Today, after the darkness of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, we celebrate the resurrection.
Yes, Christ is risen. In the rising of the Easter dawn, in the laughter of children at play during a ceasefire, where the hungry celebrate with feasting, where people find their voices and sing their songs, when enemies give up and become friends, when love is allowed to flourish and grow into community, Christ is risen indeed!*
As we celebrate, let us also consider the challenging and haunting words of writer/thinker Peter Rollins:
“Without equivocation or hesitation I fully and completely admit that I deny the resurrection of Christ. This is something that anyone who knows me well could tell you, and I am not afraid to say it publicly, no matter what some people may think… I deny the resurrection of Christ every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed, each day that I turn my back on the poor; I deny the resurrection of Christ when I close my ears to the cries of the downtrodden and lend my support to an unjust and corrupt system. However there are moments when I affirm the resurrection, few and far between as they are. I affirm it when I stand up for those who are forced to live on their knees, when I speak for those who have had their tongues torn out, when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed.”
Let us be people who affirm and embody the resurrection every day.
One story of resurrection in our community appeared on the front page of The Tennessean this morning. It is a story about our friend Ken who we have been journeying with since July of last year. You can read it here: “Once-homeless man finds his life resurrected.”
Blessings on this Easter Sunday.
*From the Sunrise Easter Service at Room In The Inn.
