Made New: Finding Renewal in a Time of Loss
Spring is a captivating season. For much of human history, people have marked the beginning of spring, especially the spring equinox—the time when the day and the night are nearly equal in length in the Northern Hemisphere—as a time of renewal. This time has long been associated with fertility, rebirth, and revival. The people of ancient times often signaled the season where the chill of winter subsides, flowers bloom, plants sprout from the soil, and tree leaves return and regain their vibrant color as the time when life is made new. Therefore, cultures across the globe have made efforts to capture this idea with ancient rituals ranging from things like balancing eggs, exploding snowman, and depictions of a serpent of light.
As believers, we do not need to look to ancient symbols of spring’s arrival to show us renewal. Our hope for renewal and rebirth rest in the resurrection of our Lord. It is fitting that the celebration of his resurrection occurs when people universally recognize as a period of revival of life, but it is most important to remember the power of the resurrection is not bound by seasons.
In the weeks leading up to Holy Week, Pastor Derrick led us through a sermon series entitled Made New where he reminded us, “death does not have the final say.” Through the series, Pastor told us, “Whatever dies in Him will have eternal life.” Beginning in Romans 6:1-4, Pastor Derrick encouraged us to walk in the newness of life by putting away patterns of sin. He taught grace “is all about transformation; grace is all about identity.” Because Jesus was raised to life, we too can be raised to new life in Him. In this sermon series, Pastor taught that this newness of life is a lifelong journey where we continue to imitate the life of Christ. In short, it means we turn from our prior way of life and turn to a new way of life only found in Christ Jesus.
Continuing in II Corinthians 4:16-18, Pastor used the second sermon of the series to detail how the amount of Christ-likeness that flows from us during times of suffering is an act of grace. Suffering will pass, what we see is temporary, yet how we handle our temporary suffering can make us a witness to others. In concluding the series, Pastor used John 20:1-10 declared that our new life is a product of Christ’s resurrection.
In Christ, we have new life. If we choose to seek renewal by other means it is akin to how young boys in Zurich burned an 11-foot-tall snowman like-effigies to shoo away winter centuries ago, or how thousands gathered at the Mayan temple El Castillo to view “an awe-inspiring illusion” where the sun’s shadow gives the appearance of the feathered serpent god slithering up the northern staircase of the temple. Such practices may provide rich symbolism to those who view them, but our faith teaches us that we truly will find new life in Christ rather than mere symbols of new life.
In an unofficial epilogue to the series Made New series, I preached about the hope of restoration after the resurrection in a sermon entitled One Day It’ll All Make Sense. In incorporating John 21:15-19 as my primary text, I used the story of Christ’s threefold restoration of Peter to show how Jesus meets us where we are in times of personal failure, and how we can be restored because of His resurrection. In the chapters preceding the sermon’s text, Simon called Peter had done the unthinkable—he denied even knowing Jesus. Yet in this passage of scripture, Jesus sat with Peter, ate breakfast with him, then issued a new commission to him rather than condemning him. In this final recorded post-resurrection account of Christ, Jesus restored Peter even after he failed in ways he could have never imagined. We too may find hope in the new life made possible by Christ’s resurrection. We may also take hope for the continual restoration that occurs after we encounter the resurrection.
-Pastor Tim