Russellings of the Spirit

What does success look like to you?

If you are a parent, success might look like seeing your children grow into contented, confident adults.

If you are a musician, success might look like performing a piece with passion and without errors.

If you own a business, success might look like seeing your business grow and flourish.

And so, on this holy Easter Saturday I am led to ponder this question; in the whole “saving the world from the deadly grip of sin” enterprise, what did success look like for God?

As I ask this question, I do so with the understanding that orthodox Christian theology says that success – for God – looked exactly like what happened in the Gospel accounts of Christ’s persecution, passion, death, and ultimately, resurrection. The script, they say, played out precisely as God intended for it to, without a single muffed line or misstep. 

But did it? Really?

To answer this question accurately requires that we look at Good Friday and Holy Saturday with zero awareness of the miracle of Easter Sunday… an impossibility for anyone with even a thimbleful of Christian upbringing. 

As difficult as that might be, let’s give it a try, shall we?

We know that after watching his anointed and appointed prophets and spokespersons come, speak God’s truth, achieve a degree of success, and finally be ignored, killed, or both, God did not get frustrated and throw in the towel like I might have. 

God instead looked down at the obduracy of humanity and said, “Hey! I’ve got a better idea!” That “better idea” was known as THE INCARNATION. That is, God decided to slip on a skin suit, teleport down to earth, and become one of us!

God came to earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. God walked among us. God ate and drank with us. God partied with us. God loved us… unconditionally. God healed us. God preached to us and encouraged us. God fed and clothed us. 

God also publicly denounced the greed, pride, and hypocrisy of that day… particularly among the religious elite. [For a vivid example of Jesus’ blistering invective against those first century religious leaders, go read Matthew 23:13-29. This page is so hot, it will burn your hands!]

So, what did God say the point of his incarnation mission was? At the beginning of this mission, God – in the person of Jesus – laid out his agenda clearly and simply. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:14-15, NRSV). 

At this point, I would take God at his word and believe that for Him, success looked like people repenting (that is, turning their lives around 180 degrees) and believing in the good news. 

But they didn’t. I mean, some did. Actually, MANY did. They saw, they heard, they believed, and they turned their lives around… COMPLETELY!

But during his time here, God (as Jesus) rubbed too many powerful people the wrong way. His preaching and teaching seemed to be a threat to both the religious and the political leaders of first century Israel. 

And so, they huddled and agreed. 

Jesus had to be silenced. 

He was silenced LONG before his mission reached every person. He was silenced while still largely unknown outside of his Galilean circle. 

He was silenced by a betrayal from his inner circle, a midnight arrest, a quickie sham trial, and a horrifically painful public execution. 

And so, at this point (I ask again), does this look like a successful mission?

Of course, we know how the mission ultimately turned out. We know about the Sunday morning empty tomb. We know about the multiple appearances of the resurrected Christ to the disciples and AT LEAST 500 other eyewitnesses. We know about the tsunami of Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost 50 days later. We know all about the Great Commission given on top of the mountain in Galilee. 

All of that aside, here is the thing I want to try and zero in on today, Holy Saturday. I want to use this day to focus on my need (quite possibly yours too) to resist the urge to declare defeat too soon. I want to let this day prompt me to remember; it is ultimately not ME who defines what successful living looks like. 

The day in the tomb is the day that reminds us that sometimes we hit a moment when all seems lost… when we’ve hit a brick wall… when the odds seem to be hopelessly stacked against us. This moment of distress is the moment when we are most apt to fall into the trap of believing that OUR definition of success is the ultimate definition, and that no other definition is possible. 

But BEHOLD! says the story of Easter. Your definition of success is partial and incomplete. Your definition of success begins and ends with YOU! Your definition doesn’t count on the part GOD wants to play in your story. 

I don’t know this for a fact, but I am sure Jesus’ first followers had definitions of success that did NOT include blood, a crown of thorns, a cross and a tomb. Indeed, Jesus’ failure to deliver on those temporal definitions of success is what many scholars say led Judas to betray him.

But as the angel at the tomb said to Mary on that first Easter morning, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” (Luke 24:5, NRSV).

Happy Easter!

Abundant blessings;