EASTER II

April 7, 2024

“What Do We Do Now?”        

It’s the week after Easter, and after the intensity of Holy Week, grief and despair have been blown away by the joy and celebration of Christ’s resurrection.  If we present-day Christians are feeling a little adrift, we can identify closely with how Jesus’ disciples were feeling in those early days following the resurrection.  These followers had become a close-knit group during the years they traveled with Jesus, learning his lessons, and coming to understand that he was God’s Son.  After the shock and trauma of seeing their beloved teacher tortured and murdered, they gathered with one another in grief and fear.     

The events of that miraculous morning are told in the Gospels with a few variations, but there are common themes of bewilderment and disbelief.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all include phrases that are intended to lead the disciples to understanding and hope: “as he said,”  “as he told you,” “Remember how he told you. . .”  Jesus had spoken to the disciples about what lay before him, and even though they heard his words, they had difficulty processing what he meant.  The account of Jesus cleansing the temple in the Gospel of John tells us:      

Jesus said: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”  But he was speaking of the temple of his body.  After he (Jesus) was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.   (John 2:19, 21-22)     

Another account of the early days following the resurrection in the Gospel of Luke tells of Jesus’ appearance to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and their inability to recognize him until he blessed and broke the bread at mealtime.  The Gospel of Mark provides descriptions of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and the eleven disciples, and John features the “doubting Thomas” story.  If we’re looking for detailed, chronologically organized accounts of Jesus and his followers meeting, during this time, we won’t find them in the Gospels.  Apparently the writers didn’t consider them important or crucial to the central message.  The Gospel of John 20:20-21 tells us:  “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”       

So if we’ve been asking what we’re supposed to do now, here’s an answer: “Life in his (Jesus’) name.”  If we have life in Christ’s name, we bear the name of Christian, and as such are blessed to have the opportunity to serve those in need, to work for peace throughout the world, and to bring hope and comfort to those desperate to hear the Good News, as we share the eternal promise of the One who overcame death and the grave!   

I know that my Redeemer lives!

Your friend in Christ,  

Mary Rogers