“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
Little kids know all about this. They live in the moment. They will devote all their energy and attention to a donut in a donut shop as if nothing else in the world matters or exists. Every sprinkle is important. Icing is meant to be gently licked. They have all the time in the world.
Me? A donut is three bites. In the car. On the way to…wherever. Big bite, fast chew, hard swallow, rinse and repeat.
i just want to slow down. Just sit and eat the donut. Savor each individual sprinkle. Enjoy every lick of icing. Leave the rest for someone else.
I want to savor every moment, bite, sip, and swallow.
When my wife asked her brother, “Where should we go for a tenderloin sandwich?” both he and his wife responded, “Amazing Joes.”
My wife and I were in Columbus, Indiana, for our nephew’s wedding. He was the youngest of my brother-in-law’s four children, and the last to get married. The rehearsal dinner at the Brown County Inn was fun, delicious, and the first time we met our nephew’s fiancee. We were overdressed for the wedding in downtown Columbus. We assumed it would be dressy, but you know what happens when you assume. Oh, well, better to over- than underdress. The reception at the Abe Martin Inn in Brown County State Park was nice and we got to see a lot of the other side of the family.
On Sunday, we went to my brother-in-law’s church, and then headed out to lunch. As soon as we sat down, this gentleman, in a tye-died suit sat down across from our booth. I could not think of anything but, “Wow.”
After that initial reaction, the questions began flowing.
Where do you buy a suit like that? Go ahead. Say it. “Amazon.” Actually, you can get the “Mens Funky Fade Stylish 2 Piece Party Suit” at Vanquishe.com for under $200.
Why would you wear a suit like that? That’s a more difficult question. Since I can’t search for that answer, I can only speculate. Did he want attention? He got it. Lose a bet? Perhaps. Next time wager some cash. Make a statement? Could be, but I don’t speak that language. “My other suit was at the cleaners.” Happens all the time, right?
I must be out of the loop. He’s looking at me, in my navy khakis and blue button-down shirt, thinking, “Where did he get that outfit?” At his church, that was the rule, not the exception. His yellow shirt and pink tie announced, “This is how to dress.”
After we paid our check and got up to leave, I noticed his Marine Corps combat cap. I’m indebted to him for his service to our country. My wife noticed a Genesis commentary on his table. A pastor? At the very least, a brother in Christ.
When he walks into a restaurant, black and grey suits make him look twice. He’s asking the same questions. And he reaches the same conclusion. There’s an outfit for everyone, and everyone has an outfit. Be surprised, be amazed, be puzzled, but don’t be judgmental.
My current favorite quote is from Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail: “I didn’t know where I was going until I got there.”
I don’t remember where I first read those words, but I immediately thought, “Amen!” I didn’t even know those were her words until I did a quick search on her words. I just got the book on Kindle, so I’ll soon be able to put the quote in context.
I ran across these words as I was approaching retirement. Everyone asked, “So what are you going to do?” I didn’t have much of an answer. I had a lot of things I enjoyed doing, and I would have additional time to do those things. New things? Maybe. But I didn’t know what those things were. But I knew I would discover them some time in the future.
Three years into retirement, I am teaching online and in-person classes. I’ve learned how to operate a 3D printer and an edible ink printer. I have learned a lot of bluegrass guitar tunes. None of those things were on my radar three years ago.
In other words, I had no idea where I was going. But now I do.
A “through the bible” devotion from Ecclesiastes 10.
“A little bird told me…”
“The walls have ears…”
These little truths warn me to be careful what I say, even if I think I’m alone. I’ve been told that my voice carries. You never know who’s listening.
These truths come from scripture:
“Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter” (Ecclesiastes 10:20).
Our best efforts at privacy fail. Phone cameras capture every moment of our lives. Security cameras watch intersections, self-checkout lanes, and gas pumps. I can’t even talk to my dog. A sign at the veterinarian alerts me that conversations are being recorded.
When someone speaks negatively about a person I’ve never met, it affects the way I interact with that person when I do meet them. That’s unfair.
And if I speak negatively about someone, even to myself, that attitude shows up in my conversations about them. They’ll know.
Word gets out, one way or the other.
Is there any solution? Sure. Think and speak positively. Put the best construction on everything. Give that person the benefit of the doubt. Use words that build up rather than tear down. Focus on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).
“He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.‘
And they remembered his words (Luke 24:6-8).
Jesus did explain these events to the twelve. “But they understood none of these things” (Luke 18:34). In Mark’s gospel, he explains it three times. But they were afraid to ask him what he was talking about. The resurrection is something to be experienced rather than simply explained.
Many years ago I sat with my daughter waiting to see an orthopedic doctor about her foot. The waiting room was packed. More patients entered, but none were called back to see the doctor. After an hour I overheard a conversation at the front desk. “No, he isn’t here. He got called away for an emergency.”
“Let’s go. We’ll call for an appointment on another day.”
The open, empty tomb of Jesus had to be seen, but it was the wrong place and the wrong time to see Jesus. He wasn’t there. Rather than dead, he was alive.
It’s embarrassing to show up for an appointment on the wrong day or the wrong time. Especially since you’ll receive texts, emails, and phone calls to remind you. But it happens. More than once families showed up late for a baptism or wedding, missing all the action. I shouldn’t have found it entertaining. But I did.
So pay attention to what Jesus says. If you’re not sure what he means, ask. He doesn’t mind questions. But he does what he says. He is faithful and true.
“When they went in [the tomb] [the women] did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:3-6).
All four gospel accounts include angels. Their brilliant white appearance and shocking words stop the women in their tracks. Death is off the table. Now we’re talking about life.
A frequently asked question is, “But did you die?” A killer workout. A long shift at work. A painful procedure. A bank-account draining expense. A bad hair day. Burnt food. Hateful words that cut deep.
It’s like a flow chart. Did you die? No. There will be another day. Life goes on.
While it’s good to keep mortality in mind, we need frequent reminders that we’re alive. I woke up, I’m breathing, my heart is beating. I’m alive.
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb” (Luke 24:1-2).
Imagine that you are one of those who visits the grave of a loved one in a cemetery. But one day you find a hole in front of the tombstone. Right next to it you see an excavator and a pile of dirt. The vault is open, the coffin is overturned, and the lid is open. The corpse is gone.
How would you react? Shock. Anger. Confusion. What in the world is going on here? How could this happen? Who would do this?
That’s the situation at dawn on Sunday morning. The stone has been rolled from the tomb. Scholars believe it was at least four feet in diameter, weighing between one and two tons.
The women didn’t think it through. In Mark’s gospel, they ask, “Who’s going to roll the stone away?” But it wasn’t a problem. In Matthew’s gospel, the stone is moved by an earthquake and an angel. Here in Luke’s gospel, it’s not supposed to be open. What happened? Who would do this? Who could do this?
When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, and that restricted space was suddenly open. On the third day, the tomb is open. Now it’s time to open hearts and minds to the new reality of resurrection.
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared” (Luke 24:1).
I want to know more about the spices. If I open my spice cabinet, I find paprika, dill, cumin, nutmeg, sage, rosemary, and an assortment of peppers.
That’s not what the women brought to the tomb. The traditional burial recipe was a mixture of aloe and myrrh. It was a salve that honored the deceased by fending off the smell of decomposition.
I remember the purveyors of spices in the markets in Jerusalem when we traveled there a few years ago. The colors and smells were amazing. The blends were enticing. The varieties seemed endless. I wanted to take home some of each.
Spices can cover up the smell of death. But they can’t touch sadness or grief.
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared” (Luke 24:1).
I’ve never felt compelled to go back to the cemetery where my mother and father are buried. I know that many people do. Before his own death fourteen years later, my dad planted flowers at my mother’s grave at a church in suburban Philadelphia. Others return to talk to deceased loved ones. Some go to confirm genealogical information.
Those who went to the tomb were women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to Jerusalem. They watched as Joseph (from Arimathea) and Nicodemus (John 19:29) took Jesus’s corpse from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a cave, a garden tomb cut in stone. That all happened late Friday afternoon, just before sunset, the beginning of the Sabbath.
These women went to the tomb to complete the burial ritual for Jesus. This includes washing the body, rubbing it with spices, and wrapping it with a shroud, before placing it in a tomb. It was a last act of love, a final goodbye, and part of their grieving process.
It probably wasn’t the first time they had done this. But death is death, and their hearts were heavy. Their minds were filled with horrific images of crucifixion. They had no thoughts about the future. They focused on the task at hand.
To catch the nuance of this verse, try to remember a moment when you had to say goodbye.
It was that kind of a morning.
This is the second in a series of reflections on Jesus’s resurrection as recorded in Luke’s gospel.
Waite for it... 