Every late afternoon Diane and I sit together to wind down the day. Part of my winding down is reading the comics. Yesterday I paused on “Bizarro” by “Wayno and Piraro.” The strip shows Jesus and the Easter Bunny having a cup of coffee at the counter of a diner. The Easter Bunny looks beat; he’s just told Jesus about all he had to do these last days. Jesus says, “You think you had a rough weekend?” Now that Easter Sunday is past, are you telling Jesus about your trying times?
“Hunky-Dory” is the expression our pastor used in his Easter sermon. Pastor Kyle Wright made a significant point: After all we hear in church about the resurrection, you might think that life after Easter would be hunky-dory but it’s not. Our circumstances are the same as they were last week. It’s like we’re sitting at the counter with Jesus and saying, “Nothing’s changed.”
One thing has changed, or should be changed. I’m reminded again Whom I’m talking to. Last week we saw Jesus suffering and dying. We identify with that and thank Him for doing it for us. Easter snaps us to how things are today for Jesus. Now we’re talking to Jesus who is off the cross, out of the tomb, now ascended on high and exercising His full power as God. Theologians call this the “State of Exaltation.” You’ll find comfort for your not hunky-dory life by meditating on passages about our exalted Savior. For example, Hebrews 1:3 – “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” So whether we’re talking to Jesus at the counter, in our daily thoughts, or more formally in devotion and worship, He didn’t rise and ascend to retire. In these very trying times, He is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).
“He lives triumphant from the grave; / He lives eternally to save;
He lives all glorious in the sky; / He lives exalted there on high.
“He lives to silence all my fears; / He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart; / He lives all blessings to impart.”
(Lutheran Service Book, 461, 2, 5).
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