From Brian Walsh, pastor, professor and practitioner and author of Colossians Remixed, a book the continues to challenge my faith. Recently, Brian Walsh mused on resurrection.
Thanks to Brian Walsh, for the profound mysterious reminder the " resurrection " is not the theological word to be theorized...it is the reality of a " risen life ." It's not a life lived in suspended animation waiting to be transported to an eternal resort when we've reached the " dead end " sign at the end of the corridor of history. It is about life " NOW ". It's about a life filled with the same Spirit that brooded over the dark mirky void of nothingness and brought creation into being. It's the Spirit that incarnated God into humanity. It is the same Spirit that blew open the door of the tomb, that rushed, that broods over humanity now...to bring about a " New Creation."
Resurrection means...I no longer live. But, it is the risen Jesus within me that lives. The question is...will we release ourselves in to the mysterious reality. It is only then, we discover the potential, and the truth that the Kingdom is truly among us.
("Resurrection" by Mattias Grunewald, Isenheim Alterpiece, 1515)
Practicing Resurrection
Practice resurrection
…in a world of quick profits
…and everything ready made.
Practice resurrection
…in a world of obligated consumption
…and generals and politicos.
Practice resurrection against all the odds.
“Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.”
To practice resurrection, my friends,
…we need to be able to see just beyond the range of normal sight,
…we need to expect the end of the world … and laugh,
…we need to do something that will not compute,
…we need to love the Lord,
…love the world,
…work for nothing.
We come together at Practicing Resurrection because we have considered all of the facts,
…or at least enough of them.
We know what real profit is
…and we know enough to abandon that which does not profit.
We know that while sometimes wisdom cries out at the street corners,
…just as often she whispers in the carrion,
…sighs as wind blowing through trees,
…sings in the planting of crops and their harvest,
…rejoices when people break bread together.
We have come to practice resurrection.
…We have come to embrace the new birth,
…we have come to say to the darkness, “we beg to differ,”
…we have come to ask the important questions:
……Will this satisfy
………a woman satisfied to bear a child?
……Will this disturb the sleep
………of a woman near to giving birth?
…Do you really want to interrupt that ten second nap between contractions?
…Can we live our lives by such standards?
…Are our decisions about dinner up to that kind of life bearing responsibility?
Welcome to Practicing Resurrection, my friends.
Welcome to a community of discernment.
Welcome to a conversation about wholeness.
Welcome to “Urban Agriculture and the Peace of the City.”
Welcome to the party that has already begun.
From the birds and the bees
…to urban forestry and foraging for weeds;
from community gardens and Sabbath economics
…to scripture and solar energy;
we’ve got it all.
But we can only practice resurrection
…if someone rolled away the stone.
We can only practice resurrection
…if the power of death has been broken.
We can only practice resurrection
…if Jesus shows us the way.
Resurrection is new creation.
Resurrection is the restoration of broken relationships.
Resurrection sets the captive free,
…binds up the broken,
…establishes justice and mercy.
We can’t practice resurrection alone.
…Not even Jesus can do that.
…He needs Mary to mistake him for the gardener.
…He needs the women to tell the fearful men.
……So long as women do not go cheap
……for power, please women more than men.
There is no resurrection without a body.
…The body of Jesus,
……bruised, broken, pierced, risen.
…We are called to that body.
…We who have died in Christ have risen in Christ.
…So practice that resurrection.
( Brian Walsh, September 2010 )
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