Category: Resurrection

The Re-Connection Challenge

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Social Distancing ReConnection shutterstock_1664361598

One of the unintended consequences of the Stay Home Orders is to view other people as germ-carriers, contaminated, and threatening. I don’t want to overstate this, but you can feel the suspicion. Many now experience dis-ease with others because of this COVID-19 disease.

You can see it in the way people wearing masks look at others not wearing them. Having been trained in social distancing, many are going to be very uncomfortable with physical proximity and touch when (or for some, since) the Stay Home Orders have been lifted.

We’re caught in a classic case of competing values: self-protection versus other-connection.

We long for connection.

Many have now experienced the reality of working from home. They found both upsides and downsides to this. Technology allows flexibility, but it has limitations, especially in relationships.

One of the first to popularize the dynamic challenge between technological progress and relationships was social forecaster, John Naisbitt in his bestseller MEGATRENDS: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives (1982). He used the phrase High Tech/High Touch. “We are moving in the dual direction of high tech/high touch, matching each new technology with a compensating human response.” Decades ago, he spoke about the mixed reactions workers had to working from home. “They like the freedom and conveniences [of working from home] but miss the interaction with co-workers. People want to be with people.”

 We are created for community.

Our longing for connection is rooted in creation. In the Genesis 1 account of creation, every day closed with the refrain, “And God saw it was good.” At the conclusion of the sixth day, “God saw it was very good!” The first “not-good” designation of an aspect of creation came in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for man to be alone.” God proceeded to the creation of woman and the establishment of the human family. But the implications of not-being-alone go beyond family to the broader network of human connection.

We affirm each person’s value.

As I continue to reflect on Jesus’ resurrection, I realize that, in addition to being a validation of Jesus’ identity as God’s Son, it is a validation of human worth and human destiny. The incarnation, the resurrection, and the promised New Creation are ultimate testimonies to our value as human beings.

In one of his most influential essays, The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis pondered the implications of the eternal destiny of human beings. He pulled back the taking-people-for-granted curtain to consider both the eternal glory that will be manifest in those who receive salvation—or the eternal horror of those who reject salvation.

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.

Then Lewis considered our role in encouraging everyone with whom we interact to move toward the redemptive vision.

All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities… that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal… Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory). 

We respect each person’s journey.

Caring for one another is not optional. We are stewards of God’s grace in and through our relationships and community. Even when it’s not comfortable. So, whether we are quick to move on from social distancing, or slower to make the change, we respect and value each other in Christ.

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7 ESV).

The early church expressed their love and support through physical touch. I thought of the exhortation in the New Testament to “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” When I did a search, I was surprised to learn that it occurred not just once, but in four of Paul’s letters and one of Peter’s letters (Romans 16:16: 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14). In other words, this expression of love in Christ was a common practice.

While that may be true, we’ve been through an experience that won’t easily be forgotten. It’s going to be awkward at times. The important thing to remember is that “it’s not about you.” A person’s slowness to engage in physical touch is not a statement about our value. It’s a statement about their comfort and security. Love respects that.

Our priority is to be spiritually and emotionally connected, even as we sort out how to be physically present.

Where’s God in all This?

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The question is as old as the human experience of suffering: Where’s God in all this? Where’s God in this pandemic? Where’s God in the midst of our confusion, uncertainty, fear, and grief? Our faith is tested at times like these.

Behind these questions often lies the assumption that, if God loves us, everything should go our way. Petty annoyances, sure, we may have them. But no major problems. God “owes” us a great life. Or at least one without much in the way of problems and pain.

We wade into waters that soon rise over our heads when we delve into these questions, assumptions, and problems. Still, though we cannot address them all, we can gain some clarity. For instance, can people see the inconsistency of excluding God from their lives and yet expecting God to provide all they need and want? If God is loving, then, above all, shouldn’t we enter into that loving relationship? And if we are suffering, shouldn’t we look around for other considerations instead of blaming God?

But let’s focus more specifically on what we learn about God’s presence in our suffering from Jesus’ resurrection. I once again turn to the story of Lazarus for insight.

Jesus Waited: The Call to Holy Anticipation

If I asked how you really feel about God, and you were candid, you might say, “God has let me down.” That’s the way many felt when Jesus didn’t come immediately to aid Lazarus.

When Jesus received word of Lazarus’ illness, his response makes us wonder. “So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days (John 11:5-6 NLT). Jesus loved Lazarus, but his actions seemed to show undo casualness.

Why did he wait? Jesus said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this” (John 11:4 NLT).

How could illness reveal the glory of God?

The word “glory” in John means the visible manifestation of the invisible God through mighty acts of power. We read the same words in John 9:3, concerning the blind man.  God’s action in his suffering revealed God’s glory in his healing.

A careful study of the passage leads us to believe Lazarus had already died before the messengers even reached Jesus. Jewish tradition taught that the soul lingered near the body until the third day. So, by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was dead, really dead!

Jesus made a promise they would see God’s glory. They couldn’t imagine how.

Based on Jesus’ promise, I’m learning to ask this question in dark times: “Lord, what are you going to do with this mess?” I cultivate holy anticipation, consecrated curiosity.

Jesus Wept: The Assurance of Holy Empathy

While many Scriptures testify to God’s compassion for us (Exodus 3:7-8; Isaiah 49:15), the ultimate expression of God’s compassion is the incarnation. Jesus entered fully into human experience. He wept at Lazarus’ tomb.

Bottom line: God cares. The ultimate evidence is the cross.

Because I’ve already touched on this in my previous blog Easter Changes How We View Death I’ll move on.

Jesus Worked: The Revelation of God’s Power and Glory

The third message is one of hope in the way God’s unexpected power overcomes death.

In his book, The Resurrection of the Son of God, Bishop N. T. Wright explained,

“The early Christians did not invent the empty tomb and the ‘meetings’ or ‘sightings’ of the risen Jesus in order to explain a faith they already had. They developed that faith because of the occurrence, and convergence, of these two phenomena. Nobody was expecting this kind of thing; no kind of conversion-experience would have generated such ideas; nobody would have invented it, no matter how guilty (or how forgiven) they felt, no matter how many hours they pored over the scriptures.”

Though Mary and Martha thought Jesus had let them down, they soon saw him work a miracle greater than they could have ever asked or imagined.

God is bigger than any problem we have! The ultimate enemy has been disarmed!  If death doesn’t stop God, then truly nothing is impossible for God.

What looks like tragedy to us may bring a revelation of God’s glory we could have never known any other way.

Instead of saying, “God has disappointed me,” or “God has let me down,” we can learn to say, “I am not sure what God is doing yet… but I trust the Lord!” or “I don’t understand what God is doing yet…. but I trust the Lord.”

Where’s God in all this?

Where’s God? God is warning the world. These situations, while not caused by God, remind us of our vulnerability. They remind us of our need for God, for God’s direction, instruction, and support. They call us to repent of ingratitude, nonchalance, neglect, and presumption.

Where’s God? God is working in his people. God’s humbling us. God’s comforting us, fortifying, and strengthening us. God’s providing for us.

Where’s God? God is working through his people. God’s people are often on the front lines of caring and compassion in times of crisis.

Where is God? Right here! Working, weeping and walking with us.

What’s the Point??

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Compass shutterstock_558723724

We all have our Ecclesiastes moments—tho’ you may have never called them that—when it all seems so pointless.

In this continuing COVID-19 Stay Home/ Shut Down crisis, people are seeing the work of years undone in weeks. Many small businesses, for instance, have been decimated. What was the point of all that planning, work, and sacrifice? People living paycheck to paycheck are desperate. Where’s the hope when you want to provide for yourself, for your family, but you can’t?

Vanity of Vanities: It all seems so meaningless.

The Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes begins with a quote that may come from our mouths in dark days,

“Vanity of vanities,” saith the Preacher, “vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2 King James Version).

Another translation says, “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (NIV).

Vanity. Meaningless. Futility. Emptiness. In The Message, Eugene Peterson translates the word as “smoke.” The Hebrew word can be translated as breath, vapor, mist. In this context it expresses the intangible, ephemeral and passing nature of life in this world—apart from faith (see this concept also in James 4:14).

It’s fascinating that Solomon (the traditionally recognized author) wrote these words on the other side of success and fulfillment. (That is a subject for another time!) How much more do these words articulate our disappointment when our experience falls far short of our hopes.

Ecclesiastes Moments Dis-Illusion Us

Ecclesiastes moments didn’t begin with this new virus. They have been around since time immemorial.

The parents who invest and sacrifice for their children, only to be rejected;

The employees who give their best to their employer only to be placed second to profits;

The coaches who work to build a team only to be undercut by selfish players;

The teachers who equip students to think critically only to have students cheat to get by;

The medical personnel who care and counsel patients in the way of health only to be picking up the pieces for those who ignore their advice;

The pastors who… I’ll stop now!

You get the point—the point of the “pointlessness temptation.”

Experiences like these dis-illusion us. The prefix ‘dis’ means to separate, to pull away, to ‘rend asunder.’ The illusions and assumptions we counted on, built our life on, felt we deserved, get cruelly stripped away.

And that, while very difficult and painful, isn’t all bad.

Jesus’ Resurrection Gives us The Reference Point

The solution to our predicament of pointlessness will never be found in simply “getting back to normal,” whatever that means. Life will always be pointless if we fix on the improper reference point.

Imagine a mis-calibrated compass that points South when it should point North. The frustration would be beyond words. Yet the vast majority of people have no true compass. And Jesus’ followers too often forget to look at their faith-compass.

Jesus is our reference point and compass. The Scriptures are our map. The Everlasting Kingdom is our destination. And this life is, by faith in Christ, the first fruits of that Coming Kingdom.

The Empty Tomb Fills the Empty Life

Jesus’ resurrection changes the way we view life by shifting our reference point from worldly expectations to spiritual realities. That perspective shifts our immediate disappointment – and that disappointment is real and justified– into proper proportion with ultimate reality. Think back over hard times you’ve had. How do you interpret them now, with the passing of time? How do they look in comparison with your whole life up until now?

Jesus’ resurrection is God’s exclamation point on the value, purpose and meaning of life.

In my blog, Easter Changes How We View Death, I drew on the Lazarus story. I return to it again.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus stood at the entrance of the tomb, still wrapped in the grave clothes. Jesus then exhorted the family and friends, “Unbind him, and set him free” (John 11: 44).

Life’s illusions are like Lazarus’ grave clothes. Ecclesiastes moments expose the grave clothes that bind us.

We are bound by fear: fear of failure, of death, of what others will do to us, and even of what we will do to ourselves.

We are bound by worldly pursuits– but they will not fit in the coffin or the grave with us!

Bound by regret.

Bound by bitterness

What grave clothes wrap you?

Jesus’ words echo down the corridors of time. “Unbind them, and set them free.”

The Scriptures give us the assurance that life has a point when it points to Jesus.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless (1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT).

Easter Changes How We View Death

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View from empty tomb shutterstock_1031459059

After some experiences in life, you can never be the same: graduating from school, experiencing a major injury or illness; getting married, having a child, getting divorced; getting a major promotion, relocating to another part of the country, losing a job.

Experiences– good and bad– can leave a lasting imprint on our lives. They can figure into almost every choice we make, every situation we encounter.

In matters of faith, however, we often move on to other things too quickly.

I invite you to linger at the empty tomb. To experience Easter. The empty tomb promises the full life we crave. The view from the empty tomb can transform how we view everything if we take time to understand and apply it to our lives. In my next few blogs, we’ll explore some of the ways Jesus’ resurrection changes how we view death, our lives, God, and each other.

Seven Funerals in Seven Years

Back to life-changing experiences: One such experience — or more properly set of experiences—that deeply changed my outlook on life was attending the funerals of my relatives when I was a young student. The first was the death of my Gramma Rumford when I was in sixth grade. I attended six additional funerals as I lost three grandparents, three aunts, and an uncle in the seven years from my sixth through twelfth grades. To this day the smell of certain flowers takes me immediately to memories of funeral homes.

I learned early on that death comes.

At my first funeral, I remember being uncertain what to do at the open-casket viewing (that was standard practice in those days) of Gramma Rumford who died at age 69 from cancer. Though it sounds macabre, I found myself staring at Gramma, expecting to see her eyelids flicker, looking for faint signs of breathing. I was puzzled by how death looked so much like sleep. I almost expected someone to say, “We were wrong! Look, your Gramma is alive!”

Impossible, of course. The wishful thinking of a child.

But wishful thinking can arise from the seeds of faith. Such was the case, not only on that first Easter, but with the account of Lazarus. The raising of Lazarus (John 11) helps us understand the implications of Jesus defeating death.

Jesus’ resurrection means we can never look at death in the same way.

The shortest verse in the Bible proclaims one of the greatest messages of the incarnation, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Jesus entered into our suffering. He grieved the heartache of his dear friend, Lazarus, feeling death’s cold hand close around him. He grieved the unspeakable ache of the family’s pain at their loss. Jesus grieved for all humanity subjected to the power of sin and death.

And perhaps Jesus wept the first of his Gethsemane tears…

But grief was not the last word.

Jesus told Martha, Lazarus’ sister, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25). Jesus’ words apply not only to the future, but to our present experience of life and death.

Eternal life starts now

Death has been defeated as the ultimate enemy. Death is not the end of the road. It is the exit ramp to a new way. We don’t dismiss the pain and struggle. We do, however, draw strength by looking beyond them.

We weep, like Jesus. We grieve. And we keep perspective.

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3 NIV).

Professor Leon Morris writes, “The moment a [person] puts their trust in Christ they begin to experience that life of the age to come which cannot be touched by death.”

Three days before posting this blog, we lost a dear friend and member of our congregation to COVID-19. My heart aches for his family and for all of us who loved and respected him. But we do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). He has crossed the chasm of death on the bridge of the cross to Life Everlasting. And by faith, we will join him one day.

I draw great strength from the Good News the Apostle Paul proclaims in that great chapter on the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:

“‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’

‘Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?’

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:54-58 NIV)

As that final verse reminds us, Jesus’ victory over death also affects how we view every moment of every day—more on that in my next post.

 

A Prayer to Make Easter Real in Our Lives Now

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Garden Tomb
The traditional Garden Tomb in Jerusalem

For Jesus’ followers, Easter is the defining moment in the history of the world and in our personal history. But it is so easy to lose sight of the Easter Reality. Scottish preacher James Stewart spoke truth when he said we too often live on the wrong side of Easter.

Too often in our churches we are still on the wrong side of Easter. We are like the groping, fumbling disciples between Good Friday and the Resurrection. How our congregations would worship, with what joy and eagerness and abandon the sacrifice of praise would rise to God, if all worshipers knew themselves in very truth to be sons and daughters of the Resurrection! (from his book Heralds of God, pp.92-93).

An Easter spirituality means living in the unwavering confidence that Life, not death (in all its manifestations), has the last word.  The Apostle Paul calls us to see life through what I call “resurrection eyes.”

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6 NLT).

To help me live into the right side of Easter and to see life with “resurrection eyes,” I have written a number of prayers in my journal. Here’s one that I’ve written and am praying daily now. (By the way, this prayer is titled to reflect the new life we have in Christ now as we await the consummation of history and the bodily resurrection from death promised to all who believe. The best is yet to be!).

AN EASTER PRAYER: We are risen!

Lord, I believe you are risen!
Make me alive in you!
Strike down the guards of this world who try to keep me in the grave of lifeless worldliness.
Lift me up from the stone slab of this world’s false comforts and deceptive promises.
Unwrap me from the grave clothes of my past failures,
from the bondage of regret,
from all that keeps me from you.
Roll away the stone others have put over my life,
sealing me in the darkness of loneliness.
Lord, set me free, and let me shout, ‘Hallelujah!’
Christ is risen!
He is risen Indeed!
Christ is risen,
and I am risen with Him — Today!