Pastor's Corner: A world Without Easter

The Easter Story is one that most of us are very familiar with — we’ve been hearing it retold for years and years.

Jesus predicting his own death three times. Jesus, knowing that one of them will betray him that very night, gathers with his disciples, his friends, for a last supper together. Using the common bread and cup, Jesus instructs his disciples to remember him and gives them the sign of the new covenant sealed in His blood. Jesus is then betrayed by us, arrested, publicly humiliated by humanity, and died; he was buried in the tomb. Three days later, the women arrive there to miraculously find it empty! Jesus appears to them so that they would believe, and their eyes would be open, before He ascends to be with God the Father.

You can examine the facts and debate the proof of the resurrection — in fact, biblical scholars have been doing that for centuries. But regardless, each Easter Sunday morning, we proclaim the good news that “Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!” With it, we pronounce our joyful “Alleluia’s!”

But how does Christ’s resurrection change us, living here in Havre Montana, in 2019?

The resurrection is the heart of our Christian story. Imagine what “the good news of Christ” would look like without it.

When I hear another news story of the horrifying acts of violence happening around the world and in our own country, my heart breaks. I cannot imagine the encompassing darkness that I would feel without hope in a God who is working to bring justice and mercy into every corner of His kingdom here on earth.

When I feel overwhelmed by guilt and shame over mistakes that I have made, or when I am hurt by those around me, or when I feel overwhelmed by the brokenness of those for whom I care deeply about, my faith reminds me that Jesus took on human flesh and he experienced himself every single one of those emotions. He has gone before us and conquered evil and death. And because Jesus died for me, my sins have been completely and unconditionally freed by God, and thus, I can extend that forgiveness to others. My relationships with myself, with others, and with God have been restored by the grace of God.

When I am living in my “old self,” I begin to live closed, afraid, and defensive. I must always be strong and on guard. When I am internally focused, the world gets divided between us and them, friend and foe, good and bad. I calculate, quantify, rationalize, and justify. There’s an edge and a hardness to life and my relationships. I take things too seriously and too personally. Others become a means to an end. Motives and feelings are either disguised or ignored. I try to become overly self-sufficient. I need to be right, to prove myself, and to have the final world. I become the center of my world.

But when I embody my new life in Christ, the world seems larger and more beautiful. I am open, vulnerable, and receptive. My relationships are characterized by closeness and gratitude. I am inspired and I breath just a bit more deeply. My mind is open and willing to learn and change. My heart is open and willing to love, forgive, and risk being broken. This lets me see the fragility of people and relationships. It invites self-giving, self-sacrifice, self-surrender. Concern for justice, compassion, and human dignity come to the forefront. God feels closer, more tangible, and located in the ordinary. I am wholehearted, enthusiastic, energetic. I no longer need to be in control. Life is not about me; instead, I am about life.

This is the good news of Easter — this is why the resurrection matters. So that we can have fullness of life in Christ and so we can proclaim with confidence that the abundant grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unconditional love of God, and the radical companionship of the Holy Spirit is for us, today and always. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it! We are people of the resurrection, we are people of the light. Thanks be to God!

He is risen, He is risen indeed!

——

Rev. Maggie Lewis

First Presbyterian Church of Havre

Chinook Presbyterian Church