 |
| Our First Easter Together in 2009 |
Easter is so wonderful! And not for the chance to pretty-up, wear my pink vintage dress, or watch my hubbies rock out on stage at church. It is great for reasons so beyond me that it is difficult for me to even understand what it fully means and what I am supposed to do with that understanding... or lack thereof.
My co-worker mentioned that she would be working today and I responded, “that’s too bad.” I was taken aback by her response: “It’s OK. I don’t have kids, so Easter doesn’t really matter to me.” I wanted to say everything that came to mind, but I didn’t, either because I couldn’t articulate it or was afraid to try (probably the latter).
I guess I wanted to scream that Easter is not about playing hide-and-go-seek with plastic eggs, or an imaginary bunny, or even celebrating Springtime (although, it does well to illustrate rebirth and new life). Easter is about Salvation. It’s about getting rescued from this world and even from myself. (Dryw: “I’m tired of all this bad stuff.”) It’s about my God getting so personal that he lived through the daily grind, the relationships, and the betrayal that can so easily consume us. “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8b) And he is offering us new life through raising from the dead himself. He suffered the consequences of our badness, so that we could be with him.
Please listen to Sufjan Steven’s song To Be Alone With You (listen.grooveshark.com). It is so appropriate for reflecting on what Good Friday and Easter mean. Has anyone else loved you like that? You may get a glimpse of God’s love through another human being’s love for you, but no other love is perfect.
When Dryw and I were talking about Holy Week, we both agreed that it is easier for us to connect with Christ’s suffering than his resurrection. We get Good Friday. Maybe that explains why I feel that Sufjan’s song would be such a great theme for the holiday. For some reason, we get what it meant for him to suffer and die for our sake. Perhaps it is because we all suffer to some extent. It is so much more difficult to grasp Christ’s resurrection and what is specifically means for us. Paul... help!
This is something for me to reflect on this Easter. This might not be the year that it truly clicks with me, but I know that God is faithful and my salvation doesn’t rely on me. It relies on HIM. Thank God!
Please celebrate Christ’s resurrection and your new life this Easter! If you don’t have new life in Christ, I hope you will find it in Him alone.
My co-worker mentioned that she would be working today and I responded, “that’s too bad.” I was taken aback by her response: “It’s OK. I don’t have kids, so Easter doesn’t really matter to me.” I wanted to say everything that came to mind, but I didn’t, either because I couldn’t articulate it or was afraid to try (probably the latter).
I guess I wanted to scream that Easter is not about playing hide-and-go-seek with plastic eggs, or an imaginary bunny, or even celebrating Springtime (although, it does well to illustrate rebirth and new life). Easter is about Salvation. It’s about getting rescued from this world and even from myself. (Dryw: “I’m tired of all this bad stuff.”) It’s about my God getting so personal that he lived through the daily grind, the relationships, and the betrayal that can so easily consume us. “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8b) And he is offering us new life through raising from the dead himself. He suffered the consequences of our badness, so that we could be with him.
Please listen to Sufjan Steven’s song To Be Alone With You (listen.grooveshark.com). It is so appropriate for reflecting on what Good Friday and Easter mean. Has anyone else loved you like that? You may get a glimpse of God’s love through another human being’s love for you, but no other love is perfect.
When Dryw and I were talking about Holy Week, we both agreed that it is easier for us to connect with Christ’s suffering than his resurrection. We get Good Friday. Maybe that explains why I feel that Sufjan’s song would be such a great theme for the holiday. For some reason, we get what it meant for him to suffer and die for our sake. Perhaps it is because we all suffer to some extent. It is so much more difficult to grasp Christ’s resurrection and what is specifically means for us. Paul... help!
“3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve...
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised...
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
1 Corinthians 15: 3-5,14,15,17-19 (biblegateway.com)
This is something for me to reflect on this Easter. This might not be the year that it truly clicks with me, but I know that God is faithful and my salvation doesn’t rely on me. It relies on HIM. Thank God!
Please celebrate Christ’s resurrection and your new life this Easter! If you don’t have new life in Christ, I hope you will find it in Him alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment