“But, as Paul put it… God chooses what is weak in the world, what the world counts as foolishness, to put to shame the power and wisdom of the world. That is part of what Easter is all about. God is doing a new thing, and, as Jesus said earlier in the story, the first shall be last and the last first. Easter is a day to put everything upside down and inside out.”
(N.T. Wright – Lent for Everyone: Matthew, Year A, 2011)
“Easter is a day to put everything upside down and inside out,” writes Bishop N.T. Wright.
This is Good News! In a time in our history when it seems that those in positions of power are too often misusing authority at the expense of the vulnerable, this gives us hope! But, as Christians, we know that this hope comes at a cost.
The cost is the Cross. Jesus, the very wisdom and power of God, embraced what the world despises: weakness, suffering, and apparent defeat. He stood with the poor and the oppressed. He allowed the powers of this age to do their worst. On Good Friday, it looked as though the strong had triumphed and the upside-down kingdom had been crushed.
Yet on the third day, God overturned everything. The tomb was empty. The crucified one was raised in glory. What the world called foolishness proved wiser than human wisdom. What the world called weakness was stronger than human strength. The last became first, and death itself was put to death.
This is the heart of Easter: resurrection is not the denial of suffering but its transformation. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead is at work even now. Mourning is turned into dancing, despair into hope, and this broken world into the new Creation.
My friends, we are Easter people. We are called to live this upside-down reality in our own time and place. That means following the example of Jesus, who chose service over status, generosity over greed, and love even for those who oppose us. It means standing with the vulnerable, not because we are strong, but because we have met the one whose strength is made perfect in weakness.
In the days and weeks ahead, may you know the presence of the Risen Christ who meets us in the ordinary and the unexpected. May the joy of his resurrection fill you with new life and send you out as witnesses to the new thing God is doing.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
In the days and weeks ahead, may you know the presence of the Risen Christ who meets us in the ordinary and the unexpected. May the joy of his resurrection fill you with new life and send you out as witnesses to the new thing God is doing.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
+ Samuel, Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador
