Advent Devotions

Today’s author is Naomi Sveholm. Naomi is a missionary with Central Europe Teachers teaching English at a bilingual Lutheran high school in Bratislava, Slovakia with her spouse and two children.

John 20:1-18

That is also a question for Mary in this week’s resurrection text. When she sees the cloths Jesus’ dead body was wrapped in, Mary is at first confused and wonders where the body has been taken. It is only after seeing the angels and recognizing Jesus himself that she allows her excitement to take over and tells the others she has seen Jesus, that he’s not really dead.

Holy Week is such a rollercoaster of emotions careening through the glory and praise of the entry into Jerusalem, the humility of servanthood and service, one betrayal after another (Judas, the Jewish leaders and community, the justice system, Simon Peter—and even the feeling God has abandoned or betrayed Jesus), the bodily torture and death of the one who the disciples have been hoping would change the world, entombment, and finally the disappearance of the body they saw only briefly. Both Mark and Luke indicate that Jesus died so close to the Sabbath his body could not be properly prepared; Mary and other women make their way to the tomb with spices and the purpose of anointing the body. Mary may at first feel she is being denied closure and instead being served an unjust theft. It’s no wonder she is confused and insistent on locating Jesus’ body, having been through a rollercoaster week and needing a minute to adjust to the completely new reality that countered her experience and tested the bounds of acceptance.

One of the things I appreciate about the liturgical year is that Easter is (usually) right around the blooming of the spring flowers; the Easter earth parallels Jesus’ return to life. But flowers need rain. We need to get through the dark betrayals and torture, the whiplash of Holy Week, to appreciate the joy and release of the resurrection.

Easter is the pinnacle of the church year. While Christmas may be a grander celebration in many households, it is Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection that centers the church. It is, in fact, so important that Lent warrants six weeks and Easter seven, while the Christmas celebration encompasses only two weeks before moving on.

As the Zimbabwean children experience life in Paradise and the surrounding neighborhoods, NGOs and the media continually exploit the stories of the community without consent. After photographing Bornfree’s actual funeral, the once again intrusive journalists question why the children would play such a game, and the child playing the now dead Bornfree rises from the ground and responds, with the sass only a child can muster, “Can’t you see this is for real?”

May we all believe and act in recognition of the resurrection, for real.

Dear God, Be with us as we experience the entire range of emotions, including confusion. Help us live out and share our excitement in the reality of the resurrection. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen