Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter is about living


Easter is about living, in the present and forever. In Charles Wesley's masterful hymn "Christ The Lord is Risen Today," the fourth stanza reads,

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Foll’wing our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

We are made like Christ in baptism, and therefore we will rise like Christ in the Resurrection. 

The Wesley brothers understood that the transformation that occurs in the Resurrection begins in this present life. Our nature in the image of God, tarnished by sin, is restored by the power of the Holy Spirit. Or, to put the matter differently, each of us is a work of art, but we have to be restored to our intended condition by a master worker in this craft. Once this process begins, we can start living into the will of the artist who created us. Note in this icon that Christ stands top the cross. Christ conquers all that the cross stands for, which includes not only death, but our rejection of God's work and will. 

Easter is a celebration of the Resurrection, and the Resurrection is about living, not just in the age to come, but in the now.

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