Be Like Risin' from the Dead
In Olive Ann Burns' masterful novel Cold Sassy Tree, she tells the story of Grandpa Blakeslee, an elderly renegade going through a second adolescence. Grandpa keeps the town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, abuzz with his unorthodox behavior.Told through the eyes of Will, his thirteen year old grandson, Grandpa Blakeslee has some rather unorthodox views on religion as well. But there is a current of profound truth running under the surface.On one occasion Grandpa explains to young Will his views on the resurrection. Will asks: "Gosh Grandpa. You mean you don't think Jesus rose from the dead?""I'm sayin' thet did He for didn't He ain't important, son. What's important is that when the Spirit a-Jesus Christ come down on them disciples later, they quit settin' round a-moanin' and a-tremblin', and got to work. They warn't scairt no more, and the words they spoke had fire in 'em. Compared to a miracle like thet, Jesus rollin' back a dang stone and flyin' off to Heaven ain't nothin'."The real mystery of this great feast is exactly that: the Spirit of Jesus has rushed forth throughout creation, transforming all -- the BIG BANG of a New Creation!What we come to profess today is that we have been brought forth from the desert to the promised land, from darkness into light, from death into life. The challenge of this feast is that our lives must profess in concrete ways this New Creation initiated by Christ's death and resurrection.Because we entered the death and resurrection of Jesus in our baptism we are somehow different, called to a larger vision for ourselves and our world. We see with the eyes of faith a new creation forever free of the effects of human brokenness. And though we are surely weak and frail ourselves, Christ's resurrection empowers us. We need no longer be "scairt" -- our words can now have "fire in 'em." Whatever the condition of our personal lives, whatever the challenge in our community, the "spirit a Jesus" has empowered us to "quit settin' round a-moanin' and a-tremblin', and git to work." The Spirit of the Risen Christ is alive! Just as each of the disciples initially responded in varied ways to the mystery they witnessesed, so too each of us responds as our needs and circumstances dictate. What is needed is the faith of Mary of Magdala of the Gospels, who in spite of initial bewilderment had the faith that led to the proclamation of the Good News. We must be willing to accept the challenges we face daily with a faith that is not clouded by the skepticism of a Peter or even the idealism of a young John, but rooted in a bold, reasoned response of a Magdalene. Whatever the degree of our faith, each one of us who gathers around the altar to celebrate this mystery becomes the very body of the Risen Lord. We are empowered by this Sacrament to bring the effects of that New Creation into our own lives and the lives of others. Through the compassion and love of Jesus we heal the wounds that prevent the fullness of the Reign of God in our midst. We begin in our own homes, with family near and far. We allow the reverberations of our Easter Alleluias to permeate the tensions and struggles of the workplace. We invite the Spirit of the Risen Lord to govern our world.In the Eucharist this Easter we break the bread that is the Body of Christ to become the Body of Christ -- to become his Risen Spirit in the world. Grandpa Blakeslee for all his unorthodox theology understood the miracle of this feast:"...thet miracle is still a-happenin', right here in Cold Sassy, in July of nineteen aught six. A cripple person or an invalid, or the meanest thief or the most desparin' misfit, why, if'n he can ketch aholt of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, he can quit bein' scairt and be like risin' from the dead. Once his soul gits cured, no matter what his body's like, why, he can start a new life."To that, Grandpa, we say AMEN! ALLELUIA!
