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Beloved in Christ,
The Greek word for resurrection is αναστασις, which carries the literal sense of an “uprising”. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ on that Easter Sunday was an uprising, a revolt, against death and shame and fear.
But one of the most important things about the resurrection is that it isn’t a one-and-done event. The resurrection continues. The uprising continues. The theologian Fleming Rutledge reminds us that while the crucifixion of Jesus was an historical event — “he suffered under Pontius Pilate”, as the Creed says, and was crucified outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem — the resurrection is different. The crucifixion was a moment in history, a moment that threatened to derail the kingdom vision Jesus had preached. Certainly, his followers believed that it had. After Jesus’s crucifixion, they hid, fearing that they would be next.
But the resurrection is more than a moment. The resurrection is more-than-historical; it is part of a much larger movement, a creation-wide movement. Jesus rose from the dead on that Sunday morning three days after his crucifixion. But he is still risen. And that means that the uprising continues. We are also raised with Christ, Paul reminds us, and the Holy Spirit has been given to us. That means the new world, the new Kingdom, the beloved community is still yearning, still coming near, still becoming. And that means you and I can encounter the risen Christ, we can join the uprising, we can be freed from death and shame and fear. That means that God’s extravagant blessings are being poured out on us. It means that peace and freedom and wholeness are being meted out to those in need. It means that even those of us beholden to our own power and wealth, to our own sense of self-importance, to our ethnic and political identities, to our own agenda, even we can relinquish our privilege, give away our power and wealth for the good of others, and experience God’s grace in all its fullness. Each of us is invited into this movement, each of us is called to join the uprising.
I would like to invite you to join with the Christian community in Greater Lafayette, around the world, and through time as we observe Holy Week (you can find the complete Holy Week & Easter schedule by clicking HERE). We begin on Palm Sunday by recalling Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We remember his commandment of love on Maundy Thursday. We “behold the wood of the cross on which hung the world’s salvation” on Good Friday. At the Easter Vigil, we kindle new fire, hear the record of God’s saving deeds in history, welcome new members into the fellowship of the saints, and remember that we too have died and risen in Christ. And then we come together for the beauty and joy of Easter Sunday, celebrating the new creation that God has made, the new tasks we have been given, and the new possibilities that have been opened up for us, for our community, for the world. Together, with Christ and one another, we join the uprising.
In the name of Christ, I remain,
Faithfully yours,
Bradley Pace, Rector