He is Risen Indeed!

Today a colleague of mine discovered that the stock market is closed on Friday due to it being Good Friday and the exclamation was “pretty soon it’ll be Easter!”  This was followed by, “Easter is this Sunday?!”

As a Christian I forget that the meaning of holidays like Christmas and Easter are not the same for everyone.  Our Easter activities include egg hunts, but those things are always second to our celebration of our Risen Lord.  Friday is always a somber day as we reflect the death of Christ on the cross.  At a former church we always had a candlelight Good Friday service and it was requested that we not speak as we leave the church. 

It was this practice that made the death of Jesus so very real.  It helped me, a child of God in 2015, to remember His sacrifice, His horrible, torturous death on the cross for me.  Many people wore black and it was akin to a funeral. 

Then Sunday morning, in our bright Easter clothes, we would celebrate.  We would rejoice and be filled with the hope of His resurrection.  The celebration of Easter is so sweet!  It made real Psalm 30:11-12:

You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Today was a reminder of what sin has made this holiday about:  bunnies, eggs, baskets and new clothing.  None of those things are bad, unless they are a distraction from Jesus’ death and resurrection.  As I look at this holiday, I see how powerful the weapon of distraction is.  It weaves its way into our thought process, our traditions, and our hearts.  It takes away what was once God’s. 

I’m in the midst of preparing for a women’s retreat and the topic is distractions.  My eyes have been opened to the reality of what this means in our fallen world.  My heart grieves. 

My prayer for this Easter is that people will see Christ, His love through His death and resurrection.  My God will turn my wailing into dancing and my grief into joy.  For He has overcome this world (John 16:33)!