Seeking Immortality? Discover Resurrection!

Ah, the faces of death. We face them daily, dying a thousand deaths. Each and every day, long before we face the actual cessation of our breathing.

And yet, who wants to die?

Who wants to experience their mortality?

Who doesn’t want to be immortal?

If not in the body … then immortalized in memories, and in legacies?

Seeking immortality. It’s the great and heroically self-obsessed search of nearly every human being I have ever met. For barring some deep chronic suffering, none of us wishes to die. We want to live on. If not in body, then in the hearts and minds and souls of our loved ones – and perhaps even more. Heroes, and “sheroes,” for a greater cause! As the theme song for the movie “Fame” puts it, “I’m gonna live forever … baby remember my name.” Ah: my legacy! To just be remembered!

In the midst of our search for immortality in this world, Jesus shows us an even better way – and even a better promise. Jesus shows us a way and a promise we know as resurrection.

The difference? The active seeking of immortality -- "im-mortal", literal meaning: "not dead" -- means not being willing to die. I’m just not going to die! “Baby, remember my name.”

Jesus' crucifixion-into-resurrection way and promise of life, on the other hand, means dying is a must, first. We die to live – when the dying holds the seeds of redemption. Living in a resurrected manner, we die and must face dying each and every day. Meaning, each and every day we at least implicitly say no to more trivial actions before we can say yes to more fruitful actions. The payoff? Discovering a way of living we could hardly know otherwise.

Immortality, Resurrection: Note the different verbs corresponding with each of these life pathways:

Immortality, we seek.

Resurrection, we discover.

For we cannot seek resurrection – even as much as we can discover immortality! For with resurrection, we do not and cannot imagine the splendor of new life and living on the other side of death and dying.

Resurrection is something we discover. Something we find only when we encounter and acknowledge and stare down the fear of our mortality … and trust there is something greater once we pass through the fire.

Resurrection. In Mark’s gospel, on three separate occasions, Jesus talks openly to his disciples -- to us -- about his path to resurrection through the crucifixion fire. And contrary to nearly every Google image under "Resurrection" I could find, Jesus well understood three things: 

A) Resurrection is not just about "Him". 

B) Resurrection is not just a one-time event.

C) Resurrection is ultimately about us -- and the way we discover we can live.