Easter reflections

My hope is that you had a great Easter, celebrating the reality of the resurrection.  Of all the things that happened on Sunday morning, while gathered as the body for worship, one thing in particular stood out.  After the sermon, while we were responding in worship through song and communion, I happened to see this elderly man a few rows up from me.  It was one of those moments where my participation in worship was increased through seeing someone else worship the risen Lord!  This man, who was probably in his 80's, had such expectancy and joy.  His hands were trembling as they were lifted out in worship.  His entire body was caught up in worship.  Though his body was old and frail, he had such strength and vitality.  There was just this longing in his entire being.  He was so excited.  In that moment, I could see the power of the resurrection...not just something we get when we die, but eternal life we get even now!  This man, who is probably closer to the end of his life than most who were there, seemed to have more life than I often do.  The empty tomb wasn't just something he believed cognitively, but something that he was experiencing right there in the gym of the YMCA.  This is the beauty and wonder of the gospel...it infuses both this life and the life to come with ultimate meaning and satisfaction. 

Along these lines, I read this quote by N.T. Wright (as quoted in The Reason for God)...it poses a great challenge for those of us who have experienced the power of the resurrection in our own lives...

The message of the resurrection is that this world matters!  That the injustices and pains of this present world must now be addressed with the news that healing, justice, and love have won...If Easter means Jesus Christ is only raised in a spiritual sense--then it is only about me, and finding a new dimension in my personal spiritual life.  But if Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes good news for the whole world--news which warms our hearts precisely because it isn't just about warming our hearts.  Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things--and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all.  Take away Easter and Karl Marx was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring problems of the material world.  Take it away and Freud was probably right to say Christianity is wish-fulfillment.  Take it away and Nietzsche probably was right to say it was for wimps.