Disruption past, present and future

So we come to our time of joy and celebration. The joy of celebrating the Resurrection to new life with Christ. The reading from Matthew's gospel is perhaps a reading of disruption (Matt. 28.1-10). The first disruption, if we can call it that, is the fact that the focus is on the women at a time when patriarchy was dominant. The second disruption is the removal of the stone which is closely followed by the third disruption which is the appearance of Christ. These three points of disruption are all for us in the past and yet erupt time and again into the present to show us a future, which brings with it the promise of newness and further disruption of our lives. Only when we can perceive the opportunities that are raised by disruption can we see the possibilities of new life in ours. Let us look at each point of disruption that occurs and plumb, certainly not all, some of the depths that are hidden in the story.

Feminist theology has been pointing out for a number of years the in built biases that are present in the scriptures regarding dominance and colonisation of the marginalised groups, including women. Yet in this passage women are brought to the fore in writing that is dominated by maleness. (I am sure there are other more feminist readings that will point out a greater against the grain reading but that is not my intention here). The very fact, however it came about, that there is this specific rendering of fe/maleness in this place at this time is disruptive. It mocks our understanding of relationship and sources of theological rendering of maleness in authority and power. If we are to doubt at any time the role of women in our faith then this is disrupted here in this most important reading on this most important day. A day that tells of new life and change. How we need to disrupt our normal patterns to realise that the patterns of Christ and God are so different from our own way of thinking as we move into a future that is as yet uncertain.

The second disruption (Matt. 28.2) is where there is the appearance of an external agency to roll away the stone that closes the tomb. This is not normal in any one's imagination let alone reality but this is what confronts us in the Gospel. Is it a literary intervention to explain the absence of the closure? Mayhap, it is something to counter the rumours of theft as are recorded in sources external to the Gospels in the canon (see also Matt. 28.11-15)? No matter. We are all, always confronted by the stone that stops us from understanding with faith. There is a consistent blockage for those who live in today's world. This world is based on obtaining knowledge and proof of how things work, made, etc. Previously, our world was based on the ability to have faith and believe that it was so. In some respects we have come from one end of a spectrum to the other in one easy leap. Today, we have no time for things which appear to be fantastical or figments of others imaginations. In some respects we have strengthened the stone that bars our progress towards a relevant understanding. It often takes an intervention to move that rock, a disruption to what we believe to be possible based on proof. It is only when the stone is removed can we really transform our lives by understanding the balance that must pertain between faith and proof through knowledge only then will the stone that blocks our perception be removed.

The final disruption is of course the appearance of Christ, the first of two post Resurrection appearances in Matthew (28.9-10). The appearance is shocking for its unexpectedness as they run back to the others. Suddenly, the risen Christ confronts (not violently) the women as they rush to return. They are forced into a new pattern and set of beliefs by Christ's presence in the world.  We are confronted with the possibility, centred in Christ of new life,  beyond what we understand and know. Beyond belief and even for some beyond faith. This systemic shock to our system imperils our senses and our world. The disruption of the possibility of a new way an alternative understanding confronts us. The question remains for each of us what are we going to do about it?

The disruption of new life brings uncertainty and fear but also joy and love

 In many respects this is what we face now, as we move forward towards a post COVID 19 understanding of the world. The virus has unexpectedly disrupted our lives and we are forced to confront a new future. Just as our thinking of inequality and injustice is disrupted by the centrality of the wo/man so all our previous thinking economic, health, injustice, inequality, etc is disrupted by the pandemic. Just as the wo/men were confronted with an external force lifting the barriers confronting them so to COVID 19 is an exterior force that is making us rethink the barriers facing us in terms of how we cope in a post pandemic world. Can political advantage and disadvantage remain the same, can we overcome the barriers of bias in our thinking of others, etc. Lastly the disruption of Christ and our acceptance of new life lies open before us as we re-think all of our accepted practices and try to bring new life to community and neighbours in a new world.