Resurrection, Not Resuscitation: Practicing New Life

But resurrection on the other hand is disorienting because it asks us to step into something new. It doesn't give us back what we have. It gives us something we simply don't expect. And then we're on a step field for a little bit unsettling. We would often prefer a God who fixes things over a God who transforms things. We would prefer a God who restores our old life rather than the one who calls us into a new one. [01:01:03] (33 seconds)  #NewNotRestored

To practice resurrection is to forgive when resentment would be easier. It's to tell the truth when silence would feel safer. And it's to release control and trust that God is at work in ways that we simply can't fully see or fully understand. It's not comfortable work. It's dissonant work. And yet, it is precisely here in the tension and uncertainty in the in -between that resurrection life takes root. [01:06:00] (43 seconds)  #LiveResurrectionNow

We see this longing out of our personal lives when we wish we could undo mistakes or reclaim versions of ourselves that feel lost. We see it in our communities when we long for the way things used to be. We see it in the church when we try and restore structures, attendance, or influence that once felt secure. We even see it in our modern culture where movements promise to return to greatness for simplicity, for clarity. [01:00:21] (34 seconds)  #LongingForYesterday

Christ is risen, and while that is gloriously true, resurrection doesn't erase the dissonance. In many ways, it deepens it. It stretches it and invites us to live within it in a new way. Because resurrection is not a return to what was. It's the beginning of something that we don't yet fully understand. [00:56:16] (27 seconds)  #DissonantResurrection

Not that we can go back, but so we can go forward. Forward into a life that is unfamiliar, that is transformed. Forward into a life that reflects the radical love, peace, and justice of God's kingdom. That is so deeply and profoundly alive. So, may we be a people who do not claim due resuscitation in life. May we be a people who dare to receive resurrection. [01:07:21] (38 seconds)  #ForwardIntoNewLife

Or are we open to that resurrected life, transformation that may lead us somewhere completely unexpected, even uncomfortable, ultimately aligned with the heart of God? And this question invites us to look closely at our minds. Where do you see resuscitation? Perhaps it shows up in the way we cling to identity that no longer fit. We're trying to repair situations without allowing deeper change. [01:02:57] (32 seconds)  #LetGoForTransformation

But we also see glimpses of resurrection. We see it in acts of reconciliation, where division comes through. We see it in communities that choose peace over retaliation. And we see it in movements that prioritize justice, humility, and love over dominance and control. In quiet, often overlooked ways, resurrection is already breaking into our world. [01:04:33] (35 seconds)  #ResurrectionAtWork

Because if Jesus said resurrection is not simply a return to normal, then maybe our hope is not a return to normal either. We live in a world that deeply longs for resuscitation. We want things to go back, back before the pain, back before the loss, before the destruction. We long for the familiar, the predictable, the comfortable. [00:59:56] (25 seconds)  #HopeBeyondNormal