Resurrection in a Post-Modern World

The last time I was here I spoke about silence about Trayvon Martin and was not particularly kind to my brothers and sisters.  I want to make this clear, that my frustration is rooted in love: love for the Universal Church, Love for the Word of God, Love for the many people in this world, the pain and frustration I feel still as a black man under an oft-times unfair system.  I look at the separation and the pain that is allowed to fester in the Western Church and our leaders miss countless opportunities to bridge the painful gaps that divide the Church Universal.  I could go deeper, but now is not the time nor the place.  I want to talk very specifically and from the heart about the importance of the Resurrection of Christ in our post-modern world.


The life, the crucifixion, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus can never be lost for authentic Christians.  It is from these facts, events that we draw hope for our existence.  Paul says that if we hope in things that we have already seen, that is not hope.  The hope of the future, the revival of the dead things rests in the fact that Christ rose (cf. 1st Corinthians 15).  We would be honestly wasting good time on Sundays or how often we participate in worship with other saints if Christ never lived, died or was raised.  So in this we have hope...that Christ rose, we too will rise; Christ overcame, we will too over come this world.

So what is the practical response to this?  I am glad you asked the question.  First, we need to let the resurrection power that Christ have inspire our faith.  Second, we need to use that faith to do good in the world.  I know does not Paul say, "By grace are you saved through faith, not by works lest anyone should boast proudly." (Ephesians 2:8-9)  Absolutely, but that does not absolve us from the need and compulsion to do good works because Paul, then follows up his thought with this, "For we are His (God's) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has preordained that we should walk in them." (Ephensians 2:10)  We were created to do good, to mend the breach, to be ministers of reconciliation.  We have to get this in our heads as the church of God in the "post-modern" world.  The world are looking at us to be what we say we are.  They may be completely clueless on the rudiments of theology, eschatology, soteriology, but they do know what authentic looks like.  Christ to them means "love"; God to them means "love".  So we need to love truly and honestly.  Not just with words, we have to live, love and demonstrate resurrection and transformation.  We were not saved to avoid hell...we were not even saved to get to heaven...We were saved to change the world around us by tapping into the power, wisdom, and purpose of YAHWEH and YESHUA.

Resurrection Sunday/Easter Sunday reminds me that nothing is ever completely as it seems. That the dead things, the dead dreams, the deferred visions can come to pass. That God never comes as expected, The long-oppressed Jews expected Jesus to be the liberator from the physical oppression of a controlling Roman government. But, Jesus cared more for their souls than their physical predicament. Love works better than fear, piety, hatred. Love is the truth and the Truth though it seemed like it died one Friday afternoon...is ALIVE and is still working on the behalf of those that receive the gift He gave. Humans want to rationalize it away but I want to run to it...I want to embrace the hard sayings and the lovely encouragement...I want it all because I want to know Him!!

Chew on this family and let us strive to do more:

Ernest