He is risen. In Deed.

[captainsblog]

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holes in the Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the....

Hold it.

It's Easter Sunday morning, so I think I'll have some waffles with those eggs.

I have no idea if there's such a thing as a resurrection of the body or a life everlasting.  Nor do I expect to have a scintilla of proof of either until it's too late to get back here and edit this post.

But I live as if they're true. 

It's much the same as my "beliefs," if that is what you'd call them, about time travel, or about the ability to break Einstein's speed limits, or the power of an island to heal and prevent death. It isn't about whether they're provably true or not; it's about how people, be they real or fictional or hypothetical, live their lives based on those assumptions.

Whether the contents of the tomb were raised by God, or raided by men, or never even existed, is not for me to say. Likewise, it's beyond me to convince myself, much less you, who wrote the sayings of the man from Galilee (in several different versions, few identical to each other and in some cases completely inconsistent with each other). What matters is that they're there. That people lived their lives, and in the early days gave up their lives, because of how new and fresh and downright dangerous they were. Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? Treat the least among you as if they were at the head of the table, because eternally (or at least metaphorically), they are?

That's worth believing in even if CSI: Jerusalem can't find the body.

Hence the header of this post, a play on the traditional (at least in my church) Easter greeting.  I may not say with my whole heart that He is risen, indeed!, but I can and do say that, as long as His words are carried out, and as long as we walk His walk as faithfully as we talk His talk, then He is risen, and remains in the world, in the deeds we carry out in His name.  Conversely, if our deeds reflect hypocrisy, or hesitation, or outright hatred of our fellow humans, those deeds will reflect on His name, as well, and rather badly.

Either way, the tomb is empty. I don't need to swear to third-century creeds to live my life as if God emptied it.



For everyone else, slide the lever to 1:11 and enjoy an old Hop Hop Easter commercial from the Great Great House of Guitars:

Comments

[luckycee.livejournal.com]

Hop hop. Thanks for the Great Great Rochester Icon memory! Hop hop.

[fangirlsays.livejournal.com]

as long as His words are carried out, and as long as we walk His walk as faithfully as we talk His talk, then He is risen, and remains in the world, in the deeds we carry out in His name. Conversely, if our deeds reflect hypocrisy, or hesitation, or outright hatred of our fellow humans, those deeds will reflect on His name, as well, and rather badly.

Very well-said, my friend. He is risen, indeed!

[bluesilverkdg.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :-) And a Happy Easter to you and yours we well.
(I felt compelled to use my Doughboy icon, not my Easter egg icon, because every time I hear "He is risen" now, it conjures up images of Poppin' Fresh.")

Amen

[bellavaruka.livejournal.com]

You said what I fail to say to people perfectly. Happy late Easter to you and the family.