Yesterday the Lord Awoke.
You see, God had been sleeping. Entombed again. How long, O Lord, must we sing this song of You Entombed? We bury you again and again. We crucify you again and again. Then, when you show us (again and again) that death cannot contain you, we run away. We're afraid. We cannot imagine a world in which Death has no sting. We cannot imagine a world in which Death does not hold the last word and our ability to deal in Death doesn't empower us.
We're afraid of You because You show us again and again that our power to deal out Death like a deck of cards is, in the end, meaningless. We love our super powers and sovereignty. We love our media empires and our colliseums. We love that feeling of ownership and control. You Interrupt all that striving.
It is Monday. Yesterday you Awoke from your slumber. We tried to put You down. We mourned when we thought You had died. We mourned. We wailed. We denied. We hid. We gave up.
"Do not be afraid," you Interrupted us again.
This is your Gospel. This is your good news. This, "Do not be afraid!" It is the Holy Interruption...the end of Fear.
It's Monday, God, and already the fear and anxiety are creeping back in. Already we are jockeying for position. We arm ourselves against one another. We buy property and interest earning stock hoping to outlive Death. We claim our url's and manage our timelines. We want the world to love us without knowing us. We want the world to buy what we're selling. We're terrified it won't and we'll be forgotten in all the hustle and bustle of Business As Usual.
Help me.
Interrupt me.
I'll hate you for it
(at first).
But maybe I'll learn
to love you for it
(at last).
Breathe your Spirit upon me.
Know me.
Breathe out opon this world.
Don't stop loving me.
For I am
"sore afraid."
It's Monday
and I am waiting for The Spirit.
Tripp Hudgins is a doctoral student in liturgical studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., and associate pastor of First Baptist Church of Palo Alto, Calif. You can read more of his writings on his longtime blog, "Conjectural Navel Gazing; Jesus in Lint Form" at AngloBaptist.org. Follow Tripp on Twitter @AngloBaptist. This video post was edited by Jordan Krumbine of Horbawrong Studios.
He is Risen, Genotar/Shutterstock.com
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