Resurrection Imagination Luke 24:13-35 April 3, 2016

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1 Resurrection Imagination Luke 24:13-35 April 3, 2016 A five year old took his first airplane flight to visit his grandparents. Shortly after takeoff the plane was in the clouds. With great anticipation the boy announced, Mommy, I think we re going to see God today! What makes you think so? asked the mother. The boy answered, Because God lives up here, you know. Soon they were above the clouds surrounded by blue sky. The child said, Look, we re in heaven! I see God and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Great-grandma and Uncle Ken. We re going to see God today! Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus are not so quick to see God that day. Even as Jesus walks alongside teaching them, their vision is impaired. In the fog of grief they are escaping Jerusalem and the horror of the past week. They are perplexed by the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of their beloved friend, Jesus. They are unable to see God in the midst of it all, much less Jesus right beside them. We understand the grief and despair that blinded them to the presence of the very one of whom they were speaking. They had hoped that Jesus would be the one to save Israel, but their hope was shattered with Jesus death. The remnants of their hope were left at the foot of the cross. Now they are hopeless, unable to see beyond the present into the future. At the dinner table the gestures of this stranger are familiar: the way he takes the bread, blesses it, breaks the bread, and gives it to them. Finally their eyes are opened and they see Jesus. Sometimes I m like those disciples, overcome with the problems of the day, disappointed at what has or has not happened, frustrated by unfulfilled hopes. Sometimes I spend so much energy wishing that things were different that I fail to recognize the good things that are. It would be far healthier to accept the way things are and devote my energies to making them better, rather than grieving what is not. That s what resurrection imagination is about. Imagination is the act of creating a mental image of something that is not yet real. We tend to think of imagination as something that is only appropriate in childhood or in the fantasy world. But as believers in the Creator God, the risen Christ, and the Spirit of God present with us now, the practice of resurrection imagination is a healthy spiritual discipline. God continues to create and God invites us to be part of that creative

2 process. With awareness and attentiveness to God s activity among us, we can participate in that creative work. And when it feels like God is absent, we can envision how things might change if God becomes present and active through us. In the bleak days of fall 2001 following the disastrous events of September 11, a landscape architect, Lynden Miller, practiced resurrection imagination. She began to consider what could be done to brighten the dreary landscape and grieving hearts of New York City. A friend in Holland and the City of Rotterdam donated a million daffodil bulbs to the city. On October 20th, 2001, 10,000 volunteers planted daffodil bulbs throughout the city. i In spring of 2002 as the beautiful flowers broke through the slush and snow of winter, they reminded the people of New York City that their lives and city would rise to new life again. The Daffodil Project continues, sprinkling a gray canvas with resilient blossoms of bright yellow, symbols of perseverance and hope. That s resurrection imagination seeing the possibilities of renewal where all seems hopeless. An artist doesn t look at a blank canvas and grieve the absence of beauty. The blank canvas is an invitation to create. A dirty moldy gourd is not just ugly rubbish leftover in the garden; it is a beautiful bowl, a smooth golden surface crying out to be etched or painted with images. A musical composition is not written to be left in silence on paper. It yearns to come to life as instruments lift notes off the page and harmonize them for the ear to hear. The artist doesn t dwell on what is not; the artist sees what is possible. Poet Denise Levertov suggests that the imagination is the birthplace of empathy and compassion. The failure to cultivate the imagination allows evil to thrive. ii The healthy nurturing of imagination enables us to develop empathy, to imagine what it is like to walk in another s moccasins. How might our world be different if we used our imagination to feel the pain of others, to enter into their circumstances, to share their burdens? The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 was Muhammad Yunnus. In his Nobel Lecture he reminded us that 94% of the world s income goes to 40% of the world s population. To address this disparity he founded the Grameen Bank to fund microloans to poor families. He creatively uses his imagination, energy, and resources to envision a poverty-free world. He said, In a poverty-free world, the only place you would be able to see poverty is in the poverty museums. When school children take a tour of the poverty museums, they would be horrified to see the misery and indignity that some human beings had to go

3 through. iii Imagine the only place where you would be able to see poverty is in poverty museums. That s resurrection imagination. Are there dimensions of your life or relationships in which all seems bleak? Perhaps your spirit is downcast, your vision blurry, the road ahead uncertain. As Cleopas and his walking companion experienced, imagine the risen Christ coming alongside you. Christ listens to your story, empathizing with your pain, reminding you that God is present with you. The risen Christ opens your imagination to new possibilities, filling your heart with hope. The gift of Easter continues, inviting us to partner with the presence of our living God to imagine a new reality. With resurrection imagination, compassion grows and lives change. We can see God and witness to the presence of God in the small acts of our everyday lives, such as breaking bread, planting daffodil bulbs, a microloan. I encourage you to consider adopting the mantra of the little boy in the airplane: I m going to see God today. Even in the bleakest of circumstances, be on the lookout for ways in which God is at work, bringing new life out of old, birthing transformation and change. With resurrection imagination, even the impossible can become possible. With Easter eyes, we will indeed see God today! Holy God, your Easter surprise continues to astound us. We praise you for your wondrous works in our world. Give us Easter eyes that we indeed may see your creative hand, raising new life out of the old. Awaken us to the companionship of the risen Christ walking with us, inspiring us with your word, and offering a taste of your goodness. We pray for Christ s companionship with those who are troubled in body, mind, or spirit. You know our personal needs, our heartaches, and hopes. We pour them out and invite your renewing work in our lives. We lift to you those whom we love. Work through those participating in Love Lodi next Saturday. Through gardening, painting, cleaning, and building, may this community see the love of Christ expressed by his church. Open the eyes of your church to the guidance of the risen Christ. Bless the United Methodist Church as it prepares for General Conference. Attune the hearts of delegates to your leading and guidance. Weave your healing presence into broken places around the world: Pakistan, Baghdad, Brazil, Belgium. Abide with those coping with devastation

4 from storms, fire, earthquake. Protect first responders and those serving in the armed forces as they seek the safety of others. Instill us with a resurrection imagination bold enough to trust that you will guide us through our personal, national, and global troubles. Renew our trust in you, O God. We pray in the name of our Companion and Lord, Jesus the Christ. Amen. i ii Dana Greene, Denise Levertov: A Poet s Life (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012) p. 61. iii Muhammad Yunus, Poverty is a Threat to Peace, The Progressive Christian, Vol. 181, No. 6 Nov/Dec 2007, p. 52. Rev. Lori B. Sawdon First United Methodist Church, Lodi, CA

5 i iidana Greene, Denise Levertov: A Poet s Life (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012) p. 61. iii Muhammad Yunus, Poverty is a Threat to Peace, The Progressive Christian, Vol. 181, No. 6 Nov/Dec 2007, p. 52. Rev. Lori B. Sawdon First United Methodist Church, Lodi, CA

6 i iidana Greene, Denise Levertov: A Poet s Life (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012) p. 61. iii Muhammad Yunus, Poverty is a Threat to Peace, The Progressive Christian, Vol. 181, No. 6 Nov/Dec 2007, p. 52. Rev. Lori B. Sawdon First United Methodist Church, Lodi, CA