Easter

March 16, 2008 - Sunday

(Forgive me - I’m about to ramble on about several different topics - be prepared.)

It’s Easter week, and we had our first service in our new sanctuary at church this morning. The service was inspired. Honestly, I was a little anxious about it becoming about the building instead of about God’s blessing, but that didn’t happen at all. The new building inspires possibilities. Possibilities of what God can do if you let him.

On another note, Tucker recently became fascinated with the fact that Jesus died and came back from the dead. He got a new Bible because his old one was falling apart, and he immediately found the first page of the crucifixion story. He read it over and over again to every one he saw for about 3 days. He took his Bible to school to show his teacher and his friends.

Now, most of the people who will read this know that Tucker has issues with death. He’s dealt with much loss in his short life and he understands death better than many adults. I was certain that his fascination with Jesus’s death would make him sad. Often even a commercial that talks about death can upset him, so I was a little concerned about him dealing with this new religious revelation.

Of course, he surprised me. He did talk about death a little more than usual this week, but it was never negative or sad. He reminisced about people he missed. He remembered that he really loved Murphy, our dog. He asked questions about his Uncle James. He knew those people (and the dog) were no longer with us, but he was able to be happy about the time he had with them.

Hmmm...he taught me something. All this time we’ve struggled with how to explain death to our child, and we’ve talked about the hope found in the death of Christ as one piece of the puzzle.

This week, I think he got it.

I think he got what we sometimes forget as adults - that through the story of Easter there is hope. There are new possibilities every day because of that sacrifice.

Which leads me to my next topic. A young man from my hometown was killed in Iraq this week. His mom owns the town’s cafe, and (like most small towns) everyone knows her and her family. After talking to my family, it’s clear that the town is in mourning for its lost son.

I don’t like to get political, and I certainly don’t want to do so now. It is easy for me to believe that we entered into Iraq for a noble purpose - to allow people to experience a freedom they would never have without our presence. I realize that’s not a generally popular opinion, and that’s okay. But I believe that somewhere in that country a mother can look at her child and know that someday that child will be able to make educated, informed decisions about her life. And that a grandparent can believe that his grandson won’t have to live in fear. I know that’s an idealistic, "pie-in-the-sky" view, but I choose to believe it.

Just like I choose to believe that Christ’s sacrifice gives us hope. I would never be so dramatic as to equate this young man’s brave sacrifice to that of Jesus, but I think it’s safe to see a parallel. I think it’s only right for me to allow William O’Brien’s sacrifice to remind me of the sacrifice Christ made - not just for me but so that I can have hope that my son will find a way to deal with what life brings him.

I know some of you - many of my friends - disagree with my politics and even my religion, and that’s one of the reasons I love you! You make me think and even help me to really know why I believe what I do. During this season that began in Friday’s darkness of the cross, I am choosing to see the Sunday resurrection, and I hope that’s one reason you love me.

Happy Easter!