Living the Resurrection Life

It is in the season after Easter, after the Resurrection that we live our lives. Christ has risen and that one fact is the cornerstone upon which we lay the foundation of our lives. By choosing to build our lives in Christ we choose life, any other choice will lower the quality of our life. Making this choice seems simple and straight forward when we read the Gospel story, Jesus called the disciples and they followed. For us today it seems more difficult. Jesus is not physically present and we loose the sense of immediacy that his physical presence brought to the disciples. But it was not so simple for the disciples either. They understood their call but time after time they demonstrated that they didn’t understand what Jesus was doing or what he wanted from them.
It is these two things, knowing that Jesus has called you for a purpose and knowing just what that purpose is, that is critical in living the Resurrection Life. It would be deceptive to say that it is totally simple and straightforward, especially today. Part of the problem is that we base our understanding on the story of the 12 Apostles. Very few of us were called to follow in their footsteps. They were the stars of the era. There were a lot of other people who gathered around Jesus as well. Their stories are a little more difficult to follow in the Gospels but they are there.
First of all we need to understand that there were a lot more than twelve people who followed Jesus during his ministry. There were a number of women as well as other men. Scholars believe that at the Last Supper and at Pentecost there may have been up to 120 people in the room where they were staying. All of these people heard Jesus’ calling, all of them were involved in helping to carry out Jesus’ purpose.

Each of these people were no less involved in Jesus ministry than the twelve Apostles. Without them the Christian faith would have faded away shortly after Jesus rose. Every one was involved in being light to a dark and weary world. If the Apostles were the stars then these people, like most of us, are candles. Though our light cannot travel millions of miles it certainly makes the area around us warmer and brighter.

Each of these people had a different place in Jesus ministry. There were some wealthy people involved like Joseph of Arimathea, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. Others like Phillip and Stephen were called as servants, the English translation of the word deacon.

Jesus called a community, people with different abilities and talents to trust with the ministry that God had given him. If you look through the Gospel of John you will see that Jesus told people he had been sent by God for a purpose over forty times. As he prepared to leave us and ascend to the Father he entrusted that ministry to us. His Charge to the people of God, the Resurrection People was "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (NRS John 20:21) We are called by these words to support the ministry of Jesus Christ with our wealth, our energy and all our heart. Finding out what we should do is simpler now too. We are to do what Jesus did. Oppose evil, pray for the sick, make disciples and proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God, of God’s grace and love to all around us.
If we wonder at times why our spiritual lives are so difficult, or where we will get the energy to do what God has called us to do, the answer is much the same. Jesus said to those who follow, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work NRS (John 4:34). If it seems like we are not getting fed it is probably because we are not connected to the ministry we have been called to. Like in so many other cases health and satisfaction come from being the people we are created to be. As Resurrection People that means saying to the Lord; here I am, send me and engaging in Jesus’ ministry.

Pastor Jim

Pastor's Notes Archive