The Resurrection News Cycle

In our 24-hour cable television, Internet, instant information society, there is a phenomenon called the “news cycle.” What that is, more or less, is the period of time when stories or events get the maximum amount of attention from the media and the public. The stories, in turn, get replaced by yet another event. This cycle can be anticipated and manipulated of course, as spin-doctors often release negative information late on Friday afternoon – figuring that most people will not pay attention over the weekend. Pundits enjoy prognosticating whether a story will “have legs” in a few weeks – will anyone remember the controversy after a day or two? But when a scandal or an event takes hold -- grabs people in an intimate and visceral way -- people’s reputations can change overnight. In the era of U-Tube, a random comment on the campaign trail can sink a candidate. In only days, an ill-conceived, racist, and hurtful remark can end the career of a veteran broadcaster. Such are our times.

A lot can change in a day or week. News travels fast. People talk. Lives can change overnight. This, for me, is the sense I get from the readings we encounter during the 50 days of Easter. Once the stone is rolled away from the tomb, events are quickly set into motion. The news of the risen Christ is spreading. The story of the resurrection was not dying out in the 1st century equivalent of the news cycle. It “had legs.”

What is also apparent in the first days is the disciples of Jesus undergo an amazing transformation. They had precious access to Jesus during his life, they had front row seats to his miracles and they sat at his feet for his teaching. But, finally, they received what they were missing. In the gospel from today, on the evening of the day of resurrection, the risen Christ appears to his followers, who had hidden themselves behind locked doors. In John’s version of Pentecost, Jesus bids them peace, shows them his wounds, sends them into the world and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter, of all the followers of Jesus, steps into a leadership role. Jesus had long since singled out the fisherman disciple for big things, but the Galilean always seemed to falter in moments of crisis. Leading up to the crucifixion, he denied he even knew Jesus. In the garden before the crucifixion, it was Peter who drew a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Yet, it was Peter who became the first spokesperson for this new movement. He preached in Jerusalem, he healed a lame man who would beg every day near the gate of the Temple. Very quickly, it looked as if he and John would face the same fate as Jesus. They were arrested by the religious authorities: twice. In their defense, they put down a marker that would challenge, allude to, and inspire generations of Christians: Peter said to his accusers: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

As we read on in this passage, the fate of Peter and John could have turned out like that of Jesus on the cross – and the movement of followers of the Way could have ended quietly and quickly -- if it were not for God’s continued work through the Holy Spirit and the word of one man: Gamaliel. Gamaliel was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin – the religious council in Jerusalem. Paul would say later that he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. On that day, he offered wisdom. Countering the concern and anxiety of the council, he listed the so-called messiahs that had come and gone to no real effect. Theudus, and then Judas the Galilean. Their popular uprisings came and went. And then Gamaliel said this: keep away from these men – Peter and John – “and let them alone; because if this plan or this understanding is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them – in that case you may even be found fighting against God.!” Acts 5:38-39.

That is the apparent test. Is a movement, a cause, a controversy, innovation, change in church practice, human-made or God made? Is it orthodoxy – right belief – or heresy? Secular and limited, holy and infinite, fleeting or eternal? How hard it is to pin one down and define the other. It is never easy to know fully where the line falls between our agendas and God’s agenda. God tells one person to dedicate an entire life of service to the poor, yet another person claims to hear the same voice – and then entices his followers to drink a poisonous kool-aid to commit mass suicide. To the outsider, and the insider, this can seem like murky territory.

For that matter, beyond the creeds that were hammered out within a few centuries of Jesus’ life, Christians have long disagreed on a host of issues. For centuries, Christians defended slavery. Christians in South Africa looked to the Bible to both assemble and dismantle Apartheid. Christians today do not agree on matters of stem-cell research, war and peace, protection of the environment, justice for the poor and those at the margins of society, and we know that many Christians do not agree on women’s ordination or matters of human sexuality.

So what are we to do? When we are faced with indecision, conflict or moral challenges --when we see a movement afoot? When we are not sure, perhaps Gamaliel should be our guide. What did he do?

First, he stood up in a crowd and took a stand. He could have remained quiet, but chose to speak. We all know how hard that can be. People are afraid of blowing the whistle at work because of fear of retaliation. How many people are afraid of filing discrimination or harassment complaints because of what could happen to them? Many people do not want to make waves, want to melt into the crowd, have been taught to hold their tongue.

Yet, perhaps what this past week’s news cycle has shown us is that there are times when one has to say: no more. That comment was over the line. That behavior is unacceptable. Can you name something that you believe in so strongly that you would be willing to put your name on a petition, donate time and money to achieve a goal or affect an outcome? Even movements set into motion by God’s inspiration and call for justice need human hands and hearts and feet on the ground to succeed.

The other thing we learn from this key showdown in the council is the value of time and waiting. Things have a way of becoming clearer. Not always working out in our favor, but becoming clearer. Gamaliel took the long view. And so should we.

Looking into the future, what kinds of issues do we think will face the grandchildren of today’s children? The controversies of the moment have a way of either turning the tide or fading away. What are the issues for which we would be willing to stand up and be counted? In this congregation, we have people committed and passionate about the state of our public schools and the inequality of opportunities, especially in the city of Hartford. We have members who for years have been committed to dialogue in matters of race through the Uyeki Forum. We have people who march for peace. We have people who quietly knit prayer shawls to give as gifts to those who are recovering from illness. We have people who pray for the sick with intention.

Each time we gather and worship and celebrate the Eucharist, the risen Christ becomes fully present to us. May we experience this presence with new eyes and a fresh mind, and allow it to give us strength to live our lives.