What Difference Does the Resurrection Make?

Now that we have celebrated Easter, that bright beautiful festival, with the best music, flowers, food etc. that we have, the question is, what difference does the resurrection make? What difference did it make to the earliest Christians, and what difference does it make to us?

Listen again to the description of the earliest Christian community from Acts:

"Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them…"

What an astonishing picture of these first followers of Jesus! They were together, of one heart and mind, sharing what they owned. There was not a needy person among them. They testified to the resurrection with great power and great grace was upon them all.

What inspired them? What filled them with passion and energy and love? I think it is fair to say that they didn't simply make a decision to believe in the resurrection-rather, they experienced something that radically changed them. They experienced the presence of the risen Lord and the power of God's unconditional love and they were transformed. Instead of being narrowly focused on their own lives and their own struggles, their concern was for each other. Instead of seeking security by accumulating wealth, they were spending their wealth to make sure there was not a needy person among them. They were no longer focused on their burdens, or their fears-their talk was of what God has done in their lives. They testified with great power to the resurrection.

This theme of bearing witness to the risen Christ and his transforming love is echoed in the reading from I John, a letter to another early Christian group: "we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ."

These two descriptions give us a whiff of resurrection life-of what it means to live in the light of the resurrection. But how do we experience the risen Lord now? How do we receive energy and power and grace to give of ourselves so that there is not a needy person among us?

The risen Lord is still present among us. Jesus has promised to be with us to the end of time. But I think he becomes the most visible when we gather together to share our own testimony of how Christ has transformed our lives. The church is called the body of Christ because Christ is manifested in our individual and collective stories of transformation.

All around us in this body of Christ are people who have met the risen Lord in the darkest hours of their lives-when they are wounded, frightened, grieved or guilty. They have experienced a power that does not come from themselves-the power of the risen Lord which is unconditional love.

I have always appreciated the central role that telling one's story plays in the 12 step program. Every week at Christ the King, there are seven 12 step meetings. People stand up and tell their stories of how they are being healed of addiction, saved from death, day by day, hour by hour, not by their own power but by a power that comes from elsewhere-as Christians, we would call it the power of God's unconditional love manifested in the risen Christ. They speak with great power and great grace because they have experienced healing and new life.

Whenever our fellow church members stand up and speak about their faith, we hear about the difference that the risen Lord has made in their lives. The great example is every year when we invite parishioners to give stewardship sermons. But I'm not sure we share our stories often enough. It is hard to talk about the dark places in our journeys even though they led us to grace. But that is where we see and experience the risen Lord. In my life, Christ has made all the difference. I was an angry and depressed young person. My father died at age 42 because of medical malpractice and I couldn't forgive the people who were responsible. Two of my siblings struggled with addiction and my mother had trouble coping with the whole situation. I tried to help as much as I could, but by the time I reached my late 20's, I was burned out and angry. When I finally gave in and started asking God for help, my life began to change. It didn't happen overnight, but over time, I became a different person. I forgave others, and myself. I began to believe that God loved me. I began to trust that God's love was more powerful than anything I could face. I have met the risen Lord and he has saved me.

What difference does the resurrection make? All the difference in the world. We are being saved, on a daily basis, by the One who is victorious over death, evil and suffering. And when we share our stories, we make the risen Lord visible to the world.

We encounter Christ as individuals but also collectively, as communities and those stories are important to share as well. It was the transforming power of the risen Lord that gave three churches the faith to die in order to be reborn as Christ the King fifty years ago. Because of the faith of those three communities, we have been able to devote ourselves to ministry for the last fifty years, instead of maintaining historic buildings, as lovely as they are.

It was the transforming power of the risen Lord that enabled this community and four other churches to come together 19 years ago to found the Food Pantry. They didn't have any money, and there was no beautiful building to house the Food Pantry as there is now. It was started on a shoestring, and housed in the basement of the rectory. Those who have supported it over the years have been of one heart and soul, willing to work together and give of their possessions so there will not be a needy person among us.

More recently, parishioners are coming together to start a tutoring program, to explore alternative housing options for senior citizens and to run a bilingual camp for the children of migrant workers and the children in the community. The risen Lord is among us, giving us hope and a future, and empowering us to stand against every system that creates need, or misery, apathy or despair.

All of us have our moments of doubt like Thomas in today's gospel reading-where we just want to see Christ with our own eyes, and touch his wounds so that we can believe he is really here and really alive. But that is why God has given us the community of faith. We are the body of Christ, wounds and all. It is in the midst of the faithful that we encounter the risen Lord. Notice that when Thomas does meet Christ, it is in the midst of the faithful, even though he doesn't initially believe them.

We all have our own journey with Christ and our own dance of intimacy. But the community of faith is where we can reliably meet him. "Where two or three are gathered, I will be in the midst of them."

The more we gather to share our stories and experience Christ's love, the more energy and power we will have to bring life to a death-dealing world and to make sure there is not a needy person among us.