Sunday, April 24, 2011

Renewal Through Sustainability

Sustainability. A word that is slowly emerging to the forefront of even our smallest of towns and villages. To "sustain" is to strengthen or support someone or something. What could be better than using our powers of good to strengthen or support our neighbor or our neighborhood on either a local or global basis? I'm a believer--sign me up.


On this blessed special day in all Christians' lives, sustainability plays a huge role. Through Christ's resurrection we have all been sustained; we have been strengthened through the words in John 20:3-18. Eyewitness accounts that the tomb was indeed empty. We're not blindly following the latest idea, concept, or fad. We're following a risen Savior who's sole mission was then and is still today to give us the opportunity to move far beyond our own clumsy and limited way of thinking and to become immortal. To possess eternal wisdom. Fully sustained.


The risen Christ, in the definitive sense of being sustained through support, shows us that we will always be held close even after mortal death if--we allow it. I Peter 1:4-5 "And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get thee safely to receive it, because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see." We're supported today; we're supported eternally. Sustainability at its purest sense.


Once we are assured of sustainability in our lives, the old worries and dreads tend to start to fall away from us. Here on Earth in our daily lives, we spend a great deal of time thinking about buying that next tank of gas, making more money to consume a bit more, getting the next bigger something. Once we realize that we can practice sustainability, we can relax knowing full-well that we are strengthened and supported. All will be well; maybe not in our current way of thinking, but we are also miraculously sustained in wisdom, and that wisdom will allow us to not only realize our sustainability, but revel in it.


And, on this Easter Day, with the sustainability of our souls, also comes the wonderful sustainability of our stomachs. We pull out all the stops to cook and share the Earthly blessings of tender hams, velvety potatoes, colorful and full-bodied salads, and of course, luscious desserts. God approves. In Isaiah 25:6-8 "Here on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the Lord Almighty will spread a wondrous feast for everyone around the world--a delicious feast of good food, with clear, well-aged wine and choice beef. At that time he will remove the cloud of gloom, the pall of death that hangs over the earth; he will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe away all tears and take away forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken--he will surely do it!" 


Let's enjoy this most blessed day of celebration with good food, good drink, good feelings for one another, and the joy of knowing that we are truly sustained by God's eternal love for us through Christ's ultimate gift. He lives!