Forty Days: an Easter letter

The darkest of days. The darkest of nights.

An agreed upon betrayal. A meal shared. A servant left to pay for our sins.

It’s Good Friday. The end of the forty days of Lent. We are edging ever nearer to the stone being rolled away and the tomb being found empty. And yet- today is a dark day- the day that no one thought would end. The temple curtains have been split in two- there is derision among the people. It seems the bad guys have won.

It begs the question: what were they all thinking? Friends of Jesus and enemies alike. They knew! They knew he could perform miracles, he could have saved himself and yet he prays, cries these words:

““Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭14:36‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/111/mrk.14.36.niv

Jesus’ people: the few, are left wondering and waiting. They have just seen their friend, their teacher and their Messiah die on a cross.

But even though it hurts and it goes against the grain and it’s difficult for the average human being…

There is blessedness in the WAITING. There is a stubborn faith that we have to know the story doesn’t end with a burial, with a body wrapped in linens behind a stone. With a bad guy win. There is a point to the 3 day wait. Lessons to be learned, faith to be restored, love to be shared.

Jesus gives us HOPE; there is a light- THE light of the world has come to save US- you + me from ourselves. He humbled himself to human form- to be a servant, the one setting the table and serving rather than the one sitting at the Head. He came to teach us, to carry our burdens, to light our paths, a new covenant, a new way forward.

So, if you’re in a season of waiting, of wondering, of little or waning faith. Just know: there is a hope, a light, new beginning waiting for you on the other side of the stone rolled away.