I streamed worship today from my home church. It was a great service and my pastor is absolutely phenomenal. However, there is something that I’ve been struggling with when it comes to Easter. I took it to Twitter and FB and I thought I would document it here as well and continue to think through these feelings.
Do you know what would make an amazing sermon? If pastors would not try to erase or co-opt the trauma of the cross. No, like seriously. Consider the first encounter with the Risen Savior near the tomb. Christ is unrecognizable. Only through tears and a second look could the Marys recognize their beloved Son and Savior.
Imagine if we could contend with the fact that Jesus still bore the wounds of his crucifixion. We often ignore the fact that Jesus was rendered unrecognizable in the story. They couldn’t recognize him because he wasn’t the same. The trauma of the Cross changed him. The wounds never closed fully. He still bore the marks. I wish we were honest about that on Easter. It is okay to look like what you’ve been through as long as you go through it. Resurrection doesn’t mean that the pain is erased. Resurrection does not mean that you come out looking un-phased by the sting of Death. It means that you fought your way out of death to life. However to admit that we still may never look or feel the same after immense trauma will not make the Cross pretty.
And maybe that is the point…maybe we need to stop trying to beautify the things that kill us. Maybe we need to stop normalizing sites of destruction. Maybe instead of adorning death, we should erase the symbols of death. Because I honestly believe that when we center the cross, we give Death a victory it doesn’t deserve. How great would Easter be if we focused on the huddled house of disciples rather than the tomb? What would our witness look like? What would Easter be if we didn’t put flowers on the cross but rather we broke the cross down, destroying the symbol of death and shame?
I’m just trying imagine a world where death and symbols of death are not the only markers of our faith, where healing and redemption are not rooted in erasure. Here is to hoping to fashion a world where this can be the Easter miracle.