As we anticipate Holy Week and Easter, Randy Shepley, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Tucker, Georgia, reflects on Jesus’ resurrection as the core of our faith and the place where we connect with God’s mission in the world.

“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” -1 Corinthians 15:14

 A few years ago a movie came out called The Core. This is not a film you will find on many top ten lists.  It is safe to say that this film did not represent the full breadth of Hillary Swank’s acting talents, nor was it Hollywood’s best attempt at crafting a plausible action scenario based upon scientific fact. The movie did, however, find a niche among people who occasionally look for mindless entertainment with action and explosions. Yes, I admit: this includes me.

 The movie premise is easy to grasp. The world is in danger of complete destruction because the core of the earth stops spinning (I warned you the science was suspect). Super pilot Hillary and a band of scientists travel to the core of the earth and restart the core through the discharge of nuclear weapons. In the end…never mind. You will have to endure, I mean, enjoy watching it yourself.

 What does a marginally entertaining action movie about saving the world from a scientifically inexplicable destruction have to do with Holy Week and Easter? First, the resurrection of Jesus is the core of our faith. Without the resurrection, Jesus is merely a significant martyr. Without the resurrection, the cross is not redeemed from an instrument of death to a symbol of new life. Without the resurrection, our efforts at caring for the broken and resisting injustice are exercises of goodness rather than radical, counter-cultural expressions of grace. Without the resurrection of Jesus, Paul tells us our faith is dead because it is in the resurrection, the core of our faith, that we discover and embrace the power of God for the transformation of creation. Our vision, mission, and passion are not powered by our talents, theology, or idealism. They are fueled by the omnipotent power of the kingdom of God which burst forth in the resurrection. Without this power, the power of life conquering death, I am lost. We are lost. Indeed, all is lost.

 Second, the resurrection of Jesus is the power of renewal for all exhausted followers of Jesus, for all who flail in bondage to their own agendas. This is good news because I struggle with pursuing my life program rather than seeking the direction of God. I also am prone to doing too much with my own strength and energy, rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to guide my life and decisions. Returning to the resurrection of Jesus at Easter is where my life is reconnected to God’s mission for the world. It is at the empty tomb that I am recalibrated and transformed to follow the Risen One, “to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” Easter is the time I reclaim who I am by re-embracing my core.