I often think back to Easter of 2020. I know, I know – no one wants to go back there. Trust me, I’m with you. But entertain the thought for just a second. We were fresh into this pandemic and regardless of your thoughts and opinions on the matter, at that point in time, no one had any clue what was happening. With many countries around the world struggling to manage the weight of those sick and dying, we watched the news pick up tragedy after tragedy. We hopped on Zoom calls, picked up our phones, went on Instagram live and shared our collective grief. We praised our essential workers for the hard work they did, and criticized those in power who were faced with some of the hardest decisions world leaders ever had to make. We cried out to Pastors and leaned on them to provide us with clarity on what God was saying, while Pastors themselves sought God for answers on how to shepherd His people during a time like this. Simultaneously, we walked through what many have called one of the greatest social movements the world had ever seen. The normal that we craved to return to was revealed for what it was – a quite broken world. One where the dignity and care of lives were not valued to the same degree as some blissfully thought. We watched videos, heard stories, made posts, had awkward, angry, even sad conversations and all while still trying to wrap our heads around what really was going on.

People were isolated. Many felt trapped. Lives were on hold, and we were all searching for hope.

We were looking for a silver lining, or an announcement that this was going to change. The life we were living was a movie and as quickly as this world turned upside down, it surely had to just as quickly turn “right side up,” right?

Waiting, silence, questions.

After a few months of this, we found ourselves in the Easter season and I distinctively remember that Good Friday. Why? Well because the moment that we were living in made me think about the complicated First Easter. The beauty of the resurrection, but the heaviness of the cross. It seems to follow that same dichotomy:
The Lamenting and Rejoicing
The Sacrifice and Victory

The deep loss perfectly co-existing with a lingering hope that one day things would look different.

To me, that is Easter. That Christ, the Son of God – He who knew no sin – came down to earth, living a blameless life, healing the sick and bringing freedom to those who have lived in bondage.

Spreading the good news of who He was and what He would do, Jesus’ life was seemingly marked by a gruesome, cruel, and quite frankly dishonouring sinners’ death. However, on that cross, bearing the weight and sin and shame of all those in the past, present
and future, the perfect lamb was slain. The ultimate sacrifice. This was the moment that shook the foundations of the earth, tearing the veil that once separated man and God and, important for us today, providing a Way. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the King of the Jews drew His final breath and said ‘It is Finished’. The weight of that statement scholars and theologians are still trying to unpack to this day.

• The wrestle with sin from the very first moments in that garden; It is Finished.

• The prophecies told of a day to come where the King would rise from the tribe of Judah; It is Finished.

• The searching for a ruler, a saviour, a redeemer; It is Finished.

• The never having a sacrifice that was enough to cover our sins of old and those to come; It is Finished.

• The weight of my shame and my guilt and the yolk that was taken on as sinful people serving an all- perfect God; It is finished.

Sin, death and the grave no longer had power. There was no need to fear or worry. It was complete. Truly, this is the very foundation of my faith. I have no salvation without the cross. I have no healing without the scars that were borne that day on Calvary. His brokenness is what allows me to walk in wholeness and freedom today. Even more so, we often get caught up in the cross, that singular moment, which is worthy of fixation I agree. Yet we forget fact that Jesus didn’t just come and die, get buried in the grave
and resurrect. What He did on the cross is powerful and continues to impact our lives today because He is continually perfecting that work at the right-hand throne of God.

Song Recommendations:
“The Olive Grove” – Steffany Gretzinger
“Mercy Tree” – Lacey Sturm

Book Recommendation:
“Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Suffering” by Dane C. Ortlund