Journey to the Cross Through COVIDExemplo

We’ve been waiting for 12 days for this reading. Reliving Jesus’ cross journey is important but harrowing. Many years ago, I watched Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ.” I got through it once but have never chosen to view it completely again. Maybe it was all the blood, but it took a lot out of me. Well, in this reading the cruel cross has done its work, the sacrificial lamb has been slain, Friday has finished, and Sunday has come. The disciples can’t believe it, but we know it’s true. After the poignancy and sadness of the cross journey, relish the marvel of the Christ’s resurrection.

Read Luke 24:1-12

Once the Sabbath observance was over, the women were keen to go as early as possible. They couldn’t leave the degenerating body of Jesus for one more hour. You can imagine their concern when they arrived in the dark to find the stone covering the entrance rolled back and the body gone. Jesus’ body had been stolen. This was a disaster. How much more pain could evil inflict?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Evil had actually been completely defeated. It had no more power. Jesus’ body was not in the tomb because he was alive. As the angels said to the women, “There is no point looking for a Jesus in a tomb. This is the last place you will find him.” Then they remembered that this is exactly what Jesus had told them. Somewhere in all their early expectations and then final disappointments, they had forgotten the narrative Jesus had spoken about. Death would come, but resurrection would follow.

This remains the narrative of Christian faith. Life always follows death. We see it in the process of becoming a Christian (we die to ourselves and come alive to Christ). We see it in the process of sanctification (pain and sacrifice lead to life and growth). We see it in our Christian hope (our physical death will lead to greater life). We see it in the future establishment of God’s kingdom (the dead in Christ will rise with new bodies to their eternal reward). Death never wins. It’s just a pathway to new life.

And this is our story now. Faced with COVID-19 and all its deathly ramifications, we hold on to God’s consistent narrative. Life will inevitably follow death. This doesn’t mean that we don’t feel the pain, but it does mean that we have hope. Jesus is alive and at work. He’s not confined to some grave but is powerfully moving in our world. And just maybe this is the moment when many will die to their shallow life and will open their hearts to the grace and love of the risen Jesus who died for them. May God’s life flow through our nation and world.

Prayer: Praise God that life always follows death. Pray for a fresh awakening in our nation.