A Word from Joel - April 23, 2025
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.”
Luke 24:5
We had an incredible Holy Week at Covenant! From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday, to Good Friday and then Easter, we were blessed with great music and dynamic worship. On Easter we had over 360 people, which is significantly more than we have had in many years. Alleluia! If you missed any of it, you can catch it all on our YouTube page.
I’m always taken aback at the raw honesty of the Easter stories. The women are perplexed and terrified, while the men are full of doubt and condescension. It’s not a flattering look. If you were making up a story about how Jesus rose from the dead, this is a strange way to tell it. These are not gullible, uneducated people who believe anything they are told. This is a story of traumatized people who have been beaten up by grief yet somehow manage to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. These brave women, who unlike the men did not abandon Jesus on the cross but stayed with him to the bitter end, they are the ones who show up at dawn with their spices, ready to honor the one they loved. Amid their grief, they did not cease to love, and they did it together.
How do we hold onto hope amidst grief? Mysterious men in dazzling white garments tell the women at the tomb, “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” In our journey to hope, is there anything more important than remembrance? The women hear this news, and they remember. Without even seeing the risen Christ, they go and tell the men what happened, and the men don’t believe them. This should not surprise us. Not everyone is ready to hear the truth, and the closer you are to power, the less able you are to hear it. It’s not your job to convince anyone of anything. Your job is simply to remember what Jesus said and live like it’s true. Let’s recall a few of his greatest hits:
“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” Matthew 7:1
“Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” John 8:7
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” John 15:9
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34
Remember what he told you. Trust it’s true, and no matter how dark it gets, know the dawn will come. Christ is risen, and so will you. Life is not ended, it is merely changed, and love will never die. Even when you forget, God does not forget you.
Luke 24:5
We had an incredible Holy Week at Covenant! From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday, to Good Friday and then Easter, we were blessed with great music and dynamic worship. On Easter we had over 360 people, which is significantly more than we have had in many years. Alleluia! If you missed any of it, you can catch it all on our YouTube page.
I’m always taken aback at the raw honesty of the Easter stories. The women are perplexed and terrified, while the men are full of doubt and condescension. It’s not a flattering look. If you were making up a story about how Jesus rose from the dead, this is a strange way to tell it. These are not gullible, uneducated people who believe anything they are told. This is a story of traumatized people who have been beaten up by grief yet somehow manage to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. These brave women, who unlike the men did not abandon Jesus on the cross but stayed with him to the bitter end, they are the ones who show up at dawn with their spices, ready to honor the one they loved. Amid their grief, they did not cease to love, and they did it together.
How do we hold onto hope amidst grief? Mysterious men in dazzling white garments tell the women at the tomb, “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” In our journey to hope, is there anything more important than remembrance? The women hear this news, and they remember. Without even seeing the risen Christ, they go and tell the men what happened, and the men don’t believe them. This should not surprise us. Not everyone is ready to hear the truth, and the closer you are to power, the less able you are to hear it. It’s not your job to convince anyone of anything. Your job is simply to remember what Jesus said and live like it’s true. Let’s recall a few of his greatest hits:
“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” Matthew 7:1
“Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” John 8:7
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” John 15:9
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34
Remember what he told you. Trust it’s true, and no matter how dark it gets, know the dawn will come. Christ is risen, and so will you. Life is not ended, it is merely changed, and love will never die. Even when you forget, God does not forget you.
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