Becoming Resurrection: Living Hope in Uncertain Times 

Apr 30, 2025
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Becoming Resurrection: Living Hope in Uncertain Times

Stephen Baxter, Director of Tasmanian Baptists, continues his theme on resurrection. See also: Living in the Reality of Resurrection and The Resurrection of Hope: Beyond the Afterlife.

The Silent Waiting of Saturday

Between Friday’s cross and Sunday’s empty tomb lies the silent waiting of Saturday. Most of us know this space intimately—suspended between what was lost and what might be reborn. 

Our world often finds itself trapped in this liminal moment: wars persist, climate fears mount, divisions deepen. Yet Easter’s profound truth is to remind us what comes next—Sunday. And it often comes in ways we least expect—resurrection. 

As I’ve written earlier, the question isn’t whether resurrection will come, but how we take part in its unfolding in our world today. This is our call as followers of Jesus. 

Resurrection for Others

I recently came across a challenge from theologian Matthew Fox that helps make this clear. He asks, “How am I Resurrection for others?” This is a radical invitation. How do I embody hope when the darkness seems overwhelming? Or to put it another way, how can I be Sunday in someone else’s Friday? 

These are important questions, particularly when the threat to resurrection isn’t just the depth of Friday’s darkness but the temptation to remain in Saturday’s tomb of cynicism.

In challenging times, it is so easy to be seduced by a whisper that says, “Why bother? Nothing changes. Best to just protect yourself.” But this is not Sunday resurrection faith. In fact, the resurrection calls us to break free from this paralysing narrative and escape being buried in despair. 

Theologian Walter Brueggemann says we are to be “practitioners of hope”—not naive optimists denying Friday’s reality, but clear-eyed realists who refuse to let Friday have the final word. It’s the difference between pretending graves don’t exist and walking through cemeteries proclaiming that death doesn’t end the story. 

A Faithful Presence

I’ve learned that resurrection people don’t deny Good Friday’s anguish; they transform it. They build bridges across chasms of misunderstanding and plant gardens in war-torn soil. They initiate difficult conversations rather than retreating into comfortable certainties. 

Here, Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi’s observation that “there is more good than evil in the world—but not by much” takes on extra meaning. Each choice to embody Sunday’s hope amid Friday’s despair tips the balance towards good. Each small resurrection, compounded over time, creates the tipping point toward renewal. 

This is why living resurrection is so critical. It whispers through our collective Saturday, reminding us of God’s promise to “make all things new.” Our response requires no heroic gestures, only a faithful presence. One act of forgiveness, one moment of genuine listening, one decision to see possibility where others see only endings—these become Sunday breaking into Friday’s darkness. 

Perhaps you feel trapped in your own Saturday, uncertain whether Sunday will dawn. Remember: the first witnesses to resurrection were grief-stricken women expecting only death. They discovered that Sunday had already begun. Your uncertainty doesn’t disqualify you; it positions you perfectly to recognise resurrection when it appears. 

Each time we choose to be resurrection, we declare that Friday’s verdict isn’t final. We begin today, one choice at a time, breaking the silence of Saturday with songs of Sunday’s coming. And as we do, we bring Sunday into someone’s Friday today.

Stephen Baxter is the Director of Tasmanian Baptists. 

Becoming Resurrection: Living Hope in Uncertain Times

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