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March 23, 2008 A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a conference sponsored by the Episcopal Church of Province I (that is, all the Episcopal dioceses of New England). The primary speaker was a man named Charles LaFond, an Episcopal priest serving part-time as an Assistant in a parish, & part-time on the staff of the Diocese of New Hampshire. Charles is Canon for Stewardship & Congregational Development there. To say that he's one of THE best speakers I've ever heard is an understatement. Not only does he MAKE SENSE … he's also very funny (ALWAYS a positive in MY book!). Throughout this weekend conference, Charles focused on a painting, an ICON. This icon pictures Jesus on Holy Saturday… the time BETWEEN Good Friday & Easter morning. The time when, as we say in the Apostle's Creed (the one we say at baptisms), "He descended to the dead…" Ever wonder about that… "He descended to the dead"? Even though it's significant enough to be mentioned in the Apostle's Creed, it still feels like we pretty much skim right over that part. Even as a young child, I found this comforting… not that I really understood what the councils of the church meant by that, but because it was important to me to know that God doesn't leave anybody out. So I was paying keen attention when Charles talked about this icon, picturing Christ "descending to the dead." Here's the story behind the icon… Jesus has grabbed two people – a man & a woman – by their WRISTS, pulled them right UP & OUT of their stone caskets… He is literally PULLING THEM OUT OF DEATH, INTO LIFE!!! Oh, and the man & the woman (by the way) are supposed to be Adam & Eve. THIS is important because they represent the ORIGINAL human beings, from whom WE are descendants. For those of you who love METAPHORS (and all sorts of symbolism), THIS is the METAPHOR of Adam & Eve DISOBEYING God by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil… The CONSEQUENCE is that the entire human race is "FALLEN"… as in, the entire human race has FALLEN FAR SHORT of God's original plans. One might even say, that Adam & Eve's "ORIGINAL SIN" was BETRAYAL . One might even say that what Adam & Eve BEGAN, human beings carried on, right through the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. (The little guy underneath Jesus, THAT would be the Satan. And all the other people in this group picture, they would be representing "All the SAINTS" of GOD.) As Christians – as DISCIPLES / FOLLOWERS of Jesus THE CHRIST – OUR MISSION is to pull people by their wrists, UP & OUT of DEATH. Don't worry… this does NOT mean that we're to spend our lives visiting graveyards, going from stone to stone, calling the dead each by name, "Lazarus, come out!" In comparison, THAT might seem EASIER than what WE are called to do! The "LIVING DEATH" from which this world of ours suffers is DOMINATED by the constant need to ACHIEVE, and, consequently, over-work (workaholism) has become the standard. As has amassing WEALTH (as if that will make us SECURE or HAPPY). This world of ours is OBSESSED with CONSUMPTION, the collecting of material THINGS, of HOARDING & SAVING until we are BURIED in our own CLUTTER. The "LIVING DEATH" from which this world of ours SUFFERS is OVER-INDULGENCE and SHALLOWNESS , BUSY-NESS, EXCESSIVE NOISE, and POWER STRUGGLE. We also suffer from what Charles names "FROZEN FEAR & DULL BOREDOM." THIS is the death from which Christ calls US to pull everyone. Out of the DARK… Into the LIGHT. Out of DEATH… into NEW LIFE… RESURRECTED LIFE!!! At this point, you might be saying to yourself, "Whoa! I don't remember agreeing to THIS mission!" Oops! Guess what… This is what we agree to in BAPTISM. It's kind of like signing a contract… Only in religious language, we call it a COVENANT… A COVENANT with GOD and with EACH OTHER. Like a contract, in a covenant all parties strike a deal… an AGREEMENT. "I WILL BE YOUR GOD, AND YOU WILL BE MY PEOPLE." That's the FIRST clause of the covenant: Love God with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your strength, and all of your spirit. The SECOND is this: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Spelled out more explicitly in the Baptismal Covenant as: RENOUNCING wickedness & rebellion against God, RENOUNCING evil & all that corrupts & destroys this world, RENOUNCING all the temptations & desires that would be so much easier than letting God love us … (By the way, this "renouncing" stuff means OFFERING UP our wrists to Christ.) We "renounce" so that we might be pulled from our own "sleeping death" up, into the FULLNESS of LIFE, rich with meaning & purpose … the LIFE we can only have if we LET OURSELVES be pulled up & out of the HELL we have created for ourselves. This business of "turning to Christ & accepting him as our Lord & Savior" means to completely, wholly, unconditionally TRUST CHRIST'S LOVE & GRACE. This means that once we offer Christ our wrists, we won't pull back… We won't pull away from Christ's hold on us because we are COMMITTED to really, really, really TRUST that Christ won't let go of us… and so we can RELAX & LEAN INTO the SECURITY of Jesus Christ. (And THIS is just the PEAMBLE… where WE PROMISE to FOLLOW &TRUST CHRIST… with ALL that we HAVE & ALL of who we ARE. This isn't even in fine print… It's right out there, BIG & BOLD!) And, GOD PROMISES TO LOVE US UNCONDITIONALLY… FOREVER…. No matter what. When we finally BELIEVE this with our whole heart & mind & spirit & strength it changes EVERYTHING . And this, my friends, is what we mean by LIVING THE RESURRECTION… ALLELUIA!!! |
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