The entire month of May will be part of the Easter season this year. The understanding is that we cannot celebrate adequately nor fully convey the meaning of the Resurrection in just one day. The Easter season is seven weeks, ending with the celebration of Pentecost.
Sometimes I struggle to find words that fully convey the meaning of Resurrection. Like so many other aspects of Christianity the impact of the doctrine of Resurrection is lost in arguments over the historicity of the accounts. I have found that such arguments get in the way of the spiritual insights and growth that comes from the story. I always encourage people to meditate on why the story was told rather than if the story was true. The story of the Resurrection has given hope, inspired perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds and strengthened followers of Jesus to live into his teachings for centuries.
In his blog “Liberating Word” Rev. Mike Piazza quotes Rev. Roger Gench, the pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., writing about the reality of resurrection:
“I have learned to believe in resurrection because of remarkable… faith-communities
that have struggled to forgive and be forgiven in an unforgiving world …
that have labored to live non-violent activism in a violent world…
that have contended with the boundaries of life in a world that excludes and marginalized … that have cared for the dying while affirming that death will not have the last word …
have come to a table time and time again,
having learned that life is a gift rather than a possession…
communities, in other words, that have struggled to risk and to live life in the risen Christ.”
Our Northern California Nevada Conference (NCNC) Minster, the Rev. Diane Weible often talks about our need to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. My prayer is that I and the faith community I serve will be the risen Christ for the world.
Pastor Phil Konz