Revival Part 1
January 7, 2025
Revival Part 1
You are warmly invited to this week’s Daily Reflections on “Revival.”
The Latin root word of revival is “vivo“ or “vivere“ which both mean “to live.” Add the prefix “re” which means “again,” and we have the word “revival,“ which means to live again. Sometimes we associate the word revive with someone who’s had a cardiac arrest and is brought back to life through cardiopulmonary resuscitation or an electrical shock called defibrillation.
But the context in which I first heard the word “revival” was in church. Every year, typically in the springtime, many churches including ours, would have worship services every night for one week; this week was called “a revival.” In most revival weeks, a minister from another church, usually from another state or district, preached and conducted the services. These special weeks were announced in the church bulletin, the local newspaper, and on the church marquee. But the thing that let everyone know this was a really special week was the big banner outside the church building. Yes, a huge banner like the ones advertising the state fair flew on the church grounds heralding the coming event.
The concept of revival is essential to Judeo-Christian scriptures. For example, it appears in the 23rd Psalm: “He restoreth my soul.” And the concept of revival is brought home by Jesus in his parable of the prodigal son. The older brother of the returned wayward son said to the father: “Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends, but as soon as this son of yours comes home, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!" And the father responded to his son by saying: “Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours; but we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." (Luke 15:11-32).
In Chapter Two of Ephesians, Paul elaborates on the theme of salvation. By God's grace, we have freedom from the power of sin and Satan; we are reconciled to God and saved to do good works (2:1-10). Paul describes salvation as a journey from spiritual death, or separation from God, to return to spiritual life, or connection to God (2:1-5). This is revival, or to live again.
All living organisms need periodic reviving. The muscles get weak, the blood doesn’t flow well, or the energy level goes down. But the body revives itself if given the correct treatment. And so as with living organisms, any organization, including churches, have periods of withering and expanding, of waxing and waning. New life must be pumped into these groups so they can continue the spiral of growth, and if they don’t receive revival, they wilt on the vine. So because the church fathers and mothers are aware of the life-death cycle of everything, in that spirit, the revival became a yearly thing for many churches.
But we journeyers are organisms as well, and as such, require revival at various intervals when paralysis and all forms of “death” occur. In consciousness and Enneagram studies, these intervals are referred to as “shock points” and when they happen, if we remain on the path to consciousness, we are revived to a higher state of consciousness.
As we reflect on the concept of “revival” this week, let us be aware that at the beginning of 2025, it would be wonderful to renew our lifeforce.
Spiritual practice: Have you “died” to something and experienced a revival of it inside yourself? What brought new life to you?
Self-inquiry: What is the greatest need in your life right now for renewal and revival?
Dear God,
Save me from wilting on the vine. Renew me in every way, so that my inner experience of you nurtures my soul and shines forth your spirit. Grant that consciousness illuminates me and spreads forth to others. Amen
