As a pastor, what I have always found fascinating about Easter is the joyous celebrations we have compared to what we hear in our scriptures.
While there is excitement, the visitors who encounter the tomb are more often described as scared, and terrified. In fact, the first thoughts of the women on Easter morning were not to go and praise God, but to prepare Jesus for burial. What some say is the original ending of Mark’s Gospel, it tells us that the women said nothing to anyone, despite the angel telling them to share the news with the disciples.
Again, why do we have joyous Easter celebrations when Easter was met with such trepidation by those who first experi- enced the empty? We celebrate because we have the knowledge that they didn’t; Christ didn’t just die but he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Even though there was fear, and misunderstanding that first Easter morning, they did tell people. Despite what happened when they first came to the tomb, despite the fact they said they weren’t going to say anything, they did.
They told the story of Jesus’ resurrec- tion. That’s part of why we celebrate Easter, the courage in the face of fear to share the good news that Jesus rose from the dead. That’s why I love John’s telling of the Easter story. Jesus is mistaken for a gardener and Jesus meets the women in the midst of their sorrow and brings them to a place of joy. What a message that is! Jesus meets us in our sorrow and replaces it with joy.
That is why I love that during the season of Lent, the time leading up to Easter, we have been exploring the idea of Everything in Between. We often see the world in black and white, like the first visitors to the tomb. Jesus was in the tomb, and he must be dead, and because of that we’re sad. When he was alive, he made our lives happier and better.
Jesus can meet us in those extremes of our lives, but more often than not, Jesus meets us in the middle: Jesus meets us and is with us from the high points to the low points and Everything in Between. Come join us for Easter and beyond as we explore our faith on the mountains, in the valleys, and everything in between! Blessings, Pastor Brian
Bethlehem Lutheran Church is located at 2745 N. 32nd St. in Mesa. For more informa- tion, call (480) 599-4147, visit blcmesa.org, or email pastorbrian@blcmesa.org. “We are a home to share God’s love and grace.”