Through Stained Glass: Becoming an Easter People

 Easter Sunday – The Resurrection of the Christ

“The Resurrection is not one thing. It is a prismatic mystery. It is an unwordable story of God and Jesus and us: an experience of the beyond breaking in, the reality of love and life and justice and joy no matter the power of death.” Diana Butler Bass

Reflection Title: Becoming A People of the Resurrection

Scripture: Mark 16.1-8 & John 20.1-18

 
             Happy Easter! Alleluia! Resurrection Day! Christ is Risen!

                 What began with a reminder of our death begins again with a reminder of life! Though we know the reality of Good Friday and the sacred silence of Holy Saturday, our story is found in the emptiness of the tomb and the blooming of creation. Like the Tulip and Daffodil bulbs germinating in the dark soil of the Eairth, Lent was a season preparing for the next: Easter—the season of becoming a people of the Resurrection.

                 We have come a long way, church. In the darkness of Advent, we read stories of a deep incarnation. We encountered stories from Scripture that spoke of God’s presence in and through God’s creation. Christmas told us the story of God born to us in the Christ child, the incarnation of God’s ‘yes’ to all that is! Epiphany took us on a journey where the wisdom of God was revealed and celebrated by all the world. Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany spoke to order and belonging – to our place in the flow of the Triune God!

                 Lent was a journey, too. One in and through the wilderness, confronting our separation, choosing life, and recognizing our call to become God’s beloved. Lent was about the disorder we experience in our lives. We named our pain and suffering and how we participate in both. The entire time, we read stories about God’s covenant with God’s people, who are traveling with us as we transition from one phase of life to the next. We traversed the rugged terrain with God’s promise never to leave or forsake us, no matter how disordered we become. In our mortality, in our humanity – God never, not once, gave up on us – nor will God ever. Instead, God enters our vulnerability and reveals what is the next right move towards our becoming.

                 Before the cross became the symbol of Christianity, other symbols existed. These symbols represented not the death and suffering of the Christ, but the Resurrection and the new creation of Easter Sunday. These symbols were green palm branches, the ‘Jesus’ fish, and images of water! We are not a people of the cross but of the Resurrected Christ! We are not a people of death but of new life – resurrection life! We must and have and will wander through death, pain, and suffering. But, the Resurrection promises that through them, God goes with us – and is reordering all that is back to God’s self.

                 I [Adam] love what Richard Rohr says about this idea when he writes, “The Resurrected Christ is the icon of reorder. Once we can learn to live in this third spacious place, neither fighting nor fleeing reality but holding the creative tension, we are in the spacious place of grace out of which all newness comes. God is now in charge, not us.” We need not fear death, for life is ours in the Christ. Or, as the funeral liturgy says, “Life is not ended; it is merely changed.”

                 Now, the real work – or the liturgy – begins! We all know the power of the Resurrection because we’ve encountered it throughout our lives. We are now sent into the world to become people of the Resurrection – doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. To become a people of the Resurrection, we must go with Mary and declare as she did, with words and with our lives, ‘I have seen the Risen Christ!”

                 Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

The Questions for the Week:

• What memories does Easter stir within you? How can you share those feelings with others?
• Where do I see new life in this world? Where is it peeking through the events and relationships of my life, even if it is as tiny as the humble crocus or tender snowdrop?
• How have I experienced that I am God’s beloved one?
• Where have I witnessed God’s tender care for others in my world?
• How do I want to rest in or savor these gifts?
• How can I share, in action, these gifts with others?
• If there are places in my life where I still await new life, can I wait with hope and even expectation that God will surprise me?

The Practices for the Week:

• During the Easter season, put together a puzzle. As you do, think about the transformation we experience because of the Resurrection of Christ.
• Gather several small stones. Write or paint milestones in your faith journey on them. Place them in your meditation or prayer space and build a mall altar. Return to them as a focus of prayer.
• At the center of the star below, write your star word. Then, in each of the rays, write one of the becoming words from this guide. Reflect on how your star word informs your understanding of our Lenten themes or vice versa. Then, at the tip of each ray, write another word that celebrates this connection by describing how your Lenten study and practice have brought you closer to your true self, to the person God loves and holds.
• Plant some starter herbs: rosemary (for remembrance); basil (love); laurel (strength); hyssop (brother love); lavender (healing); oregano (joy); sage (wisdom).