Hello,
I woke up this morning with the wind rattling my windows, quite a change
from the calm, placid Easter Sunday that we had yesterday. Personally, I always hope for a bright,
warm, and calm day for Easter.
When such Easter days happen, I find myself captured in the pure joy of
the day; joy in Jesus’ resurrection victory over sin and death. With the sun beaming bright, the
Alleluias of Easter day are captured in a heavenly spotlight that makes them ring
with clarion clarity.
So, when I woke up this morning I was a bit disappointed in seeing the
low hanging dark clouds in the sky being swept along by the strong gusting
wind. It kind of took the Easter
wind out of my sails.
But then I got to thinking.
Far from the peaceful, serene and sunny event that Easter has become for
most of us, the Bible tells us that the first Easter was a swirling and
churning occasion. An
earthquake….a huge boulder was rolled away….guards shook with fear and became like
dead men…confusion and chaos with ears being filled with stories that were
nearly impossible to believe. Far
from a gentle and soft wind caressing their lives, that first Easter was an
explosion that rattled and shook everything.
And come to think about it, thank God it did. Thank God that the first Easter was much more akin to a voraciously
hungry roaring lion, than a gentle kitten that purrs and wants to be
petted. I say that because I know
how tightly my sins cling to me. I
know that the shame and guilt in my heart over the pain that I have caused acts
like super glue. I know that fear
has a way of taking hold of my thoughts and plans. I know that hopelessness can become a cataract that blurs
everything I see. In order for me
to live in the victory of Easter, Easter better hit me with a hurricane of
God’s grace.
Today, on the first day after Easter, I find myself having changed my
mind about the change of weather that has greeted me. I find the rattling of my windows, the shaking of my house,
and the swiftly moving clouds above me as a welcome reminder of the power of
Easter, the power of Easter that sweeps into my life, and yours, that no evil
can withstand. Today, I am
thankful that God’s grace is not a stagnant bubble of air that leaves the dust
and the dirt of my life to cling on me, but instead it is a gusting gale ripping
every parasitic, life sapping thing away from me.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I
still look forward to the sun drenched, peaceful days that are also part of life,
but thanks to the climactic power of Easter, those days will not be stagnant
and oppressive. Instead they will
be full of life…full of hope…full of peace…full of joy….and full of God’s
grace!
Have a great (and breezy) day!
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
No comments:
Post a Comment