Sunday, April 21, 2019
Sunday Reflection: Resurrection
It is Easter day; He is risen.
After all these years of thinking about it, I am still not sure what to make of that. I believe in Jesus and what he was and is, and would even in the absence of miracles; it is the teaching that rings out with truth. And yet, we have these miracles, and this one is the greatest.
For some reason, Jesus's resurrection isn't the one that strikes to my core. That would be the resurrection of Lazarus, who was brought back to life by Jesus after he was dead and being mourned. Lazarus was one of us, after all.
If heaven awaited, why would Jesus resurrect him? That question gnaws at me.
I can think of two answers. It is possible, I suppose, that Lazarus was not headed for heaven, and Jesus was giving him another chance.
The other possibility is that Lazarus had more to do here, that his resurrection was for the benefit of Martha, Mary, and the others around him. And that is the idea that moves me.
I do believe we all have a role to play, and important thing or things we are meant to do. I also believe that we do not always know we are accomplishing it when we perform that role; we may only become aware later, or not at all. It may be the quietest thing, too: an encouraging word, a kindness to another, perhaps an act of parenting or something at work. We don't see the entire invisible spiderweb of our connections, but we each have our place on it.
I do. You do, too. And perhaps we can only know that in the quiet.
