Easter Day
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being....
-- 1 Corinthians 15:21
God's experiment with time begins and ends with the human experience. In contrast to those who would suggest that God will finally get fed up with the human condition and intervene with angels to destroy evil, Paul believed that God's purpose was expressed in the lives of human beings. Adam became the archetype of our experience of life defined by death. Jesus becomes the revelation of our life being defined by God. Jesus' ministry was the incarnation or enfleshment of God's purpose in the lives of human beings. But if that life and its relationships were totally defined by the parameters set by birth and death, then the cynic who cries out "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die," speaks the truth. "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." It was their confidence that death did not have the last word that enabled the early Christians to face the lions. By their lack of fear, they overcame every attempt by the empire to crush them.
The rulers and authorities exercise power through the application of various forms of death. Today, corporations define death as the loss of economic resources. Clubs and communities often define death by loss of relationships or exclusion. Religions can define death through shame and guilt. Politics defines death as the loss of reputation and respect. The health community defines death through illness and deformity. The state defines death through incarceration. Each community seeks to command attention to its agenda through the threat of death in one of its many forms.
"Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power." Each of these authorities was created by God as a servant of God, but each has chosen to establish itself in place of God. In their distorted forms, each has become an enemy of the Christ who proclaims the grace of God as the prominent reality to which we can respond. Since death in its many forms seeks to distort our obedience, Christ must intervene on our behalf. "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Easter is a celebration of and a recommitment to the Christ who has overcome death and set us free to reflect the image of God in our lives.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:21
God's experiment with time begins and ends with the human experience. In contrast to those who would suggest that God will finally get fed up with the human condition and intervene with angels to destroy evil, Paul believed that God's purpose was expressed in the lives of human beings. Adam became the archetype of our experience of life defined by death. Jesus becomes the revelation of our life being defined by God. Jesus' ministry was the incarnation or enfleshment of God's purpose in the lives of human beings. But if that life and its relationships were totally defined by the parameters set by birth and death, then the cynic who cries out "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die," speaks the truth. "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." It was their confidence that death did not have the last word that enabled the early Christians to face the lions. By their lack of fear, they overcame every attempt by the empire to crush them.
The rulers and authorities exercise power through the application of various forms of death. Today, corporations define death as the loss of economic resources. Clubs and communities often define death by loss of relationships or exclusion. Religions can define death through shame and guilt. Politics defines death as the loss of reputation and respect. The health community defines death through illness and deformity. The state defines death through incarceration. Each community seeks to command attention to its agenda through the threat of death in one of its many forms.
"Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power." Each of these authorities was created by God as a servant of God, but each has chosen to establish itself in place of God. In their distorted forms, each has become an enemy of the Christ who proclaims the grace of God as the prominent reality to which we can respond. Since death in its many forms seeks to distort our obedience, Christ must intervene on our behalf. "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Easter is a celebration of and a recommitment to the Christ who has overcome death and set us free to reflect the image of God in our lives.
