Called by Name: Living Resurrection Beyond the Empty Tomb

The empty tomb simply is not enough. We need the empty tomb. The empty tomb is empty because of the resurrection. But we cannot stay at the empty tomb. We cannot stay here on Easter Sunday with the pretty flowers and the extra services and the I mean, if we could sing Christ the Lord is risen today every Sunday, I'd do it. But we can't stay here, and we can't stay here precisely because we've been here. We can't stay at the empty tomb because we have experienced the resurrected life. [00:41:56] (48 seconds)  #BeyondTheEmptyTomb

Resurrection isn't something when the for when the weather turns warm. Resurrection isn't seasonal. Resurrection isn't sentimental. Resurrection is about the wholeness of our lives. God has called you by name. Through your grief, through your anger, through your sorrow, through your confusion, through your uncertainty, through whatever feeling you're carrying in your heart right now, God sees that and calls you by name and says death and sin and evil and injustice, the power of the cross cannot keep me from you. Go and tell somebody. [00:41:01] (55 seconds)  #ResurrectionEveryday

The gospels are pretty clear. When Jesus comes out of the tomb, when Jesus says, Mary's name, when Jesus says, your name, when Jesus says, I know you and death cannot keep me from you, Jesus says, now you have a part to play. Resurrection isn't just about us receiving God's love for ourselves to keep hidden in a keep hidden deep inside. Resurrection is a gift that we've been given so that we might go and tell the world that they can receive this gift, so that they might know the resurrected one, so that they might receive the resurrected life. [00:39:49] (42 seconds)  #GoTellTheResurrection

I think sometimes we get hung up on the empty tomb. The tomb is empty. We get hung up on it. But believing that the tomb is empty is simply not enough. It is simply not enough for our faith as Christians to say the tomb is empty. Hallelujah. God has done everything God promised. There is another step beyond an empty tomb. And if we do not make that jump, if we do not take that step, if we do not advance our faith beyond an empty room into a full life, then we have missed something fundamental. [00:35:28] (39 seconds)  #StepIntoFullLife

We come to the empty tomb and receive the resurrection, But the resurrection doesn't leave us here. The resurrection doesn't say build a monument, build a temple, build a church, and stay right here. Resurrection says, go out. Your lives have been transformed by the one who knows you. Go and be Christ in the world. This is not sentimental. This is not seasonal. This is about the entirety of our being. [00:43:45] (50 seconds)  #BeChristInTheWorld

Resurrection isn't just a sentimental thing that we hold in our hearts and our souls. Resurrection isn't just a seasonal thing that we do that we do after the first full moon, after the spring equinox. Resurrection doesn't just happen when the flowers are blooming and we can tell ourselves, oh, the flowers are empty because the tomb is empty. Resurrection isn't something that happens when the daffodils pop up. [00:40:31] (30 seconds)  #ResurrectionIsAllYear

Wherever you are right now, whether you are uncertain, whether you are hurting, whether you are excited, whether you are looking forward to something, whether you are anxious about something. God knows who you are. God is saying your name. Look up and see God, see Christ who loves you, who is calling you to more, who is calling you to the resurrected life here and now. Amen. [00:44:35] (50 seconds)  #GodCallsYouByName

When Christ, who is your life, in Easter and resurrection, our lives are given over to the one who knows our name, to the one who was crucified, dead, and resurrected. Our life, our lives, are Christ. Not we're supposed to live for Christ, not supposed we're supposed to be like Christ, but our lives are Christ who has been revealed to us in the resurrection. Our lives are also then to be Christ in the world. [00:42:59] (45 seconds)  #OurLivesAreChrist