Easter, though, is not just about “back then” or “over there.” It is also about “now” and “here” and “us.” I believe that whatever path we follow, the news of Jesus’ resurrection has had an impact on our world.
For me, the story goes something like this. I was born to a mother of Norwegian descent, which meant that I was brought up as a Lutheran Christian. I was taken to Sunday school and to worship. I became an acolyte and worried about tripping over the robe I had to wear to light the candles in church. And when my brother and I protested about going to worship, my mother said we could stay home but then we had to work in the yard with our father, who did not go to worship. Yes, we decided that worship was the better route.
When I was nearly 12, my mother died and that brought church attendance to an end. I still considered myself Lutheran but did not have much of an understanding or experience about that. As a teen, I began to have intense questions about the purpose of life, as many do at that age. Through a series of events, including participating in Young Life in high school and going back to church, I found myself at a gathering at which I had a faith-awakening experience.
After a young man talked with me about this Jesus, I prayed the “not overly spiritual” prayer of “God, I want what he has.” I experienced an immediate sensation of joy from my hair to my toes. I was walking in the clouds for three days. Jesus was no longer a historical figure but a living and life-giving presence within me.
Certainly, there are many different ways to interpret what occurred to me on that evening in May 1970, but for me that was when I experienced what Easter is about — the living presence of Jesus. As this happened at a Christian gathering with much music, you could say that this also “rocked my world.”
What Jesus’ life continues to mean in my own is that I have one who challenges me, comforts me and connects me with God, with others and with the creation. He challenges me to be a more compassionate and other-centered person. He comforts me by continuing to forgive me as I fall and fail and by also giving me a community of faith in which to give and receive. He connects me to the cosmos so that I may pursue ways that support the world and all its interdependent diversity.
For me, Easter is the day that marks this continuing gift of life from God.
The Rev. Tom Dodd is pastor of United Lutheran Church in Eugene. This column is coordinated by Lane Interfaith Alliance, a network of more than 30 religious and spiritual traditions in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, visit www.laneinterfaithalliance.org or call 344-5693.