When was the first time you died?
Middle school or elementary, most likely, witnessed that most embarrassing moment EVER. “I’m never going back,” you swore to your parents. “I’ll die!” But you went back, and somehow survived.
That scenario has played out in all our lives many times, although perhaps not always so dramatically.
We make it through those things which certainly should kill us. We call that resilience. You are stronger than you think, just as all the motivational posters insist.
Acts of resurrection are similar, but with one key difference: These acts are sacred. That’s because instead of surviving, or overcoming, or even looking at the bright side, the Resurrection invites us to seek God in our lives. Even in challenging times we can know God’s presence with us in peace, strength, or inspiration. These moments of sacred life present us with the truth of resurrection.
The Christian faith story provides a stark example. Jesus’ crucifixion is an ordinary event of political violence. In other words, there is nothing good or mysterious to see here. In the extraordinary power of God’s grace, this event be comes the instrument of salvation. That graceful pattern becomes our experience as well.
Acts of Resurrection make the sacred practical
How do our lives become the place of God’s acts of reconciliation? We often resist–looking backward to the good old days, resenting the present or just using our old coping skills of excuses and denial. Faith insists on another possibility, and that possibility means seeing something more.
Committing Acts of Resurrection means we change the pattern, going from resignation to expectation, resentment to hope, helplessness to courage. Change brings new life of forgiveness and compassion, maybe a new skill or strength. The Good News of Christ’s call becomes reality.
How can your life be a place of sacred encounter and service? Here’s where faith becomes practical (and relevant). We are more than we imagine. Christ draws us into the future, not of our imagination, but of our calling. At Trinity we will have an opportunity to record these Acts, in order to proclaim our faith and to support each other on this journey. Our record will be built out of our liturgical props, growing as the season progresses.
In this Easter season, can we find the faith to commit Acts of Resurrection?