复活节 He has Risen!

I know I've been in China too long if I did not even realize it was Easter. Were it not for the timely reminder of my parents, I may have passed one of the greatest holidays ever with the thought of only 清明 (Chinese Memorial Day).

Sadly, I did not go to an evening service of any sort to celebrate the joyous occasion, but on Good Friday, I read from the latter part of Luke. Today, I read from Mark 13-16, and it covered the final moments leading up until Jesus' death on the cross as well as his ascension back into heaven. I think we are often miffed by the commercialism of Easter, and having heard the story of Christ's crucifixion on the cross one too many times that we forget how great a sacrifice it was that He made on the cross.

Reading through these passages once again at an older age, has given me a greater insight and appreciation of all the Lord had sacrificed in order to save us. Some things that I have never noticed about Jesus' final moments until now is that up until His death, He continued to remember us all. Rather than release His burden, if only emotionally, the Lord spent His final days advising His disciples to stay wary, prophesizing of the times to come when He returns. He not only continued to think only of our welfare as a people, but He also was preparing us as a Body for what is to come. This is such a demonstration of His love for us, so much so that this agape love would lead Him to die for us on the cross.

Also, the selflessness that the Lord demonstrated truly touched me. He did not consider His own needs or His own sorrows as He approached Death. Instead, He thought of us, and how He would save us. When Jesus was praying at Gethsemane, Christ did not pray that the Father would lift this cup from Him out of His own need, but from the will of the Lord. It is indeed awe-inspiring.

Lastly, it breaks my heart as I read these passages to see the suffering the Lord endured. It just makes His sacrifice all the much greater. Mark 15:19-20 "Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him." Jesus was flogged, spat on, mocked, jeered at, criticized. He endured it all without so much as a retort, but accepting it as the will of heaven. I could not imagine being in His shoes, even if I were to merely go through the actions halfheartedly. I doubt I could imitate His submission to the Father's will. And yet what struck me the most was that He was completely innocent. He was neither guilty by Heaven's laws or by the laws of man. Blameless, Jesus was sent to the cross in order that we may have a chance to be redeemed, so that in our righteous state, we might be with Him for eternity.

Indeed, blessed are those who have come to know the Lord and stand on His behalf as witnesses to this world for His message. I am blessed and am grateful for all that He has given me, namely the free gift of salvation as the greatest gift of all.

Easter has always seemed such an inappropriate name. It neglects to mention or at least refer to the wonderfulness of the day that we commemorate. Surprisingly, the Chinese name is better, 复活节, meaning resurrection holiday. It is sad though that even though they have this name, many Chinese have no idea what this day means for them and what a great gift the Lord has given them in His sacrifice... They do not know the true meaning of Easter, and for that I am sad that no one will share my joy today in Nanjing with me. While somewhat depressing, I am still encouraged and rejoice for I know that the Lord has risen and it is a good day indeed!