He is Risen! Now What?
Post-Resurrection Living for Confused People
Happy Easter Monday. Today begins Eastertide, the season leading up to the Ascension and Pentecost. Eastertide is that glorious season as a church when we are reminded to proclaim the Messiah’s Resurrection and new life in any way we might know how. I hope this Eastertide message encourages you as you re-enter the world in the wake of the Resurrection. I also hope you enjoy the Caravaggio images. He is one of my favorite artists, particularly of religious images. Joy has dutifully quite literally walked miles with me so that I could see some of his paintings in person. I’ve included three of my favorites of his here—each documenting a post-Resurrection appearance of Jesus.
For those in that very first Eastertide, sharing the news seemed as natural as sending a funny video to your friend. They had, after all, witnessed a miracle. They had seen a man who had been dead three days earlier. He appeared in a room with them. He made them breakfast. Of course they told everyone. As N.T. Wright has noted, there had been others who claimed to be the Messiah before, but once they died there were one of two responses: Either the movement dissolved, or the followers claimed to have been mistaken about who the Messiah actually was (usually attaching the title to another one of the followers.)
But something like this had never been seen before. After Jesus died, the movement did not dissipate. Nor did they claim that someone else in the movement was actually the Messiah (like, say, his brother James). No, instead, they began proclaiming that Jesus was not dead but actually alive! This had never happened.
And it changed everything.
Yes, they knew exactly what to do.
But what about us? Do we know what to do on this Eastertide?
If we are honest, we will acknowledge that we live in confused and confusing times. That which is evil is often celebrated as good. That which is anti-Christian is often held up by those in the church as righteous. Almost every week there is another scandal by those in power in Christian clergy, causing us to wonder if the entire endeavor is an elaborate ruse. Should we shake our sandals, wipe our hands, and walk away?
Trust me, I’ve asked that before.
And yet.
There is something about the confounding nature of Jesus—specifically of his Resurrection—that has taken hold of my heart, and, if I am honest, has compelled me in a way that nothing else ever has.
And Easter Monday is as perfect time to step towards it.
Easter Monday is when we separate word from deed. Easter Monday is where the rubber meets the road. Easter Monday is when we choose to live that which has been proclaimed.
Today is when we might consider what that means for each of us. We may not be able to proclaim the Resurrection with gusto in our offices, classrooms or work sites today. But there are ways for each of us to hold anew to the stunning new life and declaration that Jesus is alive.
Each of Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances led his followers to worship. They recognized that Jesus was far greater than they had initially suspected, and they responded accordingly. Like Thomas crying out, “My Lord and my God,” Jesus’ Resurrection made them see something brand new: Jesus is not just a teacher, nor a prophet, but He is instead the Messiah, the King of Creation, God incarnate—now being revealed as such.
And so they worshipped him. They had respected him before. But now they saw him as God.
If there is a first and best response for Eastertide, this is it: Let us recommit ourselves to prayer and worship. Jesus is alive! He is God! He has conquered death on our behalf and given us the hope of eternal life with Him. We can turn to Him each day in prayer and worship. We can recommit ourselves to worshipping each Sunday with the people of God. We can recommit ourselves to reading the Scriptures—particularly the New Testament—so that we are familiar with his ways and his character. If we call ourselves “Christian,” then let us commit ourselves to worshipping the Risen Christ.
In today’s world, the commitment to worship makes us odd. There are any number of things that one might do on a Sunday morning. If the weather is nice, you could go for a walk, head to the lake or the golf course, or do some work in the yard before it gets too hot. It is a great day to catch up on sleep or to tidy things up around the house. There is much to do and far too little time to do it all.
But when we decide we will—of all the options available to us—worship with the gathered community of the saints, we make a declaration: This living Jesus is worth rearranging our lives. His conquering of death means that we will celebrate this new life with the people of God, no matter how inconvenient. With song and word and Table and embrace, we demonstrate: This is Way around which we order our lives.
Let us worship with gusto this Eastertide—and every day.
And as we leave worship, let us take these re-ordered lives into the rest of the world.
If there is anything Eastertide teaches us, it is that Resurrection people live differently. I am always struck by the demonstrably different way of life those in the first church chose to live. They became people who lived as if Eternity was present. They not only worshipped, but they supported one another. They were incredibly generous, making sure that those without were taken care of. They accepted people from every ethnic background, and they welcomed converts from all past lives. They gave public allegiance to Jesus instead of the government. They loved their enemies to the point that their refusal to take revenge became one of the strongest marks of a true Christian in the first century.
They left behind an old way of life, and they embraced the Jesus Way.
If you are like me, the ways of the world brush onto me over the course of the year, gathering like a fine film. I find myself saying things I once would have thought offensive. I find myself hoarding just a little more than I need. I realize that I am more comfortable with crassness or a bit more closed in the way that I approach others.
Easter grabs me by the shoulders and shakes me to my senses.
Jesus is alive, and his Way is the best Way to be human.
Eastertide is a great time to recommit ourselves to this Way.
This Way requires us to rediscover humility. There are so many people with so many ideas about the best ways to live, and they speak with such confidence. “You’re being suckered,” they tell us. “You need to take care of yourself.” “Live a little.” “Don’t let people think you are soft.”
There are kernels of truth in each of these sayings—enough of a kernel that you will be temped over the course of a lifetime to take it as supreme truth. It is much easier to look out for ourselves, to spend all that we receive on what we want, to indulge in a life devoted to pleasure, to carry a hardened heart because the world is so very hard.
You would be well within your right to live like this.
But if he is alive, there is another possibility.
If he is alive, love is not weakness but power. Love recognizes that we need not take revenge because the one who has conquered death will hand out justice in due time. I can, instead, live with reckless abandon to love, for I am no longer in charge of defending myself.
If he is alive, generosity is not foolishness but investment. Generosity recognizes that in the Kingdom economy, giving away what I have to those who are in need somehow activates the generosity of God, so that He continues to provide even when it seems like I may not have enough.
If he is alive, then self-denial is not self-flagellation but instead a stepping into deeper joys that exceed fleeting moments. Chastity and purity and faithfulness and sobriety are the like are not sticks in the mud, but a ladder lifting us to a place of exceeding enjoyment.
If he is alive, then a soft heart is not naïveté but is instead the wisest of all postures. Opening ourselves to the world allows us to experience more, receive more, and love more than closed heart ever could.
If he is alive, all of this—and more—is our call.
Further up and further in, we go.