Easter Meditation [Salvation is Exciting!]

This is my favorite day of the year.

It is not the delicious food - although those who know me well know that I could never complain about good food.
It is not the coming together of family and friends - no matter how joyous the gathering may be.
It is not even about getting all dressed up in a pretty Easter dress selected specifically for the occasion - and I love dresses.

No, my favorite part about Easter is the miracles.

At camp we call them Easter stories, and we do not apply the term lightly.  A camp Easter Story is what originally appeared to be a hopeless situation - a situation of significant bullying, a child who doesn't actually believe in God, or a child so buried in their home life that they seem completely unreachable.  The incredible beauty of the job of a camp counselor, is to see that child "break the chains" - the bully prays for the forgiveness of the bullied ~and the bullied prays for the bully, the atheist asks for the counselors help in accepting God as his or her savior, and we find some way to help the precious child who cannot seem to leave the past behind.  They are incredible stories - each one changing the lives of all who witness it.  Much as Jesus changed the lives of his disciples.

I want to take some time to dwell on the tragedy that happened thousands of years ago.  The one that involved a real cross, real nails, and the body of Jesus - in the flesh.  And this wasn't just death.

Jesus was betrayed.  Now, I do not mean "His disciples told him that they would meet him at dinner and then cancelled their plans the last minute."  I am talking about what would seem like the ultimate betrayal - Judas turned Jesus over to the Roman guards, and then Peter went and denied him 3 times.  Double wammy.  When Jesus was brought before the High Priest, Caiphus, he was humiliated, struck and spit upon, leaving him bruised and exhausted for the events the next day - the events of Good Friday.

Jesus was passed from Herod to Pontius Pilate - neither ruler wanting to condemn an innocent man, yet neither wanting to sacrifice popularity for the life of a single man.  A man that faced yet another betrayal - the voices of a nation screaming "Crucify him!" in His direction.  A nation that turned down the opportunity to crucify a thief, and instead crucified the man who claimed to be the "King of the Jews".  To a person who does not believe in Jesus Christ as a part of the trinity - this was an incredible sin.  Jesus was sentenced to scourging and death by crucifixion.

This is where the story goes from heartbreaking to horrifying.  Just a warning, it gets graphic. [I have italicized the graphic parts, if you choose to skip them.] Also, there are many different reports as to what happened or did not happen during the crucifixion of Jesus.  This is a summary of a few different versions that I have heard and read over the years.


Scourging.  Even the word is terrifying.  They whipped Him.  This was no ordinary flogging.  One report says that the man in charge of whipping Jesus was angry - he missed his family, and only real thing standing between him and his home was Jesus.  Jesus was sentenced to 40 whips - the highest possible sentence.


And this was no ordinary whip.  This was a "cat of nine-tails."  A whip.  With multiple tails.  And if that wasn't bad enough - attached to the end of the tails were anything hard and sharp that could be found: lead, rocks, glass, bone fragments.  The centurion (the person who administered the flogging) was a professional at making sure he caused as much suffering as possible without causing death.  One source says that the cattails had an effect on Jesus' back as if it had been tenderized by a butcher - pounding, bruising and eventually breaking the skin.  Another says that the tails would latch on to whatever skin (or tissue) possible, and on a flick of the wrist, rip through it.  The details are terrible.  But the facts are clear.  There were 40 lashes, we think.  While Jewish law states that the maximum amount of lashes that may be sentenced are 40, the Romans were notorious for ignoring those kinds of details.  We can be sure that Jesus was bloody, slipping in and out of consciousness, and within inches of His life when that whip finally came to a halt.


Next comes the utmost reason that I hate the word congealed.  It describes what the open bloody wounds on the back of my Jesus did when they encountered the rough robe that was put on Him, as He was crowned with the crown of thorns and a scepter was put into His hands.  The humiliation, the blood loss, the incredible pain... and this is only the beginning.  The Crown of Thorns was beat into His head, causing significant bleeding, and then the robe was ripped off of His back, reopening the incredible wounds.

Jesus was then dressed in His own clothing.  A crossbeam was thrown onto His back for Him to carry to the hill where He was to die.  This beam would have weighed somewhere around 100 pounds, and would have dug into whatever was left of His beaten and demolished frame.  At some point, Jesus finally collapsed, and Simon of Cyrene was pulled from the crowd to carry the cross the remainder of the way.

Then follows the crucifixion story that we know so well.

I will not lie.   I honestly do not think that I can finish the rest of the story.  It is so emotionally and spiritually exhausting for me.  Just writing the above has left me crying and horrified.

And He did it for Love.
8 letters.  3 words.  I love you.

Salvation.  Forgiveness.  Grace.

And that Grace is oh, so Amazing.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see

God had to do it that way.  In order to get our attention.  In order to make us realize that our sins, while ALWAYS FORGIVEN, hurt.  He had to get our attention. 

But Salvation is exciting.  3 days after the tragedy, that giant stone blocking the entrance of the cave was *rolled away* - not so that Jesus could leave, but so that we mortals could witness His absence.  Jesus conquered death on the cross.  As you have read - this is no easy feat.  This was not a coma, this was not a dupe pulled by God, Jesus died.  And He now LIVES.  HE LIVES!!!!

Join the triumph of the heavenly hosts, the triumph of God the Father, the triumph of love over hate, good over evil, and Eternal life over death.  Our Jesus is alive :) 

Salvation is Exciting!

I don't wanna grow up.

Believe it or not, the title of this blog is a lie.  Growing up is incredible.  Knowing that the decisions that I make will likely have a lasting impact on my life is one of the most exhilarating kinds of fear.  It is so exhilarating because it is incredibly empowering.  Taking ownership of my decisions means claiming both the good and the bad decisions, admitting when I really have no clue what I am doing, and relying on my own intuition when it comes to friendships, relationships and how I treat people.

I can't say that I have it all figured out.  In all honesty, I don't have much figured out at all, but I'm actively working towards it.  And it that isn't ok with some people, well, I guess that really stinks for them.