To get in my training miles, I decided to do something pretty drastic. I would go to work in the morning and would run home (a little over 10 miles) after work in the Louisiana heat. It was oppressive and grueling, but it got the job done in the window of time I had available. I ran and finished that marathon!
In Church work, when Easter is over, most of us take a deep breath and say, "That was wonderful, but I am glad that season is done!" When I began ministry, the Methodist preachers even had an Easter Monday golf outing in Bonifay. It was our expression of, "Whew, I'm glad that is done for another year!"
But the story of Jesus reminds us of something this "deep breath of relief" missed. Easter is not an end ... it is a new beginning. On Easter morning I preached about the response of 2 women (Matthew 28). The women meet the resurrected Jesus and they 1) run to Him, 2) embrace Him and 3) worship Him. This is the 1st of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances and it marks, for us, an example of our response to what Jesus has done. For the race is long, and the road ahead is filled with the toil of that long journey ahead. How will we handle that race?
I think we remember this response on Easter morning by 2 women. In the book of Acts, there is a theme in Luke's writing. The theme is "continuance." The early Church doesn't just do one thing and then change to another thing. They do things continually and repeatedly. They continue to "run to Jesus" by meeting/worshipping together, studying the Apostle's teaching, and praying. These are ways this church "startup" and 2 women "run to Jesus."
We run to Jesus ... and we embrace Jesus. Tell me about the week you have planned. Do you embrace Jesus with these activities? If Jesus is "friend," "your solid rock," your "all in all," how are you showing that? In the resurrection, Jesus embraces the whole world with the possibility of forgiveness and eternal life. He asks for us to believe and embrace Him.
The 2 women worshipped Jesus. I believe Jesus intends this as a primarily corporate endeavor. In Acts, the Church is often shown in the context of being "together." They were together in the Upper Room, awaiting the Holy Spirit. They were together as they prayed for Peter's release from prison. they were together when a blind Saul comes to receive sight and a new name, Paul. We worship Him, and we share the context of fellowship as we share life, light and Jesus.
Life in Christ isn't an event where we make some statement and then go our independent way. Life in Christ is a journey ... training ... a race. The race is long and filled with obstacles. But Jesus, and His Church share that race with you. And remember, those women had a short-term and long-term destination. They ran TO Jesus, then and there. But Jesus was heading off to Galilee, to meet up with His disciples. That was a destination too! Then (Acts 1) the disciples are sent to wait together for the coming of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes the early Church experiences joy, fellowship and a massive persecution ... no good deed goes unpunished, I guess! But they keep on running the race, even when the course morphs into struggle.
I remember the words of an old Petra song ... "There is a way, that leads to life, the few that find it never die, past mountain peaks, graced white with snow, the way grows brighter as it goes, sometimes a shadow, dark and cold, lays like a mist upon the road, but be encouraged by the sight, where there's a shadow, there's a light." We have an everyday destination ... Jesus. We have an eternal destination ... eternity with Jesus. Let's continue in the faith together! AMEN
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