The Grammar of Lent and Easter

March and April are the months that include Lent and Easter, two of the most spiritually powerful times in the life of the Church. I appreciate the seasons of the Church year and how they are organized around the life of Jesus.

In Lent, we intentionally encounter our human condition, need for grace and desire for a change in our elevation; a desire to see our lives in the context of God’s love, and Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Easter brings us the amazing news that God’s love was lost and found in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and that we are given new life on earth right now through faith in Jesus Christ! The life we are given is faithfully demonstrated for us in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In a story attributed to, or used by, Herb Miller, a noted authority in congregational health and effectiveness, the news of a Revolutionary War battle was being communicated by smoke signals. The first signals that appeared in the sky were WASHINGTON DEFEATED. Then cloud cover ensued, effectively stopping or interrupting the communication. Those who saw it were discouraged. Washington was the passive subject and his army was defeated. However, a little later in the day with clearer skies, another message appeared, WASHINGTON DEFEATED THE ENEMY.

The full message was completely different than the initial message! Washington was not the defeated passive subject, he was the active subject and his army prevailed. Looking at Lent and Easter this way, we can appreciate the power of reversal and reconciliation and renewal that comes to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can examine the ways we are defeated in this earthly life by sin and death, and feel the pain of separation from God. That partial message seems to be the whole message and it is easy to feel discouraged.

The Good News of Easter is that the partial message is not like the whole message. Jesus suffered the separation and forsakeness of God on the cross. The message there was JESUS DEFEATED, a passive victim. But God’s saving power embraces even death, and the Easter message is

JESUS DEFEATED THE ENEMY.

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15: 54b-55)

Thanks be to God for making Jesus Christ the active subject of our life and ministry together.