What should I do?
Then Yeshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to my brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they shall see me.” Matthew 28:10 (my translation)
Do not be afraid – Don’t we just want God to tell us what to do next? Don’t we really want a Bible GPS? “Turn right in 100 yards” becomes “Marry the girl in the blue dress standing by the fountain,” or “Take the second job offer you get on Wednesday.” Oh, and if you make a mistake by not paying attention, then God’s voice from the GPS Bible says, “You missed my direction. I am recalibrating. Please choose the third church on the east side of Maple Lane to attend this Sunday.”
How many times have we come to a crossroad with the Lord and realized that we don’t have a map? “Which way shall I go, Father?” “What should I do now?” We look for the GPS Bible guide to life, but we soon discover that God isn’t in the electronic manufacturing business. He is in the relationship-dependence business. There are no maps. There is only trust.
Why are we so intent on having God’s GPS system for our lives? Part of the answer lies in the preoccupation we have with control and predictability. We want certainty in our lives. We want to know what’s going to happen so that we can be fully prepared, control the circumstances and keep everything in order. Guess what? The world is broken. It just doesn’t work that way. And even if it did, I’m not so sure that God would allow you to get away with such immaturity. The women who encountered Yeshua after the resurrection found that life wasn’t predictable, but it was surprisingly joyful. Maybe that’s what we all need to learn.
It is no accident that women were the first to see the risen Lord. They were attending to the duties of life, just as women always have. Preparing meals, caring for children, cleaning, shopping, managing the domestic burdens. And, of course, taking care of the sick and bringing flowers to the graves. These are roles men consider too menial for them. After all, men are the ones in authority (at least they like to think they are). The everyday issues of living should be delegated to others. So these women come to the tomb, ready to perform one more of the tasks that befall those who serve. As we soon discover, the act of serving brings us into close proximity with the glory of God.
Why are women the first see the resurrected Messiah? Perhaps we are too quick to ascribe this action to culture alone. While it is true that women took care of the daily tasks of families, perhaps there is a deeper reason behind the engineering of events to bring women to the tomb first. Cheryl Durham[1] suggests the answer may be related to women as nurturers by design. In this capacity, women come into closer proximity with God because their senses are attuned to noticing nuances of relational aspects. They experience care from the heart. This sensitivity seems to be part of God’s original design. After all, He built the woman as ‘ezer kenegdo (inadequately translated as “helper”).[2]
Two women came to show respect. Two women whose lives were filled with devotion for Yeshua. Two women who had never been the same since the day they met him. They came to grieve. They came to absorb once more the thoughts and feelings of this man. They came because they were still followers. Death did not destroy their commitment.
We all know the story. They encounter an angel who pronounces the good news. They are overwhelmed with fear and rejoicing. Can it be true? It was almost too much to hope. As the run back toward the city, Yeshua meets them.
Matthew says that he stopped them with a greeting. The word Matthew uses is chairete. Rejoice! Joy to you! Immediately something has changed. This is not the word we expect. Except for the deceptive greeting of Judas and the mocking homage of the Roman soldiers, this word is used for much more than a common greeting. We find it on the lips of Yeshua and in the letters of Paul as an exclamation pregnant with the power of God’s restoration. It is never found in the Old Testament as a greeting. The common Hebrew greeting should have been shalom – peace! Shalom in its true context means completeness, wholeness, harmony or fulfillment in both our undertakings and our relationships. This kind of peace is the result of God’s promise. This was the common greeting of every Jew – a wish of God’s well being for another. But shalom no longer fits reality.
Today that wish for well-being has been fulfilled. Shalom, the hope of peace, has become chairete – the announcement of grace. Yeshua proclaims a shift in the entire universe with one of life’s simple tasks – greeting another. For thousands of years, mankind waited, expressing the wish for peace. On this day, peace has arrived, never to be taken away. Yeshua transforms the simplest of human interactions into a divine intersection. A meal becomes a sacrifice. A touch becomes a window to God’s character. A greeting becomes the proclamation of fulfillment.
Before the risen Christ empowers these women with a message that would revolutionize the entire world, he allows them to display their relief, joy, wonder and commitment. He is patient with all of us, waiting until we are ready to seize his feet and never let him go, waiting until we fall before him in honor and reverence. The first step toward a mission is not a step toward those who need to hear what we have to say. It is a step toward the one who commissions us. It is the step that draws us as close as possible, not willing to allow anything to separate us ever again. Until we seize him in worship, we have nothing to convey to others. Listen to the cry of your soul. Grasp the One Who has risen.
Topical Index: chairete, rejoice, Matthew 28:10, commission, shalom
This Today’s Word is excerpted from Jesus Said to Her
[1] in private correspondence
[2] For a full discussion of the divinely ordained role of the ‘ezer kenegdo, read Guardian Angel
Jesus Said To Her is a wonderful book! I loved it!
Skip, thank you for being sensitive to the smallest of details. Shalom is now here. The Bridegroom has come. Now it is time to feast and rejoice. The gap has been bridged between heaven and earth. Joy is how we cross that bridge.
What if we decided to stay in the place that reached out to the world with that hand of fellowship? What if our lives at any moment reflected the joy that can only come from the order that peace has established? What if everyone we met got an instant connection – just by being in our vicinity – with heaven? What if we represented the joy of salvation at all times? When others were in our presence, what if we shared the oxygen of heaven with them, and they got to breathe, just for a little while, the breath of life with us?. What if we made the effort to take those around us on a test drive from zero to sixty across that bridge to see what it was like to truly lay down those burdens, just for a little while? What if the first thing people noticed when they saw us was that we had been with our Saviour? The best living epistle out there is the one who is skipping down the yellow brick road picking flowers and saying “don’t you want to come with me?”
“Yeshua proclaims a shift in the entire universe with one of life’s simple tasks – greeting another. For thousands of years, mankind waited, expressing the wish for peace. On this day, peace has arrived, never to be taken away. … A greeting becomes the proclamation of fulfillment.”
I love this! I’d never thought of it this way, and I love how such simple, straightforward statements and insights from you have a way of shifting my view and blowing my mind! Thank you (again) Skip! 🙂
Skip,
This is as insightful and inspirational as anything I can remember you ever writing!
I rejoice in it, and I rejoice in Who you’re writing about!
Since it comes from a book I wrote a long time ago, my second one, actually, maybe you would find the rest of the discussion about Yeshua’s treatment of emotions also insightful. Of course, some things have changed in the years since I wrote it, but maybe it would serve me well to read it again.
Hello Skip and others,
Coming to spend time with Yeshua is truly chairete! I don’t hear Him scolding but the still small voice patiently inquires my reason for waiting so long. I can only imagine what the women and disciples experienced internally when realizing Yeshua is risen! May we have the chairete in each of our lives that finds us briskly walking toward Yeshua and then going about our respective missions!
One quick question, are you saying that to say shalom to someone is no longer etiquette?
David R
Shalom is good all the time. Chairete is even better.
¿Qué debo hacer?
Entonces Yeshua les dijo a ellos, “No teman; vayan y díganle a mis hermanos que se vayan a Galilea, y allí me verán.” Mateo 28:10 (mi traducción)
No teman – ¿Acaso no deseamos que Dios Simplemente nos diga qué debemos hacer? ¿No deseamos todos un GPS bíblico? “Dile a la derecha en 10 metros” se convertiría en “cásate con la chica del vestido azul que está parada junto a la fuente”, o “Toma la segunda oferta de trabajo que recibas el miércoles”. Y si te equivocas por no prestar atención, la voz del GPS bíblico diría “Perdiste mi dirección. Estoy re calibrando. Por favor escoge la tercera iglesia en el lado este de la calle Maple para asistir este domingo”.
¿Cuántas veces Hemos llegado a una encrucijada con el Señor y nos damos cuenta que no tenemos un mapa? ¿Por cuál camino debo ir Padre? ¿Qué debo hacer ahora? Buscamos la guía del GPS bíblico para nuestra vida, pero pronto descubrimos que Dios no está en el negocio de la fabricación de aparatos electrónicos. Él está en el negocio de la relación – dependencia. No hay mapas. Sólo hay confianza.
¿Porque estamos tan enfocados en tener el sistema de GPS de Dios en nuestras vidas? Parte de la respuesta yace en la preocupación que tenemos por el control y la previsibilidad. Queremos certeza en nuestras vidas. Queremos saber qué es lo que pasara para poder estar completamente preparados, controlar las circunstancias y mantener todo en orden. ¿Adivina qué? El mundo está quebrantado. Simplemente no funciona de esa manera. Y aún si lo hiciera, No estoy tan seguro que Dios permitiría qué nos escaparemos con tanta inmadurez. Las mujeres que se encontraron con Yeshua después de la resurrección, descubrieron que la vida no es tan predecible, pero fue sorprendentemente gozoso. Tal vez eso es todo lo que necesitamos aprender.
No es ningún accidente que las mujeres fueron las primeras en ver al Señor resucitado. Estaban atendiendo los deberes de la vida, tal como las mujeres lo hacen siempre. Preparando alimentos, cuidando los niños, limpiando, haciendo las compras, manejando las cargas domésticas. Y claro cuidar de los enfermos y llevar flores a la tumba. Estos son papeles que los hombres consideran muy bajo para ellos. Después de todo los hombres son los que están en autoridad (o por lo menos así piensan ellos) Los temas del diario vivir deben ser delegados a otros. Así que estás mujeres vienen a la tumba listas para hacer una más de esas tareas que han caído a aquellos qué sirven. Y como descubrimos prontamente, el acto de servir nos trae a una proximidad más cercana a la gloria de Dios.
¿Porque son las mujeres las primeras en ver al Mesías resucitado? Quizás somos muy rápidos en atribuir esta acción a la cultura solamente. Si bien es cierto que las mujeres se encargaban de las tareas diarias de las familias quizás hay una razón más profunda detrás de la planificación de los eventos que trae a las mujeres a la tumba primero. Cheryl Durham [1] sugiere que la respuesta puede estar relacionada al diseño de las mujeres como nutridoras. En esta capacidad las mujeres se acercan más a Dios porque sus sentidos están sintonizados para notar los matices de los aspectos de la relación. Ellas experimentan el cuidado desde el corazón. Esta sensibilidad parece ser parte del diseño original de Dios. Después de todo, El construyó a la mujer como ‘ezer kenegdo (mal traducido como “ayudadora”). [2]
Dos mujeres vinieron para mostrar respeto. Dos mujeres cuyas vidas fueron llenas de devoción a Yeshua. Dos mujeres que no habían sido las mismas desde el día en que le conocieron. Vinieron a llorar. Vinieron absorber una vez más los pensamientos y sentimientos de este hombre. Vinieron porque todavía eran sus seguidoras. La muerte no destruyó su compromiso.
Todos sabemos la historia. Encuentran un ángel que les pronuncia las buenas nuevas. Son abrumadas con temor y regocijo. ¿Podría ser cierto? Era casi demasiado para poder tener esperanza. Mientras corren de regreso a la ciudad, Yeshua las encuentra.
Mateo dice que las detuvo como un saludo. La palabra que más se utiliza es chairete. ¡Regocíjense! ¡Gozo a ustedes! Inmediatamente algo ha cambiado. Esta no es la palabra que esperaríamos. Exceptuando el saludo engañoso de Judas y el homenaje burlesco de los soldados romanos, esa palabra es utilizada para mucho más que un saludo común. La encontramos en los labios de Yeshua Ni en las cartas de Pablo como una exclamación impregnada con el poder restaurador de Dios. Nunca se encuentra en el Antiguo Testamento como un saludo. El saludo común hebreo tuvo que haber sido shalom- ¡paz! Shalom en su contexto real significa plenitud, integridad, armonía o satisfacción tanto en nuestras empresas como en nuestras relaciones. Este tipo de pasos del resultado de la promesa de Dios. Ese era el saludo común entre todo judío – El deseo del bienestar de Dios para otro. Pero shalom ya no encaja la realidad.
Hoy ese deseo por el bienestar se ha cumplido. Shalom, la esperanza de paz, se ha convertido en chairete – el anuncio de la gracia. Yeshua proclama un cambio en el universo entero con una de las tareas simples de la vida – saludar a otro. Durante miles de años, la humanidad esperó, expresando el deseo de paz. En este día, la paz ha llegado, para nunca jamás ser quitada. Yeshua transforma la más simple de las interacciones humanas en una intersección divina. Una comida se convierte en un sacrificio. Un toque se convierte en una ventana al carácter de Dios. Un saludo se convierte en el anuncio del cumplimiento.
Antes que el Cristo resucitado faculte de poder a estas mujeres con un mensaje que revolucionará el mundo entero, les permite mostrar su alivio, alegría, admiración y compromiso. Él es paciente con todos nosotros, esperando hasta que estemos listos para tomar sus pies y nunca dejarlos ir, esperando hasta que caigamos delante de él en honor y reverencia. El primer paso hacia una misión no es un paso hacia aquellos que necesitan escuchar lo que tenemos que decir. Es un paso hacia la persona que nos encarga. Es el paso que nos atrae lo más cerca posible, estando dispuesto a no permitir que nada nos separe nunca más. Hasta que no lo agarremos en adoración, no tenemos nada que transmitir a los demás. Escucha el grito de tu alma. Agarra al que ha resucitado.
Topical Index: chairete, rejoice, Matthew 28:10, commission, shalom
This Today’s Word is excerpted from Jesus Said to Her
[1] in private correspondence
[2] For a full discussion of the divinely ordained role of the ‘ezer kenegdo, read Guardian Angel