Transformed! ! !

Doubt disturbs us.

            It seems that a basic component of the human condition is the need for certainty and stability in our lives.  We want to know what is going to happen to us—even if it is bad.  As much as possible, we also want to have control over our lives.  Doubt creates uncertainty and instability.  It undermines our sense of control.  Doubt is very disturbing.

            This weekend is Easter, when we celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection and ultimate victory over death.  People will flock to churches for Easter services, but for different reasons.  Many will gather to worship from a deep conviction and certainty that Jesus’ Resurrection marks God’s ultimate victory over death.  However, some will gather with much less certainty.  Although it is usually unspoken, these others will harbor doubts about Easter and Jesus’ Resurrection. 

Just as their more certain brothers and sisters in Christ, those who doubt want to believe and accept Jesus’ Resurrection and the promise of resurrection for all of his disciples.  It is just that Jesus’ Resurrection seems so fabulous and so awesome that it is hard to believe.  It is, literally, news that’s too good to be true.  Doubt disturbs us.  Christians with doubts rarely share them on Easter Sunday because they’re afraid that raising their doubts about the Resurrection will disturb others and ruin their Easter celebrations.  So, they keep their doubts to themselves.

In addition, I suspect that some Christians keep their doubts to themselves because they are embarrassed and ashamed.  Perhaps they believe that they are not very good Christians because of their doubts and questions.  At this juncture, it is important to point out that all four of the Gospels report that some of Jesus’ disciples and other followers experienced doubt when they learned of his Resurrection. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus’ disciples meet him on the mountain following his Resurrection, “they worshiped him; but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:17)  In Mark and Luke, the disciples doubt Mary Magdalene and the other women, when they report that Jesus has been resurrected (Mark 16:11 and Luke 24:11).  And, of course, in John we have the story of “doubting Thomas,” who said:  “‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’” (John 20:25)  Doubt is very much an integral part of the Easter story.

I have a special fondness for Easter skeptics because doubt has been a frequent companion during much of my journey of faith, as well.  Just as my more certain brothers and sisters in Christ, I have longed to embrace the Easter story without reservations; without doubt.  Yet, despite my deepest longing for a clear faith, unencumbered by doubt, I have still wrestled with doubts about the Resurrection.  Afterall, there are no scientific paradigms to explain how someone can be brutally tortured (literally to death) and then be resurrected.

Doubt disturbs us.  Still, in my spiritual pilgrimage, I have learned that it pays to acknowledge our doubts; confront our doubts; and struggle with our doubts.  It is never easy and frequently unpleasant to struggle with religious doubts.  Yet, I have discovered that my Christian faith has deepened and matured through acknowledging, confronting, and struggling with my doubts about the Resurrection.  As we celebrate Easter this weekend, I have no doubts about Jesus’ Resurrection.  My Christian faith is clear and strong and certain. 

Let me tell you what has been important for me in prevailing over my doubts concerning the Resurrection: 

I think that most Christians get Jesus’ Resurrection confused with someone being raised from the dead.  Of course, the Gospels do have accounts of Jesus raising persons from the dead.  In John 11, Jesus raises his good friend Lazarus from the dead, even though Lazarus had already been buried in a tomb.  The other three Gospels all tell the story of Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Matthew 9: 18-26, Mark 5: 21-43, Luke 8: 40-56).  And, Matthew records that when Jesus died on the cross, “The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.” (Matthew 27:52)  Presumably, all of these persons who were raised from the dead eventually died again at the end of their biological lives.

Resurrection, however, is qualitatively different than being raised from the death.  In the stories of someone who is raised from the dead, the person is not substantively changed.  Instead, their biological life has simply been extended.  By contrast, Resurrection is not a biological extension; rather it is a transformation.  This realization that Resurrection is qualitatively different than being raised from the dead was a huge breakthrough in my own struggles with doubt.

For me, it was important to see Jesus’ Resurrection as part of the overarching story of God’s Creative work in the universe.  All Christians are familiar with the Creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2.  These chapters remind us that God created everything in the universe and judged it to be very good.  Yet, it seems to me that we Christians sometimes forget that God’s creative activity is not limited to just the beginning.  Actually, God continues to be active in Creation, down through the ages.  God continually creates and redeems.

Ultimately, all of Creation is in God’s hands.  God will redeem Creation and make it new.  The New Testament Book of Revelation says:  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…[and God said], ‘See, I am making all things new.’”(Revelation 21: 1-2, 5) 

In God’s New Creation, the old will be transformed. 

Just as through metamorphosis, the caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly;

          just as through hatching, the egg is transformed into a chick;

              so also, through God’s redeeming, creative work,

                      all of Creation will become transformed  into a New Creation. 

 

When viewed within the over-arching story of God’s creative activity, Jesus’ Resurrection clearly marks the beginning point of this transformation process.  It is through Jesus’ Resurrection that God confirms and guarantees our own, eventual transformation into a resurrection people.

Nicole C. Mullen expresses the same spiritual insight very powerfully in her song, “Redeemer.”  Part of the lyrics go like this:

Who taught the sun
Where to stand in the morning
Who taught the ocean
You can only come this far
And who showed the moon
Where to hide till evening
Whose words alone can
Catch a falling star

Well I know
My redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
All of creation testifies
There's life within the Christ
I know my Redeemer lives
Yeah
The very same God
That spins things in orbit
Runs to the weary
The worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands
That hold me when I'm broken
They conquer death to bring me victory

Now I know
My Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
That there's life within the Christ

Doubt does disturb us.  But, I have also become a stronger, deeper Christian by struggling with my doubts about the Resurrection. 

Come and celebrate Easter with us this weekend.  Our church is located at the corner of Main and Dawson Streets in Meriden, Kansas.  We have two worship services each weekend:

Ø  Our contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings. 

Ø  Our classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings. 

 

Everyone is welcome and accepted at both services because God loves us all.