Easter Patience

BY REV. ANDREW HAWKINS, PH.D., SENIOR PASTOR, THE VILLAGE CHURCH

We approach the Easter season, one of the highlights of the Christian year.

For those familiar with liturgical traditions, the season starts with Lent, a period of (relative) fasting in preparation for remembering the passion of our Lord. Then comes Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and the celebration of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The week unfolds with Good Friday, marking the day Jesus was crucified. Then comes Sunday – Resurrection Day – known traditionally as Easter, when Jesus rose from the grave.

For us who believe in Jesus, his resurrection is revolutionary. It validates Jesus as the incarnate Son of God. It demonstrates his victory over sin and death. And it assures us that our faith is not in vain, and affirms that we have eternal life in his glorious presence to give us hope. No single event has more significance for the Christian than the resurrection of Christ.

We at The Village Church will celebrate the season with a number of special services. Palm Sunday with the waving of palm branches, Good Friday with a service of darkness, Easter Sunrise at Friendship Point with the release of the doves, and a glorious celebration of Resurrection Day in our morning worship.

But the Resurrection of Christ is not the end of the story, though it is certainly a climax. Jesus appeared to his disciples over the course of 40 days. Then he ascended into heaven and assumed his position at the right hand of God the Father, reigning over creation until the time he will consummate all things with his second coming. That is the testimony of the scripture, and the confidence of the historic orthodox Church through the ages.

And yet until that final consummation, we wait. And no one likes waiting. Especially when our world seems to continue in its corruption and dysfunction.

The Bible testifies to this very condition:

Matters closer to home may occupy our minds these days. It’s been about six months since Hurricane Ian. Things are better – but not entirely back to normal. Outside Shell Point progress is even slower. Some things out there will never be back to “normal.”

So patience is required of us all – both for our heavenly future and for our earthly circumstances.

But the same God who raised Jesus from the dead is the God who protected and provided for us here at Shell Point during the storm. He has been faithful beyond our comprehension. And he has placed us in a community of faith, a community rooted the truth of Jesus Christ, a community that has patiently endured displacement and disruption, but that still hopes in him for a glorious future.

That’s why the author of Hebrews concludes his statement with these words:

(Hebrews

We live in a world of difficulty, of trial, of suffering – longing for the consummation of Jesus Christ. And that suffering affects us all, sooner or later. But we who believe in Jesus know it’s worth the wait. The Resurrection of Christ is proof of our hope of a glorious future.

“But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus...”

(Hebrews 2.8-9)

I trust that, even in our challenging times, you too will “see Jesus” during the resurrection season.