Empowered Witness: Awake My Soul 

The earth is waking up around us. From green shoots, budding trees, and that unmistakable sense that life is pushing forward again. Easter does that, too. It doesn’t just arrive in a single morning of alleluias; it unfolds. It grows. It sends us out. 

In our text from Phillippians coming up this week, we hear a call that feels especially urgent in this season: be of the same mind, the same love, grounded in humility. Not a shrinking humility, but a courageous one. It’s the kind of humility we see in Christ, who empties himself in love and is lifted up in resurrection.  

We are living in a time when loud and forceful voices demand our attention. The world can feel shaped by domination, fear, and control.  

It reminds me of the poet Lucille Clifton. In her poem, won’t you celebrate with me, she writes about building a life with no model. She describes shaping a life that is whole and worthy in a world that has not made room for her. She invites people to celebrate with her because “everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed.” 

In that same vein, here comes this ancient, subversive invitation from Philippians: do nothing from selfish ambition, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. That kind of life is a witness. And not a quiet one. 

This is the heart of our Easter season. Resurrection is not just something we celebrate; it is something we embody. It moves us outward, into the world, with courage and conviction. It calls us to build communities marked not by power-over, but by love-with. We aren’t marked by scarcity or fear, but my Spirit-rooted joy and shared abundance. 

This is why the recent decision by our community to move forward in calling a deacon matters so deeply. It is not just a structural choice; it is a resurrection choice. A step into a wider, more courageous expression of our mission. A commitment to being a church that serves boldly, loves tangibly, and witnesses faithfully in the world beyond our walls. 

God is at work in us. We are called “to will and to work for God’s good pleasure.” That work is already unfolding among us. 

Like spring. Like resurrection. Like a community being shaped, day by day, into a living, breathing witness of hope. Praise God, the Spirit is not finished. 

Check out my song of the week to go along with the text! Awake My Soul by Mumford & Sons 

Peace,