Easter Perspective: Are We Easter People?

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Are We Easter People?

Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He isn't here, but has been raised.

Luke 24:5-6 (CEB)

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

From "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" by Charles Wesley

On the second day after Jesus' wrongful execution, a group of women go to the borrowed tomb in which Jesus' body had been placed temporarily, so that they can prepare the body for a proper burial.  When they arrive, they see that the tomb is opened, and, when they go inside, they discover that the body is missing.  They are startled when they suddenly see two men dressed in extremely bright clothing standing with them.

The two strange men - perhaps they are angels - ask the women, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"

That is a good question.

The women report everything they have just seen and heard to Jesus' disciples, but nobody believes them.  The disciple Peter then goes to the tomb to check things out for himself.

Later that day, two of Jesus' followers leave Jerusalem and head toward the town of Emmaus, and, as they walk down the road, they begin discussing the events that have unfolded over the last few days.  At one point on the journey, they are joined by a stranger who asks them what they are talking about.  Wondering where the stranger has been hiding for the last couple of days, they get him caught up to speed about Jesus, their hopes that He would be the one to save their people, His untimely demise, and the news that His body is missing.

The stranger then asks the travelers, "Wasn't it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into His glory?"

That is another good question.

The travelers eventually realize that the stranger in their midst is not a stranger at all, and he suddenly vanishes.  The two run as fast as they can back to the Disciples and learn that others have had similar experiences.  Suddenly, Jesus appears among them and says, "Peace be with you!"  Understandably, everybody begins to freak out, thinking that they're seeing a ghost.

Jesus then asks, "Why are you startled?  Why are doubts arising in your hearts?"

Those are also good questions.

The story of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ presents us with a number of questions.¹  These questions still challenge us as followers of Christ living nearly two thousand years after the event.

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When the women go to the tomb and find that Jesus' body is missing, the two angels who appear ask them why they seek the living among the dead.

Why do we waste our lives on things that are not life-giving?

Why are we so hesitant to listen to a new word being spoken?

Why do we not leave behind what has always been so that we can pursue what could be?

When the two travelers tell the "stranger" with them about the recent events that have left them feeling bewildered, He asks them if it wasn't indeed necessary for the Messiah to suffer.

Why are we so afraid of suffering?

Can we not trust that times of suffering will eventually give way to times of joy?

Do we not believe that God is present with us in our suffering?

Do we not believe that God brings good out of suffering?

When Jesus appears alive and well amongst His followers and watches everyone freak out, He asks them why they are startled and why they doubt what they are seeing.

Why are we so surprised when good things happen?

Do we doubt the goodness of God?

More than once, Jesus explicitly told His followers that, when He arrived in Jerusalem, He would be arrested by the powers that be, suffer at their hands, be killed, and then be raised from the dead a few days later.  After Jesus' tomb is found to be empty, people have to be reminded again and again what had been said all along.

Perhaps we believe in Jesus, but do we actually believe Jesus?

Do we take seriously the things Jesus said?

I would say that there is one major question that the Easter story presents us:

Are we Easter people?

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Philosopher Peter Rollins has a tendency to raise eyebrows with his rather unconventional views of the Christian faith.  One day, someone saw it fit to ask him if he denied the Resurrection of Christ.  Rollins replied,
Everyone who knows me knows I deny the Resurrection.  I do deny the Resurrection, every time I do not serve my neighbor, every time I walk away from people who are poor.  I deny the Resurrection every time I participate in an unjust system.  And I affirm the Resurrection every now and again when I stand up for those who are on their knees.  I affirm the Resurrection when I cry out for those people who have had their tongues torn out, when I weep for those people who have no more tears to shed.²
Basically, we deny or affirm the Resurrection of Christ by the way we live in response to it.

The Easter story reminds us that Jesus Christ, the Savior of all humanity, went to the cross to face death, the greatest enemy humanity has ever known, and then emerged from the grave triumphant.  The Resurrection of Christ is at the center of a God-sized plan to set all things right and to breathe new life into the world, and that plan involves the redemption of each of us.  The story of the Resurrection is our defining story as followers of Christ, meaning that it should affect everything about us.

May we live as Resurrected people.


Notes:

1. This telling of the Easter story is based on Luke 24 (CEB).
2. https://vimeo.com/19258866

The Holy Women at the Tomb was painted by William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1876.