I’m writing on Maundy Thursday, anticipating Good Friday and fervently asking God for help with my Easter Sunday message! How are you?
Easter is the best, isn’t it? So much reality and hope wrapped up in an often hijacked holiday! But the core remains the core:
Jesus defeated death.
Jesus conquered evil.
Jesus opened the door for life.
Jesus reset the entire system.
The kingdom of God is here. The kingdom of God will come in fullness. The Lamb will receive the reward of his suffering, the Father’s blessing will extend to every family on the Earth and some from every nation, tribe, people and language will stand before the throne and worship him.
As we celebrate our 8th or 80th Resurrection Day, many Muslims, now freshly following Jesus, celebrate their first.
Many Christians from ancient streams of the faith navigate the challenges of observing Easter in Muslim-majority nations.
More than a handful of our sisters and brothers, workers wholeheartedly devoted to the task, hide eggs and sing familiar songs in a strange, new culture, wondering how to explain to new friends that Jesus really did die, that God really did raise him from death and that the implications of this miracle are both terrifying and good.
Let’s remember all of these as we celebrate with hope and joy this Easter.