With all the preparations and work that go into our Easter celebrations, we’ve made it! Hopefully you and your family have had a great Easter experience. We journey through the season of Lent to remind us of the solemnity wrapped up in that time of preparation. We know Jesus prepared himself with much prayer, much interaction with those who had needs, and with the community of the faithful. As exhausting as our preparations have been, they are nothing in comparison to all Jesus went through.
It warms my heart to see families who come to Easter with expectations of new life, new opportunity, a renewed sense of their spiritual connection to God. This makes Easter all the more impactful for me. There is a lot of stress on people today. Financial, relational, cultural, spiritual areas can be stretched very thin, almost to and including the breaking point. So any time there is opportunity to celebrate and begin anew, it gives all of us hope.
As much as we stress the resurrection of Jesus and victory over death, there is something we may overlook. The resurrection is certainly about life triumphing over death. God’s action through Jesus to redeem the world is the high point of our faith as Christ followers. What we seem to forget is at the center of all the celebrations is, forgiveness.
Whatever sins we may be guilty of, and for me there are plenty, we are assured of God’s forgiveness. When we look at all that Jesus endured, we see central to all of it is forgiveness. Jesus forgave his enemies for all he had to endure at their hands. Believe it or not, he forgave Pilate for sending him to the cross, the soldiers who carried out the scourging, mocking, and execution, and the religious establishment who orchestrated the whole thing to begin with. All of these were forgiven. That’s hard to contemplate, but must be true. He also forgave his followers who turned against him, who denied him, who fled from him. Again, may be hard to believe, but must be true. Finally, I believe, he forgave Judas who betrayed him. That really is a hard pill to swallow, but must be true. Why do I say it must be true? Because, if in all that Jesus suffered and willingly accepted, anyone could not be forgiven, then it all falls apart.
God’s forgiveness is unconditional, just as God’s love is unconditional. We all are loved by God, and we are all forgiven by God. There is no ledger of sins, like a “permanent record” that follows us. When Jesus went to the cross, it was for all of us, for all time. And when Jesus rose from the grave, it meant new life for all of us.
As we continue to bask in the glow of our Easter experiences, I hope and pray we will meditate on the forgiveness we have received. Too often we allow ourselves to become tangled up in our anger over some slight from others, some wrong words or deeds we have been on the receiving end of. We let our hurt feelings, our anger, our indignation get the best of us. We hold grudges and seek to return slight for slight, hurt for hurt, action for action. That’s not what Easter tells us. Easter tells us love is the strongest force in the universe, and forgiveness is central to love. If God loves us and forgives us, who can we in turn not forgive or not love?
May God’s love continue to be felt in each of our lives, and may God’s forgiveness prompt us to love and forgive the same.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom