Last Friday we meditated over the crucified Son of God as His arms stretched painfully upon a cross. His human life was being sucked from Him with the burden of our sins weighing heavily on His back. His final breath came. The earth shook. The temple curtain was cut in two, making it possible for all of us to go directly to His Father without intervention from a priest. The sinless Lamb of God was dead.

Easter Sunday came. We raised our voices in loud Halleluiahs and thanksgiving, because that same shell of a man, defeated the grave and came back to life. His life for ours. What a gift! What a treasure! What joy! A week has passed. The joy has been replaced with the same things that troubled us before we celebrated Easter. We continue to worry about things we have no control over. We descend into despair. We get edgy. We let the world get to us. Within such a short period of time, our joy has been erased by the turmoil around us, but now is the time we need to remember it the most.

We have just gone through the season of Lent, where we contemplated our sin, repented and turned it over to Jesus. We went through Holy Week starting with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The King of Kings entered the city on the back of the foal of a donkey. In deepest humility, he rode on to die. Then He gave His life on Good Friday. Within the Passion of Jesus. we witnessed praise, humility, anger, frustration, intense prayer, pain, suffering, betrayal and denial. We experienced some of those emotions ourselves as we walked through history with Jesus. Now, a week later, life goes on as usual.

In a way, we’ve prepared for this event for a long period of time, just like a special birthday or anniversary, an opening night, a letter from a publisher or good news from the doctor. The event occurs and then things return to the way they were. However, things are not the same. Jesus changed everything and He continues to do so, even today. With that in mind, we should be on fire to be like Him – to serve others – to share His amazing grace with others – to dedicate ourselves to Him with our talents and time – to treasure the outcome awaiting us in Heaven.

He is risen! He is risen INDEED!