Dreams Unlocked

My final point of my Easter Cornell message was "Run and Look". Jesus has risen from the dead. The women visit the tomb - it is empty. Jesus' dead body is not there. They go back and tell the disciples. And (this is in the Bible!), the men respond like this: "they did not believe the women because their words seemed to them like nonsense." Most people today probably think Christianity might be interesting, maybe gives us some good morals to live by. But, they resist the supernatural elements of the faith. There are too many things that seem impossible to believe … like men coming back from the dead. It seems like …. nonsense. What is fascinating is that the first century followers of Jesus had the exact same initial reaction that many of us do: nonsense, impossible! Despite the nonsensical words, one of the disciples, Peter runs to the tomb to see what has happened. He sees the strips of linen that had previously been used to hold fast the c...

My second point of my Easter/Cornell talk was "The Living Among the Dead. In Luke's account of the resurrection, the women come to the tomb and are met by two angels. One of the angels asks this penetrating question: "Why are you looking for the living among the dead?" This is a stunning question that gets under the skin of what it means to be a human being. Ours is a culture seeking out life from that which cannot get life. Material goods, career advancement, "success", even a happy family ultimately leave us incomplete. No one has captured this existential angst better than CS Lewis: Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some forei...