Easter is Just the Beginning

I love a good ending. There’s nothing worse than reading a book or watching a movie and being left without answers. Sometimes I wonder if that’s what’s so appealing about the Resurrection story. It appears as the perfect ending to the greatest love story ever told – Jesus’s death for the salvation of humanity. It’s a story of truth, intrigue, suspense, deep sadness, and unparalleled jubilation.  The story’s triumphant conclusion is celebrated on Easter Sunday in patterns of pastels, florals, and hats brimming with artful bows.  There’s rejoicing in churches, backyard egg hunts, and at festive meals. Even nature participates in the jubilee with its mosaic of showy blooms, cerulean sky, and birdsong.  Yet amid this seemingly universal joy, what Easter really offers us is a new beginning.

Coming out of the Lenten season, the 40 days marked by the black ash of reflection, repentance, and fasting, it’s easy to mistake the celebratory nature of Easter as the reward of a happy ending. After all, in many ways, it is; the fulfillment of Jesus’s mission is complete. Forgiveness and redemption are available to us, as is the promise of eternal life. While it appears to be the best part of the story, it isn’t the whole of it. What happens next is the crux of the crucifixion and resurrection. It’s the pivotal time to decide what we will do with the new life Christ offers us — whether we experience a rebirth or merely recycle the life we already know. The redemption the Resurrection offers is not automatic. It requires our participation.

Desperate to move forward but refusing to let go of what keeps us stuck, we often stay trapped in the same old story. We spend decades acquiring material possessions, status, and prestige. We hold on to these things as a measure of this one unique life of ours. Yet our worth was determined by Jesus’s crucifixion. He set the value and paid the highest possible cost for each of us. To him, we are priceless. In return, we are asked to follow God’s greatest commandment to love him and our neighbor.

Jesus’s sacrificial death teaches us that love is boundless and without condition. Love empties itself of resentment, anger, and hurt, allowing more room for what matters. For us, this can mean a lot of letting go —  letting go of our own wants to give someone else what they need; letting go of the lies that tell us that our value is tied to what we do,  what we own or who we know; letting go of expectations and idealism that set our relationships up for failure; letting go of judgment and jealousy; and letting go of our stubborn will to let in God’s gentle grace. It’s hard and holy work, and I don’t know of a more significant way to live this one precious life of ours.

Easter offers us a chance to rewrite our stories to ensure we get the ending we want.  It’s exciting to consider how we want to live. Yet, what we sometimes fail to recognize is that the best part of our story comes after we edit. When we take out obstacles in our lives that keep us from God, we can draw closer to him. When we let go of what our lives are supposed to look like and how our relationships are supposed to be, we make room for new experiences and more authentic interactions.

God’s mercy allows room not only for our edits but for an entire rewrite.  His mercy makes every moment new. The Resurrection ensured each of us a blank page to begin a new story. Jesus died on the cross because he believed we were worthy of a better story. May you write yours with the ending in mind.

Hi all ~ As I write this, it’s Good Friday. While I feel sad for my role in the suffering and death of Jesus, I also feel such hope and humility for the salvation it made possible for all of us. That’s why I think it’s important to consider how we want to write the next chapter of our faith journey. The Resurrection of Jesus offers us a new beginning. May you be filled with hope as you move forward to live your new life in Christ. It’s a precious gift we’ve been given. Alleluia! ~ Love, Lara