Changes Everything

There have been a number of times in my life when I thought,

“this changes everything.”

It’s been things I’ve purchased or received as gifts.

Adventures I’ve gone on or times I’ve tried new things.

And yes…to a certain extent many of those things did change something…but certainly not everything.  And yes…many of those things were good or fun or interesting…but certainly not as earth shattering as I once thought they were.  In fact, many of those things lost their shine and luster the very next day.

How many times have we longed to get something new…a phone, a car, a computer, a house, a pair shoes, etc…and yes, they are great.  But a few days or weeks or years in…those things have lost their shine and luster.  They are no longer interesting.

We run the risk of doing the exact same thing with Easter.

We journey through the season of Lent, preparing our hearts and minds for what is to come.

We journey through Holy Week experiencing the high of Palm Sunday and the low of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

We are primed and ready to see resurrection.

And then it happens.

It changes everything.

But what about Easter Monday?

What about the next week?  Or the next Sunday?

What about when the Easter baskets are put away and the decorations are taken down and the sugar high from chocolate eggs are wearing off?

Did Easter lose its punch?

Did the resurrected Jesus lose his shine and luster?

If we ask ourselves this question now…what about 2000 years ago?

After the shock of an empty tomb, after the encounters with heavenly messengers, and after seeing the resurrected Jesus…what then?

Rome was still the massive superpower.

Pontius Pilate was still a ruling authority.

The followers of Jesus were still a ragtag group of misfits.

Things changed…but it could have been easy to let it lose its shine and luster…unless we realize, Easter isn’t a subpar Christmas.

It is the day that changes every day.

It is the thing that changes every thing.

It is the reality that changes reality.

When we had our first child, Foster, I realized that this new reality altered everything in my world.  I would now see and think differently about the world because this baby was in it.

But I certainly know there are plenty of people who have kids…and act as if nothing has changed, as if nothing is different.  I could pretend like I didn’t have a child…but that child still exists.  Having a child changed everything, because I was changed by that truth.  I let it change me and everything in my life.

I could pretend like Easter doesn’t matter or doesn’t exist, but it still does matter…and still does exist.  I just am missing out on the transformational reality of it.  The resurrection changed everything…including me.  I am changed by that truth.  I let it change me and everything in my life.

I still have sin and struggle.

I still fall short and find my identity in things that are fleeting.

I still am judgmental, hateful, and self-centered.

But I am living in the truth that a man rose from the dead, defeated death, offered grace and peace, broke the power of canceled sin, set the captives free, and called me to live as the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  Not some future distant dream, but here and now.

Sometimes I need to be reminded that resurrection isn’t dull or lackluster.  It is vibrant and life-giving.  Are you letting it change you?

Easter changes everything…not just one Sunday a year.

How will you live differently as a resurrected person?

I invite you to live differently with us this Sunday.

We will still gather again.  10am at The Chapel.

People won’t be wearing as much pastel, but I promise…the tomb is still empty.

See you Sunday.

Blessings,

Andrew