Editorial July 13, 1987 Issue

The way to be lifted up

Michael D. Rissler

When you're down, there's nothing better than being lifted up. That's surely one of the reasons why Christ Jesus has remained such an inspiration to so many people for centuries. Regardless of all of the theological and psychological theories that people have developed in connection with Jesus' life, at the very heart of his life story is the resurrection. That uplifting of faith and hope and life, when all seemed lost, is a promise that shines brighter than solar light.

This promise, resurrection, in which Life overcomes death and Love overcomes hate, ignorance, and prejudice, came through crucifixion. That's the hard part of resurrection, to put it mildly. Jesus tried to explain the whole event to his closest students—his arrest, trial, humiliation, and execution—but they could not bear it all. They had seen wonderful things spring from the life of this prophet, healer, and teacher. His questions cut to the core of human thought. The disciples could feel through his teachings the flow of a reform movement that was giving new hope to weary multitudes. Bodies imprisoned, sometimes from birth, by mishap or disease were restored. And, of course, there is much more, as the Gospels record.

But when Jesus faced the crucifixion, this was more than the disciples' faint understanding of what lay behind the healing and redemptive acts could grasp. Yet it was that "hard part" followed by the resurrection that alone was able to help the disciples make the final link between their new faith and their own ability to go forth and "do ... likewise" Luke 10:37. when the Master was no longer personally present to lead them.

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