“Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we, too, will live a new life.’   Romans 6:3-4

A couple of thoughts for you from some Easter reading I did these past few weeks.

St. Athanasius, the 4^th century Christian bishop from North Africa, and an immensely important figure in defending the Christian faith, took up a question that I had never really thought of before in a book entitled “On the Incarnation”.  Athanasius responded to those who wondered if and why Jesus’ death needed to be so public and so disgraceful.  He said it did, for if Jesus had not died “in the presence of many witnesses”, neither would the witness(es) of his resurrection have credibility.  And our Lord needed the cross, a death no one would choose, to show he had power over suffering not of his own choosing, but that which was imposed, over all forms of death.   And so, he wrote, “as a noble wrestler, great in skill and courage, does not choose opponents for himself, lest he cause suspicion that he is fearful of some, but leaves the choice to the spectators whom he shall take on”, so our Lord accepted death by his enemies to show he has power over any and all forces that would work their will over him.     

C.S. Lewis wrote in his great work “Mere Christianity”, “The Christian doctrine of suffering explains a very curious fact about the world we live in.  The settled happiness and security we all crave God withholds from us by the very nature of the world, but joy and pleasure God has broadcast widely.”  

“We are never safe”, Lewis wrote, “but we have plenty of fun”, because “security and happiness would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose any obstacle to our return to God.”   He concluded “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but he will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” 

In the days immediately preceding Easter, the church by design (and for the sake of truth telling about the gospel) invites contemplation on the more difficult themes of life – betrayal, seemingly irrational anger, lack of concern for human justice, pain, etc. - before we reframe all of those themes with the message that none of them have final say, not over God and not over us.  We are given this most wonderful “inn” called Easter Sunday.   

But then we trudge off again into life as it is, punctuated by good things for sure. It is getting warmer and yes, those are real daffodils popping up through the ground next to your garage and people are putting their docks out again! But it also means the resumption of the mundane things of life - work, school, doctor’s appointments, the realization that you never did clean out the closets and garage this winter and you have precious little time before it warms up to do so or you will have to put it off till fall again!   How does this happen EVERY year?

Nonetheless, we have been joined to the resurrection of our Lord through his death – there is no part of our lives that even begins to rise to the level of joy we’ll one day experience. Home is where the heart is, or should be, for us who have been so joined.

Enjoy this post-Easter season.  Inject some simple (and maybe a few grand) pleasures into your observance of it. The season of Easter can be for us an "extended-stay" inn, but this season is supremely the recognition that our champion Jesus has overcome the world, and so then shall we.  The best is ever before us.

I wish you a pleasant week, and I hope to see you this weekend.

Because of His resurrection,

Pastor Ken