Final round up of your Practice Resurrection photos [2017, vol. 4]
As we head toward the Feast of Pentecost this Sunday, will you join me in this final post feasting on Resurrection goodness in our everyday lives?
This is our last week of photo stories as we near Pentecost. I am so grateful to rehearse the reality of Christ's gift of "life that trumps death" with some beautiful contributions this week. Thank you to everyone who shared photos and stories this year. You made Eastertide a brighter, more joyful season for us!
If you're new to this blog and haven't heard me talk about Community First! Village in Austin yet, read Bethany's guest post from the Epiphany 2016 blog series for an introduction to this beautiful neighborhood.
“And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.” (Amos 9:14).
In a culture of waste and hurry, we plant gardens. Tending tiny indigos and color-rich wildflowers, we remember the precious cost of color. Pulling seeds for family cotton, we ponder what it means to work. ”
“Attending a U2 concert has always been a compressed, intense version of the pendulum swing between Lent and Eastertide. It is the rattling of the soul from living in the “not yet kingdom”. My heart can be wrecked by the groaning lyrics of “Pride (In the Name of Love)” in one instant, and then I can be jumping, hands in the air, screaming out the worshipful lyrics of “Elevation” the next. I love that tight grip on Hope.”
photo cred: @adieldominguezfoto
“These precious ladies. Grateful for this house and the beautiful people who make it home. #casafamilia”
Stamford Arboretum
“Walking is one of the best ways to live in resurrection because you’re going slow enough to see God everywhere. The heavens declare the glory of the Lord and so does the earth! Here streams speak of Jesus giving “living water” (John 4:10) to the thirsty and promising that, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” from those who believe in Him (John 7:38). Walking, you breathe in His Holy Spirit in the scents of the earth and trees and life, entranced by the sparkling sunlight on water and leaves you almost understand Paul’s experience of heaven. Everything declares the glory of God!”
TRUTH Colors studio
“Beautiful gals doing beautiful art today in the studio. Such a blessing for all of us. God is an amazing creator and he has made us to do the same with a little help from Georgia O’Keeffe!”
“Resurrection into ascension:
I’ve been struggling to see resurrection in my life this Eastertide. I felt particularly unmoved by the ascension this week, even while trying to celebrate it with my kids. And then, guided by the lectionary, I read Paul’s prayer for believers in Ephesus—he prays that they might know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe...” That same power was at work “in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places”—this gave me a glimpse of God’s resurrection power in the ascension that is at work in and for me, even when my vision of Jesus is blurred by grief, exhaustion, or the daily grind of my little life.”
Looking ahead to Pentecost
I'm excited about a new guest post series I'm introducing in the coming weeks. In his excellent devotional guide Living the Christian Year, author Bobby Gross structures the season of Pentecost/Ordinary Time around three rhythms for "faithful, Spirit-filled living in the midst of the world that God loves.": World & Church, Neighbor & Self, and Work & Rest. I'm going to respond to these complementary themes as the inspiration for the blog series.
I'll tell you more soon. In the meantime, I'll share an excerpt from theologian N.T. Wright that points us toward embodying the resurrection we've been celebrating during the weeks of Eastertide into the era of Pentecost/Ordinary Time in which we live:
“This means that the church, the followers of Jesus Christ, live in the bright interval between Easter and the final great consummation. Let’s make no mistake either way. The reason the early Christians were so joyful was because they knew themselves to be living not so much in the last days (that that was true too) as in the first days - the opening days of God’s new creation. What Jesus did was not a mere example of something else, not a mere manifestation of some larger truth; it was itself the climatic event and fact of cosmic history.”