We are six weeks into the Easter Season. We may have forgotten the joyful “Alleluias” of the day. Life with its challenges has moved forward and gotten in the way of exuberant joy. Even the readings seem to have moved on from Resurrection stories. However, if you look at each Biblical story deeply, isn’t it a story of a resurrection of some kind? Can’t we find new and renewed life in each story?
The Tower of Babel seems like a catastrophe. All the
languages are confused, and people are scattered. AND that’s the start of new
lives in many places and ways.
The Exodus is obviously a story of resurrection from the
slavery in Egypt, but it starts with the sorrow of many mothers over the death
of their sons. Jochebed is brave and her action saves her son, who saves the
nation.
Jonah in the big fish is a tale of running away from God,
and of returning to God. Jonah finds his calling and resurrection in doing
God’s will, even if it’s not what he wanted to do.
The reading today from Acts 16:9-15 is also a resurrection
story. Paul has a vision and sets out for Macedonia with Silas. He arrives in
Philippi, a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
Paul and his companions decide to go to a place of prayer by the river, where
he preaches to the women who had gathered there. (Note that he
speaks to WOMEN!)
There he meets a woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God…from
the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. Lydia is remarkable in
many respects. She is a woman who is a merchant. Not just any regular bazaar
salesperson, though. Purple cloth was reserved for the elite, so she had a
specialized clientele. She has traveled 300 miles from her home city of
Thyatira (a city in what is now Turkey). We can infer that she lives in
Philippi because she invites Paul and his friends to stay at her home.
We don’t know what happened to Lydia after her baptism. Lydia
is traditionally regarded as the first European convert. The Eastern Orthodox
Church gives her the title “Equal to the Apostles”, a designation for saints
who were active in converting others. There is still a church and baptistry in
Philippi dedicated to her.
We do know, from the rest of Acts 16, that Paul stays in
Philippi several days, meeting and teaching at the river. He heals a demon
possessed slave girl causing his imprisonment, miraculous release, and the
baptism of the jailer and his family. He then leaves Philippi and later writes
a letter to the church at Philippi.
Lydia’s life underwent a resurrection transformation when
she accepted Jesus as Lord. It seems, although not stated in scripture,
that a church community formed in Philippi perhaps in her home, and that it
grew to be large enough to warrant a follow-up letter from Paul. This letter
stresses joy in the Lord and unity in community.
Like the men and women throughout the Bible, our lives
are full of little and big resurrection experiences. A new job or new child
are obvious ways that new life is experienced. It may just be a striking
insight from a mediation or Bible passage. Perhaps you find joy and life in
serving in an old or new way, or just offering a smile to a stranger. We don’t
always know when our actions can create a resurrection experience for someone
else—someone who is having a bad day and needed that smile to help them make it
through.
What would you consider a resurrection experience in your
life today or recently?
Think of some other Bible stories and consider where the
resurrection is in them.
