What a week it has been! Movie of the Last Supper and discussion last Thursday, attended the funeral of Jesus with a couple hundred of my best friends on Friday, and then there was Sunday… Wow! I always expect the best on Easter morn. I mean, I anticipate the Sunrise on the hill at Swain’s Lake will be touching and meaningful. But I didn’t necessarily expect the Wind of the Living Spirit to move across the top of the hill with resounding force and determination when one of my colleagues, Pastor Lynne, mentioned that Wind by name in her message! I expect God to move in new and powerful ways during Holy Week, but I must admit that I didn’t expect fourteen customers to gather around and hold hands before the Open Door Free Store began its shopping day, snug between Good Friday and Easter morning. We prayed for a baby starting chemotherapy, a family member struggling with addiction, and praised God for the depth of his love for us through his Son Jesus. And I always anticipate the children to “ooh” and “ahhh” when the tomb opens seemingly on its own accord and the light comes pouring out, as we open Easter worship back at the church. But I can’t say I expected to be so overwhelmed by God’s love for us that I would begin crying so hard it made it impossible for me to sing along with the entire congregation, choir and band when we hit the crescendo in the song “I Will Rise”!
Fourteen years in ministry and I guess one would expect for the glory and amazement of Easter to at least diminish with all the administrative and logistical demands of the season, but no. Each of these movements of God came absolutely unexpected this year. They just kind of snuck up on me, and then wrapped themselves around me like a swirl from my ankles all the way up around my shoulders.
The climax of Holy Week had to be Sunday morning Easter worship. The Worship Team decided this year to start in the dark, but without the tomb opening. This year’s message seemed a precursor to the tomb opening and the Easter hymns or songs being sung, rather than a postlude. I had been preaching on the Seven Deadly Sins for six weeks so I wanted to wrap up those teachings with the premise that all those sins of ours not only separated us from God, but they also could be defeated by God. So in the dark of the morning, with all the windows covered in black cloth and the lights still off in the Worship Center, I offered my message of despair in sin being defeated by faith in Christ. I finished it up with this incredible poetry slam video on Youtube.com called “Propaganda GOSPEL”. This young man eloquently versed the Good News in a compelling and creative way. Then one of our band members read the Easter morning text from the eyes of the writer of the Gospel of John. When the reading was done and the Christ candle was light, our band director Jeff Brigham began singing with a voice he was given from God while he was still in his mother’s womb. “There's a peace I've come to know, though my heart and flesh may fail. There’s an anchor for my soul, I can say ‘It is well’. Jesus has overcome and the grave is overwhelmed. The victory is won, He is risen from the dead…” and as he finished the second verse and hit the chorus for the second time through “And I will rise when He calls my name, no more sorrow, no more pain. I will rise on eagles' wings, before my God fall on my knees… and rise…I will rise…” the tomb fully opened and light poured out onto the stage, the cloth was torn off all the windows, the overhead lights were all turned on simultaneously, and a choir came from both the left and the right, gathering before us all while singing those words, “I will rise…when He calls my name…” and we all rose, every woman and man and child. We rose from our seats and the darkness in our own lives, and we sang out these words of hope and calling and grace and forgiveness. We sang with those fighting addiction and those receiving chemo. We sang with those standing on a hill when the Wind passed and those gathered in circles of prayer in small, downtown businesses. We just kept singing and together… together, we found hope. Tears ran down our cheeks and it was hard to sing out to a God so wonderful, so incredibly irresistible, so worthy of our praise. But we sang nonetheless.
I hope I never stop expecting God to move and I hope I never stop underestimating His power and authority when He does. Don’t stop believing just because Easter is over. Don’t stop anticipating just because the holiday has passed. Easter is a way of life. Easter is a changed heart. I have been redeemed… and so have you! I need to go find another tissue…
No comments:
Post a Comment