Jesus

“But this is how God will rescue the whole world. My life will break and God’s broken world will mend. My heart will tear apart–and your hearts will heal. Just as the passover lamb died, so now I will die instead of you. My blood will wash away all of your sins. and you’ll be clean on the inside–in your hearts.”

~based on Jesus’ speech during the Last Supper in Mark 14 and John 13-14; Jesus in The Jesus Storybook Bibleby Sally Lloyd Jones

So, it was Good Friday...ya know...the day we celebrate Jesus' death on the cross. And there I was, frantically working away. I am such a Martha. Here and there I tried to make some special moments for my kids which can be stressful in and of itself. God seemed so far away. On the day that He climbed to his death for me...I couldn't feel Him or see Him. I wanted to spend time with Him and recognize and honor what He did for me. But, I also felt stuck. How do I get out of that place? Then I was wasting time on someone else's blog and I came across the quote above. It is from a children's bible. But it touched my heart. I love the paradox of God. I love His mystery. It is in His broken body that we are healed. It is not in my clean, put together, ideal of a world. It is in His broken body. That is it. So simple and yet not simple at all.

Then today...during what was a special and non-stressful moment with my daughter and nephew...I came across some answers. We were talking about the Resurrection. We had made a resurrection treat and then read the story in our children's bible. I felt led to ask these two five year olds why Mary Magdalene didn't recognize Jesus. She first thinks him to be the gardener. We came up with two theologically sound answers. One. She was busy weeping. She was concerned over the absence of Jesus' body from the tomb. Now that is a good thing to be concerned with...it isn't shallow or wrong. But it did distract her from even recognizing her Savior's voice. He spoke to her, but it wasn't until He spoke out and said, "It is I". That she was able to see Him. Number two reason for missing Jesus. She wasn't expecting Him. Again, this is a completely natural response. His body, which had been sealed in a tomb with a relatively large stone, was missing. I think any of us would not have expected to see him walking around after we had just buried His dead body! Yet today I was waiting for my husband to arrive home with great expectation. He said he would be home in 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, I started expecting him to walk through the door. When he finally did walk through the door...I wasn't surprised and I knew it was his voice saying hello.

So tomorrow, when the tomb is rolled away my attitude has been changed. I will concern myself with the Lord and I will wait in expectation for Him to arrive because I believe it is in those moments that I will see Him.

He is risen! He is risen indeed.