Today is Easter, the most holiest of days in the Christian faith. It is the day that we believe Jesus rose from
the dead. Lent, the 40 days preceding
Easter, is a time of reflection. The
last week, known as Holy Week, can be emotionally intense if one is tuned in to
the series of events. On Palm Sunday,
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to the cheers of a crowd. Adding to the drama, Pontius Pilate, a Roman
governor, rode into the city through another gate at the same time. On Maundy Thursday, Jesus ate a Seder meal
with his disciples. Depending on which
Gospel you read, he either shared bread and wine with them, the first
Communion, or he washed their feet. That
night, betrayed by his disciple, Judas, he was arrested as he prayed in the
Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was
sentenced to death, tortured, and was nailed to a cross to die the most
horrible of deaths. This is where we are
left until Easter morning. It is a dark
time.
I grew up with these stories, but never gave much thought to them. Now I have questions. What does this mean to me personally? How does this affect how I live my life? After more careful study of the Gospels, I
have learned that they don’t agree on details.
We don’t really know what happened or how Jesus was resurrected. It’s a mystery. Clearly, whatever the details, something
fantastic occurred.
How does this help me today? The
resurrection is a story of love, a story of hope. Can I look at it with fresh eyes? To be honest, I needed a little hope this
past week. We all have our dark days and
I was there. I know I can always find
people worse off than me, but truly when you step into a dark hole, even for a
short time, it blots out all the light.
I was in pain—physical and emotional.
How does the resurrection give me hope?
I do know that God turned a horrible death, Jesus’ death, into something
amazing and wonderful. God took the
worst, most evil thing that humans could do and turned it upside down. How does this help me?
I don’t really think God will rescue me or my loved ones—although that
doesn't stop me from wishing it so. But
God does love us. We are the body of
Christ—his hands and feet in this world.
He is our example to follow. I
get so discouraged with what I see around me—hunger, corruption, poverty,
greed, injustice, hate, ignorance, intolerance. . . and the list goes on. It is overwhelming. It affects us all. Jesus was a radical who was killed for
standing up to authorities. Do I have
even a fraction of his courage to stand up for what is right? When I am dealing with physical or emotional
pain, can I endure it and be able to still live my life as a follower of
Jesus? Can I be useful?
God showed us the power of love in the resurrection of Jesus. We learned that death is not the end. Love can conquer all. Spreading that love is our job. That’s what the Kingdom of God is all about—here
and now. . . but not quite yet. We get
glimpses of what it might be. . . and we can feel it at times.
I know I
could spend the rest of my life asking questions but never learn all the
answers. One answer leads to another question. However, there is one thing of which I am
certain, even on my dark days—there exists great love even among all the bad
things, love that overwhelms and flows through all.
4/20/2014
