| One of the compelling draws of the early church was the practice of the Resurrection. As you know, the Church prior to the active persecutions of Nero was perceived to be a sect whose central witness was to the presence of their Savior whom they believe God had raised from the dead. They believed this because in their communities they had encountered the Lord, risen from the dead. And they could not stop telling people about this experience. Read all about it in the Gospels.
They also practiced it in the way they treated each other. To the slave who was considered as nothing, they said, "Welcome. You are an equal here." To the tax collector, despised and wretched (often because of their own doing), they said. "Come, worship here with us. We have seen the Lord and He has risen." And yes, it is true, to women who were treated by men as property, they said, "You are equal here." Practicing the Resurrection.
To the outcasts and the lepers whose bodies were riddled with stench, and whose maladies were said to be the result of their sin, the early Church said, "We don't care, let us clean you up." When one of their members was jailed, they sang hymns to the jailors, often converting them. If some of their members were sick, they laid hands upon them knowing God would heal them. If rebuke was necessary, it was done in a care-fronting way. After all, the goal is Resurrection, not condemnation. Practicing the Resurrection.
What I believe we need today (because in our society it is sorely lacking) are Resurrection practices: ways of behaving with one another, on a personal level, that build up and do not tear down. Why is it that most of us hear that we are lacking and because we are we are less than OK? It is true, there is always something we need to lift up to God for healing (which is in itself a practice of Resurrection). Is it not true that much of modern culture belittles us (which is a practice of death). "If only you had . . . . .. If only you joined . . . . . If only you used . . . . . If only you hung with . . ." You get the picture.
Folks, on this Easter tide, let me remind you. God sent His only Son to restore the Original Blessing we ALL walk away from by the choices we are given the freedom to make. The Church of Jesus Christ, when it practices that which it was created to do, that which is its core value, practicing the Resurrection, and does it in a way that speaks the common language in a common idiom, the world will become a better place.
Happy Easter,
Ev
(I thank Diana Butler-Bass, professor at Virginia Seminary, for the germ of these thoughts that I hold to be of great worth in our future walk as a congregation)
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