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Morning Devotion for the Season of Easter
April 5, 2024
Invitatory
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’
‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.
Meditation-Rebecca Northington
It seems to me that there are three things that Episcopalians don’t really like to talk about: The Holy Spirit, the Resurrection, and sin. This unspoken rule is reminiscent of Emily Posts’ dinner party etiquette around conversation: no politics, no religion and no sex. What parallels abound-no doubt the sex and sin go together. This passage deals with all three head on and in the wake of our Easter celebration it feels irresponsible not to consider them for a moment, as uncomfortable as it may be for some of us.
Perhaps that is as good a starting place as any; why is it so hard to talk about the Holy Spirit, the resurrection, and sin? For most of you reading this you are committed Christians, not just C & E people. You come to church regularly and even read the meditations. Yet, what role does the Holy Spirit play in your daily life? How would you describe it to a fellow Redeemerite, or a non church goer, or a non believer? Do you spend time considering resurrection and what it might look like for you? What happens to your body? After we take our last breath will we “all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet”. And what role does sin play in all of this? Are any of us truly sinless…ever?
Paul confuses things for me, and part of that is the population that he is preaching to; one that is new and freshly dealing with these same questions. He has to be persuasive, deliberate and direct. Our experience with the HS, resurrection and sin is steeped in the musings and wrestlings of theologians of vast knowledge and comprehension, from Augustine to Luther, Keirkegard to Barth. For many of us today there have been generations of blind acceptance, rather than visceral tension regarding our relationship with sin, resurrection and the HS. Maybe we have left it for greater minds to consider and have ignored what we say in the creeds?
For me, Paul’s understanding of the Spirit at work on earth and within us all is liberating-as though we can look for God’s activity and expect it with hope and surrender. Galatians 5:22-25- “...The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control….. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” My understanding of the resurrection is less specific than Paul describes it in the Corininthians excerpt above-I cannot pretend to know what will happen but I know that God will be with me. I know that God loves me despite my sinfulness, and my faith leads me to believe that God will accept me at the end.
I believe our reticence regarding sin in our tradition has less to do with fear of sin, and more to do with a sense of complicity. We know we are all sinful-there is no way to hide from that truth. And perhaps it is not out of blind ignorance of those theologians who came before us and their complicated philosophizing on the role of sin and man and eternal salvation-but because of all of their work that we no longer focus so heavily on that which we cannot ultimately control. Adam and Eve ate of the apple; and they were set up. Good and bad can come from man's free will, and I believe God is out there somewhere, waiting and watching-hoping and believing in us and our ability to choose good.
In conclusion, I don't think we should shy away from talking about these complicated topics, much less thinking about them. I also think we would be better off engaging in thoughtful and respectful dialogue regarding Emily Post’s taboo dinner party topics. Listening to one another is how we learn. It’s complicated, it can be scary, and maybe it feels dangerous; but staying on the surface ensures that we stay on the surface-I am not sure that’s what Christ’s life, death and resurrection was pointing us towards. The one thing all living beings have in common, no matter their background, origin story, living situation, language etc., is death. And in Christ’s resurrection, that too has fallen away. “Where, O death, is your sting?”
Collect for Easter
O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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