Idle tales become real faith

“ Alleluia. Christ is risen.  The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.” Luke 24:1-12

 

“ And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.  Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down , he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.” 24:11-12

 

    Idle tales.  This word comes from medical terminology of someone who is delirious.  How much attention do you pay to that kind of person in that kind of state?  I usually laugh when I listen to such people visiting them or seeing them.  Now I am not trying to be mean to them, but some of their talk is obviously coming from the medication after surgery. 

 

     It was “ Mary Magdalene, and Joanna , and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.” 24:10  Remember Mary Magdalene?  She was the woman spoken of in Luke 8:2-3 who “had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities….and out of (Mary called Magdalene), out of whom went seven devils.”  The women may not have been believed because ….well they were not men.  Remember this was a patriarchal society where what the man said was the law.  Then of course these women were not exactly or at least had not been right in mind, and Mary called Magdalene had at one point seven devils.   She was probably not a credible witness to some of the apostles at least.  This reminds me of the what Winston Churchill said of Lady Astor, “  She says, ‘ If you were my husband, I’d poison your coffee.’  He says,’ If you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

 

     Their words seemed to them as foolish talk and “they believed them not.”  Now that sounds familiar does it not?  Men and women and young people and children do not believe .  It sounds like delirious talk .  Our lives must not only be those that are formed by “words that seemed to them as idle tales”,  but lives that are formed by the words we believe because we do not think they are idle tales.  Our world needs men and women, youth and children who act as though their lives have been formed by something more than idle tales.  Unfortunately our society seems more and more to adopt such labels as “progressive” & “loving” to accept more and more behavior that is really the stuff of idle tales.  We like the women at the tomb at the deep dawn of the morning must speak with conviction. It as we see it is not always believed at least at first.

 

     Then something remarkable happens.  The one who denied him, that is Peter, the apostle goes over there for himself…that is to the sepulchre.  Peter is a man of many emotions.  He is strong when he confesses Christ on the mountain and he is weak when he goes out on the water and does not look to Christ and sinks in.  “ But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried , saying, Lord save me.” Matthew 14:30  Peter goes over there with some speed apparently . “ He ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.” Luke 24:12  As Matthew Henry says, “ the body was gone.  He ( Peter) was very particular in making his observations, as if he would rather credit his own eyes than the testimony of the angels.”

 

    So there is the beginning of faith for Peter.  He had to see.  He saw for himself.  He saw the linen clothes folded up and the body was not there.  Could it be?  Could it be that the word of the angels was true?  “ Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.”

 

    We too must see this fact for ourselves and this truth then must form our lives, not the idle tales of the world and its false claims of truth.  The Resurrected Jesus forms our character and our ethics as well as our behavior.  The letter of Paul to the Colossians which is often read on Easter says it this way:”  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”

 

“ Alleluia. Christ is risen.  The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.”