Risen!
(Click on image above for animation.)To the unbeliever, the Resurrection is a myth, as Zeus and Hercules are. To the skeptic, the Resurrection is a legend, as the ghosts in St Patrick’s School are. To the intellectual, the Resurrection is a scientific phenomenon awaiting an explanation, as restorative powers of certain herbs were.
The mechanics of resurrection answer the “HOW” question. Such intellectual forays may be interesting but not necessarily useful. For example, if you swim, there is no point asking how. Your limbs automatically cooperate with each other to propel you forward. If you are writing this article, you need not ask how. You simply race across the keyboard to put words together in a comprehensible order to tell a story. The real question to ask is “WHY” – why did you swim at the time at the place in the manner you did? Why do you write the article as such?
So if you behold the Resurrection like an interested observer two millennia after the fact, the HOW question would figure largely for you. As a participant in the Resurrection, however, it should no longer be important how it happened but why it happened.
How do I mean? When she broke up with me a little less than two decades ago, my life went to bits. The world took on a dull sheen like the underside of a casket lid. I spent many waking moments moping and trying to get her to change her mind. When I failed, I imploded and withdrew inwards. I searched myself to know what of me that was unworthy of her. Nothing else interested me, neither God nor studies.
When I finally came out of my doldrums, it was illuminating and humbling. It shed light on how I had been treating the relationship and my expectation of it. It changed my idea of what really mattered. Life came back slowly. That day I died to my uncharitable attitude and I rose to a new appreciation of what a life-giving relationship is. Much later, I realized how God had held me in his palm the whole time even though I was oblivious of His presence.
Easter is not just a historical event. It is not just a day of remembrance. It is a logic defying, a life reorientating experience. The Lord has risen and so must I for I know He loves me enough to raise me from the dead again and again.
- Contributed by Francis Ow, 07 Apr 2007
TOPPINGS
"Once we had no sugar for our children. I don't know how, but a little child heard that Mother Teresa needed sugar. He went home and told his parents, "I will not eat sugar for three days. I will give my sugar to Mother Teresa." After three days, the parents brought the
child to our house. In his hand, he had a little bottle of sugar. He could scarely pronounce my name but he taught me that it is not how much we give, but how much love we put into the giving." - Mother Teresa.Loving others above yourself is not just a lenten journey. It is a Christian journey.
- Contributed by Nana Philea Moo, 06 Apr 2007
EXTRA GOODIES
See the highlights
Bible HA-HAs
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.
Q. What do they call pastors in Germany?
A. German Shepherds.
Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew outa little prophet.
Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.
Q.. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.
Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.
Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan The banks were always overflowing.
Q. Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.
Q. Why didn't they play cards on the Ark?
A. Because Noah was standing on the deck.
