Gleanings… 

What memories do you have of celebrating Easter? I remember Easter egg hunts with my cousins where we would try to crack the dyed eggs open on each other’s heads. I remember hollow chocolate bunnies that we would gorge ourselves on. As I grew older, I remember services at sunrise on golf courses, ocean beaches, cemeteries, vacant fields, and plenty on church grounds. 

I remember Easter mornings that were so cold we could hardly stand it, and some that were way too warm to stay dressed up. I remember cloudy skies; bright, sunlit skies; and some where the sun peeked out as it came up only to disappear behind clouds shortly thereafter. I remember crosses covered in flowers. I remember quiet prayers, joyful shouts, lively music that made you want to dance, and expectant hymns as we waited for the sun to appear. I remember crowds of people, times when there were just a few, and times of staring at a camera lens because we could not meet together. 

I remember an Easter morning with a newborn, and I remember some filled with the ache of missing a parent. Do you miss a loved one? Thinking about Easter sure brings up a lot of memories, doesn’t it? Some are very pleasant, and some are not so pleasant, yet we greet the day with its age-old promise that this day fills in the gaps in our lives. 

Though they heard Jesus speak of it several times, neither the women nor the disciples were prepared for the reality of the Resurrection. Death is death; dead people remain dead. No one had ever come back from the grave except Lazarus, and he only because Jesus had called him. To find the tomb open and Jesus’ body no longer there could only mean desecration. Someone, or some thing, had taken his body away. 

Of course, their grief was shattered by the appearance of Jesus. As improbable as it sounded, Jesus was actually alive, resurrected from the grave on the third day following the crucifixion. Their memories of that day changed forever, and they were only too glad to share them with others. 

While the memories of Easter that we carry are certainly less dramatic, they are, nonetheless, incredible for they remind us that we live a new life because of the new life that Jesus revealed. 

Speaking of new life, when was the last time that you shared the reason for your new life with someone? The perfect opportunity is now before us. Jesus’ journey from the joyous entry into Jerusalem, through the rejections, betrayals, false judgements, the crucifixion, and then to the Resurrection lies before us. 

Someone you know needs to know the hope that Jesus gives through this story. Why not use this opportunity to invite them to come with you to one or more gatherings during Holy Week? It just might give them the first taste of the new life that they have been missing. 

On that day, the shout will be, “Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed!” 

In the love of Christ, 

Pastor Braxton ><>