He Is Alive In Me!

Reflection by Matt King

He is alive! I know he is alive! He is alive in me!

I once heard a story about a church that was holding a Palm Sunday presentation that was filled with pageantry. Church members played the familiar characters, including Jesus. There was even a donkey from one of the local farms on which Jesus road. As part of the pageantry in the middle of the service the entire congregation filed out of the church. They followed in line behind Jesus riding on the donkey, and they paraded around the block waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna to the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”

What the congregation didn’t know was that there was another group out on the street parading in an organized protest. The two parades ended up merging together, and without knowing what was going on suddenly everyone, congregants and protestors included, made their way back into the sanctuary. Once they were in their seats everyone witnessed the dramatic re-enactment of an innocent man who was tried by an angry mob, convicted on made up charges, and eventually executed in a brutal act of capital punishment for crimes he did not commit.

The story did not end there, however. As the presentation continued it followed the familiar track. The women found his tomb empty. They ran to tell his followers. At the end of the presentation the script called for the women to look out into the congregation and, one after another, proclaim, “He is alive! I know he is alive! He is alive in me!”

What no one anticipated was that this message of hope and celebration took hold of those gathered together in that room. To the surprise of many, one of the protestors who had made his way into the sanctuary, simply following along with the rest of the crowd, shouted, “He is alive! I know he’s alive! He is alive in me!” And then another shouted the same refrain. And then another, until everyone was praising and shouting together.

He is alive! I know he’s alive! He’s alive in me! That is the message we proclaim as we continue to reflect on the good news of Easter. Christ is alive in the world, and in his followers, and in the church. It is the message we are compelled to proclaim to the world until everyone understands it.

Even more than that, however, that is the good news around which we are called as Christ-followers to shape our lives. It is not enough to proclaim the resurrection with our words. We must live this truth so that the world can clearly see it.

We are called to bear witness to the good news of the resurrection. As the resurrected Christ prepared to leave his ministry in his disciples’ hands that is exactly what he told them in his final instructions. Their job from that point forward was to bear witness to him to the ends of the earth. The sending God, who sent Jesus, who would send the Spirit, was sending the church into the world to live out the reign of Christ for the world to see. They were to live and work in ways that enabled this world to look more like God’s kingdom.

In other words, to be the church is to be on mission for God in the world. Missional theologians contend that the church will always find its truest expression when it clearly understands its calling to be on mission for God in its context. The church was never meant to be an institution, a corporate entity, or a religious social club. The church was always meant to be a people living out the Way of Jesus Christ. Mission work is not another part of church program. Missional living is the way of life to which we are called. As we live into that calling we proclaim the fact that Jesus continues to live in us and work through us.

In the wake of our Easter celebration, let’s return to our deepest calling to be on mission for God in the world. There are so many opportunities to actively live out the resurrection faith in the months ahead. May brings Hands on Greenville and our Interfaith Hospitality Network partner week with St. Matthew UMC. It also brings another ARBC On Mission Wednesday at Samaritan House. Finally, we will be collecting items to support the new Teen Drop-in Center that will soon open at Pendleton Place to serve the needs of the homeless youth in our city.

This summer will bring additional opportunities as well. This year we will hold our summer VBS in partnership with Greenville Church Without Walls. This effort will give us the chance to minister beyond our walls and among the children of the Shemwood community. Of course, we cannot forget that we are sending a team in August to work in Appalachia. There is still time to join that team if you feel so led. The opportunities for mission service in partnership with our church abound!

So let me ask you…do you believe, and I mean truly believe, that Jesus is alive in the world and in you? If so, then how will you choose to live it out and proclaim it in service to the neighbors all around us? I hope you will be right beside us as we serve and as we proclaim, “He is alive! I know he’s alive! He is alive in me!”