Rise!

I'm sorry it has been so long...the holidays tend to mar the rhythms of our life!

I have noticed the frequent use of the word “rise” recently. From Lebron James’ commercial about rising above the chatter of his detractors, to revolutions at home in Occupy and abroad in the Arab spring, and even in the upcoming trailer for the Dark Knight Rises, which utilizes a chant reminiscent of soccer songs that commands one to rise. It seems from these examples that rise is used as one might say, “to rise against”, or to rebel…to fight off what holds us down. When one rises, she overcomes gravity’s effect on the body and stands upright…or flies, depending on one’s magical abilities. In the face of a challenge, we say that one rises to the occasion. So in a sense, to rise is to rebel…to act…to fight that which keeps us down.

In another sense, to rise takes on a passive state. We might raise a sail, or a flag, or our hand because we want to impress the teacher. In this sense, we cause some object to rise. The sun has such a relationship to plants…the phenomenon known as phototropism occurs when plants avoid shade and grow towards the sunlight. Likewise, when we awaken in the morning, if not too early, or cold, we rise from our slumber. Common prayer echoes this image, summoning Christians to let their souls rise up to greet God as the day rises to meet the sun. Somewhere in between these two definitions, the active, and the passive, we are called to rise as followers of Christ. I want to explore this morning what it is to rise, keeping in mind the image of “oaks of righteousness” that we considered a few weeks ago. I believe that God is calling our generation to awaken from our slumber, to rise from the dead and so, to embrace life in the midst of a dying world.

As you likely have noticed, Scripture contains abundant references to agriculture. The creation of humanity occurs within a garden. The Israelites’ are promised fertile land, which ties God’s covenant with Israel to the practice of gardening. If you read the description of the Temple in 1 Kings 6-7, notice the references to trees, flowers and fruits. The Temple was built with Eden in mind, and in John’s revelation of the New Jerusalem, we see that we are headed towards a new garden. Jesus frequently references gardening in his parables, from the mustard seed, to the gospel as seed, to the fig tree, vineyards and stalks of wheat. Jesus himself is portrayed as the true vine. Of course, gardening was a popular practice in those days, but I believe that gardening also holds secrets to the meaning of our existence.

First, we have the seed, which contains the potential of becoming a full-grown plant, just as a child has the potential of becoming an adult. The seed must be planted in soil, which, before the days of synthetic fertilizer, consisted of various animal bones and composted vegetables. The best soil contains the most death; a cemetery of the earth’s inhabitants. David Crowder references this image on his new album, singing, “I am a seed…I’ve been pushed down into the ground, but I will rise up a tree.” He compares the image of being trodden upon to the planting of a seed, which references the bigger picture of the actions of a holy God colliding with the state of a fallen creation. The collision between human and divine, between heaven and earth, creates favorable conditions for our resurrection, just as Jesus, the firstborn of resurrection, carries both life and death in His person. Jesus proved that death is fertile ground for growth, because unless a piece of fruit dies, it cannot drop its seed into the earth and produce more of its own kind. If you are despondent about your life…if you cannot break a pattern of sin, or the circumstances of your life bury you in a grave of despair…or if you cannot overcome the brokenness of our world…the wars, the greed, the confusion, the hatred…take hope. You are exactly where you need to be to grow…to rise.

To this point, I have probably described elements of gardening that most people find familiar. Other than the conditions of the soil, can anyone name other factors related to the growth of a plant? We have already mentioned one important element in plant growth…the sun. In my experience, many people unfamiliar with gardening tend to request fertilizers and pesticides to encourage plant growth, while ignoring the most important factors in growth. Thus, a plant needs to be situated in a sunny spot in a landscape to trigger the use of sugars and encourage the most growth. As much as I love to learn, and experience different works of art, literature and science…as many experiences as I can cram into my few years here on this earth…nothing can replace the importance of spending time before the Lord. Those of us in the Protestant tradition are familiar with the phrase, “faith by grace, not by works.” All the fertilizer and additives we can pack into our lives, we will never grow without the light of God shining on us. Most plants grow best in extended periods of sunlight, and the longer we spend before God, the more opportunity we have to grow. Like plants, our souls hunger for God, and reach out hands to touch Him, and they will not find rest until they are in His presence.

Thus, the picture painted by gardening presents opposing forces colliding to yield new life. Do you see how gardening points to our own experience in the world? In the midst of his own misery and desolation, Job spies a sapling and sees resurrection, despairing that he might not see the same end under God’s wrath. Ironically, he spent much of this period asking God to leave him alone, when God is the central factor for resurrection. How can we expect life from death without God? How can we hope to heal the inner decay of sin without the medicine of Christ’ body and blood? How can we see anything but ruin in this world without God’s warm light bringing forth growth?

Like the plant, we will only rise in the presence of light, and thus, we require something outside of ourselves to sustain life. We need something more. This is the passive definition of rise…we are summoned to life. In a sense, this life lies latent within us all, awaiting God’s presence to trigger its potential. As the cane of bamboo surges towards the sun, so too do we rise towards God when we are near Him.

Yet, we are also active in the sense that we oppose conforming to the environment of death surrounding us. The world around us informs us that we must advance ourselves…that we must do anything necessary to “succeed”, regardless of who we harm in the process. We are taught to compete…to climb upon one another like rats in a burning room. Yet, Jesus arose in another way. Jesus was a shepherd. He didn’t wander around with the flock…He broke apart and started leading it. Jesus didn’t give in to the selfish hypocrisies of His day…He rose above them. Christ gave His life…He gave His time and wealth so that others might live. Jesus didn’t seek a life of control and comfort…He became a slave…and was decried as a heretic and executed as a traitor…but He rose above His circumstances, and defeated death.

We watched one of my favorite movies a few days ago…Dead Poets Society. Robin Williams plays an English teacher named John Keating who bucks traditional teaching methods at a prestigious charter school. Keating teaches his students to think for themselves and seize each moment of life to its fullest value…quoting Henry David Thoreau, to “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” In doing so, the school expels Keating from his teaching position. Yet, as he leaves the classroom, some of his students climb up and stand on their desks in defiance of the ruling. As Keating’s ideas take effect in the students’ minds, they respond by defying the school’s decision to expel Keating, even when such defiance might cost them their own opportunities at advancement. I love this image…several students rise up amongst the throng, tall and proud, embracing the truth at the cost of their own comfort, while the rest of the class remains hunched over like frightened animals. We are called to courage…to rise up amongst injustice, and sin…to stare death in the face and tell it, “You have lost!” We stand tall and proud, not like meager animals to be pitied, but like men and women who have found their legs, and stand upright and walk. We grow upright…we are an army of trees, lifting our arms high in the air to applaud God, and reflecting His life-giving light into the world.

But we are not the first. An army of witnesses, here among us, and who have gone before us, surrounds us. The Church extends across all boundaries…throughout our country, and across the globe…through young and old, man and woman, poor, rich, healthy, sick, in good condition or in misfortune. The Church even extends beyond death, as the followers of Christ date all the way back to Christ Himself. From this notion, I want to revive an experiment. Several years ago, we agreed as a church to each read a biography of a great Christian in history. In doing so, we observed this person’s habits, and tried to adopt a habit or two into our own life in order to take a further step of discipleship under Christ. I want you to begin to think about a virtuous Christian in history. Some examples from our past experiment include Blaise Pascal, William Wilburfoce, Francis of Assisi, Dr. King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and of course, Soren Kierkegaard. Try to choose someone that shares similar interests as you. If you are socially inclined, think about St. Francis, Mother Theresa, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, or Dr. King. For our scientists, you might think of Pascal, Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel or James Maxwell. Artists might read about Teresa of Avila, Dostoevsky, Georges Roualt, or J.S. Bach. For those who constantly feel like they’re on the bottom of the world, you might try the lives of the Anabaptists, or Julian of Norwich. Martin Luther, Billy Graham, and John Paul II were/are great leaders. Intellectuals might enjoy reading about C.S. Lewis, Karl Barth or Leo Tolstoy. Lottie Moon, Elizabeth Eliot and Esther John exhibited great courage. Investigate a bit and settle on a Christian who embodies traits and interests that resonate with your own life. If you are having trouble, please let me know so that I can help you investigate further. Next week, I try to gather the names and publish a list so that we can all talk about our respective choices as the year progresses. Each of these men and women experienced the richness of life, and are waiting to pass on their wisdom to you. They are all worshipping God, just as we are called to join their ranks in kind. As you learn from their wisdom and adopt their practices into your own life, you will grow in virtue and spend more and more time before the Lord. And you will rise. We must do so now…we don’t have long. The time has come to wake up, to rise up from the earth and shine God’s light into the world.