thumb.jpg)
A monthly message from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Email Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson.
So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean (Mark 9:10).
When Jesus told his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to undergo great suffering, be killed and after three days rise again, they were bewildered and silent. "What is this rising from the dead?" they asked.
The disciples' question becomes our question. It is a question whose answer has consequences for us and for the world.
And it makes a difference what sort of rising from the dead we are talking about. Despite everything we say about God's grace, is this rising an individual's reward for being a person with the right beliefs, the right moral conduct, the right attitudes rightly expressed?
Or is this rising from the dead — the life of Jesus Christ, God's own life, busting out of sin and death's captivity into the world — to renew its freedom, its hope and love? Imagine the power in the promise of this rising from the dead.
The rest of this article is only available to subscribers.
© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
