He has risen, he has risen ... Jesus is alive

Easter Day ... The Easter hope ... The empty tomb ... The resurrection of the dead

Over the course of the last few months I have been reading Tom Wrights book surprised by Hope and have been chatting to others about it. Its terrific ... if you haven't read it - read it!

It speaks of the hope we have as Christians, the empty tomb being the "first fruits" of the resurrection. John S in his sermon today referred to this hope made possible through the resurrection - the last great fear of humans - that of death has been conquered and we have complete assurance of that.

Furthermore, we do not have to worry about what life after death will be - what resurrection will mean for us. The idea of a transformed body. But what we can expect is a bodily resurrection! - if it were not, how on earth do we account for the transformation in the first disciples?, how do we explain our hope to a world looking for such hope?

Over the past while I have encountered people who are totally disillusioned with what life has given them, what can christianity provide for such people? surely what we can do is provide a glimpse of hope, hope of a plan, of a future ...

"The question of Jesus' resurrection, though it may in some senses burst the boundries of history, also remains within them; that is precisely why it is so important, so disturbing, so life and death. We could cope, the world could cope with a Jesus who ultimately remains a good idea inside the disciples hearts and minds. The world cannot cope with a Jesus who comes out of the tomb, who inaugurates God's new creation right within the middle of the old one "


What we need to do is return to the "sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead" not some vague fuzzy optimism that somehow things may work out in the end.

But then there is also the "eschatological tension" we are to be living now - this new life has started with those who are in Christ - we need to be sharing this hope, the love of God NOW, today with those around, unashamedly - mmmm ..., The gospel has to be what is on offer, through the power of the Spirit....