Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Sunday Reflection: Miracles
It has been a wonderful and whole Easter so far. I love this holiday, and the rhythm that exists between Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. It is an emotional roller coaster.
Easter celebrates rebirth. The resurrection of Christ, certainly, but also the hope each of us have for rebirth because of Christ, should we choose that. Spring of the soul is possible.
One part of Easter, though, has never resounded with me. It is that part of the story that is used as a proof of Christ's divinity-- that his resurrection tells us he really was the Messiah. It is the ultimate miracle. My problem is that it seems like a faith which rests on such a specific miracle is vulnerable, tall and thin. What if that single miracle is challenged?
My problem isn't that I don't believe in that miracle. Rather, it is that I can't say that my faith rests on that miracle alone, or principally. My beliefs are rooted in Jesus's life-- the teachings, which resound within me as true in a real and unshakable way. It is all a miracle, his life, from the start to the finish, and the resurrection is only a part of it.
To me, the resurrection that matters isn't so much Christ's as ours-- the rebirth that is offered in the whole of his life, the guidance and meaning and love.
It is a wonderful day.
Easter celebrates rebirth. The resurrection of Christ, certainly, but also the hope each of us have for rebirth because of Christ, should we choose that. Spring of the soul is possible.
One part of Easter, though, has never resounded with me. It is that part of the story that is used as a proof of Christ's divinity-- that his resurrection tells us he really was the Messiah. It is the ultimate miracle. My problem is that it seems like a faith which rests on such a specific miracle is vulnerable, tall and thin. What if that single miracle is challenged?
My problem isn't that I don't believe in that miracle. Rather, it is that I can't say that my faith rests on that miracle alone, or principally. My beliefs are rooted in Jesus's life-- the teachings, which resound within me as true in a real and unshakable way. It is all a miracle, his life, from the start to the finish, and the resurrection is only a part of it.
To me, the resurrection that matters isn't so much Christ's as ours-- the rebirth that is offered in the whole of his life, the guidance and meaning and love.
It is a wonderful day.
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Paul did say that if the resurrection isn't true then our faith is futile
I agree with you though...we lean on other things to support our faith...but I think if somehow I was given incontrovertible, conclusive proof that it was not true, then everything else I believe would fall apart and I would just have to move on
I agree with you though...we lean on other things to support our faith...but I think if somehow I was given incontrovertible, conclusive proof that it was not true, then everything else I believe would fall apart and I would just have to move on
I’m with Erik in thinking the resurrection is essential to our faith. Not b/c it's miraculous, per se, but because it conveys in a way almost nothing else could that for those willing to walk in the way of Christ (which according to his teachings inevitably leads to a cross) there will be a day of victory and vindication. Injustice and hatred and sin, whether in our souls or in our world, will not ultimately carry the day.
I'm with you in being unmoved by lengthy attempts to prove the historicity of the resurrection. I rarely find such attempts convincing or moving. Most history cannot be "proved" to the point of absolute certainty.
Over two thousand years later, we must take the New Testament writers’ words for what they saw that first Easter morning. The more tangible evidence of the empty tomb for us today is as Clarence Jordan once said, not so much in a rolled away stone as in a carried away church.
I'm with you in being unmoved by lengthy attempts to prove the historicity of the resurrection. I rarely find such attempts convincing or moving. Most history cannot be "proved" to the point of absolute certainty.
Over two thousand years later, we must take the New Testament writers’ words for what they saw that first Easter morning. The more tangible evidence of the empty tomb for us today is as Clarence Jordan once said, not so much in a rolled away stone as in a carried away church.
Professor Barkus; I had the exact same feeling and expressed them with your mother following Easter service. We had a service that reminded us of Christ's suffering and sacrifice, but stopped there.. We left the service and saw early spring flowers performing their yearly miracle of renewal. Their message of hope propelled us to believe we could resurrect our lives. Dad
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