Faith and Forever Unfurled

Dear Trekker,
The morning after Easter I caught myself silently thinking “Well, Easter is over! Now we move on!” No sooner had the words come to my mind when I mused almost aloud, “No, Easter has only begun! The resurrection is the beginning…it is anything but the end.”

And so it is true! A young man, Jesus of Nazareth, a non-descript carpenter turned itinerant teacher and preacher and genuine faith healer, was hung on a Roman cross in ancient Judea because he claimed to be uniquely the Son of God… and his Jewish contemporaries couldn’t buy it. When he had raised his friend Lazarus from the dead a few days earlier, the die had been cast. But… Sunday morning his tomb, too, was empty. He was resurrected by the Spirit of God, observed repeatedly by many (check out I Corinthians 15, the “resurrection chapter” from the pen of the Apostle Paul) and departed earth, fully alive.

People today, friends and followers of the humble Galilean, gather every Sunday, the first day of the week, not the Sabbath, the seventh, a day of rest, to seek and worship a living God. Jesus is risen, forever, and man cannot hold him on the earth He created, ever again. As Jesus told Mary Magdalene (who thought he was the gardener) that first Lord’s day, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (And) Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, “I have seen the Lord.” And she told them that he had said these things to her.” (John’s Gospel, Chapter 20:17,18.)

The significance of the resurrection cannot be overstated. It is the most dramatic event of all human history. Humans don’t resurrect from the grave! The resurrection occurred as the climactic event to authenticate the incarnation (God being man), the atonement (Jesus Christ dying for the remission of our sins) and to make possible the ascension from earth back to the Father. He was conceived miraculously; he departed equally miraculously. So, Christianity is marked not by pilgrimage to a burial spot! We serve and worship a living Savior, and the Kingdom of God planted on earth is ruled by a living transcendent Sovereign. The founders of all other world religions lie dormant in the earth, but Jesus the Christ exclaims. “Do not be afraid. I am the First and Last, the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever.” (Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus to John on the island of Patmos two generations after his resurrection.)

So Trekker… where does this leave us! Well, we are on pretty solid ground. The impossible (from a human standpoint) occurred again and again in the life of Jesus Christ. This was no mere man, so said the centurion at the foot of the cross. The earth convulsed, the rocks cried out and yielded up living bodies from ancient tombs, according to Matthew’s gospel account, Chapter 27: 52, 53. He showed up repeatedly during those forty days in His resurrected body. (Now is a good time to re-read I Corinthians, Chapter 15; take a moment.)

Trekker… what are we to do post Easter, post every Sunday? Since Jesus is the Way back to God, the Truth about God, and the essence of Life itself (John 14:6), we are to be followers of the Way, Jesus, knowing that if the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in our mortal bodies, we too will be raised to new life (Romans 8:11). We will be witnesses to the Way, by our presence in the world and by our words when asked for the Hope that is within us!! Trekker, it can’t be any other way if you believe in the resurrection. The resurrection is the sine qua non of our faith.

It is almost funny, if it weren’t so sad. People around the world who believe this truly unique fact of history two thousand years later will not be silent. They will show up everywhere as a “race of little Christs” and will be a fragrance of Christ wherever they are. Their desire is to share the Good News of Christ’s death and triumph over the grave because one is eternally dead until they are brought to new life. And if a politically correct doubter says this is all poppycock, he or she, of course, disbelieves at their own peril. Trekker, I hope you are a man of prayer because such people are hurting big time. Lost and without hope, they need our caring and serving and accepting love… never our condemnation.

Trekker, we are called to be witnesses. May we be as the early disciples… “unschooled, ordinary men” but those who have been with Jesus.” May we too say, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Hope you have read Acts Chapter 4 recently. It is exciting real Life history!)

Actually trekker, the end of “our” story has been written, too. As we are “in Christ”, the Holy Spirit, shed abroad in our hearts, has bound us into the eternal Father forever; the grace of God has ordained and carried it out. All we do is live the good news, unabashedly believing it and giving our lives to others as Christ gave His for us. Yup, trekker, Easter has only begun! Don’t give up or clam up! Shout it from the rooftops…proclaim it throughout the land… He is risen! Come on now trekker…celebrate Jesus!

Smiling in gratitude,
Jim Meredith