Dandelion People

Dandelion People--May 21, 2019

"But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh." [2 Corinthians 4:7-11]

This may be a controversial proposal, but I would like to nominate the dandelion--the lowly so-called weed persecuted by many a persnickety groundskeeper--as the flower to rightly represent the resurrection, rather than the white trumpet lilies we are used to seeing in church on Easter Sunday.

I make that suggestion, not merely as a stunt or a joke, but because a dandelion gets it.  A dandelion knows death and resurrection.  Lilies look cool, and their smell is unmistakable; I will grant you that.  But a dandelion shows you that the real power of life is most evident in being broken open, smacked down, blown apart by the wind, and given up to death, and not just in smelling up your sanctuary.  Lilies hint at Easter by the sheer blunt force of tradition--dandelions practice resurrection with their very bodies.

And in a very real sense, that is the question for us: Christians are fond of saying we are Easter people, but all too often that just means we like to talk about triumph and victory through the pastel-colored light of a stained-glass window, rather than to live the way of death and resurrection in our daily lives.  We like to shout to the world, "It's Easter Sunday! How come you haven't all come to church today?" rather than going out into the world and giving ourselves away like dandelion seeds, so that life can be seen in the ways we lay ourselves down. And when the world can see it in us, nobody needs to shout.  When our actions, our choices, our vulnerability, and our self-giving reveal Christ's life for others to see, we don't need to advertise.  When we trumpet and toot our own horns like lilies, we are just making a lot of noise; but when we are dandelions in the world, Christ can be seen in us from the way we live out our belief in the God who raises the dead.

What does it look like to be dandelion people?  I can think of two in the news lately--their names were Riley and Kendrick, and each of them laid down their lives to stop domestic terrorists in recent mass shootings by putting themselves in the path of the shooters.  That is the kind of life that witnesses to the life of Christ within them by being willing to bear death in their bodies.  

Or it is the single mom who works three jobs to make enough money to give her kids a good life--spending her years and energy for them so that they will have enough to eat and a roof over their heads.  It's the dad who risks everything traveling to a new country on foot, a son and a daughter trailing behind as quickly as they can with their few belongings in a couple of plastic shopping bags and a backpack, who is willing to lose everything to try and get his kids to safety in a land away from violence and chaos.  It's the EMS crew who goes out on call after call when they are already bone-weary and dog-tired, but know that there are people whose lives depend on their willingness to show up on the scene of an accident. It's the adult who knows what it was like to be disowned by parents and family as a teenager for being different, who now risks their reputation and career to help other troubled teens to know they are not alone.  Such lives show a willingness to give themselves away like dandelion seeds--and as they do, they are witnesses to the living Christ who is present there and, as Paul says, "made visible in our mortal flesh."

To be painfully honest, the world does not need more people who will just shout, "It's Easter--you should get to church!" but rather, the world needs the witness of people who will show the world resurrection as they give themselves away in confident hope that the living Christ is alive within them and will renew them even when they are spent.  Dandelions don't have to blare like trumpets to get your attention; they show resurrection in their bodies, and in the ways they give themselves away for the sake of new life.  That's our calling today.  Today, tomorrow, and the third day, too.

How will you and I give ourselves away and let the living Christ be visible within us as we do?  How will we be dandelion people who show resurrection in our lives--especially in a church culture that so often expects only the obvious trumpeting of lilies?

Lord Jesus, let your risen life be seen within us and among us--make us to be your dandelion people.