The Morning after Easter

When I woke up yesterday, all I could hear was the sounds of creation. There was a chorus of birds singing their songs back and forth to each other, followed by the steady patter of rain. I wondered if all of creation needed to have a say in the celebration of the dawn of Easter brings. The euphoria of the heralds’ and their song carried me through a unique Easter Sunday.

Then comes Monday, and my heart keeps turning over what it must have been like for Jesus’ friends and followers during the days after His resurrection. Within the lines of scripture, it looks to us like relief of His resurrection came immediately as He revealed Himself to the women at the tomb, the men on the road to Emmaus, and disciples. I have to wonder though, if these events weren’t more spread out? We know from John 20:26 that Thomas in particular didn’t see Him until a week after Jesus initially revealed Himself within the locked room of the hidden eleven. (Well, ten, I would presume since Thomas was absent and Judas was… gone.) The point of the pondering being, each of those close to Jesus had unique encounters with the risen Lord. While I cannot imagine the rush of feelings that came over each of these beloved disciples as their hearts burned in His presence, it did not change the climate in which He found them.

If Rome and the Jewish leaders were against Jesus before, imagine their feelings about a resurrected Jesus. The disciples’ encounters with the Lord in particular revealed the complicated fear of their circumstances, gathering in secret behind locked doors together, or attempting to cobble life and food together again on the sea. Nothing would be the same for them again. The men and women who followed Jesus during His ministry on Earth would not have Him with them full time anymore, but His purpose and His victory vividly declared their purpose despite the dangers and seeming uncertainty His association stamped on their lives. They would have to choose to live dependent on the knowledge of His resurrection, His affection for them, and His ability to meet them uniquely in order to persevere on this side of the empty tomb.

We have much the same choice. We are still living in uncertain times. We are still hard-pressed on every side, some in lonely hospitals, some in close 4 walls, and some that only appear to be. We are still living life separated from what we’ve always been privileged to know, but we must choose to drink from the well that does not run dry. The one that declares that no matter what God is still good. The one that says He has conquered sin and death so that even though this world is broken, and often scary, with real fire that can burn, His victory cannot be taken away. This morning may feel different, more ominous, less celebratory, but it does not mean His desire to meet us where we are has changed. Let’s keep our hearts open to Him today, friends. Where Easter began with the testimony of a few, it grew in the days to follow to be the testimony of time. He is still alive. And so are you.