How do we cultivate resurrection in community?

            This Easter season we examined Resurrection Stories.  And how these ancient stories give us spiritual insight to the obstacles we encounter in our lives.  Addiction, loneliness, cancer, mental illness, and injustice.  Whatever tries to hold you back or keep you down or lock you up—the power of the Risen Christ exists to set you free, so that you too might rise up in power to live the life of fullness God has dreamed for you. 

            On this Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Christian Church, when the power of the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus and filled them with glory so that they might become the movement to change the world, let’s ponder how we cultivate resurrection in community.

            And we ponder this question at such a fraught time.  Living in this age of polycrisis with climate change, racial injustice, toxic politics, war, income inequality, attacks on trans people, assaults on bodily autonomy, rising costs, and epidemics of despair, loneliness, and adolescent mental illness. 

            As I’ve written before: These crises also present opportunities for the church, because we have values, qualities, and skills that can help humanity in this moment.  Our rich traditions, our spiritual practices, our commitments to care and community, our service to others, our work for justice and peace, even the beauty of our artistry, these are among Christianity’s great strengths. 

            In this period of crisis, church might just be even more important than it has been.  So, we’d better be cultivating resurrection in community.

            A few months ago I read the book Finding Yourself in Chaos: Self-Discovery for Religious Leaders in a Time of Transition by Jim Newby and Mark Minear.  I know Jim.  He and I were UCC colleagues together in Oklahoma City.  This good book is about ministering during this period of crisis, particularly for ministers as they experience crises in their personal lives as well. I found much of value for myself and my ministry in the book. The final chapters are less focused on clergy and more on what churches can be doing in this time of crisis.

            Because we live in an age of mistrust, incivility, and conflict, they believe that there are some key elements that churches ought to be fostering, particularly trust, listening, and vulnerability. 

            These elements are part of having a tender heart, which they argue is key to transformation.  They write, “Transformation is expressed in the tenderizing of one’s heart and issues in an increase of universal love to one’s fellow creatures.”

            In a society and an age that often wants our anger and ideological purity, it is a counter-cultural strength to cultivate a tender heart and the sensitivity, humility, concern, and vulnerability that come with it.

            What are some ways church helps us tenderize our hearts? 

            By fostering spiritual practices like silence, prayer, and meditation.  Promoting emotional literacy.  Through class discussions on the interpersonal skills we all need.  Through intergenerational opportunities.  By telling the stories of Jesus which lift up things like forgiveness, gratitude, mercy, and loving one’s enemies.

            A good question for you to consider today--what are some ways you personally tenderize your heart?

            We are all on a spiritual quest.  Newby & Minear outline four marks envisioned by the current spiritual quest.  First is a need to simplify our lives, to cut down on clutter and all that encumbers us.  Particularly to escape the rat race of consumer capitalism. 

            Second is our drive for diversity and inclusivity.  Our societies are rapidly becoming more diverse and multicultural.  You notice even here as you drive and walk around this neighborhood.  The variety of races, ethnicities, and religions that are visually apparent.  The twenty-first century world calls for our increased sensitivity to the pluralism of humanity.

            Third in the spiritual quest for transformation is a concern for peace.  In the midst of the world’s violence, war, and conflict, we should aim to be peacemakers.  And while we might have very little influence on geopolitical events, we can be peacemakers in our own homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.

            Finally, the drive for justice animates the transformational spiritual quest.  They write, “The ways of the world encourage individualism, but growth in the spirit of Christ will accentuate the interconnectedness of all people and the care we should have for one another.”

            How are you personally engaged in this spiritual quest?  How are you pursuing each of these elements of growth and healing in your own life?  And, then, how are we as a congregation cultivating this awareness and the skills necessary for us to heal and grow?

            If we cultivate resurrection in our community through tenderizing our hearts and participating in the spiritual quest, what, then, are the marks of a thriving congregation, faithful to who God needs them to be in this time of polycrisis?

            First, a congregation cultivating resurrection is a place where people experience transformation.  Newby and Minear write that such a congregation aims to be a place where people can feel “the evil weakening within them” and “the good being raised up.”

            I sure hope you have that experience in our times of worship, study, service, and celebration.  One point they make is that such congregations—where people feel transformed—are ones where “the deadening crust of tradition and emphasis upon correct process and procedure” have given way “to the fresh winds of God’s transforming spirit.”

            One of the challenges for all congregations in this time of crisis is to learn flexibility, adaptation, and innovation.  How to live with more uncertainty and ambiguity, as we discern how to be the church that God needs us to be right now and in the future.

            The second mark of churches cultivating resurrection is that they nurture community.  Particularly communities that embody love in all it radical power.

            The third mark is that resurrecting congregations help people discern their convictions—what they believe and why.  Such congregations “become self-reflective and think critically.”  They are serious about Christian education that both informs the mind and awakens the heart.  We live in an age of thoughtlessness, so one of the ways churches can be counter-cultural and helpful to humanity is to encourage good thinking.

            The final mark is that such congregations have a vision toward ministry and service.  The authors write, “When religious leaders and the congregations they serve focus outward on meeting the needs of a hurting world, they surrender themselves to something outside of themselves, and new life is the result.”

            If we are to be set free from what holds us back, keeps us down, or locks us up, there is much we can do on our own to tap into the power of the Risen Christ and practice resurrection.  But all of that spiritual effort becomes easier and more effective if we are part of a community of people who are doing the same.  Who together are cultivating resurrection.

            On this Pentecost Sunday, let’s recommit ourselves to be such a community.  Where hearts are made tender and the transformative spiritual quest can be lived, because we raise up the good, nurture our connections, think critically and well, and live boldly with a vision of ministry and service to the world outside our walls.

            If so, then we too will be vessels of the Holy Spirit, radiating with divine glory and power, resilient and strong in this time of crisis.