EasterDayC, Easter Vigil gospel,
Sullivan Park Care Center, March 27, 2016 by Annette Fricke
The economy
of this nation as well as the state of Washington has suffered greatly for many
years. I can think of countless stories
of people struggling to find employment or having employment described by
the use of the phrase, “My crappy job.”
Sometimes, experiencing such a time period turns from tolerating a
situation and pretending to like the fact that one has a job to outright
anger. All applications and interviews
seem to lead to the same end, “I am still here.” People in my age bracket, who can barely
tolerate the physicality of some jobs are merely living in the in between nether
lands of attempting to find a less taxing position vs. disability, knowing that
the chances of getting on disability are slim none. The slow economy has caused
the felt need to work as long as one is able in order to secure perceived
needed funds for retirement. There are
many unanswered “ifs.” Life itself is a
place of uncertainty. The old joke that
many who have reached the ripe old age of a hundred will say such things as, “If
I had known that I would reach this age, I would have taken better care of
myself.” Sometimes that taking care of
oneself is not entirely in our hands and therefore beyond our control. In years past, being on a feeding tube or
catching pneumonia meant a sure death.
Now, such is not necessarily the case.
Throughout our lives, we all can experience what we would term deep and
agonizing struggles where we really cannot see the end of the tunnel and the
inside of the tunnel, at times can be very dark indeed. Depression, anger, and sadness can blind us
to the point that we no longer recognize the happiness we once enjoyed when we
knew who we were and where we were going, or so it seemed.
I suppose it
is mere speculation to try to figure out what was going on in Jesus’ heart and
mind. Here is a person who grew up a Jew,
determined to follow God’s will wherever that might lead. I bet he struggled with that as much as we
do. How can I follow God’s will no
matter what and what if doing God’s will means that I will die? That is a question that not only Jesus asks,
but us as well. What if we come to that point, fully aware that it is the time
of our death? How do we make peace with
God and God’s will for our lives? What
if that point in our lives whether physical or other kind of death goes on for
many years?
On the other
hand, what if we want to die and we don’t?
There is also that possibility. Some
people will be thinking, some even speaking, “It’s not your time.” If it’s not your time, what do you plan to do
with the rest of your life since it’s not coming to an end in the timeframe
that you think it should? The secular answer
to this is now the common phrase, “It is what it is.” Sorry, but I fail to see the profundity of
this statement. What exactly does that
mean? More than anything, I think our
response to that is that we should listen to God speaking to our hearts. It may be it is what it is, but that doesn’t
mean that I need to accept it. Some people
are fighters to the end and are convinced that they can always change a
situation, but that is not really the truth.
The truth is that there are places in our lives where we really have no
say as to what happens to us. In a
nutshell, that is really what the work of Jesus on earth is all about. Jesus taught us by his life, death, and resurrection
that all of this was and is the necessary answer to salvation and that the only
way that will happen for us is not by our efforts, but through him.
It is Easter
once again and once again we hear that same story about Jesus’ resurrection,
but it is never a boring story unless we just haven’t grasped what it means. It means this, “This is the day that the Lord
has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
It means that God is there in our darkest, deepest sorrow and agony, our
deepest pains and struggles. It also
means that God will always be there. God
will never leave us or forsake us, because God has conquered death once and for
all. This is the utmost important and
life-giving day, superior to all others.
This is the gate of the Lord. It
is flung wide open. God beckons each of
us into that gate to the kingdom where there will be joy everlasting that will
never die. Most importantly this calls
for not only joy, but thankfulness. The
greatest gift that God can give has been given.
When we hear the gospel story of resurrection, we cannot help but approach
God with thankful hearts and grateful attitudes. Salvation is for all of us through Jesus. May
we ever remember and meditate on the words from Job’s mouth, “I know that my
Redeemer lives!” Even Job, who represented neither Jewish nor Christian thought
knows God will deal with him justly. Say
it with conviction so all can hear, “Jesus is Risen. He is risen indeed!”
