Feeling Easter
We are a four days post-Easter 2023 and I am still recovering from a long but beautiful day! Resurrection Sunday is always an energized, spirited celebration of the greatest sacrificial gift ever given. I love how churches all over the world simultaneously preach the same life-changing message, sing the same empty-grave songs, and revel in the same joys of our salvation. Social media is plastered with Scriptural Truth and family portraits of pastels. Smiles burst across little faces as they delight in plastic eggs, melted chocolate, and sugary Peeps. It is truly a day that radiates joy in all the things that should bring us joy: Jesus, family, church, unity, children, friends, worship, and yes, even sugary treats!
It is a day that starkly contrasts the week before it though. This year, I allowed myself to sit in the darkness of the Holy Week. Since we know the end of the story, it is too easy to move past the tension and despair of the days ahead of Resurrection Sunday. Afterall, we all love a good ending - and there is no better ending than this story! But like every true story, good endings are built from difficulty. In this case, our sin was the launching point for Holy Week. It happened because of our rebellion, our human desire to be god-like. It was our rebellion that led the Father and Son to choose redemption over retribution. With that choice (first declared in Genesis 3), Jesus sufferred a horrifically painful week so that we may be joyfully returned to righteousness through Him.
So, this past week, I pondered how Jesus must have felt during Holy Week. The spectrum of emotions He experienced would have done me in. Yes, even though He was fully God, He was also fully human, which means He fully felt every emotional, spiritual, and physical pain that came His way.
The most significant difference, I think, is the fact that He knew what was coming before it came. This is because of His complete deity. See, when we experience rejection, sorrow, or abuse, we tend to be thrown off by its arrival. While there may be some precursor signs at times, mostly we are surprised by the unexpected trials of today. Yet, Jesus wasn’t. He knew every step, every heartbeat, every infliction ahead. He knew which person would show up, which one would say what, and who eventually would physically drive the nails through His hands. He knew about Judas. He knew about Peter. He knew about the sleepy disciples in the garden. He knew about the lines of passionate people proclaiming “Hosanna” and then others shouting “Crucify Him” in a span of five days. He deeply knew all the intimate details of the Holy Week before He even stepped into obedience to the Father. And in all this knowing, He purposefully chose to step out and surrender to the horrors of what was ahead.
Knowing about something before it happens doesn’t necessarily lessen the feelings or emotions through the experience. We see in Scripture that Jesus indeed felt deep things that week.
Betrayal.
Rejection.
Despair.
Sorrow.
Overwhelmed.
Abandonment.
Mockery.
Disowned.
Abuse.
Humiliation.
Insulted.
Forsaken.
Yet, as each human emotion and despair assaulted Him, He didn’t back down, cower, run away, or ever change His mind about His love for you and me. He could have, but He didn’t. He saw the entire week through, up to the most harrowing feeling of His own Father’s absence as Jesus bore the sins of the past, present, and future world.
This is why Easter joy is so perfect. The Perfect One took on all the things we never could have and because of His spotless, blameless character, we are redeemed through His bloody, painful death. The Perfect One, raised again in all glory and splendor, showcased for the unbelieving world, so that we may all experience perfect hope and joy in the Resurrection.
Too often, the Monday (and week) after Easter feels deflated, blah. The energy of the day before has left us exhausted and emotional. But Jesus was back at doing His Father’s business the very day He rose again. His post-Easter Monday followed a bit more of an elaborate week than yours or mine!
I think it is imperative to find the balance in the tension - utilize the conjunction and in your post-Easter week. I can feel tired and triumphant. I can feel deflated and delivered. I can be overwhelmed and overjoyed. I can be about the Father’s business and be present in His life-giving presence. After all, Holy Week was about rejection and redemption, sorrow and joy, despair and hope. Most of all, the message of Easter is the Gospel Truth that God loves you and me.
Don’t let feelings get in the way of walking forward in His gift. Jesus felt and experienced so much that week, and while we never see Him denying the emotional and physical stress, we do see that the feelings and pain didn’t stop Him from doing His Father’s business. In all your feelings, whether they are related to Easter or something entirely different, keep forward movement in Christ. His resurrection means direct access to the Father. Take your needs and feelings to Him in prayer. Worship Him despite the despair. Go to your “come away place” and find the rest necessary. Keep showing up in the places where you know you are supposed to be and stop using excuses to bow out of uncomfortable situations. The very God who bore it all is the same God who will help you bear every feeling, anxiety, fear, pain, and angst. As you lean on Him, the power of the resurrection will be seen in your own life - miracles that spotlight His power when you deliberately choose to keep walking the forward path despite the feelings that arise. And the jubilation of Easter can be a trait we pull from every day!
Until next time friend,
I invite you to grab a cup of coffee, tea, or chai and sit with me. If you haven’t yet purchased God’s Big Ask, you can do so here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGKHY7KM
