Easter is all of this and more - some thoughts
Here we are on the other side of Good Friday. On the other side of death. This lent we have been reminded, more than ever, of the power of death. We have watched with horror the events in Ukraine, let alone all the forgotten conflicts in places like Ethiopia, Syria, and Yemen. We have negotiated our way through another wave of Covid, trying to act in ways the keep each other safe, and grieving those who have succumbed and died. The IPCC released its latest report again drawing our attention to the growing urgency around climate change, as increasingly damaging weather events happen with more frequency. This lent we have been faced with the powers that seek to bring death.
And amid that we were invited
as our Lenten discipline to pay attention to what brings us life. To make more space
for that, and, to let go of those things that deny life. We do that because more
than ever we need this life. We do that knowing God is present in all this, looking
to bring life in the most hopeless of situations.
Easter is all of this and
more. Joy J. Moore says that “We need a biblical imagination to recognize all
that God has been doing to restore the divine intention for humanity. The
crucifixion was the culmination of humanity’s acts of violence against God. The
resurrection is the climactic demonstration of God’s unrelenting love toward
humanity.”[1]
Easter is a celebration of God’s unrelenting life and desire for life for all creation. As we celebrate, we are invited to live resurrected lives. As Karoline Lewis[2] says “Resurrection is not only the promise of life after death, which, after all, would be enough, but also the assurance that the life-giving love of God will always move the stones away. Tombs are just that -- containers for the dead. And while we seem rather content these days with such spaces -- those dead places that fuel corruption, deception, racism, sexism, suspicion, rejection, marginalization, misogyny, judgment, and fear -- God continues to roll those stones away that keep life at bay. And when the stale air of decay meets God’s breath that creates new life and the possibility of hope and peace, death truly is no more.”
May you know God’s desire for
resurrected life for you, for us, for this world. May you live in God’s
compassion and generosity joining with God creating new life and the
possibility of hope and peace.
[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/its-the-journey-that-matters
[2] <http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=4571>
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