the new life you have waiting for us.
 
Act:
Reflect on something that is dead in your life. Let it go. Open yourself to something new.
 
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.