It seems like Good Friday and Easter are coming early this year. I remember an Easter sermon from childhood, sitting in the pews in my new Easter finery. Actually, the only thing
I remember from that sermon is this question he started with, “Daddy, what comes after Easter?” I’m pretty sure I don’t recall the preacher answering it, or anything else as he rambled on in a cheery fashion as befits the joyful tone of the Easter message. I was probably thinking about lunch with my many cousins and Easter egg hunts. During my childhood in India, I remember eating hot cross buns on Good Friday and those delicious, large, brightly decorated marzipan-filled eggs on Easter. I recently spotted some marzipan chocolates at World Market and had to get some for myself as I walked down memory lane.
But, really, what is my most treasured memory and reality about Easter? Not those marzipan eggs, spring dresses, or those large extended family gatherings, fun and wonderful as they were. As I reflect on it now, I am so grateful that, at a young age, along with all those fun memories, I also came to know the Truth about the One who is "The Resurrection and the Life" (Jn 11:25-26). The One who did not hold on to His position (Phil 2: 5-11), but chose to lose it all and then reclaim it with His victorious Resurrection from the dead. And, with that, offer the glorious gift of life everlasting to all who choose to receive. Free, but oh, so costly an offering of sacrifice. One that was necessary, because, try as we might, we can't muster up our best selves to live a life of perfection before a holy God.
So, as we walk through this holy week leading up to Easter, let's offer ourselves up to Him again. As we remember the Last Supper, the washing of the disciples' feet and the offering of His Body and Blood on the Cross, let's let Him wash us anew. Let's partake freely of this extravagant gift of love, the Table that He prepares for us, the meal that never runs out and only gets more beautiful with each tasting. Let's be honest about the places in our hearts we can't clean up on our own, the places we can't fix or comfort by ourselves, the places we're too tired to revisit, the places that might feel dead. The places that only He can wash, renew and resurrect in all of our lives if we let Him in. The places He'll step into because He chose to live as one of us and experience all that we experience (Heb 4:15-16). Let's freely partake of the Love offering of the One who saved us and continues to heal and free us until we see Him again.
I'm going to step in and answer the preacher's unanswered question, the one I began this post with. I don't recall the direction the sermon took, but the obvious answer to what came after Easter would be Pentecost, without which we can't live this glorious life we're called into. But, that's a post for another day. Most of all, in answering that question, let's remember the blessed Hope that the Ultimate "what comes after Easter" event will be His glorious return for all to see! So, today as we recall fond Easter memories and make new ones, let's remember and proclaim His sacrifice, until He comes again, just as He told us to. Let's never stop speaking of the One who saves, heals, delivers and reweaves shalom in our hearts and lives. The One who will ultimately come back as King forever!
" Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
