He is risen...
... He is risen indeed!
Easter has just passed, and it was a wonderful time of reflecting upon that which cannot be understood - how Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God.
My pastor delivered a wonderful sermon about the resurrection yesterday, concentrating on how the resurrection is not something we ought to trivialize by comparing it to the signs of the spring season. The comparisons to eggs hatching, butterflies emerging from their cocoons transformed, life reappearing, and all the other images of rebirth are, quite simply, too frail. No, we cannot properly understand the resurrection through those comparisons.
Nor can we understand it properly when we think about it. It makes us uncomfortable. It troubles us. We can't really penetrate it with our minds. And, as someone who loves to know and to understand, that troubles me.
But I am comforted by my pastor's reminder that if the resurrection were something that could be understood by the human mind, then it wouldn't truly be as life-changing as it is for the Christian. If we could explain it, could understand it, then it would lose all of its power. But it escapes our grasp, and it always shall.
I have been reading through the gospel of Matthew these last few months, and I've been paying close attention to the way Jesus addressed the crowds, treated the downtrodden, and interacted with his friends, family, and enemies. As always, I come across a few things that He says and does that... well... bother me. Really, really bother me.
Whenever I read the gospels, I fully expect to be bothered or offended by something Jesus says. I know that if I'm not, then I'm probably not reading them closely enough. I can't put my finger on it. I can't exactly tell you what about the things He says and does bothers me. But I am glad of it. I need to be bothered. I need to be unsettled. I need to be confronted with where my thoughts and ideas deviate from His teaching. And once made aware of the deviation, I need to correct myself. And I am glad to do so... though it is not always easy.
Then there's reading about the crucifixion. I never know what to do, what to say, how to react whenever 3:00 p.m. rolls around on Good Friday. I want to gush, I want to be silent, I want to thank Him, I want to hide in a corner... and sometimes I wish I felt something, because like the resurrection, I just cannot really grapple with what happened. I know I ought to respond somehow, but I can only kneel and beg God's forgiveness for not knowing what to say.
But my pastor's words gave me great reassurance regarding my offended sensibilities, my inability to understand the resurrection, and my revulsion and confusion over how to respond to the resurrection.
Men and women, throughout the 2,000 year history of Christianity, have devoted their lives to living out proper responses to these things. And they all struggled with it. It was never easy, never clearly held in their minds, never fully understood. Even the Apostles had a rough time of it, sometimes tripping over their own words, sometimes acting in a manner contrary to what they believed. But they pressed ever onward towards the prize - the hope that at the end of all things, when we stand before Him and give our account, He will say "well done, good and faithful servant!" And that He will remember us, there in His kingdom. If we, the failing sinful who believe in Him, are in the company of the likes of the Apostles in our struggles, our doubts, and our failings, then we are in good company, indeed. "When I am weak, then I am strong."
In other news, I have finished data collection AND analysis for my Master's thesis. That means I only have to finish writing it up, and then it's done. We will defend at the beginning of the Fall semester, giving me all summer to plan my presentation and to work towards getting the paper itself published.
In the meantime, wedding plans proceed apace. The travel agent we considered turned out to be... less than helpful... so we will be planning our honeymoon ourselves. Beyond that, I have had little time to poke my head outside of the lab to see the world beyond.
Easter has just passed, and it was a wonderful time of reflecting upon that which cannot be understood - how Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God.
My pastor delivered a wonderful sermon about the resurrection yesterday, concentrating on how the resurrection is not something we ought to trivialize by comparing it to the signs of the spring season. The comparisons to eggs hatching, butterflies emerging from their cocoons transformed, life reappearing, and all the other images of rebirth are, quite simply, too frail. No, we cannot properly understand the resurrection through those comparisons.
Nor can we understand it properly when we think about it. It makes us uncomfortable. It troubles us. We can't really penetrate it with our minds. And, as someone who loves to know and to understand, that troubles me.
But I am comforted by my pastor's reminder that if the resurrection were something that could be understood by the human mind, then it wouldn't truly be as life-changing as it is for the Christian. If we could explain it, could understand it, then it would lose all of its power. But it escapes our grasp, and it always shall.
I have been reading through the gospel of Matthew these last few months, and I've been paying close attention to the way Jesus addressed the crowds, treated the downtrodden, and interacted with his friends, family, and enemies. As always, I come across a few things that He says and does that... well... bother me. Really, really bother me.
Whenever I read the gospels, I fully expect to be bothered or offended by something Jesus says. I know that if I'm not, then I'm probably not reading them closely enough. I can't put my finger on it. I can't exactly tell you what about the things He says and does bothers me. But I am glad of it. I need to be bothered. I need to be unsettled. I need to be confronted with where my thoughts and ideas deviate from His teaching. And once made aware of the deviation, I need to correct myself. And I am glad to do so... though it is not always easy.
Then there's reading about the crucifixion. I never know what to do, what to say, how to react whenever 3:00 p.m. rolls around on Good Friday. I want to gush, I want to be silent, I want to thank Him, I want to hide in a corner... and sometimes I wish I felt something, because like the resurrection, I just cannot really grapple with what happened. I know I ought to respond somehow, but I can only kneel and beg God's forgiveness for not knowing what to say.
But my pastor's words gave me great reassurance regarding my offended sensibilities, my inability to understand the resurrection, and my revulsion and confusion over how to respond to the resurrection.
Men and women, throughout the 2,000 year history of Christianity, have devoted their lives to living out proper responses to these things. And they all struggled with it. It was never easy, never clearly held in their minds, never fully understood. Even the Apostles had a rough time of it, sometimes tripping over their own words, sometimes acting in a manner contrary to what they believed. But they pressed ever onward towards the prize - the hope that at the end of all things, when we stand before Him and give our account, He will say "well done, good and faithful servant!" And that He will remember us, there in His kingdom. If we, the failing sinful who believe in Him, are in the company of the likes of the Apostles in our struggles, our doubts, and our failings, then we are in good company, indeed. "When I am weak, then I am strong."
In other news, I have finished data collection AND analysis for my Master's thesis. That means I only have to finish writing it up, and then it's done. We will defend at the beginning of the Fall semester, giving me all summer to plan my presentation and to work towards getting the paper itself published.
In the meantime, wedding plans proceed apace. The travel agent we considered turned out to be... less than helpful... so we will be planning our honeymoon ourselves. Beyond that, I have had little time to poke my head outside of the lab to see the world beyond.
posted by Raoul The Destroyer at 11:25 AM
1 comments
