Resurrection of the Living

We are near the end of this Easter season.  Thank goodness every Sunday's theme is resurrection, so that "Easterhood" is always with us.  But the opportunity to focus on the effect of Jesus' resurrection both when it happened and was first encountered to our awakening to it today, has been uplifting for me.

Celebrating the Feast of Pentecost is how we will close the season.  Some use last week's Feast of the Ascension.  Either way you choose we are now how resurrection is known and located. 

Our becoming the agents and locus of resurrection is a daunting thing.  Much like a prophet's calling we are inclined to reply, "who, me?"

It should help to know that this election is not all promotion.  That is to say we are still on our way to the ends of our lives.  It's why Paul reminds us that "Jesus was obedient unto death." (Phillipians 2:8)  Death needn't frighten us any longer but we cannot avoid it.

Some of our brothers and sisters imagined they would avoid it.  Earlier than his writing the letter to the Phillipians Paul hoped for a cloud embraced rendezvous with the Lord Jesus with those who had already died being raised and leading the way. 

Time and again Christians have projected a similar image and predicted even more rapturous outcomes for their like minded fellows.  It's a long list but just think the "Miller-ites" of 1843 and 1844.

Contemporary versions of Zionism are the most recent rendition. With Jerusalem as the principal stage it calculates a "zero sum game" of winners and losers, living millennially or condemned to some fiery forever.  It's almost as if they think Christ's resurrection happened instead of dying, not by way of it.

Here's what Pentecost's flames can show us.  Resurrection happens whether we die or not.  Resurrection of the living is so that all of the world, including "Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs" (Acts 2:9-11a) can live even before we die.

The reign of God is everywhere. Life on earth is where resurrection happens now.  We will die but we can already live like we've been raised!