Welcome to Spring 2009!
As we pass beyond the Easter season, I want to take a moment to reflect back on Bible passages from Palm Sunday and Easter. Both occur in John's Gospel. The first, in chapter 11, is the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. The second text, from John 20 is the passage wherein Jesus enters a locked house to pay a visit to his disciples on Easter evening.In both of these stories, there is a consistent theme: Easter is all about the glory of God and that glory is ongoing as the power of the resurrection is revealed to the world through the church.
In the case of Lazarus, Jesus resurrects a very dead man before a watching crowd of both friends and detractors. When Lazarus emerges from his tomb wrapped in grave clothes, Jesus pulls the bystanders into his redeeming, saving, life-giving action by saying, "you unwrap him". Jesus invites his followers, at least in some small way, to participate in and broaden the scope of the resurrection of Lazarus. So, we entered into Easter week asking, "as I anticipate the resurrection of Jesus, how is he going to involve me in his redemptive work? Who am I given the privilege of unwrapping?" Is it a friend? coworker? Family member? Homeless stranger? Neighbor?
And, as we observed in Jesus' appearance to his followers on Easter evening, the imperative of RESURRECTION POWER-TO-PERSONAL ACTION jumps out at us once again. In this story, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into his disciples and tells them that they are commissioned into God's redeeming acts in the world, "As the father has sent me, I send you." And, the tag line to this passage is also powerful, and not unlike the "you unwrap him" message. Jesus says, "whoever's sins you forgive are forgiven, and whoever's sins you do not forgive are held against them." This a strong way of telling us to go out and proclaim God's love and forgiveness to a spiritually parched world and invite all of God's wandering children home to God through Jesus Christ.
What a powerful and important job we disciples have! Go and tell your world that it is forgiven. Treat people as forgiven. Remind people they belong to God. Treat people as beloved children of God. Invite people into the community of God here at Sanctuary and anywhere else the Body of Christ expresses itself.
Unwrapping the bound. Forgiving the guilty. Reclaiming God's good Creation. It's all right there for you and me and supercharged with the power of the Resurrection and the Sprit of God breathed into us. May God bless each of us as we strike out on our post Easter course of Spirit-filled living this Spring.
-Randy Rowland
posted by Sanctuary @ 12:10 PM
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