One more observation today from John Updike’s marvelous poem, “Seven Stanzas at Easter.” (I love that we are talking about Easter now 12 days after the event. To be sure, we aren’t exactly talking about Easter; we are talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ — Easter happening only once a year and pretty well packed away by now. The resurrection happens every day, thank God):
…And if we have an angel at the tomb,
Make it a real angel,
Weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair, opaque in
The dawn light, robed in real linen
Spun on a definite loom…
Real angel. Real stone rolled away. Real Jesus. Real resurrection. It has to be all this or else none of it will have anything to do with my real life.
We’ve made everything too spiritual – too artificial. We even go to church to “get more spiritual.” We try to spend more time on our “spiritual life.” Forget your spiritual life; just be more real.
Like Abraham’s angels. They walked across the desert, got hot in the midday sun, shared lunch with Abraham and overheard Sarah’s laugh. These angels had dirt under their fingernails. Like Clarence in “… Wonderful Life.”
They didn’t transfigure, they transcended. One takes you out of your real life (like Jesus when he was transfigured before the disciples and they caught a glimpse of Him hanging out in some terrestrial middle earth with Moses and Elijah), the other meets you in your real life — in the middle of your human condition.
Like me, when I get up to preach, it makes no difference if I have a sore throat, owe taxes or cut myself shaving, the Spirit takes over. It transcends my experience. I like to preach because I like to be there too. I can’t wait to hear what I have to say.
My challenge is getting that transcendedness (not a real word but it should be) into my real life. I want to take on my messy desk with the same kind of transcendent power with which I preach. I want to talk to my wife, drive my car and arrange my day with the same kind of power. I’m pretty sure it’s possible. I think it’s called resurrection power by some people. Sounds good to me.
That’s what I’m talking about. Everyday resurrection power — transcending the average until it’s not average anymore.
John Fischer The Catch 
This is beautiful and I HOPE it motivates me to tackle my messy desk! LOL!
That’s what I want too–every day resurrection power!
I love this!! It brought a tear and a smile! What day-to-day victory we have available to us and so many times fail to use. (Yeah, my desk would put it to the ultimate test as well!) Thank you!
Amen! Amen! So be it. May we transcend the ordinary with the Glory of God. I think that is such a huge part of the abundant life…allowing God to breathe though our struggles. After 12 years at my wonderful job, the state is not funding our learning center, so I must apply for another teaching job. I have joined those statistics I just listen to on the nightly news. I will be fine, but I am not feeling great grace margins. Topping it all off, my electric toothbrush went on the fritz. “Not that, too, Lord, NO!” In a moment of brave or crazy faith—not sure which, does it really matter—I grabbed that tooth brush, prayed, hit it on the counter—little action to the prayer—and it started purring it’s familiar buzz. God transcended that moment as much as he has many others. My heart was so lifted and my teeth sure felt better!