Divine Momentum

In his classic text Paul, tells us that we are baptised into Christ’s death and resurrection:

When we were baptised in Christ Jesus, we were baptised in his death.

In other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we might too live a new life (Romans 6).

This means that within us we have a divine momentum, constantly calling us to die to sin and rise to new life.

But read closely, if you will.

Paul is insistent that ‘we go into the tomb with Jesus.’

Between the ‘dying’ and the ‘rising’ there is the ‘resting.’

Time to rest with Christ. We need it. Especially in our world where it is ‘go, go, go.’

The Jews took the Sabbath Rest seriously. To a large extent we have dismantled this wonderful ‘institution.’

No matter.

We have the freedom to re-instate it if we so desire. We just have to want it.

This ‘going into the tomb with Jesus’ and resting with him is important, too, for those repenting from serious sin, particularly if it has an addictive nature.

Serious, addictive sin necessitates lying in the tomb with Jesus.

This way we let death hold sway over serious sin.

This way we allow the resurrection to gather momentum in our personal being.

Only silence and stillness will open the door to this very important human experience of dying, resting, rising.

And when we get a ‘taste’ of it, we will find we cannot live without it.

Amen.