Resurrection: Trust God, Change the World!
Easter Day was busy with celebration. Easter Monday now, and the day to complete the 7 days of questions on the Last Week.
Before my last question on the Last Week, permit me some resurrection ruminations. Then, too, this time, I’ll answer my own question.
But before that, just another recommendation to pick up Borg and Crossan’s The Last Week book if you haven’t already. It’ll make your next Holy Week open up.
Ok, here we go.
Try this on for size.
Jesus’ resurrection is not about our lives going on after we die but rather about Jesus’ life, and way of life (peace comes by distributive justice through non-violence), going on after he died.
What happens to us matters not. We will be fine after we die just as we were fine before we were born.
What happens to self-giving love (that peace>distributive justice>nonviolence thing) matters existentially, temporally, and indeed, because of that, immensely and, dare we say it lest it be interpreted as chronological, eternally.
Jesus was about one thing that is two things: The Kingdom (rule/reign) of God and the Kingdom (rule/reign) of God.
The emphasis matters.
Firstly, Kingdom: how life is lived when God is in charge (all have enough, do enough, are enough. Again that peace>distributive justice>nonviolence thing)
Secondly, God: how all of this way of life not only cannot be accomplished by our personal agencies but also cannot be destroyed by those same agencies.
My language for this is “radical obedience to God” and “radical reliance on God.”
Obedience: we get busy loving others and all of creation
Reliance: God will see us, and all creation, to the best of all ends.
So, then, my Easter Day question:
What is it about your experience with Jesus that the world cannot live without?
So, then, my answer:
Jesus gives me freedom and focus.
Freedom: from despair and pride and any religioning that would attempt a personal salvation project.
Focus: my life’s living is dedicated to building a community (local/global) of distributive justice.
