(Just call me Pastor Greg)
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Greetings in the precious name of Christ:
Why have we been able to endure the devastating cruelty of slavery? Why have we been able to overcome the dichotomy of fighting in every war of this nation, and yet having simultaneously undergone the experience of being turned away at restaurants; redlined by banks and loan institutions; and treated as second class citizens?
Why are we telling our children that they can be successful when in all reality there is a strong, rushing tide of inequitable justice; inferior inner city funding of elementary and secondary education; and there is college/university tuition costs tidal waving to such high levels that higher education is rapidly becoming a luxury for the rich?
I believe that the reason we have been able to forge the towering waves of affliction in history’s past rest with the fact that over 2000 years ago a person who was fully human and fully divine came riding on a donkey into the parading streets of Jerusalem not to conquer the Roman Empire and right the wrongs of the oppressor, but rather to become the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world.
Resurrection Sunday became that irrefutable reason why all of humanity can overcome the turbulent storms of life. The Apostle Paul declared that “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ” (I Corinthians 15:21-22, NRSV). The resurrection of Christ not only assures the gift of salvation and eternal life, but, as Paul asserted, in as much as Christ Jesus rose from the dead so it is that all who believe shall also rise from the dead.
To me the resurrection is not only the unfolding destiny of hope in the eternal future, but it also is the passionate and transforming veracity of the present. In other words, while it is important to teach our children the truth of living in two worlds – a world that rejects and a world that embraces – we must equally instruct our children to know that faith in Christ brings to light the power to overcome, transform and reconcile. The very resurrection of our Lord, who conquered the finality of death and was victorious over the confinement of the grave, empowers us to break the cycle of hatred and heartlessness.
The resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, gives us the ability to heal the wounds of the past and forge ahead as prophetic witnesses in the public square. We rise to feed the hungry; clothe the naked; and visit the incarcerated. We rise to advocate for universal health care; support affordable housing; and promote decent jobs, wages and benefits for all people. We rise to shore up the poor; to hold up the elderly; and to lift up the children. We rise to eradicate racism, prejudice and the mistreatment of any ethnic group or individual. We rise up to protect our environment as well as to return to the international tables to negotiate and press for peace as opposed to war. We rise up to make the kingdom of God known in a world full of self interests and greed.
Remember, because Christ rose, we too shall rise again. Christ Jesus made it possible for our children and our children’s children to rise up and say to a world going haywire: WE SHALL OVERCOME!
Peace and love in Christ,
Pastor Greg
