Resurrection Joy!
“Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of Christ risen.” – Mother Teresa, No Great Love
As we trudge through Lent, oftentimes we are weighed down by the solemnity of the penitent season. Singing songs of Lament, preparing ourselves emotionally for the Holy Week, preparing ourselves for Christ’s crucifixion and death. Being reminded of our sins and how a steep price was paid for our forgiveness and the forgiveness of all people. Toss in a groundhog telling us we will have six more weeks of winter and it can feel like spring will never come.
As sure as the sun rises and sets everyday we do know that spring will eventually come, warmth will return to the wintery world, the grass will be green, and flowers will bring vibrant color to a grey world. Yet, sometimes that grey season extends in our hearts and minds long past Easter. With the loss of loved ones, the moving of close friends, job transitions, or the loss of a beloved pet, all of these grief filled events can keep us held in a season of sorrow and loss.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we are reminded that there is a season for all things under the sun. It doesn’t give us specifics on how long each of these seasons will last for each of us and in many cases the seasons last longer or shorter depending on the person. Just as winter is shorter for those in the southern states and longer for us up north, so do some members in a family transition through stages of grief differently.
In 2 Corinthians 9:8 we are reminded of how God will make grace abound towards us in all things (some translations say “blessings”). In our times of sorrow and pain, in our times of darkness or grey, in our times when we sit in the sorrow of Holy Week God is with us in all mercy and grace. It is in these moments that we should remember the beloved Mother Teresa and the quote I have at the top.
I have only had one Easter Sunday where it was hard for me to experience the joy of the resurrection of Christ. Just a few days prior to Easter Brittani and I learned that she had a miscarriage. To have death so close to the resurrection promise created a tension between my heart’s loss and my soul’s rejoicing. Knowing that God’s love, grace, mercy, and promise of eternal life has given me comfort and has helped remind me that no sorrow should fill me that I would forget the joy of Christ rising. For a light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
May blessing, light and glory surround us all, and scatter the darkness of the long and lonely night.
Pax et Bonum,
Pastor Tucker, n/OLF
