A Web of Belonging

 Humans first began participating in a world wide web on the morning God raised Jesus from the dead, as news of his resurrection spread from an angel to Mary of Magdalen to the disciples in Jerusalem to Jewish followers in outlying regions to gentiles and eventually throughout the entire globe. One can imagine the message spreading as in the children’s game of “telephone”: “Jesus is risen!” one person whispers urgently to another. “The breeze has arisen?” she responds. “No; JESUS IS RISEN!”

John tells us how seeing the risen Christ opened the eyes of the disciples to the fellowship made possible through Jesus’ resurrection: “…we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us—what we have seen and heard, we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete” (1 Jn 1: 3-4).

Jesus’ resurrection unveiled the web that connects all of us. He died to show God’s love for everyone, not just a chosen few. His resurrection promises new life for all people, not just his disciples or those of the Jewish faith or those who identify as Christian. God is inclusive in love, mercy, and forgiveness, and thus we all have a share in God’s kingdom.

That is but one aspect of the earthquake that happened when Jesus emerged from the tomb: we can no longer justifiably judge, exclude, enslave, exploit, or persecute others, because Jesus’ resurrection has made us all brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Unfortunately, many humans still have myopia and cannot see that truth. Those of us whose eyes were opened to a new way of seeing when Jesus arose must work to strengthen the web that sustains us all by bringing glad tidings to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to captives, giving sight to the blind, and letting the oppressed go free. We must continue to spread the good news that Christ lives and we live in Christ—all of us, without exception—for it is only when we all take our place at the table that our joy will be complete.