He is risen! He is risen indeed! In the name of Jesus, who proved all his promises to be true when he stormed back from the grave, dear fellow celebrants and recipients of life,
It was the middle of the night somewhere in Georgia I think. A group of 5 college guys had been sitting in the car all the way from Minnesota. Being the smallest of the group, I drew the seat assignment in the middle of the back seat in the sedan. You know the spot where there is nowhere to rest your head and there is an uncomfortable hump in the middle. We pulled into a Waffle House. Never before did pancakes, butter and bacon taste so good. The waitress insisted on us northern boys trying some grits too. “Here you go honey, this will make your heart smile.”
You will weep, mourn and grieve
If only it were true that a little butter and bacon was all it took to make the heart smile. It maybe makes the heart stop, but our hearts don’t always smile so easily do they? Of all the days of the year our hearts ought to be grinning from ear to ear – today is the day! Alleluias should be pumping through our veins! Check your pulse. It should be going, “Hallelujah, he is risen, he is risen indeed.” Is yours? Maybe yours is, maybe it isn’t??
Maybe our hearts are not beating with “Hallelujahs” today. Maybe your spiritual EKG doesn’t read so positively. Maybe the stress levels in your home are high lately. Maybe the anxiety at work is at a breaking point. Maybe the tension within your circle of family and friends is unhealthy. Jesus once predicted a prognosis very similar for his people. “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve…”
Weeping. Grieving. Mourning. Just a few days after Jesus said those words, that is exactly what was happening to Jesus’ followers. Peter denies Jesus three times then goes outside weeping bitterly. Mary Magdalene, a constant companion of Jesus, can be found weeping at the graveside of Jesus. The daughters of Jerusalem following Jesus to the cross were mourning and wailing.
Why do the Scriptures share such raw emotions? Because it is reality. In case we ever have the delusion that the Christian life is one of ease, read the Scriptures, read the stories of the heroes of faith in the Bible and your delusions will soon be corrected. Christians hurt. We weep with sadness over wrecked relationships. We mourn the loss of a beloved coworker. We grieve over the guilt of the sins we said we would never do again. We know grieving, mourning, loss all too well, even without the Scriptures telling us. Maybe this Easter you woke up with a smile saying, “See what a Morning” but I would bet that didn’t happen every day since the Last Easter Sunday.
What has caused you grief this past year? Was it the death of a loved one? Was it the loss of a job? Was the hurt of a lost relationship a few years ago? Was it the grief over sin, such as the “faithless worrying and selfish pride”? Was it grief over “sins of habit” and “sins of choice?” Yes, mourning, grieving, sin, it is most certainly a part of our life and so the most important question today is how will you deal with it?
Jesus has an answer for his disciples. Just before he said they would weep, mourn and grieve, Jesus counseled his disciples with these words,“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me….In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me…” Did you catch the phrase? “A little while.” Seven times within a few verses the Holy Spirit conveys to John to write down, “A little while.” Those must be important words as the disciples were facing tough times ahead. Jesus is telling them, “Take a step back and see the big picture. Whatever you are going through, whatever you will face, it won’t last long. Hang in there, a little while longer, it will be over.”
Sometimes we don’t want to hear that, do we? It would be like running mile 21 of a 26 mile marathon and someone says, “Just a little bit to go yet.” And you might want to retort, “Easy for you to say. Why don’t you run the race yourself and see if the last five miles are just ‘a little while.’”
But it is different when Jesus says these words, “a little while.” Jesus has a different perspective than anyone on this earth. He knows all, he has our “little whiles” mapped out, planned out for us. For the disciples Jesus knew that they would all abandon him when he was arrested, but he would see them later on Easter Sunday evening. He knew exactly how long their “little while” would be. And he knows how long your little while will be. He knows how long that sickness will last. He knows how long your heart will ache. He promises not to let you suffer beyond what you can bear. “Hang in there” Jesus says, “It will be just a little while.”
And not only doesn’t Jesus know all things, but he is also eternal. He can say that weeping, grief, and mourning will last “a little while” because he has an eternal perspective. Ask one of our older, more venerable members worshiping with us today their perspective on trials and how time flies by. Then consider our Savior’s eternal perspective. He knows our troubles are momentary compared to the eternal glory that awaits us.
Perhaps a story to help us understand God’s eternal perspective on timing. A two year old boy was called home to heaven. Cancer took his life. The funeral was held in the families’ old country church. When the bell rang to signal the service, instead of a processional of the family down the aisle, a voice came over the loudspeaker. It was the boy’s father. Not wanting to face the congregation for fear his emotions would get the best of him, he spoke from a room in the church with a microphone. He was shaky, not confident in public speaking, but confident in what he wanted to say, “Me and my wife just want to thank you all for your loving support. It means so much. But we also want to let you know that today is not a sad day because we got to do something that not every parent gets to do…we got to usher Jacob all the way to heaven where our Savior took him in his arms.” The pastor went on to preach that day, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me…I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”
Your Grief will Turn to Joy
I tell you the truth, your grief will turn to joy. Not grief will coincide with joy, but “Your grief will turn to joy.” That is what Easter is all about. It takes a sad, seemingly hopeless situation and it turns it to joy. For the disciples they mourned and grieved over the loss of Jesus. But when they saw him alive they realized his death was the payment for their sin. The cross that caused so much grief turned into something that gave them so much joy.
Look at what Easter does to the grave. There was Mary crying at the tomb. But when her Savior stood next to her and called her by name, that cold grave cut out of rock turned into the rock of her joy and salvation.
And Easter didn’t just change things for the disciples, it changes things for you and me too. Instead of guilt and grief and our sins pinned to the cross, Easter turns the cross into a gift, God accepted Jesus’ payment there for our sins. Instead of weeping without hope at the grave of a loved one, Easter turns our tears into the joy that we will see our loved ones again. Instead of lying awake at night, facing disease with a fear of the unknown, we know that whether we live here or in heaven, we will be with the Lord. No matter how you look at it, Easter turns grief to joy.
It was only a few years ago that a Hindu woman went to visit a Christian missionary who had converted her 16 year old daughter. The woman asked, “What did you do to our girl?” The missionary replied, “We did nothing.” To which the girl’s mother replied, “Oh, yes you did. My daughter died yesterday, and she died smiling. Our people do not die that way.” Because of Jesus, that girl’s heart was smiling. Nothing could take that away from her. Not a family that disagreed with her beliefs, not her guilt over sin. Not even death.
Nothing can take that away from you. Today you might be planning an Easter meal that will warm the heart of your visitors. But more important than food for the body is that which warms the soul – Christ is Risen! May that put a smile on your heart, today and always. Alleluia. Let all God’s people say. “Amen.”