Yesterday was the high point of the Christian year as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus on Easter. Yet the resurrection is not a one time event or an annual celebration. In the great chapter about the resurrection in I Corinthians 15, Paul proclaims that Jesus’ resurrection is the “first fruits.” In other words, God’s resurrection power continues to be at work in our lives and in our world. This is true not only for us as individuals but also for our society as we are open and committed to God’s will for our lives and our world. Last week on Good Friday, I read an article from the April 19, 1968 edition of Life magazine. It was written by Coretta Scott King 51 years ago just a few days after the murder of her husband Martin Luther King, Jr. Here are some of her words:
How many times have I heard him (Martin) say that with every Good Friday there comes Easter. When Good Friday comes there are moments in life when we feel that all is lost, and there is no hope. But then Easter comes as a time of resurrection, of rebirth, of hope and fulfillment. We must carry on because this is the way he would have wanted it to have been. We are not going to get bogged down, I hope, and this moment when we are going to go forward, we are going to continue his work to make all people truly free and to make every person feel that he is a human being.
The power of the resurrection is not just or even primarily about going to heaven after death. It is the way of new life right now. At the time of greatest loss and grief in her own life, Mrs. King reminds us to trust God’s power to bring new life out of what seem the most hopeless situations. She also reminds us that God calls us to be resurrection partners by committing our lives to working for love and justice for all people. Easter Sunday is past for this year. The power resurrection continues today and every day. The question of each of us is, How is God calling me to be a “Resurrection Partn
