For an Easter season, there sure has been a lot of talk about death. The nation has been obsessed with the impending death of Terry Schiavo in Florida. (Interesting, isn’t it, that those most active in trying to prevent her death are those who espouse the belief that death is not the to-be-avoided-at-all-costs end of things: evangelical Christians!) More recently, the death of John Paul II, Bishop of Rome, has been a focus of our attention. (Thankfully, the Pope was not rushed to the hospital for extreme measures to extend his life for a day or two, but rather, the Pope’s last days were spent, it appears, preparing for his transition into the new life he believed was promised him in Christ Jesus.)
The women, on their way to the tomb of their now-dead friend, Jesus, thought they had the answers to their questions: Was Jesus the One, the Messiah, for whom they had waited and longed for? No. Can you fight injustice and oppression, and change the hearts of your oppressors? No, they will kill you. Can you count on your friends, when you really need them? No, they’ll desert you. The women had their sad-but-true answers, and now they had gathered up the embalming spices, put on their sensible shoes, grabbed a box of Kleenex for their tears, and headed for the grave.
But oh, the surprise that awaited them! They got answers to their questions all right – but not the ones they expected. And their lives and the world would never be the same again.
As Christians, we are given the gift of knowing how "all of this" (our own lives, efforts, and hopes – even the hopes of the world) are going to turn out. The answer is that God will be victorious, God’s power of love will conquer even the forces of death, and in the end, it’s all going to be all right.
Does that mean that our lives will be pain- and stress-free? Of course not. Jesus own life proved that. Does it mean that we can be passive in our lives and ministries? We must not. Does it mean we are relieved of our responsibilities to make the world a better place and to love the world in God’s Name? Quite the contrary. In appearing to the disciples, Jesus tells them to "be not afraid," to receive the Holy Spirit, and then He sends them into the world, just as the Father has sent Him into the world. And the reason they could calm their fears and go on to turn the world on its head is that they now knew that nothing, nothing in all creation – not even death, could separate them from the love of God, who would, in time, be victorious. And no matter what happens in this world, they knew that they would one day be with Him in paradise.
George Bass recalls in a sermon that "in one of the episodes of M*A*S*H, the sophisticated shell, inside which Major Winchester protects himself from the horror of the suffering and death with which he constantly deals, breaks; and he is left defenseless." Finding himself in a state of depression, he leaves the base hospital and goes to an aid station where the wounded are first taken. Searching for the answers to life’s deepest questions, including death, Winchester is confronted by a soldier who is clearly dying. "The soldier says, ‘I can’t see anything. Hold my hand.’ The major replies, ‘I am.’ ‘I’m dying,’ the soldier moans, and this causes [Winchester’s] unarticulated questions to surface: ‘Can you see anything? Can you feel anything? I have to know!’ But the dying soldier doesn’t answer, except to say, ‘I smell bread.’"
We’re all headed home, aren’t we? Whether it’s the sweet smell of bread in the oven, or the loving arms of the Father embracing us, we’ll know it’s home when we get there. Isn’t the message of Easter that we know where we’re headed, and because of that, we can do wondrous things in God’s Name, resting assured that all will be well?
He is risen! And because of that, so are we! Blessed Easter greetings to you as we move through this glorious Easter season.
