resurrection

What the opening ceremony to the Olympics reminded me of:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2). 

The shore is a place of Revelation to me. It's a foretaste of what we will know in God's re-creation. Fortresses of sand cross the beach line, their gates always open. They're built with love and laughter. The joy is in the creation.

It's a place where giggles escape.

It's a place of games--paddleball, whiffle ball, football, frisbie, bocce, horseshoes. It's a place where we remember to be child-like.

It can hit anywhere--on a sunny, blue day with birds chirping, flowers blooming, friends laughing, or a day with deep thunder and bright lightening. Without warning, I'm overcome by the evilness in this world.

It's not so much about anything personal, nothing done to me.

Then again, it's always personal, this evilness in the world.

My eight-year-old niece and I had a chat about the resurrection the other day.

"There will be all kinds of animals," I said.

"Dogs?"

"Yup."

"Cats?"

"Yup."

"Bunnies."

"Yup."

"Monkeys?"

"Yup. And we'll get to play with them and always have fun. No one will be sad."

"Kind of like your second life?"

If N.T. Wright and music had a child, it would be Jeremy Begbie.

I'm pretty sure neither Wright nor Jeremy would endorse that statement, but there it is. 

My thoughts here are biased, I must warn you.

I  loved N.T. Wright's newest book, Surprised by Hope. He explores the meat of the Christian hope, what he calls the after-afterlife.

Because she thought he was the gardener...

The Gardener hung on the cross to atone for the gardeners. On the third day, he rose from the dead, conquering the death and evil that swept through his garden.

He prunes us. He snips away the deadness.

He gives us life. We, the branches, suck nutrients, minerals, and the water of life from the Vine. The Gardener became the firstfruits of the resurrection for which the whole garden groans.

It groans.

We groan.

What, you may ask, does Holy Week have to do with art besides all those Passion plays?

It has to do with creation and recreation and the Imago Dei and the kingdom of God and beauty and transformation.

It has to do with the Creator becoming part of His creation, sacrificing for creation.

It has to do with the Creator redeeming His creation in every way possible, spiritually, physically, relationally, and aesthetically.

It has to do with our participation in that redemption.

My husband and I love to go camping. Of course, you can't go camping without a campfire, and my husband loves campfires.

He's a master at making things burn.