Jesus Lives Again!
By Craig Lenfestey of Land O’ Lakes, FL, USA
I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead. -Matthew 28:5b-7a NRSV
Peter Hodgson addresses the meaning of resurrection in his book Winds of the Spirit. “The New Testament uses two terms to interpret the experience of the living presence of the Crucified One. The root sense of the first of these, egeirein, is ‘to awaken’ or ‘to rise up,’ while the root sense of the second, anastanai, is ‘to arise’ or ‘to stand up’…The meaning now would be that Jesus was ‘arising to an action’ or was being ‘installed in a function’…Thus to say that Jesus is ‘risen from the dead’ means that he ‘comes to stand’ in the world as the agent or representative of God…Resurrection means his coming, his presence, not his departure or removal from the scene” (p. 269).
Our text for today tells us the resurrected Jesus was going ahead of his followers to Galilee. He was not leaving the world but was still in the world. The call for the earliest disciples was to join him in the world. The call is no different for us today.
Hodgson writes, “…the body in which the shape of Christ becomes incarnate is no longer the dead and decayed physical corpse of Jesus but the ongoing human community, and more specifically the community of those who connect this shape with the historical ministry of Jesus and who enact it in their own lives” (p. 274).
Every time we see a life which has been transformed by the grace of God, we see a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. We are a part of that resurrected body as we embody the model of Jesus for our world today. Each time a person rises to stand in the world as a representative of Jesus Christ, Jesus lives again! The story is not ended, but continues. As disciples who proclaim today, “Jesus lives again!” we are called to live the next chapter in the story. Where is the Galilee of today to which Jesus has already gone and calls us to join him there? May we go quickly with fear and great joy so Jesus will live again and again!
Prayer Phrase
Spirit now live in me.
Spiritual Practice
Spiritual Freedom
Breathe deeply and enter a few minutes of silence. Be attentive to where you sense new life emerging in you. Search your memories of the previous day. When did you notice the sacredness of life in surprising places or forms in the world around you?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
