Pastor Devin Strong, Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church
The Season of Lent officially ends today, so, liturgically speaking, you can go ahead and have your chocolate, your French fries, your beer, or whatever you gave up for Lent! Today, we start what we liturgical churches call The Great Three Days, which includes Maundy Thursday when we celebrate Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday when we watch Jesus dying on the cross, and Holy Saturday when Christians keep vigil at the Lord’s tomb. Taken together, the Great Three Days are a waiting period, a holy pause, between death and new life. These days give you and me time to prepare our hearts and minds for Easter.
But what exactly are we waiting for? Surely, it must be more than just colored eggs, a giant bunny, or a chance to wear that new outfit! For Christians, the resurrection of Jesus is the foundational event that shapes everything that we do and everything that we are. Jesus was not temporarily resuscitated like Lazarus.
God’s son did not just hold his breath for three days, nor did the disciples manage to sneak the corpse out of the tomb (in fact, the Romans posted a guard at the entrance of the tomb to prevent this very thing!)
For us, it is an article of faith that Jesus really died and really rose. We believe that our Lord beat the power of death once and for all, not just for himself but also for all of God’s children. This is crucial because death is the fundamental force that dictates worldly powers and priorities.
In the world, the greatest power that one person can have over another is the power to take life. And if all of human effort, all of our striving, ends in the grave, then it makes perfect sense to grab everything —all the money, all the prestige, and all the pleasure-that you can while you are here, but Christians know that because of Easter, there is something more, more than worldly rules and priorities.
In fact, because of the resurrection, you and I are free— free to risk, free to serve, free to forgive. Without the grip of death’s power, much of the world’s hold on us is loosened. We can boldly choose to live God’s way knowing that the challenges of this world will not have the last word.
Of course, the world gets its licks in. Jesus died an excruciating and unjust death. The only way to Easter is through Good Friday. This means that we still have bills to pay and hard work to do. We still experience pain and grief on this side of the grave, but because of Easter none of those things has the final say about who we are or how our story will end.
What we celebrate at Easter is a different story, a countercultural reality, that can and should change the way that we work and play, the way we buy and make friends, the way that we think and the way that we pray. Easter opens you and me up to follow the risen Lord because whatever happens to us in this life, we will spend eternity in God’s hands.
By all means, enjoy those chocolate eggs, the bunny, and that great new outfit, but don’t forget that the power of Easter is an empty tomb.
