Commenting on the resurrection, an author has said this: “When you think about it, the quality of the church’s life together is
evidence for the truthfulness of the resurrection. The most eloquent testimony to the reality of the resurrection is not an empty tomb or a well-orchestrated pageant on Easter Sunday but rather a group of people whose life together is so radically different, so completely changed from the way the world builds a community, that there can be no explanation other than that something
decisive has happened in history. The tough task of interpreting the reality of a truth like the resurrection is not so much the scientific or historical, ‘How could such a thing like that happen?’ but the congregational and communal, ‘Why don’t you people look more resurrected?’ ”

      And that’s the truth of it. The best evidence for the reality of the resurrection is a congregation of people who look and act
resurrected. But what does that mean? Well, as the same author puts it: “The resurrections makes possible true generosity and bold living.”

      A congregation, a people, who believe in the Risen Christ are a generous and bold people. They are a people who so trust God’s love that they are free to give of themselves for his sake and for the sake of others. They are a people who so fully believe that Christ lives, that he lives in and through them, that they are filled with life and joy. They are a people who have such a wild faith in the impossible things God can do that they expect God to keep lifting them up, showing them the way, opening doors to a surprising future. They are a people who give boldly, and who pray not simply for protection and security but for the courage to keep risking themselves for the sake of God.

      A resurrected people creates a congregation in which people care for one another, and give each other life; a congregation in which people give of themselves and what they have; a congregation which serves the community and keeps seeking to bring and to be Christ to others.

      So, questions we must ask ourselves are these: Are we a resurrected people?  When others look at our congregation, do they see a giving, bold people? Do they see in us the truth of the resurrection?

      Do they see in us the living Risen Lord?

                                                                                                                                                          God be with you,
                                                                                                                                                                      Jeff