Trying to capture Easter is a bit like attempting to herd a hurricane.  It sounds exciting but just can't be done.  Preachers both anticipate yet dread the Easter service.  On one hand you know it is somewhat easy with its story.  The other hand is trying to find a fresh approach to the message.  Let me say that this year it was not my goal to make Easter easy to handle.  My hope was to simply be open to whatever came across as new in my reading and reflecting.  If you can really get Easter in bottle form then can it really be all it is?

We never seem to grasp that those very first travelers to the tomb did not expect it to be empty.  You read how they carried various spices to finish preparing the body of Jesus for burial.  An empty tomb seems to be the last thing on their minds.  Matthew says the first to arrive wanted to kind of gaze at the grave as we might when visiting our relatives in the cemetery.  The angel probably only added to their fear from just seeing the stone rolled away from the entrance.  God has a way of operating even when we don't see it.  He pursues His agenda that often is gigantic in its scope.  He needs not our permission or understanding to work.  It is our task to orient our heart to His.

Maybe you noticed how women played a large role in all of the happenings on that first Easter.  They show up to the tomb before anyone else.  Jesus encounters these followers early in the story prior to talking with even His disciples.  It may not sound like much now in our culture but it is a shock to the readers way back then.  If the writers made up this account of the first Easter then they got it wrong.  You would expect Jesus to see the men first if this is only a legend.  Jesus interacting with the women first is an indication of the truth of the gospels rather than of it being a fancy tale.  God yet again has a way of surprising us as He works.  He reaches out to the unexpected as well as the unusual person in these accounts.  He sends the women to reach out to His disciples who failed Him miserably.  Jesus does not start over with new followers but brings the original into a new relationship with Him.  We have a serious problem of letting failure define us without moving into divine renewal.  It seems that the one way to fail with God is to not let Him move you from your downfall.  We end up content in our carnality so we can sit on the sidelines.  That is the opposite of that first Easter message.

Easter 2014 came and went in its normal hectic pace.  Here is to hoping your encounter with God matches that of those original followers.  Maybe you did not capture Easter in an easy fashion but let Easter capture you.

Bro. Trey