SADNESS INTO JOY
As a youngster, the pending arrival of Easter meant a trip to our local department store to pick out a new dress, and perhaps a new pair of shoes. And if the budget allowed, we might pick out a pretty hat to match! And of course it also meant the arrival of the Easter bunny on Easter morning, to fill our basket full of all sorts of good things to eat. And it meant that we’d definitely be going to Sunday School and Church.
As a teenager, active in youth group and singing in the choir, Easter took on a more serious meaning and I seemed to focus on Good Friday for some reason, taking in the total sadness of the story of the crucifixion. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday made an indelible impression on my mind. I just couldn’t imagine how horrible it must have been for Jesus. I can’t begin to explain why my thoughts centered on the pain and suffering Jesus endured, rather than the joy of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. I was just being a teenager, I suppose.
Now as an adult, I look upon this time in our church year quite differently, of course—certainly more seriously. I think as Christians we all have our personal perspective on the events of this season. For a long time now, I have embraced Lent, The Last Supper, Good Friday and Easter Sunday as a collective and true gift from God. Each year, little has changed regarding that perspective, it seems. Lent offers me the opportunity to study more and think about what positive changes I can make in my relationship with God through the humanness of Christ.
The celebration of the Last Supper begins to settle in my thoughts as the last time Christ gathered his disciples together, preparing them to go on in his absence and yet leaving them confused as they struggle to try to understand what he is telling them. He knows what is to follow, and yet he is concerned about his devoted disciples, not himself.
Good Friday still saddens me greatly. I think about all that occurred during that day—Christ standing before the threatening crowd as Pontius Pilate questions him; the efforts of the soldiers to humiliate him with a crown of thorns as the King of the Jews; the long and agonizing walk to Golgotha where he would be crucified; his betrayal by those whom he loved, and the horrific suffering he endured.
And then Easter Sunday arrives. The tomb is empty, first raising fear, then hope, and at last, tremendous joy, for Christ has arisen! In just a short time we discover what has happened, and we know what is in store for us. We need only believe in him, serve him, become like him as God’s servant on earth, and be his witness to others. Now—just how wonderful is that? Let us prepare to receive God’s greatest gift.
As a teenager, active in youth group and singing in the choir, Easter took on a more serious meaning and I seemed to focus on Good Friday for some reason, taking in the total sadness of the story of the crucifixion. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday made an indelible impression on my mind. I just couldn’t imagine how horrible it must have been for Jesus. I can’t begin to explain why my thoughts centered on the pain and suffering Jesus endured, rather than the joy of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. I was just being a teenager, I suppose.
Now as an adult, I look upon this time in our church year quite differently, of course—certainly more seriously. I think as Christians we all have our personal perspective on the events of this season. For a long time now, I have embraced Lent, The Last Supper, Good Friday and Easter Sunday as a collective and true gift from God. Each year, little has changed regarding that perspective, it seems. Lent offers me the opportunity to study more and think about what positive changes I can make in my relationship with God through the humanness of Christ.
The celebration of the Last Supper begins to settle in my thoughts as the last time Christ gathered his disciples together, preparing them to go on in his absence and yet leaving them confused as they struggle to try to understand what he is telling them. He knows what is to follow, and yet he is concerned about his devoted disciples, not himself.
Good Friday still saddens me greatly. I think about all that occurred during that day—Christ standing before the threatening crowd as Pontius Pilate questions him; the efforts of the soldiers to humiliate him with a crown of thorns as the King of the Jews; the long and agonizing walk to Golgotha where he would be crucified; his betrayal by those whom he loved, and the horrific suffering he endured.
And then Easter Sunday arrives. The tomb is empty, first raising fear, then hope, and at last, tremendous joy, for Christ has arisen! In just a short time we discover what has happened, and we know what is in store for us. We need only believe in him, serve him, become like him as God’s servant on earth, and be his witness to others. Now—just how wonderful is that? Let us prepare to receive God’s greatest gift.
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