He is Risen!

Happy Easter, everyone!

I split my holy week celebrations between Christ Chapel, here at Gustavus, and Open Door with the family. In both places I really felt something lacking to the experience. Holy Week at Open Door appears to me to be a especially big chance to show off. There used to be a choir from the congregation that would sing on Easter, but no longer-- now the Easter service looks more like a rock concert, with fancy lights, loud music, and jubilant atmosphere. Don't get me wrong-- it was very cool-- but I felt like I was just consuming church. I sat, or stood in my place in the sanctuary and watched fantastic musicians sing while I got to sing along. The sermon was about 'third-day' hope, and was particularly applicable to many in the congregation as their financial hopes seem to fade. The whole experience made me feel like Easter is supposed to be about me--my hope, my salvation, my relationship with God. A sense of community--of being in this together-- was conspicuously absent. The same thing was the case on Good Friday, minus the jubilance. It made me wonder-- what can Holy Week really mean if I look outside of myself?

Although my thoughts on the matter are truly embryonic, I wanted to share them. Maybe you can help me develop these ideas. What does the death and resurrection of Christ mean in your world? How does it effect the way you live?

I started to think about the suffering of the crucified Christ in terms of the many people in the world who are now suffering. This comes from liberation theology, the 'theology of the poor' thatI'm studying in school right now. As Jesus said, "you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me." At church on Good Friday we were asked to enter into the experience of Christ's suffering, to remember his pain. What if we took the opportunity to enter into and remember the suffering of those all around us as well? What if we took up the cross on their behalf? How would that change the way we live?

Easter brought up an even bigger question--what is salvation anyways? If all salvation means is 'you beleive that Jesus died for your sins and go to heaven when you die', well, ok. But that doesn't mean a lot in my real life, you know? What if salvation means the coming of God's Kingdom in this world? Now that can mean something to me. What if Christ's death and resurrection is an example of how things should be? What if resurrection is still happening in the most unlikely places?

Now that's exciting.