Resurrection!

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

            Matthew 11:28

 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

            John 11:25a

 Easter is coming. The penitential season of Lent, in which we attempt to strengthen our relationship with God by drawing closer to who and what God wants us to be, will soon lead Jesus to the cross. And we will be right there with him, acknowledging his suffering for our sake. But then, on the third day, the tomb will be empty and we will rejoice in the fact that Jesus has risen from the grave. We will celebrate what this means for us. And as we celebrate, we take comfort in the promise of the resurrection. We go about our days living in the knowledge that we will have new life, and new hope, and that we do not need to fear death. We rest secure in the knowledge that, one day, we too will rise again.

Here’s the thing, though. When Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life,” he wasn’t just talking about the end times. He didn’t just mean ‘one day.’ Jesus wasn’t just saying that we will be resurrected eventually, when God creates the new Heaven and the new Earth, and the new Jerusalem. Jesus was telling Martha about that very moment, and he showed her such when he went on to raise Lazarus from the tomb. Jesus was telling Martha that he is the resurrection and the life each and every day.

There are many different kinds of resurrection. When someone is ill for a long period of time, and eventually comes through it to lead a full life again, that is a resurrection. When someone gets treatment and emerges from a life of addiction whole and healed, full of new possibilities, that is a resurrection. When someone gets out of prison and manages to become a productive member of society, going straight and staying out of prison, that is a resurrection. When a lonely person finds a new friendship and thus a new reason to take joy in life, that is a resurrection.

I’m sure you can think of other examples. The truth is that there are resurrections happening all around us every day. New life and new hope are not just for the end times. Jesus brings us new life and new hope whenever we lay our burdens upon him and seek rest in his arms. Sometimes resurrection is as simple as having the problems that were keeping you awake in the middle of the night disappear with the coming of the new day. The dawn brings you a new resolve and a new ability to face your challenges, and you have new hope. You are resurrected.

Christians are sometimes referred to as Easter people living in a Good Friday world. We see the reality of what the world is like, and we acknowledge its brokenness. Some days the brokenness threatens to overwhelm us. But we also know that this brokenness is not the only thing that defines the world. As Christians, we know that the world is also defined by resurrection. We know that, through Christ, good can come from bad, and hope can come from harm. These too are resurrections, and the hope that we have in these possibilities is another form of the hope that we have in the resurrection promise. Resurrection happens each and every day.

How will you be resurrected today?

Peace,

Pastor Shawn