Resurrection

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

On Easter Sunday, I shared an insight from Marcus Borg that has always been powerful to me. Once upon a time, Borg was away from home on Easter, and found himself at an evangelical church worship service. As a progressive theologian who doesn’t take the Bible literally, he squirmed a bit as the pastor interpreted the Easter texts. 

But then, the pastor asked something like: “Where are we seeing signs of resurrection?”

Marcus Borg said the pastor began to describe the *effects* of resurrection in our lives; the specific places we experience it in life. And he was struck by how much he agreed with everything the pastor said:

— In relationships that heal.

— In addicts who recover from addiction.

— In serving those less fortunate, and offering hope.

— In offering forgiveness to ourselves and others.

It struck Borg powerfully. Christians —while we may disagree about interpreting the Bible literally or not— tend to agree on the *effect* of resurrection around us.

I hope you are looking for signs of New Life around you. And I hope you are seeing them. Because if we look through our spiritual eye-glasses, we can see it around us, even in the midst of a year of death and sadness.

Here are some of the things I shared with folks about where *I* am seeing resurrection in our world right now:

— Vaccines: The hope that medical science is giving us, that our world might return to some kind of “normal.”

— Family Gatherings: People hugging their loved ones, gathering in small groups, for the first time in a year.

— Trees and flowers: Nature speaks the truth of resurrection to us every year.

— Live Music! : I walked to dinner one night last week, and was overcome with emotion, as I heard a woman and her guitar, wafting out over the bars and restaurants of Lower Greenville, for the first time in a year.

And finally, our gathering for “Worship on the Lawn.” That is also a deeply hopeful sign and symbol of new and returning life. To hear folks read the responsive readings, and pray the Lord’s Prayer…it’s been beautiful and hopeful.

As you feel a sense of your own confidence, I hope you’ll join us on the lawn on a Sunday soon, as we move through the “Eastertide” season of “New Life.”