The Deacon’s View: 
The Radical Lord is Risen.  Alleluia!

It is easy to forget that the Lord whose resurrection we celebrate was a radical Messiah who challenged religious certainty at every opportunity.  In fact, self righteous certainty seems to be the sin that Jesus attacked most frequently.  (Religious certainty is different from faith.  Faith invites us to place our trust in God, even when to do so makes no rational sense.)  The problem with certainty is that it can easily become static, unable to be quickened by God’s “alive and active” word as revealed by the Holy Spirit.  The Scribes and Pharisees were certain they had all the answers in the Law of Moses, and yet they missed recognizing God’s Messiah.

One of the strengths of our Episcopal Church is that we are encouraged to ponder, reflect and question what scripture is saying to us.  Our tradition holds that “doubt” is not the opposite of faith.  Instead we see it as a necessary step toward an active, growing personal faith.

However, if openness to doubt is an Episcopal strength, we must remember that it can also become a stumbling block.  This happens when we get comfortable with just raising questions and fail to immerse ourselves in scripture study, prayerful attentiveness and obedience to living out the gospel in our daily lives.

The risen Christ continues to call each of us to move into a deepened faith that believes enough to risk following our radical Lord.  Alleluia!

        Gay Blundell, Deacon