Resurrection
Continuing from what I wrote about the Chapel of St Joseph... As meaningful as that chapel is, it is only part of the story. Exiting the chapel and turning down the hall in the crypt of the National Cathedral, we came to the Chapel of the Resurrection. The first thing we noticed as we walked in was the vividness of the mosaics that line two of the walls of the chapel. In contrast to the near-monochromatic colors of the previous one, this chapel was full of vibrancy, color, and life. The sculpture at the back of the chapel spoke to me of the resurrected Jesus arising from death and emerging into new life. The mosaics reflect the resurrection appearances of Jesus and depict them in beautifully multi-cultural ways. If the Chapel of St Joseph spoke to me of the not-yet, the Resurrection Chapel spoke of the “it is here!” of the Jesus story. It isn’t waiting for something to emerge or arrive but instead in the sculpture and the vivid mosaics, it essentially shouted “THE TIME IS NOW!”
I saw these mosaics as I read the words concluding Romans 8 - words that are bold, unashamed, powerful, and bold declarations of the truth of God’s gift.
Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul declares not only the death but the resurrection of Jesus. He affirms that nothing nothing nothing can separate us from God’s love. He reaffirms what he shared at the beginning of this chapter that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. What a gift! What hope! What assurance! Thanks be to God!
