Newsletter:
Vol. 14, Iss. 1
May 2015
Glory in Galilee Easter 2015,
cont'd
Probably, if you are reading this message, you have already been to Galilee.
Having been there, though, it is important to remember that for Jesus, Galilee
is not a place where he lolled on a boat, basking in the sun, singing praise
music. It is not the place where he sipped fresh squeezed orange juice or
worried about where he could get souvenirs. For Jesus, Galilee was a place
of need. It was where he did the bulk of his healing and teaching ministry.
For us, too, Galilee is not necessarily a particular geographical place. Galilee
is wherever we meet the challenges of our lives. Galilee is right there in
the midst of real human life where people strive and suffer. It is the place
where deeds are more important than creeds. It is wherever the people of God
find the power of God. What does it mean for us? It means that there really
is no Easter unless love is acted out in life. Everyday. Wherever we find
ourselves. It means that we find proof of the risen Lord wherever a helping
hand finds the hurting heart.
You want a sign that Christ is alive and loose in this world? Don't go crawling
around any empty tomb. Instead, look to those whose faith exercises their
muscles and not only their mouths. The resurrection is real only if it is
real in us, demonstrated in our lives, in our willingness, day by day, to
replace lies with truth, to answer hate with love, to shake off the dust of
guilt and take on responsibility.
Christ was raised for one reason and one reason only-that we might rise with
him. Jesus' resurrection removed the fear of death so that we might not ever
fear life! As Jesus said, "I came that they might have life and have it abundantly."
(Jn. 10: 10) This is the meaning of the young man's cryptic remark, "You will
see him in Galilee." Not in the gloom of the tomb, but in the light of day.
Not in the repose of the sanctuary, but in the response to life's everyday
challenges.
What is it about Easter morning that sets the bells pealing, the trumpets
sounding, and the alleluias cascading around the world? It is not one man's
victory of life over death. It is not that once upon a time God's power was
enough to raise one man to new life. It is that every day, men and women rise
to face the challenges of daily life even against all the odds. It is that
over and over again, love proves itself to be more powerful than hate, hope
more powerful than despair. The proof is not in the earthquake or the lightening,
not in dazzling signs and wonders, but in those who struggle against challenges
with dignity and determination. It is in those who rise after a fall. It is
in those who refuse to give up or give in even in the face of paralyzing hardship.
It is in those who rise out of the shadows of grief to new life. We prove
Christ's resurrection by living our own.
The Easter truth is that love can be nailed to the cross and even buried in
a grave, but it cannot be kept there. Why do I believe it? Why do I join the
Easter chorus year after year? Not because of reports of dramatic signs and
miraculous wonders, not even because of the Gospel testimony to an empty tomb.
Rather, because in my own life, in my own personal Galilee of trial and loss,
I have experienced for myself the inevitable triumph of life over death, of
hope over desperation, of love over hate, of forgiveness over guilt.
This is all the excuse I need to celebrate. God has done God's part. Resurrection
has overcome crucifixion. Forgiveness has replaced guilt and sin. Death is
not the end, but the beginning. It is not a wall, but a door. It is a horizon-the
limit of our sight, but not of our lives. Where is the sign of the resurrection?
It is in those who live life to its fullest, in those who live as though death
is no fear and in those who understand death as going forth into full life.
Where is the glory of the Lord? The glory is in Galilee. The glory of the
Lord is a human being fully alive.
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