Living the Resurrection

For thirty-nine years, I've been leading worship and preaching on Easter Sunday. To do that requires a bit of reflection and pondering in my own heart and spirit concerning the accounts at the heart of this celebration. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter that just ended contains some of the most powerful imagery of the Christian tradition, and for me it has always been the heart of my faith journey. To believe and trust in a God who acts in powerful and mysterious ways to overcome the negative forces of life is the foundation of hope. It is the only thing that enables me to let go of fear and anxiety, while living with the realities that confront all of us. Sometimes the rational evidence around us seems to contradict the truth of a compassionate God, which is why it is so important to hold fast to the witness of faith that helps us be strong. It is that trust which enables us to live in ways that affirm rather than deny life. Our gift to the world can be resurrection living, a way of being in the world that refuses to give in to negativity and division while embracing the joyous diversity of God's Creation. Maybe we are called to be the evidence of God's nature in our world. So, the question is: how have I let God's light shine through me today?