Today is Monday. The beginning of a new work/school week. The beginning of a horrendous two week battle with the state's accoutability test and the AP tests. Reviews are in full swing as the major testing occurences of the year arrive. After the next two weeks, we get a merciful two weeks off and then we're back to reviewing for end of the year finals. The end of the school year is a wonderful thing.
But today isn't just another Monday. Today is the Monday after Easter. Easter...the day of the Risen Lord. Now for those of you readers who waver in your belief, or don't believe at all, don't worry. This isn't going to be an opinion based blog post trying to convert as many readers as possible...this is simply one humble, God-fearing Christian high school junior's take on what yesterday was, what it meant and how to move forward.
Yesterday was Easter. Easter is the day of the Christian faith when Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being crucified and buried for 3 days. Defying all odds and breaking all expectations, Jesus came back from the dead. Can you imagine the feelings swirling around back then? The Romans: they didn't really know what was going on, and frankly they didn't care. The Romans didn't understand the Jews and their strange customs. Jerusalem was so far from Rome that they really basically ran themselves as far as things go. In fact, the Roman judge who presided over Jesus' case was going to let him go...he only crucified Jesus because that's what the Jews wanted. The Pharisees: they felt triumphant. They had just knocked off the biggest threat to their power. The Pharisees preached a different kind of life than did Jesus. The Pharisees adhered to Old Testament principles and that's what they taught their "flocks". But Jesus came along and He showed everyone a new way...a different path to God. The Pharisees were scared. They didn't want to lose their wealth and power that they had accumulated throughout the centuries. After the Crucifixion, the Pharisees were feeling very good. The Disciples: they were devastated. Jesus had handpick them three years previously and they had dropped everything to follow. They gave up their jobs, their livelihoods, their families...everything and followed him without question. Now, their Teacher was gone. What were they to do? They knew the Romans would be looking for them. What were they going to do?
That answer comes 3 days later, Jesus' tomb has been breached. The Disciples don't know what to make of it. Their Master had died and now his tomb was open and very obviously without a body inside. Could it be? Could Jesus have possibly conquered death? He had, in fact, done just that. His power was more than that of death, Jesus came back.
But what does this mean? Why go through all of that if you're not going to stay dead? Because it was for us. Jesus was killed, sacrificed actually, so that all of us following would have a direct line to God for forgiveness. We all fall short of the glory of God, we can never live up to his expectations. But because of Jesus, we can redeem ourselves. Jesus is singing the Jackson 5 song, I'll Be There. That's what he is telling us. He gave us another way out. Instead of miring in the harmful effects of sin, we can turn to him and have that burden lifted. It's a wonderful gift to be given.
So what can we do with this? Well that answer is up to you, individually. No one can tell you how to live your life. You have to choose. But why choose the hard way? Why not go with the different path and life outlined by Jesus? He lived to show us that another way is possible. Peace can happen. The world doesn't have to always live in the status quo, challenge the normal way of things. If something is wrong, why keep following it? Break out of the cycle of the world. Challenge yourself. Live out a different path and see how it changes your life.
And so we, all of us, go.
