Resurrection Sunday: Building New Life in This World

Resurrection forces us into action in this world, here and now, because a simple escape from this world does not inspire me. A simple escape from this world shouldn't inspire anybody because why would we make work to make this world better? We're just leaving anyway. But resurrection inspires. Resurrection insists that this world matters. Resurrection invites us to engage in what's happening in this world and help to build it. Because what can be more honoring to the divine than enjoying the world that was created for our enjoyment? [01:10:12] (47 seconds)  #ResurrectionInspiresAction

What kind of world do you want to live in? What kind of world do you want to build? Can we stop the cycle of sameness? Yes. We can because there is resurrection, because this is a new creation. Elm Park, friends, there is a new way to be in the world. There's a new way to be in the world. It is the first day of a new week. There's a new way to make the world. And maybe the most important thing that we need to hear today is this is our garden. [01:14:47] (55 seconds)  #NewWeekNewWorld

Don't dare lose hope in this world. Yes. It feels scary. Yes. It feels out of control. Yes. It might feel unjust. Yes. It might be disorienting. Yes. It might look like the systems of power are just too strong. But wait a minute. There's resurrection. Wait a minute. There's hope. Wait a minute. There is a new creation. Resurrection says this world is our home, and it says that it's good to be home. [01:13:28] (41 seconds)  #ResurrectionIsHope

She thought he was the gardener, and he was, and he is. Because a gardener takes care of creation and cultivates new life within the garden. And friends, so do we. So do you, and so do I. We cultivate new life in our garden. In the city of Scranton, in our community, we cultivate new life. So may you participate in the new world. May you participate in resurrection. May you believe that you have a place in this world, and may you know that he is the gardener, and so are you. Amen. [01:15:43] (69 seconds)  #WeAreGardeners

Resurrection can come in the form of a person like Nelson Mandela, who was a prisoner for twenty seven years under a corrupt and brutal apartheid system before becoming the leader of his nation. Who would have ever thought that was possible? Resurrection. That's who. That's who thought it was possible. Resurrection can come in the form of high school students who are tired of being unsafe in their schools, and rather than say, this is the way it is, they march, and they lobby, and they change it. [01:11:52] (38 seconds)  #ResurrectionTransforms

John's main goal is to get his audience to believe and to know that the story of Jesus is so huge that it's a story of new creation. It's a story that rivals the very first creation in Genesis. That's why he starts with in the beginning. It's the same way that Genesis begins. The story that John is telling is talking about a new creation, a new way to live in the world that we already know. It's a new way of being human. [01:01:30] (36 seconds)  #JohnsNewCreation

But I imagine that it looked the same way on that Friday, on that first Good Friday. I imagine that it looked the same way for the disciples when they saw Jesus be crucified. I imagined that they couldn't imagine that new life could break through even that. And yet, here we are celebrating the fact that new life did spring forth. And so we look at the world. In all of its brokenness, in all of its confusion, in all of its injustice, and we think, surely, new life cannot spring forth until it does until it does. [00:36:42] (42 seconds)  #NewLifeBreaksThrough

Resurrection says this world is our home, and it says that it's good to be home. It says that even though it might feel like it's buried deep, deep down under the soil, new life is possible. Resurrection says that death doesn't win because we are caught up in life and new life and new creation. And we are caught up in this movement, this Jesus movement that insists that new life is possible, and we're caught up in this movement that is as wide as the universe, just like it was in the beginning. [01:14:02] (45 seconds)  #ResurrectionIsHome

Resurrection inspires me. Resurrection inspires us. Resurrection forces us into action in this world, here and now, because a simple escape from this world does not inspire me. A simple escape from this world shouldn't inspire anybody because why would we make work to make this world better? We're just leaving anyway. But resurrection inspires. Resurrection insists that this world matters. Resurrection invites us to engage in what's happening in this world and help to build it. [01:10:05] (45 seconds)

Elm Park, friends, there is a new way to be in the world. There's a new way to be in the world. It is the first day of a new week. There's a new way to make the world. And maybe the most important thing that we need to hear today is this is our garden. She thought he was the gardener, and he was, and he is. Because a gardener takes care of creation and cultivates new life within the garden. And friends, so do we. [01:15:14] (56 seconds)

And then we look around, and it's hard to see that new life is springing forth. But I imagine that it looked the same way on that Friday, on that first Good Friday. I imagine that it looked the same way for the disciples when they saw Jesus be crucified. I imagined that they couldn't imagine that new life could break through even that. And yet, here we are celebrating the fact that new life did spring forth. And so we look at the world. In all of its brokenness, in all of its confusion, in all of its injustice, and we think, surely, new life cannot spring forth until it does until it does. [00:36:32] (51 seconds)

Resurrection can come in the form of a person like Nelson Mandela, who was a prisoner for twenty seven years under a corrupt and brutal apartheid system before becoming the leader of his nation. Who would have ever thought that was possible? Resurrection. That's who. That's who thought it was possible. Resurrection can come in the form of high school students who are tired of being unsafe in their schools, and rather than say, this is the way it is, they march, and they lobby, and they change it. They say, let's change it. That's resurrection. We didn't think it was possible until it is until it is possible. There is new possibility. There is new hope in resurrection because resurrection is about a brand new creation. [01:11:51] (59 seconds)