Spring is here! For many, its their favorite time of year. In spring we witness the earth awaken from winter’s slumber. The trees bud, the birds sing, perennials burst from the soil, and the grass comes to life. We change out our wardrobes and fire up the grill. We gas up the lawnmower and clean out the garage. We breathe in the smell of burgers and brats and revel in the sound of the crack of the bat at the nearby little league field. In Iowa, its helpful that we celebrate Easter in the spring. Easter, after all, wouldn’t be the same in July’s humidity or January’s ice. Easter and spring a neatly linked where I live because both are symbols of hope.
Hope is a popular word in 2011. It has been politicized and romanticized, but it finds its roots in the context of the Christian faith. Hope is a Christian word. And for the Christian faith, hope is the product of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each world religion has had its founding leader. Each of those leaders has lived, died, and was buried. Only the Christian faith is based on the resurrection of its founding leader.
So during the month of April I’m going to be preaching and blogging about the resurrection of Jesus with the desire that we can reconnect with our truest Christian roots of hope. And as far as the resurrection is concerned, there’s no better place to begin that in the 15th chapter of Paul’s letter we call 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 15 was written to address two questions. The first question is “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” This is a question seeking certainty. Question two is “What difference does the resurrection of Jesus make in my life?” That’s a question seeking implications of the resurrection; the proverbial “so what?” if you will. So I’ve chosen to speak and write about these implications each week this month. The resurrection is not just an event settled in history and geography. It matters today and it matters to you!