John 11 - I Am (again) - Resurrection and Life

I may have preached on John 11 more than any other passage in my ministry. It has been a part of many funerals that I have done - so much in this passage that speaks words of hope and comfort, not the least of which are verses 25 and 26 - I am the resurrection and the life...(In fact, these will be part of a funeral I’ll be leading on Sunday afternoon).

This chapter is so much more than just a passage for the end of life. It ultimately speaks to me of the fact that new beginnings are always possible through Jesus. Whether it is like the story of Jesus or whether it is hope that rises out of despair. I have experienced it in my own life when things seemed bleak and the resurrection and the life appeared. And often the resurrection and life is seen not in the immediate moment but in the looking back after some time has passed.

Maybe that’s some of why I love sunrises so much. I am a morning person in a big way and there’s few things I love to do more than go out on a walk before the sun rises and see the slow progression of night changing to day and the ever-new canvas of color painted in the sky. Every sunrise speaks to me of the resurrection and the life - the new beginnings that God brings.

The picture is of yesterday’s sunrise that I took in as I was talking out my sermon prior to worship and then this morning, I heard this poem on a podcast that spoke to the resurrection and the life...

Reinvention

by Eric Nixon

At one age

It seems as if life is going

Firmly in a certain direction

And you head that way

Chugging along at full speed

But then

Things change

Sharply

And after a time set adrift

In a place that's unfamiliar

And completely unknown

From where you thought

From where you planned on being

Stunned, wondering what happened

Some people in this place

Break down completely

Pining away for the life

They feel is due to them

They feel should be theirs

Some people though

Go through a period

Of introspection

And experience

A type of reinvention

Where they pick themselves up

And rebuild their lives

With what they've been given

With what they have in-hand

And are surprised to see

They are now in a better place

Than they would have been

Before the life-altering change

“Reinvention” by Eric Nixon from Equidistant. © Double Yolk Press, 2019