Funny thing about most of the resurrection accounts in the gospels: the disciples are usually huddling behind closed doors, hiding in living rooms, or traveling to distant mountains before Christ appears to them. Their old fears did not evaporate quickly, and that first Easter was filled with anxiety and trepidation on many fronts.
I wonder if our own Easters have become too tame?
To proclaim that Christ lives is, after all, a proclamation that the powers of this world (political, social, economic) no longer hold sway over our existence and that, since Christ has been raised, we need not put our trust in princes or armies or feel the need to create a future based on the temporary--which is, of course, passing away. God has already won the battle and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.
Easter, at least at the beginning, was revolutionary--and a revolution. The gospel changed so many lives that it eventually changed the world.
This Easter can be a revolution if we would have it. It could be a revolution built on love and grace and life. We might find that our old fears can be cast out by the greater love of God. We may discover that we don't have to live in fear, but as the scriptures attest . . . when our love is perfected, love casts out fear. We may discover that the church is a resurrection people and when we work together to be Christ's hands and feet . . . the kingdom comes.
As Mother Theresa once said: "We cannot do great things . . . we can only do small things with great love."
Sounds like Easter to me. And I hope you will know that "Christ is risen, indeed!"
I wonder if our own Easters have become too tame?
To proclaim that Christ lives is, after all, a proclamation that the powers of this world (political, social, economic) no longer hold sway over our existence and that, since Christ has been raised, we need not put our trust in princes or armies or feel the need to create a future based on the temporary--which is, of course, passing away. God has already won the battle and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.
Easter, at least at the beginning, was revolutionary--and a revolution. The gospel changed so many lives that it eventually changed the world.
This Easter can be a revolution if we would have it. It could be a revolution built on love and grace and life. We might find that our old fears can be cast out by the greater love of God. We may discover that we don't have to live in fear, but as the scriptures attest . . . when our love is perfected, love casts out fear. We may discover that the church is a resurrection people and when we work together to be Christ's hands and feet . . . the kingdom comes.
As Mother Theresa once said: "We cannot do great things . . . we can only do small things with great love."
Sounds like Easter to me. And I hope you will know that "Christ is risen, indeed!"
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