Some of this is directly related to where I am personally and may not make sense out of context. Our local church body has been talking about some pretty serious stuff (all good) lately and considering what following Jesus really looks like, the cost of following, and the life that brings. If you would like to listen to the latest sermon from our Easter service you can listen to it here: Community Church Teachings (I am reflecting on 4.5.10 specifically, but all of them under spiritual disciplines contribute to the conversation)
The following are my attempt to put into some coherent words some of what I am cognizant of the Lord doing in me lately (I know he is doing more that I am not aware of at all)...
I have been trying to live into the reality of the Resurrection this week. This past Sunday's sermon definitely spoke to me.
I have been considering areas of death/sin in my life throughout Lent, but didn't really rest on any one thing (not because there are so few places of death in my life, but because there are so many). I felt the Lord just asking me to rest in him, spending time reading scripture, trying to listen to his voice, and taking time to pause in my day.
I dont have any great revelations, summations, or answers from this week, but the Incarnation/Indwelling and Resurrection are themes that keep coming up for me in prayer, reading, and thoughts. I think part of it is that these are real events are substantial in the way we view and interact with the life of Christ and ultimately, like Thad (one of our church pastors) expressed they point to God's character as a Life Giver and Death Conquerer. I think I am stuck by how different this makes him from us, and yet (I dont even know how to express this) how if we want life it comes only from him, we have to be connected to the True Vine; wound inextricably into him, and how our life is really about or created from becoming more and more entwined into him.
I am also just meditating more on the Incarnation and the Resurrection and struck by the mystery and power of these two things that really illuminate each other. I am including two items from other people that have been part of my journey this week...
1. I have been using a devotional guide lately called Living the Christian Year by Bobby Gross. I am happy to tell more about it, but for now I am just including a quote from the author's introduction to the season of Easter:
"The followers of Jesus watched their leader die. They were disheartened - confused, afraid, grief-stricken, and drained of hope. Despite Jesus' enigmatic statements about rising after three days, they had no expectation of his immediate resurrection. So when the women reported the tomb empty and word of his appearances reached them, joy eclipsed disbelief. They experienced what Tolkien calls eucatastrophe, the sudden turn of events that brings a disastrous story to an unexpectedly good conclusion, which 'pierces you with a joy that brings tears.'"
"'The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of [human] history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation,' asserts Tolkien, adding that 'this story begins and ends in joy.'"
2. InterVarsity has a big missions conference every 3 years called Urbana; our last one was this past December and our theme was The Word Became Flesh (so basically Incarnation). Anyway, I have been thinking back often to one speaker in particular who pointed out some really great things about God's character and his sending out his Son and the ways he is calling us to go out to pour out life also. If you would like to listen to it, the video is 30 minutes long and can be found at Urbana09 Vidoes under Day 3, go to Money and Power: Oscar Muriu (he is pastor of Nairobi Chapel in Kenya and one of the most Spirit-led and powerfully prophetic speakers I have ever heard).
