(This Blog was inspired by the biblical Easter accounts and by Peter Wehner’s article for The Atlantic entitled, “The Greatest Contribution of Christianity.” The Atlantic, founded in 1857 in Boston as The Atlantic Monthly, is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher).
“Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
This is the apostle Paul’s bold declaration of the power and eternal life that belongs to Christians because of the victorious and supernatural resurrection of Jesus Christ. THE TOMB IS EMPTY !!! The victory and sting of death has been swallowed up by Jesus Christ’s resurrection! This is what we believe and celebrate all year long but poignantly highlight at Easter.
Some 15 years ago, Peter Wehner asked Christopher Hitchens, one of the world’s most prominent critics of religion, a simple question: “What do you think is the greatest contribution of Christianity…in terms of society or in terms of individual lives?” Hitchens, an atheist who grew up as a nominal Christian, replied, “The greatest contribution of Christianity in my life is the reminder of the complete ephemerality of human power, and indeed of human existence – the transience of all states, empires, heroes, grandiose claims, and so forth. That’s always with me. And I daresay I could have got that from Einstein – I would have – and from Darwin, too. But the way I got it and the way it’s implanted in me is certainly by Christianity.” Christopher Hitchens concludes that due primarily to Christianity, he is reminded that human power and human existence is brief (ephemeral). It lasts only for a very short time. (italics mine)
We should consider this life-changing thought. Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus, and Easter, which celebrates his resurrection, are excellent occasions to reflect on faith, human power, and how fleeting our lives are. Jesus’ earthly life was but a brief 33 years. Yet, despite this short time, Jesus was single-minded in his commitment to accomplish his Father’s will. He could say, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). For us, too, the key is to keep ourselves focused on the Father’s will.
I invite you to consider the unapologetic way Jesus lived and acted. Jesus, upon whom the Christian faith rests, was not the conquering Messiah many expected. He came as a servant, not a king. He was born in poverty rather than privilege. He never led a political movement; neither did his disciples, who did not have, in worldly terms, status or influence. Jesus was drawn to social outcasts and the “unclean,” the persecuted and the powerless. His conflicts were not with prostitutes, reviled tax collectors, or sinners, with whom he spent time. His main conflicts were with the religious and politically powerful. Does that echo one of today’s concerns for the authentic Christian?
Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world. The last shall be first. The meek shall inherit the Earth. The greatest in heaven will be the lowliest on Earth. His words were an extraordinary inversion of expectations. They were counter-cultural then, and they are counter-cultural now. But the greatest demonstration of anti-power — the antithesis of worldly power and worldly victory — was the crucifixion of Jesus.
The cross was a symbol of anguish and indignity. Jesus, mocked on the cross, with a crown of thorns on his head, with two criminals on either side of him, cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He cried out one more time in a loud voice, and then “gave up his spirit,” in words found in the Gospel of Matthew.
It’s little wonder that the apostle Paul would describe the cross as a stumbling block for some and foolishness for others. The crucified God is not an easy concept for anyone to wrap their minds around. For us of the Christian faith, the death of Jesus is not a symbol of powerlessness, though in some respects it was that, but rather an act of selflessness and sacrificial love. Jesus, “the Lamb of God who was slain,” took on himself the sins of the world so that others may live.
Yet there’s more to it than simply that. For Christians, the incarnation and especially the events on the cross mean that God doesn’t just have sympathy for those who suffer; he enters INTO suffering. He is not a distant God. He has ENTERED INTO the human drama, and he didn’t escape without wounds. We take comfort during our own times of grief and pain in believing that God can empathize with our experience. It’s reassuring to believe that heartbreak and suffering, even tears aren’t foreign to Jesus. This doesn’t repair what is shattered; it doesn’t reclaim what is lost. But it does make the loss more tolerable. Perhaps it’s because we know that God has in the past and is now participating with us in our suffering.
What Easter does is to place the pain of Good Friday into the larger narrative where the crucifixion of Jesus gives way to his resurrection. Death gives way to life. Fractured lives are repaired. Restorative justice happens. “Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumph of Easter,” Martin Luther King Jr. said in 1956.
The movement started by Jesus and a handful of his followers had, within three centuries, changed the world. This wasn’t because the adherents of that movement gained control of the kingdoms of this world; it wasn’t because they rallied around leaders who would exact vengeance, even leaders who claimed to do so in the name of Christianity. They changed the world because they sought to serve rather than to be served. Because they were known for their mercy, their forbearance, their kindness, and their grace. Because they were peacekeepers and justice seekers. And because they cared for those whom Jesus called “the least of these.” What you have done for them, he said, you have done for me. When Christians have lost sight of that, as they very often have, they’ve gotten into trouble.
So, what is our takeaway today? Is it only that life and human existence is brief (ephemeral)? Heavens no! Our takeaway is that because of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, and based on our belief and commitment to him, we have everlasting, yes, eternal life. It’s true that our lives are but a breath; our “days are like grass, flourishing like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone” (Psalm 103:15-16). And, like life, so is human power. It is ephemeral. All nations, states, empires, and grandiose claims are transitory. BUT LOVE IS NOT! “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). The story goes on. All things will be made new again. That is the promise of Easter, and that is the challenge for us in these times!
“Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Have a deeply blessed Easter!
Be encouraged!
“Seize the Day!” (Carpe Diem)
Rick Laser
You Can Make A Difference 