Newsletter: Vol. 11. Iss. 1
April 2012
Much More than a Metaphor
1 Corinthians 15
The Rev. Peter J. Miano
You've heard it proclaimed from pulpits and seen it
announced in pastoral letters--if it weren't for Easter, there would be no
Christmas. Sure, Christmas summons a lot more sentimentality and frenetic
activity, but Easter is the more important of the two beloved holidays. If
Jesus had not been raised, we probably would not remember his death let alone
his birth. In fact, if it weren't for the fact of Easter, there would be no
Christian calendar at all. No Pentecost, no Ash Wednesday. No Saints' days.
No One Great Hour of Sharing. No Children's Sundays. No nothing.
Make no mistake about it. As people of faith, we put all our Christian eggs in one Easter basket. Or, as the Apostle Paul put it, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in empty and your faith is empty also." (1 Cor. 15:14). As a matter of fact, there is no biblical account of Jesus' resurrection. The Gospels include only stories of Jesus' appearances after his resurrection. Still, the reality of Christ's resurrection is expressed beautifully, yet cryptically in varied scripture passages. It is affirmed in thousands of churches every Easter morning. Had it not been for the experience of the resurrection, all that Jesus preached, all that the first generation of Jesus' followers first heard, all would have died and been buried with Jesus.
So, this Easter Sunday, like every Easter Sunday, the pressure is on. Don't think that the preachers don't feel it. They do. Once again, this Easter Sunday, in churches packed to the brim like no other Sunday in the year, they will summon their best to give to the highest and to all of us who stream to church hoping to be wowed into renewed faith. We will get renewed. Won't we? Jesus really did come back from the dead. Didn't he? For one day, at least, faith will trump doubt. Won't it? Or will it? I am not so sure.
In the sermon I heard last Easter morning, the minister stated that he did
not know what happened on the first Easter morning! He affirmed confidently
that "something happened," but he didn't say what. But in being
so candid, the preacher affirmed what many wouldn't dare to suggest, namely
that too many of us don't really know. In too many churches this Easter Sunday
morning, the resurrection of Jesus will be interpreted not as a reality, but
only as a kind of a metaphor. As if to say it didn't really happen, but it
is symbolic of something to wish for. In many other churches, it will be spoken
of as a distant memory, but not as an immediate, life changing possibility
for all.
For many, the resurrection event is interpreted as a metaphorical account
signifying new life. They find proof for the resurrection in the return of
Spring, the lengthening of the days, the appearance of crocuses and daffodils.
I wonder though. Does the Christian faith rest on the mere affirmation that
the seasons renew, that life goes on? If we really believed that Christ was
raised, would we treat it as if it were a metaphor with proof in the signs
of Spring? If we believed in the distinct possibility that each one of us
can participate in the resurrection, would we treat it as a memory? Make no
mistake about it. The resurrection does have metaphorical meaning, but it
is much more than a metaphor. To me, treating the resurrection only as some
kind of a metaphor betrays deeper insecurity about the resurrection faith.
Camouflaged in stories and statements of faith, Easter sermons betray a very
natural ambivalence about the heart of Christianity.
