Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 2, 2021
James Tissot: The Pharisees Question Jesus
Three Days
Matthew 15:32 – Jesus feeds thousands who have followed him for three days, hungering for The Word of God. The religious structure collected taxes and burned offerings. The broken-hearted and the displaced were not healed. The marginalized lived at the whim of those with power. There were no social safety nets and little compassion in this ancient society.
Matthew 12:40 – Jesus reminds us that just as Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a huge fish so too will the Son of Man pass three days and nights in the heart of the earth. There is more safety in Jesus’ promise of salvation than any civil or economic structure.
Matthew 26:57-68 – Jesus stands in silence before the Sanhedrin when he is accused of saying that he will rebuild in three days the destroyed temple that took decades to build. When Jesus finally replies that the Son of Man will be seen sitting at God’s right hand, the high priest rends his clothes. Disbelief and scorn are typical reactions to the savior’s promise.
Matthew 27:39-40 – Those who pass by the crucified Jesus taunt him saying: You who are going to rebuild the temple in three days, save yourself! Bullying and violence are too often the response to God’s promise of wholeness and newness in Christ.
Matthew 27:62-66 – A guard is established at Jesus’ tomb in order that his compatriots not steal the body and create a false story. “Take a guard,” Pilate says. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how”. There is no power on earth that can withstand the force of God’s love.
In three days, Jesus rose from the depths of death just as he had promised. And the miracle of this event is not only that Jesus has risen, but that he carries each of us with him into this new resurrection and new life. Let us give thanks today and all days. Alleluia!
The Noontimes 
_-_James_Tissot.jpg){kind=link}