I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection… (Phil. 3:10)
Several years ago, Lucy and I took a bike tour through a part of the wine country in France. We had a fabulous time, riding through the beautiful countryside, eating outstanding food, and visiting a number of vineyards.
One of the highlights of the tour was staying in a town called Saint Emilion. While there we visited the Saint Emilion Monolithic Church. This church was constructed in the 12th century and it’s almost entirely underground.
In order to get a fuller understanding of this church, we had a tour guide. At the end of the tour, the guide said that he had saved the “best for last.” He took us under a large tower and invited us to look up. He then asked us what we saw, but because of some water damage to the frescoes it was hard to discern what he wanted us to see.
He said, “Let me tell you what you’re looking at. Do you see the primitive figures hauling other figures out of their tombstones? Do you see that they are all holding hands?”
Once he explained what we were looking at, we could indeed discern the picture. He said, “This fresco is called, ‘The Dance of the Resurrection.’”
As Christians, we need to join this dance. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we’re called to have resurrection hope in the next life, and we’re also called to share resurrection hope in this life.
If we’re to join this Dance of the Resurrection, we must be committed to pulling people out of their own tombs of despair, loneliness, and discouragement. People can lose their way. Terrible things can happen. Betrayals and losses can tumble anyone into dark places. And sometimes we all need help from others to pull us out of death into life, out of despair into hope, out of weakness into strength.
I encourage us to join the dance of the resurrection. Even though that painting was done nearly 900 years ago, its message couldn’t be more contemporary or more needed.
Reflection Questions:
- Who has who pulled you out of some dark places so that you could join the Dance of the Resurrection?
- Who needs you to lift them up out of their own death-like tombs so that they could join the Dance?
- If you more often remembered that Jesus calls us into one long Dance of the Resurrection from this life to the next, how would your life change?