easter: part one

What does Easter mean?

It doesn’t mean one thing, first of all, any more than a Mozart concerto means one thing, or an Emily Dickinson poem means one thing, or a perfectly hot cup of soup means one thing.  It means many things.  And it means more than we can ever say, though that certainly shouldn’t stop us from trying.

There are the lilies and the trumpets, of course.  But even they aren’t so simple.  If the lilies remind you not only of Easters past but also of funerals, of spring but also of death, that’s about right.  Easter is a day of life, but also of death.  It’s a day for church, but also and especially a day for the tomb.  The empty tomb, of course, but still:  the tomb.  He is risen, but still:  he is wounded.  The triumph comes complete with the marks of ruin, the marks of death, the marks of cruelty all around us even now.

And if the trumpets sound heavenly and celebratory, that’s good.  They are.  But they also echo the trumpet of judgment, of last things, and as such, they should call us to take stock again of our lives, to ask again and afresh if we are living in the light of Easter morning.

In other words, Easter is a start, not a finish.  It is a triumphant day – a triumphant fifty days, actually, Easter morning to Pentecost – but only in the sense that in Easter we can catch a glimpse of God’s greater triumph to come.  It is a foretaste, a promise, an encouraging word, a sign of what’s ahead.  Jesus rising means:  he is not dead, he is with us still, and he has triumphed and will triumph with us and in us and for us in the end.  His rising is the “first fruits,” the decisive but still only the inaugural sign of the great transformation now underway. 

Easter points beyond itself to the end, precisely to provide us strength and hope along the way.

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Join us on Wednesday for our second installment of "What does Easter Mean?"  And, thanks to Jag for this beautiful angel heralding God's good news!

atheists

When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves.  They show what the law requires is written on their hearts…  + Romans 2:12-16

I like atheists.  They tend to have considered the issues.  They tend to have asked themselves the holy questions about the origins of the universe, about happiness, about what constitutes the good life, about good and evil, injustice and mercy, about how to live.

Of course they and I disagree on at least one fundamental point.  Of course many are grumpy, judgemental, and dogmatic (certain public intellectuals come to mind).  Of course many have chosen atheism out of laziness.  Then again, those things are true of many Christians, as well.

By and large, my experience has been that the average atheist has arrived at her position through careful thinking at some cost to herself, and lives a life marked by kindness and generosity.  Which is saying something in a world where many people’s vision of the good life is spending half their time watching TV and the other half shopping - precisely so they don’t have to think about big questions or make sacrifices.

Paul wanted to convince his co-religionists that God is at work everywhere, even in those with religious convictions different from Paul’s.  So it is, I believe, with atheists - though most would not thank me for saying so.

If what Paul says is true, then God is shown forth more fully in the life of a careful-thinking, good-living atheist than a lukewarm Christian-by-default.  If what Paul says is true, God might even prefer the former to the latter.

God, thank you for working through all kinds of strange people - even me.  Amen.

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A big thank you to Rev. Quinn Caldwell regular contributor to the Stillspeaking Daily Devotional where this devotional was originally published.  To sign up for this inspirational resource, click here.  Also, thanks to Steve Garfield for capturing on film this sign from the Athiest Bus Campaign.

shall we?

It’s hard to remember, and it's sometimes downright easy to forget: each one of us is a beautiful human being, created in the image of God.  And precisely because this kind of amnesia is so prevalent, this season’s spiritual practice is designed for you to get to know you, the real you, the deep-down you, the full-of-grace-and-light child of God, the person you (and I) are meant to be. 

So, without further ado, take a piece of paper, turn a fresh page in your journal, or open up a new document and finish the following sentences as best you can:

   The first memory I have of being fully alive is ...

   If I had to choose three snapshots to represent my childhood, they'd be ...

   At nine years old, I wanted to be ...

   At sixteen years old, I wanted to be ...

   At twenty-two years old, I wanted to be ...

   The time (or times) I've felt closest to God have been ... 

   The time (or times) I've felt farthest from God have been ...

   The best compliment I ever received was ...

   I love, love, love ...

   I loathe ...

   I feel God's love most clearly when I’m with ...

   When I die, I want nothing more than to be able to look back at my life and say ...

   God is ...

   Jesus is ...

   The Holy Spirit is ...

   I am ...

Finish these sentences (or just the ones that speak to you), and then commit to revisiting what you've written regularly (a weekly ritual, perhaps?).  As you reflect on your answers, ask:  What clues are here about who I really am, and who God is calling me to be?  What hints, what nudges, what challenges are here about how God is shaping my life today and tomorrow?

And if you feel like sharing, do this with a friend, a partner, a small group, or send your musings on over here to us at SALT.  We’d love to get to know you and share some of your insights with the wider community!

Wishing you lots of love this crisp and colorful season,

The SALT Team

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Thanks to Chris Willis for this stunning photo!

hug a chicken

Warm days, long nights, fireflies, shooting stars, bare legs, sand between your toes, iced tea, watermelon - all summer long, God lurks around every corner, in the shade of every tree, inside every picnic basket.

To make the most of this season, SALT is inviting everyone (and by everyone we mean everyone, like the whole-wide-world-everyone-who's-interested everyone!), to be intentional about savoring the wonders of this season and grow closer to the One who made it so good!

So, try these tasty summer practices, and let us know how it goes:

+ Go for a walk with God in the cool of the day.  If this primordial form of meditation was good enough for God (see Genesis 3), it’s good enough for you!

+ Go barefoot with Moses.  You don’t need a burning bush or an engraved invitation to set your tootsies free.  Take a walk around, baby - it’s all holy ground!

+ Garden, garden, garden, and when you're done gardening, do it some more!  You were created to till and to keep the earth (Genesis 2), to plant flowers and eat cherry tomatoes straight off the vine.

+ Take a Wifiatus!  Wifi + hiatus = “Ahhh”ffline!

+ Go stargazing - and be struck down with wonder.

+ Eat ice-cream and not frozen yogurt, ‘cause life is just too short to obsess over your thighs!

+ Say a special prayer for peace in our homes, and in particular, for people experiencing domestic violence.  Hot weather makes tempers flare...

+ Hug everything, even chickens!  In all things and for all things:  Give thanks to God!

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Cock-a-doodle-doo and thanks to you, Alice Popkorn, for this magnificent portrait!

spring

The crocuses are coming; green is peeking out behind the drifts of white; Spring is almost here and we’re calling all photographers - professional, semi-professional, or just for the love of clicking - to send SALT photographs that proclaim the good news of the gospel:  God has put death to death, and life and love and hope will have the final word.

So, zip on over to a thousand words for more details - we can’t wait to see!

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Thanks to Emily Wilson for this branch just budding with hope!