I have a worm in my ear.
It conjures up a gross image. Ear worms.
Most of us get them.
You know when a song or turn of phrase gets stuck in your head and you sing it over and over?
An ear worm.
I pretty much always have one, they just sort switch one for the next one.
I should keep a list just to see how long my play cycle is.
This week it’s been an old song, “Your love, is lifting me higher, than I’ve ever been lifted before…” I’ve heard several versions over the years.
Jackie Wilson, Rita Coolidge, Rod Stewart.
We all need lifting up.
As a child, I would walk to school, a mile through some woods. Once I was really late and I was running and I wiped out.
My matchbox car metal lunch box exploded. My snoopy milk thermos rolled down the hill. I tore the knees of my pants, bloodied my hands.
This lady walking her dog saw me fall. Never saw her before or after that.
She pulled me up, brushed me off, put my lunch box back together, wiped the tears from my cheeks and sent me on my way.
I was only six years old at the time, but that memory has endured.
It’s the first memory that comes to mind when I think of all the times and all the people who have lifted me up when I was down and bloody over the years.
We see an image and foretaste of resurrection in Mark’s Gospel today. Jesus lifting Simon Peter’s mother in law up by the hands, healing her, she then serves her guests and visitors.
What is Resurrection like?
Some of the oldest Christian images and iconography are of Jesus lifting Adam and Eve up by their hands from the prison of death. The image is sometimes called The Resurrection, sometimes it is called the Harrowing of Hell.
Being lifted from the prison of death and hell.
Then serving our guests and visitors, the ministry of hospitality.
What is resurrection like?
How many times have we witnessed the power of the resurrection, of Jesus at work in the world? The lifting up by the hand. How many times have we missed what was happening?
Lending a hand. The hand is quicker than the eye, there is more going on than we see. A revealing is opened up before us of the ultimate fate of all creatures. We just thought it was being polite when it was really the glory of God pouring into the world. Oh my.
What does Resurrection look like?
It turns out we are surrounded by it all the time. The witness of faith is everywhere. Faithfulness abounds when we think we have fallen, our knees torn, our hands bloodied, we’ll never get up again. A hand lifts us up out of that grave.
Sometimes we become that hand that lifts someone else up.
A truly holy thing, to become part of the witness of faith, to be part of the power of resurrection at work in the world. To be lifted up to in turn lift up others, to serve the guests and visitors in our lives.
A truly holy thing to be part of that great love that is lifting the world up h-i-g-h-e-r and h-i-g-h-e-r. The power of resurrection. It’s everywhere. Like a song you can’t get out of your head.