Dear Trinity (part three)

1 Corinthians 15.1-11 The Corinthian believers saw resurrection (especially Jesus' resurrection) in the rear view mirror, but maybe not in the future (especially their future). This is part of what messed them up so much!

Dear Trinity,

You have renewal...in your rear view mirror. In a way, every Christian--every church does. For Christ Jesus died, was buried, was raised, and appeared or SHOWED UP in the story of every believer stretching back to Mary, Peter, and John. 

Look back in your own life--your own story. You will find life. 

Trinity, as a congregation, this is true for you too. Seasons of contraction gave way to exciting expansion. Seasons of dryness were flooded with seasons of fresh rain. Old liturgy and catechesis were ignited yet were not consumed or destroyed, but burned with light and fresh energy like perpetual fuel. 

"We've always done it this way" gave way to "more Lord" and "Welcome, Holy Spirit." This is your heritage. This is an abundant blessing for you, unless a new passivity settles in your soul that sounds more like, "Been there, done that" or "lets just hold on and wait for heaven."

Two important experiences are drawing our attention to the rear view mirror: our birthday and our buildings. We get to celebrate our past, and to celebrate our past is to remember seasons of resurrection and renewal. And our buildings bear finger prints. The blood, sweat, and prayerful tears of our ancestors. And their memory is blessed. Yet, even they were not spending much time looking back--they had less to look back on. They were looking ahead. They saw life ahead. They saw you and me, and a busy God Rocks Choir and lively catechism program and prayer groups and pantries and Thetas and VBSs. They might not have know all those names, but they looked ahead and saw life!

Trinity, let our experience with the rear view mirror be more grateful glance than settled stare. There is life in our past. There is life ahead! Jesus has died, been buried, and raised, and appeared. We will die, be buried, be raised, and appear before him in glory. There is life ahead in every way. 

This truth will reform our compromised Christianity. This will rekindle our first love. This will be our unity and shared passion. 

There is a resurrection truth that you can't add to, subtract from, make more or less real. It is happening to you. A glorious passive voice verb: "You are being saved!" (1 Corinthians 15.2).

Now here is the resurrection action that you can do: receive it, stand in it, hold fast to it, believe it. (1 Corinthians 15.1-2).

Amen.