Finding Solace: The Need for Resurection!

John 20: 1-2:  Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

~~~

Historically, I tend to stay away from deeply theological topics, because I can get really heady and nobody likes that sort of talk all the time. However, as it is Easter Sunday (in CST), I figured now is a good time to go deep for some real talk.

The entirety of the Easter season is one of sacrifice: Lent is 40 days of fasting and prayer (historically); Holy Week is the final preparation for the ultimate sacrifice; Easter is the celebration of the end result--resurrection! The sacrifice leads to the ultimate gift--new life!

That's really what the entirety of the "God story," adds up to: new life. I know that's a little cheesy, and for some it's an impossibility of your reasoning, but I hold it to be true and self-evident. [If you don't like it, too bad!]

It is on this Easter Sunday that I come to this cyber world to bear a bit of my soul; to ask the universe to provide me with a little solace; to plea for God to create in me a new person--to kill the old me, and revive me again as a new creation.

I know that doesn't really make sense, but that's mostly because you don't know me, and because you don't know me, you don't know the pains that I have created for myself since the last time I sought resurrection. Now is not the time or place to bear these burdens, but I know you have your own stuff to work out. It's the way of the world these days.

We hang on to things until we discover that we're carrying too much.

We're not super powerful beings who can hold up the world.

We're not all knowing patrons of the universe who can answer all the world's questions.

We're not... what we think we are!

We have created in our minds delusions of grandeur, that pain these magnificent pictures of us being everything to all people, at the same time. LIES!

In our fast paced world that we have created for ourselves, the expectation is that we can do just that: be everything to all people, all the time! I try my best on a daily basis to wear an infinite number of hats: son, brother, uncle, nephew, grandson, teacher, leader, follower, prophet, disciple, friend, lover, boss, co-worker, subordinate, etc.

Some of us are capable of being a lot of things to people, but when we allow the flood gates to open, that's when we become powerless! We lose sight of what's really important; We lose sight of what really matters; We allow the world to dictate what it is we're supposed to do, think, say and feel.

The world.

There is an addage that goes, "Be in the world, but not of it." Easier said than done. Especially when the world runs our lives.

Finding solace in the place that demands that we sacrifice ourselves for the betterment of the system is nearly impossible. The world wants us to give everything we have, but for what? There is no end game, only more sacrifice, pain, and grief. The world is a machine that eats souls and craps out... well, I'm not sure what is the byproduct of soul, but I'm sure it stinks!

When we die to ourselves, and ultimately to the world, we can truly receive the gift that was promised to us--new life! The ultimate solace comes in death: both physical and spiritual death provides the solace that our souls truly long.

Our souls want to be renewed, revived, and rejuvenated for the work that we are called to carry out in the world. It is time for that revival. It is the season of new life, the color is returning to the church (following Black Friday), and the celebration has begun. God died that day on the cross, but won't you believe it, God didn't stay dead. The tomb was empty, the burial cloths were left behind, and that's just the beginning... It was a promise fulfilled that death will be overcome; there is a new life awaiting us, but first we must die!

Just like in the waters of baptism: I was buried, died, and resurrected as a new being. A new me arose from the murky depths of the Iowa River. I remember some of it, but nothing truly outstanding. I was young, but old enough to remember the experience.

My parents were worried that I was being coerced into doing all of these church things, and perhaps I was. However, it happened to me nonetheless.

Alas, as I have grown in my faith, fragmented as it might be. I often revisit the waters of baptism to usher in the creation of a new life. You see, I often reflect on this gift when taking a shower. The water cleans up the mess that I have created for myself, and allows me to start fresh as soon as I step back out into the world.

It is at these moments that I wish I could be in a constant state of showering, because I hate the feeling of being weighed down by crap. I it to wash off me as quickly as it piles on. However, that's not how the system works. We have to truly die to/of ourselves in order for the new life to be brought forth.

I realize that this sounds very Lutheran, for that I don't apologize, but it makes sense to me. The gift of new life is for the downtrodden and broken. If you read the stories it's all right there. That's what brings us to Easter Sunday. It sets the gift in place for those who are ready to receive it.

As I conclude this piece; as I prepare to go on vacation; as I prepare for what comes next... I pray that you find solace in this world. That your pains, concerns, worries, and all around crap are washed away as you are resurrected into a new life... it's out there, waiting to be lived!

-Andy J. Graves

P.S. The video below is one of the most powerful songs I've listened to, it's about redemption!