It was only a couple of weeks ago that we were celebrating
the Resurrection of Jesus with lilies and songs. This past Sunday we had two
Memorial services for long-time members of the congregation. That seems like
such a contrast. How do you celebrate resurrection and grieve the death of
loved ones all in the same week?
At first glance, they seem like opposite poles: death and
life, sorrow and resurrection. And yet, they are also inextricably linked.
Without death there is no need for resurrection.
We have all experienced death; we all know what it is to
grieve. But how do we live day-to-day in light of the resurrection of Jesus?
How do we get his life infused into our daily experience?
Several years ago, Presbyterian pastor and author, Eugene
Peterson wrote a book that encourages believers to do that very thing. He
recognized that we, as human beings, encounter death and discouragement on a
daily basis. From our limited perspective, life seems to be a collection of
random events.
And yet, as Christians, we profess faith in a God who brings
order out of the chaos, not only in creation, but each and every day. We
believe God has a plan and that we are somehow a part of that plan. But, that’s
awfully hard to do. Peterson says that to live in the power of the resurrection
is a difficult thing to do, but it is well worth the effort.
He calls this unique perspective on life “practicing
resurrection,” which is an odd phrase. What does he mean by it? He says, “The practice
of resurrection is an intentional, deliberate decision to believe and
participate in resurrection life, life out of death, life that trumps death,
life that is the last word, Jesus life” (p. 12).
You can appreciate how difficult life lived that way could
be. It requires a change of focus, a change of direction, and even a whole new
way of thinking. We can’t keep doing things the way we have done them before
and expect different results. Remember that cliché definition of insanity? We
have to think about life and about God in a new way.
Most of the Western world has embraced an Aristotelian view
of God as an abstract concept or idea. But this has not won us very many
converts. Peterson quips, “We’ve been at this for two thousand years now, and
people are not clamoring to join us” (p. 14). He goes on, “With God
depersonalized and then repackaged as a principle or formula, people could shop
at their convenience for whatever sounded or looked as if it would make their
lives more interesting and satisfying on their own terms. Marketing research
quickly developed to show us just what people wanted in terms of God and
religion. As soon as we knew what it was, we gave it to them” (p. 23).
This marketing approach to evangelism not only doesn’t work,
as is evidenced by the last 50 years or so of decreasing church attendance and
membership, it is actually the polar opposite of how faith and discipleship are
supposed to work. Remember what Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go
and bear fruit,” John 15:16.
That’s how faith in God works. It’s not so much about
analyzing an idea as it is about developing a relationship. Peterson says, “God
reveals himself in personal relationship and only in personal relationship. God
is not a phenomenon to be considered. God is not a force to be used. God is not
a proposition to be argued. There is nothing in or of God that is impersonal,
nothing abstract, nothing imposed. And God treats us with an equivalent
personal dignity. He isn’t out to impress us. He’s here to eat bread with us
and receive us into his love just as we are, just where we are.”
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