Easter 2013

Khristós Anésti! Alithós Anésti! Christ is Risen; the Lord is risen, indeed!

What is Easter all about?  What is this season of bunnies, eggs, peeps, and daffodils?

I would like you to go back with me – to another time in your life and mine. Close your eyes for a moment, and put yourself back into your mother’s womb.         It’s warm, dark, and safe.

 

You neither toil nor labor; You neither plant nor reap; Off in the distance you hear a heart beat that’s not exactly your own, and yet you know there’s a connection. You know neither hunger nor thirst. You’re getting everything you need, although you’re not exactly sure how. You have a feeling there is more to life than what you’ve experienced up to this point, but that’s OK because if you have everything you need, what more could there possibly be?

And then one day, it happens. Everything is turned upside down as your world begins to collapse in on itself. You have no words to describe it, but the only word that comes to mind is: DEATH. “I’m dying!” you scream, but no words come out (because you don’t even know what air is). And then …

POW! There it is. You make your exit and you enter a world you cannot even imagine. No longer bathed in the warmth of your mother’s womb, you enter a world that is 30 degrees colder. No longer embraced and held secure within the body of your mother, your arms flail about. You’re jostled from pillar to post. The back of your brain explodes with pain as your eyes are subjected to light for the very first time; your ears begin to drain and you hear the angels around you making strange noises – you hear the clatter of instruments; the bleeps and blips of the monitors; your skin is rubbed raw with something called “cloth”.

You don’t know it yet, but you haven’t died. You have simply transitioned from the first heaven to the second heaven. Somewhere along the way you were, to use the old English word, “quickened” – made alive. The day will come when you won’t remember even a moment of the first heaven or the first earth, but you will come to learn of the second heaven and the second earth.

Where you appreciate the great benefits of the first heaven and the first earth – worlds without worry; worlds where everything you needed was passed along just by the very nature of that world into which you were conceived; you have only just now begun to discover a new world, where you can actively participate in a community called “family” – a community where you have neighbors, and friends – people who care, and people who don’t. 

The day will come where the great benefits of this second heaven and second earth will begin to fade away. Your ears will no longer hear as clearly; your eyes will no longer see as sharply; your mind will start to lose some of its Velcro; your body will begin to give way to the diseases of old age.

But if you listen carefully, you may hear another muffled heartbeat in the distance. This (church) is our stethoscope. If you watch closely, you may see glimpses of yet another heaven and another earth. This (church) is our telescope. We make our confession, and the toxicity of our lives are taken away by the umbilicus (that is this church). We eat the bread and drink the wine and are nourished through the umbilicus (that is this church).

What we have chosen to call “death” in this life is not death – not for us. We are children of yet another mother; a mother who has nourished us; a mother who has kept us warm, safe, and secure; a mother who, in the fullness of time, will deliver us into yet another heaven – another earth.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” asked the angel. “He is not here; he is risen – just as he said.”

What is Easter all about?  What is this season of bunnies, eggs, peeps, and daffodils? It’s not about that at all, is it? This season of Easter – and believe me, it is a season, not a day – this season of Easter is about three things:

1. Easter is not just about Jesus; it is about you. He has already claimed his new life; now is your opportunity to claim yours. The Bible tells us “Today is the day of salvation.” We don’t have to wait. Easter is God’s gift, waiting for you, right here, right now, in this puddle of gravy we call “life.” You don’t even have to call a toll-free number to claim your prize. It s enough to simply say, "Thank you, Lord."

2. Easter is not just about death; it is about life, and not just life after death–that’s the easy part–but real life before death, right now. Just as our life in the womb was spent preparing for our entry into this world, so life in this world is to be spent preparing for the world to come. We don’t earn our salvation by doing good works; we do our good works because our salvation has freed us to live in the fullness of God’s presence. It is enough to simply say, "Thank you, Lord. And …"

3. Easter is not just about the past, way back then and long ago; it is all about the future. Literally, I say to you, your best days are ahead of you. “Old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Whatever is holding you back, the stone has been rolled away so that you can get out and so that God can get in. It is enough to simply say, "Thank you, Lord."

That is what Easter is all about.

Khristós Anésti! Alithós Anésti! Christ is Risen; the Lord is risen, indeed!