Happy Easter: What Is The Resurrection?
I am sitting watching the sun rise, having my first cup of tea, and reflecting upon the word resurrection. The scientist in me took over and I had to examine the word, first in the Bible, as today is Easter, and then in the general literature, as the concept of resurrection and hope is very old, and as we know, is very much needed in today’s world.
In John 5:28-29 we are told that at a certain point in time the voice of God will call everyone, including the dead, and a resurrection will take place into life ‘for those who have done good’ and into judgement for those that 'have done bad.'
I do not like judgement and cannot conceive of God as a judge. So what did John mean when he talked about judgment?
J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell)- all told stories of resurrection; what goes right, and what goes wrong. And of course, to keep our interest and suspense, a lot goes wrong.
Some may consider 'things go wrong' as the judgement, on the other hand, when things go wrong we do learn from them, and expand our knowledge and understanding.
There are similar patterns in these narratives, including the Easter story - doing good outside the traditional framework or expectation, encountering challenges from the authorities and keepers of what is supposed to be 'the norm' alongside the acts of helping others, healing, feeding the hungry, educating about a greater love.
We could call these commonalities in the stories 'good vs bad' -- there are plenty of these clashes. We also could view these stories as journeys that necessitate a re-evaluation of authoritative powers, the status quo, or the norms of the culture, and whether the consequences leaders suffer when they show a better way for the good of all is justified.
For Jesus, pointing toward a new way meant death, and then, an amazing resurrection.
I appreciate this seemingly simple yet elegant biblical verse about the consequences of ‘doing good’ or ‘doing bad’ - when we act out of the goodness of our hearts and face challenges in life, our rebirth journey may be painful but the resurrection is into life; and when we are not ready for this kind of transformative power, there is chaos and consequences.
What then is ‘doing good’? That is something for us all to reflect upon as individuals and as a collective. We do know that love and compassion is better than anger and resentment; that offering the olive branch is needed in our world, that alleviating suffering with small acts of kindness is the Easter story of healing and feeding the hungry.
I wish you a Happy Easter and may you continue to transform into the beauty that is already in you.
Yours as Always,
Dohrea
