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Hey y’all! Sam Hubbard here…the Movement (and Holy Mischief) Maker for Just Love – Greater New Orleans. We are just getting things going down here in the “Big Easy,” we’re super excited to listen to and love our neighbors here in the “504”. You know what ain’t easy tho? CHANGE. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Change, even if it’s a good change, always brings tension, anxiety…even anger and sadness.
This is not a new thing in our human experience. You’d think we would have figured it out by now! That’s one of the reasons I love the Bible so much. It never hides the struggles humans have faced as they seek to become everything God created them to be. One theme that continually shows up throughout the Bible is humanity’s struggle to accept and navigate change.
We see one of these instances in a bit of scripture many of us have just read, heard, or spoken about this past Easter. In John’s eyewitness account, he paints the picture of Mary Magdalene finding Jesus’ tomb open. She shared the news with the disciples, and a couple of them ran to check it out and saw that Jesus’ body was gone from the tomb. Of course, everyone is surprised because NO BODY EXPECTED NO BODY!!! Not knowing what to do, Peter and the boys left, leaving Mary Magdalene alone at the tomb again. She wasn’t alone for long. It took a minute, but Mary realized that Jesus was right there…with her…very much alive and well. Then something odd happens…at least, I think it’s odd. Mary moves towards Jesus to hug him..because that’s what you would do…when someone you loved dies…and then is alive again. However, instead of Jesus opening His arms to hold her, He says to her, “Don’t hold on to me…”
Uhhhh….say again, Jesus?!?!? Mary wants a much-needed and perfectly acceptable hug, and you say…nah?!?!?!
Okay…so…we know that Jesus wouldn’t reject someone like that, let alone someone in His inner-most circle of friends…family, really! So what’s with the stiff-arm cold shoulder? As with everything with Jesus, there is always more going on than what’s happening at the surface. There’s always something more He is trying to teach and communicate. I could be wrong, but I sense He was trying to communicate something VERY important to Mary…to the other disciples…and to you and me today…about CHANGE. I think He’s trying to communicate to us that…
HOLDING ON WILL HOLD US BACK
For Mary…yes, a hug would have been fantastic. BUT…the other disciples and the WORLD needed to learn that Jesus was ALIVE!!! This means that the world, the universe, and all of space and time have fundamentally changed! Mary, we will have plenty of time to hug, but we must get this news out to everyone ASAP. They (we) have waited long enough…why wait a second longer?!?? Nothing has changed with our relationship, Mary; in fact, it’s gotten better. But…it is different right now…because it has to be…for everything I promised, everything we hoped for…to come to fruition.
For us…doing things the way we have always done them is not a bad thing. That is unless they keep us comfortable at the expense of those in discomfort. I mean, change is really the thing that got us into this Jesus stuff, right? We don’t want things to stay the same. We don’t want to be selfish anymore. We don’t want injustice in the world anymore. We don’t want pain and suffering in our world anymore. For that to happen…things need to change…things need to evolve… for everything we hope for…everything God, through Jesus, has promised (and shown) us…to come to pass.
That being said, some things do change because they are wrong. They are harmful and counter to human flourishing. As followers of Jesus, we should never resist these changes. Instead, we should embrace them…lead them…cause them even…for the life of the world and the love of our neighbor. However, some things changed because they were good. The change came and did what it was supposed to, leaving the world better for it. More like the place we all hope and long for. We should celebrate those changes…and definitely celebrate and honor the people who were a part of them…or led them.
I know for myself that I would not be a Disciples minister if it wasn’t for Rev. Dr. Nadine Burton. Nor would Just Love – Greater New Orleans have been started, or the Just Love movement exist as a whole if it wasn’t for her, leading and guiding folks into believing that we indeed can have churches where we know the power of selfless love can change the city they are in. They won’t look like the churches we are used to, but they will look like the churches we need…the churches people need…in New Orleans and maybe the world.
Now, that’s something I can hold on to. I hope you will, too.
