Resurrection

For those of you around last Sunday, perhaps you have been as taken by the notion of a God who raises the dead as I have been. I spent some time reflecting this week on the resurrection and simply want to pass on some fruits of that reflection. May they be a blessing to you as they were to me.

Reality
"Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep."
- John Chrysostom

A Starting Point for Renewal
"The resurrection is, of course, the point at which the question, 'What really happened?' becomes most pressing... Indeed, the simple truth is that the resurrection cannot be accommodated in any way of understanding the world, except one of which it is the starting point... The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the beginning of a new creation, the work of that same power by which creation itself exists. We can decline to believe it and take it for granted that we have only the old creation to deal with. Or we can believe it and take it as the starting point for a new way of understanding and dealing with the world.’
- Leslie Newbigin, To Tell the Truth: The Gospel as Public Truth


Joy Unspeakable 
"On the Day of the Lord—the day that God makes everything right, the day that everything sad comes untrue—on that day the same thing will happen to your own hurts and sadness. You will find that the worst things that have ever happened to you will in the end only enhance your eternal delight. On that day, all of it will be turned inside out and you will know joy beyond the walls of the world. The joy of your glory will be that much greater for every scar you bear. So live in the light of the resurrection and renewal of this world, and of yourself, in a glorious, never-ending, joyful dance of grace."
- Tim Keller, King’s Cross

I look forward to seeing you Sunday. We will continue on in 2 Corinthians looking at chapter 2:12-17.  This is a wonderful section on the reality of the Gospel that both makes us captive and sets us free!