Caught Mid Air

Empty Tombs & The Flying Trapeze

The resurrection is not just as an event, it is a way of living and trusting Jesus every day. Easter is an orientation to life, not a day or season.

Henri Nouwen’s captures this well in the image of the flyer and catcher on the trapeze. The flying trapeze is all about trust. Nouwen notes the flyer has to let go, soaring through empty space, totally dependent on the catcher to grab them at just the right moment. Nouwen loved this metaphor. He said the flyer’s job isn’t to try to grab the catcher; their job is simply to let go and trust that the catcher will do the rest.

The resurrection is God’s “catch.” Jesus, in his final moments, says, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” He lets go. He trusts. And the resurrection is God’s answer—God’s “I’ve got you.” It’s not just about what happens after we die; it’s about learning to trust God in the here and now, to let go of our need to control everything, and to believe that God will meet us, even in our most vulnerable moments.

Richard Beck adds another layer in, The Slavery of Death. For Beck, we’re all, in one way or another, slaves to the fear of death. It’s not just about being afraid of dying, but about all the ways that fear shapes our lives—making us anxious, defensive, and desperate to prove ourselves. We chase after achievements, status, or even “spiritual heroics” because we’re trying to build something that will outlast us. Beck calls these “hero-systems”—ways we try to make ourselves immortal.

So, what does resurrection have to say to all that? It says we don’t have to live as slaves to fear. The resurrection is God’s promise that, even if we let go—of our ego, our need to be right, our need to be important—God will catch us. We’re free to love, free to risk, free to be vulnerable, because we know the end of the story: God is faithful.

Nouwen’s flyer isn’t just a metaphor for dying well; it’s a picture of living well. Every day, we’re invited to let go of our illusions of control and trust that God’s got us. And when we do, we’re set free from the fear that Beck describes. We can love others, serve our communities, and even face suffering—not because we’re fearless, but because we know the Catcher is trustworthy.

So, the resurrection isn’t just about what happens after we die. It’s about living now with open hands, letting go, and trusting that, in every leap of faith, God is already reaching out to catch us. That’s the freedom the resurrection offers: the courage to fly, knowing we are always, always caught.