After Easter -- A Meditation

Easter is over. It was a grand and glorious occasion. The music was superb (we had a trumpeter in addition to organ and choir). We sang the standards -- Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Crown Him with Many Crowns, Christ Arose! Truly wonderful. Oh, and I preached!

Now, after a week of intense preparation -- a remembrance of the Last Supper, a community Good Friday reflection on the Seven Last Words, and then the culminating event -- Resurrection Sunday.

Now we move on. I have three meetings tonight, two on Tuesday, and two bible studies to lead on Wednesday. There's lots to do, so no time to stop and bask in Easter's glory (yes I'm fine with using what is really a pagan term).

But, before we run along, let us not forget the message of Resurrection Sunday. It is not that we have final proof of Jesus' divinity -- it wasn't the empty tomb that convinced Mary or Peter or anyone else. It was a personal experience of his presence. We are the recipients of that witness, which we must receive by faith. But as Matthew (28:16) and John both point out, even after the resurrection there was doubt. I rather doubt that Thomas was the only one who doubted -- he's just the only one to get his name in print (John 20:24ff). James McGrath has a nice discussion of this issue at Exploring the Matrix.

But on this Easter Monday, as I contemplate a day and week of constant meetings, I'm drawn to the 21st chapter of John, where we find the Disciples up in Galilee. We hear Peter say:

"I am going fishing."

The other disciples reply:

"We will go with you."

And then John goes on to say that they fished all night but caught nothing. At least not until Jesus showed up!

Although we have lots of work to do, we should not forget where we've been. We must ask ourselves, are we any different because we have shared in Easter? Or is it merely another busy day that can be quickly forgotten, except for the 1/2 price Cadberry eggs?