It's the week after Easter. Chocolate bunnies eaten, eggs hidden, found, and turned into egg salad, leftover ham served on sandwiches, Easter hymns sung and put away til next year.
And here we are ...
Now what?
Our pastor said in his Easter sermon: We are people of the resurrection! And my question is: What does that mean ... say, on a Tuesday morning, or a Thursday afternoon? What does it look like in our everyday lives to be people of the resurrection?
There must be some distinguishing features in people who really believe in--stake their lives on--the work of God on the cross and in the power of the empty tomb. Right? There must be at least a few things that set us apart.
The sticky little problem we all face is that the things that are supposed to set people of the resurrection apart are very often things we don't want to do.
Things like:
- Loving our neighbors, even those we dislike
- Serving in the same sacrificial ways Jesus did
- Caring for the poor, marginalized, oppressed and lonely
- Being abundantly generous
- Laying down our lives for our friends
- Forgiving even our worst enemies
- Living without fear in a terrifying world
Unfortunately, these are the things those who profess the name of Jesus are called to. Fortunately, God's good and powerful Spirit has promised to help us live these things out.
So this week, rather than trying to make up our own list of what we think we need to do to be people of the resurrection, why don't we attend to the life, words and teachings of the Resurrected One to get our marching orders.
And in the midst of our most ordinary daily activities, let us practice what Jesus preached. We get to start right now. And when we fail, we get to start again with the fresh wind of Spirit-blown grace in our sails.
What now?
For people of the resurrection? Everything.
