Resurrection: The Passover of All Things

For many of us, I know the term "Easter" or, even, "Resurrection" has become simply a title or a symbol that we have lost track of. We use the words as if the essence of what we are talking about is assumed. As if it is some distant, abstract, mysterious thing that we celebrate as some routine pattern of Christianity.

So I've often found myself asking, what is this all about anyway? Where does it come from? What does it mean for the world? Why is it such a big deal and what does it actually have to do with Jesus and God's movement in the world?

So for those of you who may be having the same thoughts, who have wondered about the substance behind Jesus' death and resurrection, I wanted to share some things I've discovered over the past couple of years.

Because there has got to be more to it than that.

And my hope is that the Easter story and the movement of Jesus can become a little bit more real for you.

Drops

Central to what we find Jesus doing in the world is bringing God's 'Way' to earth. It is typically referenced as God's Kingdom or the Kingdom of Heaven [just a Jewish way to say 'God' without actually saying it] and it has the implication that, by Jesus using this particular phrase and language, he was intentionally contrasting the other kingdoms all over the world. The kingdom of Rome, the kingdom of Herod, the kingdoms of violence and oppression and injustice, the individual selfish kingdoms that we so often orient our worlds around.

It is into this that Jesus enters announcing that another Kingdom is on the scene, the Kingdom that embodies the very essence of God and God's vision for humanity.

This is what Jesus means when he brings up God's Kingdom.

It is God's realm.

God's movement.

God's economy.

God's sphere.

God's dominion.

God's Way.

Not ours.

The Kingdom is just another way of talking about God's dream for the world.



And I think a good way to describe how this thing works is that it is a bit like the ocean.



The Kingdom of God is like the ocean.

Hands, Boxes, and Colorful Shoes

[Please begin with this short video  -  it is about four minutes that will change your life]

Pete the Cat - one of the great teachers of our time. 

Its kind of a weird story though, isn't it? A cat that wears shoes and steps in massive piles of berries, probably costing a lot of money and that shouldn't just be left sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, followed by clumsily wandering into mud and water all with the tranquil sedated look of a young jazzy hipster in a coffee shop. 

Yet somehow this story is capable of communicating the common human experience of navigating the world. 

And I think that there is something here that our world and our culture could use a little more of. 

Everything You Do Says Something

[Thomas Cole - "The Architect's Dream]

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This is the basic model for how communication works. 

A person sends a message, often through various environments and channels, the message is received and interpreted, feedback is given followed by it being received and interpreted and it goes back and forth again and again through a continuous process of encoding and decoding.

Without stopping. 

Which means that to understand this model of communication is to understand that we are constantly communicating.

Your Bag is Actually a Coffin

For the Jewish people, there is a day called Sabbath that is central to their existence as a people.