A Time to Mourn
This morning we enjoyed a breakfast at Cracker Barrel. A different experience than Colorado! I believe it may have been my first “steak and eggs” breakfast, along with biscuits and gravy and hash brown casserole, of course. (I did share with Debbie although I had 75% of the steak.)
My grandson’s gave me an orientation to their NBA 10 PlayStation video game. I think I am 1-2 so far in games played. We also spent some time outside with the real basketball hoop. Both boys are doing quite well for their age.
I took a tour around Stephanie and Nathan’s expansive backyard. I hiked (for me) up to their fire pit and we got a picture as Nathan served as the photographer.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “…help us, Lord, as you have promised….You are Israel’s only hope; you are the one who saves us from disaster. Why are you like a stranger in our land, like a traveler who stays for only one night? ” Jeremiah 14:8
These words of the Prophet Jeremiah, are appropriate words for the time between Jesus death on the cross and His resurrection. While these words are not “messianic” in nature, they certainly would reflect the anguish, grief and confusion of Jesus followers as He died on the cross.
As I was watching, “The Passion of the Christ” recently, I was struck by the uncertainty of the final outcome that Jesus’ followers were faced with. Both Pilate and Herod did not find Jesus guilty of any charges worthy of death. Pilates’s plan was to have Jesus whipped and then released. The entire process was long and drug out with a great deal of uncertainty as to what would happen.
When it became evident that Jesus was sentenced to death, reality began to set in and when He died all hope was gone. Until He breathed His least breathe even those who weren’t followers thought that perhaps, “Elijah would come to save Him.” (Matt. 27:49)
Even though Jesus attempted to prepare His followers about His death and resurrection, when it happened those words seemed a world away. Grief, sadness, disappointment and despair set in. When Jesus appeared to the travelers from Emmaus, after His resurrection, their words give insight into the feelings of many, “…we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free!” (Luke 24:21) This was a time of fear and uncertainty for the Disciples as to their future. “…..the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities.” (John 20:19)
Grief is a natural response to loss and that is exactly what the Disciples and Jesus’ followers were experiencing. Grief creates sadness, captivates our thoughts and reactions and causes anxiety about the future. God has made us to know and experience grief. It isn’t pleasant, but it is necessary and it is healthy. Scripture declares of Jesus, “…He was despised and rejected–a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief…” (Isaiah 53:3)
Jesus knew the experience of grief from the loss of life. The shortest verse in the Bible is, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) It takes place as Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus knew the grief of rejection and misunderstanding from those who followed as well as those who opposed Him.
We never welcome grief into our lives, but when it comes we can be comforted in know that the Lord who is with us always, knows how to comfort and guide us through the days ahead. This human experience can make the hope of heaven more grand as it declares, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4)
For now grief, like the Disciples, stops us in our tracks. It causes us to ponder, reflect and evaluate….and to be ready for tomorrow. Because tomorrow may just be the good news we need!