Easter Sunday is around the corner, which means not only egg hunts, but a chance to spend quality time spent with family and friends. He taught us how to pray, He came to show us the way, He lead by example with a life where he consciously chose to connect with God the Father. The Christmas story of Jesus’ birth is such a sweet story, and the nativity scenes that depict His birth in a manger are so touching, but without the Easter story our plan of salvation is not complete. We need to be ready because we do not know when Jesus will return. I find solace in the fact that even knowing of Judas’ betrayal, Jesus chose to include him in the celebration of the “Last Supper”, and went on to restore Peter, who betrayed him as well. He writes: “The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ has impacted me, as it has millions of others”.
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If you want to be ready, repent and ask Jesus to forgive you. What a contrast on how they must have felt. You may say, what kind of people celebrate the death of anyone? Jesus rose from the dead. Many people are leaving this country in search of better lives elsewhere.
My mother went on home to be with Jesus just before Easter 1973. In our scripture for today, John gives us a quick look into the life of the resurrected Christ, life after Good Friday. They wanted to be sure Jesus would stay where they had put Him. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
And then there was the traditional Easter dinner at Grandma’s house.
You likely know by now what I am driving at. The message of Easter is far more attractive than that – and also much more demanding. Easter is not over until God says so. As Holy Week progresses, Jesus becomes more and more somber as he knows the fate that awaits him. If we are to be “Easter” people, we are not to sit comfortably behind closed, locked doors of our churches and be content that we are the church. (We didn’t call the noon meal lunch we called it dinner and still do.) Sometimes we had about twelve or fifteen and on at least one occasion we had 26.
True you say? What is truth? God’s word states that Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost”.
The Proverbs tell us, “It is the glory of kings to search out a matter”. I used them when I did not want my “real” china to be broken. However, I realize that before we can truly understand the joy of the resurrection, we have to first encounter the brutality of the cross.
The kittens are no longer kittens but old cats that will be sixteen years old this september, but still their little feet make the only noise now that the children are grown and gone, and the grandchildren are gone, my daughter is librarian at Minden High School and my son teachers at BPCC.
We are all guilty before God.
Remember that the happy memories make old age less lonely. We all depend on getting help some time, and we are all called to roll away the stones in others’ path. We must do what we can about them, and that includes wisely choosing leaders. You’ll be glad you did.
Take time to remember how it changed you, and intentionally share this transforming message with someone else.
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A badly whipped and tortured Christ was then taken along the streets bearing the cross that he would later be nailed to. The Press-Herald is republishing select articles from Mrs. Agan’s Cameos column every Wednesday.
