One of the reasons I fell in love with my wife, Debbie, is her intense love of life. The sight of a newly bloomed flower, a bird in flight or an ancient tree can send her into raptures of delight, and can still make my heart stop after all these years. Her biophilia has changed me, has given me life, and has inspired and nurtured my own creativity and love of all that lives, in remarkable ways. I know that the source of her love of life is largely within herself and her commitment to pay attention to the world fully, but I also know that the fire that keeps this love alive in her is her experience of the resurrected Christ.
As we continue to celebrate Easter (which is not just a single day, but rather 50 days, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost), we have the precious opportunity to encounter resurrection in a whole variety of ways. My favourite resurrection truth, though, is that resurrection opens us to the love of life. When he rose, Jesus proclaimed that life is the most resilient, most irrepressible reality in creation, and it is available to all who are willing to embrace it.
One of my greatest frustrations is when people of faith speak of the resurrection as only a “past and future” reality. It amazes me how we can fall into the trap of seeing the resurrection as a once off, past, historical event that happened to Jesus, and then follow this up with the mistake of seeing our own resurrection as only a future event in some otherworldly place. As true as these two ideas may be, the power of the resurrection is neither in the past nor in the future - it is right here and right now. When Jesus offers us abundant life (John 10:10) he is not making a promise for some far off time. Life is a gift that we can receive and enjoy in every moment - and faith in the resurrection should be the doorway to access this life.
When we are consumed with resurrection life, we find ourselves living in constant celebration. Every moment - even those of great tragedy or pain - is filled with glory, with possibility, with hope and with creativity. Resurrection people are unable to speak the language of cynicism. Resurrection people see the world and all its creatures as alive with God’s purpose, God’s beauty and God’s energy. Sacredness is everywhere, transformation is a constant reality and every moment is pregnant with the potential for a divine encounter.
There is an old Jewish proverb, form the Jerusalem Talmud, that says this:
“Every person will be called to give an account for every good thing they beheld in life and did not enjoy”. As people of the resurrection, we are called to enjoy all the goodness we can behold, wherever we may behold it. And it is our worship that teaches us to do this.
As we meet the risen Christ in the sanctuary, we can’t help but notice all the beauty and creativity that makes this divine encounter possible. Our liturgies are the poetry of worship. Our symbols, stained glass windows, banners, sculptures and icons are the art of worship. Our music and ritual is the theatre of worship. In all of this creativity we are opened to the surprising, unconstrained life of God, and we are invited to experience this life first hand. Then we are challenged to leave the church to live out this life in every moment and every place.
So, why not choose life right now? Just do it!
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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.