What if Jesus were still dead?
What would/could we still believe – with vigor and enthusiasm?
I once led a church in what we called a year of the impossible. We positioned ourselves to ask whether what we were doing could be done without Jesus. A great year and a grating year.
First off, we brush our teeth. I can do that without moving into a meditative state where Jesus guides my toothbrush. That may be possible, but not necessary. Seems to me Jesus gave us good teachers to help us understand many things. We might even call that wisdom.
So a church runs on the wisdom of God. We seek to discern through rules and regulations a sense of God’s direction.
And if Jesus had never died, all people should be able to peer into and understand that wisdom (sometimes called general revelation). God never gave up on us – from the beginning of time, to the exile of the Israelites, to the wars of religion, to . . .
BUT . . . if Jesus were still one of the dead prophets that populate our earth century by century, would his moral teachings remain prominent? Probably. Would there be a group of people that gathered to listen for his teachings? Probably. Does this look like us today?
What is the difference that happens because Jesus is not dead?
Sorry, I’m not going to answer that right now.
I’m getting ready to go into the Lenten (forty days) season before Easter (that day we talk about the “I’m no longer dead” time in the Christian calendar). I want to think anew about that question of “what if Jesus were still dead?”. Does my life change?