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Here Comes Easter!
As Easter approaches, we are excited to celebrate our Savior’s sacrifice—His death, burial, and resurrection. This is a season of renewal and reconnection, as familiar faces return to our church and less frequent attendees joyfully reconnect with our family.
Mark 14:1-2 are two brief verses that paint a picture of the busyness of the first Easter season…
It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a cunning way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so that there won’t be a riot among the people.”
The PRIESTS were distracted from Passover by an overwhelming desire to eliminate a perceived threat: Jesus. They were so consumed with shutting Jesus down that they were blind not only to Who Jesus was but also the reason for their celebration! It was Passover—the biggest celebration on the Jewish calendar! Their biggest concern was over a possible riot in the crowds if they were open about their plan to have Jesus killed.
It appears that the religious leaders of the time saw Jesus as a threat to their established traditions, customs, and structures… and rightly so. Jesus threatened these things, along with their ambition, comfort, pride, and selfishness. They saw the threats from Jesus but could not see Jesus.
As I reflected on this circumstance, I found myself in the uncomfortable position of relating to the religious leaders in the story. I began to ask myself, “How am I missing Jesus?” Amid the daily routines and chaos, I know Jesus is in the middle of it, but do I see Him? I must be vigilant and not blind to the presence of Jesus in my context.
What about you? What about your church? What’s going on in the lives of those “new” faces that appear this Easter Sunday? What are the backstories of each life? It will be much easier to stay busy and not be concerned about the lives of those less connected. It will be uncomfortable to strike up a conversation with those you know less well. We might even need to sit somewhere else in the crowded congregation that Sunday!
Let us not be blind to Jesus. Ambition, comfort, pride, and selfishness are powerful magnets that persistently pull us away from what Jesus is doing right in our midst. Let’s be intentional as we follow Jesus, on Easter Sunday, and every day in our contexts.
Bro. Tom
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