The World I Live In

I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house of / reasons and proofs.
The world I live in and believe in
is wider than that. And anyway,
    what's wrong with Maybe?
You wouldn't believe what once or
twice I have seen. I'll just / tell you this:
only if there are angels in your head will
    you ever, possibly, see one.   
—“The World I Live In” by Mary Oliver

Sometimes, Clivie watches a short video before leaving for school/day care in the morning.  It gives all of us a little breathing room and time to get ready.  Recently, when we pulled out the Kindle and started figuring out what he would watch, he insisted emphatically, “I want the show with the green dinosaurs!”
   
But I couldn’t find a show with green dinosaurs.  I looked up and down the offerings.  I searched “kids dinosaur show.”  No luck. No green dinosaurs.  And the more I said, “I can’t find any green dinosaur show,” the more he insisted on it.  I showed him the options and asked him to look for it. “No, no, no, none of these!” he cried.  It was getting late.  I still wasn’t ready for the day.  And with an epic 3-year-old meltdown impending, I took a deep breath and said, “Sweetheart, it’s not here.  Mama’s got to get ready.  Maybe we can find it later.”  “No!” he said, “I saw the green dinosaur!  I know he’s here!  I saw him!!!”
   
This—as close as I can imagine it—is the 21st-century, 3-year-old version, of the challenge Mary faced when she raced back from the tomb to tell the Disciples she had seen the risen Christ.  There is not a lot written about her conversation with the Disciples, but I can imagine her trying emphatically to convince them in the midst of their morning busyness, skepticism, and grief that she had really seen Jesus.  They probably just wanted her to be quiet and still so they could go about their day.  But she didn’t give up:  “I saw him!  I know he is here!  I saw him!  I saw the risen Christ!”
   
And, friends, we live in her legacy.  Even though it seems impossible.  Even though it defies logic.  Even though it might be easier to dismiss all the resurrection-talk as mistaken or delusional or unsound.  We are called to witness the resurrection in our ordinary, daily lives.  We are called to witness resurrection even when we face resistance, skepticism, opposition, discomfort.  We are called to witness resurrection with the eyes of our hearts.  We are called to witness the ways hope lives, grace abounds, and love transcends death.  And we are called to let others know about it. . . .  I saw him!  I saw her!  I see all the ways it is happening all around us!  I see the risen Christ!

But not only that.  We are also called to listen to the resurrection stories of others.  Even if we feel too busy.  Even if what others say seems impossible to us.  Even if we have to really slow down and change our perspective. (For example:  Have you ever noticed that green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles really do look a lot like green dinosaurs?!)
   
The reality is that Jesus may be standing right in front of us.

See you in church,
Christy