“Tell Us A Resurrection Story

         A preacher tells the story about a young minister who went to a nursing home to offer communion to the residents. It was not a fancy retirement village where she served but rather a facility for the poor, its residents, many of them in various stages of dementia, largely forgotten by family members and society at large. The minister was met in the hallway by a volunteer wheeling patients into the activity room for the afternoon service. She was told that since it was late in the day, everyone’s medication was likely wearing off and things might be a little chaotic.

         Some, he explained, would still probably sleep through the service but for the most part, the small gathering would likely be on the wild side. The minister began and true to the volunteer’s prediction, things quickly began to fall apart. Several of those in attendance did fall asleep; but more than a few of them were quite active. At the very beginning of the service a woman began to sing, “Row, row, row your boat,” bouncing erratically in her wheelchair. Others joined in while a couple yelled for her to shut up. Soon, it became so out of control that the minister finally put down her carefully prepared order of service and clapped her hands to get their attention. She called out loudly, “Okay, okay, what shall I read from the scriptures today? What would you like to hear?”

         Above the noise that was still erupting all around the activity room, one woman’s voice was heard: “Tell us a resurrection story.” And the room suddenly changed. “Yes,” someone else said. Those who had been jumping around also grew still. A few sleepers opened their eyes. “Yes,” said another. “Tell us a resurrection story.” And the minister opened her Bible and read the story they longed to hear.

         The truth is that is what we all want to hear. Above the fray of the news that blasts us, all the stories that depress us, we long to hear a resurrection story, a story of hope, of life rising out of death, of goodness triumphant over evil, of a love that is stronger than hatred. Whether we face a reality that is shadowed by disease or desperation or just fatigue, we are all desperate for a story that tells us we shall overcome.

         Spring is that story for many of us. It is the few months of the year when nature speaks to us telling us the story of what appears dead is still alive. All around us the story is being told, the story of the stump that sprouts, the barren limb that blooms, and the dry ground blossoms. And every year we manage to live through the dark nights of winter because we know spring is coming, that life will emerge from death. Finally, we are relieved as all around us shines the story we are all dying to hear. Finally, it is the story of resurrection.

You are the light of the world!

Yours,

Lynne