Serving Bread

This is a season of new beginnings of the church. The 40 days of Lent culminate in celebrating the fact that “Christ is risen!” This past week, I studied Mark 8-10 with students, where the theme of “What does it mean to follow Jesus” emerged for us. And time and again we were struck by how Jesus uses graphic terms to describe his fate and what it means to follow him. There is no escaping that when we follow Jesus, we are following him into suffering and death.

Jesus, co-creator of the universe and God in the flesh, submitted to the laws and fallen-ness of this world. The curse of death would not escape anyone, including Jesus. We may try to escape it and even deny it as Philosopher/Psychologist Ernest Becker argues, but ultimately, we are all susceptible to death. Physical death is perhaps the best symbol for the death that we experience on so many levels (spiritual, emotional, etc…). This has been a particularly trying season for me as I see the reality of the frailty of life very close to me.

And this is why I need Easter. I need Easter because it re-orients me to true reality — that death is not the final voice. Jesus defeated death. And this is why I need Jesus. He has the antidote to defeat the ultimate curse on humanity. I need Jesus because I need the antidote to defeat death and rise again.

Jesus is risen! Thank God he is risen!