Is There More to Life Than We Have Experienced?

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Preparing for Worship 3-31-13 (Easter Sunday)

My college Literature Professor was a cool guy.  He was hyper-connected to reality and always exploring the human experience, in literature, in the classroom and in everyday life.  His heart was always asking “how is this grounded in real life and real experience?”  It made for lively discussions.

One semester, when spring rolled around, we got to talking about Easter and “Resurrection.”  We were surprised to learn that he could not believe in Jesus’ Resurrection any more than he could believe in “resurrection” in general.  “Nothing in my experience suggests that there is any bodily or non-bodily life waiting for us after this one,” he would say, over and over again.  It was almost a point of faith for him.  He was just convinced there was no experience that would qualify as giving any hope in the resurrection.  He sure made a lively partner for thinking about life and Christ and the life that is promised to us by Jesus.

Perhaps this is the meaning of the Thomas experience of touching Jesus’ hand and placing a hand in his side…blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe(John 20:22-29).  Certainly we will need to have something that counts as experience with the living presence of Jesus in order to have hope, faith and confidence in God’s intention to bring us also to life again with Jesus.  What experiences of new life and renewed life do you have, if any, that give you confidence in God’s promise to give us life together with Jesus?

Pastor Mitch