He is Risen.
He is Risen indeed!
The Easter Promise
I came so that they could have life –indeed; so that they could live life to the fullest. Jesus says in John 10:10
Fullest synonyms: fulfilling, full, filled up, brimming, overflowing, running over, crammed, packed, teeming, bursting at the seams, engaged.
Jesus’ ministry and life show us what is ours to do– in order to fulfill our end of the promise and to live life to the fullest. This promise is for THEY (plural) and not just me (singular). Living to the fullest with an overflowing cup means to move from the egotistical “me” to the inclusive “we”, to love without boundaries, to flip the script on judgement and dualistic ideals that generate divisive categories, to create spaces of belonging for ALL people, to express awe and reverence in all of life and to hope.
Jesus’s death and resurrection show us that we can’t contain the Holy. The Holy escapes our attempts at hard boundaries. It’s true for the tomb and in general. Whatever we might imagine about the Holy or whatever words we use to explain the Holy–we humans are unable to fathom or capture the essence.
Easter is an invitation to embrace the Holy Mystery– knowing that we don’t have all the answers. And it’s an opportunity to use our imaginations–to go deeper, to open to the possibilities, think bigger, dream more expansively, and love more radically as we embrace what it means to live to the fullest.
That which God said to the rose,
and caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty,
He said to my heart,
and made it a hundred times more beautiful. -Rumi
I’ve loved exploring the music of Chris Cornell alongside the story of Holy Week. Thanks for your faithful readership and support! I leave you with this final song today. In fact, it is the final song ever written by Chris Cornell, he died by suicide shortly after. This video is a powerful reminder of the work we have ahead of us in our Christian task and an invitation to step outside of ourselves with Holy imagination.
Thanks be to God!