‘He has risen!’ (Mt.28:6). We think of Easter as an annual event recorded in our diaries and celebrated in the church’s liturgical year. Its significance lies with what Jesus did – to the utter astonishment of his followers – his resurrection from death, his escape from the sealed tomb, his appearances afterwards, as Mark says, ‘in a different form’ (16:12) The truth we may miss in the resurrection drama is that by it he introduced a new dispensation into which, twenty centuries later, we are incorporated.
In the natural, cosmological, biological world around us death and resurrection are taking place every moment in silence. Jesus reminds of this ‘Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever real and eternal.’John.12:24-5 MSG. This is our point of entry. We think Easter is a spectacular miracle, which it is, but every morning as we awake, we are resurrected from the darkness of sleep to enter a new day. ‘The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that we are invited to belong to it’ N. T. Wright. The world he ‘unveiled’ is the world where spirit and matter, divine and human, mind, body and spirit are recognized as united, and interdependent. A world that is sacred. A world where the other person is seen as having within them God’s DNA. In the Easter world Christ introduced compassion, justice, generosity, morality, transparency, humility and a sharper awareness of what God is up to in the universe and in which we can participate.
Setting aside the pace of business, electricity, travel and communication the world in which Jesus lived was much like the one in which we find ourselves. National tensions flared up into open conflict and the devastation of life and property. Social evils prevailed – robbery, racial and gender discrimination, slavery, prostitution, injustice, corruption, murder, unsafe travel and of course natural disasters, deformities and diseases. Finding employment, raising a family, facing bereavement. It was into this world that Jesus, through his resurrection ‘unveiled’ a new era of life with-God which remains available to everyone who is seeking fullness, purpose and meaning in life, happiness, humility and transparency to enrich relationships.
Resurrection life is not a form of sanitized spiritual formation, or idealized moral living; it is immersed in the ordinary, practical, surprising, humdrum, stressful, life-draining situations which come woven into the general pattern of daily living. You begin to see more with a deeper sense of wonder and are more open to the possibilities of personal, communal and spiritual improvement. It fosters a greater awareness of human identity and divine intervention. It opens a path into a clearer understanding of life’s meaning. It shines a light into the dark, painful, traumatic experiences that can befall us.
Sharing life with God in this era introduces us to our True Self and we discover God’s inexhaustible pantry of resources for all our needs; there is sufficient for everyone. It does not mean everyone suddenly becomes nice, or co-operative; differences are acknowledged without damaging relationships because it sees everyone we see in the street, shop, traffic or sport is equally a child of God, bearing his image. To be open to the resurrection life is to be open to the energy of the Holy Spirit at work in ways beyond our understanding, but for our benefit. Mystery, paradox, ambiguities and complexities remain. Ordinary things – a book, a call, a familiar object, a greeting become a sacred avenue along which the divine presence travels to the heart.
In the resurrection life healing restores brokenness, forgiveness is available, good relationships are vital, compassion moves the impulse to saving action, joy and kindness prevail. This is the life Jesus knew and practiced whilst on earth. It is the life he promised “I have come that you may have life in abundance”. This life can begin each morning as an adventure with God without theatrics, or ecstatic sensations. With our families, keeping our appointments, fetching groceries, running a business, answering our calls our breath is the gift of his breath providing energy for our body, mind and spirit to cope with whatever the day may hold, or is happening in the world. We need not be intimidated; the world is his neighbourhood and behind the scenes the Triad God will prevail to fulfill his eternal purposes.
The resurrection life is not a packaged spirituality it is an organic with-God life, energized by God, centered in Christ our light within, nourished by the nutrients his Spirit imparts to renew our mind and generate spiritual maturity. Every morning we are always beginners in learning life’s meaning, who we are and who God is. Christ is the resurrection and the life which can saturate every aspect of our daily activities, responsibilities, relationships and business.