Thank’s John, for the reminder. “And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about” ~Haruki Murakami ❤ Frank
On Apr 15, 2017, at 10:19 AM, John Epps via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
Coming to terms with the meaning of the Easter story for us is difficult since times and world-views have changed. We find it difficult even to grasp what it meant for those who first told it, much less for us. Yet we are compelled to try by Paul’s admonition, “If Christ is not raised, then our faith is in vain.” (I Cor. 15:14)
One factor in the story must be recognized: this is a tale of a bodily resurrection, not a “spiritual” one. The risen one takes pains to force people to touch his wounds and so dispel the notion of an ectoplasmic appearance. Whatever the implications, they are physical, this worldly. The second factor is that stories of dying and rising gods (or superheroes) were widespread throughout the Ancient Near East and ancient Greece.
So what unique implications can we draw from the story that are important today? Another way to ask it is “Where today do we experience death and resurrection?”
Both occur at the individual, natural, and corporate levels. A word about each: Lately I have “died” when the classes I have taught for 15 years were cancelled; I was “raised” when the University called on me for 3 new classes. The slow and painful death of a dear aunt was followed by a celebration honoring her life that brought back the wonder of her artistry and love. These may seem trivial examples but dramatize the dynamics in the story: Death/Resurrection happens to us all.
In nature, “Resurrection” has long been a metaphor for the return of plant life in the Spring, at least in the Northern hemisphere. And certainly, the emergence of leaves on barren trees, of green in brown fields, and flowers from “dead” plants seem quite miraculous.
At the corporate level, the death and dying dynamic seems much more obvious that does resurrection. Many of our hopes and dreams died with the November election. The horrors and complexity of the Middle East conflicts and the appearance of global warming both represent a death to life as we have known it. What resurrection will look like remains to be seen.
Numerous efforts taken for environmental protection certainly mark an awakening to the need for change, but are faint heralds of a resurrected life. Numerous conferences aimed at achieving some sort of resolution of Middle East conflicts so far remain fruitless. As the story goes, it’s God who does the raising, not us. And when it occurs, it’s far beyond our expectations. As I have said elsewhere, “Humankind has unimaginable capacities to screw things up; yet Mystery generates unaccountable wonders out of our messes.” (Theology of Surprise, p. 39) Our current situation brings to mind a sermon that we heard in the Philippines during the last days of Marcos. It was entitled “It feels like Friday, but Sunday is A-Coming!”
Whether we’re enmeshed in the death or the resurrection part of the dynamic, both are operative. That’s what Easter celebrates.
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