Practicing the Resurrection

--Reposted by Webmaster from Wayne Parrish's comment

Partners in Ministry,

At our recent Leadership Empowerment workshop with Ed White, we discussed practices that promote health in a congregation. Practices function to resist the separation of thinking from acting. Practices establish our faith as a social reality, avoiding the “me and Jesus syndrome.” Practices link us to the wisdom in our past in an active engagement with the present.

That got me to thinking – practices grow out of our belief; some call it practice what you preach or walking the talk. We Presbyterians have a gift for talk. What would practicing the resurrection look like? The Red Sox practice before they take the field; students practice the piano; we practice our testimony so as to be ready to give witness to Christ in our life. But more descriptive, I think, is the concept of a doctor or lawyer who has a practice: it defines both their work and their character. Here’s how Eugene Peterson describes it in Living the Resurrection:

Practice is one of those all-encompassing words that includes everything we’re doing. A phrase from a Wendell Berry poem gives focus to what we’re doing – “practice resurrection.”

During Lent we have some idea of how to practice sacrifice and identification with the suffering. We practice Lenten disciplines such as fasting (or giving up something), prayer, and special offerings and works of mercy to benefit the needy among us. But how do we practice resurrection? Peterson’s book suggests Sabbath keeping; Eucharist; and spiritual friendships within the community of believers. He challenges us to embrace the surprise and wonder of resurrection. “Without wonder, we approach spiritual formation as a self-help project. We employ techniques. We analyze gifts and potentialities. We set goals. We assess progress. Spiritual formation is distorted into moral workaholism or pious athleticism and reduced to cosmetics.” In short, we become religious consumers of packaged spiritualities.

The Easter season, extending from our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ to Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit, would be an excellent time to initiate and develop resurrection practices. Maybe your church “buried the alleluias” during Lent and then resurrects them for Easter. So keep that “alleluia focus” in worship. Some replace the confession of sin with an affirmation of faith to keep a focus on the stories of faith that build on the resurrection reality. Both as individuals and as we worship together, we seek to discover and embrace practices that will help us live into the power and wonder of Christ’s resurrection. I have no formulas, but I pray for you as you seek your own life-giving practices, and I’d love to hear from you about practices that bring new life. As we celebrate the joy and new life in Christ’s resurrection, may you be strengthened and sustained by the God of hope who invites us into the fullness of a life of shalom.

May you find joy and discover spiritual vitality as you practice resurrection. Blessings in the name of our Risen Lord. Wayne