Wow! More than a few years ago, we were visiting a Church in Arizona on Easter Sunday. The Pastor, an acquaintance, was tremendously creative with sharing the Gospel through pop culture and his Easter Sunday message was no exception. He was presenting the Easter story using various media and was at the part in Matthew 27:52-53 when Jesus gave up his life and the dead rose from the grave. Adding extra illustration to the telling of the story he played a short clip from the "Night of the Living Dead" (a Zombie movie)! My youngest son, four years old at the time, timed perfectly with a pregnant pause, turned to me and said in his outdoor voice "Wow Dad! Jesus is a Zombie?!
Everyone had a good chuckle, and it provided a teachable moment, assuring my youngest that Jesus was not a Zombie, but I could understand his confusion with the remarkable story of Jesus' death and resurrection. It might have appeared Zombie-esque as people began to rise from the dead, but the image of Zombies is resonating with me for another reason. I have often wondered why there seems to be such a cultural fascination with Zombies these days, and I wonder if it is because many people can personally identify with the living dead as a kind of existential anxiety.
Like Zombies, wandering autonomically in search of life, perhaps many of us feel lonely and disconnected from life itself and wander around looking for life anywhere we can find it. We may do this by consuming anything that promises life, but once in a while, we may awaken from our feeding frenzy to realize that all this consuming is not giving us the life we genuinely desire. Even those things which are celebrated in our culture, like success, fame and fortune often end up ringing hollow, even for those who reach the top of the metaphoric food chain.
Often, when we pursue happiness as an end goal, it can be elusive. When we pursue things that transcend our self-interests such as serving and caring for others, it is here that people discover a genuine sense of happiness and contentment. Counterintuitive, isn’t it?
Jesus understood this in a deeply profound way. By laying down His life for others, and choosing to serve others. While it is true that Jesus’ death and resurrection can be a source of rugged hope after death, it is also as much about abundant life here and now.
Please don’t misunderstand me. When I talk about abundant life, I am not talking about Jesus making us rich, living in big houses or driving fancy cars, or that Jesus will make sure we never get sick, lose a loved one, or struggle with employment. The abundant life that Jesus speaks of is one of the hallmarks of the Kingdom Commonwealth of God - Love. A genuine love that spills out of the Divine community into real life in such a way that pickles all of life with meaning, significance and hope. Not some sappy sentiment, toothless tiger or an impersonal stoic force somewhere in the universe. This love is self-giving and cruciform. God is Love.
Maybe you do feel disconnected from life and dead inside. The GOOD NEWS of Easter is Jesus is for the living-dead too. Easter is the love-inspired welcome to awaken to the healing and transforming love of God, just as you are, not as you think you should be.
Love will liberate us from the crushing cultural consumption game by unmasking its lies about your value, significance and a sense of well-being dictated by fame and fortune, some kind of religious perfection, what you own or control, or even what others think about you. If we're honest, at some level we know this is all garbage but its roots run deep.
As we learn to live into the love of God, the "game" loses its appeal - setting us free to live and love well. This does not mean you won't experience prosperity or difficult things in life, but it does mean that when you do, you are not alone and you can choose to live well, and be content no matter your circumstances.
Are you living life feeling like a Zombie? Are you looking for life but no matter what you do you feel disconnected? Maybe you feel spiritually bankrupt, or maybe you are over-churched and burnt out on religion, or you are wearing yourself ragged just trying to keep it all together - the GOOD NEWS of Easter is for you!
