Recognizing Resurrection: Finding Christ in the Outsider

Resurrection is not just a doctrine to recite. It is a reality we build with our lives choice by choice, moment by moment. It is found in every act of courage, every refusal to turn away, every time we choose to engage instead of retreat. And when we stumble, and we will, and we have, our prayer is the same as theirs. Stay with us, Lord. Stay with us when we cannot see, when we are lost, when we miss your presence right in front of us. [00:22:24] (34 seconds)  #LivingResurrection

And yet, they're right here on Sunday morning. Oh, Jesus. Oh, yes. I love you. Yes. And Jesus speaks to that. Stop being a hypocrite. And let's face it. We have a lot of hypocrites who are, quote, unquote, practicing Christians. We have a lot of politicians who are hypocrites. I am the biggest believer in Jesus Christ and in God. I'm God fearing Christian. Are you? [00:11:43] (46 seconds)  #FaithNotHypocrisy

Jesus arrives not in the forms we expect, but in the faces we are quickest to dismiss. Jesus comes as the one we would rather ignore, The one we have already decided does not belong. We cannot see him, not because Jesus is hiding, but because their own expectations have built walls around their vision. They have already decided what the Messiah should look like, how the story should unfold, and what resurrection ought to be. [00:01:25] (40 seconds)  #JesusInTheUnexpected

They assume he is in the dark when in the truth, he carries the light. How often do we do the same, deciding who is worthy to teach us, who is worthy to be heard? Yet it is the only one they overlook who opens their eyes, who turns the world upside down, who leads them to the truth they could not see. What would it take for us to let go of that instinct? [00:18:37] (26 seconds)  #LetGoOfJudgment

And Christ stays not in the ways we script, not in the forms that we find comfortable, but faithfully, quietly, showing up in the faces we overlook, in the strangers we pass by. The real risk, and not just in what we say about faith, but in how we live it. Will we only look for Christ where it feels safe? I know some people that do that. Or will we open our eyes to find him in the unfamiliar, in the unexpected, and in the one walking right besides us? [00:22:58] (37 seconds)  #FindChristInStrangers

There should be moments when our actions speak so loudly that no words are needed. And no, this doesn't mean the sermon. When the life of Christ shines through our actions, words are not needed. We do not put Christ on display with slogans. We reveal Christ by the way we live. It may sound simple, but the truth is this, faith is not a performance. It is a practice. [00:17:31] (32 seconds)  #FaithIsPractice

Love without measuring, care without keeping score, seeking justice not as a slogan, but as a way of life. When these things are real, they need no explanation. When they are missing, no amount of talk can cover the emptiness. The road to amus exposes another blindness. Our habit of believing the outsider has nothing to teach us. The disciples look at the stranger and see the ignorance, not wisdom. [00:18:02] (34 seconds)  #RadicalEverydayLove

See, during the revelation, that is when their eyes are open. Only then do they understand who has been seen, who has been with them all along. The question is not just whether we recognize Christ, but whether others can recognize Christ in us. If someone met you in the grocery store, at work, or on the street, would they see a glimpse of Christ? Not because you announced it, but because you lift it. [00:21:28] (27 seconds)  #BeAVisibleChrist