By Rev Roberto Ochoa, Conference Minister
Iowa Nebraska South Dakota UCC Conferences
“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” Acts 5:29
The days after the resurrection of Christ were not easy ones for the disciples of Jesus. Testimonies and speculative stories of the empty tomb were circulating quickly. Mary Magdalena, Joanna, Mary the mother of John and other women intent on the ceremonial cleansing of Jesus’ body were the first to cause the stir. When finding the stone rolled away, they immediately ran and let the other followers know, which prompted Peter and the Beloved Disciple to run and investigate. “Who and where did they take Jesus’ body” they cried?
Mary Magdalena reported seeing him, two others walking to the village of Emmaus claim to have spoken to him and while locked in a room in fear and trembling, the disciples experienced him. “Peace be with you” Jesus said to them. Even the Doubter of the stories from his beloved friends, who said “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe”, got his wish.
Christ has risen! First as a whisper as they still feared the human authorities of the day that threatened them. Jesus tells them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22) A precursor of things to come on Pentecost!
Hope! Love! Resurrected Hope and Love were sprung. People began to believe, to talk, to share, and the disciples of Christ would soon begin to preach and teach ignited by the power of the Holy Spirit the the kin-dom of God and of the risen Jesus Christ.
The established institutions of the day, attempted to silence the disciples of Jesus by prohibiting them from spreading these accounts and personal experiences. Yet the disciples filled with resurrected hope and love found the courage to speak truth to power. “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
The Easter season is not just about the story of the resurrection of Jesus, it is the spark that ignited a movement of courage during times of fear and troubles. A reminder that women, men, and nonbinary people (Acts 8) would experience the Divine of the Resurrected Hope and Love through the Holy Spirit which would profoundly change them.
My friends, the Church was created to bring the Good News of the Resurrected Hope and Love that Jesus taught all through his ministry. Jesus showed us the way to bringing upon the kin-dom of God, today when it matters most: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the foreigner, loving the neighbor, caring for the sick and incarcerated, and lifting up the communities that are vulnerable and being marginalize. All which are the core values of the United Church of Christ.
And when attempts are made to silence us, let us boldly speak as Peter and the disciples did “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” Let us not be afraid to speak truth to power. Together in the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences of the UCC, may our churches be the holy sanctuaries of the Resurrected Hope and Love we are called to be as we proclaim that Christ has risen!
Peace be with you my siblings, sisters, and brothers in Christ. May the blessings of the Resurrected One be upon you, your beloveds, your ministries, our communities, our nation, and our world.
May we remember in our prayers our Roman Catholic siblings at the passing of their leader, Pope Francis on April 21st, noted for his advocacy and support for refugees, migrants, and the impoverished. May God’s peace and comfort be on the Catholic Church as they discern their new leader. Rest in peace Pope Francis.
Rev Roberto