Resurrection Day

I hope all of you had a blessed celebration of Resurrection Sunday!

We celebrated with another couple, at our home.  We gathered outside in the beautiful Spring weather, and sat around the grill.  First we placed the leg of lamb over the fire, giving thanks for the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  As the meat cooked, we relished the lovely, smoky fragrance.  We passed around a copy of The Life of Christ in Stereo, taking turns reading aloud about Jesus' trial, execution, and resurrection. NOTE - if you do not have a copy of this book, find one and read it. It is a remarkable synthesis of the Gospels.

As we read, we stopped occasionally to comment on things that God brought to our attention through what we heard.  We prayed when he led.  Over the course of the next hour-and-a-half, while the meat roasted, we added vegetables to the grill, each variety in its turn, so that all would finish cooking at the same time.  We also grilled flat circles of bread for our feast.

After finishing the powerful telling of Jesus' brilliant resurrection, we sang together until the food finished cooking.  After everything was set out on a table, we each took a round of bread and broke it, giving thanks for Jesus' broken body, symbolizing his death, and also returning thanks for the seeds of grain that died to spring up in new life.  We poured a glass of wine for each of us, contemplating the blood of his death, and the life that is in the blood.  And then we shared our feast, enjoying each other's company and celebrating Jesus through remembering his last supper, and looking forward to his promise that he will one day drink "...of the fruit of the vine ... that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."

At the end of our meal, we finished our wine with a toast to Jesus.  Then we talked more about our God and where he is leading us, imagining where and how we might be celebrating a year from now.  We worshiped our amazing God again in more songs, singing of his majesty, and looking forward to the day when our joy will be complete in his presence.  We enjoyed a delicious dessert and talked more about God's working.  We watched water slosh suddenly out of the swimming pool, splashing clear across the deck, as the tremors of an earthquake (centered in Baja California) passed through the neighborhood.

More than six hours passed in less time than it takes to get through a "service" of singing two fast songs, two slow songs, taking an offering, and then listening to someone expound a great deal about very little.  And I feel tired and refreshed, just the way I should feel after a marvelous day spent with good friends and an awesome God.